By Sandra Jaramillo
The New Mexican
Mar 22, 2023

Suja Nazeer found Milo, a tiny orange tabby, outside her south-side home one day. Even when it was windy, raining or snowing, Milo sat by her window, day after day, watching Nazeer.

Nazeer recalls seeing Milo, thinking of how difficult it must be to survive alone outside.

“He looked cold and tired and his whiskers were broken from rubbing them to remove fleas,” she said. It wasn’t long until Nazeer opened her door to Milo.

Milo entered Nazeer’s home cautiously and ate kibble. Nazeer let him stay and allowed Milo to sleep beside her. The whole time, she searched for his owners. Milo did not have a microchip, and no one seemed to be looking for him.

Realizing he was not vaccinated or neutered, Nazeer took Milo to Feline & Friends in hopes the organization would rescue him and put him up for adoption. They did. Once neutered and vaccinated, Milo was taken to Petco to the Felines & Friends adoption center. In February, Milo was adopted by Anna Scharenbrock of Santa Fe.

Scharenbrock said she was looking for an affectionate cat to keep her company. “They immediately pointed to Milo. I fell in love with how sweet and gentle he was. Plus, I have a huge soft spot for orange cats,” she said.

Scharenbrock had lived with cats nearby.

“Growing up, my family always had cats and I always dreamed of having my own one day,” she said. “I work from home, so when I moved to New Mexico, I found myself lonely during the day and decided that I wanted to adopt.”

When she brought Milo home, he was eager to get out of his carrier. While cautious of his new surroundings, Milo was very affectionate and seemed to take comfort in having Scharenbrock nearby. In a few short hours, Milo was begging to explore her apartment. Milo quickly settled in and started to show his personality.

“While very affectionate, I soon learned that Milo also loves to play and watch the birds outside the window,” Scharenbrock said. “He loves being around people and has been friendly to everyone he meets. He spends most of the day following us around the apartment. I am so grateful to have him by my side. He is truly the best cat and I love him so much.”

Milo is one lucky boy. Nazeer did not find Milo; Milo found Nazeer, and he did not give up until he got noticed. Nazeer knew just what Milo needed; a shelter that would take him in and find him a home with someone who would love him. Scharenbrock was that person, Milo just needed help finding her.

Published here:

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/paws/playful-bird-watching-cat-finds-home/l

By Sandra Jaramillo
The New Mexican
Dec 21, 2022

I just finished watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It’s a favorite movie of mine maybe because it shows that with the help from others, people can change. Cats can change too. All it takes is patience, kindness and time.
Indiana wasn’t always the adorable house cat he now is. Indiana, a 6-year-old tabby, was trapped in 2016 as a feral kitten. During surgery to neuter him, it was discovered he had a nasty leg injury. After surgery, instead of returning Indiana to his original location, he was transferred to Feline & Friends for rehabilitation and socialization.

While being rehabilitated, Indiana became a community cat — a semi-feral allowed to roam freely with access to a catio and a safe indoor space, as well as food and medical care. Indiana soon became a staff and volunteer favorite. But after three years, he still resisted being petted, much less laps and being
cuddled.

This is where Cindy Lou Who and the Whos stepped in. Paula Best and her partner, Teresa Fulcher, began volunteering at Feline & Friends in June 2021. “When I first started volunteering at Feline & Friends, I was attracted to Indiana,” Best said. “Probably it
was his cross-eyes. He was adorable.”
Best soon learned Indiana hadn’t wanted to be touched in years, and she started using treats to get him to come to her. “Then I’d brush my hand on him as he walked by. He would turn and look at me like ‘What was that?’ ”

Best said Indiana finally realized being loved and petted was a “good thing.” After six months of patiently working with Indiana on socializing, Best and Fulcher couldn’t resist his charm and decided to adopt him and his community cat friend Rozina.

“We brought him home last December. Now he demands to be petted whenever I see him,” Best said. “He is learning to be picked up and is doing really well with being held. He’s a funny guy, and my goal is to make up for all the years that he resisted being pet.”

It took years of kindness and patience with Indiana for him to become the house cat that everyone knew he could be. As the movie reveals: “Well, in Whoville, they say the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day. And
then — the true meaning of Christmas came through, and the Grinch found the strength of ten grinches, plus two!”

Published here:

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/paws/pair-helps-cats-heart-grow-three-sizes

By Sandra Jaramillo
For The New Mexican
Feb 22, 2023

This is a short story of two kitties named Blackjack and Mouser. Not actually kitties. Blackjack, 14 years old, and Mouser, 9, met in January 2022 when both were rescued, and Blackjack was transferred to Felines & Friends.
Blackjack was rescued off of a euthanasia list at a shelter in Southern New Mexico. He was a “working cat” who had suffered an injury, resulting in amputation of his front left leg.

Declawed and scared, Blackjack took time to trust people again. With patience and lots of treats, Blackjack learned to seek and
enjoy affection.

Mouser came from a home of older women. He was used to a home with lots of cats and some small dogs. When his owner had to move and could not take Mouser with her, Mouser was surrendered to Felines & Friends.

While both awaited adoption, Blackjack and Mouser enjoyed hanging out with one another. Both cats have sparkling, outgoing personalities, and soon met David Anderson and Karen Powers of Santa Fe.

In spite of his missing leg and claws, Blackjack was engaging, curious and distinguished. Mouser immediately came across as personable and friendly, both with the potential adopters and with other cats, and seemed so suave and confident to Anderson and Powers. Since Blackjack and Mouser had been living together, the couple knew they would get along, making it easy for the couple to adopt them in January.

“Blackjack had obviously learned to be cautious, living without claws and a front leg. We separated the new boys from our other three cats initially to let everyone get acquainted gradually,” said Anderson. Blackjack settled right in and soon started enjoying all the affection his new owners had to offer. It was not long after that he took an interest in seeing more of the house, and soon found his happy place on
top of the couple’s bed with the other cats.
Mouser was instantly at ease in his new home and acted as if he had always lived there. He soon found all the best spots to sit in the sun around the house throughout the day, exploring every nook and cranny.

Both have settled into their own routines.
Mouser loves his warm sunshine and also the choice spot in front of the wood stove. “He is absolutely the most easygoing, charming cat we have ever known,” Anderson and Powers said.
Mealtimes are very important to Blackjack, and Mouser comes around just to make sure Blackjack is OK.

“Sometimes Mouser will come get me when the food bowl is empty so Blackjack can eat,” said
Anderson. Blackjack spends his days mostly sprawled on the bed, moving from sun to shade.
“Blackjack is very friendly with our other cats and is amazingly capable, given his three-leggedness,” Anderson said. “He was nervous at first and showed signs of perhaps being mistreated in the past, but we kept giving him gentle reassurance that there’s only love in this house. Now, he loves to nuzzle and snuggle, and is very actively affectionate, so we often call him Snuggle Bear as he’s schnoozling us.”

Published here:

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/paws/pair-of-cats-bond-after-rescues-find-home-in-santa-fe

By Sandra Jaramillo
For The New Mexican
Jan 25, 2023 

Once a 2-week-old hungry, underweight orphan, Woodsy Pumpkin now weighs 8 pounds and is close friend and playmate to his new family’s 4-year-old daughter, Brooke. Woodsy Pumpkin and his siblings arrived at Española Humane in July. The litter was transferred to Feline
7 Friends and went into foster care.

As the litter struggled with diarrhea, diagnostic tests were negative and no medicine helped. A month went by as the kittens grew weaker.
Finally, the litter was fed a limited-ingredient duck diet. They quickly grew strong and healthy.
Nearly all cat food contains some chicken, and Woodsy Pumpkin and his littermates simply could not metabolize chicken — and this is not rare.

According to experts, food allergies are the third most common feline allergy, with 10% to 15% of
affected cats exhibiting gastrointestinal signs.
Chicken is among the most common foods to trigger an allergic response. After just one month on a limited ingredient diet, an energetic and happy Woodsy Pumpkin topped 3
pounds and was made available for adoption.

On Oct. 16, Woodsy Pumpkin was adopted by Megan Phillips of Santa Fe and her family.
Although his siblings took a bit longer to recover, they were all adopted five weeks later.
“Our family decided to adopt a kitten after being dog owners for 13 years,” Phillips said. “Woodsy
Pumpkin was excitable and cuddly from the moment we brought him home. Lisa and Judy, Woody’s fosters, have been lovely and went above and beyond to help the transition.”

“Our family is still learning how to ‘cat,’ but it’s been a fun and often hilarious experience,” she added.

Published here:

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/paws/excitable-cuddly-cat-becomes-childs-playmate/