Carnival of the Cats

Rocky: Welcome to Carnival of the Cats #286. And please accept my apology for the day's delay in presenting the Carnival to you ... all I can say is sometimes Artsy Catsy goes all Artsy Batsy!
Lots of videos in this week's Carnival ... and the first two up are which are more annoying, cats or dogs? (What? Cats annoying??) at Greg Laden's Blog.

Beauty abounds! This year’s Pere Lachaise cat, sunbathing on a gravestone in the world’s most-visited cemetery in Paris, France, is brought to you by The Poor Mouth.

Sunshine on our shoulders makes us happy! Pica is also working on her tan at LabKat.

Time to crunch some numbers: How much does a dog or cat really cost? Find out at The Digerati Life.

After that number crunching, you may need a lift. Don’t miss 23 pictures to help you through the day, brought to you buy Colors Magazine. And that they'll do, as you can see from just this one:

Silly Charlie offers a pictorial lesson about how to squeeze into a tiny cat tree house over at No Deep Thoughts.

And here's a video lesson: In Luna and Mouse, Luna teaches you exactly what to do with yes, a mouse, at CatSynth.

In The Bee, the Battle of the Bay Window and the Sill, Cosette gives an update on the multiple dramas unfolding at Hemi’sPhere.

In Still Life with Feather, Maddie proves at StrangeRanger that kitty pics and videos are not always on-demand!

Hop on board the Wienermobile! The Hams of the Werld Tour 2009 is in full swing at Life From a Cat’s Perspective. If these touring kitties eat another ham, they could start looking like pigs!

Now here's a soundtrack that may surprise you. Rush Limbaugh recorded a public service announcement for the Humane Society, talking about how he treasures his cat, Punkin ... brought to you by Vegetarian Star.

It’s that time of year again (itch, scratch) and you'll find some advice on avoiding counterfeit flea treatment products over at Flea Control Secrets .

And here's a list of quick & easy tips for removing pet hair from our homes, from Home Life Weekly. (Now why would we want to do that?)

One last video: I hope you'll all join Artsy Catsy in supporting human vet care reform and help make the world a better place. This original music video by one of my human artists will inspire you!

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Don't miss next week's Carnival of the Cats

hosted by Kashim, Othello & Salome

Wacky & Why Wednesday

Thanksgiving-Christmas fundraiser

for Cat Friends Helping Friends at the Cat Blogosphere

and the Rescue Farm
STARTS TOMORROW NIGHT!

Rocky here: I took our blog back from my human artist because she's totally WACKED out, racing around here so fast it makes my head spin! I'm going to tell you more about WHY we chose to help the Rescue Farm and show you some more of their photos ... while my artist cooks noodles & turkey & dressing & more food than even I could eat, takes pictures of our fundraiser products, creates more products, and drives an hour away to pick up the latest ferals she rescued after their hoohaectomies, then drives them to the Rescue Farm ... hey, don't forget to feed me!!

I had to put down my paw about these ferals; I could see from the look in my human's eyes that she wanted to hire them as staff, so I had to remind her of my corporate edict: No more staff! This is the mama of the last two litters of ferals my silly human rescued, and her last two kittens. No more staff from this mama feral! Here they are at the vet, terrified of humans. (Can't blame them.) But once they escape their police trap prison and see their new home on the 40-acre Rescue Farm and meet their new mom & dad Jodi and Matt, these kitties will be happy campers!
The fact that the Rescue Farm helps us take care of feral kitties in our city is only one of the reasons we want to help them. The fact that they give a good home to cats and dogs that are sick or injured or special-needs is another reason. That they've found loving homes so far this year for more than 700 cats & dogs is another. But a big reason is that they NEED help!

Jodi told my mom, "We all know people don't go into animal rescue for the money. We're a 501(c)(3) non-profit so donations are tax deductible, but not having "humane society" or "animal shelter" in our name makes it hard to get donations. Nearly all our income is from adoption fees. Money is always tight."

Each cat they rescue is spayed/neutered, vaccinated, wormed, flea-treated and tested for Felv/HIV -- costing $60. Their cat adoption fee is $60. And this doesn't include food, shelter, medications or surgeries.

Jodi says, "We love cats, and there are so many cats euthanized just because there isn't enough room for them in shelters. We'll never stop rescuing kitties, but we can't possibly recoup the money we spend on their care. We rely on dog adoptions to help pay for cat rescue." Each dog costs $100-$200 to prepare for adoption, and their dog adoption fees are $150-$400, which doesn't cover heartworm treatments or vet care for malnourished, ill, or dogs hit by cars, which Jodi sadly says is "thousands upon thousands."

Last year Jodi & Matt spent $120,000 to operate the Rescue Farm. They brought in $104,000. "Didn't quite make it," Jodi said.

But in spite of their financial struggles, I saw Jodi's face light up as she explained, "Don't get me wrong - we love doing rescue; it's something we'll never give up without a fight. Spending each day helping those who give unconditional love is the most amazing feeling in the world. Working with animals who, on their own, would never have survived, is an incredible gift! We try to make life for our babies "like home" here, but our goal is to find dedicated, compassionate adopters to give our animals a true home so we can bring in more whose 'clocks are ticking'."

I saw Jodi shake her head and lament,"You know, we, as a society, live in a throw-away world. We buy something, then when a newer one comes out, we toss the old and buy the new. We do this with computers and cell phones. We do this with cars and furniture and clothes. Why are we doing this with our pets? What kind of people would do this to their pets?"

And that's why I'm so glad my human artists are helping the Rescue Farm ... and why so many of you, my blogging friends, are joining us in helping them. I mean, it's "There but for the grace of God go I." If my mom hadn't rescued all of us when we were tossed out, I wouldn't be here today and neither would my staff. ... Hmm ... maybe I should rethink that "No more staff" policy ....

Update 8:30 p.m. ....

My human artist just got back from taking the fixed ferals (Fixed? They ain't broke!) to their new home at the Rescue Farm ... and she smells like a barnyard! I'm sitting here waiting for my dinner, and she was out there giving treats to the blind horse Jeremiah, and his seeing eye cow Two Percent. Just look at her making that silly awwwww face and feeding those things treats bigger than my head!!

And if that's not bad enough, this Rescue Farm resident, Alice, got in my human artist's Jeep and tried to come back to Artsy Catsy! I saaaid .... "NO MORE STAFF!!"