Winter/2014 Mini­Newsletter

Learn More About The Cat Shack!

Happy Holidays Everyone! After a brief hiatus, the newsletter is back...and better than ever!! The last few months have been fantastic for TheCat Shack. Not only have we adopted out over 40 cats (over 100 so farthis year!) and gained a bunch of awesome new volunteers, but we alsoopened up a brand new adoption center!! The Cat Shack is proud toannounce that we have partnered with Dog Town, a doggy daycare (andnow doggy rescue!) to help pull dogs and cats from the ACCT Shelter inPhiladelphia.

Our second adoption center is located on Route 309 in Colmer, PA. Thisnew location, which features both cats AND dogs, will be able to houseas many as 12 cats at once! One component that we are especiallyproud to unveil is the interactive "Cat Room." This room will enablepotential adopters to play with and get to know the cats in a safe openspace.

We recently celebrated the grand opening of the new adoption centerand it went great! We would like to thank Jennifer Joseph and JaimeConnahan for making this a reality and we look forward to continuing ourpartnership with this wonderful organization!

Read our article below to learn more about our new location and thefantastic organization that we've paired with to make this new centerpossible.

As always, if you are interested in becoming a volunteer (or someone youknow is), contact Theresa and let her know how you'd like to help! Thereare so many opportunities for new volunteers: Caring for cats at theadoption center, staffing adoption events, helping with the phone lines,attending craft nights, fundraising... The possibilities are endless! Checkout some of the stories below for more details on some ways to help.

Upcoming EventsDecember 27th

Adoption Event at PetSmartIn Whitehall PA 11am­2pm

January 3rd Adoption Event at PetSmart

In Whitehall PA 11am­2pm

January 10th

Adoption Event at PetSmartIn Whitehall PA 11am­2pm

January 17th

Adoption Event at PetSmartIn Whitehall PA 11am­2pm

January 24thAdoption Event at PetSmart

In Whitehall PA 11am­2pm

Cat Shack CalendarsThey're here! The Cat Shackrescue 2015 wall Calendar, fullof pictures of cats and kittensrescued by the Cat Shack!This year's calendar contains13 beautiful photos producedby AMAZING photographerDon Schiele!

These 28 page wall calendarsare glossy, FULL COLOR, andcontain bios about the cats aswell as inspiring quotes. Andthe best part... they are just

$15! These calendars can be mailed right to your door for $3shipping/handling and make wonderful Christmas presents! 100% of theprofits from the sale of these Calendars go to support next year's rescued

Phone Line help

The Cat Shack needs more

help from Volunteerscomfortable returning calls to

our hot­line!

This is the first step to savingcat's lives and helping themfind their forever homes! Thevolunteer takes and routesmessages, responds to calls

cats and kittens.

You may purchase on­line from our website using the paypal button onthe bottom left toolbar, email Theresa directly to request one, orpurchase from your friendly local volunteer. Calendars will only be onsale for a short time so get yours now while they are still available!

Successful Adoptions!If you've adopted from us and want to share your story, send us an email(with pictures!) to catshack@ptd.net and we'll put your furry familymember in our next newsletter!! We look forward to hearing from you :)

June Adoptions July AdoptionsMaci ­ Jason & Kayla H. Macrina ­ Craig W.Shyla ­ Donna P. Tiger & MaryJoe ­ Lydiann S.

Harvey ­ Jessica R. Mittens ­ John P.Paris ­ Liz F Lily ­ Martha B.

Riley & Emerson ­ Joseph D. Perseus, Mo,Zoe ­ Michaleen R. Easter, Bruiser,

Waliss ­ Michelle M. & Andromeda ­ Bill W.

Rex & Theo ­ Richard &Constance B.August Adoptions September AdoptionsSammie ­ John L. Hollywood ­ Katy H.Tucker ­ Karen F. Phantom ­ Nancy A.Cloud ­ Andrew G. Simon & Bindi ­ Jennifer D.

Serena ­ Beth S. Valarie ­ Michelle M.Aggie, Arby, &

Vera ­ John L.June Bug, Bella,

& Greta ­ Sue P.Butterscotch ­ Briana W.

Gaia ­ Jennie N.Mathilda & Akin ­ James &

Kristen G.October Adoptions November Adoptions

Max ­ Richard & CindyS.

Clint, Lily, &Bugsy ­ Elaine B.

Lynx & Luna ­ Alison N. Cleo ­ Jamie C.Willow ­ Jenn S.Dylan ­ Jolynn H.

Success Stories!

Maine Coon Kittens Three long haired "Maine Coon" kittens,MC­3, MC­4 and MC­5 were born on thestreets of Allentown PA to an equallyfluffy mother cat. Raising a family on thestreets wasn't ideal, and this lucky family

to the Cat Shack help lineand adoption line, and helps

people with their catproblems. Volunteers canwork from home, and the

times are flexible.

You must love to help peopleand animals, and should bewell­spoken and polite.Volunteers will receiveinstruction and there are

written suggested responsesto be used for callers. Thereare often unique and urgentsituations that must be

addressed so we ask thatthe phone line volunteersremain flexible and also

communicate regularly withthe other phone volunteerswhen questions arise. If youare interested in helpingplease contact Theresa!!

Cuddles

This adorable 6 year old girlis Cuddles. Cuddles story isone that might initially beseen as a sad one, but weare confident that with yourhelp we can write a muchhappier next chapter in herbook of life! Earlier this year,Cuddles was dropped off ata New York shelter, and

although her owners said allnice things about her (thingslike "Loves to Play!", "WellBehaved!", "Very Friendly!")she was quickly put on theeuthanasia list due to theshelter's overcrowding.Luckily, her sweet

personality caught theattention of rescue

volunteers, and through theefforts of several differentrescues, Cuddles was

snatched to safety with justhours to go.

MC­3 and one of her newhuman siblings

landed in a Cat Shack foster home. Mom and the 7­week­old babies cameto their foster home skinny, COVEREDin fleas, ticks and worse of all, theytested faintly positive for FelineLeukemia (FeLV). Their foster­mom washeartbroken. If the kittens and momwere unable to fight off this virus, theirchances of adoption were much lowerand they would be at risk of contractinglife threatening diseases that couldshorten their lives. All we could do wasprovide love, care and wait to see whathappened. So the Cat Shack provided the littlefamily with their own room where theycould safely stay away from other catsas they waited for the time to beretested. Meanwhile, the kittens werepromoted for adoption with a fulldisclosure of their precarious situation. Many people expressed interest inthese beautiful kittens, but virtually everyapplicant had other FeLV negative cats at home and they could onlyadopt one of these kittens if the babies tested negative for FeLV. Then Michael, April and their 2 children spotted the kittens' website postsand they quickly fell in love! They had no other cats so they applied toadopt 2 kittens, asking many good questions about FeLV. Afterresearching the pros and cons, Mike and April decided to move forwardand adopt 2 of the kittens no matter what their FeLV status turned out tobe! The family came to pick out their 2 new family members, but howcould they leave one super fluffy sibling behind? They decided to adoptall 3 of these fluffy babies! As an added bonus, 2 of the 3 kittens are now testing FeLV Negative! Itlooks like these kittens are beating the odds in more ways then one.

Louie, Everest, and BentleyLouie, Everest, andBentley are 3 shy youngcats that went to theirforever home onDecember 21, 2014!Adopters Don andBrenda came to meetbrothers Everest andBentley because theyjust wanted to adopt 2kittens. However, after

seeing how Louie and Everest took to their fellow foster Louie, and howhe was like their big brother, they started thinking...maybe they had roomin their hearts and home for 3 cats! Their ride home was all that wasneeded to decide to adopt all 3 lucky boys! We are so thrilled that they allgot their Christmas wish!

Pretty Kitty (NIcknamed PK) Needs Our Help! This friendly adult cat showed up in a local backyard last year. She had

Cuddles is now safe in fostercare and we've promised herthat the next time she goeshome with an adopter, shewill always be considered apermanent family member.Are you the right person tostart writing Cuddles newbook of life? Cuddles isspayed, vaccinated,dewormed, and

microchipped. Click on hername above if you'd like

learn more about her or areinterested in adopting her!

Sherlock

My name is Sherlock, I wasabandoned with my sister,Kira, when we were verylittle. When some nice

people caught us under ahedge, we were frightened,but we soon saw we now

had food, water, and a warmbed. We went to a Vet forshots, worm medicine, andmedicine for our colds andgoopy eyes. With lots of loveand good food we got better!We both tested negative forFeline Leukemia/FIV, got ourrabies shots, and then got

"fixed."

My foster mom calls me a"clown." I really like being

petted and I purr a lot. I loveto play and am dog friendly ifthey are not too rough. Ithink toys are the bestthings, next to food.

Now it is time for our finaladventure, a forever home.

Could that be you?

Conundrum

apparently been turned away by herowner after she developed a mouthissue that caused drooling and a foulsmell. Thankfully, PK was found by akind neighbor that neuters and feedsthe neighborhood strays.

In March of 2014 the kind peoplefeeding PK noticed that she wasdrooling and that her tongue hungout at times. They took her to theirown vet who diagnosed PK with atumor in her mouth. The vet'sprediction was dire ­ he felt that thismass was likely cancer andrecommended either a costly surgery/diagnosis of $5000+ or euthanasia.This surgery cost was outside of the means of their rescuer, but PK wasstill seemingly happy and they couldn't bring themselves to euthanize thissweet cat. They continued to care for her with the thought that when herquality of life declined they would make the call to euthanize her. But PK didn't decline rapidly as predicted by the first vet! When it becameclear that PK still had some of her 9­lives left to live, PK's rescuercontacted the Cat Shack and our vets at Perkiomen Animal Hospital, inPalm, PA, were quick to offer assistance with an exam and a 2ndopinion.

Perkiomen Animal Hospital agreed to perform the surgery and biopsy forPK with an estimated range of $705­$928. That is already so much moreaffordable then the $5000 originally quoted! Through social media postings, and generous donations, we havealready raised $247 towards our goal! We KNOW we can do this withyour help! This gorgeous, sweet cat has endured enough pain andsuffering and deserves proper care now! Check out PK's full story here(along with a wonderful update on her progress!) and please help us tohelp PK by making your Tax Deductible Donation today!

Silver Award

The Cat Shack salutes and celebrates an admirably civic­minded, highlyresourceful and remarkably generous teenager named Meghan Kirk. Sheand her mother, Melissa, volunteered with The Cat Shack last year tolearn more about us, and from that experience, an idea was born. Anidea which the enterprising teen turned into a project in order to qualify

Conundrum is aHANDSOME currently 3

month old Male kitten with astriking SILVER gray tabbycoat. He is very affectionate

and has an outgoingpersonality. He loves to run

around with his sisterMystery. He's a active

player and really will need togo to a home with his sisteror otehr cats to keep him

busy!

Because Conundrum wasrescued from an Allentownlocation as part of an outsidecolony, he was tested for

FeLv/fiv twice with a 4 weekinterval. Conundrum isFeLV/FIV negative!

Kira

Kira and her brotherSherlock (also featured here)are doing SO well in fostercare and show themselvesto be very lovable, friendlyand playful kittens! These

beautiful 7­month­old kittensare FeLV/FIV tested neg,altered, vaccinated and

ready for a home. They donot have to be adoptedtogether, but they do get

along great so if you want apair that would be an optionas well. They were alsoraised around dogs.

Lou Lou

for a Girl Scouts silver award. After the project was approved, Meghanworked tirelessly throughout the summer, handcrafting 100 toys invarying shapes and sizes for our many adoptable cats. Then she turnedher attention to constructing and painting an insulated wooden shelterwith a hinged lid (2' x 3' and 18" high) to hold up to five feral cats.Meghan and Melissa presented the toys and the shelter to us at aNational Adoption event held at PetSmart in Allentown, on Saturday,September 13th. While we are more than grateful to the Kirks, our CatShack kitties are itching to get their paws on all of their bright new toys.

Exciting News!There's a new way to help out the Cat Shack! It's so simple, all you haveto do is download an app for your phone. Even better, the app is totallyfree!! The app is called ResQwalk.The app tracks your steps and thencalculates a donation from the amount of steps.

The link to download for Android is: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.resqwalk

The link to download for iPhone is: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/resqwalk/id889050235?mt=8

Dog Town / Cat Shack Adoption Center

Dog Town owner Jennifer Joseph (left) and Cat ShackVolunteer Wendi Miller (right) in front of the New

Dogtown adoption center building.

Dog Town. Cat Shack. Two rescue groups: one helping dogsfrom ACCT, Philly's open intake shelter; the other helping

cats in the Lehigh Valley area. What do these two wonderfulrescues have in common? They are NOW sharing space at anew Adoption Center! Dog Town's owners, Jennifer Joseph

and Jaime Connahan, have decided to add on to theirbusiness venture, Dog Town Dog Daycare, with a new spacefor their adoption effort, Dog Town Adoptions. Located on Rt309 in Colmar, PA, the new adoption center houses Dog

Town's foster dogs, a retail space for dog and cat items, and

Lou Lou is finally ready foradoption! This SUPERsweet and VERY activeyoung 1­year­old boy has

been through so much ­ fromnear death due to starvation,

dehydration, intestinalblockage and injuries ­ to hiscurrent active, playful peakof health! His broken Pelviscontinues to heal and he canrun at full speed (and oftendoes). His weight is now

perfect and he has reducedhis habit of trying to eateverything, including non­

food items.

Lou Lou MUST go to a homewith another young cat ortwo who are as playful andactive as Lou Lou. His fostermom can tell you that LouLou is a a lover, but also arelentlessly playful cat andhe will quickly wear out hiswelcome with an older, lessplayful feline companion.

Due to his past starvationsituation, Lou Lou doessometimes try to eat non­food items. This is generallynot an issue (he will walkaround with balls in his

mouth and even play fetch)but small items could be aproblem if he can swallowthem. His future adopter willhave to keep this in mind

and be sure to avoid leavingsmall rubbery or plastic toysor other items around thehouse where Lou Lou could

eat them.

Lou Lou is FelV/FIV neg,neutered, vaccinated andhas received all of his vetcare to get him healthy and

ready for adoption!

Lou Lou has been through asimply amazing journey. For

now, a cat adoption area to showcase adoptable cats fromThe Cat Shack! Cat Shack cats have a dedicated adoptionarea which may be able to house up to 10­12 cats at onetime, including an interactive "Cat Room", where potentialadopters can play with, pet, and get to know the cats in anopen, yet safe space. The center is now open and filled withdogs AND cats waiting to meet you. The Cat Shack cats arevery excited to have a presence at the Dog Town AdoptionsCenter, and are looking forward to exposure to a new groupof adopters. Stay tuned for more information, pictures, and

volunteer opportunities.

Looking for a painless way to help the Cats atthe Cat Shack?

Here a few quick and easy ways!!

Consider using http://smile.amazon.com/ when shoppingon Amazon. Designate The Cat Shack as your charity andamazon will donate a percentage of your sale to us! It's freefor you and its a great way to help us out!

Searching the web? Use http://www.goodsearch.com/ anddesignate the Cat Shack rescue to receive donations everytime you search. It's free and easy!

Another easy way to donate to the Cats at the Cat Shack isto use our Amazon or Target wish lists. Check out this pagefor more information:http://thecatshack.rescuegroups.org/info/donate

Thank you again to all our amazing volunteers, foster homes, andadopters for the support that you give us. You have no idea how muchwe appreciate all your help. Sincerely,Erin LeedsCat Shack volunteer

his full story, check out hisadoption page (by clicking

his name above).

How We Can Help EachOther

The Cat Shack continues tooffer low cost spay/neuterclinics where stray and feralcats can be altered to help

curb the serious catoverpopulation problem.

Please spay and neuter yourpets and, if you are feedingstray or feral cats, please beresponsible and have themspayed and neutered also. It

is up to us, the animalslovers that care about thesecats, to assure that there is aGOOD home available forevery kitten born. We allneed to do our part to

prevent the birth of new catsthat will never be adopted.

We have so many wonderfulpets who would love to havea home with you. Check

them out!

Interested in filling out anadoption form for one of our

cats? Click here!

Support the CatShackToday!

WISH LISTDid you ever wish you could just point, click and donatesomething to The Cat Shack? Now you can by going to TCS'sonline Target and Amazon wish lists. Click HERE to read moreabout it