Mar-Apr24

CFF NEWSLETTER

MAR-APR 2024

Featured Adoptions

Adopt-Donate-Volunteer

New Iso Space

Save the Date

Message from the Director

Greetings from our Sanctuary! It has been a busy few months here as we begin to gear up for our busiest time of year…kitten season. We are putting new protocols in place for cleaning, intake, isolation, and fostering always with an eye toward improvement. We have already begun to see the influx of moms with newborns and pregnant cats awaiting delivery of their babies. The real push will come over the next several months, and we are ready! Be on the lookout for our Virtual Kitten Shower in April!

In late January, we hosted a thank you brunch to honor the donors whose generosity make all of our work possible. Without their support, we could not support or care for as many abandoned, surrendered, or orphaned cats and kittens as they wait for adoption into forever homes. You can see a few photos of the event inside this edition.

February featured a Valentine’s Open House at the Sanctuary. Several hundred folks came by and enjoyed a positively heartwarming afternoon of raffles, vendors, music, tours, food, flowers, craft beer by our very own brewmaster Steve, and just plain fun. We netted $1500 to benefit our residents. Peek inside to see a few pics.

Now it’s time to get your flowery, festive duds out of storage! On Saturday, April 13, our Sanctuary will be transformed into a tropical oasis. Paws in Paradise will be held from 4pm until 8pm and will showcase a luau-themed buffet, a raffle, entertainment (rumored to include fire!), and some surprises. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased through our website (cffelines.org) or by stopping by the Sanctuary. Ticket purchase deadline is April 5. See Page 4 of this edition to view the invitation.

Also in this edition is fostering from the point of view of a 1-day-old kitten and information about our Senior Foster/Care Program. Enjoy!

Pauline Glover

Executive Director

Pauline Glover

Executive Director

Board of Directors

Kathy Kienke

President

Bruce Lokay

Treasurer

Richard Loew

Secretary

Kimberly Atwell Donna Kern

John Pavela

Judy Schulte

Available for Senior Adoption

See more about our Senior Foster program inside this edition.

We cover all approved medical expenses for these cats!

Starla

is an 8-year-old sweetheart if you just give her a few minutes to sniff your fingers to get acquainted. She is FIV+ but is no danger to any other cats in a home since the virus is only transmitted through deep bite wounds. Starla is not an aggressive cat and most of her teeth have been removed because of decay so she poses no threat. She adores being brushed, basking in the sun, and sitting in her companion’s lap for a snooze.

Rocky

came to us recently when his owner suddenly died. He is a 12ish-year-old lovebug who adores everybody he meets. This declawed lad is an ideal companion for someone who just wants a quiet friend to join them on the couch to watch Wheel of Fortune or just about anything! He doesn’t understand why his world changed and just wants to find his new home NOW.

Tank

has a story to tell…but we’ll never know the details! He came to CFF as a feral cat, and along the way, he decided that people were pretty swell. During his wild years, he sustained an injury to one of his rear legs, but it doesn’t slow him down and needs no ongoing medical attention. He is the first to greet any volunteer or staff member who brings treats or is looking to provide some pats. This 8ish-year-old, sweet fellow also gets along well with other cats. The perfect package!

Neonate fostering

Every once in a while, a special challenge comes our way and requires a very special kind of volunteer help. Meet Junipurr, a single kitten born by C-section to a mom who could not care for her. A local vet’s office reached out to see if we had any bottle-feeding fosters who could care for this hours-old baby. The CFF team jumped on the challenge, and Juni was delivered to our foster mom within hours. The probability that a kitten as young as this will survive without its mom is very low, but Juni has spunk and beat the odds.

She required around-the-clock feeding every 2 to 4 hours for the first few weeks. Juni needed to be kept warm, stimulated after every feeding to facilitate elimination, and handled in the way her mother would have. As you can see from the photos, she was no bigger than the volunteer’s thumb at the beginning of the journey and weighed only 76 grams (about 2.6 ounces). After a couple of weeks, Juni moved to another foster home. By then, her eyes were open and her feedings were stretched to every 6 hours…but still around-the-clock. The vet tech who helped deliver her wanted to adopt her but could not take her until she was eating independently.

So, Junipurr’s final stop on her foster journey was with one of our foster coordinators who helped Juni accept wet kitten food and sleep through the night. Shortly, she had mastered both those skills and was delivered to her adoptive mother at about 5 weeks old and weighing more than a pound. A heartwarming success story!

We have many fostering opportunities coming up as we head toward kitten season.

While we do need bottle-feeders occasionally, our greatest need is for fosters who can take mothers with newborns or 4-to-5 week old orphaned kittens

who are eating independently. They usually need to live in their foster home until they are big enough for spay/neuter surgery (generally at 8 to 9 weeks of age).

Interested? Contact kim@cffelines.org

Valentines Day Shenanigans

Senior Foster/Care Program

All too often, cats come to us when their owners can no longer care for them. This could be as a result of illness, death, or family circumstances. The transition to a Sanctuary environment is particularly confusing and difficult when the cat is a senior citizen herself. She has known homelife with her “people” for years and now finds herself in a communal living situation. Our staff and volunteers work with diligent care and empathy to ease the transition, but it still isn’t home for these kitties.

Our senior program provides a pathway back to homelife for these cats by removing the biggest obstacle for most potential adopters…..underwriting possible medical costs for an aging cat. Our Care Program will cover all approved medical expenses as long as the care is delivered by our partner vet, Savanna Animal Hospital in Jensen Beach. The only things the foster family has to provide are love, snuggles, exercise, meals, and litter. Any cat participating in this program can be returned to us at any time for any reason.

These appreciative kitties are generally low keyed, well behaved, and long past the antics of a kitten…in short, they are just longing for a loving home. We currently have more than 20 cats living their best lives with their foster families but have many other resident cats who would make wonderful companions. Please contact kim@cffelines.org for more information.

Pictured here are some of the cats currently in Senior Foster care.

Avery (age 12) with her buddy Rocky, Tommy (age 14), Molly (age 12),

and Poppy (age 6, FIV+ and some other special needs).

Donor Appreciation Brunch

The Sanctuary was full of bubbles and festivities on January 21st to thank our much-appreciated donors for their on-going support. The weather cooperated…not always guaranteed in January!

Our kitties say a giant THANK YOU to them!

New Isolation Space!

Pink’s has been completely transformed into our Isolation unit. New protocols have been developed to isolate new intakes until they can be fully vaccinated and medically evaluated prior to being assimilated into our population. This will reduce the spread of illness and allow us to determine where to locate them on the property based on temperament, agility, personality, etc. to ease their transition.

How You Can Help

Cat Adoptions

Are you looking for the perfect kitty companion to brighten your life? We have open adoption hours daily

from 11am to 3pm (except Sundays) and have

adoption counselors on hand to introduce you to our kittens and cats.

Other times are available by appointment (772-463-7386).

The adoption fee is $100 for one and $150 for two.

Any adopted cat/kitten must be in a carrier to leave the property

for the animal’s safety.

Donate

As you might imagine, we need lots of supplies to care for 150+ adult residents and anywhere from 20 to 80 kittens in foster homes. Our list is also available on Amazon.com.

Friskees canned food
Fancy Feast kitten canned food
Purina One Healthy Kitten dry food
Purina One adult dry food
Scoopable cat litter
Paper towels
Dawn dish soap (blue)
Temptation treats

Volunteer

Volunteers are the lifeblood of our Sanctuary.

Without them, we could not care for our residents, provide foster homes for our kittens, hold fundraising events, maintain our social media presence and our website, etc.

Volunteer and Foster applications are available on our website. Please complete and submit the application, and we will be in touch!