Spotlight Post - My Cat Related Summer

If you've been wondering where I've been, I have been lucky enough to be spending six weeks in beautiful Cool Cape May, New Jersey at my family's beach house - The Cool Cat Cottage. Our house is a rental house and you can find more information on our Facebook page (linked above).

Now, being away from my kitties for six weeks has been undeniably one of the hardest things of the summer, particularly with the sudden loss of our cat Sabrina last week (read about it in my latest post here). I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by a wonderful blogging community as well as friends, family and neighbors -- both at home and in Cape May -- which has allowed me to fondly remember Sabrina while being able to stay strong in Cape May.

Our sweet little Sabrina.

But....don't think I haven't been without any kitty companionship these past few weeks while I've been here! If you follow me on my other blog - Cape May Chick, you may have read about some of my cat related activities. I have been lucky enough to volunteer at Animal Outreach of Cape May County (AOCMC), which has been a wonderful and stress-relieving experience. I typically spend almost every Friday of the year volunteering with my local rescue - Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation, so having the ability to volunteer in Cape May is excellent. Volunteering is typically something I do with my family, so I have had the opportunity to branch out my skills by going over to the animal center to volunteer.

Cuddles at Animal Outreach.

While I am at Animal Outreach, I not only play with all of the cats, but I help with the socializing, feeding and cleaning of the litter boxes (who says you can't scoop on vacation)! Spending the time with the cats was always important to me, but particularly after Sabrina died, I needed some sort of cat outlet in addition to my creative writing outlet.

Let me tell you about Animal Outreach. It is a beautiful, volunteer run 501(c)(3) nonprofit rescue. They are located at 600 Park Blvd in West Cape May, NJ. This location is only temporarily, as they have purchased a piece of land not too far away in which they plan to build an animal sanctuary.

Nigel appreciates me spending time with him!

Like all future projects, the new building will take time. Hopefully they will be able to get the facility built within the next few years. They will also be able to house dogs at the building too.

Holding Scully, a very scared girl who had just surrendered.

 

Martha in a box.

Left: dad with Oliver - Right top: new kitten Rachel, below is her brother Michael ;)

I had an amazing time volunteering at Animal Outreach while I have been on vacation. Even though it was only for about 5 weeks of volunteering, I went plenty of times and always had fun. And it was awesome to get to meet the volunteers who make this rescue all possible. I know from my experience that it couldn't be done without them!

I will enjoy staying on their email list and seeing who is there. I will certainly miss the cats I have met that are still around and hope that they get adopted! And of course, I can't wait to go up to Cape May in the off season and play with all of the kitties!