As a cat lover I’ve spent a good bit of time perusing cat costumes each year around Halloween time.
And full disclosure, I’ve gone the ‘Catwoman’ route more than once. First, when Batman Returns was released in 1992 and I begged my mom to sew me Michelle Pfieffer’s black vinyl catsuit (AND SHE DID, photo evidence below). Then again in my early 20’s when vinyl catsuits had become a thing you could actually buy in store.
1992
2003
Aside: Props to my mom for letting me scamper around our conservative Alabama neighborhood in black vinyl and high heels at age 13. I’m sure there were plenty of folks who found that inappropriate, but who cares?!
Now at 40 years of age I still remember how awesome it felt that Halloween night to literally disappear into the dark… just like the black cats I’ve always found so magical. Imagination is a wonderful thing at any age.
Anyhoo… back to cat costumes!
I decided to do you a favor and pull together an easily shoppable list to turn yourself into a cat this Hallows Eve should you so desire… so read on fun furriends!
Silly + Comfy = WIN
As if Hocus Pocus isn’t awesome enough, now you can buy a Binx costume that is basically as comfy as pajamas.
And yes I’ve already ordered it myself so please wear yours to C&C so we can be twinsies.
Now go scamper about this Halloween in your feline finest and have fun!
Or come join the ALL AGES Halloween fun in the Cat Lounge with LYFF Rescue’s Purrs & Pumpkins Halloween Party and adoption event. Tickets available here.
If you’re scratching your head thinking “Why wouldn’t they just adopt a cat from Cat & Craft?!”, well here’s why…
The Backstory
Back in June of 2017 we fostered two semi-feral tortoiseshell gals for LYFF Rescue.
Both were on euthanasia watch due to “abnormal behavior”, which only meant that at 6 weeks old they had not yet become fully comfortable being handled by humans.
Baby Letty (left) & baby London (right) intake
That’s understandable… I mean imagine that you were born into a family of gorillas and they were the first things you ever encountered when your eyes started to focus – you’d quickly learn that gorilla’s were not an immediate threat to you.
However, if you had never encountered a gorilla until well into your humanhood – and suddenly you met one that wanted to pick you up and hold you – you’d very likely fear for your life!
It’s a similar story for feral and semi-feral cats and kittens.
So, after two weeks of patience and lots of “purrito” wraps our frightful little gals turned into lap kitties! (not too ‘abnormal’, right!?)
baby Letty (left) and baby London (right) after two weeks
Both gals were available for adoption through LYFF, and very quickly someone was approved to adopt London.
We then adopted her sister Letty (aka our first “foster fail” lol). We often thought about London and wondered how she was doing in her new home, hoping she was well.
Now Here We Are
Then three weeks ago we got a note from LYFF that London’s family could no longer care for her and would be returning her.
It was Andrew who was first to say “we’ll want her back!” and now she’s officially a member of the Vaught household.
We are still in the process of re-introducing her to the family, but she’s been pretty cuddly with us so far.
For a scare-di-cat, London sure loves belly rubs
These things can take time depending on the dynamic of other cats and family members involved.
I do think London feels a sense of familiarity with us and our home, but I do not believe she and Letty remember being best-friend sisters.
Hopefully in time they will enjoy each other’s company as much as they did when they were little!
Our other dudes – Guinness and Elvis – have already welcomed her back into the fold with open paws.
If you caught up with last week’s blog I took some time to talk a little bit about sound healing – the concept that humans and animals alike can show a positive response to certain vibrational frequencies.
An astute reader pointed out that recent research has also shown cat’s purrs emit vibrations in a 20 – 140 Hz range – which is a range known to be medically therapeutic for certain illnesses.
For those of you who have a cat, you very likely have experienced the calm, contented feeling that comes over you when your cat is purring in contentment beside you or on your lap.
Designer Gemma Busquets compiled the benefits – lowering stress, healing bones and lowering the risk of heart attack – in this fun infographic!
We continue our adoption success stories with some real superstars of the Cat & Craft Cat Lounge.
Every time we hear from an adopter about how wonderfully their new family member is adjusting, we become even more and more grateful for the support of our community here in North County.
PARROT
“Hi! We are so happy to have Parrot!!!❤ He is an amazing kitty. He and Olivia are a perfect match. He loves to be held and cuddled and she loves to hold and cuddle him.
He follows her everywhere and he meows at the door when she goes outside to play with her friends. He misses her. He even likes to lay like a baby in her doll strollers. They are so darn cute.❤❤❤ Olivia says she’s lucky that he chose her… 💗💕💗
~Parrot’s family
CAPPY & STELLA (STAPPY)
“Hello! I love them so much, they are the biggest sweethearts, and I’m so happy with how they’ve been settling in here!”
~ Cappy & Stella’s family
CANDY
“Hi! Candy (now Lillian, Lily for short) is doing great. She is getting along great with her new big brother, Luther (also a black cat).
They spend their days lounging in the sun next to the window and playing with each other. She’s half his size but bosses him around (and I think he likes it that way). She’s a gem and we are so lucky to have her.”
~Lily’s family
EMPEROR
“He’s the best clinic cat ever and so loved!!”
~ Emperor’s family
COSMO
These pictures say it all…
Cosmo’s awesome momma got him the same bed he loved to sleep in at the cafe, and in the 200+ days we cared for him we never saw him cuddle with anyone. That has clearly changed!
The campaign began in 2015 with the support of national broadcast stations NBC and Telemundo.
Now in its fifth year, the annual adoption drive has helped 256,688 pets find forever homes. Last year alone more than 100,000 pets were adopted from over 1,200 shelters across the county, and this year we all hope for even bigger and better results!
Both shelters and rescue organizations choose to participate each year by reducing adoption fees for one day to encourage those considering adoption to make the commitment to save a life.
It’s a big push that helps move homeless animals from shelter cages and foster homes into forever homes, so that shelter and rescue resources are freed up to help more animals in need.
Where Cat & Craft Fits In
We talk about the circle of rescue at Cat & Craft quite often, and here’s a little diagram to help illustrate the process:
That’s right – every cat adopted from Cat & Craft means LYFF Rescue can pull another cat from area shelters, which in turn frees up space at the shelter so they can in turn assist another animal in need.
Many organizations will be participating in tomorrow’s National Clear The Shelters Day all across the country. You can click here www.cleartheshelters.com to learn more and enter your zip code to see a full list of local adoption events are taking place near you!
If you have space in your home and heart to help a pet experience the safe, love-filled life it deserves, I hope you will consider adopting tomorrow from the LYFF Rescue fosters at Cat & Craft or another organization.
Us cat cafe’s need to stick together and support each other as we all share a common goal.
So in that respect, the Cat & Craft team will soon be headed north to Orange County so that we can visit our neighbors Catmosphere Laguna!
It will be a great way for our team to see how others go about connecting lovely people to cats in need, and we will get to share best practices with each other.
There’s no fur-flying competition in the cat cafe arena, we want all to succeed so that all animals have loving forever homes. I’ll be talking more about this in coming blog posts, and of course provide fun photo recap of the field trip!
Now let’s get to some adoption success stories, shall we?!
MISSY
“Missy is settling in just fine. Loves getting her head petted and will just purr up a storm! She loves curling up in all my fuzzy blankets and sleeping.”
~ Missy’s family
OOLONG
“She’s doing great. We love her so much! She’s perfect and she seems very content with us. 😊”
~ Oolong’s family
TIGER (Irie)
“Tiger is doing great! Her name is now Irie. Here are a few photos of her with Vadar!”
