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The Unflappable Flap

In the nearly ten years we've been open, what drives us to say “Yes!” to taking on a new foster cat or kitten is a gut feeling we get that "this is our next rescue kitty."

When we first saw a tiny kitten, in a video posted on Facebook, we knew we had to do something. He was struggling to walk, dragging his right hind leg behind him, while his front legs twisted inwards into his chest. He was living outside on a deck with his furry family, waiting for someone to adopt him. His human family wanted him to go somewhere safe, where he would get the extra care he needed, but they weren't sure that such a person existed to provide that level of care. What if the kitten could never use a litter pan? What if he got sores on his legs? What the sores made it was too painful to move?

Their worst fear-what if they took Flap to the vet? The vet would tell them to put him down (which actually ended up happening).

Thankfully, his family protected him. They wanted him to have a chance to live so they said "NO" to putting the kitten down.

We reached out to them and offered to help. Luckily for us, they were willing to trust us with their precious boy. Sure, we had the same fears about how the kitten would do once he was with us, and wondered if he would be incontinent and have mobility issues that would make his life miserable, but we had to try. We would find a way. Then one day we'd find him a family who would cherish him and give him the forever home of his dreams.

We named him Flapjack Shortstack. Flap will probably be with us for at least a year, until he is fully grown. At that point Flap would be ready for any surgery, if we felt it was needed. We estimate that each leg could require $4000-$5000 in surgery fees OR maybe he won't need any surgery. It's too soon to know or get hung up on costs.

Until then, how would we provide for Flap for so long? He'll likely be with us for a year without any buddies. It wouldn't be fair to him to be alone all the time, so we reached out to the owner and they were willing to let us take Flap's sisters, Sugarsnaps Sugarpants and Tickle Nurbington into our rescue program. Since we're not very good with math, we ended up with five kittens in total. Boom-Boom McGillicuddy and his bro, Trinket Worthmore, joined us, too.

So Flap has plenty of friends who love to play and snuggle with him (you can see them 24-hrs a day on our SqueeTV Web Cam).

We're building our team of experts to help Flap walk better even after four Vets told us to put him down. Flap has a fire in his belly, a strong will to live. He doesn't let things get him down. Just because it will take time and resources to help Flap, that doesn't mean to save a buck we should end his life. That is just wrong. We do NOT DO THAT. Someone has to fight on behalf of the kittens who need the most help. How could we harm this kitten? Look at his face! Something magical is already happening. In Dr. Deb Weisman, at Newtown Veterinary Specialists, we found a great ally. When we asked for her advice she replied, "Let's fix him!"-NOT put him down. From day one she has been focused on finding a way that balances what is appropriate for Flap without causing him an unreasonable amount of discomfort.

Her approach is wise-do a little, watch and wait, adjust things here and there, respect that Flap already can get around just as he is now. The trick is to see if we can help him get around better, more comfortably and more appropriately.

Flap is also seeing his friend, Aunt Gail, who is a top notch physical therapist. Between his visits we continue the therapy sessions here every single day. Flap is stretching and moving much better than he did a month ago. A few days ago, he jumped up and off his bed and onto the lower portion of a cat tree-a normal thing for most cats, but for Flap it was a major achievement.

Flap on cat tree

Flap will need us well into 2020, so we really need all of YOU to lend a helping paw. If you'd like to be part of our rescue team by giving a gift to provide for Flap so he can continue physical therapy and see our specialists, and provide essentials for Flap and his friends, you can do the following:

Gifts of ANY AMOUNT (You do not have to have a PayPal acc't) PayPal

Mail a check made out to: Kitten Associates. Send to Kitten Associates, P.O. Box 354, Newtown, CT 06470-0354

Donate on Venmo: KittenAssociates

Gift Cards to Your Healthy Pet in Newtown, CT needed, too!

We also have an Amazon Wishlist. We're a 501(c)3 non-profit so your donation is tax-deductible.

Follow Flap's Story on Facebook or check back here for updates.

Cosmic Cat Wisdom Deck!

BIG NEWS! Our friends Barb & Randy from Enlighten Up have an awesome kickstarter campaign for their Cosmic Cat Wisdom Deck & Guidebook. If we can make this happen, our rescue will also get a big donation!

To get your paws on a Pre-Sale copy of the Comic Cat Wisdom Deck and Guidebook go HERE

CC Cards FB Box and Cat

The Cosmic Cat Wisdom Deck features Cats purr-fectly sharing their wisdom in this 60 card deck, with engaging illustrations, a unique theme, and more exploration provided in the guide book.

What we love about this project is the cards are timeless. You will use them over your lifetime at work, home and play because each message is a beautiful reminder about what's really important in life. They make great gifts too! Get yours now and you'll be supporting Kitten Associates, too!

Off to NEFHS Conference & Big News!

We're off this weekend so we can attend the 74th Annual New England Federation of Humane Societies conference in Warwick, Rhode Island. It's a 3-day long event with so many sessions, about all aspects of cat rescue, adoptions, socialization and more; that we're hoping to get re-energized and learn new ways to make life better for cats, our volunteers and adopters.

And by the way, did you hear the amazing news?

Our local paper, The Newtown Bee, wrote a story about Hanna Reps, an awesome young lady whose family adopted two cats from us 5 years ago. Hanna has become so inspired by living with cats and learning about them through our rescue and through her own studies, that she is now a blossoming cat advocate! It truly doesn't get any better than that.

Hanna

If you'd like to read about Hanna and her GoFundMe to help Kitten Associates and our friends at Whiskers Pet Rescue, you can see the story HERE.

We're SO PROUD OF HANNA!!!!

Fairfield County Giving Day Success!

We did it! Thanks to everyone who donated or shared our messages on social media, we were able to raise over $5000 for our rescue program in just 24-hours!

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I'm also very proud to say that out of the over 100 non-profits taking part, Kitten Associates ranked 33rd for most donors. This is great news. It means our message is getting out and that we have great friends who support our rescue efforts.

And though we did not raise as much as the top non-profits (over $100,000 in one case!), for a small, local rescue we still placed within the top 100 out of 415 registered organizations.

Thank you to everyone for their support and to all the folks at FCGives.org for helping us make dreams come true for cats and kittens in need.

24-HOURS TO SAVE LIVES

Join us! We're part of Fairfield County Giving Day, a 24-hour marathon fundraiser for non-profits.

USE THE GREEN BUTTON below OR THIS LINK, TODAY ONLY, THURSDAY FEB 28, 2019, TO GIVE YOUR LIFE-SAVING GIFT. OUR GOAL IS TO RAISE $5000.

Please tell your friends about our fundraiser, too, so your gift can do even more.

We take on the tough cases, like Freya, who was given a 10% chance to survive. Today she's a 4-year old spitfire who's happy and healthy. We LOVE to do RESCUE, but we can't do it without resources.

Freya on my Chest R Olson

Why it's Good to Give: Your gift is tax-deductible! AND...Because we're a 100% volunteer-rescue, all gifts go to providing for the care of our foster cats & kittens.

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Laney & her daughter, Winnie, with their litters of kittens. Today this mom & daughter (along with Winnie's daughter, Piglet) live together in a loving home. The remaining kittens were adopted, too, and doing great. Spayed and healthy, these cats got to have a wonderful life, thanks in part to donations from people like you.

Save the Date: Fairfield County's GIVING DAY IS THURSDAY

Mark Your Calendars!

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THURSDAY FEB 28, 2019

Take part in our 24-hour marathon fundraising competition! Kitten Associates is trying to raise $5000 in ONE DAY! Is it possible? Can we do it? Only with your help!

Look for the SPECIAL GREEN DONATE BUTTON or SPECIAL LINK (both will work, only on Thurs the 28th). You'll see them here on our web site and on Facebook.

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Give a gift of $25 or more and tell all your friends to do the same! Our goal is to raise $5000!

We can't say YES to saving lives without your donations. We don't have deep pockets or get fancy grants. We're 100% volunteer, home-foster based rescue. Every dollar goes to our rescue program and gives us the chance to save cats who would otherwise perish without us.

We want to say YES. Help us make that dream come true!

Aunt Bee Sick
Aunt Bee was sick and very malnourished when we rescued her and 8 other kittens. Because we had funds we were able to provide vet care so she wouldn't have to lose her eye or die from starvation. Bee's story could have been tragic, but instead she's been adopted and is in a loving home with her sister Mrs Beasley.

5 Ways to Help that Don't Cost a Dime

Like any rescue, we constantly need funds more than anything else. Vet care costs rise all the time and most of our resources go to paying our vet bill. But what happens if you still want to help, but don't funds available for donations? Here are some ways you can help that don't cost you a dime.

1. Hostess a Fundraiser

If you're on Facebook, Hostess a Fundraiser for Kitten Associates! It's FREE to do and we get the funds automatically deposited into our account after you've raised $100!

Click this LINK to start your own fundraiser. What's amazing is it's SO EASY to do. You can celebrate and honor a loved one's birthday, anniversary or "just because" you love cats so much.

2. Foster a Cat or Kitten

If you live IN or NEAR Newtown, CT and love cats, we'd love to hear from you! Did you know we have a home-foster network of volunteers who graciously open a room in their home to use for fostering our mama-cats and kittens (or orphan kittens or..you just never know!). You don't have to pay for supplies or vet care or food, WE PAY FOR EVERYTHING! You provide the loving home. All skill-levels are welcome. We will train you or be glad you already know the ropes! This is a great way to teach children about compassion and helping others. It can take a few weeks to longer, but we'll always work with you to set up an easy fostering experience and if you feel it's not for you we always take the cats back ASAP.

3. Become a Kitten Associate

We need volunteers to do all sorts of things like help plan an event, do data entry (we need a lot of help with data entry), PLAY WITH KITTENS and help us socialize them, or take photos, videos, write a press release or grant application. If you have a special skill or just love cats, we can use your help. You can decide how often you want to volunteer so you never have to feel like you'll get overloaded with requests. We run Kitten Associates like a big family and we want everyone to have fun.

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©2018 Robin AF Olson. Daphne and her 4 healthy kittens who would have been born outside with on one to care for them if we hadn't stepped in to help. Without good foster homes we can't save more lives.

4. Like to Haggle?

Yeah, let's just say we're a bit shy here. It's tough for us to ask for lower prices on things we buy all the time-like cat food and litter, and we also need bigger cost items from time to time. Some day we'd like to raffle gift baskets and we'd need items donated for that. Are you an outgoing person with a sparkling personality? Do you like to schmooze vendors to get good deals? Let us know!

5. Host or Co-Host an Online Auction

Organize and inspire folks to donate goods and services for us to auction off online to raise funds for our rescue. Grab a friend or two to help you to make it even more fun! We'll help you promote the auction and we can design all the social media graphics. We even have a few cool pieces to start the auction off with. Ideally, we would like someone in the Newtown, CT area to take this on, but we're open to working with someone out-of-state who has experience doing an online auction. This would be a fun task for 2019. If you know someone who might be a great person for this special project please let them know.

©2018 Robin AF Olson. Our summer kittens, Buzzbee, Bingham, Nate & Nick and Bettina on their way to the Vet for a checkup. They had little chance to survive the kill-shelter we were in so we took them into our rescue program along with their mom, Matilda.

#GivingTuesday

#GivingTuesday is an annual, worldwide effort to help garner donations for non-profits. This year, we're hoping to raise $5000 to keep our rescue programs going. Our Mascot for Giving Tuesday is a very special kitten named Pistachio.

Pistachio at NCC
©2018 Robin AF Olson. Covered in engine oil, filled with horrific parasites, the tip of his tail was frostbitten, we meet Pistachio for the first time.

Pistachio was found inside the engine of a diesel truck on a very cold winter day this past January. He was covered in engine grease and loaded with parasites. One of the parasites is a rare one, not often seen in the northeast called Lungworm and it gave him a horrible cough. On top of that, Pistachio had a number of additional health issues that required nearly 30 vet visits, a difficult surgery, and thousands in vet care.

Pistachio Giving Tues
©2018 Robin AF Olson. Pistachio after a month in our rescue, already starting to feel good for the first time in his life!

We're 100% volunteer run, 501c3 non-profit organization, so when you make a gift to us, it goes to the care and feeding of our rescue cats and kittens, not to a marketing firm or a fundraising company. We do not receive large grants or gifts so every dollar is precious to us.

We can't provide for kittens like 'stache without all of you by our side. I hope you'll consider taking part in #GivingTuesday2018 with a gift.

Donate in lots of ways: Use our PayPal Me link, via Venmo: Kitten Associates, or mail a check to: Kitten Associates, P.O. Box 354, Newtown, CT 06570-0354. You can also join our big FUNDRAISER on Facebook, where you'll be able to see our progress and chat with other live-saving donors!

Thank you to everyone who has supported our efforts for over 8 years. Every dollar means the world to us!

A Happy Ending for One Special Kitty

In April we rescued Chanel, from horrific conditions, in an apartment where she'd lived with 17 other cats, trapped inside for 3-months. Luckily someone fed the cats every few days during the time she was abandoned, but the filth was so severe it sickened all of us who entered the property.

Chanel, unfazed by her ordeal, was happy, affectionate and grateful to have a clean, safe, loving foster home with her new foster mom and dad, Traci and Paul.

They did a great job helping Chanel feel secure and loved but they were sad because they knew a cat as sweet as Chanel deserved a forever home, but no one seemed to be interested in her.

Being a 5-yr old cat, meant it would be difficult for us to find her a home when there were so many cute kittens up for adoption. After 6 long months, Chanel found her place. A lovely couple, who live in a quiet home with an elderly, sweet, doggie, asked to meet Chanel. It was love at first sight for Nancy and her hubby, Jeff. Nancy particularly bonded with Chanel right away and Chanel clearly liked her new friend.

A few weeks have passed since Chanel, now nicknamed, "Nell," began her new life. Nancy reports that Chanel is charming, has a funny me-ow and likes to chat with Nancy a lot. Nell is getting used to the doggie and found her new favorite place, sitting on Nancy's lap while she works on the computer.

Nell in her favorite place-on her mama, Nancy's lap.

Chanel's life could have ended in a kitchen cupboard where she'd made herself a nest, as she wondered where her family went and why there was no one to love her any more. Her family gave up on her, but we didn't. That's our job at Kitten Associates-to make sure every cat we rescue gets whatever they need and that we do what it takes, give it as much time as needed, for all of cats to find their truly forever home.

A Shocking Rescue Leads to Meeting One of the Sweetest Cats Ever

18 cats were abandoned in a small apartment for THREE MONTHS. A good samaritan at least put down food and water but never cleaned a litter pan. The ammonia smell in the enclosed space was suffocating. It's amazing none of the cats passed away in such deplorable conditions.

Despite the stress and difficulties, a brown tabby cat made herself a shelter inside a kitchen cabinet and hoped one day she would wake up from this nightmare. Thankfully, our rescue and our friends at Whiskers Cat Rescue, got together to save every single cat.

The brown tabby was the third cat we removed from the property. She was so friendly she came up to us and walked right into a cat carrier. She must have known we were going to take her someplace better! We named her in honor of one of our cats, Chanel, then later and added "No. 3" as a little joke to her being the third cat out and as a nod to the perfume, Chanel No.5. We didn't know what sort of emotional problems Chanel would have. She may have become feral. We'd know more once she got to see our vet for a checkup.

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Chanel survived living in filth and was nothing but happy to be around people again.

Chanel surprised us in every way. She walked out of the cat carrier as happily as she entered it. Her tail was held high. She walked over to us to be petted. Her fur was sticky and grimy. She didn't smell very good, either, but...wow...what a friendly cat!

Chanel is in terrific health. Even her teeth are nice and clean! Our vet thinks she is about 5 years old. She weighs about 9 pounds and was already spayed so all we had to do was to update her vaccinations. She tested negative for FIV and Feline Leukemia. Yay!

Over the weeks Chanel has been with our rescue, her fur has gotten shiny and silky and no more stinky smell. She loves to play and be petted. She loves sunbeams and soft beds. She deserves a family of her own, one that will never abandon her again. We don't know how Chanel is with other cats, but since she lived with 17 others, we're guessing she at least tolerates them. She loves people. That much we know.

If you'd like to adopt Chanel, fill out a Pre-adoption Application HERE.
If you have any questions just contact us at: info@kittenassociates.org

Latest Blog Post

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 9^th.

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.