It’s that time of year again! …
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Marcy To The Rescue
20% of our online sales will benefit The Kris Kelly Foundation for the entire month of October.
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| Artwork by Vivien Wu for sale here |
Cynthia: Marcy and I are so thrilled to announce our very first donation to animal rescue with money we earned from affiliate links on our blog!
Marcy: Hmpf. It was only $50.
Cynthia: Hey! That’s fantastic! That’s what we made and it sure helped out a couple of cats.
Marcy: Hmpf. I wanted that money to go towards my trip to Paris.
Cynthia: Oh Marcy. Look who we helped get out of a bad situation and into a new home!
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| Lily and Baxter |
Cynthia: That’s Lily and Baxter. Word got to our friend, Dylan Kendall, that they were losing their home immediately and were headed to the high kill North Central Shelter in Los Angeles. They wouldn’t stand a chance there since they weren’t kittens. And, even if they weren’t put down, the possibility of this bonded pair staying together was next to nil.
A new home was needed fast, as well as money for transportation and vaccines. Time was of the essence.
Dylan was able to get the cats before they entered the shelter but quickly discovered they were in bad shape and needed vet care too. Lily was way too skinny.
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| Lily is too skinny |
Marcy: Gasp! That’s terrible!
Cynthia: And Baxter had a painful abscess that needed to be taken care of. Poor Baxter was miserable.
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| Baxter not feeling well |
Marcy (shuddering): I hate those cones. They should be outlawed.
Cynthia: Our $50 along with other small donations from sweet Samaritans got them fixed up and spiffy. And being fixed up and spiffy means that a home is way easier to find.
Marcy (anxiously): And was a home found?
Cynthia: Yes! And with a family that will take great care of them. A wonderful family that won’t forget to feed them or let abscesses fester.
Marcy: Yay!
Cynthia: Shall we?
Marcy lifts her Friskies can and Cynthia raises her martini glass.
Marcy and Cynthia: Cheers to our wonderful readers who not only don’t mind the affiliate links, they click on them to make purchases which in turn goes to save cats!
Cheers to Dylan Kendall for putting in the hard and emotional work to save Baxter and Lily!
Cheers to all the sweet Samaritans who donated a little to create a BIG difference for two cats!
Cynthia: By the way, one of the reasons I was so frantic about Baxter and Lily was because they reminded me so much of a bonded pair that live in my home – Penelope Kitten and her best bud, Hamlet.
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| Penelope Kitten and Hamlet |
Marcy: Ugh. Those two.
Cynthia: Hamlet wants to be on the blog too, you know.
Marcy: Fine. He can be my unpaid intern. He’ll fetch me Friskies, pick up my dry cleaning, and do my social media tasks.
Cynthia: Uh… unpaid internships are illegal in the United States of America.
Marcy: Yeah, but not in the United States of Marcy.
*You Might Also Like:
Paw Footed Bowls by Dylan Kendall Home
Marcy Sells Out (for animal rescue)
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| www.NationalFeralCatDay.org |
Cynthia: Happy Feral Cat Day!
Marcy: Didn’t we just do this last year?
Cynthia: Yes. Every year on October 16th we recognize feral cats and society’s efforts to help them.
Marcy: Why would you help cats that can’t help themselves?
Cynthia: That’s precisely why we do help them, Marcy. It’s not their fault they are living on the streets. In fact, you would have been a feral cat if someone didn’t help you and your two brothers.
Marcy: Gasp.
Cynthia: This year’s theme focuses on TNR which stands for Trap/Neuter/Return. Cats are humanely trapped, sterilized/vaccinated, and then returned to the area where they live.
TNR is the best, most effective, and humane way to reduce the stray cat problem. Once the cats stop reproducing, the colony gradually reduces through natural attrition until there are no more.
Marcy: I thought if one cat dies then another stray cat comes in to take its place.
Cynthia: Sometimes this happens but most often it does not. Two colonies I TNR’d and am able to monitor have not had this happen. One colony of nine cats is now down to two over a six year period and another colony of five cats is down to four over a two year period.
Marcy: You’re seeing other cats behind my back?
Cynthia: The resources out there for helping these cats are growing and growing. So if you see stray cats and kittens in your neighborhood and want to help them, simply do a Google search of cat rescues or TNR in your area. I bet you’ll find several groups that can help solve the problem.
| source unknown |
Marcy raises her Friskies can. Cynthia raises her martini glass.
Marcy and Cynthia: Happy National Feral Cat Day!
Marcy: And big slurpy kitty kisses to all those compassionate people helping to alleviate the suffering of society’s neglected and abandoned feline friends.
*You Might Also Like:
The (50 Second) Scoop On Feral Cats By Jackson Galaxy
Wild Thing, I Think I Love You: National Feral Cat Day Is Today
| Kitty Stardust Charity Tee by Langley Fox x Wren |
Cynthia: The photo above is artist Langley Fox wearing her own designed tee for Wren called “Kitty Stardust”. It’s $65 and 100% of the proceeds go to NKLA – No Kill Los Angeles Animal Shelters.
It’s so exciting that Los Angeles is poised to become the largest “No Kill” city by the year 2017.
Marcy: Who are they not killing?
Cynthia: Adoptable cats and dogs.
Marcy (horrified): Why would they kill adoptable cats and dogs?
Cynthia: Because so many thousands of unwanted animals go into the shelters that they have no room for them. I thought you knew that.
Marcy looks stricken.
Cynthia: But it’s getting better!
Years and years of hard work by nonprofit rescue groups (big and little) as well as individuals, and the shelters themselves, are finally paying off. It is so incredibly encouraging.
One of these big organizations is Best Friends Animal Society which is a huge proponent of the NKLA movement. They contribute through grants, advertising, staff, and even set up a gorgeous new adoption facility just a few blocks from my apartment. In fact, there is a rumor that because of their proximity to the West LA Shelter, the West La Shelter is already a No Kill facility. They are a force I tell ya.
Best Friends is also actively involved in TNR (trap/neuter/return). They work with FixNation in sterilizing feral cats. FixNation has sterilized over 100,000 community cats since they opened in 2007. To be able to use these resources as a trapper has been such a relief.
Marcy: Why?
Cynthia: Because it now feels hopeful out there. It really feels like there’s a way out of this horrible mess. And when you reach out for assistance or guidance… it’s actually there.
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| Kitty Stardust Charity Tee by Langley Fox x Wren |
Cynthia: Plus, as you can see from the Langley Fox/Wren collaboration, it is now super stylish to be an animal advocate.
Marcy raises her Friskies can. Cynthia raises her martini glass.
Marcy and Cynthia: Cheers to NKLA for providing resources and hope. And to Langley Fox and Wren for furthering the cause with fabulous feline fashion.
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Enamel Topaz and Black Pet Paw Heart Necklace by The Magic Zoo |
Cynthia: The Magic Zoo
Marcy (interrupting): Hey! What’s with all the Amazon links? And an Amazon store on our header bar? So you’re money grubbing now?
Cynthia: What? No!!
Marcy: Looks like you’ve hopped on the gravy train.
Cynthia: Marcy! Stop it. That’s not what this is about. Blogging isn’t entirely free and if I can cover those costs as well as raise money for animal rescue through the occasional affiliate link and a permanent Amazon store, then isn’t that just wonderful?
Marcy: How much have you made so far?
Cynthia (proudly): $30.85
Marcy (snickering): Okay, Daddy Warbucks, at that rate you’ll change the world.
Cynthia: In animal rescue, every dollar matters. Seriously. You can buy pet food, contribute towards a vet bill, pay for gas for transportation, and much more. So even our little $30.85 is extremely valuable. Plus, for the Amazon store, I am only showcasing adorable cat things that are Made In The USA.
Marcy: Will we have heavy handed sales tactics? Infomercials? Blinking ads that yell?
Cynthia: No. Of course not. We’ll continue to do what we are doing now. If we think our readers might like something, we’ll let them know. We won’t promote anything we wouldn’t want ourselves. And we’ll do it sporadically. It will still be the same blog. So what do you say?
Marcy: Hmmm… How many cans of Friskies will $30.85 buy?
Cynthia: Seventy-seven.
Marcy: Gasp!
Marcy is speechless and wide-eyed.
Cynthia: Ah ha. So now you think this is a great idea.
Marcy: Gasp! We’re rich!
Cynthia: Seventy-seven cans of Friskies will feed a feral cat colony of four for almost three weeks. A TNR’d (spayed/neutered) cat colony, of course!
*Please note: This post contains an affiliate link and I will make a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link.
**A percentage of any money I make from Marcy Very Much will go to 501c3 cat rescue groups such as The Kris Kelly Foundation and Stray Cat Alliance. I will be transparent about this as it develops.
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| Juliet and Cappy |
Marcy: What’s that?
Cynthia: That’s my friend’s little girl, Juliet, looking completely adorable in her Cat In The Hat costume with her best bud, rescue kitty Cappy.
Marcy: It doesn’t sound like Seuss. It sounds like Shakespeare.
Cynthia: Actually, this is a kind of Horatio Alger rags to riches story. Cappy was an older kitten living with his colony on the mean streets of Los Angeles back in 2008.
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| Cappy and his semi-feral siblings |
Cynthia: I worked with The Kris Kelly Foundation to TNR (trap/neuter/release) the colony. We found homes for five of the littlest kittens but the teenage kittens (the ones pictured) were really too feral to find homes for. Except Cappy. Kind of.
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| Cappy and his brother living on the streets in Los Angeles |
Cynthia: He was very scared but curious.
Marcy: Curiosity killed the cat ya know.
Cynthia: In this case, curiosity saved Cappy. He would linger a little longer after he ate to see what I was up to. Eventually, he started brushing up against my legs. And that was when I knew I had to at least try to find him a home.
Marcy: Who wants a semi feral cat? No one.
Cynthia: That’s what I thought. No one. I put out a plea on Facebook anyway, and lo an behold, my friend Heather asked to meet him. She fell in love, took him home, and spent a tremendous amount of time taming him. She also spent a lot of money on vet bills since Cappy had health problems I wasn’t even aware of…
Marcy (admiringly): I bet he was bad. Feral cats are so bad. Just like the Cat In The Hat. He’s such a bad kitty.
Cynthia: Yes. It was quite challenging. Taming a semi-feral cat is not for the faint of heart. But Heather and her husband, David, are extraordinary people. And now look at him!
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| Cappy at home |
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| Cappy performing Neighborhood Watch duties |
Cynthia: Instead of living on the streets, he is living in house with people who love him and take wonderful care of him. Plus, he has a new friend – Juliet – a cat lover and future cat advocate. I mean, did you take a close look at her sneakers?!!
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| Juliet and Cappy |
Marcy: That Cat in the Hat is so bad. He’s transforming little kids into bad kitties. He’s my hero. He’s so bad.
*It is very easy to get depressed and feel hopeless as an animal rescuer. The problem is so immense. Someone compared it once to trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon. So when a cat I have rescued has such a happy ending as Cappy and his Juliet, it makes me so incredibly happy.
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| Cynthia wearing The White Kuai tee by Much More Than Me |
Cynthia: Last night I decided to pair my Much More Than Me rescue tee with an old but favorite Anthropologie skirt. Just to be different. Just to see if I could get away with wearing a tshirt with a fancy skirt like the kids do today.
Marcy: Did you get mocked?
Cynthia: No. I got compliments! And lots of people asked me about my shirt. So I thought I would blog about Much More Than Me again.
In a nutshell, Much More Than Me is a small Los Angeles based company that sells tshirts with a portion of the proceeds going to animal rescue. The shirts contain powerful messages and artistic images. Here is an image of what the back view of my tee looks like.
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| Back View of The White Kuai tee |
Cynthia: The founders, Caryn Casey and Kathy Schmidt, started their company to raise awareness, compassion, and funds for non-profits who work to save society’s abandoned and neglected animals.
I really love love love these start-ups that work so diligently to make a positive difference for our world. Or, as Caryn and Kathy say, “Wear the Change. Live the Love.”
Shall we, Marcy?
Marcy raises her Friskies can. Cynthia raises her martini glass.
Marcy and Cynthia: Cheers to Much More Than Me for putting their heart and soul into a business that is much more than us!
Cynthia and Marcy
Marcy: Wait a minute. Is that a DOG on your shirt?!! Gasp.
Cynthia looks guilty. Then alarmed. She rushes out of the room with Marcy in hot pursuit.
Marcy: A dog, Cindy?! A DOG?!
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My first and more extensive post about the wonderful Much More Than Me can be found here.
