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Giving neglected and abandoned
cats and dogs a healthy future.

  • How (and where) to adopt an older cat
  • List of Massachusetts Approved Animal Rescue Organizations
  • Saving the cats at Gardner Animal Control
  • Cat trapped in abandoned building, Medford, MA
  • Charles River Alley Cats traps wild cats
  • Archive for the 'Shelter Me Inc Barn Cat videos and pictures' Category

    Kids and Kittens (Shelter Me Barn Cats #81 and #82)

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    The kittens are four month old male siblings.

    The kittens grew up outdoors and were a little too wild to place in a home. Feline Friends of New Hampshire rescued them  and asked Shelter Me, Inc. to find a barn home for them.

    We feel very lucky that we did.  The kittens look very comfortable - only minutes after being transferred into the cage and the young barn owners look very happy to have them.

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    Shelter Me Inc Barn Cat #80

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    Photos by barn owner Naomi Goumillout

    He was an unadoptable cat at Animal Rescue league and a very lucky guy, as it turns out. We brought him to a lovely barn in Haverhill. It appears that the white horse, one of his new roommates, is quite taken with him and the feeling is mutual. How do you like that?

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    If you are interested in learning more about how to acclimate barn cats, there are numerous videotapes featuring ‘news you can use’ in the blogtails section of this website and also in video features. Please email sandy@sheltermeinc.org with any questions.Many thanks.

    Scenes from the Shelter Me barn cat program



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    How many barn cats have remained in place?

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    80 barn cat placements between March 2008 and June 2010

    65 have remained in place!

    We drove over 2500 miles delivering cats to barns in these locales–

    Massachusetts

    Abingdon, Ashby, Boxford, Carlisle, Fairhaven, Groton, Haverhill, Ipswich, Littleton, Mattapoisett, Mendon, North Easton, Orleans, Plympton, Sturbridge, Townsend, Upton, West Bridgewater and West Newbury

    New Hampshire

    Bedford, Contoocook, Derry, Hollis and Mason, NH

    Connecticut

    Brooklyn and Northfield

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    2008

    Shelter Me Inc placed 44 “unadoptable” cats in barns

    #1-7 are the Gardner Animal Control cats - safe and sound after 9 months (delivered to Upton, Ipswich, Littleton, Boxford, and West Newbury MA);

    Felix passed away from illness.

    #8-13 came from Second Chance Fund working with Worcester Animal Rescue League (delivered to Fairhaven MA; Orleans MA; and Mason New Hampshire)

    2 ran off from the Fairhaven barn almost immediately

    #14-17 are the siblings our friend Lori rescued from the Malden Diner basement (delivered to Mendon MA and North Easton MA)

    #18-19 were two unrelated feral strays from Billerica Cat Care Coalition and MRFRS that we added to a barn we had previously worked with in Upton MA

    2 ran off from the Upton MA barn (We have not had  luck placing unrelated strays together)

    #20-27 were ‘unadoptable’ cats from MRFRS in Salisbury (delivered to Groton MA, Plympton MA, Upton MA, and Northfield Connecticut)

    2 from the Upton barn (different from the one above) spent a year living together and disappeared at separate times, believed to have been taken by coyotes.

    #28-30 Male & female from MRFRS to Bedford, New Hampshire and male to Contoocook,NH.

    The male in Contoocook disappeared after six months, believed to have been taken by coyotes.

    #31-32 were cats that were returned to MSPCA Methuen because of litter box problems (delivered to Sturbridge MA)

    2 cats moved out of the barn and ‘went wild’ on the property.

    #33-35 were kittens that our president Sara Carlisle rescued and paid to neuter (delivered to Groton MA)

    #36 was a feral kitten that Morene took home from her vet (delivered to Upton MA)

    #37 was a stray cat who ended up at the MSPCA in Methuen after Shelter Me paid to neuter him (delivered to Abington MA)

    #38-39 were two black female kittens that Kitty Kats rescued from the streets of Brighton, MA (delivered to Upton MA)

    #40-41 were two orange male kittens that Kitty Kats rescued from a dumpster in Rosalindale, MA (delivered to Boxford MA)

    #42-43 were a grey and a black male kitten that KittyKats rescued from the dumpster in Roslindale (delivered to Ashby, MA)

    #44 was a tortie female that Billerica Cat Care Coalition rescued - we placed her with the grey and black male kitten (delivered to Ashby MA)

    2009

    Shelter Me Inc placed 35 “unadoptable” cats in barns

    #45-46 were a black & white male named Don and a calico female named Butterfly that were trapped in Acton, an area we cover, and brought in by a neighbor. Delivered to Berlin, MA

    #47-48-49 were an orange female and her two orange female kittens rescued by KittyKats from a DPW site south of Dorchester, MA. Delivered to Newbury, MA

    #50-51 - 2 orange cats male and female rescued by Charles River Alleycats. Delivered to Derry, NH.

    #52 - a male black and white cat rescued from the streets of Charlestown by KittyKats  and placed on the farm that has Tiny, Felix and the Calico in Upton, MA.

    #53-54- a male orange cat named Marmalade and a black cat named Nira trapped by KittyKats in the South End and Dorchester.Renamed Sonny and Buddy by their new owners.

    #55-56 - Found a barn for two cats,  a grey male and a black female, both long-hair and 1 year old. Trapped by Standish Humane Society in Plympton after the barn they were living in was closed down and cleaned out. Placed in Billerica.

    #57-58 - Placed Petunia, a 5 yr old Calico with Kiki, a 1 yr old black cat, both females picked up by Animal Rescue League. They had been in the shelter for more than 2 months and were not likely to be adopted for behavioral reasons.

    #59 - placed a 1 yr old black cat Violet. She has been in the shelter at ARL and was returned for attacking her owner. We attempted to place her with Petunia and Kiki but she growled so much, we took her back and on the way home to pick up  a cage, another barn owner took pity on her and gave her a home. We had a heck of a time getting Violet out of the carrier and finally gave up and put it (with her in it) inside the cage.

    Violet sadly disappeared  and was believed to have been taken by a coyote

    #60-61 - Placed two orange male cats, both named Garfield, unrelated but very fond of one another. They were not being adopted at the Animal Rescue League for behavioral reasons.

    #62-63 - Placed 2 females, a feral white cat and a feral tortie cat,  captured on the streets of Everett by Cindy Dever of Charles River Alleycats, in a barn in Auburn, NH.

    #64 -Placed a black & white female cat named Shasta in a barn that houses two very friendly goats and a couple horses. She had been at the Animal Rescue League in Boston since early March when we placed her on June 6th in a barn in West Bridgewater.

    #65 - Placed a grey cat named Elmo in the barn next door to Shasta’s place. She also had been at Animal Rescue League for several months. She lucked out big-time in her new home.

    #66 Placed a black & white female cat named Precious - saved by Laurence Van Atten of International Animal Rescue on behalf of WARL - in Hollis, NH.

    Precious is believed to have been taken by a coyote.

    #67 Placed Melborn, a 3 year old male grey tabby (13 pounds) saved by Laurence Van Atten, Delivered to  a barn in Cape Cod. He was featured in the Cape Cod Times in a story titled, “Shelter Me gives stray cats a fresh start.”

    Melborn is believed to have been taken by a coyote.

    #68-69  Kimball & Bushy - 1 3yr old orange male and 1 grey tabby from ARL to Carlisle, MA

    Bushy ran off after the acclimation period.

    #70-71 Thelma & Louis - siblings black & white - 1 five month old female and 1 five  month old male. They were too timid for ARL to adopt out - they could be petted but preferred to hide from humans. Delivered to Ashby, MA

    #72-73 Sierra  Echo - 1 yr old grey female and 1 yr old gray tabby male -delivered to us by Jill Sullivan, a volunteer at Scituate Animal Shelter and taken to Ashby, MA

    #74 Muriel - female black & white 1 yr old female saved by Jill Sullivan, volunteer for Scituate Animal Shelter and taken to Ashby, MA

    #75-76 -two 1 1/2 year old calico kittens, Fiesta and Stella, saved by Julia at Standish Humane Society who delivered the cats to a farm we found for them in Cape Cod.

    #77-78 - 2 female siblings - 4 1/2 months old, an orange female (unusual) and a tortie given to us by Jill Sullivan who got them from Quincy Animal Shelter. We placed them in Lunenberg, MA.
     
    One cat became ill and died several months after placement. 
     
    #79 - 1 female black & white cat - 6-7 months old rescued  from the streets of Worcester by Laurence Van Atten of International Animal Rescue. Delivered to Lunenberg.
     

    2010

    #80 - 1 black & white male - 3 yrs old former stray  - adopted once and returned to ARL Boston- delivered to Haverhill, MA

     
     

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    Barn Cat Journeys

    This pony and cat are featured in the Barn Cat Journeys video. Photo by Brian Ciavola

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    Saving the Cats at Gardner Animal Control


     

    This video is about saving the Gardner cats, our very first foray into finding barn homes for cats that were considered ‘unadoptable.’ It was an eye-opening experience. Check out this video series and please tell us what you think.

    We try very hard to match-up the needs of the barn, the personalities of the cats and the preferences of the owners. It has worked out well so far and we are in process of posting updates from the owners about their experiences assuming responsibility for ‘unadoptable’ cats.

    If you have a barn and are seeking cats, the best way to reach us is via email: sandy@sheltermeinc.org. Click any of the following titles to learn more about our barn cat program:

    Acclimating barn cats  - How to apply for a Shelter Me barn cat - Keeping cats warm in winter - Providing raccoon proof feeding

    Meanwhile, here are some updates from the owners of the Gardner cats:

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    5/16

    from Mushy’s caretaker

    Hi Sandy

    Mushy is doing very well and has not been using the crate-she likes to sleep in the hay loft at night these days. She is becoming a lot more social and seems very happy!


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    5/07 From Tiny & Felix’s caretaker

    Tiny and Felix are getting along great with one & other.  I keep finding them sleeping together on hay bales

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    From Sketter and Mittens’ caretaker

    5/08

    Hi Sandy

    the cats are doing great! Sketter loves to be petted and mittens will rub against you when she thinks you’re not paying attention but still won’t be touched.

    they have free roam of the barn at night and are waiting by their cages every morning for their breakfast. they still sleep in their cages during the day. I may be brave enough to let them out of thebarn in a few more weeks…. I’m getting attached and don’t want anything to happen to them. they are both very sweet.

    I’ll keep you posted


    Aug 19, 2008 - How are the kitties?

    the girls have turned out awesome! both have become very friendly and mittens likes nothing better that a good cuddle on our lap.

    Kim

     

    Kim later sent us these great pics - Sketter and Mittens really came around amazingly well for ’scaredy cats.’ But it took over four months for them to get to the point where they were comfortable in their new home and bonded with their new caretakers…

     

     

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    Max

    Nov 26, 2008 Hi Sandy, Just an update on Max- he is spending more time out of the loft and we are making progress on friendship.  Tonight he jumped up on the bench next to me then let me hold him in my lap for quite awhile.  He is still very wary of people but he has become much more comfortable with me.  He will let me hold him if I am sitting close to the floor, if I stand up he gets very nervous.  Max is so soft, has a beautiful coat and seems happy-constantly purrs when I rub his head and pat him.  It is a very long process, but he is a sweetheart.  Still very elusive when I have the camera but one of these days I will surprise him and send you his picture.

    Have a happy Thanksgiving

     

    Sept 2008 Max is a tough cat, he may not socialize well with any others.  I think he is keeping my other cat away from the barn-the bolder he gets the less I see of her.  I actually held him for the first time this week.  It is just going to take a long time for him to trust me-but he is a great cat and I am very patient!  So I don’t really need another, but if you ever are in need of a home for a cat in need, please let me know!

     

    5/18/08 – Missive from Max’s care taker

    Hi Sandy

     

    I have been trying to get a photo to send to you, but since Max is not co-operating, thought I would just send you a note to let you know he is doing well.  He has begun to venture out of the barn.  However only when he thinks no one is looking! 

     

    One day he was in my backyard sitting on the window sill of the shed, I was so surprised to see that he had ventured into dog territory!  Mostly I see him running from the barn to hide under the dumpster, also my other cats favorite spot to hide. 

     

    He does feel very comfortable in the hayloft, sleeps on a big dog bed I keep up there when he is not hiding under the floor.  He does come to me to eat and lets me pat his head, but only if I keep my distance. 

     

    I am going to keep my camera handy and surprise you with a photo asap, but he is very elusive. Maybe the warm weather will draw him outside more.

     

    I will keep in touch,

     

    August 2008

     


    Hi Sandy

     

    I have been meaning to get in touch and update you on how Max is doing.  He is just beginning to be more interested in me.  He comes out of hiding for me to feed him and has even sat in the barn watching me from a distance!  I am able to pat him when he is eating, but he still does not want too much contact.  We are taking it slow but definately making progress.