| | | April 2019 -- In This Edition: - LIly Warning
- Kitten Season
- Stories
- Upcoming Events
- Adopted Cats
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| | We haven't moved, but our mailing address has changed! Please send all mail to:
Feline Foundation of Greater Washington 11160 C-1 South Lakes Drive, #707 Reston, VA 20191 |
| | Lilies are Extremely Toxic to Cats! |
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| | All parts of the lily - the flowers, leaves, stems, and even the pollen can induce fatal kidney failure in cats after a single exposure to a tiny amount!
This holiday season, please select flowers other than lilies for yourself and as host gifts, if there are cats in the home! |
| | | | The Newest Litter of FFGW Kittens & Mom Available for Adoption a Little Later this Spring |
| | | | The above postcard went out to our supporters a few weeks ago.
To everything there is a season... and for kittens, that season is now. More kittens are born between April and August than any other time of the year, and the season runs well into September too!. It's a time that taxes everything a rescue has - foster homes, funds, people able to bottle feed orphans, and forever homes. It's also the worst time of the year to be an adult cat looking to be adopted, as people oooh and aaah over the fluffy kittens and overlook the grown kitties.
We could really use your help - if you can foster, transport cats, or donate a little bit to help with medical costs, we'll be able to make this a good kitten season for as many kittens and cats as we can!
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| | What Do You Do With All That Money!!?? |
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Well... we're not spending it on fancy vacations! |
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And we're not buying fancy cars!
©Harry Shubin
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| No - We're rescuing cats!
FFGW takes cats from area shelters when the shelters are too full and the cats are out of time. But no one gets involved with rescue because they have astute business sense and want to make decisions guided by their head, instead of their heart. Sometimes, we just listen to our hearts and rescue a cat simply because she needs us. Rescuing cats is a balancing act - if you intake too many cats with significant medical needs, you deplete scarce resources, not to mention, you have a difficult time placing cats in forever homes. Yet, if you focus only on easily adoptable cats, you're not doing all that you can do to save precious lives. We try to do both.
Let us tell you a couple of stories of cats FFGW has rescued, thanks to your generous donations.
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| HONEYBEAR
Would you help a cat even when you had a pretty good idea she was going to tear your heart out?
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| | SAMMY
We help cats like Honeybear when we are able, because for everyone one like her, there are many more like Sammy.
The call came in on the rescue line... another stray cat in bad shape. What could we do?
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| | STANLEY the Puppy Cat!
Not every cat FFGW intakes is a medical mess, of course! (We wouldn't be that reckless with your precious donations - though we do appreciate the ability to act on our hearts when necessary!)
No, some cats are purrfect - and some are puppies!
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We truly thank all of our supporters - it's your generous donations that keep us able to make rescues like these. Every donation counts, no matter the size - even a small recurring monthly donation of a few dollars can pay for vaccines, or a spay, or supplies for our adoption center in the Leesburg PetSmart.
Please help us to continue our mission to rescue at-risk cats from area shelters and the street!
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| | | | Happy Birthday Soleil!
Everyone at FFGW sends warm birthday greetings to alum Soleil on her 20th birthday! Soleil's purrson says that she enjoys naps, playing with string, eating Gerber's baby food, and lots of fresh water! Here's to many more!
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In Memoriam
It is with sadness that we share with our friends the passing of Feline Foundation's "Grand Dame" Edie (also known as Spice Girl), who had turned 21 on February 1.
Edie belonged to FFGW volunteers and adopters Suzanne Stevenson and Richard Fitzgerald. They fostered and adopted at least 10 senior cats for/from FFGW in the 1990s and early 2000s, plus did countless miles of cat transports: if you went to an FFGW event in those years, Suzanne and Richard were there.
Sadly, Suzanne died and there came a time when Richard was no longer able to care for their cats so FFGW stepped in and helped find suitable placement for all the cats except sweet Edie who was around 17 years old when she came to us in December 2014.
Edie was fostered by a grad student for about two years. The foster intended to formally adopt once she was financially solvent. Sadly, that adoption did not come to pass and around that time 19 year old Edie was diagnosed as hyperthyroid. At this point in the story two longtime friends of FFGW and “fosters extraordinaire” entered the picture: Mary and Fred Goodspeed.
Mary and Fred happily took in Edie as a “forever foster”, to allow her to live out her golden years surrounded by love and stability and with the support of FFGW. And boy did Edie live large!
Edie loved to come to the Reston adoption fairs just as an excursion because she liked to get out and see people, and Mary and Fred lovingly obliged. Edie would sit cuddled in a lap and have a manicure done, keeping track of everything that was going on around her. So many people came to know and love this sweet old girl.
Mary and Fred tended to Edie’s every need. They made sure she received her thyroid pills, had regular bloodwork and vet visits, and most importantly had laps to snuggle in, toys to play with, and a loving and wonderful home life. As Edie became weaker, Mary and Fred made sure she was kept warm and when she no longer could climb the stairs, they carried her to bed with them every night so that she could continue her ritual of sleeping snuggled up between them in bed. One of her favorite things to do was to cuddle on Fred’s lap.
Last month Edie begin to fail to the point that Mary and Fred knew it was time to give her one last kiss and peacefully let her go. They said goodbye to Edie on March 21, and her passing was the end of an era for FFGW. She will be forever in our hearts.
Thank you Mary and Fred for giving this grand dame a loving home and care. |
| | | UpComing Events!
Yard Sale April 27! Bingo May 1! Painting May 19!
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| | FFGW Spring Yard Sale!
Saturday April 27
Volunteer - Donate - Shop! All Proceeds Benefit FFGW's Kitties!
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| | | | | | We had SO much fun last time, we're doing it again!
Sunday, May 19 Paint a Portrait of your Pet!
50% of Proceeds Benefit FFGW ANYONE can paint like this! The instructors will show you how!
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| | | | | We had a great time last week listening to the rockin' cats of Rescue Squad play great 80's and 90's tunes - thanks to the volunteers who made the event fun and a success. Our sincere thanks go out to everyone who showed up and helped us raise money for the kitties!
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| | | Adoption Fairs
Reston Monthly Fair Just Cats Clinic - Reston Sunday May 19 1-3 p.m.
Leesburg Weekly Fair Leesburg PetSmart Every Sunday 12 - 3 p.m. Next Fair: Sunday April 28
Looking for a new cat for your family? Have time to help with set up? Visit our monthly adoption fair in Reston at Just Cats Clinic or weekly at the Leesburg PetSmart. (Get pre-approved for adoption by filling out an adoption form online today.) VOLUNTEERS also needed for setup and tear down at Reston.
Directions and details
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| | We've Gone Home!
Adopted Cats - February & March 2019
(40)
Skyler, Bo, Smurfette, Joey, Ross, Chandler, Gunther, Rosie2, Faline, Minka, Helen, Ollie, Ellie, Vida, Mia, Homer, Valeria, Clementine, Ursula, Sylvester, Morris, Buttercup2, Phoebe, Mr. Siam, Mirella, Precious2, Damsel, Dory, Berries, Jessica, Skittles2, Dennis, Tickles, Feo, Otey, Herbert, Marigold, Samuel, Friday & Reese
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| | | Don't Forget!
We want your photos and stories of your FFGW adopted cats! We'd love to feature them in our newsletter! You can just respond to this email!
Who knows... maybe your cat will be on the next episode of Who Feels Like a Millionaire! |
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