Win two free tickets to a sold-out fancy feline fete!
Read all about Le Chic Chat Soiree to find out the purr-ticulars.
Le Chic Chat Soiree, the fancy feline fete and fundraiser hosted by Helen Sanders Cat Protection and Welfare Society (CatPAWS), rivals the Jellicle Ball in festivity, frippery and fun — maybe not fur but definitely in glitter and generosity. F-f-fft!
Scratch This! planned to include the Soiree in this column’s Tail-waggin’ and nose boopin’ but, alas, they’re sold out. However, there are two prime tickets left for one of our readers to win, thanks to the Long Beach Watchdog (full disclosure: I’m a member of the CatPAWS board of directors). Here’s how you do it, along with some background.
CatPAWS established a mobile spay/neuter clinic in 2023 and then opened a brick-and-mortar facility a couple of years later in Huntington Beach. Both clinics serve trapped stray cats, ones lucky enough to sleep on someone’s clean laundry, and some from Long Beach Animal Care Services. The clinics started out by providing spay/neuter procedures for cats that TNVR volunteers trapped once a week, often at no cost, and then added another weekday to offer low-cost procedures for cats who live with humans.
As of Oct. 16, the combined clinics have spayed and neutered 4,981 cats and kittens since summer 2023. This includes 2,111 turned-off faucets since Jan. 1 of this year. The clinics average about 25 cats, but last week, they managed about 45!
So — to win, take a guess at how many spay/neuter procedures that CatPAWS will have done by Thursday, Oct. 29, and win two tickets to Le Chic Chat Soiree! Send your guess to Kate@lbwatchdog.com, and include your name and phone contact. For privacy and to make it easier for housekeeping, don’t leave them in the comments sections of Facebook, Instagram or Bluesky. The over/under guess closest to the actual amount will win the two tickets. The winner will be notified by email or text, and will be announced in the Friday, Oct. 30 Scratch This! column.
The contest winner and everyone attending the event will enjoy appetizers and cocktails, dinner, games, entertainment, silent and live auctions, and tarot readings by the clairvoyant Lady Catterly. They’ll meet hero volunteers and sponsors who save little lives daily, including one hero in particular: Dr. Kwane Stewart, who won the 2023 CNN Hero of the Year Award for his work as founder of Project Street Vet.
Dr. Stewart was chief medical officer of VETCO Animal Clinics for several years. He later took charge of a struggling Los Angeles shelter for five years, located in an area of extreme need. In 2011, Dr. Stewart treated a dog belonging to an unhoused person near a Los Angeles 7-Eleven. He immediately realized that, with this one instance of improving the life of one dog, he could do it for a whole lot of dogs and cats. With that in mind and heart, Dr. Stewart founded Project Street Vet. The nonprofit provides exams, vaccinations and supplies to people who have no way of getting them or affording them. At community clinics or street outreach events, pets of people in need can receive necessary medical help and possibly get veterinary case management and financial assistance for spay/neuter and end-of-life procedures. Since its founding, Project Street Vet has treated over 10,000 pets in 12 Southern California cities.
Besides being an elegant way to celebrate cats and their heroes, Le Chic Chat Soiree is a fundraiser for CatPAWS’ good works. The all-volunteer organization pulls cats and kittens from shelters, provides whatever medical attention is necessary, and adopts them out. The volunteers cobble together DIY Kitten Kits and deliver them to shelters, where anyone wanting to nurse orphaned newborn kittens can get the kits for free. CatPAWS’ Traveling Kitty Comfort and Therapy Show brings much-needed delight to senior residents at assisted-living homes, where they get to cuddle the kittens.
But most importantly, CatPAWS provides those spay/neuter clinics, which help reduce the population of unwanted cats on the streets and in backyards. The clinics cost money, and anything you donate at the Soiree or spend on merchandise and raffles helps fund them.
So, if you win the contest, put on your silkiest cat suit or your tomcat tuxedo — or just a nice dinner jacket — and mix with the cool cats and kitties. You’ll learn a lot about saving lives of cats and maybe get involved as a foster, a volunteer or an adopter! No pressure, of course — just a couple of ankle rubs!
Email your guesses to Kate@lbwatchdog.com along with your contact information. Don’t post them on social media!
YOURS DROOLY
Dr. Kwane Stewart won’t be the only special guest at Le Chic Chat Soiree! Toward the end of the meal, kittens and their purrsonal staff will make a grand entrance into the dining room, meet the attendees, and charm them all into taking them home. Yes, there’s an ulterior motive, but so what.
All of the cats at the Soiree were pulled from shelters and given any medical attention needed, in the spirit of CatPAWS’ mission to give every cat a second chance at a long life with loving humans. These three cats are, thankfully, living examples. Read their bios by volunteer Amanda, find out how to adopt any of them here, and have a look at their fellow hopefuls while you’re on the link.
Hope is a sweet little girl with an adorable hop thanks to mild Manx syndrome and some resultant weakness in her back legs. She’s working hard in physical therapy to strengthen those leges! Hope is an instant purr machine who absolutely loves affection. She may have a little extra wiggle in her hop, but she has a whole lot of love to give!
Willie has mild cerebellar hypoplasia (CP), aka wobbly-cat syndrome. CP is a neurological condition that affects coordination and balance but is not progressive. He has a slight wiggle at times, but that doesn’t stop him from chasing springs and pouncing on unsuspecting friends! This playful boy doesn’t let a little wobble slow him down!
Birch is a fluffy black-and-white lovebug with a heart as soft as his fur! Watch your step because this affectionate boy loves rubbing up against your legs to get your attention. He’s an instant purr machine who happily gives kisses and soaks up all the love he can get.
TAIL-WAGGIN' AND NOSE-BOOPIN' EVENTS
Meowloween and Black Cat Magic Yoga
Match up your creepy costume against the ones that the kitties at Feline Good Social Club wear at this weekend’s Halloween party! Pick a session from Friday through Saturday or stretch like a cat at the Black Cat Magic Yoga event on Sunday evening. You can spend time with adoptable cats in holiday costumes and browse FGSC tees, tote bags and stickers. Guests will receive one raffle ticket per kitty-themed item worn, such as cat ears, whiskers or a cat T-shirt, up to three tickets per person per session, for a chance to win a gift basket in that session’s hourly drawing. No costume is required for the yoga session, but you can win a bottle of Chateau Gato wine! Buy your tickets here.
Feline Good Social Club is located at 301 Atlantic Ave, Long Beach. Meowloween takes place Friday–Sunday, Oct. 23–25, noon–4 p.m.; Black Cat Magic Yoga takes place Sunday, Oct. 25, 5:30 p.m.
Frost Fund’s Annual Fall Festival Fundraiser
Only a few tickets left for this neat event! Pull on your Western boots, button up your flannels, gallop across the county line, and celebrate autumn with Frost Fund at Chapman Crafted Beer! Enjoy an evening of yummy food, line dancing, local brews, raffle prizes, autumn-themed games and local vendors. Your doggy can dress up, too, and enter the costume contest, and children are more than welcome. Strollers are fine, too, but watch out for paws and wagging tails. Through social and news media, Frost Fund finds placement in local and out-of-state rescues, sanctuaries and forever homes for dogs and cats in dire need of rescue. Long Beach Animal Care Services (LBACS) pets have been beneficiaries of their volunteer efforts. Like many small nonprofits, Frost Fund is financed through donations and fundraisers like this one, so purchase tickets here. Early bird tickets are on sale until Aug. 23. If you’re currently a student, use code YOUTH at checkout for a discount, and bring your student ID at the event.
The Fall Festival Fundraiser takes place Oct. 24, 4 p.m.–8 p.m. at Chapman Crafted Beer, 123 N. Cypress St., Orange. Ticket prices vary.
Haute Dogs Howl’oween Parade
Halloween in Long Beach wouldn’t be Halloween in Long Beach without the Haute Dogs Howl’oween Parade, now in its 25th incarnation! The festival includes the whole world and their dog in costumes that run the gamut from adorable to outlandish! Sign up your masqueraded mutt (and your costumed self at no extra charge) here — entries start at $10 per dog, with special VIP and canopy rates. (Please, no culturally insensitive costumes: read the details here.) No dog, or just want to watch them go by? That’s free, or you can rent a chair for $5. Vendors will be there with their wares, and food will be available for sale. Woof out the season with this great event!
Haute Dogs Howl’oween Parade takes place Saturday, Oct. 31 (Halloween!), 12:30 p.m. to about 4 p.m. at Marina Vista Park, 5355 E. Eliot St., Long Beach (near the tennis courts). Parade starts at 2:30 p.m.
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.
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