Area Dining and Lodging Dog Shows at the Purina Event Center Cat Shows at the Purina Event CenterWe are an all-volunteer rescue group devoted to rescuing homeless, abandoned and abused cats and finding loving new homes for them. We have a special love for Maine Coons, but we rescue all types of cats in need. What’s a Maine Coon?My name is Perry. Did you know it comes from the word meaning “pear tree”? Well, check it out: As you may remember from the song, it’s someone’s true love who gives them a partridge in a pear tree and I’d like to think that I will be finding my true love soon, too!    Kitties with big personalities usually get adopted pretty quickly. Shy cats tend to hide, and they don’t do the things that help more gregarious cats get adopted. So, they may wait and wait to find the right family. These kitties just need time and patience for their sweet personalities to bloom. Please check out some of our shyer kitties “This kitty is trying to die.”

That’s what our vet, Mike Evans, told us when he first saw Napoleon. On arriving at work one December day, MCA volunteer Amy found a kitten splayed out on the ground, not moving at all.  Keaton showed up at someone’s door in a marginal neighborhood in Fresno. He spent three days meowing at the door before the residents finally fed him. Then they called a local rescuer, and he finally ended up in the Bay Area with MCA.  Living as a blind cat on the streets, Wren never imagined her life would turn out so well. Villeroy And Boch Toilet Seat SparesWhen she came to us, her eyes needed to be removed to avoid the risk that they would become cancerous later on. When Are Michelin Tires On Sale At CostcoPlease understand that this page does not representMariak 2'' Faux Wood Blinds

a complete or definitive list of breeders. Rather, it lists Maine Coon breeders whom we have met (or conversed with), know about through friends, or have had recommended to us. Specifically, these are Maine Coon breeders we believe truly care about their cats. We believe that everyone on this list maintains a special set of standards for raising their cats and chosing who may adopt them. Nevertheless, you should understand that absence from this list should NOT be taken as a recommendation against a breeder! It simply means we haven't met them and haven't received a recommendation yet!ST. LOUIS, June 28 (UPI) -- A Missouri pet owner filmed their cat's unlikely friendship with a squirrel that became enamored with the feline through the safety of a glass door. The video, posted to YouTube by Liza Reid, shows the squirrel and cat eying each other up and down through the sliding glass door at a St. Louis home. The squirrel tries in vain to find a way through the door to reach the cat.

The smaller animal climbs all the way to the top of the window screen, but is unable to find a route inside. "This squirrel is dying to get inside to play with the cat. He's determined to figure out a way in, even if it means climbing up the screen door!" by Jackie SchneidermanFour fluffy Maine Coon mixes frolic in the woods behind a suburban home on a crisp spring day. A child watches them chase one another from his kitchen window. Sam asks his mother if they can bring the cats inside to be pets. His mother chuckles and explains he would have a hard time getting near them. She tells him about how when he was just a baby, she and his father trapped the cats and had them spayed, neutered, and vaccinated. If he looks very closely he can see their left ears have a flattened tip instead of being pointed. This is the universal symbol for a cat that has been Trapped, Neutered, and Returned (TNR). Sam asks his mom why these cats aren’t friendly like their cat, Simba. She explains that the people who lived in their home before them left behind a sweet cat, and not long after that she had kittens.

When they moved in, these cats were already grown and the only home they have ever known is outside. Since the cats didn’t grow up with people, they aren’t used to them. These cats are now community cats. She and his father built a winter shelter for the cats and feed them by the shelter every day. When they go out of town, the neighbors help take care of the cats. What happened to the friendly mom cat? They brought her inside, had her spayed, and found her a loving home.Sam’s parents are setting a wonderful example for him and the neighborhood by giving their community cats the best life possible. Spayed and neutered cats are less likely to fight and contract feline diseases from one another. Since they are fed and cared for, they are healthier than unfixed felines. Neutered tomcats spray less and spayed females aren’t having kittens and adding to the homeless cat population. They also provide an added benefit to the neighborhood: rodent control. Sam’s family and his neighbors are unlikely to have mice in their basement, thanks to the community cats.

Not Just the Suburbs Community cats aren’t just in the suburbs. They are in the city, too. Anywhere there are people, there are cats. Providing TNR to community cats has many benefits. Since cats are territorial, their colonies stay in check, with few to no other cats moving in. Before TNR became mainstream, 100 years of Catch and Kill by animal controls could never successfully eliminate feral cat populations. Removing them creates space for new cats to come in and use the resources that were sustaining the cats who lived there before. This is known as the vacuum effect, and it is exactly why catch and kill has never worked. TNR also significantly reduces the number of cats and kittens entering shelters, as outdoor populations are no longer expanding. An October 2010 St. Louis Post Dispatch article mentions, “The Humane Society of Missouri, American Veterinary Medical Association, and American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals all recognize managed feral cat colonies as a part of a solution.”

The City of St. Louis has been working closely with volunteers who have been performing TNR on colonies in the city that need help. In addition to these volunteers, many local citizens are doing TNR on their own colonies. In the past few years, hundreds of neighborhood cats have been spayed, neutered, and returned to their outdoor homes in the city. St. Louis County has shown interest in beginning a TNR program. Let them know you would support such an effort. Wherever you live, let your alderman or councilman and other elected officials know that you support TNR. What To Do for Community Cats If you notice community cats in your area, look for an ear tip to indicate if they are spayed and neutered. If not, plan to do TNR. Talk to your neighbors and coordinate feeding so the cats will remain healthy and happy. Please keep in mind that local animal controls and humane societies are not equipped to take in feral or unsocialized cats, and if turned in they will very likely be euthanized.

Not every community cat is feral or unsocialized. Some may be friendly and some may be lost cats. Search local lost pet listings to see if a cat is missing her family. If the cat is friendly, consider bringing the cat inside and fostering for a local rescue. If you have cats you would like to TNR, there are several low-cost veterinarians that will spay and neuter feral cats. You can rent or borrow traps, or go online and buy your own. If you are feeding a colony or know someone who is, start planning to Trap, Neuter, and Return these cats right away, before the next kitten season is upon us.Check out these local and national resources that have a wealth of information for those wanting to learn more and actively help community cats:• Alley Cat Allies — A national advocacy organization dedicated to the protection and humane treatment of cats. • Pound Pals — Provides low-cost or free spay and neuter assistance through Nooterville. Provides medical assistance to sick and injured homeless cats through the CAT-AID fund.