HELPING ANIMALS AT OUR SANCTUARY AND AROUND THE WORLD!
RIKKI’S REFUGE IS A MULTI-SPECIES LIFE-CARE NO-KILL SANCTUARY
FOR THE MEDICALLY AND SOCIALLY CHALLENGED
SUPPORTED BY DONATIONS FROM KIND AND GENEROUS PEOPLE LIKE YOU !
Not all of these contests benefit Life Unlimited of Virginia, Inc. and their divisions Rikki's Refuge and Wild and Feral directly. A benefit to the animal rescue world is a benefit to all of us. For each contest I'll tell you who will benefit and how. We believe in working with others aiming towards our goal of a better planet for all. If you're running in a contest and would like to be displayed here, send me the details Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org
All contests are FREE to vote unless I tell you otherwise. We never try to trick you into paying money!!!!
VOTE for VINCENT and FRIENDS
please help us critters win contests that help our worthy causes
all these are free to vote in, and quite simple and quick
help us make the world a better place
your vote makes a difference
C D rg o j Q H L O i ^ ] - 5 / ) Z 4 6| <
TO DATE IN 2011 YOUR VOTING HAS WON $8,000 FOR RIKKI's REFUGE YOU ARE MY HERO !!!!
C D rg o j Q H L O i ^ ] - 5 / ) Z 4 6| <
The Animal Rescue Site
Shelter Challenge
Benefits: Rikki's Refuge, a grant of $1,000 - $5,000 and
named Number One Animal Facility in Virginia or if we win top prize
Number One Animal Facility on the planet!
When to vote: Every day thru June 19 at midnight PST
follow the prompts and click to search, then click to vote,
then enter the coded word, and click confirm.
BE SURE TO VOTE EVERY DAY
GET YOUR FRIENDS VOTING
C D rg o j Q H L O i ^ ] - 5 / ) Z 4 6| <
WalkieWay - Collar and Leash in One
new product announcement
To celebrate our WalkieWay product launch, we’re giving away $2011 to the top three shelters of YOUR choice. WalkieWay Facebook fans will choose which groups split the cash.
1. “Like” the WalkieWay fan page on Facebook.
2. Write the name of your favorite shelter on the wall, that’s your vote.
3. You can only vote once.
4. Share the page with your friends and get them to vote too.
When we reach 10,000 fans (as of May 17th we have 4,046) we will tally up the results and give the shelter with the most votes $1,000 and $505.50 to second and third place. Please vote and check out the WalkieWay - Collar and Leash in One!
This one only works if you’re on Facebook
Benefits: Rikki's Refuge, cash $505.50 - $1,000
When to vote: Right now, but only once during the contest
I’m Vincent D. Cat and here to make you happy! You are HEROES! You work hard every day and you deserve to smile every day! Those of you working to save us animals hear so very many very sad things. And there’s lots of very glad things too and that’s what we talk about here! All pawsitive all the time! I want my friends to be happy and smile and know there’s a lot of good - including YOU - in this world!! Be kind and pass it on! Please send me your Good New and Fun Stuff to share, personal or global. Let’s keep it fun and interactive!! After all, if we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane! Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org
Designed for YOU
Good Morning Good News is for YOU, it’s to make YOU happy and to make you SMILE. Send me YOUR Good News to share. Send me stores that make YOU smile. Tell me which parts of Good Morning YOU like and wish you don’t. I’d like to customize it just for YOU!!!! Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org
Between Guido and Vincent, we’ve got you covered!!!!
Thanks for helping me decide which photo to run in the Bissell contest. You all voted most for my classical pose!
You can start voting for me on Wednesday. Last year I made it to second place for the week with this photo
But the Bissell judges didn’t pick me! Boo on them. This year I want to see my face looking out at you from Bissell Vacuum boxes everywhere. Next year on the label of every Fancy Feast can!!!!
My Favorite Quote, Today
Strong Deeply Rooted Desire is the Starting Point of all Achievement
After all who ever did something well that they didn’t have a driven desire to see happen? Do you have the desire to see animals have a better place in this world? Do you have the desire to see us treated as equals? Do you have the desire to eliminate speciesism? If these desires are strong and if we band together we CAN DO IT. We can do ANYTHING we set out minds to doing. It’s just putting one foot in front of the other ..... Soon you’ll be an animal HERO ... way before you even know it !!!!!
Refuge News
Another pretty warm day in the almost middle of February! Lots of visitors and fun over the weekend. We celebrated Valerie’s 3rd Anniversary at Rikki’s with a party on Saturday. Pictures Wednesday, they’re on Lena’s camera and she’s off Monday and Tuesday.
Colleen writes in: I am a volunteer with SNAP in Louisa County. I recently trapped a beautiful calico cat for spay. After getting her home that night, I learned she is actually just a scared domestic - and has slowly been warming up to me over the last week. She loves to be brushed, you can pet her, pick her up, and snuggle with her, but she is shy. We discovered at the feral spay/neuter cat clinic held this last Saturday, that she was already spayed. Our county shelter euthanizes 80% of cats and with her being shy, she has no chance here. I hate to return her to the gas station where I rescued her from. Do you know anyone who can foster this cat until she can be placed permanently?
If you can help please contact Colleen at ccole@tgblaw.com
Oh gosh can somebody please find enough money to build more 9th Life space? We take care of everybody that we can. Our building is so small and it’s totally full. That means we can't take more kitties and dawggies and wabbits and all who really need the kind of care we can offer. I cry every time I hear mom turning somebody away. So many of the elderly, the handicapped, the diabetics, the kidney patients have nobody but us to care. No place but Rikki’s to go. Oh so many need us, no other place to go. They can't live in feral / semi feral barn style housing. They need the regular household type accommodations with regular heating and cooling. We have only five rooms in this old farm house. So sad ... wipes eyes.
If you can help me with fundraising I’d so appreciate it. You can help from anywhere in the world. Paypal is universal so we all live in the same world now!!!
Right now just feeding everybody is a challenge. And we need about $12,000 to do upgrades and repairs from ice damage and to properly reinforce everything so we don't have ice problems in the future. I don't know what a new building would run. Somebody said they could a do a room for about $15,000. I've been trying to meet our Valentine Chip in for $2,277.22 and I've only raised $380 in a week. http://rikkisrefuge.chipin.com/double-your-love
We manage to spend only 25 cents per meal and only an average of $1 a day per animal to take care of them. But with 1250 animals we need $1250 a day just for the basics. We need all the help we can get with fundraising. It's probably our biggest need. Anybody up for helping please HELP !!!!! Love you all.
I want to save so many. I want to have all the money we can use to save animals at Rikki's and all the money needed to share it with other groups and people saving animals the world over. The money's there, just sitting in banks all over. We just need to convince people to share. Or figure out how to crack the banking system .....
I got wonderful news from Smoky today!!! Smoky’s mom took in a feral kitty and was letting her chill in an upstairs bedroom till she could get a ride to Rikki’s. She was going to live in a feral kitty house at Rikki’s. She started to be a bit friendly. And now Smoky’s mom has fallen in love and kitty has a name Dotty, and she’s being friendly and now she’s got a wonderful forever home with Smoky!!! Smoky wrote: Did you hear the news? We're keeping Dotty, the cat formerly known as Upstairs Kitty. YEAHHHHHHH
Wayne loves to study an animal and capture their essence which he then turns into a whimsical work of art depicting them at work or play. Your pet’s whimsical custom portrait available for only $300 (donated to Rikki’s Refuge). Contact me and I’ll put you in touch Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org
Meet Ms. Bao Cai, employee of the month at the 1st National Bank of Trout, where your fish gain interest!
Live from Vincent Video
Meet Beauty the Dog
So do you think she’s Beautiful???
On this Day
February 7 is Wave All Your Fingers At Your Neighbor's Day - Let’s do one better than that. Say hi to a neighbor you don’t often see or have never spoken too. Is there an elderly person or someone in your neighborhood who seems to have a difficult or shut in life? Offer to go to the grocery store for them. Take them some cookies. Just stop in and say hi, how are you. You’ll be their HERO. Small little kindnesses mean so very much to the receiver. Often something you do that you just consider routing politeness can be a huge kindness to someone and make you their total HERO! Practice kindness in everything you do.
Music and Motion
Dude Barkley
Stolen Parking Space
Once again, just proving, cats ARE better drivers!
And Melissa is helping to do the listing - so anybody have something they'd like to sell to benefit Rikki's, if you can do pictures and shipping (if you can't donate the shipping cost we can reimburse by paypal or check) let me know and I can put you in touch with Melissa our ebay helper. dogslife24@comcast.net
The 24th Species
Rikki’s Refuge for Humans
Benefiting the Hoomans who Help
Humans who help animals receive vast benefits; Read Jane’s and Ken’s story:
pledged $2,222.22 in the Double Your Love challenge. Paul and Candy
upped the ante to $2,277.22. We’re $1,897.22 away from meeting this challenge!! Come on folks, help us raise the $s to buy the food for the animals!!!
Any little bit gets us one step closer to our goal!!! Thanks so much for your help!
I Love YOU,
Vincent
PS You tell me what you want! Email me at Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org with instructions to change your subscription: additions, deletions or modifications! Subscriptions: Vincent’s VIPs - up to the second alerts about issues at Rikki’s Refuge for those who care and want to be intimately involved. Scheduled as needed. Good Morning Good News - a little something to get you going in the mornings, for those of you who want to keep smiling with us! Scheduled daily. Hairballs - so you know what’s coming up at Rikki’s! Scheduled weekly.
Rikki's Refuge, supported solely by private donations, houses over 1200 animals of 22 species. On line at http://bit.ly/Give-a-gift-to-Rikkis Checks, money orders, cash, items at Rikki's Refuge, PO Box 1357, Orange VA 22960
Rikki's Refuge is owned and operated by Life Unlimited of Virginia, Inc., an IRS 501(c)(3) not-for-profit Virginia Corporation, tax-id 54-1911042. Combined Federal Campaigns #77674, Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign #3163, PetsMart Charities #1377. A financial statement is available upon written request from the State Office of Consumer Affairs.
Learn more www.RikkisRefuge.org and help spread the good word, tell everyone you know about Rikki’s Refuge
I’m Vincent D. Cat and here to make you happy! You are HEROES! You work hard every day and you deserve to smile every day! Those of you working to save us animals hear so very many very sad things. And there’s lots of very glad things too and that’s what we talk about here! All pawsitive all the time! I want my friends to be happy and smile and know there’s a lot of good - including YOU - in this world!! Be kind and pass it on! Please send me your Good New and Fun Stuff to share, personal or global. Let’s keep it fun and interactive!! After all, if we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane! Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org
That’s my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Vincentina. Nobody cared enough about them to take them to the Speuter Clinic. Nobody even told them about the wonderful Speuter Clinic. They kept having litters and litters of kittens. they don’t even know where most of their kids went to. It’s really sad. I have hundreds and hundreds, maybe even thousands of brothers and sisters. And I’ll never know any of them. I bet lots of them ended up in the pound and very bad things happened to them.
The hoomans who took me didn’t care about Speuter Clinics either. They let me roam town looking for gals. Till one day that big bad car came along and intercepted my path. Whacko-bang-mush. I was lucky to get out of there with three legs! And then they were just gonna kill the rest of me off and get a new kitty. After all, they figured kitties were all over the place, why spend money to fix one up.
If only they’d spent the money to fix me first!!! But lucky for me Rikki’s came along and now I’ve got a great home, lots of brothers and sisters who I love and I have a great happy life!!!
Hey - take your friends to the Speuter Clinic !!!! It’s the better way to a better life!!! Trust me. I’m Speutered and I’m Proud !!!!! You can be too!!!!
HEY !!! IT’S SUPER BOWL SUNDAY !!!
I’m trying to get ready for game time. Gots lots of friends here and I promised to feed them all !!!!
Would you help fill my super bowl? I have lots of friends to share my game snacks with! http://bit.ly/FeedVincent
Just Click my Bowl to help me fill it !!! THANK YOU !!!!!!!!
Between Guido and Vincent, we’ve got you covered!!!!
My Favorite Quote, Today
What does fear keep you from?
Kind of hard to imagine isn’t it? But it’s true. My hooman friends tell me so. They are so scared of failing that they don’t even try. Come on!!! Why be miserable and stay in the fail mode when if you try and try and try you will SUCCEED !!!!! You have to, you try, you put in the effort and sometimes you try again and again. As long as you’re trying - you’re headed for success. Once you choose to give up trying - then and only then - you’ve failed!!!!
Be a winner - take that one positive step forward today. Reach out and do one little thing you’ve been kinda scared of. Doesn’t have to be learning to fly today. Just one little baby step. Overcome that one little fear today. And tomorrow you’ll be ready to face more. Soon you’ll be able to do ANYTHING you want !!!! Yeah Heroes !!!!
Refuge News
We’re gonna have a great big SUPER BOWL party!!! Whooppeeee. I finally convinced mom!!! She even promised to stop by with her opossable thumbs!!! Num num num come to my party !!!!!
The Cats of Cod
Step into the First National Bank of Trout, where our fish gain interest!!! Let’s make a withdrawal for dinner.
Live from Vincent Video
Meet Angelina My Dawgie Sisfur
DOUBLE YOUR LOVE
You know that Jan and Larry offered the wonderful gift of up to $2,222.22 in Double your Love Donations for Valentines!!!!
So far you’ve donated $260 of love for the animals and towards the matching grant !!!!!
COME ONE DOUBLE YOUR DONATONS!!!!
AND it’s even better now!!!!
Candy and Paul have added $55 to that Double Your Donation Challenge, so now we can double up to $2,277.22.
Everybody has a reason behind the number they donate. Why $55? Candy explains, “Valentines Day is our 24th Anniversary, so if you double that, cuz there’s two of us and then add the number of animals we’ve shared out life together with ... you get 55!!!”
What’s YOUR magic number? Please donate a buck or two. Remember, we feed the animals for only 25 cents a meal. Full care for any animal costs an average of $1 per day. This is only possible thru our generous volunteers. Please help us feed somebody today!!
PS You tell me what you want! Email me at Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org with instructions to change your subscription: additions, deletions or modifications! Subscriptions: Vincent’s VIPs - up to the second alerts about issues at Rikki’s Refuge for those who care and want to be intimately involved. Scheduled as needed. Good Morning Good News - a little something to get you going in the mornings, for those of you who want to keep smiling with us! Scheduled daily. Hairballs - so you know what’s coming up at Rikki’s! Scheduled weekly.
Rikki's Refuge, supported solely by private donations, houses over 1200 animals of 22 species. On line at http://bit.ly/Give-a-gift-to-Rikkis Checks, money orders, cash, items at Rikki's Refuge, PO Box 1357, Orange VA 22960
Rikki's Refuge is owned and operated by Life Unlimited of Virginia, Inc., an IRS 501(c)(3) not-for-profit Virginia Corporation, tax-id 54-1911042. Combined Federal Campaigns #77674, Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign #3163, PetsMart Charities #1377. A financial statement is available upon written request from the State Office of Consumer Affairs.
Learn more www.RikkisRefuge.org and help spread the good word, tell everyone you know about Rikki’s Refuge
I’m Vincent D. Cat and here to make you happy! You are HEROES! You work hard every day and you deserve to smile every day! Those of you working to save us animals hear so very many very sad things. And there’s lots of very glad things too and that’s what we talk about here! All pawsitive all the time! I want my friends to be happy and smile and know there’s a lot of good - including YOU - in this world!! Be kind and pass it on! Please send me your Good New and Fun Stuff to share, personal or global. Let’s keep it fun and interactive!! After all, if we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane! Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org
VOTE TODAY
HEY move up to 7.5% ahead in Virginia - you’re doing good
Between Guido and Vincent, we’ve got you covered!!!!
My Favorite Quote, Today
Trust Yourself
If you don’t, nobody else will !!!!
Refuge News
Good morning!!! Hey it’s above freezing. It’s a light drizzle NOT ice!!! Lots to be thankful for, today!!! My friends are coming to see me. I get lots of friends on Saturday and Sunday. Yahhhh.. I got Fancy Feast in the mail yesterday. And I sold my first item off eBay - my first ever went to Stacey!! Yahhh Stacey.
Yesterday I took you for a walk down Calico Street. Today we stroll Tabby Place ....... where soon we will visit Chino’s Grill, Cat County General Hospital, Cod Church, Tabby Air, Dr Katz, KatCity .... and more
Live from Vincent Video
Meet Doggie Amelia
On this Day
February 5, 1870 First Motion Picture shown to an audience
---- Hmmmmm when will I get in the pictures ?????
Music and Motion
Volunteers make the world go round!
Dear Vincent
tell me about Feral Winter Coats
Lots of you have questions about Rikki’s Refuge. I’ll pick one or two a day to answer here. Ask your questions in the blog comments or sent to me at Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org
QUESTION: Here is my question for you concerning cats' winter fur coats. Suppose I have to take one of my outdoor feral cats to the vet for a dental in the winter and then the vet wants me to keep the cat inside to give it antibiotics for 2 weeks. Will the cat lose his winter fur coat in that time? What is the longest time he can be inside without losing the winter fur coat? Also, what is the latest date in the fall you can put a inside cat outside in time for him to grow a winter fur coat? Love you, Vincent. You're the best. -Jean, cat mom to 24 in NJ
ANSWER: Dear Jean and 24 very lucky kitties, Purrsonally our belief on winter coats is that two weeks is fine. Three to four weeks starts to become questionable. After four weeks .... And six is an absolute NO NO. One of my docs agrees with this, another says if there's not much good choice let the kitty be outside as long as there is warm nesting areas (box with straw or something, he's not talking added heat) the fur will grow in rapidly.
We feel the kitty needs to be outside continuously from late September on to be in really good shape for the winter. it's not just the temperature change but the light change too that makes a difference.
I don't mean to hurt your feelings, Jean, but us kitties are so much better equipped for nature and we still have the call of the wild in us and we understand instinctually that when days get shorter it means it's gonna get colder too.
Sometimes in years when it's been warm into all we've let kitties come for the outdoors as late as October.
We don't start again in the spring until it's consistently over 40 degrees, night time too.
Many years ago when we were told it'd be ok to let one go from inside to outside anytime, we'd tried during what's now our block out time. It wasn't successful. Though nobody died or were seriously ill, we had colds and skinny ones that had to come back into the hospital for the winter. So that's how we came up with our plan.
We also believe that once the winter coat is lost the body has gone into the spring cycle and will not easily be able to go back to a fall routine to grow a thicker undercoat as easily. Have you ever noticed how one day your cat has a sleek summer coat and the next it seems like a lush bunny? When that undercoat starts in, it really grows.
If you have to shave kitty, as long as you're not adding much heat, the winter coat will grow back in just the same.
Also remember that it's not just the coat. We grow a nice layer of fat for the winter too and that helps to keep us warm. Mom says we have 30% animal by weight in the winter. You see, and again please don't take offense as a hooman, you couldn't help what you were born as, you hoomans have the natural instinct to put on a layer of fat to protect you in the winter. The only problem with hoomans is they don't like to live with nature, so they artificially heat themselves in the winter and then cool themselves in the summer. If you didn't do that, you'd be a bit chubby every winter and svelte every summer!!! Just like me !!! Well if I didn't get that Fancy Feast for a midnight snack and if mom didn't let me sleep under the lectic bankie.
So if you're gonna keep a feral in for a bit here's some guidelines:
- make it as short a time as is needed for their health
- try to keep cool. If you have a bathroom or laundry room or something you can keep a window partly open, or a garage that isn't fully heated. Of course you don't want somebody in a cage in freezing weather. They need to be able to move about and have good nesting. Like a box with a entry size hole only and lots and lots of straw. Remember straw is a better insulator than a bankie. Cept I really love my lectic bankie and mom hates sleeping in straw, she says with no fur it's itchy. I like straw and I'd put that under the lectic bankie if mom would let me.
- feed all they can eat, lots of canned too. You want to maintain that layer of fat and maybe even build it up a bit to compensate for any possible undercoat loss.
- if surgery is needed, shave as little as possible. Explain to your doc that kitty lives outside.
I hope that helps a little bit at least!! Love, Vincent
HUMAN HEALTH AND WELFARE PROGRAMS
BROUGHT TO YOU BY RIKKI’S REFUGE
Today we bring Section 4 to you - Helping people keep their pets (yes, I know, these last few sections have been small, but you just hang on, more is coming, they get longer and more complex as the days wear on).
SUNDAYS TOUR THE REFUGE - NOON, mini tour, take a walk around and see the animal neighborhoods. Every week on Sunday you can join a mini tour where you can walk around from animal neighborhood to neighborhood, from Piggy Paradise to Horsey Haven and see the animals. One tour only, starts at noon. Please be prompt.
SUNDAY February 6, 11 am - 3 pm PICK A PET DAY - If you aren't ready to adopt another one yet, then pick one and help them get adopted and into their own new home. Become the adoption sponsor of a cat or dog, make posters, tell every one about this one special animal. There's a home for everyone, we just need to find them. Come and meet the wonderful animals waiting to meet you.
SUNDAY February 6, 11 am - 3 pm SUPER BOWL SUNDAY - please come and fill our bowls and help with our chores.
Love,
Vincent
PS You tell me what you want! Email me at Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org with instructions to change your subscription: additions, deletions or modifications! Subscriptions: Vincent’s VIPs - up to the second alerts about issues at Rikki’s Refuge for those who care and want to be intimately involved. Scheduled as needed. Good Morning Good News - a little something to get you going in the mornings, for those of you who want to keep smiling with us! Scheduled daily. Hairballs - so you know what’s coming up at Rikki’s! Scheduled weekly.
Rikki's Refuge, supported solely by private donations, houses over 1200 animals of 22 species. On line at http://bit.ly/Give-a-gift-to-Rikkis Checks, money orders, cash, items at Rikki's Refuge, PO Box 1357, Orange VA 22960
Rikki's Refuge is owned and operated by Life Unlimited of Virginia, Inc., an IRS 501(c)(3) not-for-profit Virginia Corporation, tax-id 54-1911042. Combined Federal Campaigns #77674, Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign #3163, PetsMart Charities #1377. A financial statement is available upon written request from the State Office of Consumer Affairs.
Learn more www.RikkisRefuge.org and help spread the good word, tell everyone you know about Rikki’s Refuge
Not all of these contests benefit Life Unlimited of Virginia, Inc. and their divisions Rikki's Refuge and Wild and Feral directly. A benefit to the animal rescue world is a benefit to all of us. For each contest I'll tell you who will benefit and how. We believe in working with others aiming towards our goal of a better planet for all. If you're running in a contest and would like to be displayed here, send me the details Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org
