Scratch This: Buy a zine and help a kitty!
Long Beach's Cool Cat Collective launches first-ever Cat Zine Fest for Fourth Street Fridays.
Zines are DIY self-published booklets that can be about anything, and in this case, it’s cats. Cool Cat Collective, the Fourth Street boutique-cum-gallery-cum-kitty rescue, now presents its first-ever Cat Zine Fest today during Fourth Street Fridays on June 27, starting at 6 p.m.
The opening kicks off a weekend-long celebration of cats and the zine medium. In a gesture of the Collective’s advocacy of phelineanthropy, one dollar from every zine sold will go to the Collective rescue partner @tippedears. The more zines that sell, the more kitties will be helped!
At this writing, the display area was covered in zines and co-owner Matt Carr was still unpacking, sorting and pricing them.
"I thought it would be about 20 to 30 locals, but for whatever reason, it hit and spread far and wide,” Matt said. “There’s zines from India, Italy, France, Germany.”
A lot of locals also submitted their works. One of Matt’s favorites is by a photographer who walked around Long Beach, snapping photos of locations that had a cat in it somewhere. The kitties were doing what cats do best — hiding. The reader’s job is to find the cat hidden in the photo.
The overtone of the exhibit is joy combined with unification. Themes are as varied as the zines themselves. They included social consciousness, love and loss, surrealism, world cultures, diversity and just plain silliness. There’s one zine that interprets famous works of art with cats. Some zines include little surprises, such as stickers.
A heartbreaking story came from a refugee from Gaza named Amal. She wrote about losing her cat, Thyme, after fleeing her country six or seven times during the war. Each time, she took the cat with her. Eventually, Amal had to go to Egypt, and Thyme wasn’t allowed to come, so Amal left her with her cousin. The cousin eventually had to evacuate as well, and the cat ultimately was lost.
Artists shared their grief over the loss of a cat. One minimalist entry showed the interesting way that the writer transferred their sorrow to an inanimate object.
Video by Kate Karp
“It was pretty inspiring for [the artists] — the different ways that you can take a piece of paper and do incredible artwork,” said Jena Carr, who owns the Collective with her husband. He agreed.
“The infinite ways that people can express their love and fondness for cats are pretty incredible — everyone from a 9-year-old to professional artists,” Matt said.
Cats are great distractors from sadness, fear and other ills of life. Visit the Cat Zine Fest and connect with some kinship through cats.
The Cool Cat Collective is located at 2741 E. 4th St., Suite C, Long Beach. Access this link for hours of operation and more information.
YOURS DROOLY
“It’s hard to feel joy right now, so I think that you should spend time with the kittens,” Jena Carr wisely advises. Thanks to the Cool Cat Collective and the TippedEars rescue, you can do that during your gallery visit.
TippedEars is a rescue that’s based on TNR — trap/neuter, spay, vaccinations, everything else to help community cats/release. The all-volunteer nonprofit does its TNR in Compton, where co-founder Priscilla Walters said that there’s as much need as anywhere but the needs have historically not been addressed.
Sometimes, the volunteers will come across nursing mothers. When it’s safe to do so, Mom will be spayed and the kittens will be socialized, which is usually in no time at all, and put up for adoption. Friendly older cats who may have been dumped in the colonies are also adopted out. Cool Cat Collective’s indoor catio is adoption central for the TippedEars cats.
TippedEars is the deserving beneficiary of the funds from the Cat Zine Fest. Here are three lucky kitties, whom Jena will tell you about. Come play, adopt, and buy zines!
Donate to TippedEars at this link.
Baela
Baela is an active girl who’d be a great companion for you and anyone in the household! She might be a good second cat!
Georgie
Georgie is a completely sweet, 2-year-old diluted tortie. She was trapped when she was older, so she came to Tipped Ears at 2 years old. She has a sweet but mild demeanor. She loves treats, she absolutely loves human attention when she feels comfortable with a person. She’s one of those cats that needs more time to warm up. She came from not the best situation — she may have had some trauma with humans in the past based on how she reacted in the beginning to human touch, but she’s doing wonderfully now. She loves taking care of the kittens! Here she is grooming Pluto, who’s trying to nurse on her!
Percy
Percy has a beautiful tail, but he’s more than décor! A real armful, Percy will flourish in a home!
TAIL-WAGGIN' AND NOSE-BOOPIN' EVENTS
Foster a shelter pet for Foster the 4th
During the fireworks season, pets who’ve been allowed outside often run off in terror at the sound of a fireworks blasting. If they aren’t located, they can either become lost, get hit and possibly killed by a vehicle, or wind up at a shelter. During this time, Long Beach Animal Care Services runs Foster the 4th, which you can read about here. Residents are invited to foster pets — dogs in particular and big dogs in particularly particular — for a minimum of 30 days. This will make room for the frightened, lost pets coming in. Of course, if you like the pet’s company enough to make it forever, that can be arranged, too!
For your own pet’s safety, keep them indoors in as quiet a place as exists; cut down on stress with your presence and, if necessary, a ThunderShirt or a veterinarian-prescribed sedative; and make sure they’re wearing their ID and are equipped with a microchip, which helps to guarantee a return home. Microchips are available for purchase at LBACS clinics every Monday, second Friday and fourth Friday of the month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the shelter at 7700 E. Spring St., Long Beach.
To participate in Foster the 4th, attend the next meet-and-greet on Tuesday, July 1 by appointment only Email PetFoster@longbeach.gov to schedule an appointment. Access the link to submit a foster application online. For more information, visit the LBACS Fourth of July webpage.
Fix Long Beach extends neuter discount through June
See graphic for graphic details. Tasty meatballs are provided.
The Cat Zine Fest takes place on Fourth Friday, June 27, 6 p.m. at Cool Cat Collective, 2741 E. Fourth St., C, Long Beach
Frost Fund’s Sweat to Protect event
Frost Fund, the little nonprofit that could and does provide support to shelter dogs, will host another of their Sweat to Protect workout fundraisers. A few of our Long Beach Animal Care Services pups and their doting volunteers will showcase themselves, and you can adopt or foster any of them (the dogs, of course, and not the volunteers). This Sweat to Protect event will take place in an Orange County park.
Sweat to Protect takes place Saturday, July 19, 9 a.m.–11 a.m. at Grijalva Park, 368 N. Prospect St., Orange, donation based.
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.
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