February 2024 Newsletter
Greetings Yogie Fans!
Well January brought us some very strange weather for Louisiana. We had extremely wintry weather for this state, one point we had a minus one wind chill, and a lot of ice. That shut things down for a week, and more in other areas. We were mostly concerned about the space heaters we use in the cat buildings being able to handle the temperatures. We made it and all the cats are well. Our feral colonies even did well with the more insulated shelters we made for them. One of our fans even bought us two Clawsable heated shelters and we are happy the ferals did use them. That makes us happy. We now have building repairs to get done.
We put a call out to our fans on Facebook that we needed to replace three of our heaters. The others were starting to fail. We have had them since 2012 and they did an excellent job. Our fans came through and we have three new, good working heaters. Thank you so much. We are expecting some more very cold, possibly snowy, weather around mid-February.
We are now looking to replace the window unit air conditioner in the building we have had since around 2004. We want to do this before we start experiencing 1000-degree temperatures. Yes, we know it does not get that hot, but it sure feels bad.
YOGIE BOOTH AT BARKUS AND MEOUX PET PARADE: This Sunday, February 4th, is the annual Barkus and Meoux Pet Parade. Yogie and Friends will have their vendor booth at this event. The parade will roll on February 4th at the Louisiana Downs Casino and Racetrack in Bossier City. This is a free family and pet friendly event.
The Vendor Market will open at 11am – with animal group vendors and food trucks.
They will have two contests starting at 1pm – “Best of Broadway” Float decorating contest and a “Best of Broadway” Pet Costume Contest.
The actual parade will start at 2:00pm.
Yogie and Friends will have hats, tee shirts, and collectible ceramic items to raise funds for the Yogie and Friends cats.
If anyone would also like to help the Yogie and Friends cats with food and litter, this would be a good time to bring your donations to our booth and visit the Yogie and Friends volunteers. We are in desperate need of canned pate’ food, dry food, and scoopable cat litter. The only thing we request is the food NOT be grain free. Grain free food has been proven to cause serious heart issues in animals. The things we use most are Friskies Pate,’ Purina Cat Chow Complete, or Purina Naturals. Any scoopable cat litter works for us. We thank you in advance.
Hope to see you all there.
BUILDING REPAIRS: Our repairman came to Yogie to look at our original cat building that needs the floor repaired. We decided to remove one door on the side of the building, it was previously the gift shop, and one door was entrance and the other exit. We really do not need the two doors, so we decided to put the wall back up where the second door is now. That second door also has continuous leaking issues because the person who installed it did not properly do so. This will take care of that and let us have a better layout for the cats. The Director will paint the building after the wall is put up and then the floor repaired and vinyl planks will replace the old, damaged, laminate. This should freshen it up and be an even healthier environment.
Our director bought a five gallon can of paint for the old cat building in Frierson and she plans to begin painting next week. She is going to start on the higher parts now and get that going in advance of Vernon doing the repair work. This way she also will not have to be as worried about the floor if she has any splatters before the floor is repaired and the vinyl planks put in. She wants to get as much done as she can so it will be an easier finish.
ADDRESS CHANGE: A reminder that we have a new physical address for Yogie and Friends. It is now: Yogie and Friends, 140 Fob Lane, Frierson, LA 71027
We continue to need your help and there are a few ways you can do that. The following are the wish lists for supplies:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2N8IP4356I948/ref=nav_wishlist_lists_1
You can also make a monetary donation via:
PayPal at yogieandfriends@hotmail.com
Venmo at YogieCats
VET CARE: Snowball is doing well after his aural hematoma surgery. He has spent his recovery with our director at her house and has been a spoiled little boy, but we would not have it any other way. We currently have a small vet bill, but it is not like our normal bills.
Finn continues to have lung issues and after a visit to the vet it was decided to put him on an Albuterol inhaler. Dr. Daville has placed other cats on this treatment for the same issue with a great deal of success. The inhaler has arrived, and the director is going to start his treatment.
You can help in any of the following ways. Thank you!
PayPal: yogieandfriends@hotmail.com
Venmo: YogieCats
Call in a donation directly to the vet clinic at 318-747-5747
And as always, you can mail a check or money order to: Yogie and Friends, 140 Fob Lane, Frierson, LA 71027.
KROGER COMMUNITY REWARDS: Attention Kroger Shoppers. Please consider helping our cats when you shop at Kroger. Our Kroger Community Rewards number is GD567, and you can find us by our name as well, Yogie and Friends FIV Positive Cat Sanctuary. When you log into your Kroger account you can select us as your charity of choice and a portion of your purchase will be donated to our rescue sanctuary. This is one of the easiest ways to help us financially when you go grocery shopping. It takes nothing out of your pockets either. How cool is that?
SPONSORSHIP: We often speak of our sponsorship program and right now we are really trying hard to get all our cats sponsored. Sponsorship is a wonderful way to help support our cats. By sponsoring one of our Yogie cats, you will be providing food, limited medical care (we know that medical bills can get extremely high and do not expect a sponsor to cover it. Unless they can, and want to), and their basic care and support. 100% of the sponsorship goes to the care of these animals. If each cat had a regular, monthly, sponsor, it would help ease the financial burden of care for the animals we provide sanctuary for.
Please note that more than one person may sponsor a cat, but rest assured that all sponsored funds are used for the ongoing care of our cats.
You can sponsor a cat for just $15 a month, $45 a quarter, or $180 a year. You can always contribute more. It all helps a great deal.
If you choose to sponsor a cat via PayPal or Venmo, please let us know the name of the cat you would like to sponsor.
WE CURRENTLY CARE FOR 63 CATS, as well as several feral cats we care for:
CATS IN NEED OF SPONSORING
Alex – is being sponsored by Patsy, a fan in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Sunny
Ursula
Brexit
Grayson – Is being sponsored by Phil and Ann, fans in Haughton, Louisiana.
Oskar
Hope
Elsa
Barney
Claire
Anna
Duncan – Is being sponsored by Vanessa, a fan in Bossier City, Louisiana.
Grace
Blackie
Penelope
Duckie
Lucy
Smudge
Squeak
Bandit
Snowball
Miss Kitty
Quinn – Is being sponsored by Denyce, a fan in Houston, Texas.
Theo (Tayo) – Is being sponsored by Denyce, a fan in Houston, Texas.
Ms. Gray
Oscar
Dorian
Bert
Ernie
Kay
Rocket
Ziggy
Layla
Angel
Pia
Mama – Is being sponsored by Louise, a fan in Australia.
Saber
Binx
Domino
Socks
Logan
Russell
April
Tosha
Lucia
Uncle Fester
Yeti
Bonnie
Yakov – is being sponsored by Beverly, a fan in Shreveport, Louisiana
Finn
Chloe
Maggie Mae
Anastasia
Saphira
Eragon
Draco
Egon
Nick
Enya
Declan
Fiona
Flynn
Fabio
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Yogie Vendor Booth
Bakus and Meoux Pet Parade
Louisiana Downs Casino and Racetrack
Bossier City, Louisiana
4 February 2024
11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Yogie and Friends Spring Bake Sale
16 March 2024
11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Petco
6595 Youree Drive
Shreveport, Louisiana
Give for Good On-Line Giving Day
7 May 2024 (All Day)
PAYPAL: PayPal has a program where you can do automatic monthly donations to Yogie and Friends. This is an easy and effective way to help our fundraising for the animals. You can also choose to pay the fees by selecting the Friends and Family option in PayPal ensuring we receive the entire amount of your donation. Our PayPal is: yogieandfriends@hotmail.com
FINANCIAL SUPPORT: Your donations are the most important thing to help us with our animals. We are a 501(C)(3) non-profit, in good standing. Your donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. We can really use help with funds to buy food, veterinarian care, and everyday care of the wellbeing of the animals. Thank you for your support.
Our intake is closed until further notice.
Follow us on Facebook!
YOU CAN MAIL YOUR DONATIONS TO US AT:
YOGIE AND FRIENDS
140 FOB LANE (NEW ADDRESS)
FRIERSON, LA 71027
PLEASE spay and neuter your pets. Adopt! Do not Shop!
Thank You! The Yogie Cats and their Volunteer Staff!
Posted in Monthly Newsletter, The News