Christmas is coming to 'the cats in the valley'

Christmas is coming to Rustic Hollow soon

Santa Claws and elves will come

On Christmas Eve day in the afternoon

The furballs will be nestled all quiet in their beds

Having visions of Fancy Feast & treats they soon will be fed

But the kits will soon awake with stars in their eyes

For the footsteps they’ll hear

Mean Santa Claws & his Elves have appeared

There will be catnip and toys and feathers and fun

Treats and goodies distributed to everyone

To every building, every Room,

no cat (or dog) will be missed

There will be laser lights to chase and the kitties will run

Til they fall asleep in their catnip bliss

Then it will be lights out for the night

And Santa Claws and the elves

will soon disappear

Only to return in the morning

as their caregivers dear

There will be sleepy eyes

and grumpy furlines at that time

Cause we know some will stay up

way past midnight’s chime.

The furballs at Rustic Hollow Shelter

think it’s Christmas every day

And they thank Terry & Becky, Judy & Keisha, Chad, Wanda &

Julie, & Wendy and Carla for making it that way.

For love abounds for all the special felines that stay

In The Kitty Kottage, Kat Barn, Apollo’s or Sandy’s, or at Carmen and Wanda’s each day

Our wish is for every cat and dog

To have a place to be safe this Christmas Day.

 To have food in their belly, shelter from the cold

 And a nice soft place for their head to lay

A kind touch, a gentle pat, and a toy of their own.

 Some extra food for the ferals and strays who are alone.

The felines and dogs and caregivers too

at C & W Rustic Hollow Shelter, share this wish to YOU

 A Very Meowy Christmas to All and a Very Happy Howliday

Give the purrfect gift to a friend or family member this year

Sponsor a feline at C & W Rustic Hollow Shelter in memory of or ‘in honor of’ someone special or as a ‘gift’ of love to them. Your gift will help a special needs animal at C & W.

We have over 100 felines who do not have a sponsor  at this time and your gift  will help C & W

continue to be able to help more special needs animals.

You can sponsor one feline for just $25 a month; 2 special felines for $50;

and 3 felines for just $65 a month.

We have diabetic felines, felines with thyroid problems, chronic medical conditions, seizures,  heart problems, eating disorders, disabilities, ‘litter aversion’ (our ‘pis-demeanor cats) and many other health issues that require daily, weekly or monthly medications.

To sponsor a feline, go to our website at:  www.rustichollowshelter.org

and click on Sponsor a Furpal and you will make some special felines very happy this holiday season. Or mail your sponsorship to C & W Rustic Hollow Shelter

PO Box 67, Nashua, IA 50658

Have a Purrfectly wonderful Christmas and a Happy Mew Year too!

December with the Cats in the Valley at Rustic Hollow Shelter

It's December in Iowa and I sit at my computer looking out at the winter wonderland nature is creating again today with such a beautiful snow. It is one of those snows that looks like God in His Heaven has shaken the giant snowglobe of Iowa and the huge, beautiful snowflakes tumble about. Unlike a snow globe, however, these huge beautiful snowflakes will continue to accumulate, blanketing our world with a thick, and still beautiful, blanket of snow.

Friends in Virginia emailed me and noted they were thinking of us in these mid-western winter storms and noted that 'it is only mid-December with so much snow.'  I have another 'take' on that: To me, it's a blessing that it is "ALREADY mid-December and we are getting so much snow." I remember winters when 'snow' began October 30th (occasionally earlier) and continued....and continued....and continued.... this year, our first heavy snow came on the second weekend in December. We've dug out from that one. And will be dug out again tonight as another 4-5?? inches continues to fall over the cats in the valley at Rustic Hollow Shelter. It IS still snowing..huge, beautiful flakes.

I am very fortunate here in our little Iowa valley to have a wonderful staff who trudge through the elements to care for the 'fur'lines at C & W.  And when only a handful of our staff make it, they simply work together until they cover all of the buildings, cleaning and feeding, and caring for the cats in each building. We have five buildings now and a sixth one will be completed come spring. So, as I sat watching the first BIG Iowa snow over the weekend of December 13th, I had no 'visions of sugarplums' going through my head... just a 'vision of me going building to building tending to all the furballs alone. Needless to say, that vision was over as soon as I saw the first vehicle drive solidly into the driveway, followed by our faithful young high school lad who is our right hand man around C & W. He does all the heavy work and shoveling and is one fine worker. His name is Chad Rich and he is terrific. No one has to tell him what to do. He just gets right to it. So, when he's on site, I know the rest of my staff will be fine.

And, I have noticed they truly do not need (nor probably want) a 'supervisor' (me)to get in their way of tending to the felines....though I did come in handy last weekend when Terry's truck was running and got accidentally locked.. (no extra key at all). The wire they were using kept bending and I went to our garage and found a very thin but very sturdy metal rod and, voila, the window was opened and access to the truck was had by all.  Heroin for a moment anyway... hugs all around. And then it was back to work tending to the felines needs.

I would say that cleaning in winter months and snowy days might be a futile effort in our sanctuary buildings, but my team does it for the cats. And, the signs posted on one of the doors says it all: "Life is made up of choices....Take off your boots, or MOP THE FLOOR."  And, for the most part, that sign is obeyed.

And, this year, Wanda and I ARE on site on snowy days so we 'can' help out as needed. Managing the sanctuary is a full-time job that we have juggled for the past nineteen years while we worked as Publishers of our local town's newspaper. The deadlines of a newspaper, even a weekly as ours was, is grueling and demanding and it does NOT matter what kind of weather you are having, you have to meet deadlines. Well, we were fortunate to find someone to purchase our local newspaper who will keep it a separate paper for our community, and we 'retired' from the newspaper publishing business in June, 2010!! And now, we can simply stay home and watch the snow fall and work around the shelter when the snow comes. We are at our thrift shop five days a week as it helps with veterinary expenses, but, on a snowy day like today, we'd rather everyone stay home and not get out to shop... and that is usually the case. So, we have a chance to be home too now. No deadlines, no newspaper stories to cover. Just shelter business to tend to, and that, as I said, is a full-time job.

December with the Cats in the Valley also means 'Christmas is near' and the cats have a lot to look forward to at that time. But that's for another blog.

It is STILL snowing those huge, beautiful flakes. And All is well with the cats in the valley at Rustic Hollow Shelter.

Cats in the Valley at Rustic Hollow Shelter: The Kitty Kottage....My Childhood Home

Cats in the Valley at Rustic Hollow Shelter: The Kitty Kottage....My Childhood Home: "I grew up in this quiet valley once known as Willow Echo Farm. The Kitty Kottage was MY home. Of course, that was BEFORE there was central h..."

Thanksgiving with the Cats in the Valley at Rustic Hollow

It is the most beautiful 'crispy cool' day in the valley on Willow Echo Farm, home of C & W Rustic Hollow  Shelter furballs. This little valley is sunny this Thanksgiving 2010 and all is well in the valley. A few hardy cats are out in the outdoor rooms on their buildings, soaking up the sunshine throught the 30ml clear tarps that protect them from the November winds.  It's a cool 20 degrees now, but the sun helps make things bright and beautiful this Thanksgiving. All of the buildings at C & W have central air/heat, and the dogs have electric heat as well in their rather large 'summer house' dog house with 24/12' outdoor kennel area.

I call the doghouse a 'summer house' because that is what it was when I grew up. The Kitty Kottage kits may have central air and heat and a cushy life, but there was NO heat nor central air when I grew up there. In the summers, to keep the house from being even hotter, mother would 'cook' on a wood stove out in the 'summer house' a building about 12'x12' which also held a sink (that we carried water to, of course) for cleaning veggies from the very large garden where our log home now rests, across the creek from the other five buildings that make up Rustic Hollow Shelter.

The birds at their feeders entertain the around 30 felines that enjoy watching from our home's  four season sun porch.....and the felines in the other buildings can also go out if they brave the chilly temps, or they can lounge inside and watch the 'critters' on their Catsitter videos playing on TV's throughout the sanctuary.  All of the buildings, except the Kat Barn, have televisions to watch. I feel bad about that and hope one day soon, I will find a 'safe' place for a TV IN their building. The last TV was in a large cage and they still managed to ruin it by 'long distance' spraying I guess. In fact, two TV's died from our 'pis-demeanor' kits that reside in The Kat Barn. But we are still working on a plan to provide television to the felines there in a place that they can't 'reach' and that we won't bump our heads on.

This glorious Thanksgiving  Day, I have much to be thankful for. I am thankful to all of our wonderful supporters for making it possible for us to continue our work. Without you, we could not do what we do at C & W...giving special needs felines a 'fur'ever home. All of these feline's lives, even the senior 'kit'izens, were in grave jeopardy and they all faced euthanasia due to their conditions, behaviours, or age. C & W receives no city, county, state or federal funding, so we depend solely on YOU, our supporters, grants for new projects and remodeling, estate giving, and lots of fund raising. We truly need YOU to help us continue out work in such a BIG way. We have grown from one building to the new sixth building that has been made possible again, by you, our supporters and several wonderful grants. PETCO Foundation, Doris Day Animal Foundation, and other grants have given us the opportunity to have a new building with a storage bay and an infirmary for our med technician to call her office, and where our vet can work undisturbed by felines on his visits to our site. And, of course, room for some kits that are awaiting their new rooms.

I am also thankful for the wonderful staff who tend to the felines needs daily, help with identifying any medical needs of the felines, and keep the buildings clean, sanitized, and comfy for the felines. I am grateful to Becky, Carla, Judy, Julie, Keisha, Terry, Wendy, and Chad, our youngest team member and super handyman.  He would probably describe is job as a 'gopher'...go-for-this-go-fer-that. He supplies all of the buildings with new litter weekly and does a lot of the 'heavy work' and the 'little jobs' that are needed to get ready for the seasons that change in Iowa. He helped put up all of the clear tarps on the outdoor room (and there are a LOT of them) and he's always ready and willing to help in any way.  I salute all of my staff. They are a true team and their care of the animals is superb. We will get together soon for our Christmas staff party and it is a good gathering.  I am thankful for the wonderful care they give all of the felines in our sanctuary. And the love they give them as well. For cleaning up every day after some 390 cats is a challenge they face every morning. I applaud them for what they do. They ARE TERRIFIC! Wanda and I salute each of them for their contributions to what makes C & W successful. They are dedicated to the animals and wew appreciate them coming in on holidays to be sure their 'babies' are taken care of.

And I am thankful for the many rescuers, animal welfare organizations and individuals we work with who cared about one small feline who became known as 'unadoptable' or 'adoption challenged' when they found out it had Feline leukemia or FIV. I am thankful they did not listen to their vets advice of  'it should be euthanized.' And I am thankful for the vet who, upon discovering a cat tested positive, said "if we euthanize all of them (FeLV cats), how are we going to really learn  more about the disease."  And I am also very grateful to other veterinarians who did NOT immediately give the 'first choice' as euthanasia....Like the veterinarian who personally drove little Zoey to C & W from Missouri. Zoey is Feline Leukemia, and this wonderful man gave her a 'chance at a lifetime' at C &W and came himself, to be sure that she would have a quality life and the right care.

And I am most thankful for all the felines at C &W who give us joy every day. I am grateful to have the chance for the next four days to be with them every day doing night checks, or day visits during this nice four day 'vacation' weekend. I will sit under felines, do some grooming, clip a nail here or there, perhaps read to them........ I am grateful for this special time. They are all special. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

There have ALWAYS been Cats (and more) in the Valley at Rustic Hollow Shelter

There  were always cats (and always dogs) in the valley at Rustic Hollow Shelter. Before my time and before my grandparents time... and there were horses, and dairy cows (my mom milked 30 head for years while my father taught school).....  and goats. My father had over 30 goats that resided in 'the barn' before it became The Kat Barn. The farmstead that is now Rustic Hollow has been in my family for over 175 years. The Conklin Farm was officially Willow Echo Farm in my dad's day. My father loved his outdoor cats, and Ole Yeller and Blackie were two of his favorites... Not such creative names for those two, but the names fit the cat. Both died at a very old age. In fact, Blackie nearly outlived my father. Blackie was one of the 'barn cats' who roamed freely during the day and stayed inside the barn in the straw and hay at night. Blackie followed my father every morning to the hen house so he could 'mouse' and help protect the hens. As my father aged, so did Blackie. Blackie lost his site from cataracts I suppose. He became totally blind. But he would follow my father every morning to the hen house as he always did. When my father was no longer there, it became my duty to open the top of the barn door every morning and Blackie would sail over the door and head ON HIS OWN to the hen house. He knew his way there and back and enjoyed a long happy life as a 'barn cat' at Willow Echo Farm. Blackie, in his younger days, was also a NINJA Cat. He is the only cat I have ever actually seen climb sideways UP a wall on a building next to the barn. He simply dug in his claws and did some 'rock wall climbing' without any footholds...he used the siding and he could often be seen climbing upwards in his daily 'hunt'. I won't forget Blackie, nor the First Ole' Yeller. Other animals came and left but when my father had his massive stroke, I was left in charge of a rather unruly herd of Goats. Some very friendly nanny goats and one really BIG BILLY Goat that my father always warned me to "not go in his pen'. I did not. But on occasion I did have to see that the pen was cleaned out and 'deal' with Big Billy. The theory is that you allow the Billy to be with the nanny's and you mark your calendar for the gestation period and everything is in order. (We had a calendar in the barn just for that).Well, there was a 'young Billy' too and once...well maybe twice.....during my overseeing of the herd, either Big Billy or little Bill would manage to open the doors and get in with the gals and......well.....planned parenthood didn't happen then....Wanda would get up in the night in the middle of the winter and see a frantic note from me that a goat was having its kid and I was in the 'barn'. Or a trail of towels through the house was also a 'signal of the same.' Or, she would come out of the bedroom and see and 'hear' the bleating of a tiny new kid in a box in front of the fireplace. There is definitely something to be said for 'planned parenthood' in the animal kingdom. And,  you know, we had to milk those mamas too. I have to say cold goat milk is the best to drink though I am not certain it was any more likable to me than regular cow's milk and I still do not really like milk except on cereal.
 So my goat herd of 30 exploded over time and when I was sure my father was okay with it, I found other farmers and friends to send the goats home with. Eventually my 'goating days' were over. I can tell you I was relieved.
If you have ever had a goat, or two.... you know how smart they really are. My father's goats could turn on lights that I had turned off, and they could flip up the latch and open the doors inside the barn....No, there were no 'childproof' locks for the doors back then. And, when I plugged in their winter water heater bucket and literally 'fenced it in' with a large roll of wire, I had to put the goats inside the barn so they could not actually 'see' me do it...for I knew they'd figure out how to move the roll of wire and might chew the electric cord. Actually, one of them really DID manage to get to the cord and chewed right through it. No fried goat...he might have had a thrill, but evidently the chomp was fast and completely through at one bite. Wanda will say, however, that she had no idea how much lawn area there was to mow after the goats were no longer there. They are the best lawn mowers ever.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...... and I cannot forget about Duke and Duchess, a pair of the oldest geese I have ever known. They were a present from me to my parent's when I was younger. They spent the winter living in Big Billy the goat's pen in the barn..But in summers Duke and Duchess spent their time during the day outside and we always headed them inside every night so predators did not feast on goose for their supper.  Now Duke and Duchess were inseparable. And Duchess was 'the lady in charge'. I have never heard a goose fuss and nag and nag and fuss til poor old Duke did her bidding. She would make him (*yes, I said make him) chase the tires of any car that drove in. She would flap her wings from the sideline and squawk and yell til he chased the cars away. Over and over he did her bidding. Whatever Duchess wanted, Duchess got.  I remember a day when some city folk were here, actually relatives and their children. We gave them the country job of herding the geese to the barn for the night. Suddenly the children came flying into the house screaming and crying and I flew to the rescue of what I heard was a gruesome scene. "We killed a goose, we killed a goose' they yelled. I arrived to see poor Duke laying flat out on the ground, completely still, while the children's father stood helplessly by his side. "Poor goose, poor goose,' we didn't mean to kill the goose'. By that time my mother and maybe my father had come out of the house to see what the ruckus was. I went over and put my hand gently under Duke's neck, and, as I had suspected, he jumped up and took off. He had knocked himself out like a light when he turned to 'run' to the barn for his life and hit a cement block....head on.  Duchess died several  years before Duke and, I honestly think those were some pretty happy (and quiet) days in Duke's retirement. Perhaps his best days....he really seemed content then...I may have seen a smile in that beak too. Though he honored and obeyed his lady Duchess for years.
We must have eaten a lot of fresh goose eggs, cause there never were any 'little goslings' running around...... Those were the days......B.S....('Before Shelter") Those were all good days too.

Buddy's House

My last post was about The Kitty Kottage.... I wrote about it as my childhood home and the 'new' "cat house' in early 80's. But, in between those times, a lady named Barb lived in 'the old house' taking care of The Kat Barn cats. One of the first 'new residents' in that house was Echo, a small mixed breed dog that had been dumped years ago and we found her in a culvert under the driveway. She was a smart dog and Barb my parents' caregivers Brenda and husband David, and myself,  taught Echo many tricks. She loved doing tricks for treats....and we adored her. When David and Brenda moved to Minnesota, they left 'mom' in 'the old house'...As Barb cared for the Kat Barn kits, a handsome 'Morris' looking cat named 'Buddy' followed her everywhere....and one day, he followed her 'out of the Kat Barn' and into the house. She let him stay. He was a delightful cat. When Barb could no longer care for the cats and moved to Minnesota to be with her family, Echo was lonely. So, Wanda and I would spend time with her. We would play with Echo, go through all of her tricks....sit....sit up.....lay down.....turn around....roll over..... And... Buddy.....would watch.
Every day, we repeated the same routine, all the tricks....sit...sit up....shake....lay down.....roll over.... turn around....AND...Buddy......watched.
One day, with a deep (and most likely disgusted) sigh, Buddy came over and SAT when I gave the command to Echo. Coincidence I said.  Then I asked Echo to shake. Buddy looked more disgusted and raised a paw to us while turning his head. (how boring).... EVERY trick Echo did, Buddy did (and in his eyes, he did it better)...we were not surprised. Cats are cunning and wise and smart as a whip. well, most of them anyway.... Buddy continued to do Echo's tricks and they would often get in a little 'row' about it as they each vied for our attentions, one trying to out-do the other with the 'tricks'. It was great fun for us and both animals became fast friends in time.
Then came Buddy.....Yes, another cat named Buddy was brought to us....he had a bit of an aversion to litter pans.... what I playfully call today...our 'pis'demeanor cats. Buddy was white and he moved in with Buddy and Echo. And the three of them continued to live there for many years. We have a sub-name for The Kitty Kottage...."Buddy's House" after our first Morris looking cat resident, our smart sweet kitty boy who knew every trick in the book and all of Echo's 'tricks' too. Echo lived beyond the two cats and as more cats moved into The Kitty Kottage, Echo had many feline friends. As she got older, she could no longer get up and down the outside steps so we moved her to a heated large doghouse....my mother's old 'summer kitchen.' It had a wood stove for cooking outside when it was too hot inside (remember there was NO air conditioning in that house all of my childhood years).... So the summer house became a rather large doghouse where we put in a hanging heater and window air-conditioning. Echo then had dog pals throughout the rest of her years. Echo died a few years ago and her memorial here at C & W is large. She rests under an arbor where roses and flowers grow and a sign above it with her name on it reminds us of 'the old days' of my childhood home....now The Kitty Kottage (Buddy's House).

The Kitty Kottage....My Childhood Home

I grew up in this quiet valley once known as Willow Echo Farm. The Kitty Kottage was MY home. Of course, that was BEFORE there was central heat and air conditioning.... Just a LOT of layers of clothes and a lot of blankets and quilts to sleep under, then hurry downstairs to the wood cook stove to 're'dress in my day clothes where it was much, much warmer. Those days of my childhood are gone now. I went away to college, hold a Master's Degree in Education, and went out into the world to teach school. And I loved doing that. My parent's, still living in the over-a-century old home aged, and Wanda and I felt we should move from our newer split-level Minneapolis suburb home to Iowa to be close to my parents in their retirement. My father also taught school. My mother was a before-her-time "Martha Stewart" in her day, making our two-story house a real 'home' with beautiful wall murals (way before they became popular in the 70's), wallpaper with beautiful scenes, and table settings for every holiday that would make Martha Stewart proud. She was a homemaker, a pianist who could play any music 'by ear'. We were all musicians in that house. I was an only child, my father was a music teacher and I played most all of the woodwinds, piano, guitar, some brass instruments and was teaching music in the Minneapolis area when we moved 'back to the home farm', my Willow Echo Farm.  We built a log home 'across the creek' from 'the old house' and were there but a year when my father had a massive stroke. Hence began my 11 year new career of 'in home health care.' Those years went quickly and it was during this time in the early 80's that cats began arriving, some on foot and some by way of people who 'couldn't keep it'...you know all the stories...
After the Kat Barn was full of happy purring kitty faces, and my parents both had passed....we began wondering 'what to do' with the 'old 2-story house'???? We did not get to wonder very long...
A lady from another county in Iowa came to visit and beg us to help her with her dozen kitties that she no longer could care for. She had cancer. This was very important to her to see her felines would be safe and cared for for the rest of their lives. She helped us with a donation for their care and we suddenly 'knew' what we were going to do with 'that old house.'  Volunteers helped us clean, move things out, put up hardware screening for walls to partition off the upstairs open pantry area and 'voila' Donna's cats moved in and the 'old house' became known as The Kitty Kottage. Remodeling continued til today and we now have linoleum throughout The Kitty Kottage.. and central air and heat makes ALL the rooms more comfortable...especially the 'Blue Room' which used to be my old bedroom. It is warm and cozy and full of happy cats. My father would LOVE it as he had a special place in his heart for all animals too. My mother.....well, she might just 'turn over in her grave' as the saying goes...meaning...I'm not sure how SHE would feel about her home being
'the cathouse'. But, my mother had an aging cat named Suzie that was special to her as well. Suzie stayed in 'the old house' until she went to the Rainbow Bridge.  The Kitty Kottage is bustling with purrs and meows today and their caregiver Terry speaks tenderly to each and every furry face that looks to her for loving. She caters to their needs, helps with their medicines and cleans and cleans and cleans. Around C & W Rustic Hollow Shelter, that's just called 'job security.' But the fact that the caregivers at C & W care about each and every furball, down to even having to clean Fozzie's butt daily...... is a truly wonderful thing. We have remarkable staff and remarkable volunteers...... Love IS spoken here at C & W. Love will prevail.

Apollo's House-the Story of Apollo The Cat

Somewhere in early 2000 we had an influx of FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) cats and we did  not have the space we needed to accommodate them all. We began searching for ideas and a way to expand our space to help more FIV cats. FIV is a 'lentivirus' which means a 'slow virus'. It is in the same retrovirus family as Feline Leukemia but differs in many ways. It is not easily spread, but we still needed a separate space for these special kits to occupy. We found an animal friendly mobile home dealer and we 'stalked' many mobile homes. After 'touring' twelve homes, I determined that the third home we had been through was purrfect for the kits. It is a 16x80' long home and is called Apollo's House after a street feral who came into our lives as a 'street cat' in our town who ate at our feeding station behind our office/thrift shop. We watched him for over ten years, at first assuming he belonged to someone as he would head up the stairs of a nearby apartment regularly. We watched him escort new young kits across the street to teach them the safety of the road.We watched him proudly walk the streets minding his own business. He had no idea that he had anyone who cared about him, nor would that probably have mattered. He was a beautiful Siamese with blue eyes and if we did not see him for two days I would worry outloud that 'something has happened to him'.... then he would appear, tall and proud, strutting the streets. Our efforts to trap him failed. He was 'trap smart' and our patience did not go on for years as HIS did. One fall day I found him laying under the bushes behind our office, tired, beaten and with a horribly swollen leg. He looked suddenly old. My heart went out to him. And once again, I put out the trap with some delicious smelling fishy canned food, and, lo and behold, our big proud street wise cat went into the trap. He was desperate. We named him Apollo as he deserved a solid strong name. His wounds healed, he tested positive for FIV, and he lived with us another year or two. He never allowed us to pet him or touch him much, but he seemed very grateful for the warmth of inside for the winter months and the cozy beds he could lounge in in his 'retirement from the streets'.
We named our new 'cat house' mobile home Apollo's House in his memory. He never got a chance to live there, and I doubt if he would care if we named it after him. But, he will always be a part of our lives and memories because we grew to know and love him over the ten years on the streets of our town.
Apollo's House has two outdoor screened in 'catios' for the kits to go out in and sun in the sun and feel the breeze and watch their 'outdoor TV's' with real birds and squirrels...
Apollo-we will always..... remember you.

Our first Veterinarian was a true 'shelter vet' but didn't know it....

Our first veterinarian, Randy A. truly was our first 'shelter' veterinarian, even though he worked in private practice on large and small animals. He cared about animals. He saw what we were trying to do in The Kat Barn and he came on site and showed us how to vaccinate each and every kitty and shared many ideas about how we could do a lot of our work on the animals 'in house.' He inspired us and educated us and then he moved....from ten miles away to an hour and a half away... Well, we, on occasion, would go all that way so HE could do the surgery needed on a feline in need. Then I saw an article in a newspaper about a 'shelter veterinarian' who worked ONLY with shelters but she was way in southern Iowa. We are way in northeastern Iowa. But I wrote her anyway. And, she came! All the way to our sanctuary in her Animals All About mobile lab and worked with us for some years. We still work with her today, traveling over an hour and a half to take animals to her. She helped us learn so much more about shelter medicine (versus regular 'to the vet' style medicine' and how to do more 'in house' than we were already doing. We still consult with her, still take kits to her and she is perhaps the only vet in Iowa I know of that does 'flank spays.'  They are so much easier on the cats and perhaps I'll share what she wrote about 'what flank spays are' at a later day and time. And, we are very pleased to have a veterinarian who comes on site monthly and we make weekly trips to him as well for kits who need to be under gas anesthesia, or more complicated surgeries (which we seem to have a lot of around here). Kent M., DVM is wonderful to work with and we can see sometimes 15-17 animals when he is on site. And I ask him questions... about diabetes insipidous, rectourethal fistulas, .....and he will say... "Where do you get all these odd things". And I tell him... "from all over the United States."
And that is true. Felines from over 30 states call C & W their 'fur'ever home.... Dr. Melick is a great vet and willing to work with our sanctuary. And we appreciate him very much. And so do the furkits, though maybe not if it's 'their turn' to see him.........

How It All Began

Well, as I said below, The Kat Barn was our first 'shelter' building and it housed maybe 35 cats at the most, all happy to be inside out of the weather and sleeping in straw and cozy bunks. Now that's a long way from The Kat Barn of today which not only has central air and heat but also linoleum and wonderful new bunks made by volunteers just for the furkits. That might have been 'that' .....but things change when you aren't looking or paying attention....and change they did....
We moved to Iowa from Minnesota, Wanda and I, in 1980. We built our log home and had moved there because my parents were elderly and needed us close by. We were there but a year and my father had a massive stroke. That began a new career for me. I had been teaching in Minnesota for some years  and had planned to substitute and continue my teaching career in Iowa. Well, that ended with my father's stroke. I began a 'new' career for the next eleven years of 'in home health care' for both of my parents. My father died in the same room he was born in ..in what is now The Kitty Kottage.
The Kitty Kottage is a two story over-a-century old farmhouse with, oh, probably twelve rooms...and a few ghosts as well...but that's another story.  I think our rescue 'movement' would have continued to be a rescue and adopt effort but just as we were wondering what we would do with 'the old house' a lady with cancer and not much time left contacted us and asked if we could help her with her 12 cats. She could not longer care for them and she would help us  monetarily....we said yes, and THAT decided what was going to happen to 'the old house.' A volunteer helped us with putting up hardware cloth 'walls' in the upper level and screen doors for dividers so it would have an open effect throughout the 'old house.' And, then the cats arrived and 'that old house' became known as The Kitty Kottage-Buddy's House.   Buddy, a Morris looking tabby was the first resident in 'the old house'. And another white cat named, what else, BUDDY moved in with him and together they lived in harmony with Echo, a dog that was dumped in the early 80's and who lived in The Kitty Kottage with many cats until she could no longer make it down the stairs to go outside. She then moved into the 'doghouse' which is a LARGE summer kitchen building that my parent's cooked in during hot summer days. It had a wood stove and sink and made it easier to live in the hot summer sun. And, of course, MY bedroom was upstairs so however cold it was outside......was pretty much how it was INSIDE. Running downstairs in the morning to undress all the heavy 'night gear' and 'dress' in my day clothes was the daily routine. The felines in The Kitty Kottage now have central air and heat throughout. DID I MENTION I grew up with an UNheated bedroom upstairs which is now the blue room. I know....boo hoo.. the kitties don't care either.  They live the 'good life' and they know it.  The Kitty Kottage soon became lit up with bright kitty eyes and happy meows and the ghosts seem to have had enough and left... yes, I said 'ghosts' and that IS another story. Mostly I believe the spirits were finally content that I was not going to bulldoze down their 'old house' as we had actually talked about before realization that is would make a terrific 'cat house'.... The Kitty Kottage has linoleum throughout, new windows, outdoor screened in 'catios' and playrooms and of course, television with Catsitter videos playing. The ghosts are gone....I know...that's another story...
To see some of our buildings check out the videos on our website at www.rustichollowshelter.org

Cats in The Valley at Rustic Hollow Shelter have weekend guests

The furballs that call our special needs sanctuary their 'fur'ever home had a delightful gathering of 'company' today. "Company" always bring treats and they are well appreciated from the purrs and meows I heard today as we traveled building to building to visit each and every furball that reside there.  Though some tend to be semi-feral (wild) the majority are the 'meet and greet' kind of cats. And Becca in The Kat Barn is a kind of 'wrap around your neck furpiece' kind of cat. She's tiny, she's cute and no one seems to mind wearing the 'Becca furpiece' as they visit different areas of The Kat Barn. The Kat Barn 'is what it is' a remodeled 1913 Barn. In fact, The Kat Barn has been under remodeling mode since 1985 when we first started to house the cats that had been dumped, brought, or arrived on paws to our home. The Kat Barn was the first and original Kat house for a group of felines that we (Wanda and I-she's the W in the C & W) decided that if we were going to be responsible 'pet parents' we needed to get all of the drop-offs, dumpees and guests neutered or spayed and vaccinated. And I was concerned about our wildlife predators that would come down the driveway or sneak in from the wooded areas behind the buildings and attack and kill the cats. So, every night the felines would be herded into the 'barn' by myself and two wonderful shepherd dogs who's job it was to see that the lagging behind felines were nudged gently into the barn. Doors would be shut....but at that time the barn had quite a few 'leaks' as we called them and a cat would emerge from a hole, here or there, and over and out again. It took some years but one day it became a fact that we no longer had any 'leaks' in The barn and we began our rescue officially finding homes for cats and continuing to s/n and vaccinate. Thus began what, unbeknown to us, would be the beginning of C & W's Rustic Hollow Shelter.

Introducing The Cats in The Valley at C & W Rustic Hollow Shelter

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah has a canyon full of happy animals.... we have a Valley full of happy cats here in Iowa at our special needs sanctuary: C & W Rustic Hollow Shelter, Inc. Let me tell you about who we are. We currently have a five building complex with a sixth building nearing completion by spring of 2011. Within these buildings, the furball residents enjoy a cage-free homelike environment complete with televisions playing Catsitter videos and outdoor screened in 'catios' and playrooms to watch the 'outdoor TV' of birds and squirrels and deer. Felines can be found lounging on futons and pillows, on top of furniture and on cat trees and beds. These buildings house felines with disabilities, chronic medical conditions, felines with 'litter aversion issues' (our 'pis'demeanor kits), those with Feline Leukemia...and we have an FIV building as well, many senior 'kit'izens and felines displaced by floods (Iowa floods of 2008) and Hurricane Katrina rescues as well. There are also felines displaced at the death of their guardian. We have many felines over 17 years of age who call C & W their 'fur'ever home. We work with humane societies across the  nation and veterinary clinics taking in animals deemed 'adoption challenged' at their animal welfare organizations and we give these animals a 'chance at a lifetime' they would not have had before arriving at C & W.
In this quiet and peaceful valley, on land where raptors and wildlife enjoy over 40 acres of woods, many more acres of conservation grasses, waterways and a dyke for water fowl; nearly 400 felines (and a few dogs too) sleep peacefully tonight knowing their future is secure at C & W's Rustic Hollow Shelter. They come to Iowa from over 30 states and from all across Iowa as well to have a 'chance at a lifetime' at this special sanctuary. There are felines who come from abusive homes, who have been abused and neglected. We have Kristin who was buried alive and was rescued just in time....there is Miss Smooch who was chained to a toilet for...years... and Burnie d.Katt, our spokespurrson, who was deliberately burned in a burn barrel and then had 'litter issues' who lives happily in The Kat Barn, our 'pis'demeanor building kits. Apollo's House is our FIV House and it also has plenty of room for other residents as well. The Kitty Kottage and Sandy's Building and C&W's Home also is a special place for our hospice kits.  More to come....but this tells you a bit about who we are and what we do, in this little valley on 190 acres of (shelter owned) land in northeast Iowa.