News & In-fur-mation

Click the Donate button above to donate directly to

Welcome iGive Shoppers!

Donate to FFF While you shop, with AmazonSmile

Safe Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving Message

"At this time of year, we stop to celebrate our good fortune, family and friends. It is a time to be thankful for what we have...to share with good friends and family...both "people" and "critter" family. We at FFF want to take this time to extend our best wishes to you, our supporters and friends, and our sincere thanks for your support and friendship throughout the year. We appreciate the care of our past veterinarian, Mike Evans, formerly of Animal Care Clinic and greatly appreciate our past veterinary associates at Mother Lode Veterinary in Grass Valley and our current veterinarian associates at Bishop Ranch Veterinary Center in San Ramon and Pine Creek Vet in Nevada City.

We want to sincerely thank our web-tenders: Petfinder.com, Airtight Internet Services, Webmaster - Sean Kleen and others. Without their invaluable help ... this screen would be blank ... literally!

It is also that time of year for me to ponder how far FFF has come from hand-lettered poster signs, portable tables and folding cages, hand-drawn graphics and initially, no web presence at all! With the help of dedicated people who shared my vision, FFF evolved into a community resource and all of those who helped it happen should take pride in knowing their contribution made a difference. Last, but not least, a sincere thanks to all of our loyal supporters, fosters, and adopters who, year after year, support us in our adoption and fundraising efforts. Thanks, Cathy, Karin & Bret, Kathie, Claudia, Paula, Sheila, Trish, Terry, Valerie, Susan, Kevin & Kathleen, Mary & Hank, Patty and Family, and all those who regularly lend us moral support.

Thanksgiving is a time of reflection and memories.
For me, I am full of memories and thankful for the myriad of furry faces that have shared my life and became members of the FFF family.

Each and every one brought love, laughter and life's lessons to my life and to all whose lives were touched by them. Some have gone to the Rainbow Bridge to await reunion, many were adopted to loving, stable and forever homes, and some remain with us until a home can be found but still experience the security of knowing they are loved and will always be taken care of by those who love them. I truly am very fortunate to have shared and continue to share my life with committed people who foster our furry charges, and with the furry faces that still greet me at my door.

I give special thanks for having had the love and trust of my beloved, Petunia with all the comedy, love and lessons she has taught me over 17 plus years. 2017 had been a particularly difficult year for my beloved Petunia with her ongoing and worsening health issues and advancing age… but still her indomitable spirit kept her going.  I am so thankful to have had her with me thru  Thanksgiving 2017. Her presence kept me going in the face of our tragic loss of my beloved, Charlie, Petunia’s Dad. This will be yet another Thanksgiving without him ..and while I find it hard to be thankful...I remember the fond memories and stories that she and I shared with him.

November 29th, 2017 I and FFF lost our beloved Petunia but I know that she and Charlie await me at the Rainbow Bridge.

My beloved Charlie, left us suddenly Oct. 2, 2017, and I find it hard to be thankful for the life Petunia and I had without him. But I just have to remember the many happy and loving moments we all had together and his unconditional love and understanding for me, Petunia and our FFF kitties. I am so thankful to have had him in my life for those 40 + years. FFF was gifted with his love and support for many years and his absence leaves a hole in all of our lives. He is now waiting at the Rainbow Bridge and with all who love him. We will meet again.

May each and every one of you know the gift of trust and unconditional love that a beloved animal family member can bring. I remain thankful for all those years we shared together.

We at FFF, both feline and people, wish you and yours, people and critters, a Happy and Restful Thanksgiving ... and a joyous Holiday.

Sally, FFF Board & Staff

P. S. Petunia sends her "purrs" and wishes, too from the Rainbow Bridge.

In Memory of...
Cecelia Roldan

Cecelia with her beloved cat, Hobo.

Thanksgiving is a special time to remember and honor those that have touched our lives. Cecelia was one of those special people that touched the lives of FFF staff, fosters, and needy neighborhood kitties that were lucky enough to wander into Cecelia's realm.

Her compassion for needy animals cemented her relationship with FFF and our Mission. Despite several terminal medical conditions, she marshaled her strength to design and make catnip toys for our fosters and beaded bracelets for fundraising projects for FFF.

Although we have lost her physical presence, her spirit remains. We know she has been reunited at the Rainbow Bridge with the many kitties she has rescued … which is a fitting end to her physical presence and the beginning of her eternal future with her beloved kitties

KITTY NEWS & INFO

What First-Time Cat Owners
Should Know Before Adopting

Thinking about adopting a cat? Before you do, think about the financial cost, your lifestyle, and whether you might need more than one new cat.

You’ve always loved meeting and playing with cats—so much so that now you’re wondering whether it’s time to adopt one yourself and being a first time cat owner. There’s plenty to mull over: cost, your lifestyle, choosing a veterinarian, and whether you should think about getting two cats rather than one.

Besides buying all the essential supplies, here’s some first-time cat owner advice from Brett Kruger, the feline team manager at shelter Indyhumane, on how to make sure you're ready to take on the responsibility of cat caretaker.

Read the full article here.

Sponsor a Kitty...
For 2021!

CAN'T FOSTER?   •   CAN'T HAVE A CAT WHERE YOU LIVE?
CAN'T ADOPT NOW?   •   GOT A HOUSEFUL?   •  
ALLERGIC TO CATS BUT LOVE THEM?

YOU CAN STILL HELP OUR KITTIES!

You can sponsor a kitty with a donation amount of your choosing to help us with our ongoing maintenance and care of our FFF "formerly friendless felines". Your donation will go to the care and maintenance of the kitty(s) that you choose. Just visit our Adoption List and SELECT a kitty that you want to sponsor.

You may then contribute an amount of your choosing, to the care and maintenance of that chosen kitty. The monies we receive will be applied to food, medical care, and maintenance of that chosen kitty.  Just WRITE THE CHOSEN KITTY(s) name on the bottom of your check.

OR

You can also make a contribution of your choosing that benefits ALL of FFF's needy kitties. Your contribution will be put into our general fund for the benefit of all of our kitties.

Payment can be made directly to FFF via paypal or personal check.

If you wish, you can contact us at 925-808-8364 for updates on your chosen kitty and be a "VIRTUAL FRIEND" to that or all of the FFF “formerly friendless felines”.

ANY and all sponsorships are greatly appreciated and rest assured will be put to good use for the benefits of the kitty(s). We have no paid staff from these funds so it will directly benefit the kitty(s) you have chosen.

Shop AmazonSmile!

Did you know that you can generate donations while shopping for your Valentine, at no extra cost? Simply start your shopping at smile.amazon.com/ch/94-3384338 to confirm "Friends of the Formerly Friendless" as your charity of choice, and AmazonSmile will donate a portion of your eligible purchase price to our organization.

FFF thanks you for your support.

• Selling your house?
• Buying a new one?
• Know someone who is?

Our pet friendly supporter / Realtor, Bonnie Andrews, has extended a generous offer to FFF referrals! For every FFF referral that results in a finalized contract with her, she will DONATE 10% of her commission to FFF!

A win win situation for all... a dedicated, pet-friendly Realtor, to work with you to meet your needs, and. you can help our FFF Medical Fund that helps needy FFF fosters and community animals. You can contact Bonnie Andrews at:

Bonnie Andrews, Windermere Realty
Email : [email protected]
Cell Phone: 510-478-8266

RECOGNITION CEREMONY

ITALIAN CATHOLIC FEDERATION

HONORS

Sally Morgan Welch

2017 Pope Saint John XXIII
Award Recipient

I am honored and humbled to be considered for this prestigeous Award. I accept this Award not just for myself but for all who Rescue. For me, Rescue was a natural progression that grew out of my childhood love for animals as companions and siblings for an only child.

It became my avocation and developed into what is my Life's work and Mission. But I learned early, that Rescue is not always easy and not often kind!

Those who Rescue face a myriad of challenges. We face a daunting overpopulation problem with the comcommittant problems of stray, feral and / or abandoned animals...especially cats.
STILL WE RESCUE...

>We face heartbreaking cases of animal neglect, abandonment and abuse......
STILL WE RESCUE...

We face overburdoned or the absence of community resources to help animals of owners with limited resources or owners who are ill, disabled, or indigent with injured or sick animals.
STILL WE RESCUE...

We face the absence of any resources to help " good Samaritans" in our Communities who open their homes and hearts to the strays, abandoned , feral or ill and neglected animals. STILL WE RESCUE...

We face feline illnesses for which there is NO prevention, NO treatment and NO cure...such as FIP, feline infectious peritonitis, which once contracted is 100% fatal.
STILL WE RESCUE...

We face the absence of education about compassion and humane education in our Schools...yet it is our children and children's children who will become the stewards of the animals and the Earth.
STILL WE RESCUE...

We see the sick, the elderly, the recovering and the challenged in pubic and private facilities that long for companionship and unconditional acceptance that only an animal can give.
STILL WE RESCUE...

We face the refusal by some Courts and jurists to honor and enforce our foster contracts rather allowing undocumented claims of oral agreements to override our written contracts thus allowing unscrupulous persons to illegally keep our foster animals. .... It is a practice that in other field would not go unchallenged!
STILL WE RESCUE...

We face perhaps well intentioned but ill conceived limitations/restraints in our Communities that actual punish those who Rescue.
STILL WE RESCUE...

We face the absence or very limited resources for petfriendly housing in our Communities. Thus we see increasing numbers of abandoned or surrendered animals.
 STILL WE RESCUE...

Knowing this, it was to address these issues that I founded Friends of the Formerly Friendless with the support of like minded Rescuers and family.

To address the problems of overpopuation, our Community Aid Program assists with spays/neuters of feral, and owned cats with limited resources.

As well, we assist on a case by case basis, the animals that need medical attention whose owners cannot afford it.

For the good Samaritans, we help provide medical check ups, screening, testing and vaccines. It was through our Community Assistance Program for Good Samaritans, that I met a compassionate lady named, Patty Jarrett, who opened up her heart and home to a neglected, neighborhood cat, who later became a beloved family member, named Copy Cat.

Our Short on Luck Program (S. O. L.) helps animals that are caught up in domestic violence or are at immediate risk for euthanasia or acts of violence.

We have worked with referrals from local agencies to provide emergency sanctuary in cooperation with our compassionate vets for animals from domestic violence or drug violence.

This Program grew out of a galvanizing early  experience when a frantic woman and her children, were seeking a safety for their remaining cat after a violent husband in an attempt to intimidate her, had killed the other family cat !

Our Visitors in Furs Program provides  visits to schools, nursing homes, hospitals and rehabilitation centers by our cat liasion, Petunia. Petunia helps teach humane education and animal care to our next generation.

To  address  the scourge of F. I. P, among cats in our Communities, FFF, and Petunia as cat liason, became a founding member of S.O.C.K, Save Our Cats and Kittens, a fund raising group that raises funds for the life saving work of Dr. Niels Pedersen, at U. C Davis. His groundbreaking research may lead to a cure and /or prevention of F. I. P. Recently, S.O.C.K. presented Dr. Pedersen and his team with a check for $60,000 to continue his work.

I spent our time together this evening detailing the litany of challenges and how FFF and I are addressing these, to assure you that your generous donation to our Mission will be put to good use.

In keeping with the teachings of Pope Paul and the philosophy of St. Francis of Assisi, I will close with the following thoughts.

WE NEED ANOTHER AND A WISER AND PERHAPS A MORE MYSTICAL CONCEPT OF ANIMALS

“ Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature throught the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnifield and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings, they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.”

― Henry Beston, The Outermost House: A Year of Life On The Great Beach of Cape Cod

Thank you again for this Honor. Bless the Animals each and every one.

F.F.F. Policies

Adopting a Friend

An interview, application and home visit is required, followed by a 5-7 day trial visit of the selected pet in the prospective adoptive home. At the end of the trial period, FFF will mutually evaluate the trial visit and determine the suitability for adoption. If deemed necessary by FFF, a final home visit is required. An Animal Care Adoption Contract is required to be signed by the adopter and a FFF representative, upon final FFF Board approval. The adopter(s) must be of legal age to sign a legal contract.

FFF does NOT allow FFF animals to be given as gifts or adopted for third parties.

FFF would appreciate a contribution to help offset our veterinary costs which include:

• Combo test for FeLV and FIV (feline leukemia and feline AIDS)
• First FVRCP
• Spay or Neuter
• Pain medications for recovery
• De-worming
• Flea control
• Microchip

Special circumstance adoptions are available for eligible adopters.

Micro-Chipping

In an effort to provide our F.F.F. graduates, their families, and our dedicated F.F.F. fosters/staff with peace of mind, we have begun micro chipping all of our adoptees. This will provide a safety net for our formerly friendless felines that go on to their new homes.

F.F.F. is listed as the secondary contact in the event that an emergency or unforeseen circumstance causes them to be lost, stolen or strayed. This should make sure that our F.F.F. adoptees will always have a friend if they are in need and always be "formerly friendless".

Appointments

We show our cats by appointments in the evenings during the work week atyour home. Appointments can be made with F.F.F. through our HAVE CAT WILL TRAVEL Program. Availability of the cats or kittens for appointment depends on the availability of the foster and transportation arrangements. If you see a cat or kitten you are interested in on our website, contact Sally via our email or by phone to check on the availability of that cat or kitten for evening appointments.

Adoption Criteria

As a rule, F.F.F. does not offer kittens below twelve-to-fourteen weeks of age for adoption. All F.F.F. cats and kittens are combo tested for feline AIDS and feline Leukemia prior to adoption. Our veterinarians have advised us that the testing for these diseases is not accurate or dependable below twelve-to-fourteen weeks of age. Therefore, we will not release any cat or kitten for adoption until we can be assured of an accurate test result.

It is F.F.F.'s philosophy that we will not knowingly adopt any cat or kitten into your home that we wouldn't place in our own homes. We appreciate your understanding.

Ages of our cats and kittens are approximate and may reflect the age
at which the cat entered F.F.F.'s Program.
F.F.F. makes every effort to update the ages of our cats periodically.

When inquiring regarding one of our cats, please ask regarding the current age.

S.O.L. RESCUE!

The Tiny Trio ... Redmond, Reginald & Emily Our Featured S.O.L. Cats! Redmond Reginald It all began with a phone call, as is often the case.  FFF's hotline received a call from a concerned woman about 3 feral kittens living under her house that were at risk from being killed by her dogs.  She had been feeding Mom and tending to the kittens since their birth but could not keep them. She reached out to FFF for help. Emily We took them in immediately through our S.O L. Program for at risk cases. The trio were scared, underweight, needed weaning and in need of veterinary care. They were transported to our temporary Sanctuary property and are becoming socialized and receiving ongoing veterinary supervision. They have made great progress just with the two weeks FFF has had them! REDMOND, the burnished "red" boy is the quiet, gentle leader of the trio. He is the most social and inclined to be around people. He is learning to enjoy being with a human and is patterning after some of FFF's affectionate foster "mentors". He is enjoying exploring new rooms in his foster home / sanctuary. He is the most independent of the 3. Sister EMILY, is still shy but now showing interest in seeing what is on the other side of the door of her and her brothers’ “domain". She is accepting being picked up and getting affection. She is brother Redmond's shadow. She is making good progress and has stopped any hissing when approached or picked up. REGINALD is the "scaredy-cat" brother. He is frequently hiding behind Redmond. However, he has recently started being more comfortable with his foster mom without hissing and showing a growing but cautious interest in exploring his new domain. We are confident he will, in his own time, become more socialized to people and accept and give affection like his brother and sister. All 3 kittens are active and playful together ... and now that they are safe are learning to play with toys! They love their new "kitty tunnel" and can be heard thundering through it at night during their nocturnal playtimes! FFF will keep updating their progress and post on our websites when they are determined to be ready for adoption.

If you would like to provide T.L.C. and shelter for a needy cat, or dog...
Contact FFF - (925) 808-8364 or Email FFF for inquiries