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152 Comments

  1. Kim
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:30 am

    The cats should always win. I’m happy you and I are in agreement.

    I respect your values around pets and animals so much, and love reading and learning about all you can do. Honestly, I never really thought a lot about it until this year.

    My husband found a coon hound that had been dumped right off the interstate on the way to work a few weeks ago and we fostered him until he could find a home. It definitely opened my eyes to the needs of pets and how strapped the local animal rescues are. I would have kept him if he didn’t keep herding my child down the stairs and I was fairly certain it could lead to an injury. I probably would have kept him anyway (bad mom), but he found a nice home with a man who loves him and I only cried a little.

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    • Jeanne Desy
      August 17, 2016 @ 11:02 am

      I’m in love with Beryl already, working so hard to get healthy, being a good cat.

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    • Dixie Collins
      August 17, 2016 @ 1:16 pm

      When I had to have my precious cat Turgut put to sleep I was unconsolable. My husband said I cried harder over that death than my grandparents. I replied that I didn’t have to put down my grandparents. Anyway, I lasted ONE WHOLE WEEK before we went to our local shelter and I adopted two kittens – unrelated. They weren’t Turgut. No one could ever be Turgut, but 14 years later I still have one if them. Mr. Hoover sleeps with me every night and follows me from room to room. I will never have another Hoover. There’s the pain and the beauty of our rescues.

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    • Kristin
      August 17, 2016 @ 3:47 pm

      This just made me cry. Happy ugly cry. It has been a hard month for me as I lost my father, my dog has been a serious part of my daily therapy. I am sorry you had to go through such dark times, but am so impressed and overjoyed to see you taking in other kitties who are in need of a big heart, lots of love and a seasoned ‘care taker’. Enjoy!

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      • Wendy VanWinkle
        December 5, 2016 @ 9:08 pm

        When I lost my grandpa, my GSD was the ONLY living, breathing thing I would let around me…not even my kids. I was a wreck. Absolutely depressed and lost (he raised me from 2 months old). After a few weeks, I started coming around and a little better. Then, a few weeks after that, I lost Marco. We had to put him down due to cancer. It was the single worst day of my life. I still miss him. Every single day. I have 3 pups now, but my lab Luciano, he’s my love now and he keeps my heart happy, even when I am blue…

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    • Trish
      August 17, 2016 @ 4:02 pm

      So sorry to hear about losing your Elvis. We lost 2 fur babies in 10 days. So it is really weird around here right now. The good thing is that we still have one of our own kitties & our daughter still has a kitty here. Our kitty has gone into hiding in a room upstairs that she doesn’t really frequent so she doesn’t come out right now. She’s a little confused. But I love these 2 also so no new kitties coming here for a while.

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      • RedheadedCyclone
        August 17, 2016 @ 9:56 pm

        Not to start an advice thread, but when my Tasha passed, her brother did that and I found it helped for me to go and sit in that room and talk to him.

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    • wilma brennan
      August 21, 2016 @ 10:50 pm

      Good for you. From one foster mom to another. By the way, the name for a group of kittens is a “kindle,”
      and the name for a group of adults is a
      “clowder. ” The trick is to find homes for the kindle before they clowder.
      Oh yes, Berla Blue looks great on your Persian rug..

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  2. Paige
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:30 am

    We have three animals. All are rescues. A beautiful, mistreated Boxer dog, a chubby kitten faced big boy cat, and a sweet little black ball of kitty mischief missing an ear tip and half a tail. I think it’s so important to rescue animals. And adult animals in particular. Good work you’re doing.

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  3. Elisa
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:31 am

    When I win the lottery, and I will, most of my millions will go to spay/neuter programs and eliminating kill shelters. Until that day, I will adopt shelter, stray and abandoned kitties.

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  4. Barbara H.
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:34 am

    Hmmm – I see at least 3 cats in your long range future. The kittens are darling and Berla is looking much better. Lucky cats!

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  5. Suzanne Forbes
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:36 am

    KITTENS!!!!!! Your site is tipping over because your newsletter subscribers are so happy that you have kittens in your house. As a fellow blogger, that is a good problem.

    I am so happy for you that you have kittens in your house, and the lovely ragamuffin. I personally also fall in the get a new cat, foster or forever, right away, and here’s why:
    1. Can provide a cat a home= must provide a cat a home.
    2. I believe cat people, those of us put on earth to serve cats, have a cat-shaped beam of love coming from our hearts at all times. If it’s not falling on a cat, it is going to waste.

    Of course this is different for everyone. But we went to the shelter the next morning after we buried our Seven, to “find the Dalai Lama” as my husband’s mother calls it, and as it happens we found her, then had to go back to get her a pet cat a week or two later.

    My friend Loraine, on the other hand, has been fostering/saving/helping but not falling in love with a nice little man for months since her loss of a longtime love.

    However it goes, it helps kitties, and I am so happy for you.

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  6. Di Elliott
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:36 am

    I’ve git my 3 cats from a shelter, and have fostered many kittens its annawesome thing to do! And a fantabulous way for you Victoria to help kitties abd spread awareness, and honor Elvis’s memory. Hugs and love from one cat lady to another.

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    • Di Elliott
      August 17, 2016 @ 10:41 am

      Oh and i do wish I had spell checked before I pressed send! No I’m not silly just fat fingers!

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  7. Emily
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:39 am

    Good for you! There’s no replacing Elvis; that simply won’t happen, but kittens! and a cat will distract you while you heal.
    In my area, there are free neutering clinics that come around a few times a year. We just have to be alert for them.

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  8. Jamie
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:39 am

    Purring machines!

    I follow the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee (completely on the other side of the country from you), but she fosters kittens. Check out her site when you have a chance. http://www.theittybittykittycommittee.com/

    Love and hugs to you and your fosters.

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  9. AsKatKnits
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:40 am

    Bravo to you! May their darling kitten antics be a balm to your aching heart. And, bigfoot is darling, really. I’d say you have the perfect things to help you with the unbearable grief. XO

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  10. Di
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:40 am

    Years ago we lost our one cat and my dad allowed my sister and I to each pick one from a litter. I chose Rusty and my sis chose Dusty-yes they looked exactly liked the colors and totally opposite personalities. Best fun ever! Just a thought as I know how having that second pet keeps the heart from totally being ripped away if one loses a pet.
    SPAY AND NEUTER-it’s like who the hell doesn’t these days???

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  11. Dianne Averill
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:41 am

    So glad you found room in your heart for fostering, and I hope you find your perfect foster fail! I wish the shelters in my area were more accommodating of people who want to adopt! I have been trying to add a puppy to my family for almost a year, and they have such strict rules…. no females with other females (for example). Cost for a mixed-breed puppy is more than $500!!!! And they don’t agree with how I care for my existing 10-year-old dog (who has epilepsy) so they have banned me from their list. And all I’m doing is not adding any unnecessary chemicals to her life. We have a fenced half acre and work from home…what more could you want from an adopter? Sorry for the rant, but I am so frustrated that I can’t find a puppy for my old girl!

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    • Jan Goad
      August 17, 2016 @ 12:10 pm

      Please don’t give up, Dianne. Look for a small rescue group rather than a county shelter. Here in the south, unfortunately, there are often people in parking lots selling puppies. Those poor little souls are as much in danger, in my opinion, as if they were sitting in a kill shelter. Same with taking a puppy from a Craigslist post; I have no doubt that’s saving a life, too.

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    • Bobbles
      August 17, 2016 @ 1:30 pm

      I also have a dog (Rocky, a black lab) with epilepsy. With the help of a wonderful vet (and my local pot shop), I’ve started him on CBD extract, in addition to a reduced phenobarbital dose. I hope you have your dog for a long time. It’s a hard disease to live with.

      Reply

  12. Ada
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:42 am

    Oh squee!! My heart. WHO is cutting onions here?

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  13. Cate
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:44 am

    We lost our very special cat Cupcake on Jan. 1. She was 15 years old and our children had grown up with her. She was THE BEST cat–beautiful, friendly to the limits of feline friendliness, a good mouser, amusing, well behaved. She tolerated the dog. She loved us and assigned us all jobs. Although she’d been ill for almost a year, she was kind enough not to really get sick until a couple of days before she died. She passed quietly and with dignity. Although we are “cat people” we were hesitant to get another cat. We grieved for her and she left a hole in our family. We could never “replace” her. However, when our daughter came home from college in May, she encouraged us to consider adopting a kitty. So we went to “just look,” but mostly to see if our hearts could handle it. We met Caroline, an older kitten, a tuxedo. She was extremely shy, so much so that she had been returned to the shelter twice. We went home and thought about, then called the shelter first thing in the morning to claim her. She must have been waiting for us because, two months later, with much patience and socializing, she is part of the family–running around, playing, accepting pets, using our beds as her own. We will always keep Cupcake close in our hearts, she’s part of us. But there was room for Caroline, after all.

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  14. Patricia
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:45 am

    Mostly our cats have just shown up and moved themselves in. We’re currently catless but have a neighbor cat on a part time basis. He gets his morning treats and snuggies and then settles down on the pillows for a long nap.
    I wonder how many of those cats currently visiting, are really just “foster”? Looking forward to future posts.

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  15. Beth Pfaff
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:45 am

    You are such a great person to do this! Hope your story inspires more people to adopt rescue pets.

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  16. JeanFB
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:45 am

    Oh my goodness what a wonderful thing you are doing! I looove Berla – I’ve already renamed her Twinkle Toes (in my head of course) and if my current fur baby would tolerate it (his feelings about other cats sound to be like Elvis’) I would probably drive 500 miles to get her from you! 😉 And the kitten video had me melting – all that purring! I’m glad you’ve found a way to begin your recovery.

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  17. Marsha
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:47 am

    Dear One- I am in love with all of the cats you are fostering. Fostering is not something I can do. It becomes adoption and you may be in the same boat(box)! I had a lovely Tuxedo that lived 20 years. She left me and I waited a year before adopting the most amazing Siamese Lynx that I could not imagine anyone not wanting.
    I love the wacky element of Berla’s bigfoot situation. She will always be a conversation piece. I hope she is teaching the kittens to be lovely little cats. Enjoy. Elvis approves, I am sure.

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  18. Brittany
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:48 am

    I did not think it was possible to love you more. But now I do. Thank you so much from the animal sheltering world for opening your heart again to help these sweet babies. Elvis’s memory couldn’t be honored in any more valuable way.

    Love, me (aka the Strategic Business Officer for Wright-Way Rescue in Illinois)

    Reply

  19. Nikki Moshier
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:51 am

    So happy you are finding ways to soothe your pain. Keep fighting the good fight. XXOO

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  20. Suzanne Forbes
    August 17, 2016 @ 10:51 am

    Also, if you don’t fall in love with Berla, and another reader nearby doesn’t madly adore her like I already do, and someone who reads your blog is coming to Germany/Berlin, we would give her a home when she is ready and pay for the cat ticket/vet exam/shipping exam.

    Reply

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