Gino & Mama Genevieve still need homes

At 3 months, this little beauty got adopted into a loving home! Her momma and little bro, Gino (who looks just like her!) still need homes.

Yesterday at Larchmont, Gino experienced gusty breezes for the first time and looked VERY surprised!

June 6 update: Gino has been adopted! A lovely couple claimed him at Larchmont yesterday and we are all delighted! Congratulations, little guy!!

Aldo of the Shelves' Fondest Dream

Meet Dashing, Swashbuckling Perry!

OK OK, he doesn't look very dashing or swashbuckling in these pics, but trust me: this tall, silver Maine coon mix is one of the most handsome cats in the bunch, and is, by a longshot, the most intelligent, aware and curious cat SGLA has! He's also playful, affectionate and a VERY SPECIAL CAT. He'd be fantastic with a manly guy with a soft spot for les chats, in a nice big house that Perry could preside over, and maybe a lonely cat that needs a companion.

 Also, we suspect Perry is a kickin' hunter...the way he goes after the feline fishing pole and laser pointer is the picture of motivation! But no, no: no "outside" for our kittehs. It's treacherous; plus we do not want to contribute to the murder of 450,000 birds at the claws of American cats. We need our songbirds! But I digress. Go ahead, someone, please! adopt Perry. He's very motivated. You won't be sorry.

I am an animal rescuer

 

A friend just sent this touching video, which reminds us why we work to help these, and all the amazing animals Polly, Nelia and their friends, family and volunteers have rescued over the years. You guys are amazing!

Ciao Lucky Olivia, we'll miss you!

One of our fancy cats, the beautiful Olivia, mother of sunny Toby, was adopted yesterday! She'll be pampered and well cared for in her new home with Alice. Yay Alice! Today begins their new adventure together. We'll miss Olivia's spunky elegance and the dramatic way she classed up the place, but we are so so happy she now has a proper home.

Who's next!?

Sourcing Cat Litter

Nelia has been brilliant at finding ways to make caring for loads of cats affordable. Case in point: using chicken feed (corn) instead of cheap & dusty clay or expensive and heavier clumping alternatives that often have nasty glue or chemicals that would harm the cats.

At the cattery, the weekly burn rate for 40 cats is 50lbs of litter. We volunteers sift and top off daily, until the housekeeper comes to do a total dump and scrub at the end of the week. The chicken feed is great - it is less dusty, clumps well, and is also lightweight, which makes life easier!

When we adopt or foster out one of our felines, we provide a litterbox full of the stuff, but it is not available to regular consumers to buy easily. So they have to transition to something else. The closest thing on the market that we know of are the following:

• Swheat Scoop
• World's Best Cat Litter
• Arm & Hammer Essentials Natural Clumping Litter 

If you've got any tips or tricks, put them in the comments!

Hey Babe, Are You Microchipped or What?

Babe is a dandy little tuxedo male, rescued from South LA's death row just this week! They believe he is 5 years old, but he seems much younger to Nelia's trained eye.  He is a very small cat for a male, and is neutered, microchipped, vaccinated and ready to go! He is very friendly and would love to go your lucky home as a foster or adopted cat.

Bonkers Loves to Play

Bonkers is an excellent-sweet black cat who is a bit shy, but makes up for it with his enthusiastic play. Just look at that face! He's about a year old, and has been neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated. He was mercifully plucked from death row in South LA this week, and is raring to go home with you and team up with your other cat, or to grace your petless home with a dose of kitty joy every day of his healthy, long life-to-come. Ask about fostering him or adopting him today!

Ciao Rollie, the Welcomer!

Rollie, our resident welcoming cat, went to his new foster home today, with Patrick, a fine young USC grad & professional musician. He is definitely going to have a lot of fun in his new home!

What an adventure it has been for Rollie. He was abandoned by his family in the backyard when they moved away, and was found by Animal Control, sad and disoriented. They brought him to the South LA shelter where he was scheduled to be euthanized before SGLA saw him and rescued him. He is an amazingly special cat who likes to ROLL over to get his belly rubbed. Grateful and trusting, he's a wonderful, smart boy with a great disposition. And yes, he is still available for adoption (but we hope Patrick will be able to care for him forever).

Gwennie Needs a Special Home

She's dainty and timid - and being in the cattery with 38 other cats is simply too much for her to cope with. But she's healthy and happy! She was recently fostered for a few weeks by a wonderful friend of SGLA who really helped her build a little ego strength to face the world in general.

If anyone can foster this quiet, sweet, timid cat, post to comments or email Polly directly.

Cat Whispering

Here at Saving Grace LA, we are learning loads, every day, from our animals. So much so that we've decided to do a weekly blog series on Cat Whispering.
Our first installation involves cat tails...of the animal, not vegetal, variety. What in the world do all those various cat tail positions mean? And does the cat really use its tail for balance?

My neighbor stopped by yesterday, delighted that  my super-timid cat, Pippy, greeted her with her "Parade Tail" held high in greeting. My other cat, the gregarious Brian, often shakes his little rump & tail when he greets me. Happy, right? But what does it mean when the end of his tail bends a little? And do cats really counterbalance their weight with their tails?

Patrick, the perfect Tuxedo

Elder Patrick, one of 6 tuxedos in the house, loves to chase the light and take naps

Tulip, aka Charlotte Chaplin

Neat, petite, and Sweet, Tulip is friends with all the cats

Pockets

Pockets is one of three Russian Blues in the group: he is the largest, and very playful and fun.

Duke Orsino

Orsino is one of 6 black cats. His personality is friendly, he's smart and always ready for some fun!

Princess Sorsha

A delightful, friendly cat, full of affection and surprises!

Chava, dilute calico, mother of pretty Sadie

Two beauties, mother and daughter. Sadie (on right) is super affectionate and friendly!

Peter Pan needs a nap

Peter Pan is friends with every cat in the cattery, and loves to wrestle, chase and cuddle.

Dainty Miss Tiger-Lily

Petite & eager to be loved, Tiger-Lily has the most amazing blue-green eyes!

Patches is the Perfect Calico

You can't tell it from this photo, but Patches is fit and healthy! She's also the perfect mix of friendly and independent: a cat's cat.

Willoughby

Willoughby is a shiny black and super affectionate boy. He prances like a horse in greeting and is very good at corralling your hand to pet him!

Sebastian

Sebastian has such charisma! He's great with kids, loves to play and cuddle, and looks just like Sadie, but taller, with more color on his back.

Cesario, my love

Long-haired cashmere cat, always reaching out for another hug.

Que Linda Esperanza!

Slightly plump but petite, this incredibly shiny and soft, meek and playful cat smiles!

Funny Kitty Video du Jour

Great Day at Larchmont Today!

Today one of our kittens, and one of our wonderful cattery katz, Rollie, got new families! Three other folks showed lot of interest in four other cats, so it was a very good day at our regular Sunday adoption event on Larchmont, just south of the Farmers Market! 

We also got a good number of people interested in being on our mailing list, which is prompting us to establish a weekly eletter for the folks who want to help, and the cats who need them. Stay tuned - the first issue will come out soon!

We also received a bag of old towels, which we need for pillow coverings. Soon we'll have all the sewing done so that we can launder all the pillow covers at least once per week. This will go a long way to improve cleanliness of the facility and the well-being of the cats. Yay!

Neville, our youngest cat

Neville has recently been snipped.  He's still a kitten, rambunctious, overly curious, a little bit needy, very affectionate, -- all enthusiasm, all the time. And like other mammalian adolescent boys we know, this little guy can sometimes get a little wild when he plays, which is not to say he is aggressive...just fervent! He likes everyone, and he tries to play with everyone - even our two elderly cats, Patrick and Mathilde. He'd be a great addition to a household that already has one or two cats, and we are quite confident that he will mellow out and become one of the best kittehs everrrrr.

Benevolent King Brian

King Brian is quite regal

Gremlin Who is Not a Gremlin

Gremlin the Soft

Brilliant Perry. What is your story, my friend?

Perry, resident brainiac

Aldo of the Shelves

Why do you hang out in the shelves, Aldo?

Tiny Miss Blue

What's her age and her story? Who are her best pals?

Wiley (aka: Coyote, aka: Snout)

Snout is plump, gregarious, picks on Aldo, and likes to have his back rubbed. So ugly he's adorable, Snout had a little cold at the time of this photo, which kind of adds to his odd charm!

Cattery News, week of May 16

Last week, two of our most shy kitties were trapped under bags of food for several days. We discovered them when we did a headcount on Saturday, and, amazingly, they were stressed but doing fine. It was hard to believe they squeezed themselves into the tiny space under the boxes, but they did. Lesson learned: give them better hidey holes, and do frequent headcounts!

The two returned boys, Gremlin the Soft, and Sebastian (brown & white), have readjusted perfectly and are two of the liveliest kits in the bunch - very adoptable!

Sebastian and Rolli (tuxedo greeter with the big head) are both escape artists - so be on the lookout when you enter and exit!

Julius, the short orange male with a stripey thick tail, had a big breakthrough this week: he allows people to pet him now - I wouldn't quite say he seeks it out, but he purrs a lot and enjoys the attention!

Darcy, the caged gray & white, was transferred to the Vet on Wednesday evening for a little testing before we release her into the big room.

A HUGE thanks to our volunteers this week: Mark, Nansi & Katta, all of whom added many hours of care, hard work, and love to the time spent by me (MK), Nelia, and Samantha. Great job, one and all!

Also, we're still waiting to hear the outcome of the fundraiser at El Coyote on Tuesday. There were lots of supporters, and we hope lots was raised to cover those Vet bills!

In other news, Olivia, our beautiful long-haired calico, will be going to her new human on Saturday, and this week there will have been two visits by potential adopters/fosters! This would not be possible if not for everyone's hard work keeping the place clean, stocked, and orderly, and keeping the cats calm and happy. One down, 39 to go...

A quick reminder that on alternate Thursdays, our new housekeeper, Alicia, comes to dump and scrub the litter boxes, and wash the floors. Ideally, the boxes should be scooped & sifted 2x per day, and topped off just a little as needed. By doing this, the litter will be nice and ready to be changed out on Friday. Litter is expensive, and it would be efficient to target a burn rate of 50 lbs per week.

Feel free to post your observations and news in the comments! I'll do a news posting for each week here on the blog, and separate postings for bigger matters etc.  Also, feel free to send ideas or content that you'd like to see here, and I'll post it!

End Petlessness! Get a kitten or a cat! (Beverly Center)

This is the headline I've been using for Saving Grace LA's craigslist postings every few days.

It is our priority to get these precious babies adopted! Let me know if you have any edits, and if you have any great photos of any of the cats up for adoptions, please email them to me. Thanks! MK
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Saving Grace LA (a 501c3 organization) has over 50 cats & kittens who need loving homes!

Our kittens and cats are mostly young adults, in every size, fur type, and color.

All our cats have been spayed or neutered, and are healthy, and nicely socialized.


They all have delightful personalities, and are well-loved, well-groomed and well-behaved.

We dearly love our cattery cats, and we need you to foster or adopt one or two furry friends.

If you foster or adopt, you will be supplied with loads of information and support, to help you adjust to your new family member!

Contact us today for an appointment to visit the cat shelter, which is just a few blocks from the Beverly Center.

If you'd rather lend a hand, we need people to comb, play, scoop, sweep and launder - join the Saving Grace volunteer program!

Not sure whether to get a cat or a kitten?
We have both! And our young adults are still silly-adorable and playful, and a much safer bet to adopt.

Here are the Top Ten Reasons to get a cat instead of a kitten:

10. They don't chew everything (shoes, books, drapery, plants, etc.)
9. They are not like used cars -- they are not defective, just unlucky and heartbroken
8. They require less supervision, sleep more, break fewer lamps, and don't bite your toes in the middle of the night
7. Adults are socialized and safer! (Kittens and children don't mix.)
6. Kittens don't self-groom well, if at all, and generate more dander.
5. Cats don't sleep in, sunbathe or play "Poo Hockey" in the litterbox
4. They made it through their first year of life without major disease
3. They're wysiwyg -- they are grown & we know their personalities!
2. Kittens stumble blindly where cats fear to tread
#1 REASON: You might be their last chance.

Contact us today to meet your future feline!

Cattery News, week of May 9

Good Old Patrick

Today I stopped by the cattery and did the rounds. There were no major fights, and the cats all seem to be getting along fine, with a few exceptions:

Darcy is adjusting nicely in her crate. She tends to get spooked when the door is open and she becomes aware of other nearby cats. Her response is claws-out yelling and fleeing, so be careful if you want to remove her to hold her. I got scratched on the belly today. She may not be ready to come outta there for a long time.

Patrick's fur is getting better with daily brushes and wipey baths, but he seems glum and needs extra love and attention.

Mathilde has been cantankerous these last few days. It helps her a lot to be cuddled and combed, but do it too long and she becomes jealous and lashes out at nearby cats. We hope for a home for Mathilde with someone who has a lot of space and time to help her feel more secure.

Aldo used the litterboxes overnight - yay! He seemed cheerful this morning, and affectionate.

CAT FOOD: the little buggers are boring into more and more bags of the new dry food. We really need to tape up those holes and put the bags outside. Anybody have any solutions?

Welcome to Saving Grace LA's Cat Shelter Operations Blog!

Brave Miss Blue

Hey everyone,
MK here, with the inaugural post for Saving Grace LA’s Crescent Heights cat shelter! We can use this space to log our observations, stories, photos, needs, requests, and questions, and whatevahs, about the facility and fuzzy residents.
I’ve also set up a calendar at http://38cats.youcanbook.me
This calendar will show when we have coverage, when we have events, and will help us avoid double-booking and overlaps of service, and to know where the holes in the schedule are.
As always, it’s a great pleasure to work with SGLA and its humans and quadripeds alike! I’m looking forward to volunteering with you and, on behalf of Polly and Nelia, want to thank you for offering to help! Let the adventure begin!