In these uncertain times, animal shelters can take a double hit. First, when finances are tight, charitable giving is one of the first things to go and many animal shelters depend on donations to cover operating expenses. Second, the mortgage cirsis has led to an increased number of animals being abandoned and sent to shelters. That’s why this special contest couldn’t come at a better time. The folks at Care2.com created America’s Favorite Animal Shelter Contest to reward the shelters and rescue groups who work tirelessly to care for homeless animals, and raise awareness about the importance of supporting pet adoptions and taking action to save animals’ lives. Care2 will donate a total of $15,000 to the local animal shelters or rescue groups with the most votes.

1st Prize: $10,000
2nd Prize: $3,000
3rd Prize: $1,000
4th and 5th Prizes: $500 each

And the folks at Adopt-a-Pet.com are sponsoring these great prizes:

• A $1,000 donation to a randomly selected participating shelter each week for five weeks.
• Recruiters Rewards: The 20 contest participants who recruit the most friends to vote for their favorite shelter will receive a $50 gift certificate for pet products sponsored by Adopt-a-Pet.com as special thank-you gifts.

So vote now for your favorite animal shelter! The contest ends on November 1, 2008.

Big kudos to all cat rescue groups everywhere! Here’s a really cool t-shirt from Brooklyn rescue group Feral For Life. Designed by Brooklyn-based artist Martina Fugazzotto, all proceeds go to help support rescue efforts. Go Brooklyn moderncats!

Perfect for lounging the summer away, the cat hammock from Cat Above is a sleek and simple design that your cat will love. The frame is handmade using hardwood and is easy to assemble. The two-sided hammock has delux fleece on one side for the cooler winter months, and cotton on the other for warmer weather. Kitty will let you know which side she prefers.

And here’s the best part, for every cat hammock purchased, Cat Above will donate $5.00 to the animal rescue organization of your choice.

Moved by recent news stories of all the homeless pets now in shelters as a result of the troubled U.S. economy, 12-year-old Mimi Ausland of Bend, Oregon decided to create a website to help feed these animals in need. She created FreeKibbleKat.com, a site that offers a daily trivia question for visitors. Answer the question everyday and whether you’re right or wrong, you will donate 20 pieces of kibble to help feed cats currently living in shelters. Each month the total amount of kibble is calculated and delivered to shelters. Mimi is currently helping shelters in Oregon, but she hopes to expand the program to support shelters nationwide.

Mimi was recently interviewed on the NBC Nightly News, which gave her program a big boost. I encourage you to go to FreeKibbleKat.com daily and contribute to this noble cause. It won’t cost you a thing but a few moments of your time, and you’ll learn interesting trivia about cats by answering the question. A big congratulations to Mimi for putting this excellent program together!

Had to share this fun video–with an important message–put together by the folks at the Alliance for Humane Action. Is your moderncat spayed or neutered?

In January, I wrote about a large-scale cat rescue in Pahrump, Nevada by Best Friends Animal Society. This is the worst case of institutional hoarding ever recorded in the US. Last weekend Best Friends held a memorial for the cats who did not survive. I was not able to attend, but Peter made the trip to the sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. Here are his reflections on the memorial as well as an update on the rescue efforts and what will hopefully be justice served.

I don’t know what either of us expected when we visited the cats of “The Great Kitty Rescue” in Pahrump, Nevada last December. Other than to spend a few days cleaning up after the 200-plus cats then housed at the failed FLOCK facility. The critical work, of course, had been carried out long before our arrival, in brutal heat and torrential downpours — in conditions that, by all accounts, were simply horrific.

Actually, I recall very few dirty jobs over the course of our brief tenure. What we did in Pahrump, mostly, was socialize the cats. Which at first I interpreted to mean “play” or “visit,” neither of which sounded much like the “work” I’d come prepared for. In fact, the socializing proved to be more difficult. To begin with, we often couldn’t tell the friendly cats from the fearful cats. Most times, somebody was there to give us a rundown of the cats in a particular “house.” Occasionally, though, we were left to the trial and error method (resulting in surprisingly few errors, thankfully).

In some ways, I think the tougher part of the job lay in getting to know the cats (as opposed to serving merely as their dutiful custodians). Bonding with these cats meant also struggling to comprehend what they’d been through on that scrap of inhospitable desert. And when we left, after only a few days, I couldn’t stop thinking about the cats in Pahrump.

The FLOCK facility was closed in early February, and all the remaining cats moved to the Best Friends sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, into “Rescue Village.” In March, I learned that the Pahrump cats were to be honored with their own dedicated corner of Angels Rest, the pet cemetery at the sanctuary. Rarely have I felt so compelled to be anywhere for anything. And so, on March 28th, I drove to Kanab.

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This week 75 of the cats from the Best Friends Cat Rescue that took place in Pahrump, Nevada will make their way to Phoenix, Arizona in search of loving homes. These are very special cats who have been through quite an ordeal, but the Best Friends staff and volunteers have done an amazing job rehabilitating and socializing each and every one of them. These kitties may be a bit shy at first, but they have all shown how much they appreciate human companionship. Read more about the adoption tour on the Best Friends site.

If you are in the Phoenix area January 18, 19 & 20, please stop by the PetSmart at 1949 E Camelback Road between noon and 7:00pm all three days. Moderncat will be volunteering part of the time and I’m even working on a little project to help the kitties ride in style. Read more about the cat bed project and get updates on Moderncat’s involvement here.

I’d like to set aside the fancy cat beds for a minute and share with you some information about a very special cat rescue project. This is a heartbreaking story, but one with a happy ending due to an unbelievable rescue effort. It’s difficult to hear about what went on here, but it is a story that needs to be told in order to prevent similar situations.

We spent the last three days in Pahrump, Nevada volunteering with this project. There are several different versions of what happened according to various organizations and individuals involved, but the basic facts of the case are as follows; a Las Vegas-based cat rescue organization called FLOCK (For the Love of Cats and Kittens) was running a cat sanctuary in Pahrump, NV, where they were keeping hundreds of cats in deplorable conditions. The situation was reported to the Nye County Animal Control department, which then visited the site for an assessment. Due to the number of cats and the condition of the animals, the situation was beyond what animal control could handle so they called on the Best Friends Animal Society for assistance. A team of staff and volunteers from Best Friends immediately took over the sanctuary and started feeding and caring for the cats, evaluating them medically, and preparing the cats for adoption. This was in mid-July of 2007.
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