1988-2008... 20 years of purrs... 20 years of purpose...
Good Mews
Finding good homes for good kitties…
Happenings
Happy New Year!
As the year comes to an end, Good Mews is thankful for so many things.
In a year that has had it’s difficult times with the economy, foreclosures, etc. we have all seen new challenges. Everyday you can read a story about another homeless cat or dog due to the foreclosure crisis. We at Good Mews feel very lucky to be able to continue our mission and we couldn’t accomplish anything without your generous donations and time.
We would like to thank our donors, volunteers, adopters and everyone who has made our 20th year of carrying out our mission a success. Last weekend to end our “Home for the Holidays” campaign we sent home 14 cats!!
In November and December to celebrate the year’s end, we sent home 50 cats and kittens. Our goal for the holiday season was a bit more than that but we were lucky enough to send home some long term shy residents like Biloxi, Trixie and Aramis! Biloxi is the last of our rescue kitties from hurricane Katrina!
Aramis
Trixie
Biloxi
Please help to keep our mission going to help find great homes for great kitties. If you would like to make a donation, please click DONATE!
Cans for Kitties!
Update: this is the last weekend for our canned food drive.
Thank you to everyone who has made this a big success!!
Beginning Saturday December 6- Saturday January 3rd we will be having our first ever canned food drive.
Cans for kitties will help our cats and kittens at the shelter through the holiday season. Currently we use approximately 7 cases of canned food per week of Science Diet cat food which adds up to 168 cans of food per week!
We feed canned food to all of our cats and even have specific guidelines for sick or picky cats to make sure they get extra food to help them out!
For cats that are picky or won’t eat we also use Fancy Feast food and go through a large amount as well.
Wow, that is a lot of food. Can you help? Even one food can help!
We use the following types of canned food:
~Science Diet Adult Chicken or Turkey varieties only
~Prescription Diet A/D for sick kitties
~Fancy Feast, minced varieties preferred
We are open every Saturday from 10-4 and Sunday from 1-4 through the end of the year for you to drop off cans. We are closed during the week but management is usually available to accept a donation. If no one comes to the door during business hours of 9-5 during the week, please drop off cans at the front door.
A special holiday box will be in the foyer for our donations for our Cans for Kitties!
Eva “Destruction”
Eva and her sister Ericka were both abandoned on September 22, 2008.
Good Mews took them in.
All we knew was they were sisters, Eva was very sick and her nickname was Eva Destruction.
Abandoned and alone. Abandoned with a bag of medical supplies.... insulin, kidney supplement, some food and a note.
Eva passed away on November 25, 2008.
Here is her story:
For two months she lived with us at the shelter but for most of the time she was in and out of the hospital. Test after test, specialist after specialist we tried. Eva was a diabetic and had a condition called DKA, diabetic ketoacidosis which is fatal if left untreated. Most doctors see this occasionally with diabetics. Eva had DKA five times in two months.
This little girl was a fighter and all the money and treatment in the world couldn’t fix her. Good Mews spent close to $6000 trying to make her fight worthwhile but finally she got tired and her little body gave out.
Since medically we couldn’t find any reason why she crashed so many times, my thoughts about Eva come from a recent article in the Best Friends magazine.
G.A. Bradshaw, PH.D writes:
“Animals seek out what is most familiar and comforting: humans. Dogs, cats, parrots and other species make deep lasting bonds with humans, much like they might with their fellow species members. Any loss or disruption to these emotional bonds can cause severe stress.”
Sadly, this is the case for most shelter animals. Not only have many suffered extreme abuse, but they have also had to bear the loss of loved ones. There are many stories describing how a companion will grieve for his past family and in some cases will wither and die.
Statistics on animals relinquished to shelters speak to the profound hardships that many animals face in the absence of human families who will care for them with the same commitment that they themselves give.
They are asked to live, and survive, in a world without love.”
For me, that last sentence is the true story of Eva. Had she been humanely euthanized prior to being abandoned, she would have had the comfort of being with her human for her last moments. We at Good Mews loved her but we were not her human and that is who she needed and wanted.
In a brief two months, Eva touched the lives of many of us here at the shelter and all of her doctors. There was definitely something about Eva and we all so badly wanted her to make it. She was a true fighter and perhaps with her “human” she would have won the battle.
Personally, my life was very touched by the little girl named Eva Destruction.
~Feline Care Manager
If you would like to make a donation in Eva’s memory, we would greatly appreciate it!
Please click DONATION.
2009 Picture Purrfect Calendar
We are pleased to say that the supporters of Good Mews have the most adorable cats and kittens in the country.
How do we know? We looked at over 112 entries to the “Picture Purrfect” Calendar Contest and the photos were fabulous. Thank you to everyone who submitted photos this year!
It was a very tough decision to pick the cats that would be featured on the cover as well as the months, and we hesitate to say “winners” because each and every cat is a winner in our eyes! It is apparent that every cat pictured in this calendar is well-loved and cared for by their owners.
The judging was performed by Melinda D. Merck,D.V.M.,who is the Senior Director of Veterinary Forensic Sciences for the ASPCA. Dr. Merck frequently testifies as a forensic veterinary expert for animal cruelty cases around the country and provides training for veterinary and law enforcement professionals nationwide on the use of veterinary medical knowledge in the investigation and prosecution of animal cruelty cases. She has also authored several textbooks on veterinary forensics. Dr. Merck has long been a supporter of Good Mew and we are appreciative of her help with this year’s calendar.
Click here for a close-up! thatcher1.png
About our Cover Cat: Thatcher
When this handsome boy’s owners, Sean Rindge and Hillery Rink of Atlanta, caught this beautiful zen-like photo of their cat in the sun, they had no idea that one day he would become a star!
Thatcher is a 3-year old male tabby that was adopted from Good Mews. He truly is a companion animal that follows them from room to room and they have no problem doting on him. One of Thatcher’s favorite activities is to “ride” on plastic bags and his owners are more than happy to indulge him!
The year of cats!
Here are the cats who are featured month by month in our new 2009 calendar:
Photos start with January from left to right.
January - Emerald owned by Chris Cumpton
February - Belle & Storm owned by Bud Wendling
March - Benji owned by Nancy Riley
April - Jerry owned by Diane and Jim Boston
May - Belle, Bailey & Jessie owned by Linda Smith
June - Joey owned by Bill and Sandy Hudson
For a close-up, click monthly_photos1-calendar.jpg
July - Charlie owned by The Szanto Family
August - Maddie owned by Scott and Lisa Allen
September - Nicholas owned by Carole Bache
October - Brutus owned by Cherie and Rich Macgeorge
November - Scooter owned by Marge Dussich
December - Harry owned by Lisa Ferguson
Honorable Mentions:
Sissy & Sassy owned by Merle and Jim Henry
Rockie & Forrest owned by Cherie and Rich Macgeorge
Dahlia owned by Stephanie, Dan, Rachel and Adam Joseph
Casey owned by Carol Chambers
Sophie & Bogart owned by Christie S.
Khaki owned by Barbara Carlee
Emmett owned by Jeam Klim
Rusty owned by Sharon and Paul Schleif
Bambi & Little Girl Cookie owned by Amber and Gary Watson
Aggie owned by Michelle Kirkham
Please email to order your copy of the new calendar. They will also be sold at Good Mews for $20.
Donate Now
Click the paw to donate financially to Good Mews programs. Or read about the Programs you can donate to first.
Catistics
Adopted This Year: 0
Adopted Last Year: 303
Total Cats Adopted: 5,152+
Years Running: 21
Snip Pets!
Carrie Murtha, a Good Mews volunteer has started her own line of art work called the Snip Pets!
What exactly IS a SnipPet?
It’s simple. A snip~pet is…
1-PET art created with SNIPS of paper, paint and clay.
2-a PET that has been spayed or neutered...the kindest SNIP of all!
Make sure YOUR pet is a SnipPet...it is the only way to stop pet overpopulation and the consequent euthansasia of millions of healthy, adoptable cats and dogs EVERY year!
From Carrie: “I will donate 10% of any art sales generated by you directly to your Spay/Neuter efforts. I always ask each customer how/where they heard about the SnipPets, so that i can easily track what group to donate to. In addition, I am developing products featuring my SnipPet mascots, Stuart and Sunny SnipPet, and 100% of the profits from those items will go toward your spay/neuter efforts.
In addition, 10% of the selling price will go to the best cat shelter in the world, Good Mews. I will donate that percentage to their spaying and neutering efforts.”
Please check out her wonderful products by clicking Snip~Pets. Also check out more about her artwork and her spay neuter efforts in helping our furry friends at Snip-Pet-Blog.
Another great holiday gift idea for you and your friends and an added bonus of helping the Good Mews kitties!