Robin Olson's blog

#StandwithUkraine Saving the Animals

GO TO: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/kittenassociates or venmo@kittenassociates to give a gift of any amount.

As a cat rescue, it is our duty to reach out to others who need help, regardless of where they are located. 

We are directly in touch with two women in Ukraine. They’re both in very dangerous areas of this war-ravaged country, and we are not being dramatic by saying this is LIFE OR DEATH for them and their animals. Food is running out. People are abandoning their pets. These precious and brave women are staying behind to help however they can. While I collect and finalize information about one of the two ladies, we're going to start fundraising for the one I DO have more complete info on.

Please bear with us. We have two translators, flaky internet, and war going on, so please understand that my team and I are doing the best we can in ever-changing circumstances with information that is the most accurate we can provide. We know big organizations are getting the help they need. We want to help smaller groups or good samaritans who will benefit most.

Our first good Samaritan is Oksana. She is in Mykoliav, Ukraine. It is one of the hardest-hit areas. She currently has over 100 cats and many dogs in her care. We have already sent her a “test run” donation and it went through without a problem. She got the money in less than an hour. She is in DIRE CIRCUMSTANCES. Getting her some funding will help her buy food as it is available, and continue to provide for the cats and dogs as best she can.

Our goal is to raise $1000.00 for Oksana, which we have already done in ONE DAY! Now, Kitten Associates, will grant the funds to Oksana, then continue to raise more so we have another $1000.00 for the second rescuer, in Kherson. If we raise more than that, we will continue to provide support as long as we can stay in contact, and that the banks remain open. See our partner facebook page, Covered in Cat Hair,  for updates.

These photos are from Oksana. We can barely look at them. We see the suffering these animals endure and we want to make it better. This is our way of doing that. Regardless of whether or not you take part in our fundraiser, we hope you will join us and #standwithukraine

#FairfieldGivingDay Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

SAVE THE DATE: THURSDAY FEB 24, 2022

Join us in our 24-hour marathon fundraising competition with all the non-profits in Fairfield County Connecticut! Our goal is to raise $5000 in ONE DAY! Is it possible? Can we do it? Only with your help!

USE THIS SPECIAL GREEN DONATE BUTTON to give your gift (it only works on Thurs the 24th).

Then give a gift of $25 or more and tell all your friends to do the same!

We're 100% volunteer, home-foster-based cat rescue. Every dollar goes to our rescue program.

We can't say YES to saving lives without your donations. We don't have deep pockets or get fancy grants. That’s why we need all of you to make it possible to keep our doors open.

Your gift is tax-deductible as we are a 501c3 non-profit.

Updated Covid Information

Due to the pandemic, we have made changes to how we do our adoptions.

We are open for business and are doing adoptions. Because our foster cats are located in foster homes, not in a shelter, we cannot invite anyone to meet our cats in person due to health-safety issues related to COVID-19. We realize that everyone who wants to adopt a companion animal should be able to meet them first, so this is how we're going to handle that:

Adoptions will be "Foster to Adopt."

WE ARE NOT DOING OUT-OF-STATE ADOPTIONS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Why? 1.
To leave CT, our foster cats must have a Vet-issued Health Certificate for travel out-of-state. It is VERY difficult to get Vet appointments since the pandemic began. Wait times are into WEEKS depending on our Vet's availability. 2. We take our cats back if adoptions don't work out-we always have, but we do not want to put our volunteers and ourselves at risk of getting Covid because we have to travel to pick up a cat. It's too much to ask of anyone. 3. We have to charge adopters a $100/cat fee for issuing a Health Cert. We cannot bear that expense. The problem is, it would have to be paid before the adopter even gets custody of the cat/s. That does not make sense or even seem fair.

CONNECTICUT RESIDENTS

• Home visits will be done via FaceTime or Zoom. This non-negotiable. All members of the family need to be present during the call, which can last from 15-30 minutes. We can do it at a time/date that is convenient for you. This includes some nights and weekends, if necessary.

• During the virtual home visit, you will also be able to see and interact with the cat/s you are interested in adopting (as long as the cats are cooperative)

• Applications need to be approved, as always

• You will be asked to fill out an "Adoption Terms" form via email and pay the adoption fee (we will hold the fee until the adoption is completed or return it if it does not work out)

• Once approved we will set up a time to pick up your cat/s

The cat will be considered a Kitten Associates foster cat for the period of one week. This will give you and your family time to get to know your new family member. During that time we will provide food and vet care should the cat become ill.

At the end of the foster period (or any time before) we can finalize the adoption or take the cat back if it's not a good fit. We work very hard to make a good match, so we're hoping it will be unlikely you will need to return your foster cat. If so, we will take the cat back, no questions asked, no judging. This should be a simple process.

We have also changed our feeding guidelines. All foster cats are on a fresh diet and our adopters will be expected to continue feeding fresh in their homes. After 15 years of feeding fresh, we have seen a dramatic improvement in the health of all of our cats and kittens. This is not a great change from our feeding guidelines in the past. We will always be a No-Kibble Rescue and are now a 100% Fresh-fed rescue. If you have questions about this, just contact us.
 

Thank you for your patience and understanding. It's been a very tough time for our rescue, but with support and friendship, we can get through anything.

Best regards,

Robin AF Olson
President & Founder

 

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Help Pom Pom Walk

We tried. We tried so hard, but now we need you.

Pom Pom Pomegranate has no chance of walking without discomfort unless we remove her back left leg. It’s taken us 10 months, specialist visits, tests, treatments, and zillions of hours of physical therapy to come to this decision. We need all of you to make it happen.

We need to raise $6,000. by March 9th.

Give Pom Pom the gift of less pain and a chance to walk more easily.

You can use PayPal

Venmo @KittenAssociates 

Checks: made out to Kitten Associates, P.O. Box 354, Newtown, CT 06470-0354

Why Now?

Pom Pom is almost a year old. Her body will not improve beyond what we've been able to do for her.

Imagine you have to keep your leg stretched out. You can’t bend it. You can’t support yourself on your foot because it bends backward at an awkward angle. The weight of the malformed leg forces your back to twist unnaturally. It causes shocks of nerve pain. How can you live like that?

Pom Pom can’t continue to live like this.

We know there are surgical risks. We’ve done extra testing to be as safe as we can be. Will this surgery make everything perfect? No, but her back leg hinders her mobility, so we feel this is her best option. We have to try for Pom Pom.

 We can do it with you by our side.

Your gift is tax-deductible as we are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.