No exchange policy for pets as presents

Thanksgiving was yesterday, which means today is Black Friday, which means tomorrow is Small Business Saturday. Small Business Saturday is a great way to do your holiday shopping, support unique non-corporate stores, and get a one-of-a-kind gift for your equally distinctive, quirky family and friends. The Little Lion Foundation nonprofit cat rescue has whipped up a festive shopping event complete with karaoke carolers and cabaret kitties that just happens to fall on Small Business Saturday. You’ll find all the arty, artisan popups you can tap an Apple wallet at. Find out more in the Tail-waggin’ and nose-boopin’ events.

Speaking of cat rescues and animal rescues in general, the best small businesses, in a sense of the word, are rescues and municipal shelters. True, some are better than others, but none of them are there to make a profit, unlike the puppies-for-profit backyard breeders who hawk the pets online, on flyers or on the street. Many rescues pay expenses out of their own pockets, and the rescue fees and donations go toward keeping themselves going,

If you’re thinking about getting a friend or a family member a pet as a holiday gift, go to a rescue or a municipal shelter, even if the shelter has a reputation of euthanizing healthy pets or not socializing them properly. In fact, that’s an excellent reason to save a life. Similarly, shelters that make every effort to keep healthy pets alive face overcrowding, like our shelter at Long Beach Animal Care Services. If you adopt an animal from a shelter with cramped kennel space, you’re creating some breathing room and more staff and volunteer attention for the others.

But wait! Before you run out the door and adopt a pet for a loved one, make sure that the gift recipient wants an animal in their life and can care for it properly. If you spring a cat, dog, rabbit or whatever on someone and the someone doesn’t want one, can’t afford medical care, or doesn’t bond with the pet, what are you going to do with it? Keep it yourself? Return it to the already crammed shelter? Pass it down to another friend? Abandon it in a street or park? Of course, you won’t do any of those things or you wouldn’t be reading this, but others have, and that’s where many shelter animals come from in the first place.

If your friend or family does want a pet, the gift needs to be mutual, or maybe meowtual. That means that the pet needs to bond with the new human as well as the other way around.

There’s a better way to get the gift of an animal for a loved one and a gift of a forever home for the animal:

• Print out the coupon in this article. I shlep it out every year, around this time.
• Present it to the lucky recipient.
• Select dates and times to visit shelters and rescues together. If that’s not possible, have the recipient go to a shelter until they fall in love. The link at the end of the article includes a list of them. It’s not good online or on the street, and you won’t want to pay the hundreds and thousands of dollars they’ll charge you for an unfixed pet.
• When the match is made and the recipient fills out the adoption application, you pay the adoption fee. If your wallet permits, you can go shopping for things like treats, toys, litter boxes, alfalfa hay for bunnies, and good food.

Your holiday gift will go a long way: to your friend or family member, to you as a happy godparent (or dogparent, if that’s the case), and to the pet, who can look forward to a good life in a loving home. Have a warm, furry holiday season!

YOURS DROOLY

The Little Lion Foundation (LLF) is one of the rescues where you can start your buddy browsing. The volunteers rescue cats and also bring them up via bottle feeding from newborns. Their spay/neuter clinic prevents even more of those newborns from being born and either sickening and dying or breeding more unwanted kittens. Street cats with injuries are given medical attention at their clinic, as you’ll read in the adoption candidate descriptions. Most of the cats spend time with fosters.

Senior pets are often overlooked because kittens and younger cats are very good at creating their own PR. Because November is Adopt a Senior Pet Month, these Little Lions are way past the cub stage and would love to spend their golden years in a comfy forever home. Invite Grandma or Grandpa — quite literally — home for the holidays and to stay as long as they can. Imagine the stories they can tell you while they’re on your lap! Find the adoption application here, and check out LLF at the Shop Small-iday event.

Eevee is 8 years old. “Her journey hasn’t been easy — she was surrendered when her owner fell ill and the stress of change made her wary of new faces,” LLF wrote. “But her foster mom saw a spark of sweetness in her and decided to give her a chance. Once in her foster home, Eevee quickly showed her playful side, pouncing on her fish toy, enjoying petting, and chasing the wand toy with adorable tumbles and rolls She’s also incredibly smart — she knows words like ‘treat time’ and ‘food time.’ She isn’t shy about sharing her opinions with loud meows, especially if something doesn’t meet her royal standards! Eevee is looking for a calm home where she can reign as queen (no other cats, please!). Her ideal adopter will be someone who appreciates little cats with big purrsonalities — someone who understands that a little sass comes with a lot of love. With patience, respect for her boundaries and plenty of treats, Eevee will reward you with trust, playfulness and her unique charm.”

Yes, his name is in fact Grandpa. He’s 8 years old and FIV positive. FIV is a cat-specific virus that attacks the immune system and is transmitted from an infected mother to her kittens or through a deep bite from another cat. Cats may not show symptoms for years, and if they do, they can still enjoy a long life with proper treatment. Grandpa is living proof of that. “He came to LLF in rough shape — broken tail, severe dental issues and a mass on his head,” LLF wrote. “Today, he’s healthy and loves petting, attention, a good, soft bed or pillow and chasing toys! But his greatest love is food! Grandpa’s full of silly moments, from tongue bleps to scare jumps and zoomies!”

Meet Chance, former street cat and comeback kid with a heart of gold and a purr that could power a small city! He’s 4 years old — not a senior, but I have a thing for brown tabbies LLF wrote this about Chance: “He came to us with a horrific neck injury that would have broken many spirits. But Chance? He chose hope. He chose people. After lifesaving care and endless love, he is now healed, handsome, and officially ready for his happily ever-after. Chance lives up to his name, which was inspired by the lovable goof from ‘Homeward Bound’ and the second chance at life he so bravely fought to have. He's 65% professional cuddler, 35% hilarious entertainer and 100% foodie who is still learning about the magic of indoor life, so some patience is required.”

LLF gives this list of Chance’s favorite pastimes:

✔ Gourmet Announcements: Serving as your personal mealtime town crier with enthusiastic, chatty reminders.

✔ Aggressive Affection: Leaning his whole body into pets and pressing his forehead to yours for the purest "thank you" headbutt.

✔ Critically Acclaimed Cuddles: A soft-blanket connoisseur and the best binge-buddy for reality TV, anime, Hallmark movies, and musicals (he's a huge Wicked fan).

✔ Supervisory Duties: Following you everywhere because, as he says, "Privacy is a myth.”

He’ll even let you dress him up. Wow.

Chance can be an only cat or part of your indoor colony.

“Adopting Chance means you'll have a front-row seat to a lot of his firsts, like his first Christmas tree and his first lifetime of being utterly spoiled.” LLF said.

TAIL-WAGGIN' AND NOSE-BOOPIN' EVENTS

Shop Small-iday festival benefit for The Little Lion Foundation

Shop small and support local businesses, artists and crafters for great gifts and ethically sourced global goods, and support cat rescue at the same time! The Little Lion Foundation presents a free, fun holiday-themed event with caroling karaoke, the Miss Purrfect Pinup Pageant hosted by Show Me Your Kitties Cabaret, an artisan food court, wine and beer, and raffles! Part of the sales will benefit the little lions at the rescue!

Shop Small-iday takes place Saturday, Nov. 22, noon–5 p.m. on the third floor of Sports Basement, 2100 N. Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach

Cool Cat Collective’s Cozy Cat Art Show and Annual Fundraiser

Marvel at works of art, including the living ones in the catios, and maybe take home an artwork or two — including a living one from the catio — at Cool Cat’s annual event to raise awareness and funds for rescues and shelters in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

The Cozy Cat Art Show and Fundraiser takes place Friday, Nov. 28, 6 p.m.–9 p.m. at Cool Cat Collective, 2741 E. Fourth St., Suite C, Long Beach. Free entry.

Community Cat TNVR Coalition meeting

Here’s a stat for you: in seven years, one female cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 cats. And 26 cats, give or take repetitions of male fertilization? The eyes cross, and Bastet only knows what kinds of lives they’ll have.

Just recently, volunteer trappers helped community members in North Long Beach get an entire community sterilized at Helen Sanders CatPAWS. Trapper King John Crouch led the effort to educate people on the literal ins and outs of TNVR — into the traps, out after they’ve stayed overnight and then been fixed and vaxxed and brought back to whence they came. Stray cat numbers in Long Beach are declining, thanks to these efforts, and you can join them! Come to the Community Cat TNVR Coalition meeting and learn how you can help trap, transport or share resources.

The Community Cat TNVR Coalition takes place Sunday, Nov. 30, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. at Long Beach Animal Care Services, 7700 E. Spring St., Long Beach, at the entrance to El Dorado Park. No parking fees for shelter guests.

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