Hello Furiends,
How are things in your neck of the woods? We’re doing fine here, although I have to say I didn’t appreciate Lily photobombing me the other day.

I finally got Lily away from my photo and got a purrfect shot of my amazing whiskers.

Meanwhile, Oliver was having a bit of an existential crisis which, thankfully, he was able to resolve.

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We’re happy that Oliver has resolved his crisis and hope your week will be crisis free.

Cat loving arborists work to save trapped cats in trees

Good grief, my feline furiends, you’ve got to stop getting yourselves stuck in trees. I wrote about this last week and now, I have two stories this week! But this kitty has to say how thankful I am that there are folks that will do this.

These two arborists navigate their way to the top of a tree canopy to rescue stranded cats whenever they get a call. Brothers-in-law, Shaun Sears and Tom Otto have formed a non-profit called Canopy Cat Rescue in the state of Washington.

They risk their lives to save kitties and do it on a donation only basis. Since they started in 2009, they’ve rescued more than 2,000 felines. Meowza! They were even on a 10-part reality series on Animal Planet in 2015 called Treetop Rescue.

These guys know how to care for kitties. When they reach the frightened feline, they give him a gentle rub on the head before they put them inside the string bag to bring them down the tree.

These humans have had some challenging rescues but nothing stops them, because, as they note on their website, “As cat people ourselves, we know how horrible it feels when a cat is missing and then cries for help are heard up in the trees. “

Canopy Cat Rescue’s dedication to treed kitties knows no bounds and they will take a rescue call any time, day or night in any kind of weather. You can click here and watch one of their rescue videos.

In 2020 these heroic humans rescued 665 cats! Paws up to you!

Outdoor recreation business also rescues cats

Theses humans are not a non-profit but they offer their tree climbing skills to Georgia felines who’ve found themselves trapped in trees. Are you sensing a pattern in this week’s news articles?

This is another family rescue affair with Naomi Rice and her husband Jody taking time away from their business, Wild Rice Adventures to rescue cats. As experts in rope assisted tree climbing they have helped many needy felines.

Their knowledge of rope-assisted tree climbing and relevant equipment made them the purrfect people to respond to felines in need. It all started four years ago when they helped get a cat out of a 60 foot tree because the fire department would not help. Their desire to help the community has resulted in many more kitty rescues.

Their fee is $50.00. They assess the situation looking to rescue the cat without harming the tree. If the cat’s owner is in good physical shape, they may have the owner do the climb as cats often respond the best to the owner.  They rig the rope and get the owner “geared up” help them get to the top of the tree and then bring them down with their cat.

These good folks have returned many felines to safety. You can learn about their feline clients with videos like this one on their Facebook page.

It looks like, my furiends, that if you’re going to get yourself stuck up in a tree you’d better be in Georgia or Western Washington! But better yet, STAY OUT OF THE TREES KITTIES!

Joe Willie Project supports older, special-need and semi-feral cats

Now you don’t have to rescue cats out of trees to be a hero. Mark M. Glickman’s life was changed and inspired by a cat he rescued that was named Joe Willie. The feline had significant medical issues and was older when he was adopted by Glickman over 25 years ago.  Because of the love and furiendship Glickman shared with his feline Joe Willie, he began to think about special needs cat who would benefit from a higher level of care in shelters.  Glickman created the Joe Willie Project to honor his furry furiend and began working with Marin Humane to help special needs kitties. The program supports medical, behavioral and placement help to promote adoption of senior kitties with special needs or those that are semi feral.  

Since it’s inception, the Joe Willie Project has funded more than 160 medical procedures, paid adoption fees of more than 100 senior cats and provided behavior assistance for more than 1000 cats.

The fund has paid for state of the arts kitty condos specially designed to reduce anxiety. Studies have shown that cats that are overly st5ressed tend to contract upper respiratory infections.  The Project has placed almost 700  semi-feral cats (cats not happy as house cats but not independent enough to live on their own as true ferals) in safe, caring environments by working with Marin Humane partner Marin Friends of Ferals. These cats are placed with adopters who provide basic food, shelter and veterinary care for them in barns, warehouses or other semi-protected areas.

This kitty says kudos to these humans who are thinking outside the box and helping felines with special needs.

Faithful Friends and Delaware Humane Association distributes free cat shelters state wide

Faithful Friends Animal Society and the Delaware Humane Association are partnering to distribute free cat shelters throughout Delaware.  

Every year supporters of Faithful Friends build cat shelters to keep colony cats warm throughout the cold season.

The organization set a goal to raise $5,000 for supplies and build a minimum of 200 cat houses. So far, supporters have raised $4,630, and 142 cat houses have been created. A local Eagle Scout Troop 29 participated in the building.  

Many kitties will be safe and warm this winter thanks to these good folks!

Meet the Syrian who saved cats from regime shelling

The House of Cats Ernesto sanctuary cares for cats who were hurt or abandoned due to the war in northern Syria.

Mohammad Youssef, the veterinarian at the sanctuary, said “We are working on sheltering stray animals such as cats and dogs, and we are contacting local councils in the area to help the team carry out awareness campaigns among civilians on the need to care for animals as a humanitarian duty.

The sanctuary was first established in 2014 in eastern Aleppo, but when that area became a war zone, the veterinarian took all the cats that were at his house in Aleppo’s western countryside and fled to Idlib where he worked with other volunteers to establish the House of Cats Ernesto.

The sanctuary is officially recognized and licensed and was built in Idlib in early 2019. The organization is funded by donations from animal lovers around the world.  The group is looking to open new sanctuaries so that all the animals in northern Syria are protected and cared for.

How wonderful it is that these humans in these war torn areas are willing to care for kitties and other animals affected by war.