May-June 24

CFF NEWSLETTER

MAY-JUNE 2024

Featured Adoptions

Grieving Loss

Paws in Paradise

It Takes a Village

Adopt-Donate-Volunteer

Save the Date

Message from the Director

We are welcoming lots of kittens into our foster program now. It is an endless cycle of intake, foster care, vaccinations, worming, spay/neuter surgery, photographs, adoption, and paperwork…and then repeat again and again and again. You get the picture! It takes a huge crew of volunteers and staff to accomplish this in addition to keeping the rest of the Sanctuary humming along without a hiccup. It is a passion that each of us shares, and CFF is particularly blessed to have a team that simply gets it done.

We are also celebrating an important milestone in our TNVR efforts. On May 22, we performed our 1000th TNVR spay/neuter surgery at CFF thanks to the generous and ongoing support from the Pegasus Foundation for the past 2 ½ years. Most of the cats come from Okeechobee County where there is little funding available. By contrast, Martin County provides the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast more than $750,000 a year to handle all intakes from our county’s Animal Services officers. Okeechobee does not have those resources available to them, so we are thrilled to be part of the solution. Hats off to our vet who has performed all of these surgeries, Dr. Lynnly Miller. We are also in the initial stages of a pilot project to expand our TNVR efforts to Port St. Lucie, another underserved community that has few options for TNVR surgeries.

We will be having our annual Celebration of Life at the Memorial Well on June 22 with Father Jack. This ceremony is the time we honor those we have lost over the past year and place their ashes in the Memorial Well. It is always a bittersweet gathering as we remember each special kitty. Watch our website and Facebook for further details.

And, finally, plans are underway for our major event on November 9th at Harbour Ridge Country Club. Mark your calendars for an evening of masquerade fun with cocktails, dinner, dancing, and who knows what else? What we do know is that it will be terrific!

Pauline Glover

Executive Director

Pauline Glover

Executive Director

Board of Directors

Kathy Kienke

President

Kim Atwell

Vice President

Bruce Lokay

Treasurer

Richard Loew

Secretary

Donna Kern

John Pavela

Judy Schulte

Available for Adoption

Olive

is a very petite little gal who is barely 2 years old and has already cared for a litter of kittens. She has a sleek shiny black coat with a hint of white at the tip of her tail. Despite so many showstopping attributes, Olive is a quiet sweet soul who just wants to live a quiet life with people she loves. She welcomes attention and affection in a quiet and appreciative way…come meet her!

Payson

is a total mush!!! He has never met a stranger and will make a superb addition to any family. He is a scant 2 1/2 years old, playful, gets along with other cats, and is a cuddlebug too. What more could anybody want?

Jasper

is just a “hunk of burning love.” And, we mean a big hunk! Weighing in at a whopping 18 pounds, he wants nothing more than to sit by your side and be adored. In return, Jasper will be your constant companion, your soulmate, and your admirer. He was adopted from CFF when he was a kitten but was recently returned as his owner could no longer care for him. This sweet guy needs to go home with you…today!

Grieving the Loss of a Cat

Grief is a complicated subject. We have all experienced it at different points in our lives, and it never gets easier. The nature of our grief can also be different from one situation to another. But there are some consistencies and some recommendations that can hopefully be helpful in going through the process in most situations.

Losing a beloved family pet can be devastating for any family. Since the cat has been our companion and a constant presence in our daily lives, a significant void can be created. Each pet leaves a unique mark on our hearts, and so the way we experience the loss can be just as unique.

The stages of grief are generally accepted as denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Although the stages are widely accepted, not everyone experiences all of the stages, they may not experience them in that specific order, and there is no defined duration for them.

At the beginning, grieving owners find it difficult to believe that the cat is actually gone…that your pal won’t be lounging in its regular sunny spot. Anger is another natural response and can manifest itself as anger at oneself for not doing more to treat or protect kitty or anger at the perceived unfairness of the loss. Sadness is the most familiar component of the grief process and can cause low motivation, difficulties sleeping, and crying. At some point, the family accepts the loss of the pet and recovers.

A word about euthanasia…the decision to euthanize a beloved pet is an agonizing one even when it is made as a compassionate alternative to prolonged suffering. Once again, it is a deeply personal decision that needs to be made in concert with the pet’s vet who can help provide some context and factual information about the severity of the illness or injury as well as the likelihood of recovery or the quality of life the pet will have.

When the support of family and friends is not enough to help someone through the loss of a cherished pet, it is wise to seek professional grief counseling. While there is no specific benchmark that would suggest counseling was the right choice, a counseling professional might be able to provide the needed helpful support.

And then comes the next difficult decision…when to bring another pet into the family. This again is an extremely personal decision with no right or wrong answer. Some folks choose to find their next best buddy immediately as it serves to help fill the void. The intention shouldn’t be to “replace” the pet who has died since the comparisons can be unfair to the newcomer. But, when you are ready to open your heart and home again, reach out to a reputable rescue group to begin your search. And remember, when you take a new pet home, it makes a space available for another abandoned or surrendered animal to be saved.

Paws in Paradise

What a lovely late afternoon in mid-April! The Sanctuary was transformed into a tropical oasis filled with more than 110 revelers wearing their flowery best duds. The air was filled with soothing Hawaiian music punctuated by moments of lively and fiery entertainment across the pond. There was a raffle that featured baskets and specialty items and more than 10 vendors selling their unique and one-of-a-kind wares. The buffet dinner guaranteed that the attendees had the energy to enjoy it all. A perfect way to support CFF! In the end, we netted over $8,000 to support our cats and kittens as they await adoption into their forever homes.

It Takes a Village

We are always amazed and humbled at the generosity shown to our work at CFF. The past few months have been no exception. Visitors regularly come bearing gifts of the supplies we need…helping to keep our kitties fed, clean, and entertained. We thank them!

And, imagine our delight and gratitude when we had visitors who came bearing a BIG check! The golfers at Ocean Village in Jensen Beach had a charity tournament on February 24, and CFF was the beneficiary! Funds were raised by selling mulligans (for non-golfers, that means you get a “do-over” when you have a bad shot)…so CFF netted $550 because of some bad golf shots. Our resident cats and kittens are sorry that there were some bad shots but thankful for the much-needed funds.

Once again, World’s Best Litter has sent their GIANT truck and delivered donated litter to us for use at the Sanctuary and with our foster families. Wow!

Heartwarming Moment

We all love our life-long Cattery residents and their special needs. Our cattery team has everyone snuggled into their wonderful beds…and if you look closely, you’ll see that Rocky is reading his issue of The Scoop!

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!