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| | “A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.” ~Tenneva Jordan
“A man’s work is from sun to sun, but a mother’s work is never done.”
~Author Unknown
“Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy…”
~Every 4-year old you’ve ever encountered
"Mew, mew, mew, mew, mew*!!" ~ Every 4-week old kitten you've ever encountered... (* Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy!)
"To the world, you are a mother, but to your foster cats, you are the world!" ~ The Editor of the FFGW Newsletter |
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Mother's Day - Part Two!
Mother's Day is a day to tell moms how much they are appreciated, and at FFGW we want to thank all of our foster moms (and because you don't have to be a mom to be a mom, also our foster dads, and foster families!) for the incredible and critical role you play in transitioning cats from rescue to forever homes.
Fosters provide the love and understanding that helps a shelter or stray cat - often one who is shy, or frightened, or unsure if humans can be trusted - to blossom to his or her full potential. Without our dedicated foster network, the path from rescue to home simply wouldn't be possible.
There are thousands of stories, but this Mother's Day we are telling just three stories of moms whose love transforms lives.
If you can't be a foster mom directly - you can still support the mom effort through the Lucy Scothorn Fund!
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| | | The Lucy Scothorn Fund - Helping Moms and Cat Moms
--and honoring the dedication of her pet parents, FFGW's own Brittany and Steve Scothorn
If you can't be a foster mom/foster dad/foster family, you can still support foster moms and foster CAT moms, by donating to the Lucy Fund.
In our Winter 2022 Newsletter we told the story of FFGW’s Vice-President Brittany Scothorn and her husband Steve as our first featured volunteers – you can read the story in our Winter 2022 Newsletter here in case you missed it.
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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| | | Carol Werner
Carol began fostering more than a dozen years ago, when a friend who helped care for cats housed in PetSmart's adoption center
told her of a cat who needed a break. Carol had lost two long-time companion cats and was not ready to adopt another, but thought that fostering would be a way to help cats until she was ready to commit to another fulltime companion. Now, normally it's best to start off new fosters with an "easy" cat... but sometimes when there's a cat in need and no options...
Carol & Pepper
The photo above of Carol and two of her photobombing current foster kitties was captured during an FFGW meeting a few weeks ago. The photo proved that once again Carol had turned a shy foster cat into a friendly kitty, convinced a prospective adopter to give a home to that shy cat and her companion. This wasn't the first time that Carol's magic had turned around a difficult cat.
"Pepper" had been in the process of being adopted, when the adopter asked a volunteer to trim her claws. When the adopter saw how cantankerous Pepper was about a nail trim, they backed out - and it was decided, after a traumatic mani-pedi experience, that Pepper needed someplace quieter than the adoption center to destress. Enter Carol... |
| "When I got Pepper home, he settled in quickly proving to be a sweet, social boy who also had an abundance of energy. When he wasn’t racing around and playing, he would lay on the couch next to me. I used those quite times to pet him but also to touch and massage his paws as often as I could. He was with me about 6 weeks and when he went back to the
center that same volunteer was able to trim his nails with no issues."
Carol tells us that Pepper was also the first foster of many to teach her about adoptions that are “meant to be”.
"Pepper had originally come to the rescue from a shelter. A shelter volunteer had really bonded with Pepper but at the time he was unable to have a cat in his living situation. Well a few months later he had moved and was ready to bring a cat home. When he inquired at the shelter about Pepper, he was told Pepper had been transferred to the rescue. He reached out not really expecting Pepper to be available... and was thrilled to find out he was!"
Carol, who is nearing her 200th foster cat, tells us that fostering is very satisfying, and always an adventure.
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| Carol has SO many wonderful stories of her foster adventures that we will feature some more of them in future newsletters!
We're extremely grateful to Carol, one of FFGW's foster moms, for all that she has done to improve the lives of rescued kitties. But, you don't have to have fostered hundreds of kitties to be a wonderful foster mom - in fact, another great FFGW foster mom just started! |
| | Nicole Wynands
Nicole and her family are first-time fosters, but not first-time cat people. Nicole tells us, "Our beloved rescue cat of 14 years passed away last fall and we knew we were not able to take in a full time cat since we are spending time abroad every other summer. But our home and family felt incomplete without a cat in the house. So fostering was a great compromise for us. We also enjoy that we can give back to the rescue community and help as many cats as we can.
Probably when Nicole said "as many cats as we can," she didn't mean "all at once..." but that's more or less what happened. We asked Nicole if she could take a pregnant mom cat with - our vet assured us - four soon to be born kittens.
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1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8... surprise!
Nicole and family handled it all in stride, and we couldn't have asked for a better foster mom.
Nicole tells us, "Starting our fostering journey with 9 cats was not quite what we had envisioned, but it has been a lot of fun! I appreciate all the helpful advice we received when we ran into issues, often late in the evening or on weekends. We have felt very supported throughout this adventure, from start to finish. FFGW is a wonderful organization to foster with!
We're really glad that you feel that way, and despite our guilt at awarding you the double or nothing prize, we assure you that we try to support all of our fosters with guidance and the same level of care! |
| Nicole concludes, "Witnessing [the] pregnancy, and the birth and early life stages of kittens has been an incredible experience and unforgettable memory for our entire family."
Nicole, we're so delighted to have you on our foster team, and we can't thank you enough for taking such great care of this instant family!
Speaking of families, not all foster moms are human moms... |
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Tulip!
Tulip came to FFGW in a crazy transport which contained far more cats than we planned, along with her 10 week old kitten. On her intake exam, our vet determined that Tulip - barely a year old herself, and no longer named "Granny"! - was again expecting kittens.
We scrambled to find a foster home where Tulip could have her babies, and were extrememly fortunate to be able to place her with Nicole, who didn't panic when the predicted 4 kittens multiplied by 2.
Young cat-moms are not always skilled in raising newborns, but Tulip proved that she was not just a good mom, she was an extraordinary mom!
Nicole tells us that Tulip has strong mommy instincts and a big personality!
"When she first arrived at our home, she showed no sign of fear and greeted all two-legged family members with a quick leg rub and a few soft mews. By the time she gave birth she had gotten very comfortable with our family and was happy to have us nearby to witness the birth of her 8 kittens. She immediately took her new mommy role seriously and made sure all her babies were fed and cleaned, which was quite an undertaking with 8 hungry kittens and just 6 nipples. Since Tulip wasn’t able to feed them all at once, she fed them very frequently to ensure everyone got their turn, sometimes twice an hour, 24/7." |
| And then... Tulip became a contender for "Mother of the Year."
"When she noticed her runt getting pushed off when nursing frequently, she took her out of the nesting box to feed her separately." |
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Tulip continued to feed individual kittens by separating them from their siblings for the first few weeks. Incredibly, she knew exactly what to do so that all the kittens thrived, which is simply remarkable - but perhaps not when you're that great a mom!
Nicole confirms that the kittens are weaning and starting to eat solid food, and Tulip ensures that her kitten caretaker is feeding her kittens wet food on time (5.40am sharp!) and doesn’t eat her own food until she can confirm all her babies are done eating. Tulip is an incredible mom - and so is Nicole!
We hope you had a good Mother's Day - we know that the cats and kittens in our care had a great day thanks to our incredible fosters! |
| | | | FFGW is participating in the Washington DC Cat Extravaganza & Rescue Awareness Event
Saturday - Sunday June 3 - 4 Dulles Expo Center
We will have cats for adoption, and items to sell to raise money as we continue to navigate a busy kitten season
Volunteers are needed to staff our booth, and donations of saleable items are needed as well!
We are looking for volunteers to help with the following set-up Friday (6/2) afternoon and take-down Sunday late afternoon (6/4), as well as table monitoring to sell items or answer questions and adoption interviews both days of the event.
For the adoptions we will be reaching out separately for the kitties that are planned to be onsite and will not be doing same day adoptions, just meet-ups.
Additionally, we are looking for cat themed items that can be donated to sell.
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| | | Put This on Your Calendars! |
| FFGW is excited to announce our upcoming inaugural 2024 Fabulous Feline Calendar Contest!!
The contest runs from June 9th to July 12th. 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! After you enter, make sure you ask your friends and family members to vote! The top vote getter will win the coveted cover photo for the 2024 calendar! The 2nd - 13th place winners will have their feline featured as Cat of the Month. We’ll send out emails with more information as we get closer to the start of the contest. We will also be keeping you up-to-date via social media on Facebook and Instagram.
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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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| | | | We've Stopped Smiling... Because Amazon has ended its "Smile" program
The Smile program enabled designated charities received a contribution for each purchase made by supporters. Each year FFGW received over $1000 through this program. Sadly, Amazon has discontinued Smile. However, if you shop on line at Walmart, there is still a way for you to help the kitties with
Go to the link above, designate FFGW as your charity, and each purchase will be "round up" to the nearest dollar - with that change going to FFGW.
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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 April (15)
Pancake, Lucas, Darcy, Rowan, Fallon, York, Tony, McCloud, Butternut, Daeg, Flamenco, Bluebell, Samba, Salsa & Tango
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Adoption Fairs
Leesburg Weekly Fair Leesburg PetSmart - Sundays 12 - 2 pm
Next Event: Sunday May 21
--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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