How To Save a Life

Saving a life is easier than you think…just foster a cat!

How does fostering cats save lives?

• Reduces overcrowding in shelters and opens space for other cats - so you’re not just saving one cat, you’re saving two…plus you’re helping prevent the births of more homeless cats!

• Prepares cats to live in a home environment through exposure to new experiences, sounds, people, and other pets.

• Helps kittens overcome shyness or fearfulness that might prevent them from being adopted.

• Allows special needs cats the time, space and caregiving to recover from an injury or illness.

What do I need to do?

• Provide a quiet space for alone time (like a bathroom) until they are acclimated (especially if there are other pets).

• Contribute as much as you are willing; Shadow Cats TNR will provide food, litter, supplies, vaccines, spay/neuter, medical care, and even toys, beds, or scratch posts if we have them available.

• Let us know how to find your PURRfect match.

  • How long do you want to foster?

  • How many do you want to foster?

  • Do you prefer kittens, adults, seniors, or special needs?

  • Do you have kids? Other pets?

  • Do you have a quiet or active household?

  • The more info you provide, the better we can match you.

• Rely on us for guidance and work with us through any issues. We want a great experience for both you and the cat(s)!

• Keep them indoors!

How do I say goodbye?

• Cats are like people…although you care for them, there are some you bond with deeply and some you won’t. The ones you fall in love with are the hardest to let go, but remember your love for them has given them a safe space and the interactions to help them be adopted. Then you can open your home and your heart up for another one!

• Remember, each cat you foster saves multiple lives! The more you open your home, the more lives you save.

• Goodbye is the goal! When you say goodbye, you know you’ve played an important part in helping your foster cat find their FURever home.

What do I get out of it?

• You meet aMEOWzing PURRsonalities.

• You don’t have to commit long term.

• You can avoid the expenses of pet ownership.

• It’s good for your physical and mental health.

  • Decrease blood pressure

  • Increase physical activity

  • Lessen anxiety

  • Increase socialization

  • Teach responsibility and caring for animals to kids

Foster Tailz

Our volunteer and Super Foster Mom, Jeanette renovated her shed to be an overflow home for fosters. She calls it the “Second Chance Suite (SCS).” She currently has 14 kitties, including a feral momma with 4 babies named Henny Penny (mom), Rooster, Chickpea, Chicken Nugget and Chicken Tender!

You don’t need a big space like Jeanette to be a foster, though. Do you have a spare room or an area you can make comfy? Fostering a cat or two doesn’t take that much space. Jeanette just decided to “super size!”

Meet Some of Our Foster Cats

Meet some of the furry beings currently in foster care. These (and cats like them) are just some of the ones you’d be helping to save by fostering.

Rescue Tailz and Fostering

These stories are why we need your help fostering!

Winston

Winston came to us from a site in Harford with an injured degloved tail (first picture)…that means the fur and the skin is gone. Thanks to Dr. Carletti’s amazing skills (All Paws Animal Wellness Clinic), his tail was amputated and the wound cleaned. He’s now getting lots of TLC and is on his way to healing. In a couple weeks, assuming all goes well in foster care, he’ll be going into Adoption. Keep an eye out for this beautiful, sweet ginger boy on our Adoption Page in the coming weeks!

May 29

Shadow Cats TNR helped a partner rescue, Saving Acres Farm, with a TNR nightmare site that was heart-wrenching: terrible living conditions, no water, and being fed human food. 20+ kittens were pulled due to severe illness and malnourished condition. While Saving Acres Farm is doing their due diligence to help TNR the remaining adults and older kittens, several rescues offered help to save the lives of the babies. Jeanette, one of our amazing foster moms and host at SCS, got 6 of them and is working her best foster magic to repair 6 little lives.

We had a tremendous number of donations pour in through Facebook when we posted this story, thanks to our incredible supporters and donors. Unfortunately, these situation continue (read about the June 9 rescue below). We and our partner rescues encounter every type of situation and save as many as we can. Donations help cover vaccines, medical needs, spay & neuter costs, food, and supplies.

June 9

Yet another sad case of a northern PA TNR solo trapper working hard and needing help at a bad site. SCTNR took two kittens and they went to SCS all the way from Gettysburg!

Meet Hansel & Gretel

They need some major prayers, well wishes, or whatever positive actions you do so they can continue their healing journey. In less than 24 hours they made immediate improvement with diligent eye care. Jeanette’s “eye babies” always look wet because it's imperative you keep them lubricated to allow moisture to heal the eye. You don't want it crusting shut. These babies are BEAUTIFUL and are going to have quite the glow up!!!

How can you help these and other SCTNR kittens and cats that need spay/neuter, vaccines, medical care, nourishment and love? Just click on these links:

• DONATE

• FOSTER

Happy Tailz of Former Fosters

Meet a few of our recently adopted, pre-loved foster cats, Carrot Cake (a house fire survivor), Rusty, and Leslie! Wishing them and their new families a PURRfect life together!

June Events

We Put the FUN in FUNdraising!

Here are some PAWsome ways to support us this month!

Summer is the PURRfect Time for Pampered Chef!

Help us reach our goal of $650 by the end of June to get 15% of all sales! Order at our Shadow Cats PC Party by June 26!

(Psssst…as of the date of this newsletter, we only need $159.50 to go!)

There are some great summer items on sale until the end of the month - get in on the deals and help support our cause! Also, we get an extra $3 for every show booked and YOU can get double rewards* and up to 60%* off any product or set if you host in June (*depending on show sales)!

Support SCTNR’s Mission

Shadow Cats TNR focuses on two of the best solutions to humanely control the local cat overpopulations and significantly reduce the kill rate at shelters: Spaying and neutering, and Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR).

You can help support our mission and help community cats by taking any or all of these actions:

• Adopt

• Foster

• Volunteer

• Donate

• Educate: Share posts on social media!

Other Ways to Help

These programs help us raise funds for our rescue:

• Redner's Save-A-Tape Program

• SCTNR Pampered Chef Link

We hope you’re enjoying our monthly MEWSletters! We’d love to hear any feedback about what you’d like to see (or not see!) in the future. Contact us at marketing@shadowcats.org to let us know what you think!

THANK MEW!