The Garden Cat Imposters

 This week we celebrated Administrative Professionals' Day. We love all our administrative staff - they support our team, keep everything running, and make sure the bills are paid and the lights stay on. They hold a ton of important jobs - everything from human resources to finance to marketing to development and so much more. Everyone works incredibly hard to support our mission.

But there are a few of our administrative staff who go above and beyond for a very specific group of animals.

 

Who invited you here? We're pretty sure it wasn't us.

 

It all started with two cats. A few years ago, we began our Garden Cat Adoption program. We decided we needed something special for the unsocial kitties - the ones who subscribe to the "look, don't touch" philosophy and want a pretty specific "will work for food" arrangement. We set up the Marilyn and Fred Anderson Community Cat Garden outside our President's office. The garden is fenced in with tons of hidey spots and lots of kitties who are adopted by stable owners, business owners, and others looking for an awesome pest control solution.

Standing guard in the garden is very important and I do it very well.

 

Almost immediately upon creation of the garden, two garden cats snuck their way into Carol Novello's (our president) office and started hanging out there. They became known as "Carol's Ferals" and the name stuck.

These treats are mine. Hands off, people.

Not long after that, Carol's Executive Assistant, Lorrie, took a special interest in the garden cats. She spent her breaks in the garden, throwing out tasty treats. Eventually, a few of the cats gave up their old way of life and started to approach her. Some even let her touch them, leading us to believe that some of these "garden cats" were just fakers, pretending to be shy and unsocial while hiding a mountain of friendly goodness that they only unleashed in return for food.

Lorrie and a garden-cat-faker.

 Lorrie eventually roped in other members of our admin staff to be part of Team Garden Cat - pretty soon, our entire Human Resources team began spending time in the garden with the cats, especially HR staff member Karen. Our Director of Human Resources, Yvonne, even began bringing some of the friendliest ones into her office for a few hours during the workday to give them extra love.

This is my office now.

One such cat was Bruce Lee, a cat who quickly stole the hearts (and chair) of Yvonne and the rest of the admin staff. Every morning, HR staff member Michelle would let Bruce Lee in from the garden and into Yvonne's office, where he would spend much of the day before wandering back to the garden in the evening. 

 I have decided to be king of the indoor land. Now let me inside.

Bruce Lee spent so much time being socialized by our staff that he ended up being adopted - as an indoor cat!

 Hooman, bring us the treats.

What started as a spark has grown into a full-fledged revolution. Some of the garden cats now demand attention and treats from Lorrie and Karen. These imposters wait at the door, not-so-patiently staring at anyone who walks by, willing them to bring treats.

Keep those treats comin', Karen.

 Our admin staff is pretty awesome. In addition to all their regular duties, they now serve as official garden cat socializers. In honor of Administrative Professionals' Day, we want to thank them for being rockstars and giving so much effort to the "undercats" (get it? undercats?).

If you're interested in your own garden cat (imposter or not!) ask about our garden cat program!

The Kittens Are Back - With a Vengeance

It's been a long*, quiet winter sans kittens. People everywhere were sleeping through the night. Families were enjoying their unscathed curtains and couches. And the dogs were rejoicing.

And then...the first few sunny days hit. Weeks later, the flood has arrived.

 

We're baaaaack.

 

The flood of kittens, that is. And they are here for revenge.

 

Look at my wee ears! 

You people thought you could just "forget" about kittens and "enjoy" life without them? Not today, jerks. The kittens are here to do everything in their power to remind you. Because they have motive, and a goal.

Take THAT, evildoers. 

Kittens only have a couple weapons with which to seek their retribution: sharp claws, razor teeth, and infinite amounts of cuteness.

 

Remember kitten bellies? Now you do. 

That's right. Kittens are weaponizing cuteness. Why, you might ask? 1) Because they can. If you've got it, flaunt it. 2) Kittens are master manipulators. As we enter the warmer months, thousands of kittens will be born, and those mouths need feeding.

They use their chubby kitten bellies and tiny, adorable paws to sucker you into caring for them. Yes, they do that. No, we're not trying to manipulate you into helping care for them - we're just passing on a message**. And you know what they say about how you should treat messengers.

 

We call this "kitten yoga." It's one of the best weapons we have.

These terrible, scheming kittens need foster homes to care for them and help them grow into Proper Adult Cats. They won't stop terrorizing us about it, and refuse to let it go. Keep the kittens off our backs - sign up to foster.

 

Do it- or the hand gets it.

 

If fostering just isn't in the cards right now, fret not. The kittens have promised not to exact total and outright destructive revenge as long as you do something else: send them supplies.

 

Yep, we can stand upright now. Let this be a warning to you, human.

Kittens are sort of like teenagers. They eat us out of house and home, and apparently "can't get jobs" to support themselves yet, so they just mooch off of us in the meantime***. Which means as more kittens show up on our doorstep, our stock of supplies starts to dwindle. To help you out, we made a wishlist of all their favorite stuff to make it easy for you. Because we're awesome like that.

Give me all da food - OR ELSE!

Help us escape the kitten wrath. They're only using one of their weapons now, and we're afraid what they'll resort to next.

*It hasn't been that long. We live in California, after all, so it's been what - 12 seconds? We joke, we joke.

**We are trying to manipulate you. Did it work?

***We don't really think of teenagers like this. In fact, most of the teenagers we've met are super helpful, awesome kids. Some of them even foster kittens. How's that for full-circle?

 

The Verifiable Truth About Black Cats and Friday the 13th

It's Friday the 13th, and you know what that means:

If you see a black cat, stay out of its way. They're unlucky, and, let's face it, downright dangerous.

A vampire cat that is definitely considering sucking the life out of you.

You can see the malice in their eyes, and can pretty much guarantee they're plotting something.

What's Jack thinking? Impossible to know for sure, but it's a sure bet there's ill intent behind those eyes.

Black cats have long been associated with witches and sorcery, and it's not hard to see why.

If this face doesn't scream "evil witch in disguise," we don't know what does.

 Not to mention the fact that black cats are very, very good at black magic.

 This ribbon is going down - with the help of the dark arts.

You may be tempted to think that only black adult cats are the problem, but believe us when we say that they start 'em young. Even black kittens can't be trusted.

 

The face of pure, unadulterated evil.

Case in point:

Hide your children's eyes - the horror is almost too much to bear.

 All we're saying is, if you happen to see a black cat today, keep your wits about you.

A housepanther who is definitely considering eating you and not thinking about taking a nap. 

In all seriousness, there's nothing unlucky about black cats, and myths about the colors of animals are just silly. We have some pretty awesome black kitties who care less about witchcraft and more about snuggling with people.

 I even love snuggling the tiny humans.

If you're into bucking stereotypes and ridiculous myths, come by and visit us. Today's a perfect day to adopt a black cat and show them haters the truth about housepanthers. 

A Pajama Party and a "Please"

We need to talk about this "big dogs in pajamas thing."

These things are pretty comfy.

 

 Last week, we dressed up a couple of our biggest, snuggliest pooches in pajamas and hosted a two-day pajama party. And you all ate it up. You loved it, and we loved you for it.

If we could, we would look at you this adoringly.

"Our work here is done," we thought. "They're all going to find homes this weekend." But here's the problem. Some of the "pajama party" dogs are still looking for homes.

 Are you serious?

Yep, we're serious. Dogs like Jojo, the snuggliest cuddle monster in all the land, are still hanging around waiting for their peeps. Luckily, Jojo has a good attitude about it.

 Smiling is my favorite.

And she was sure happy about her time in the spotlight.

PJs. Belly rubs. My dreams have come true.

 

Jojo needs a home. She loves everyone - men, women, kids, grandparents. Except dogs. She'd prefer to go home without dogs (they're scary, and people are way cooler). Jojo is everyone's favorite here because no one can resist the famous Jojo smile or her world-class cuddles.

 

Come on, you want to rub that belly. Do it. Rub the belly.

Listen to them, please.

Or Luna Loo and Baby Boo, who give us serious twin envy. 

You know you want to squish these faces. 

Okay, so they're not technically twins. But who wouldn't want to hang with their bestie in matching pajamas? It's like a Mary-Kate and Ashley movie without the sing-alongs. They're two peas in a pod who are in serious competition with Jojo for "best snuggler."

 I'll take a cuddle or two, if ya don't mind.

The point is, our big dogs are adorable. And photogenic. And incredibly patient with our silly attempts to get them noticed. They're game to have a slumber party with you, and hoping you'll notice how adorably squishy their bodies look in their favorite pajamas. 

Obsessed with dogs who are obsessed with pajamas? Make it a full circle. If you can't adopt, tag a friend who needs a friend. Or sign up to foster. There are tons of ways you can help us make this pajama party a forever kinda thing.