Mark Your Calendars!

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Subject: Mark Your Calendars!

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Newsletter

August 2024

Mark Your Calendar...

Get Ready... Get Set... Take Photos!

In This Edition:

The FFGW Calendar Contest Returns!
KerCHOO! Living with Cats - and Allergies
Adoption Events at Just Cats Clinic a Purring Success!

Our Newsletter is Best Viewed in Landscape Orientation on Mobile Devices!

The Calendar Contest Returns!

FFGW is excited to announce our 2025 Fabulous Feline Calendar Contest!!

Contest Starts This Thursday Aug. 15th!

This year’s contest runs from August 15th through Sept 18th. You enter the contest by submitting a photograph of your cat with a $10 donation. Votes are $1/vote and you can vote as many times as you want!

Start taking pictures now so you have the perfect picture to enter! Photos that are high resolution (at least 300 dpi) and in landscape format will look great in the calendar.

The top vote getter will win the coveted cover photo for the 2025 calendar! The 2nd - 13th place winners will have their feline featured as Cat of the Month. You will also have the option to reserve calendar days and feature your kitty on a particular date block.

To help you have the best chance of winning, we've gathered a few tips to share:

High-resolution photos, at least 2MB in size, and in landscape (horizontal) format will catch people’s eyes when voting and will look best if you win a month spread.
Use the social media links within the contest to promote your pet to your friends and family, and encourage them to share on their pages as well! Remember, the more people who know about your entry the more likely you are to win!
Get cash sponsorships! You can collect cash donations for your pet from friends, family, and acquaintances, then simply apply the amounts yourself, using your own login information. This is one of the easiest ways to get support, because you are collecting the funds directly and your supporters do not have to create their own account.
And finally, the most important thing you can do to increase donations to your entry is to remind people that every vote is a donation to the non-profit Feline Foundation of Greater Washington. We rely completely on donations from our community to allow us to provide necessary vetting care for cats that we rescue. The cats benefit directly. Thank you for your support—we couldn't do it without you!

Click Here for Contest Details

and to see the countdown until the contest starts!

We are delighted to have Loudoun Cat Care and Just Cats Clinic as returning sponsors of this year's contest!

Allergic to Cat Fur?

Well... yes, and no! At the risk of splitting hairs (pun intended!), the allergic reaction that some people experience - redness in eyes, sniffling, sneezing and in a few cases difficulty breathing - is a reaction to a protein that cats secrete in their saliva and skin.

©C.Frazer

MYTH: Cat fur is an allergen.

FACT: Oil glands in the skin and the salivary glands produce the primary cat allergen. Allergies to cats are primarily caused by a single protein which is found on the skin and in the saliva. There are at least seven other cat proteins that may cause cat allergies in humans. A combination of these allergy producing proteins accumulate on the fur and skin of the cat during grooming. Allergens are then released into the environment as the cat sheds dander (tiny scales from skin).

So, while cat fur may produce an allergic reaction, the fur is really just a carrier for the actual allergen, the protein in the cat's saliva. The more a cat grooms, the more saliva (and so allergen) is produced; the more a cat sheds the more of the carrier is available to cause a reaction.

MYTH: Longhaired cats are more allergenic

FACT: It depends. Some shorthaired cats groom more, and shed more, than some longhaired kitties.

MYTH: Some breeds of cats are "hypoallergenic"

Fact: All cats produce allergens, but some cats may produce more or less than others. The types and amount of cat allergen produced can vary significantly between individual cats, and people may react more severely to one particular cat over another. Such differences in allergen production are not related to the breed of cat. Even furless cats can make you sneeze!

However, neutering has been found to reduce the amount of protein, according to the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine - another benefit to neutering your cats!

©Krossbow

If you're allergic - you CAN still have a cat!

Acccording to the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, there are specific steps which can allow you and Fluffy to live together without massive amounts of tissues:

☐ Restrict cats from rooms where reduced exposure is desired (e.g., bedrooms). Airborne cat allergen levels have been found to

be much higher in rooms where cats are physically present.

☐ When possible, replace carpet with smooth flooring (e.g., wood, tile, linoleum) as carpets are the primary reservoir of allergens in the home. Carpets can contain 13 times more cat allergens than smooth floors.

☐ Allergic individuals should avoid cleaning and vacuuming themselves, or wear a disposable dust mask (available at the local pharmacy or hardware store) in order to prevent inhalation of pet allergens. After cleaning, it will take a few hours for allergens released into the air to settle back onto the surfaces.

☐ In addition to using a HEPA filter in household heating and cooling systems, the use of an air purifier with a HEPA filter in the room where pets spend the most of their time will further reduce the concentration of allergens up to five to seven-fold.

☐ Vacuum regularly, at least once a week, with a good vacuum cleaner that is equipped with a HEPA filter to prevent outflow of the contents (including pet allergens) that have been swept up.

☐ Avoid “dry” cleaning (brooms and feather dusters) which can aerosolize pet allergens. Instead use statically charged cleaning products (eg swiffer) and/or clean with wet supplies such as damp cloths and mops which will trap and remove allergens.

☐ When laundering bedding, clothing, and other washable items (including cat beds) use high temperatures and detergents to remove more allergens.

You CAN have a cat - even if you're allergic!

Adoption Event at Just Cats Clinic a Meowing Success!

Mid July we held our first adoption event in our new space at Just Cats Clinic in Reston, and had an amazing and fantastic 9 adoptions! We are so thankful for this opportunity to make a bigger impact on the lives of cats in need. We are still assembling a crew of volunteers to help care for and socialize the adoptable cats and kittens who will be in residence at the facility - volunteer today!

Our next adoption event is this Saturday August 17 from 2 - 4 p.m.

1601 N Washington Plaza, Reston, VA, 20190

Volunteer to cuddle kitties today!

Apply Here

We are Still Desperate for Fosters!

No Room at the Inn?

Money to pay for the care of kittens is only part of what is needed for us to rescue. FFGW remains primarily a foster-based rescue, and for us to rescue a cat or kitten, there has to be a temporary home where he or she can go. This summer has been particularly challenging between existing fosters on vacation and the sadly large number of cats and kittens needing rescue.

If you've ever thought about fostering (and we note, it's a great way to get those volunteer hours needed for school!), now is the time to answer the need.

Fostering is really rewarding and we'll show you all you need to know - you just provide food, litter and love! The reason folks most often tell us that they can't foster? They're afraid they won't be able to let go. Come to one of our adoption events, see the joy on the faces of people bringing home a new kitty, and you'll see that letting go is easy when there's so much love to share.

Our need for fosters is critical as the flood of kittens continues - and we also try to save those overlooked adult cats. Please consider using a bathroom or spare bedroom to house foster cats and...

Instead of "there's no room at the inn," please help FFGW say

"we'll leave the light on for you!"

You can find out lots more about fostering HERE!

If you're interested in fostering, fill out an application and we'll contact you and answer all your questions!

Check Us Meowt!

Follow us on Social Media for real-time updates and kitty pics!

Facebook

Instagram

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:

Chewy Wish List

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!

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.

We've Gone Home!

Adopted - July (50!!)

Tritan Too, Honeysuckle, Pan, Thistle, Oak, Elm, Panchito, Mina, Callie, Mario, Lulu, Yoshi, Adalaya, Reis, Fenwick, Dune, Addie, Sharpie, Rose, Chase, Daisy, Eggsy, Jacks, Tiddlywinks, Mosquito, Calvin, Atticus, Alice, Star, Joe, Patrick, Amber, River, Melon, Gnocchi, Rotini, Smith, Taylor Swift, Travis, Andrew, Buzz, Cider, Macintosh, Poppy, Monica, Rachel, Spike, Angel, Taffy & Taylor

Click Here to See More Adopted Cats!

Adoption Fairs

Leesburg PetSmart

Check Our Website for Days & Times

Just Cats Clinic

1601 North Washington Plaza

(Lake Anne) Reston

Saturday, August 17

2 - 4 pm