October 2016 Newsletter
Greetings Fans!
Pippin
We begin with yet another sad announcement. Our sweet and loving boy, Pippin, has died on September 20th.We were asked by Paws4Life, a volunteer group that works with Caddo Animal Control, if we could take this young kitten since he tested positive for feline leukemia. He arrived at Yogie and Friends in July, but he never thrived physically. He never got above 5.1 pounds and his young body just could not fight this virus. It is a devastating virus for young cats and kittens and they often don’t make it past 2 years old. We always dread the diagnosis of FeLV much more so than FIV. The vet also suspected he had another deadly illness called Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) and he was slightly jaundiced showing he had liver issues. Pippin was especially hard on me personally since I did everything I could to help him gain weight and feel better. He fought the good fight and we will miss him. R.I.P. Pippin.
Batman RIP
We also sadly announce the loss of one of our big cats, Batman. Batman was a beautiful lion who arrived with his littermate brother, Robin. They were used as roadside photo shoots and when they became too large to legally use them for this, the owner asked us to take them. We did. Batman is Moses’ father. It breaks our hearts to lose another amazing animal. The dynamic due is back together again at the Rainbow bridge. R.I.P. Batman. We will miss you so.
New Cats: We want to introduce three new residents to the sanctuary.
Alex: Alex is a young, orange tabby that was in the local pound for several months. He was pending adoption until he tested positive with F.I.V. and at that point we knew he would be euthanized and could not allow that to happen. He is currently on steroids for some skin issues that are not chronic. We estimate he is 2 years old or younger. He is very sweet.
Splotchie: Splotchie is a gorgeous white and black female with a unique half mustache on her face. She is FeLV positive, but is not a young kitten and hope she does well. She is extremely shy and a little slower to adjust to being with us, but her human that asked us to take her visits her twice a week, would be more if she could, and we are hoping she will soon adjust as the others have. It’s an adjustment for any cat.
Little Billy: Little Billy is a gentle, gray tabby, whose owner had to go into a nursing home and when Billy tested positive for FIV the neighbor caring for him could not take him into her home. He is currently in our quarantine and will join the other cats in the FIV house.
Paws in Paradise: Paws in Paradise is a pet adoption/awareness event hosted by Margaritaville Casino in Bossier City, Louisiana. It will be held this coming Sunday, October 2nd from 2-6p.m. inside the Casino theater. This is an awesome event the casino puts on for animals. Dr. Jaimie Wise and her staff from Wise Choice Animal Clinic will be there to do microchipping for only $20 per pet. She has also donated two microchips for Yogie and Friends to raffle off during the event.
Adoptable Cats/Kittens: The kittens that we pulled from the local animal pound are thriving. We had a few scares with them, but they have a clean bill of health from our veterinarian. They had their first vaccinations on the 28th of September and are doing well. We refer to them as the Six Pack. There are four boys and two girls. They should be available for adoption soon.
Donate Cash:
Donations of cash are what we need most. You can donate online via PayPal. You do not need a PayPal account to use a credit card to make a one-time donation via PayPal.
Louisiana and Texas Kroger Shoppers: If you have not already done so, it’s time to relink your Kroger Community Rewards to your Kroger Plus Card. Every time you shop at a Texas or Louisiana Kroger and use your Plus Card, Kroger will donate a portion of the sale to Yogie and Friends to help the FIV and other special needs cats we have at the sanctuary. Every little bit helps! Here is the link to enroll or sign in (if you are already enrolled). Choose us as your charity of choice. NPO #80724, Yogie and Friends Exotic Cat Sanctuary (we will be fixing the name later, but it’s still all good). https://www.kroger.com/communityrewards
New Buildings: We really need a couple of new buildings to be more self-supportive on site. In other words if we can do all of our non-emergency vet visits on site it would be less stressful to our animals needing vet care. We already purchased hold kennels and an exam table from a veterinarian who retired and closed her practice. Now we would like to set up a small clinic on the premises. Also, we are looking to purchase at least one, if not two, larger buildings to give our current residents more room and plan for the future needs of the sanctuary. Right now the buildings we are looking at purchasing from Gemco will cost approximately $8000 total. Then there will be installing electric, water, insulation, drywall, and the typical things to make it what it needs to be. It’s really not as difficult to do and that’s the beauty of the Gemco buildings. We considered getting them already finished, but that doubles the cost when we have the skills to do so ourselves. Our military discounts help with the materials at places such as Lowe’s or Home Depot. We are very good stewards of our donations.
Volunteers: We really need dedicated volunteers. Volunteering at Yogie and Friends does have its rewards. You get to cuddle with some great cats. You get to meet great people with a similar love for cats and for what we are doing. And we will feed you! Lol! But really, it’s a good feeling and the work is not that difficult. Yes, we will have some very labor intensive jobs as we repurpose the property to safely accommodate domestic cats and yes, there is lawn work, but that’s not all that is needed. We need volunteers who will scoop litter boxes, sweep and mop floors, clean counter tops and work spaces, poop scoop the outdoor cat play areas, and other basic cleaning needs. We also have cats need to be loved and socialized. We hope you will consider helping us make our mission a successful one. Please volunteer with us and help us make life a little nicer for these special cats. You can contact us via email at yogieandfriends@hotmail.com and our volunteer coordinator will call you as soon as possible.
Recycle Ink Cartridges: New labels have arrived and are available for you to ship cartridges out for recycling. Please consider helping us with our recycling program. Don’t throw those old ink jet/laser jet cartridges in the trash. Give them to us or let us mail you the labels so you can send them out directly and save us a step. We recycle them and get cash for the cats. You can box up the cartridges; put a prepaid label on it that we will provide you, and then drop it off at any UPS shipping facility or they can pick it up at your business. If you need labels, then just contact us and we will get some to you.
Facebook: We have a new Facebook page now. It is called, Yogie and Friends Special Needs Cats. It is a strictly controlled page so that nobody is every bullied or threatened on our page by others. It’s a safe page to share educational information and news about our wonderful cats. Please like on the page and share with your friends.
WISH LIST: We are in desperate need of cat litter and canned cat food. We are currently using Purina Complete and Purina Indoor Formula for dry food, and Friskies canned (all types). As far as cat litter we use Tidy Cat Scoopable without any scents in it such as Glade. Cats don’t like scented cat litter. We use no harsh chemical products for cleaning. For pest control we use food grade diatomaceous earth that we spread on the grounds. This is available at most feed stores. Also, washable blankets and throws are greatly appreciated. Please email us if you have any questions about helping with supplies.
SPONSOR A SPECIAL NEEDS CAT: We are looking for sponsors for our cats. We hope that is you. FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) is a feline only, slow-acting virus. It is so slow to progress that most FIV+ cats die of old age. Once thought to be deadly and highly contagious, it has since been found to be neither. Just as HIV was once believed to be a death sentence for those afflicted, so it is still with FIV. Only in the case of cats, the mere diagnosis produces that death sentence. Fortunately there are many veterinarians who don’t believe that this is the case and this is why we got four FIV cats. We got them from veterinarians who did not want to kill them. We do NOT want these cats to die just because of this diagnosis either. They deserve the chance to live. And live they will with us. Now that we have our first FIV positive cats living comfortably in their new home at Yogie and Friends, they will need your support. By sponsoring one of the FIV cats you will be providing food, medical care, and their basic care and support. 100% of the sponsorship goes to the care of these animals. None of the Yogie volunteer staff receives ANY compensation for the work we do.
Sponsors Needed:
Please note that some cats may be sponsored by more than one person, but rest assured that all sponsor 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.
Cats in need of Sponsoring:
FIV/Feline Leukemia Positive Cats:
Petey
Gatsby
Paisley
Sunny
VooDoo
Frazier
Bubba
King
Dotsey
Bruno
Alex
Splotchie
Little Billy
Non-Positive Cats:
| Hope Kristoff Anna Sarah Blackie Luna Lucy Squeak Bandit Natasha Miss Kitty Max |
Elsa Barney Duncan Muff Penelope Duckie Smudge Smokey Snowball Boo Blackie 2 |
You can mail your donations to us at:
Yogie and Friends
128 Fob Lane
Frierson, LA 71027
If you wish to make a donation on a regular basis and do not wish to use PayPal, your bank can set up automatic payments for you.
AMAZON WISH LIST: If you shop via Amazon.com you select Yogie and Friends as your charity of choice. They will donate a percentage of the sales to us. It’s a very easy way to help.
We also have an Amazon wish list to help with the feeding and caring of our feral cat colonies as well as the adoptable cats and kittens we are fostering. Please help if you can.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/?ie=UTF8&cid=A2LGJPU9KN7C2N
We still need your financial help with the nine big cats we are boarding and any and all donations are appreciated as we continue to care for them. They are safe and well.
Money we raise during any of our fundraisers goes to the boarding of our big cats and for TNR. We have always been, and will continue to be, a 100% volunteer driven organization.
Upcoming Events:
2 Oct 2016 2 – 6pm 2nd Annual Paws in Paradise
Margaritaville Casino
Bossier City, Louisiana
8 Oct 2016 Noon – 4pm Paws for Celebration
Betty Virginia Park
3901 Fairfield Ave., Shreveport
29 Oct 2016 11am – 4pm Eat a (Hot) Dog, Save a Cat
Dunkin Donuts
Corner of Youree Drive and Southfield, Shreveport
17 Dec 2016 11am – 4 pm Holiday Bake Sale and Fundraiser
Petco, 6596 Youree Drive, Shreveport
PLEASE spay and neuter your pets. Adopt! Don’t Shop! Also, please continue heartworm prevention all year round and not just in the summer months. Heartworm disease can be transmitted all year.
Jenny and the Yogie and Friends Gang!
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