Annual Newsletter 2011

Dear Friends and Animal Lovers

Seasons Greetings from Love ‘n’ Care Pet Sanctuary (LCPS).  We are writing to you to wish you a joyous and blessed Holiday Season and to ask again for your support.   It is this time of year that we reflect on all that we are grateful for.  At this time we want to thank you for your past generosity and loving support.  It is also a time of giving.  The cats and kittens of LCPS need you now more than ever.  We know times are tough, so every donation of any size is appreciated more than you’ll ever know.  We hope & trust that 2012 will be a good year for you & a better year for us. 
 
10 Year Anniversary 

We have been in business for 10 years now!  We currently have 43 cats and kittens and we are at capacity.  We are suffering from the same trap as most no-kill animal shelters.  The senior, semi-socialized, and feral cats are occupying places and preventing us from taking in new, more adoptable cats and kittens.  We have many wonderful, adoptable cats, but the economy is preventing people from adopting.  If you know of anyone wanting an older kitten, young cat, middle aged cat, or senior cat please send them to us and/or direct them to view our available cats on our website at www.lcps.petfinder.com. 
 
Community Service 

In January we received notification that a trailer belonging to a senior citizen living up the road from us had burned down and that a number of feral cats that he had been feeding had been abandoned and were starving.  After some detective work we found out where he was living and that he was still going to his property to feed the cats on a regular basis, but the cats were also annoying the neighbors.  His son managed to trap 6 cats and brought them to us.  One was badly injured and bleeding and was rushed to the vet where we were told that his injuries were so extensive that it would cost $5,000 to $8,000 to restore him to health so he was euthanized.  Another cat had a lacerated mouth that was discovered when she was taken to the Humane Society to be spayed.  Katrin from AnimalKind graciously took her in saying that she was better equipped to deal with the daily medication and care.  Two of the cats are very old and one was an older kitten that had lost most of her hair due to stress. (It has since grown back.)  They’ve all been spayed and neutered thanks to help from AnimalKind, but they are not at all friendly so we have them in comfortable cages and they are warm with full bellies.  If you know of anyone with a comfortable, warm barn who would be willing to provide a home for them please let us know.  When it warms up in the spring we would love to move them to a barn or a feral cat colony where they would be fed regularly and also have shelter from inclement weather.
 
Adoptions 

Unfortunately, our adoption rate this year is the worst in our 10 years.  We have only adopted 5 kittens & 7 cats so far, which is 23% of our 2008 rate, our best year when we adopted 52 total (40 kittens, 11 cats, and 1 dog).  Each year of the recession our adoptions have diminished – 35 total in 2009 and 26 total in 2010.  We need to up the adoptions so we will have room next spring when kitten season starts.  All our foster homes are also at capacity.   We believe our slow adoption rate is because of the huge number of available “free” kittens, the high cost of fuel, the uncertainty of the economy, & the lower disposable income of our Greene Country residents.  We pray for an improvement in 2012.
 
Hurricane Irene 

Thanks to a grant we received from the Petfinder Foundation in 2009 for a 5000 watt generator we were able to keep the 3 sump pumps in our basement going for the duration of the storm.  They were pumping the water out as fast as it came in and we didn’t even get wet inside!  We had extra gasoline on hand so we didn’t actually run out until the power came back on after 27.5 hours.  Thankfully we had no damage at all from the hurricane!  We will be eternally grateful for that!
 
Bartonella 

In 2010 we learned about a new contagious disease afflicting cats.  It is called Bartonella and two of the many outward signs of it are red and sore gums and throat causing problems with eating and red and sore eyes.  One of our cats, Dusty, had a chronic eye problem since she was a kitten and no medicine that was prescribed ever corrected it.  When tested for Bartonella she was positive and was put on a special medicine for 21 days that cured the problem permanently!  The test is expensive, $65, but now that we know about it we need to test any new cats for it before admitting them.  Unfortunately, this increases our standard operating costs.
 
We Need Your Help. 

If you would like to help us as a volunteer to provide a foster home, set up a feral cat colony, assist with transportation to spay/neuter clinics &/or veterinarians, help to clean the shelter, help to socialize the cats, write a newsletter, write for grants, write articles for the media, or set up fund raising events please call us.  We are very under staffed and can use all the help we can get. 
 
Fund Raising 

This year we were again approved for both the Capital Region Federal Campaign of the United Way & the Capital Region State Employees Federated Appeal (SEFA).  We received a grant for LCPS from the Heart of Catskill Association & Catskill Chamber of Commerce from the “Cat’n Around Catskill” Cats Meow Auction & Gala – thank you Linda Overbaugh.  The Twin Counties Cultural Fund & the Greene County Council on the Arts has again awarded us a grant for a theater arts project & performance spearheaded by our sponsored Project Director & Artist, Margo Muller – thank you Colette Lemmon. 
 
Please Donate 

If you can send us a donation of any amount, it will be very gratefully received & will be put to good use as we have no overhead expenses.  All donations are 100% tax deductible.  Our best year for donations was 2009 with $15,302.  This year so far we have only received $6,820 – only 44.5% – so we are really hurting as our population is similar and the costs only go up.  Please make your checks payable to Love ‘n’ Care Pet Sanctuary, Inc. and mail them to 7080 Route 81, East Durham, NY 12423.  Please see if your employer provides matching contributions as this would help us a lot too. 
 
I know that I am being bombarded more than once daily to donate to some worthy cause and I don’t want to annoy you with this request, but our coffers are bare and we are desperate.  We want to keep our doors open to continue caring for our cats and serving the community.  Every shelter in the area is full so we have no way to close as there is nowhere to send our cats.  The State, County, and Town do not help us at all.  Our local animal control officer deals only with dogs and does nothing to help cats. 
 
God bless your generosity & best wishes for a happy, healthy & prosperous New Year.
 
Carol Farren, President & Treasurer
Carl Hegney, Cat Sitter
Kim Burger, Cat Sitter
Love ‘n’ Care Pet Sanctuary, Inc.
 
 
KEEP YOUR PETS SAFE DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON  (Compliments of NY City Animal Care & Control)
 
DO NOT:
Feed them table scraps – scraps can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain.
Feed them candy and chocolate – these can be very toxic and even fatal.
Give them turkey bones, which can splinter, cause blockages, and intestinal damage.
Ignore them during the busy holiday season – may lead to behavioral problems.
Give them tinsel, ribbons, or other decorations to play with – can cause intestinal blockages which can be fatal.
Give a pet as a gift – the recipient may not want a pet or it might not be a good match.
 
DO:
Buy them a gift.  Specially made dog/cat toys and treats work best.
Shower them with love and attention by playing with them and taking dogs for a long walk on a leash.
Buy a dog license, microchip, and a new collar to keep them identified in case they get lost.
Consider adopting them a playmate once the holiday season is over.  Make it a family event.
Keep them inside and secure from open doors, crowds, and unfamiliar people during holiday get togethers.
Try to stick to your pet’s regular routine and schedule to lower their stress level.

Sincerely,

Carol E. Farren, President and Treasurer
Love ‘n’ Care Pet Sanctuary, Inc.
7080 Route 81
East Durham, NY 12423-1159


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