River47 – “S’More Fun” Kids Event

River47 Church in Orange was hosting a kids event, and since it involved S’mores, I knew I needed to be there!

It was a great evening with at least 50 kids – older junior high and high school students were teemed with younger kids for a “big brothers/big sisters” experience of dinner, games, and then marshmallow roasting and fun.

Check out the video slideshow of images on our Facebook Page for more of the fun!

 

Daniel {Foster Kitten Update}

Back in March, my husband and I took on a foster kitten through Cats in Need… and he’s still with us.

Little Daniel is now 9 months old, and for every bit of progress we make with him… he’s still scared of us.

For several months we pretty much allowed him to come and go from “UnderBed” as he pleased. We’d come down, reach under (he was always just barely in reach) and give him loves and cuddles.  He felt safe under there, would purr and enjoy the rubs… but never ever come out from under the bed for more love.

Last month, we decided that it was time for some changes, and Underbed no longer has the ‘fortress’ (aka the underbed storage boxes) that he could get up on and remain out of reach.  As such, he’s been forced to venture out from Underbed more often.

 

We’ve also decided its time for some enforced cuddling.  So he’s being cornered, loved and held… and for the most part, he’s not happy about it.

However, last night, we cornered him downstairs on the scratching post, and stroked his fur and rubbed under his chin… and he leaned into the caresses!

Just for a moment, and then he remembered that he wasn’t supposed to like us… and pulled away.

So that’s where are are with the little man – he’s playing and getting along with our kitties,  I’ve seen him sprawled out napping on the downstairs couch… he’s just struggling to overcome his feral habits.

I have hopes that soon we’ll get a purr out of him again…

Lots of (Feline) Babies!

Kitten season has officially begun down at Cats in Need, where I make sure every cat up for adoption has a professional “headshot” on display.

To the right is little black “Crybaby” who was adopted with sister Lovebug within ours of their debut at PetSmart Yorba Linda a few weeks ago.

Below are “Mama Midnight”‘s 4 babies – 2 sets of twins – Velcro & Einstein and Princess & Sweet Pea. Mama isn’t all that old herself, barely 8 months, but she’s done a great job taking care of her 4 little ones.

Midnight’s babies are just 8 weeks old, and everyone in the family is currently up for adoption through Cats in Need.

This beautiful black kitty is Mama Midnight, practically a baby herself.

I also met Tootsise and Titan, two adventuresome kittens who are just 12 weeks old.


And just this last Saturday I met a “Spy vs. Spy” pairing of 12 week old babies: Luna & Baby Midnight

Cats in Need Update

Since I started photographing cats up for adoption with the nonprofit organization Cats in Need, I’ve met 38 wonderful cats and kittens that need forever homes. I’m happy to report that 17 of them have been adopted and gone to great forever homes!

There are others, such as JR picture to the right, that have just been rescued from the streets or from abandonment, who are being showcased right now at the Yorba Linda, CA PetSmart on Saturdays and Sundays (12pm-4pm) and can also be seen on PetFinder.com and on the Cats in Need-YL Facebook page.

While I was there last weekend, I was a part of sending Jax off to his newly discovered family. This handsome orange tabby with a loving, cuddly personality was a little scared when they came in to meet him, but after being held by his new potential human daddy, Jax was as happy as could be – he started purring and kneeding with pleasure right away and sealed the deal that minute!

In addition to making sure every cat up for adoption gets a “head shot”, this weekend my husband and I took on a foster kitten through Cats in Need. Little Dano (we’re calling him “Daniel” as he needs to work on his dignity and be less of a scaredy kitten) is a 4 month old feral who needs a lot of socialization.  He’s a hider, he’s quiet, and he’s not too sure about this people thing. He does like my husband (who held him for an hour two weeks ago while the boy napped in his arms in the PetSmart cat room) and he was happy in the baby sling with me for a bit.

At the moment, he’s hiding under the bed. The good news is that our own four have been pretty accepting of the new baby in their midst. So far, we’ve avoided the expected drama. I’m hoping that they’ll be great models of human cuddling and shown Daniel that people are good for more than opening cans of food.

If you’d like to get involved, there’s several ways to help:

• Donate some time: volunteers are needed to help staff the adoption fair on the weekends, as well as come in mid week to play with and clean up after the kitties.  Teen volunteers needing community service time are welcome too. Contact Cats in Need by email to get started.
• Donate supplies: Cat food (dry and wet) and liter is always welcomed.  So are toys, cat beds, and combs and brushes. Even packs of printer paper help offset the costs!
• Donate money: As a 501(c) charity, your money is not only tax deductible, its going to help the kitties with things like vet bills (shots and spay/neuter) as well as the costs of general food and liter care.  You can donate securely online or in person in their donation box during the weekend adoption shows.
• Spread the word: Know someone looking for a cat? Encourage them to check out the kitties up for adoption to find the right match for them. Come “like” Cats in Need:Yorba Linda Branch on Facebook, and encourage your friends to do the same.
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Cats in Need

I went down to my local PetSmart today to photograph some loving kitties who are in need of forever homes. Cats in Need is the organization in charge and they’re on site every weekend trying to help find the kitties they’re fostering homes.

When I arrived, one of the kitties, a 10 year old Maine Coone-tabby mix, had just been claimed and was preparing to head home with her new owner. Two others had also been claimed that afternoon, leaving me just 4 kitties to photograph.

The images will be featured on PetFinder.com – cats with professional images have a better change of being adopted than those photographed casually.

My job was to make these kitties look like the sweet, loving darlings they are… in the confines of the small adoption area.

First up was Lilly, who was lounging at eye level on the four story cat climber. This little beauty is a medium hair Calico.

Then I met Sinatra, named after the famous “ol blue eyes” himself.  Sinatra is a Siamese/Russian Blue Mix, and he was napping at the very top of the climber, just feet from the top. In fact, my first view of him was just some paws…

I also photographed Snickers, who wasn’t sure what to make of the camera. He liked me well enough until I brought the lens up, taking cuddles and some chin scratchings with pleasure.  But it was probably his first portrait session, and he was out in one of the featured cages, in the noisier area, so I think it was only to be expected.  He’s a tux cat like my Sebastian, and had a good dose of kitten frisk.

Finally, I photographed Sherry, who was hiding at the very bottom of that scratching post… she was such a shy little thing that I nearly missed her entirely! She did not want to leave her hiding place, but when one of her trusted caregivers brought her out and held her, I could see what  pretty kitty she is!