*** Events ***
To be announced soon...
*** Notes ***
A story from Shelter Owner/Operator and Volunteer
During our last Charity Yard Sales a woman asked: What Charity is this for?
Not revealing who I was, I just pointed to the large banner displayed near us and said:
The PURRfect KITTY Shelter.
She said: Oh, I know The PURRfect KITTY, they're JUST a Sanctuary now.
I smiled and laughed to myself ....
When The PURRfect KITTY was a privately run, full function, non-profit, volunteer operated Shelter & Adoption Center open to the Public,
we took in hundreds and hundreds of cats and kittens the first 5-1/2 years and adopted them into wonderful homes. It required SO MUCH time
and effort to run a super clean, healthy, loving, caring facility 365 days a year and it did not allow us time to do other things.
Since we have been a privately run, non-profit, volunteer operated Shelter-Sanctuary for past 5-1/2 years,
not only do we maintain the Sanctuary
every morning and night, 365 days a year and provide the best
care for all of our rescued residents (96% of them who were rescued by us) but
it has allowed us time to:
- rescue adoptable kitties and find them homes
- provide & maintain winter shelters for dozens of kitties that live outdoors
- TNR work (trap, neuter, release)
- trap, permanently take in kitties & shut down
poorly maintained outdoor feeding stations
- trap, temporary house & relocate kitties out of state
- rehabilitate rescued kitties that are ill
- assist rescuers with cat situations
- help people trap & acclimate a feral kitty into their home
- help people find a kitty to adopt from somewhere other than us
- help people find homes for kitties that we could not take in
- help and/or advise people with all sorts of cat issues and questions
- network any way we can to help
Recently a woman called us looking to adopt ONE kitten and we do not have kittens for adoption, but we spent 30 minutes on the phone with her
explaining why it is best to adopt 2 kittens instead of one, then gave her tips on home preparation & caring for the kittens & then referred
her to a reputable rescue to adopt. She took our advice & adopted TWO kittens from the recommended rescue & they are so happy with them!
We do what we can, when we can to help - our efforts are endless - but our time and funding puts limits on our capabilities and therefore we
cannot help everyone and every situation, but whatever we do, we do it whole heartedly and to the best of our ability. And the exhausting
fundraisers we do are NOT for fun, lol, they are necessary because we operate on donations ever since the day we started on May 20, 2006.
The expenses of monthly rent & utilities, food, litter, supplies and VET. BILLS never stops so we must continue! One thing is for sure,
there will never be a shortage of people and kitties in need of help and thankfully there are many wonderful people out there all trying to do
what they can and kudos to all of them!
Our Sanctuary for unadoptable kitties is not a place full of untouchable cats living together like one big indoor colony. We have volunteers
that come in weekly to spend time petting, brushing, playing & interacting with them and we're continuously socializing those who are afraid/timid.
So why bother doing this if they'll never be adoptable? Because it enriches their lives & brings us joy when we see them blossom & begin to trust
& possibly allow us to touch them. It's amazing how many of our residents have come so far. We're not just a food source to them, most of them
love the interaction with the volunteers when they used to be feral & never had human contact before. I'm so grateful for all the volunteers who
take time out of their lives to spend time with our residents & for the volunteers who help with the chores & for those who do both & for
everyone who has ever donated to our cause & those who continue to do so, they're all a blessing!
But when the woman said: Oh, I know The PURRfect KITTY, they're JUST a Sanctuary now ...
I smiled and simply said: Yes, they are :)
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It is unfortunate that this person's perception of "change" means "less" without knowing all the ways The PURRfect KITTY dedicates time to helping kitties.
We are definitely different than we were 8.5 years ago.... but being different has certainly been a wonderful thing to those lives we have touched. :)
Thank you for reading...
*** Awesome Kitty Story ***
Jesse's incredible story!!
(The personal, detailed account told by the Shelter owner, Barbara King on 2/23/14)
Today's story will go down in the Shelter's history book as one of the most incredible happy endings ever.
I am still in awe by this outcome that I could not wait to sit down and share it will all of you.
Some of you know the details behind our resident kitty -Jesse- but for those of you who do not, here they are:
Back in November 2012, I was pet-sitting for a couple in Old Bethpage, they had cats inside but
they also fed a few outside. They told me that recently there was a newcomer outside - a black and white kitty.
Anyway, the first two days of pet-sitting I only saw this kitty from across the yard, never close up. On the third
day - and my very last day - I arrived a little later than the days before, and because of this, the kitty was so hungry
that it ran right up to me when I opened the back door.
At that point I saw that the kitty was SO EMACIATED - I could not believe my eyes. I immediately ran back
inside and grabbed a carrier out of the garage, went back outside and the kitty ran off but as soon as I cracked
a can of food, he came right back. I put the food into the carrier and he went right in and I shut the door and
brought him inside. As soon as I was finished caring for the other kitties, I brought the sick kitty back to the Shelter.
I went and bought a bag of fluids at a local vet office and gave the kitty fluids and food. This kitty was literally
just skin and bones and his poop ran out of him like a faucet without him going to the bathroom and he was so
heavily covered in flea dirt, I have never seen anything like it. He could barely stand up and he was so weak and lethargic.
He maybe had a few days left in his life before he would have gone to kitty heaven. I have never seen an adult cat
so emaciated, he was even worse than the recent -hero kitty- Trouper. I've attached pictures but honestly, he looked much
worse than the pictures reveal.
I brought the kitty to the Vet. the next morning and besides being emaciated with severe diarrhea, his blood tests showed he
had a blood infection. Instead of hospitalizing him, I cared for him at the Shelter so he could be in a peaceful environment
with extra attention... which consisted of 11 days of sub-q fluids and 30 days of meds. In one month he went from just
4.5 lbs. to 10 lbs. - it was great! Once we knew he was in the clear, we named him -Jesse- because he turned out
to be a bit of a bad ass like -Jesse James- lol. Jesse was doing well, but a few months later in February of 2013 he
had a relapse and was very ill. After another 30 days of meds, Jesse was doing really well and he has been completely
healthy ever since.
Jesse has never been able to acclimate well with the other residents at the Shelter and he had to spend of each day
separated from the others, even up until today. He was also temperamental with the Volunteers, but he did favor men
and his best buddy was my husband and volunteer, Tom. He would climb up on Tom and lay on him so content.
I was convinced that at some point in Jesse's life he was cared for by a man.
Even though Jesse would be a hard sell to get adopted because of his personality, last July'13 and then again in August'13
I posted desperate pleas on the Shelter's Facebook page trying to find Jesse a foster home or permanent home, there
were no offers at all.
For the last month I kept saying that I needed to post Jesse on Craigslist but I just couldn't find the time to sit
down and create an ad with his story. Finally, on Wednesday night (Feb.19th) I stayed up until 2:30am and got Jesse
on Craigslist. There were two hits - one fell through and the other was an offer from a woman in Astoria to foster
him. I told the woman that I wanted to run Jesse's ad for another two days and if no one offered a permanent
home, that I would definitely like to have her foster Jesse and I could bring him as soon as Sunday (Feb.23rd).
I ran the ad a second time on Thursday night which resulted in one response on Friday night from a woman
named Renee. Renee not only e-mailed me, but she posted a message on the Shelter's facebook page. She was
desperately trying to reach me. Her message said that she is 100% sure that Jesse is their cat -Tiki- that was lost
about 1-1/2 years ago!!!!!!!!! I was blown away but tried not to get my hopes up because this was from Craigslist.
It was too late to call her on Friday night so I just e-mail her a few simple questions. When I got her answers,
I was beyond excited - there was no doubt in my mind that this was Jesse's real family!!
Tiki was lost from Farmindale
and I rescued Jesse just one town north in Old Bethpage.
Tiki was bottled fed as a rescued kitten by Renee's brother (a MAN!) and his name was TOM! I kid you not!!
This would explain Jesse's favoritism towards men!! Renee described Tiki's personality that was a perfect match
to Jesse's personality. Never mind that Jesse has very distinctive markings and Renee?s brother Tom asked about
Jesse's tail coloring without seeing it in the photo.
Also, Tiki was not neutered and Jesse as an adult male, was not neutered until we had him neutered.
So it became very clear that Jesse was Tiki!!! After having him at the Shelter for 1 year and 3 months, Jesse
was going home?. and not just to any home - his original home with his real dad Tom who still lived in the house
in Farmindale!!!!!
I still cannot wrap my head around the whole thing - it's just so amazing!! If I did not pet-sit for Donna & Mike,
Jesse would have died. If Jesse got along with all the other residents at the Shelter, he would have lived out his
life there. If Renee didn't see my post on Craiglist, Jesse would have ended up at the foster home in Astoria today.
But instead - today Jesse went to his real home in Farmingdale!!!
My husband Tom and I packed up all of Jesse things - cat trees, beds, tunnel, scratcher, toys, food, litter, dishes, etc.
and of course Jesse, lol, and headed just 5 minutes away to Farmingdale!!
Imagine, Jesse was just 5 minutes
from his home all this time!!!
We brought Jesse inside and opened the carrier.... of course he was very confused. We brought all of Jesse's
things inside and placed them around the living room. Within 15-20 minutes Jesse was moving all around
the apartment. Within an hour Jesse seemed like he never left - he was home. :) We stayed for 1-1/2 hours
and took a wonderful picture of Tom, his live-in girlfriend Samantha, Tom's sister Renee and her two boys.
And - who did not want to be left out of the picture? Jesse!!! Or shall I say Tiki!!! There he was - he planted
himself right on the floor in front of his family!!! It was just a wonderful site to see!!!
I attached the picture.
After we left, Tom texted me a picture of Tiki (aka Jesse, aka Tiki, lol) laying on his chest like he always did
before he was lost. This is the same thing Jesse would do at the Shelter with my husband Tom.
I've attached the pictures.
Oh, you are probably wondering how Tiki got lost in the first place? It happened when Tom's friend was moving
out of the apartment and the door was accidentally left open - by the time someone realized Tiki was gone, it was
too late. Tiki was strictly an indoor cat and this would explain why he did not have any survival skills outdoors.
He was about 5 years old when he was lost - he is now about 6-1/2 yrs. old.
I am still blown away by this story. I really just can't believe that after all this time Jesse/Tiki found his way
back to his original home. So many things had to fall into place for this to happen, it's truly a miracle!
Thank you for reading Jesse/Tiki's amazing return home - I hope you enjoyed it!!! :)
Barbara :)
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