Homes for Paws: Loving homes for homeless cats

Happy Spring to all of our Wonderful Cat Supporters!

I wanted to introduce myself as I will be taking over as Project Leader for the wonderful Rachel who has done such a great job at it for the last several years.  My name is Lauren and I have been a volunteer with CATS Adoption Service for many years now.  I am a "foster fail" with a household of 5 resident kitties and one long term hospice kitty.  My husband and I often joke that we are the retirement home for cats as we find ourselves taking in the older kitties whose owners have passed and have therefore been returned to rescue. The reason I love working with CATS adoption service so much is that they never shy away from taking in the less "desirable" cats who would have certainly suffered a much different fate had CATS not stepped in.  It's hard to find an adopter for a pair of 12 year old brothers (picture above), one of whom is blind.  But, CATS took them into foster after their human passed, I fostered these brothers and fell in love knowing they are perfect just the way they are. It makes me sad to think of what their fate would have been if it weren't for CATS.

Despite the incredible cost that comes with taking in some of these cats I have never seen them turned away by our organization.  In February, CATS rescued the incredibly sweet 11 month old, Moira (pictured below), from a high kill shelter in San Bernadino.  She was diagnosed with Cerebellar Hypoplasia (CH).  It is a non-progressive, non-contagious neurological condition that she was born with which results in walking and balance issues.  Due to her condition,  she would have surely not made it out of the shelter, but CATS saw that she was perfect just the way she was.  We are happy to report that she has been adopted into a wonderful home and is thriving!

In January, we received a call from the Imperial Valley Humane society in El Centro that had just acquired a kitten with an unknown neurological disorder and did not have the resources to help him.  We took Spooky (black kitten pictured below) to several vets and finally a neurologist in an effort to help him.  It was determined that his head shaking and instabillity was a result of either being dropped as a baby, creating neurological damage, or he was born with a disability.  Either way, we knew he was perfect just the way he was and his new adopters thought so too!  They fell in love with Spooky and even took him home with a friend he made in rescue.

I am proud to work with an organization that believes all cats, young and old, are "desirable" and are deserving of a loving home.  It is wonderful donors like all of you who allow us to continue this very important work.  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts and most of all our kitties thank you!