The Ginny Fund

Ginny with one of her many admirers.


Some of you may remember Ginny, the dog who rescued cats. We've blogged about her in the past. She died right after our Jenny cat in August 2005. Ginny's memorial service was held that November -- at a cat show! Yes, you read that correctly, at a cat show.

We only have a few minutes to post this, so please click on this link to our old post "Ginny's Memorial Service" (in a new tab or a new window so you don't forget to come back to finish this story).

Well, the Ginny Fund which Philip Gonzales started while Ginny was alive to feed and vet cats lives on. Each cat is spayed/neutered, vaccinated, provided with any needed veterinary care and fed daily. Good homes are found for some of the tamer cats and those with special needs who would not fare well outdoors are cared for in the groups' own homes. The Ginny Fund is committed to the 200+ cats living in 21 feral colonies lives on. Philip and other volunteers still go out in all weather to make sure all the cats are fed. It is a registered non-profit.

In addition to the feral cats, the Long Beach Animal Shelter closed two years ago, but cats and dogs are still cruelly abandoned in boxes at the shelter doorstep. The Ginny Fund rescues these unwanted animals and provides the same services and care that the colony cats are given.

The Ginny Fund is supported entirely by donations! It is a registered non-profit. Donations are tax deductible. It has no paid staff or directors, so more than 85% of each dollar donated is used for food and veterinary services. The other 15% goes toward mailings and necessary business expenses.

Donations have dropped because of the economy, but the needs of the animals continue. The Ginny Fund is not a shelter, but we would like to submit it's name as an organization for Romeo to consider for May's fundraising.

The Ginny Fund can be found here (link is no longer any good), at the Ginny Fan Club site.

Oh, and please stop by Romeo the cat's blog before 9 PM tonight, April 30, and leave a comment nominating the Ginny Fund to help increase the chance of this group winning the drawing.

We're sorry this is so last minute. We intended to do it earlier. But we get busy and forget. Oh, heck, we just plain forget!

Flea Product Safety and Award

Oreo, who was not named for a cookie, has left for "the coolest place a kitty could be." Stop by and read his human mom's tribute to her sweet boy and if you can, leave her a message.



And now for the main subject for today.

Oh, great, it isn't bad enough humans (albeit inadvertently) try to kill us with toxic chemicals in sprays, topicals, collars or shampoos, now there are counterfeit and incorrectly labeled pesticide products on the market. We're so glad The Frugal Feline posted about this subject. This is very important information to protect the health of your dogs and cats.

Please read the information from the US Environmental Protection Agency on Counterfeit Pesticide Products for Dogs and Cats. Check your products to be sure you didn't mistakenly purchase one of the counterfeits.

And the Natural Resources Defense Council has posted information on flea control products and collars that is a must read for all humans who use flea products on their furries. There is a pocket guide to pesticides in products you can download, print and take with you to the store. Please check this information and bookmark the page. It won't matter how well you humans feed us or how often you brush us or exercise us, if you poison us with highly toxic chemicals.

Saturday we posted about Charlie "crossing the river." Golden Honey also passed away on Saturday, but we didn't learn about it until Sunday.

We hope Daisy the Curly Cat is doing better. She caught a bad cold. We didn't know you could catch a cold in FL. Guess we might as well stay in GA.

Today, the CB is worried about Daddy Charley (a human). Miss Peach's lapdaddy is home but Miss Peach's stitches are still infected and she'll have to go back to the vet.

This is all we can remember of our weekend. If we left out anything important, please forgive us. We are hoping this week will be happier. So, to help, we offer a happier note.


We received this award from Honey the Great Dane. So we have to tell everyone why we love blogging.

That's easy. We love the animal bloggers. When one is going through a trial, others gather around to support them. Whether it is a sick pet or a sick human. We have met bloggers from so many different countries and we so enjoy their different personalities and imaginative posts -- cats, dogs, hamsters, rabbits.... We've even met a Capybara -- Caplin Rous. We'd never heard of a capybara before this.

Charlie and Miss Peach

Oh, dear, this is not the way to begin our computer time today. Even though we knew this was coming, as soon as we saw the emails, all with "Charlie" as the subject, we knew her time had arrived. Yes, our friend Charlie has passed. As her human wrote, she has crossed the lake.

Whatever you believe about animals in the afterlife, we doubt you can read through either of her human's last two posts without tears, as she prepared herself for Charlie's passing. She's been doing this for some time. But no matter how hard you try to be prepared, the reality is painful. We hope you will stop by Charlie's Dog Blog to read "Crossing the Lake" and Thursday's "Post by Human." They are beautifully written by someone who loved Charlie very much. And while you're there, say hello. Anyone who has lost a furry companion knows how much a word of compassion is valued.

Charlie lived a long, happy life and will be missed by her many blogging animal friends and their humans.

And if this isn't enough bad news for one day, Miss Peach's lapdaddy is in the hospital after suffering a heart attack. Miss Peach is recovering from infected stitches after recent surgery. We hope, whether you know Miss Peach and her humans or not, you will stop by Miss Peach's Meowz and leave them a message of encouragement.

At least Charlie Cat continues to improve, although Big Charley (human) has the flu. We hope both Charlie and Charley get better quickly.

And after all that sad news, we need to go meditate and recover. You see, our day actually began with Jan trying to kill us. Well, some of us. She says it was an accident, that she just picked up the wrong spray bottle and gave us woofies a light spray of ---- believe it or not, Spic N Span mixed with water. But we haven't seen her move so quickly in a loooooooooooooooooooooooong time! We were outside getting baths in no time flat! Now we all smell good and that is really depressing! Yep, definitely not a happy day.

Furminator Furball Winner

Today is National Hairball Awareness Day.


And the winner of the Who's Your Favorite Furball contest is Madison.


Madison and her staff Cindy will receive a FURminator DeShedding Tool, courtesy of FURminator, Inc. to keep her coat beautiful and hairballs to a minimum.

You can read her winning entry on Romeo the Cat's blog.

Thank you, Romeo, for doing so much to help raise money and awareness for animal needs.

National Hairball Awareness Day

Don't forget! Tomorrow, Friday April 24, is National Hairball Awareness Day!

To celebrate, www.RomeotheCat.com and FURminator, Inc. are sponsoring the "Who's Your Favorite Furball?" contest.

The winner will receive a free FURminator deShedding Tool and will also see their favorite, funniest, furriest furball featured on www.PeoplePets.com and popular pet blogs across the Internet.



Have you entered Your Favorite Furball contest yet? See entry rules here.

FURminator Tips on Preventing Hairballs in Cats Fuzzballs, cat scratches and dirty litter boxes may be top complaints from cat parents, but paws down, hairballs are among the worst of the worst. With peak shedding season underway, our cats are in full swing when it comes to grooming themselves, which means an increase in hairballs (since hairballs are caused when the cat grooms itself).

Friday, April 24 is National Hairball Awareness Day, and to help both cat and parents alike, below are some tips on how to prevent hairballs in cats:

1. Regular Grooming: Hairballs occur when cats over groom. To help cats look and feel their best, it's essential to regularly brush them. The FURminator deShedding Tool for Cats is recommended by vets and nominated by Tufts University School of Veterinarian Medicine as the number one product to reduce hairballs in cats. Using the tool on a regular basis, as well as the FURminator deShedding Shampoo for Cats, will help reduce shedding, thus reducing the amount of hair your cat ingests.

2. Home Remedies: Try adding a little butter and canned pumpkin to your cat's meals once or twice a week. The butter may loosen the hair clod and the fiber in the pumpkin can help move it through the system.

3. Stay Hydrated: Encourage your cat to drink plenty of water by placing various bowls throughout the house. The water will help flush out the hair before it has time to clump in the stomach.

4. Consult Your Vet: If you believe you cat has chronic hairball problems, ask your veterinarian to recommend a laxative supplement to help prevent ingested hairs from forming hairballs.

We're excited to see who wins the contest tomorrow. Have you sent in your entry yet?

Your Favorite Furball Contest

Friday April 24 is National Hairball Awareness Day!

To celebrate, Romeo the Cat and FURminator, Inc. are sponsoring the "Who's Your Favorite Furball?" contest.


The winner will receive a free FURminator deShedding Tool and will also see their favorite, funniest, furriest furball featured on www.PeoplePets.com and popular pet blogs across the Internet.


Romeo and his Furminator.




Entering is easy!

1. Visit www.romeothecat.com and click on the FirstGiving link to donate $1 (or more if you choose!) to Romeo's FURPOWER beneficiary of the month, Kitten Rescue of Los Angeles.

2. Submit your favorite, funniest, furriest furball photo (cats only, please!) via email to romeo at romeothecat dot com and tell us how winning a FURminator deShedding Tool will change your life (and your furball's life!). Make sure to include the following information:

" Your Favorite Furball's name " How winning a FURminator deShedding Tool will change your life (and your furball's life!) " Your name " Your email address " What name you used with your FirstGiving donation

Entries must be submitted by 9 p.m. EST Thursday, April 23, 2009.

3. A Favorite Furball gallery will be posted on www.romeothecat.com leading up to the big announcement.

4. The winner will be selected via a random drawing.

5. The winner will be announced on www.romeothecat.com, www.PeoplePets.com and participating blogs at 12 p.m. EST Friday, April 24, 2009.


Contest parameters: " Contest is only open to cats (sorry doggies!) " Entrants must be located in the U.S. or Canada " Entries must be submitted by 9:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, April 23, 2009 " Entrants agree to allow their photo to be posted on participating blogs

If you have additional questions, please contact romeo at romeothecat dot com.

Good luck!

Investing Wisely

Unlike Jan, we are investing our day -- spending it wisely. She is on a cleaning kick. Vacuuming. Yuck! She even washed the doggy beds. Here we are breaking them back in again.



Sam: But do you notice anything wrong with these pictures? Buddy is hogging two beds, Merci is only using the middle of one way too big for her, and I don't even have a bed. Jaaaaaaan! Hellllllp!



Crystal is captured licking the crumbs off his nose after a late lunch.


Cotton is napping in one of our cat-sized winter beds.


And Cyndi is napping on one of our Gizzy quilts on the back of the swivel rocker. It's one of our favorite napping spots.


The rest of us were too quick for Jan to capture with a camera today. But we're spending our time just as wisely as the others at JFF.

Be sure to stop by Cory Cat's blog tomorrow. It's Sock Sunday and Crystal is participating. We can't wait to see what Zoolatry had done with Crystal's sock picture.

Benefit Car Show and Updates

Remember the dog shot in the shoulder with an arrow? (If you don't remember him, you can click on the label "dog with arrow" below this post.) He had his surgery and is now named Bo and he is "the shelter dog." We feel sorry for the poor guy. That shelter is no place for any animal to have to live. We think he should have gone to a loving home where he would be loved and walked and ..... Anyway, he was at the car show to benefit the local Humane Society Saturday. His shoulder is still draining and he limps on that leg but he is still a sweet, handsome dog!

It looks like we need to emphasize the fact that Bo is not up for adoption and won't be! He is officially the shelter dog and will live there. We are against this. No animal should have to live in a "house" of death, which is what the shelter basically is, since most of the animals that go in do not come out alive. But he is not there temporarily, or until his wound heals, or until someone opts to adopt him. There were a lot who offered but the shelter wanted him to live at the shelter and we can't do anything about it.


If you want to read about it, there is a link in that post to the Humane Society's Paws column about it. Jan says it was a terrific day, except for the standing on her feet part, since she was/is still trying to recuperate from mowing the lawn.

And as an update on the shelter and Our Friend, Our Friend and the group decided it was time to stop taking the photos at the shelter. She's kind of sad about it but believes it to be the right decision. She hopes she will be able to help animals in some other way, somewhere her help will be wanted and she will be respected.

The Pain of Rain

We're not sure Jan appreciates how much effort it is for we 3 woofies to walk her several times a day. But we care about her, so rain or shine, in sickness or in health, we make sure she is well-exercised daily. We take her on long walks, stopping to eat acorns or take a pre-pee sniff. We pull in 3 different directions to give her arms and back a good stretch. Thanks to us, she should be in excellent shape.

But we realize no matter what we do for her, she will never be content. Just always complaining.

Last year she complained all summer that because of the drought we've been in for several years, we had no lawn. Only weeds. Which she was forever swinging at with a weed chopper.

This spring we've had rain, rain and more rain. And did we ever have a lawn! But was she happy? Nooooooo! She complained she had to go out in the rain every day to swing the weed chopper at the tall grass. We thought it was great having such a lush dining table so we could graze outside and hurl inside.

After rain, before mowing






And then last week we had a sunny Thursday. A friend dropped off a lawn mower and Jan shaved our lush dining table. We cried at our loss. Jan moaned and complained about how much her whole body hurt because the tall grass was so hard to push a mower over. We barked at everything -- kids, bikes, cars -- on our walks to drown her out. We couldn't get her moving faster than a crawl.

After mowing




We thought she would do better after a day or two, but we didn't realize there wouldn't be any place for her to sit down at the car show to benefit the Humane Society on Saturday. When she finally got home, we were so excited to see her we rushed her right out the door and up the street.

Did she appreciate it? Well, let's just say we wished we were wearing ear plugs. She moaned and groaned and barely moved. No, don't pull! Stop yanking! Slow down! Stop! Don't move! Get back here! U-turn, let's go home!

We really felt unappreciated. And yesterday was the same. Today is another rainy day, so not only did she move "in reverse," she refused to walk through big puddles, so our walk was even shorter. We haven't been able to take her on a proper walk since last Wednesday. And she needs the exercise!

At first we considered trading her in for a newer model human. But we decided we'll give her another chance.

Mainly because we felt kind of sorry for her when her friend called after she got back from the benefit yesterday and said he will be dropping off the lawn mower again early this week because more rain is coming (it's here!) and his little mower can't handle tall grass. Her side of the conversation consisted of, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" So he's going to bring his riding mower instead.

Looks like we'll all be on comfort alert for .... however long it takes her to recover. It better be soon or we'll have to start training her to walk properly on a leash all over again.

Sheeesh, a dog's work is never done!

(s) Buddy, Merci & Samaritan

PS -- The woofies aren't the only ones on comfort alert. We kitties have been waiting longer (and patiently) for our food and spending more time sitting on Jan so she won't fall out of the chair. So we're a big help too!

But, oh, dear, Jaaaaaan, it's time to clean the litter pans! Nooooooooooow!

(s) Crystal, Cotton, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron & Rusty

Happy Easter 2009

We received these lovely Easter Eggs containing the famous sisters Zoey & Maggy from Zoolatry. Oh, how we wish we could do beautiful graphics such as this one. But we can't, so we'll share theirs with you. If you haven't already, we hope you will visit Zoolatry to enjoy the great diversity of graphics, ideas and humor.



Again, we intended to do something for Easter, but Jan spent the day on her feet at a benefit for the local Humane Society and then walked us woofies when she returned. Boy, did we have to go!

She is so exhausted she can't even tolerate the sound of Percy typing for us. So we're going to post this very quickly and then tiptoe around the house for the evening.

Happy Easter, from all of us. We hope it will be a day of great joy for all of you!

And now, shhhhhhhhhhhh. No running or yelling around JFF for a day or two.

Lighten Up, PETA

We were rushing to try to do an Easter post. And then we ran across this article and got ticked off.

Biden's Puppy Breeder: "Never, Never, Never Again"
Woman is vilified for selling a pedigreed pup to the Bidens.

By KAREN ARAIZA

Updated 2:48 PM EDT, Fri, Apr 10, 200

Fifteen minutes of fame turned into four months of bitter remorse for the Chester County woman who sold the Bidens their adorable little German shepherd puppy.

Linda Brown's been investigated, scorned and had her life threatened.

"I thought when Joe Biden bought a puppy from me, what an honor," Brown told the Daily Local News. "Out of millions of breeders in the country, in the world, he picked me."

That was December.

When the story got out, Brown faced backlash from pet lovers who thought the Bidens should have opted for a shelter over a breeder to find their new puppy.

PETA seized the moment as an opportunity to blame the killing of shelter animals on people who buy from breeders. The organization's TV commercial, "Buy One, Get One Killed" ran in Delaware after the Biden puppy story made headlines.

Read the rest of the story here.

What a load of crap. Sorry, but that's what it is. Who gave PETA or any other animal activist group the idea they can speak for everyone? Or they can humiliate or harass a breeder? We don't know anything about this breeder, but we do believe a legitimate breeder has a right to run a licensed business.

We would like to see every shelter animal adopted, but a shelter animal is not right for everyone, for any number of reasons. For any group of fanatics to cause a breeder to be harassed is beyond rationality.

We feel sad for the woman who has received death threats from animal activists and has had to shell out thousands of dollars in legal fees to protect herself and her business from somewhat ridiculous citations. If the woman is running a "puppy mill," there would be no need to invent charges.

The woman should be left in peace. She is not responsible for the millions of animals killed in shelters every year. Some humans have just lost all common sense.

Our advice? Adopt a shelter animal. Or adopt from a reputable breeder. But don't fall victim to the inferred lie that if all breeders are closed down, the shelters will close too.

Grand and Honorable

We recently posted on Baby Patches' spring photo contest, but we neglected to post a follow-up. We also neglected to post an award. (Jan, this is all your fault! You should pay more attention to what we're not doing when we should be doing it. After all, we inherited your bad memory!) Click here to view Rusty's photo entry.


We almost missed entering Rusty's photo in Baby Patches' New Furriends Spring Photo Contest. But with her help, we got him entered. The winners were announced the next day and Rusty was among the Honorable Mentions. Well, as you know from past posts, we take after Jan in some respects and she can be a bit dense at times. We assumed there was the winner, the 3 runners-up, and then all the others were Honorable Mention. But last night it finally sunk in. Rusty is among the Honorable Mentions. And today we got his badge to post. So, thank -- Oh, we'll let Rusty have a word.

Rusty: Thank you, Baby Patches. I'm honored to have participated with all those handsome kitties. Congratulations toTigerLily the winner and Maggie Mae, Chilli and Ginger Jasper the runners-up.



And from all of us at JFF, thank you, Socks, Scylla, Charybdis & Fenris, for this uplifting award.

The Life Is Grand Award has the following rules, tell 5 reasons why you think life is grand and then pass it on to 5 more blogs.

Okay, here goes:

1) Because Jan gave us this computer, we get to meet so many wonderful furries and humans through this blog. **uh-oh. Correction. Jan says this computer is not ours! ** So, we'll have to change it to, because Jan lets us use this computer....

2) We have a bed big enough for all of us to pile on. However, Jan insists on sleeping there too. This greatly reduces the available space for furries and thus most of us have to find alternative napping spots.

3) We have all the food we need (as opposed to all the food we want!).

4) We have so many books to read we may never get to read them all.

5) It's spring and when it stops raining, we'll get to watch the squirrels and chipmunks through the back screen door again.

We're told we have to get off of Jan's computer now so she can use it, so we'll have to wait to choose 5 blogs to poss this on.

But even so, Life is Grand.

No Contest

We were going to try to enter this photo in Baby Patches' New Furriends spring contest but the contest expires tomorrow. And since the camera is acting up again, we've run out of time trying to figure out how to enter. So we're just going to post the photo here so you won't forget what at least one of us looks like while we're on a "break."


Rusty, in his famous eyes-closed pose.

Stay well and have a good weekend! And good luck to all who entered Baby Patches' contest. Maybe we can enter the next one. We never win, but it's fun to participate once in a while.

PS -- We need to add an update. Baby Patches has solved our dilemma and entered us in her contest.

This is really good news. Jan was feeling guilty about not giving us more time. And you know what happens when a human feels guilty. Something goes wrong!

She preheated her little toaster oven to fix the cornbread for her dinner. (With cream of chicken and broccoli soup.) And when she went to put the batter in the oven, she discovered it was stone cold She forgot to plug it in. Hehehe.