Introducing Paws in the Sand, a new local TNR-based cat rescue

“Life is too short. You need to do what you love and what you want to do.”

Last June, Janae Morgan’s mother-in-law, Barbara, said those words to Morgan in response to the grief Morgan was dealing with. What was especially meaningful about Barbara’s statement was that Barbara had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, and Morgan knew that she and the rest of the family couldn’t help her other than to be there for her.

“It was stage 4, and we knew she didn’t have long,” Morgan said. “I know everyone grieves differently, but for me, my coping mechanism was to dive deep into TNR.”

Morgan is the founder of Paws in the Sand, a cat rescue that has been doing its work saving cats and kittens for a little less than a year. In that short time, the nonprofit rescue has TNRd at least 200 cats and adopted out 250, most of them kittens.

Morgan is a balanced combination of cool-headedness and soft-heartedness. A former project manager, she’s outgoing, organized and very good in a crisis. She also admits to weeping audibly when one of those ASPCA ads for abused animals pops up on TV. As such, she’s perfect for rescue and TNR, both of which need passion, common sense, humor, and a few margaritas to keep one’s head screwed on.

The name Paws in the Sand is a clever double-entendre of proximity to the beach and how cats use the restroom. It came out of Googling keywords and Morgan’s young son’s creative imagination. As a rescue that combines vetting and adopting out kittens and friendly adult cats with TNR, which stands for “trap/neuter/release” and a whole lot of other things, Paws in the Sand is a welcome addition to the pawntheon of rescues and TNR efforts in Long Beach and the surrounding area.

The rescue is a product of family love and a tiny, sick kitten named Muriel. Being there for her mother-in-law was a gift for everyone, but Morgan was heartbroken that she couldn’t do more for her. She’d wanted to involve herself in TNR since she discovered it, and Barbara lovingly told her that doing so would be a good way for her to actively channel her grief.

So, Morgan did just that. She went full bore into TNR and began attending the Long Beach TNR and Community Cat Coalition meetings held bimonthly at Long Beach Animal Care Services (LBACS). There, she linked up with Lindsie Merrick, LBACS’ community cat coordinator, and with other TNR veterans.

“I bought traps, I started TNRing colonies in town,” she said. “Ewa [Enrique, a veteran trapper] taught me the ropes. I learned care from Susan [Bobish] from Little Lion [The Little Lion Foundation]. I also fostered for Lori’s Angels Animal Rescue, an LA rescue.”

Saving Muriel’s life was the catalyst (sorry) for establishing Paws in the Sand. Lori’s Angels pulled the little kitten from the Devore shelter in San Bernardino County, where she likely would have been euthanized. With Bobish’s help, Morgan learned the basics of caring for sick kittens, such as syringe feeding and checking vitals. Ultimately, Muriel recovered, and she’s now a member of the Morgan family. For anyone who hasn’t experienced this before, it’s called foster failing, the best fail of them all.

Muriel’s recovery coincided with Barbara’s death in September.

“Because I dove deep into the cat stuff while my mother-in-law was in the hospital and in hospice, I think it was a bright spot for me and something I looked forward to, even though there was so much sadness going on,” Morgan said. “By taking care of Muriel during that time, I had my own little distraction.”

Morgan discovered that TNR goes hand in paw with finding a lot of kittens. She couldn’t foster-fail everybody, so the next step was establishing a nonprofit rescue. It was a good idea for a lot of reasons, Morgan said.

“I was donating to colony feeders or other rescues that would need supplies, food, stuff like that,” she said. “My husband said, if you’re going to be donating, you really should be able to write it off.”

Morgan got a board together, did all the boring paperwork stuff, and Paws in the Sand was born. Her rescue partner and foster-adoption coordinator Amanda Preston, who traps in the Los Angeles area, is one of the board members.

“She’s the ying to my yang,” Morgan said. “Things I’m not good at, she does. I wouldn’t be where I am now if I didn’t have her.”

Morgan and Preston trap mainly in Long Beach and sometimes in the Los Angeles area. Like all trappers, they have their share of adventures. They’ve braved filthy alleyways and dealt with cockroaches, flea-covered animals and people screaming at them for trapping.

One colony they trap at lives near the ocean in and around some unscalable rocks. The cats can’t come up and people can’t get down, so the colony feeders have to lower the food and water down to them. Morgan and Preston manage to get traps to the colony on a rope pulley. She’s learned the ropes, all right.

“There was one cat who had a fishhook stuck in his face — we took him to Amazing Small Animals for surgery, and another rescue took him for recovery,” Morgan said. “There’s one we think is blind — we tried to trap him, and he literally stuck his tongue out at us.”

They’ve also trapped several animals that didn’t qualify for TNR. They were let go immediately.

Morgan said that her husband prefers to be a cat dad at home than conduct TNR, but their son is enthusiastic about helping out with kitten transport and colony care.

“[One colony is] near my son’s school, so I take him with me to make my rounds when I pick him up,” Morgan said. “He’ll come with me when I pick up my kittens from their [spay/neuter] surgery at Little Lion. He loves to see the nursery kittens — he has autism and ADHD, and there’s a connection he has with animals. It’s very special. He also knows how to hold the traps and helps me carry them to the car.”

Morgan’s family has been essential to her rescue, and she also has a rescue family, to which she’s grateful. She depends on anyone willing and able to foster the calm, friendly cats and kittens she’s rescued. The TNR community and the spay/neuter clinics run by Helen Sanders CatPAWS and The Little Lion Foundation are invaluable in turning off the unwanted-kitten faucet, as are the LBACS spay/neuter vouchers that take a nip out of the cost of procedures for both community cats and “owned” cats and dogs. She’s also had help getting her rescues in the adoption spotlight.

“Claudia at Little Lion has been such a mentor to me,” Morgan said. “She helped me get into PetSmart as an adoption partner, she helped me get into Pet Food Express.

LBACS, she said, has also taken a huge step forward in hiring Lindsie Merrick as community cat coordinator.

“As rescues, we don’t have unlimited resources,” she said. “If I’m TNRing and there’s a cat with a broken leg, I could not have taken that cat to my vet for surgery or euthanasia — that would have cost us hundreds of dollars. That’s five adoption fees. To have Lindsie let us know that the shelter has so many resources has been so helpful. You couldn’t have that in other shelters.”

Morgan hopes to bring people into TNR and teach them to trap. Trapping may not be in everyone’s wheelhouse, but even if you can’t figure out how to set a trap from one session to the next — I sure can’t — there’s always something you can do. Morgan can always use fosters, transports from one place to another, and help pull cats from shelters with a high rate of euthanasia. That’s in the rescue’s mission statement — giving possibly doomed cats a second chance at life.

Like any of her feline role models, Morgan knew what she had to do and did it. But she emphasizes that that was only the beginning. She’s grateful to the ever-growing clowder of cat champions she’s lined up with.

“If I need a favor from them, they’ll do it, and if they need a favor from me, they’ll do that,” she said. “They’re the people I want in my little rescue community. Because if I think back to last year, the difference between what I knew then and what I know now, it’s mind-blowing. You’ve got to find your people and the ones who resonate with your mission.”

Sometimes, it’s your own family, and sometimes, it’s the one you find or finds you. If you’re as lucky as Janae Morgan, it’s both.

Join up with Paws in the Sand and learn to trap or help with trapping and fostering. Donations are always welcome.

YOURS DROOLY

Fostering a pet is a great way to socialize them with humans (and sometimes other animals) so that they’ll be ready to go home, hopefully forever. These three lucky cats were found by Janae Morgan. They’ve been fixed; cleared of fleas, ticks and other undesirables; and vaccinated and microchipped. They’re now experiencing love, likely for the first time in their lives.

Read their stories, and maybe you’ll be captivated and take one or two home. You’ll find a full slate of candidates here as well as an application for adoption.

Not ready to adopt but would like to share your home and heart for a little while? Apply to foster. You just might change your mind about “a little while.” Just ask Janae Morgan!

A Tale of Two Sisters: Olive and Willow: Willow and her sister, Olive, were friendly strays living outside an apartment complex in Corona. Their feeder reached out to us after tragedy struck — Willow’s litter did not survive, and the bereaved kitty had padded in to help raise Olive’s babies. Sadly, Olive herself had endured a coyote attack that left her with large puncture wounds. To make matters worse, their previous litters had also been taken by coyotes. Despite everything they’ve been through, these two sisters remained deeply bonded and rely on each other for comfort and survival.

Willow and Olive have been in a foster home for over eight months now and are ready for a fresh start. They are cautious at first and slow to warm up, but with time, patience and lots of Churu treats, you’ll see them blossom into the loving cats they truly are. Because of their history, they will be adopted together and would do best in a quiet, child-free home with an adopter who understands their need to allow them to open up in their own time.

Just look at the transformation! Rojo, aka Red, was a stray who was found on the streets of Long Beach in very poor condition. He had mange, was infested with fleas, and had visible injuries from fighting other unneutered males. To add insult to neglect, someone had spray-painted him red. Here’s a nasty tidbit: spray-painted animals may be or have been bait animals for dog-fighting rings. Rojo would walk up to people and ask for food and love, and when Morgan and her team met him, they knew they had to save him. Rojo was rescued and moved to a loving foster home where he was shaved, vaccinated, neutered and allowed to heal. He is extremely loving and friendly and adores cheek scratches. Rojo is FIV positive, but he can live a full healthy life. Will you be the ones to give him the loving forever home he so deserves?

TAIL-WAGGIN' AND NOSE-BOOPIN' EVENTS

Benny’s Birthday & Love Your Pet Party

Benny the Cat is turning 8 years old this year, and that’s reason to celebrate! After the abuse he received at just a few months old, at the hands of a heartless owner, it was doubtful that he’d see even his first birthday. But his now-mom Bev, the staff at the shelter, and Helen Sanders CatPAWS provided the care he needed, and he made it. Read his story here.

To celebrate Benny and all the little lives he’s had an impact on, CatPAWS throws a party for him every year! Read the little flyer above for information, including ticket sales, and join Helen Sanders CatPAWS for fun, games, prizes and celebrating Benny’s survival of abuse and leading his best life!

Benny’s Birthday takes place Saturday, Aug. 23, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. at Seal Beach Marina Community Center, 151 Marina Dr., Seal Beach. See flyer and visit this link for all information.

Summer Party with puppies

It’s going down this Sunday! Sign up for the cornhole tournament, listen to great music, enjoy food and drink specials, and support local vendors. Most importantly, adopt a puppy from Sparky and the Gang, or get some puppy kisses!

Summer Party takes place Sunday, Aug. 24, 1 p.m.–5 p.m. at Roundin’ 3^rd Sports Bar and Grill, 4133 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach

Show Me Your Kitties Cabaret for Charity

After a day of feline fun, spend an evening at a cabaret show and help cats while you enjoy yourself! Dress in evening garb with your best cat ears, and wear your purrrrls to clutch! A full slate of cat-themed performers will bring oooohs, aaaaahs and definitely catcalls from the audience, and raffles, cocktails and other surprises will complement the evening.

Not included but surely tempting are a full bar, a limited menu from the Carvery, and a prize wheel. Get ready for a night of feline-filled fun and fabulousness! All money raised from ticket sales will be donated directly to Little Lion Foundation to fund their kitten nursery and their new on-site spay-and-neuter clinic for community cats. De-tails and tickets available here.

Show Me Your Kitties Cabaret takes place Saturday, Aug. 23, 5:30 p.m., at The Top, 105 W. Broadway, Long Beach. Tickets are $42.75 for a single ticket, $72 for two tickets, and $118 for an Evening for 2 Bundle, including two dinners and two prize spins.

August events at Cool Cat Collective

Cats are quirky and do their own thing. So does the Cool Cat Collective. Follow this link for this month’s events, which include an art show by sisters Priscilla Moreno and Heidi Moreno and a 50% adoption fee discount on Aug. 24 for all cats in the Collective, in observation of Clear the Shelters Month.

Need a low-cost veterinarian, information about trapping community cats, places to volunteer, rescues and shelters to adopt from — anything pet related? Follow this link for resources. Please add your own ideas in the Comments section.