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| | | A Few New Mew Year Resolutions! |
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We admit it - just a month into the new year and some of our new year resolutions are not going too well... (we have no idea how that chocolate cake got here, honest!) but maybe we'll feel better if we make some resolutions that are a bit easier - and benefit our furry companions as well!
There are lots of suggestions out there intended to make our cats' lives better, and it can be overwhelming... but we've clawed through the interwebz and found a half-dozen that we think your cat and you can accomplish and put a great start on the year.
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| 1) Stay on top of their healthcare
It can be easy to forget about annual wellness exams (or choose to save money and skip them altogether) if nothing seems to be wrong with your cat. Our pets age faster than we do though, meaning yearly checkups are especially important for screening for health issues and starting any necessary treatments early. This is also a good time to consider pet insurance and evaluate your cat’s diet/nutritional intake.
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| 2) Take their exercise routine up a notch
Let's face it, there’s a good chance your indoor kitty isn’t getting enough regular exercise. Staying active is a crucial aspect of your cat’s physical health, as well as for providing mental stimulation. Make it a point this year to help them bump up their exercise routine. A few things you can try are leash training, learning a new active trick, getting active toys (laser pointer, feather wand, even an exercise wheel!), or just setting more time aside to play with them.
For a double bonus, use our Amazon link below for FFGW to benefit from those toy purchases!
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| 3) Spend more quality time with your kitty
Making an effort to spend more time with your kitty will improve not just their health and happiness, but yours as well! Try blocking out a specific chunk of time each week to cuddle and/or play with your cat, such as every Monday after work or Saturday mornings. Make it a special time with combing or brushing if your kitty likes grooming, and have a special treat that you reserve for just those times!
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| 4) Frequently clean food and water dishes
If you notice slime (biofilm), cloudy or otherwise discolored water, or if food is left in the dish overnight, chances are good that bacteria is growing there. Daily cleanings of dishes followed by disinfecting in the dishwasher at least once a week will help them avoid this hazard.
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| 5. Feed a food that is appropriate for their age, weight, and health needs
Each year of a pet's life brings special needs and concerns so it's important to consider their age, weight, and health needs as you choose the best food for them. Unfortunately, there is so much marketing directed at pet owners about which foods to choose, it can be complex and overwhelming, but one thing that nearly all sources agree on is that the first ingredient in any food should be a muscle meat. Cats are obligate carnivores, which means that they must eat meat to obtain essential nutrients and amino acids which they cannot produce on their own or obtain from sources such as grains alone.
6. Just love your cat - and he or she will love you in return! |
| | | | Thanks to your generous support, FFGW placed 334 cats and kittens in 2022!
We may be small, but hear us roar meow!
Where do your contributions go? FFGW is an all-volunteer organization, with our fosters, transporters, adoption counselors, and board members donating their time out of their love for cats.
FFGW is entirely funded by donations and grants.
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| | | 100% of your donations go to caring for the animals and the ordinary expenses of running a non-profit organization that is insured and licensed in Virginia. The chart above shows you how our funds are spent - and you can see that we keep our non-animal care expenses as low as possible, with our main expenditure - veterinary cost - dwarfing even our second most expense, supplies for the adoption center in the Leesburg PetSmart.
According to Charity Navigator, non-profits should spend less than 10% of their income on fundraising (FFGW is at 3% for fundraising as our only fundraising expenses are our periodic paper mailings) and less than 35% on overhead (taking all expenses other than medical as "overhead" - hosting our website, insurance, required accounting audits, cat food, litter, toys, etc. - FFGW overhead is at about 15% of income. In other words, roughly 85% of donations go to medical expenses for the cats. We're pretty proud of that efficiency.
When you donate to FFGW, you know that the cats benefit directly.
Thank you for a successful 2022, and on to 2023! |
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Update on Microchips
FFGW places a microchip for all cats in our care when they are spayed or neutered. In our last newsletter, we told the remarkable story of foster cat Kim, missing for 6 months, who showed up in a backyard 15 miles away from her foster home and was identified thanks to her microchip.
(If you missed it, you can read our December Newsletter HERE.)
Since then, we have learned that when we transfer the microchip to an adopter upon completion of the adoption contract, the company we use sends an introductory email which makes it sound as if the adopter has to purchase a membership. Unfortunately, this is a common practice among microchip registries... but you DO NOT have to pay any fee to transfer the chip, nor a fee to create the account where you can update the chip contact information if necessary. Please keep your contact info up to date - we hope you'll never need it, but as Kim's story shows, it can help a miracle! |
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Lucy Scothorn - A Fund Honoring Her Long Life
--and honoring the dedication of her pet parents, FFGW's own Brittany and Steve Scothorn
Twenty-one years ago, a young couple did something that made a few cats happy… and then a lot of cats happy, and many people as well.
We told the story of FFGW’s Vice-President Brittany Scothorn and her husband Steve last year as our first featured volunteers – you can read the story in our Winter 2022 Newsletter here in case you missed it.
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| | Years before she became an FFGW volunteer and helped a lot of cats into the forever homes of a lot of happy adopters, Brittany and Steve adopted not 1 or 2 but three cats from FFGW – and not just any cats, but a mother cat, Lucy, and her two 10-week old daughters Dinker and Pumpkin. We knew then that Brittany and Steve were special, taking on three cats and especially their mother – momma cats have a much harder time being adopted when they’re competing with their young, adorable kittens. |
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When we told their story last year, Lucy had reached the fabulous old age of 22 years, simply amazing for a cat with a rough start in life and a testament to the love and care that she got from the Scothorns. |
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Lucy was the matriarch of the household, adored by her humans and by the cats who came after her. Mercury was left at a shelter at just 6 weeks old, sick and malnourished, when the Scothorns adopted him, and Lucy adored him as if her were her own, staying by his side when he was ill with a feeding tube. |
| All good things must come to an end, sadly, and certainly one of life’s hard things is to say goodbye to a cherished, long-lived cat, even when you know that it’s time and the right thing to do. Brittany and Steve recently had to say goodbye to Lucy, just after her 23rd birthday.
We thought that the best way that we could honor Lucy’s long life, and all that Brittany and Steve do for FFGW, is to set up a memorial fund in Lucy’s name so that FFGW can help another mom and kittens find the life that they deserve. The fund will be used to provide vetting for momma cats, and to provide incentive to adopt a momma and one or more of her kittens together by providing a discount on the adoption fee.
We hope that you’ll join us by honoring all that the Scothorns have done for FFGW by donating to the Lucy Scothorn Fund – and thank you!
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| | Featured Cats:
Ouzo & Sambuca!
Why not celebrate Valentine's Day with some spirits... ...some spirited kitties, that is!
Ouzo and his brother, Sambuca, are snuggly and stunning 8-month old kittens! These two love to play and chase each other, or any other kitties that join in! |
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Check Us Meowt! On Social Media!
Facebook, Insta, Twitter?
We try not to overflow your email inbox, and most months send just one Newsletter with a deep dive into all that's going on at FFGW, and some fun cat-centric stuff - but you can find out all the rescue happenings closer to real time on our social media! (And of course... see a lot more cute kitty pictures!)
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter below!
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Shop & Rescue!
You can shop and also help FFGW at the same time, by making your Amazon purchases through our "smile" link!
Use the button on the left for anything Amazon, select the Feline Foundation of Greater Washington as your designated charity. Your price doesn't change but a percentage of your purchase goes to FFGW!
In 2021 we received over $1000 through the Smile program, which donations were enough to provide 3-4 spays or 5-6 neuters - for an entire litter of kittens!
Thank you!
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I Feel Like Something Chewy!
Actually, not that chewy, but "Chewy"!
www.chewy.com is a pet product company specializing in home delivery of all things pet-related. FFGW has a "wish list" which you can find here:
Any products you select from our wish list will be delivered directly to us for use at our adoption center at PetSmart and by our fosters!
If you're new to Chewy, we'll even get a gift certificate for bringing in a new purchaser. It's a great way to help us in our mission to help the kitties!
Thanks to everyone who has donated food, treats, litter, beds, toys... Chewy's platform doesn't allow us to see the names of our generous donors, but please know that your support is very much appreciated! And if you drop us a line and let us know when you donate something, we'll be more than happy to send our thanks!
This post contains affilliate links. FFGW may be compensated if you buy something after clicking on these links. |
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| We've Gone Home!
Adopted in December & January (58)
Pine, Cedar, Pepe, Lolita, Goldie, Carhart, Wrangler, Cammie, Claudine, Kelsey, Kim, Samson, Maxwell Silverhammer, Easton, Nina, Lev, Salem, Sage, Gemma, Timber, Gingko, Mohawk, Pee Wee, Maple, Sprite, Baby, Boots, Haven, Socks, Milana, Rocco, Manny, Moe, Maggie, Ember, CJ, PJ, Cheeto, Mac, Casey, Makkari, Mollie, Millie, Amaretto, Lena, Lenny, Binky, Dane, Ikaris, Paxton, Preston, Consommé, Teddy, Asher, Crew, Danny, Sersi & Thena
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Adoption Fairs
Leesburg Weekly Fair Leesburg PetSmart - Sundays 12 - 2 pm
Next Event: Sunday February11
--Midweek Adoptions by Appointment for Cats in the Center--
We need volunteers to help care for the cats at Leesburg! Contact Brittany@ffgw.org
Looking for a new cat for your family? Get pre-approved for adoption by filling out an adoption form online today.)
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