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bkmichele

@bkmichele

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TNR 🪤 & Rescue 😻
🔗 in bio to adopt/foster/contribute 🙏🏽
🤓 COO for NYCRUNS
CrossFit L2
USAW L2
🤰🏻BIRTHFIT Coach

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It’s with heavy, weary hearts that we share that today we said goodbye to Fat Cat. ❤️‍🩹🕊️

We went into his rescue and eye surgery hoping he had a curable infection that we could fix, allowing him to live many more years on his block. But unfortunately Fat Cat was suffering from what we strongly suspect was cancer - both in his eyes and in his lymph nodes. It made his recovery from surgery more difficult and the last thing we wanted was for Fat Cat to suffer.

This decision was made with his vets but also his caretakers, who came to visit him, and tell him how much they loved him. They shared photos of him and his bonded friend from their younger days - saying how Fat Cat was always so gentle, letting all the other cats eat first before he got his share. I’m so grateful to Fat Cats caretakers and to @bkmichele for all the love and care they give the cats in our neighborhood

Tragically, Fat Cat’s bonded friend passed away last year, after being hit by a car. We rescuers and colony caretakers work so hard to try and make life a little gentler for the feral cats living outside, but it never truly feels like enough. 💔 We hope that their spirits have found each other, souls, tails and atoms intertwining once more.

If you see a little cat on the street, please take note. Crack a can, look up TNR in your area, give a kindness to these little beings who should never even be out there in the first place.

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Thank you so much @yo0lie for giving him the home he’s been waiting for ❤️🖤 And enormous gratitude to everyone who helped Claude reach this milestone!

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2.5 weeks and at least 6 failed trapping attempts later, this whole family of kittens are destined for the indoor life!

Sad as it may be, removing mom from the board by trapping her first ended up being the catalyst for getting her kittens rescued.

Without mom to nurse from for a day, her kittens became extra interested in the food we left in our traps. And after the first two siblings were trapped, our last pair was feeling a bit lonely and left out - much easier to draw out and trap.

Every rescue teaches you something and the two nifty tricks I learned from this one are:

🔊 Kitten sounds: it’s a common rescue trick to play YouTube video sounds of mom cats calling to their kittens when trying to draw out kittens from hiding spots. But these calls had NO effect on these 4. But when I played the sound of *kittens crying*, the effect was immediate. Both the little calico girl and gray tabby boy RACED down the steps of the garage roof, screaming their heads off and darting right up to me (the source of the sound.) 10/10 recommend for anyone going after hard-to-trap kittens.

📹 Cellular field camera: The cellular and solar powered field camera was a godsend on this project and I got so many DMs across the weeks from yall asking what I was using. It’s the “SEHMUA 4G LTE Cellular Trail Camera - 2k live feed.” It’s about $35 but you do need to pay for cellular service and cloud storage for it to stream to an app on your phone. That ran me an additional $30 for the month of this project, but you can buy month/month. (Not sponsored, just that good!)

Finally, an important note to end on - I took this trapping project on in partnership with @flatbushcats. I TNRd Mama Fish but the vetting and adoption of the kittens will be under their care. None of us can do this work without fosters and every rescue I know (myself included) is always in need. If you’re invested in stories like these where friendly cats and kittens get the chance to live a better life, join us! Sign up to foster!

Many thanks to @glogambino @olivia___muse @danaandthecats and @bkmichele for your trapping support!
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If you see this anywhere but @carroll.street.cat.club it’s stolen content

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More often than not, trapping and rescuing cats doesn’t go quite as planned. So many quick decisions have to be made and the expression “herding cats” is real!

But it’s been a long time since I’ve had a project as situationally complicated as this one. The original yard Mama Fish (as her feeder calls her 🥰) hid her kittens in sat abandoned for over a YEAR. And I kid you not, the *day* we planned to trap the whole family construction started. Less than 24 hours later the foreman told us we had to move our trap and we lost access to the yard entirely.

Sometimes when I share projects like this where mom gets trapped first, people comment nervously about the welfare of the kittens. I get it. But kittens mature rapidly outside. While these babes were small, they were already weaning - we saw them eating solid foods outside in addition to nursing on mom. They were not at risk of starving so long as we kept putting food out to lure them out.

What they were at risk for was aging out of the easy socialization window. Trapping kittens between 6-12 weeks old is ideal for socialization. If kittens grow up without human contact for more than 3 months they’re on their way to becoming shy, scared feral cats who require more extensive socialization. Given how exhausted rescuers are this kitten season, it means these kittens would get TNRd if not rescued before then. So as this project dragged out getting them inside ASAP became a pressing priority.

Trapping Mama Fish was a game changer for this project. She was spayed the next day and I devoted the next 48 hours of my life to getting her kids. Stay tuned!

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Many folks to thank on this one - while Mama Fish was TNRd by me, the kittens will be taken in by @flatbushcats when rescued! We have them to thank for helping them get a better life. We also have @glogambino to thank for caring for Mama Fish and calling in rescue support for her kittens. And @danaandthecats, @olivia___muse and @bkmichele - thanks for joining in on the many many many trapping attempts this one took.
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If you see this anywhere but @carroll.street.cat.club it’s stolen content

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We need heroes!!! The secret is: it’s not that hard. And you don’t need a cape.

Each of these cats has their own story. Some were abandoned by previous owners; some were born outside; all have battled against the odds to survive.

Each of their lives would be profoundly changed by someone giving them a place to stay indoors.

You’ll be handsomely compensated with purrs, snuggles, and moments of connection with these sweet beings ✨

Get in touch today to support your local animal rescuers and save a life!

#fostercat #fosteringsaveslives #friday #catrescue #fosterkittens #catrescuer #tabbycat #catcrisisnyc #animalrescue #brooklyncats

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WE NEED CAT FOSTERS!!!!!

We have a panoply of cats who need foster homes (or forever homes!): kittens, seniors, young cats who want a feline friend and others who want to be solo, uber friendly ones and some that need socialization. Some of these friendly kitties are still living outside until we can line up a foster. When we say, “fostering saves lives,” we mean it!

1. Sundae (female), 4 years
2. Manchego, male, 1 year
3. Downpour (orange, male) and Puddle (female), 9 weeks
4. Mariah (female), 13 years
5. Orville (male), 1 1/2 years
6. Romeo (male), 1 1/2 years
7. Nari (male), 12 years
8. Badger (male), 3 years
9. Chucky (male), 2 years
10. Smokey (male), 5 years
11. Boots (tuxedo), 1 year, and Sundae (calico, female), 4 years

FOSTER LINK IN OUR BIO!

@narn_cb #FosteringSavesLives #AdoptdontShop #SpayAndneuterYourPets #BrooklynCats #RescueCats #CatCrisisNYC @nyccouncil @lynn4nyc

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FOSTERS NEEDED!
Every rescuer I know needs fosters, big time, including my rescue network, NARN (Neighborhood Animal Rescue Network).

We have a panoply of cats that need fosters (adopters work too 😉): kittens, seniors, young cats who want a feline friend and others who want to be solo, uber friendly ones and some that need socialization. Some of these friendly kitties are still outside till we line up a foster. When we say, “fostering saves lives,” we mean it!

1. Sundae (female), 4 years
2. Manchego, male, 1 year
3. Downpour (orange, male) and Puddle (female), 9 weeks
4. Mariah (female), 13 years
5. Orville (male), 1 1/2 years
6. Romeo (male), 1 1/2 years
7. Nari (male), 12 years
8. Badger (male), 3 years
9. Chucky (male), 2 years
10. Smokey (male), 5 years
11. Boots (tuxedo), 1 year, and Sundae (calico, female), 4 years

FOSTER LINK IN MY BIO!

@narn_cb #fosteringsaveslives #adoptdontshop #spayandneuteryourpets #brooklyncats #rescuecats #catcrisisnyc @nyccouncil @lynn4nyc

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These two perfect gentlemen are ready to be adopted @rainorshinerescue. Mix (tuxedo) is an older gentleman who wants nothing more than to lay on your lap and get his tummy rubbed. Match is a middle aged gentleman who loves making biscuits by your side and getting the zoomies. They are a bonded pair who deserve a loving forever home 🩷 they are indifferent to dogs and curious about other cats. They are the sweetest pair

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It’s time to share a happy story. This is about Marsha and Marcel—initially known on this grid as Ingmar and Ichabod—two kittens whose lives got off to a rocky start. Born in a basement without a consistent caregiver/feeder, they were left behind after their mom and siblings were rescued in January. We found Marsha weeks later, hungry and absolutely terrified, her tail as bushy as a squirrel’s (slides 4 & 5!). She was so spicy it was hard to care for her, and I was worried about finding a foster—let alone an adopter—who would be able to help her come out of her shell and thrive. When Marcel (Ichabod) finally joined her inside more than three weeks later (slide 9), there was at least the promise of the two of them having each other as buddies through fostering and socialization. But with half a dozen cats already in my and my small team’s care, I could not handle it myself. It was an amazing stroke of good fortune when @bkmichele connected me with @rainorshinerescue, who were willing to match these kittens with a foster and take the lead on finding them a permanent home.

Without delay, Rain Or Shine brought us @jessica_gettel, who took in Marsha while I finished treating Marcel for parasites. Jess’s care and perseverance with a shy, fearful kitten were even more remarkable given that she hadn’t worked with cats much before! Marsha progressed slowly but steadily, and when we were able to reunite the kittens at their foster home, things truly began to look up.

The glorious ending to this story is that Marsha and Marcel are now HOME for good with the most amazing family. Their adopter is a veterinarian and could not be more attentive and caring toward these two babies! Marsha and her new sister, Nea (cow cat) adore each other, and Nea gives Marsha all the grooming she has been aching for. Marcel, for his part, gets all the cuddles and snacks he could possibly want (which is a lot), also loves his new family, and even gets to ride around in a baby sling. It doesn’t get any better than this. Thank you Rain or Shine, thank you @jessica_gettel, and thank you @arielleeve56 for allowing these sweet kittens to mend your heart & complete your family!

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What has four ears, two tails, and loves a good pipe? 🤔 It’s IZZY & IRA, the PIPE KITTENS! 😍

In January, @suzie__sz @french_toast_buddy @nt_paints and I went looking for the kittens of a postpartum cat we’d met. We found ourselves in a dusty, musty basement, staring down the small furry mass that was inside a long piece of pipe - slide 4! (Did I initially think it was one kitten, and was I mildly injured when Izzy burst unexpectedly from the pipe, claws out? Maybe 😅)

Anyway, the good news is that the two pipe kittens (and the two more we later found!) are healthy and cute, and with the help of wonderful fosters, Izzy & Ira are ready for a forever home where they can curl up in a play tunnel made for kittens instead of a dirty pipe!

The boys are five months old and growing fast. They thrive on playtime—with wand toys, with crinkle toys, with just each other. Cuddle-wise, Ira (slightly bigger, all black nose) just takes a few moments to get to know you before he’ll purr and lean in for pets. Izzy (pink nose, slightly crossed eyes, the super high jump) is catching on, learning how nice humans can be. Their adopters should be patient enough to help Iz continue coming out of his shell as he grows up.

Izzy & Ira are neutered, microchipped, treated for parasites, up-to-date on vaccines, and tested negative for FIV and FeLV. If you are looking for some handsome, adorably bonded kittens to warm up your life for years to come, please apply to adopt IZZY & IRA! 🦊🐯❤️

#adoptable #adoptablekittens #adoptdontshop❤️ #rescuekittens #fosteringsaveslives #catrescue #adoptables #kittensofinstagram

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The fundraiser to get Cleo a dental is live! Please donate and share: https://gofund.me/d8956ed6

#catrescue #rescuecat #fosteringsaveslives #fostercat #crownheights #tuxedocat

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i am so, so proud of the cats i’ve been able to adopt out this year. every single one of them is special to me (one might say, all-time favorites).

and the most fun part is that the majority of them were collaborations with two spectacular rescuers and good friends, @lexiscatroom and @thatsagoodcat. and also a big thank you to @bkmichele for sharing a foster, @jad124_ for fostering and socializing, and @barbeystreetcats for all the help with Patches!

i’m going to bask in the warm and fuzzy feelings before kitten season starts in two short months.

happy forever, my sweet friends! i love you and will never forget you.🤍

in order:

1- Benito
2- Patches
3- Bottle Rocket (now Marcel)
4- Delia (now Geri)
5- Frappuccino (now Ciccio)
6- Walter
7- Xena
8- Piri-Piri
9- Kit
10- Newton
11- Sparkler (now Merv)
12- Tiramisu (now Gus)

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