Meet Smidge and Smudge!
These two sweet little kittens are from Hawai'i.
My sister wanted to help them to find a good home, and I agreed to help her, so... here they are. You can hear more of the story of how she came to foster these kittens, if you scroll down the page. If you read the story, you will understand why I want to find a really good home for these guys.
Thanks to Lucy at Whis-Purr rescue, Smidge and Smudge are staying at Whis-Purr Rescue's Facility in Redwood City, at the old Peninsula Feed Store (which used to be San Mateo Feed and Pet Supply, Inc). We are so grateful for this! Whis-Purr Rescue is a wonderful nonprofit that has won the "Best of Redwood City" award, 5 years in a row!
Now that Smidge and Smudge have been spayed and neutered, they are ready for adoption! If you'd like to visit them, you can visit them at Whis-Purr Rescue's adoption facility, at the Peninsula Feed Store.
You can contact Whis-Purr rescue on this page: http://whis-purr.org/contact-us
You can view Whis-Purr Rescue's Kitty Cams on this page: http://whis-purr.org/whis-purr-kitty-cams
And here's a video:
Here's the story of why my sister wanted to help find a good home for Smidge and Smudge (I posted this on 6-7-19).
These two sweet little kittens are Fresh off the Plane from Hawai'i! They are about 12- 14 weeks old, weigh about four pounds each and have hearty appetites.
The reason I have these guys is, my sister recently had a traumatic experience, when she gave away 2 kittens (not these) that my Mom had found on a farm. She had lovingly fostered those super-cute kittens for months, posted their photos on Craigslist, and was contacted by a woman who said all the right things (that cats are like family, she would never separate them, that she could care for the female who tested positive for FIV). Despite reading that you shouldn't give away kittens to a free home, she felt awkward and bad about charing any kind of fee to this woman who SOUNDED sincere, and was saying all the right things.
So, she trusted this woman, let her have the kittens, and unfortunately, as it turned out, the woman was an irresponsible liar. She turned cold once she got the kittens, was reluctant to share any pics, she didn't actually take the kittens to a vet, and when she got tired of them, she ended up supposedly giving them away though evidence suggests they were dumped, and that the girl kitten soon died. Luckily, the brother was found by a little boy, who's Grandma agreed to keep the kitty.
My sister was traumatized by all of this, to say the least. I assured her that it wasn't her fault - a lot of people must make this mistake, not wanting to charge any money for a cat or a kitten. It's just an awkward situation, if you're doing the adoption all by yourself - especially if you don't have a lot of experience.
Unfortunately, the word FREE tends to attract a lot of people who just do not take the adoption process seriously. Free Cat ads can attract a LOT of RIFF RAFF!It kind of reminds me of how, on my 31st birthday, I was at a Free Club - the Holy Cow in San Francisco. I had gone there for many years, and loved it. My old roomates owned the place, and it was my go-to spot for good dance music. They didn't charge a cover, so it was always packed.
Well, while I was dancing with my boyfriend, a young woman came along and stole my purse with my brand new camera in it. The woman who stole my purse ended up using my ID at a liquor store to buy $200 worth of booze with a bunch of her friends, giggling and telling the owner it was her birthday. The cops couldn't do anything about it. I was incensed.
Jeff, my old roommate, told me they had been getting so many burglaries, they decided to implement a VERY low cover fee -like 2 or 3 bucks. It was so low, you'd think it wouldn't make a difference, but guess what? Jeff told me that, since they started charging this very nominal cover fee, the burglaries and police reports became almost non existent!I can't help but thinking of this story, when I think of what happened to my sister. Maybe this isn't the case for every person, but a lot of irresponsible people do not want to cough up one dime. They just want things handed to them. They use people. They use cats. And you need to take measures to NOT adopt your cats to them!!!
I feel extremely lucky to have been able to work with rescue organizations like the Homeless Cat Network and other groups, that have offered to oversee the adoption process. They treat cat adoptions as if they were CHILD adoptions, and in my opinion, this is just how it SHOULD be. These are registered organizations that can legally charge a nominal fee that often doesn't even cover the cost of getting the cat fixed, getting all their shots, making sure they're well fed, etc.. But at least it's something that helps to offset a small percentage of the costs involved in finding a good home for a kitten. And the most important thing is, that $75 (or so) fee can be a help in determining who is really going to really step it up and care for a cat in the long term.
The unfortunate reality is, Hawai'i just doesn't have the same resources that we do, here in California. She knows I've had really good luck with finding great homes for cats and kittens in the past (partly because I'm willing to wait to find the perfect situation).My sister decided to turn this awful experience into something positive, and she reached out to other people on craigslist who were offering FREE KITTENS like she was. She let them know about her own experience, and ended up rescuing a few pairs of kittens for people, and was determined to help them to get good homes.
She asked if it would be possible for me to bring a couple of kittens with her when she came up here for a visit, and I said sure, because I wanted her to be able to have a good adoption experience, to make up for that last one. I've had good luck with adoptions, and over a decade ago, I helped her to find a good home for a different cat that she flew up here, from Hawai'i. I found her a great home in Santa Clara, and am hoping I can find a good match with these little guys, as well.
I told her I will hang onto the kittens as long as I need to, in order to make sure they get great homes. It would be really ideal if they could go to people who would be willing to share a picture or two, as was the case with a kitty I fostered, named Buster. He was adopted by a wonderful woman named Jenny who was more than willing to share photos, and I was really grateful. It's not that I need to see a lot of pics. It's more important to me, that I know the person who adopted the cats is sensitive to the feelings of others, and she CARES!
I can't tell you too much about the kittens, other than that, they are mostly outdoor kitties, and right now they're pretty shy. The black and white tuxie is a girl, and the tan/gray/white tabby is a boy, who is a bit more shy (but vocal). But I am hopeful that they will warm up, soon, when we get them some cat toys : ). They were mostly outdoor cats, and luckily the family who posted them on Craigslist have had the mother cat fixed.
My sister literally just brought them here yesterday. We will be getting them fixed here in California, and we'll make sure they both get all their shots and are microchipped as well. If you have questions about them, please get in touch with me via the contact form on the right side of the page.
Thanks!
Laura
UPDATE 7-21-19:
If you're interested in these sweet kitties, please visit them at the Whis-Purr rescue facility in Redwood City.
Again, the address is:
