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  • Writer's picturepechiroman1

How Catify Café & Adoptions All Started!

Chronological Story from 2 Cats to 17 and now the Vision for Catify Café & Adoptions!!



All of what you are about to read and see took place between 2010 up though July 2019

pertaining to the 17 cats, who adopted us (ok, 16 adopted us) that allow my wife and I to

live with them as long as we feed them, play with them, care for them, pay all the

household bills and most importantly, LOVE THEM, Some on their own terms! These

are very gracious cats !! ALL CATS within this story were all fixed (spayed/neutered)

and got the necessary shots/vaccinations shortly after we were able to secure/capture

them. NOW, we want to help even more Cats (besides the ones we already

adopted) by not only finding them "Forever" homes, but to care for them, and especially

nurture the ones who have been Neglected, Abused, Abandoned, Rejected because

people didn’t care or just had a very rough start to life for no reason or fault of their

own!! We want to show them unconditional love and care while they are in our care until

they are ready for adoption. Please consider helping us reach our goal of this Café,

“State of the Art” Veterinarian & Adoption Center.

PayPal Payment Link

HOW IT ALL BEGAN......


My wife & I had lost one of the best cats ever, a tiger cat, Kasey. My wife got her while

she was in Chiropractic College in Georgia. LONG story short, a stray cat came into her

friend’s apartment closet and had babies. Kris took one at six weeks, which practically

fit in the palm of her hand at the time. She raised it and it was the most loving cat and

always was there for her through thick and thin. I met my wife in 2004 and got to know

Kasey really well and we got along great. Kasey would often "steal" my bacon from my

hands as I would try to eat it and thought nothing of it, like it was hers to begin with.

Sadly, in 2010, she developed cancer and we had to put her to sleep, which took us a

couple of weeks to finally do it. It seemed that she was not suffering with pain during

those two weeks, just harder to breathe and she would constantly go off by herself into

little cubby spaces to hide. Finally, when we began to see her breathing more labored

and she stopped eating even her favorites, we took her to the vets and stayed with her

throughout the whole process of putting her to sleep. It was one of the hardest things

we ever did, as those who know, these little creatures become Actual Family Members

and it's a tremendous, heart-wrenching loss!!


On January 11th, 2011 we adopted TWO Cats from the Wayne County Humane Society

near where we live. We wanted them to be companions for when we were not at home

and at work. We named them Jethro & Ellie Mae. Both were found separately and

turned into the place where we adopted them from. Both had worm issues and both had

to be fixed. Jethro & Ellie Mae took quickly to each other and to us, and we were a

family in no time. In July of 2012, we moved from Creston, Ohio to Orrville, Ohio (25

minutes away) to my wife's home town. The economy and home sales had just tanked

and we were blessed with a very nice, large home, at a wonderful price.

Jethro & Ellie Mae Sept. 2011

A couple of months after we moved in, my wife was working in her office (our formal

living room) and noticed a young kitten, on our window ledge looking in. Here is where it really begins !! My wife called me over and when we got close, it darted off, not to be seen again. Well, until the next day, when we were looking in our back yard and saw her and TWO MORE young (sibling) kittens, eating our bird seed we had put out for the birds. They were very Hungry kittens, looking for anything to eat!


For the next several months, we fed "Our" growing kittens: Whitey, Stripey 1 & Stripey 2

(TWO looked identical with an ever so slight mark on one), tiger/tabby cats. They were

definitely feral, as they would run off if we got close. During that time as well, TWO

MORE CATS, Mama Kitty and Blackie showed up and we affectionately named them,

too (somehow, they seem to become "Ours" as soon as we name them! No matter how

generic the name is, it's just funny how that works!). After about six months, we were

able to get the first three captured, but not without Stripey #1 giving birth to THREE

AND Mama Kitty giving birth to TWO babies. Meanwhile, we took Stripey #2 and Whitey

to get fixed (females), but the non-profit pet care facility that did low cost spay/neutering

in our area, told us that we needed to put Stripey #2 down, due to FIV+ (Feline Aids)

status and that she was pregnant as well. The Doctor said it was best to put her and the

babies down while she was "out", in preparation for the spay procedure. We were NOT

Educated at the time about "Kitty Aids" (FIV+), so we agreed, since the "Doctor" said it

was best. This decision still broke our hearts to do that. It's years later now, and WE TOTALLY REGRET THAT DECISION, based on what we know now about kitties with FIV disease being able to have a relatively normal and fairly healthy life, especially if cared for

properly !! Later in this blog we will talk about a cat we currently have that IS FIV+ and is

just a great, awesome loving cat!


Stripey 1 & 2 & Blackie Mama Kitty & Babies Mama Kitty Babies @ 1 mo.

Stripey # 1 and Babies Tigger - Smokey - Mojo Mama Kitty & Baby


Mama & Stripey Babies 5/14 Whitey 09/14 Smokey-Mojo-Tigger 09/14


At this point we now had: Jethro, Ellie Mae, Whitey, Blackie, Stripey #1, MoJo, Smokey,

Tigger, Mama Kitty and her two babies, (we did not name her kittens as we found them

a home to go to when they became of age to do so) ELEVEN cats up to this point.

Mama Kitty (pale gray in color) would love to roam in the woods behind our house, but

always took care of her babies. Shortly after we got her babies adopted out, she one

day went out to roam, and never came back. We don't know what happened to her and

feared the worst. We were very sad she was no longer a part of us and will always

wonder what happened!!


In the midst of all of this, a few months prior, we had had a "neighborhood" (very feral)

male cat show up, named CHUCK by the neighbors. Chuck roamed the neighborhood,

and we learned he was more than likely the "Daddy" of all of our girls, or at least one of

them. We learned in the process that a female cat can be impregnated by multiple male

cats. This would make sense with our Stripey 1, who birthed MoJo, a solid black cat,

medium hair, super soft with a touch of white, Smokey, with a uniquely shaped face,

and Tigger, a tiger cat. Chuck was always sweet with Mama Kitty and both Stripey’s and

very protective of them.


Chuck was a true Feral cat that could never be tamed to the point of being held or

picked up. I was able to finally, after months of gaining trust, be able to pet him...a little

bit. Boy did he love to eat and that was usually when I could get a few strokes in down

his back. We fed our cats well, and still do to this day. In the pictures below, the "white

stuff" you see on the bowls is "Fresh Rotisserie Chicken" that I diced up and gave to the cats

from time to time, and even to this day. Chuck hung out mostly at/near our place once

he found us, (as the other main neighbor who said they fed him, commented that he

basically stopped eating over there and they did not know why since he was still looking

robust. We shared with them that maybe he liked our restaurant better!! :-) One day, in

Late Spring of 2018, at night, we saw Chuck outside, walking very slowly and almost

limping, he came up to me and I petted his head then his back which was very wet and

smelly. He stayed on our deck on a blanket we had for him for about an hour and left.

The next morning, we saw him at the neighbors house at the end of the driveway, sitting

almost in the road (not like him at all) I went up to him and in the daylight, I could see he

was dying. We called around for several agencies to come and get him, but none would

and they just advised don't touch him. Sadly, he went off down to a drainage/runoff

area, never to be seen again. We figured that he came up to us that night to say

goodbye. At least for the few years he lived outside "with" us, he had great food, a

heated outdoor house, clean bedding and as much love as he would tolerate.

Chuck Upper Right Chuck Upper Right Our 4 Unit Heated Condo


Without Chuck and Mama Kitty, we are now at 8 cats. Jethro, Ellie Mae, Whitey,

Blackie, Stripey #1, Mojo, Smokey, Tigger. OH WAIT, did we tell you BOOTS just

showed up (yes, we named him), one afternoon while I was away from home? My wife

calls me to say there is a new cat on our deck and he was just skin on bones. "What do

I do with him?" my wife asks. I said: "Feed Him"!! And then there were NINE. Boots,

"with a hint of ADHD", was and is a very sweet and lovable cat. Boots was one we did

not have to earn his trust and he was not a Feral like the rest were (except Jethro &

Ellie Mae). He was happy for a home and waltzed right on in! Over the next few months

and a couple of vet visits, he turned out to be a very loving, very handsome, healthy & awesome cat!!


Boots Boots "Modest" Boots


So, we're good with nine cats now !! Right ?? Oh, Nay Nay !! Here comes cat # 10. One

Monday morning as my wife is walking into her office with her hands full, barely able to

just open the outside door, and IN WALTZES, from the cold outside, Abby. Abby

decided to check out my wife's practice, went into all the exam rooms and finally wound

up in our billing office, hopped up on the counter and curled up on top of our warm

laptop and took a two hour nap. Abby was different from most cats, uniquely

independent, and mannerisms of a dog. Over time we have called her a "Dat", which to

us means "a dog caught up in a cats body". She is just so cute and overly adorable.

Plays fetch like a dog, back and forth over and over. Wags her tail like a dog and does

so all the time, and clearly answers to her name every time when we call her. Initially,

she had a very rough start, weakened immune system and sick along with two types of

worms causing her many issues. After a week or so from a Vet Visit, she was all better!!

This is Abby


TEN is a good number. Our new LIMIT. No More!! And then there were TWO more, at

once. Tortie & Koal. Again, at our office, on a cold winter day, early afternoon are these

two little younger kittens, so we thought, that were actually older (about a year old). Just

underfed and one stunted in growth. These two, started at my wife's office by pacing

back and forth in front of the doors where people came in/out. Running a few feet away

when people came but then coming right back. Approximately, 7 hours later when the

office closed, they were still outside, looking in, so we coaxed them into the glass

enclosed foyer, they started purring and doing the figure 8 in our legs and then we

brought them home. They too had some health issues, mostly respiratory and eye

infections. Two weeks later they were back to good health, and so we are at an EVEN

DOZEN !! The wife & I have a serious talk, or should I say, SHE TOLD ME..... "NO

MORE CATS". Ok, so NOW the Boss has laid down the LAW!!

Tortie Koal (Top) - Tortie (Middle) Koal


WELL.... I guess LAWS are meant to be BROKEN!! One day, in our back yard, was this

part tiger / mixed breed. For a stray/feral, he did not seem to act like a normal cat.

Sneakers (yes, we named this one too) did not respond to noise and was easily

frightened off when he was finally aware someone was there or close by. One

afternoon, he was sitting on top of our outside grill in our backyard, (I was inside the

house looking through a window when I saw him) so I went out the front and attempted

to sneak up on him from behind his back. Stepping on twigs and small branches,

crunching them as I went, he never budged or looked behind. I got within about 3 feet of

him and clapped my hands loudly, that got his attention and he ran off. After about a

month of earning his trust, I was able to get him inside. After a vet visit, we learned he

was about 3/4 deaf, and has Feline Aids (FIV) which is "Kitty Aids". Only transferred

usually by a direct bite from Saliva. So what do we do with this one? I was under the

impression (5th paragraph above from the top) to put him down. We just couldn't do that

to him, and our New Veterinarian that we had now been using for the last few years at

this point, educated us HOW to incorporate him into our family and that he could live a

normal life with some help. So Initially, we caged him (Cage Size: 4' X 3 1/2' X 3'). But as

he tamed down, and we got to KNOW him and what FIV is, he now only SLEEPS in his

cage at night and is out with 12 other cats from 6:30am until 11:30pm daily, and we have

had no problems. As of Jan. 2022, we are considering doing away with the cage as he

truly gets along with all of our other cats fine. Sneakers is one of the most loving and

appreciative cats we have. EVERY TIME when I go to scoop his litter box in his cage, he has to come up and be next to me and LOVE ON ME by marking me with kisses and gentle

head butts. So I guess a DOZEN is now a BAKERS DOZEN (13)!!



So now that we are at a Bakers Dozen, things KIND OF slowed down, when we

experienced some trouble. To start, Garfield showed up (he was not the trouble, he was

just #14), but he did take close to a year and a half for me to earn his trust. At first, if I

got just within eye-sight of him, he was gone like a lightning bolt, but he always returned

for the food. Within six months, I could get within 10 feet of him and we would just talk.

Within a year, he was sleeping up on a chair we had just outside our door on our deck.

(covered deck chair with two heating pads for the winter months). Finally, Winter of

2017 and we were getting 10" of snow, I knew he would not survive if he wandered,

which he did every day regardless of outdoor conditions. So, after six inches of snow

had fallen, I put food out on our step and squatted at the door talking with him while he

ate. As he was eating and took a moment to look in the other direction, I grabbed him

and tossed him into our sun room where 5 other cats love to hang out at. Surprisingly,

within a couple of days it was like they were all one big happy family as Garfield got

along with everyone right out of the gate.


The TROUBLE I spoke of began summer of 2016 when THREE of our indoor/outdoor

cats were majorly injured within 10 days of each other from roaming out in the woods

behind our house. Even though we are in a nice neighborhood, sometimes some not so

nice people hang out in the woods, and not everyone understands/cares that

cats/dogs/animals can feel pain and hurt just like we do. Three of the cats came home

with their right front paws injured/fractured, causing them to badly limp around for several

days, and one for several weeks (she (Stripey) was still wild enough to not be able to get her

crated and to the vet). We decided after the third one was injured, this was definitely not

coincidental or "natural"! We at this point grounded all of our cats and they now live inside our home permanently. That was a big culture shock to some of them and we wanted them to be happy, so we did build a Large 18' long, 8’ Tall by 5’ Wide outdoor free standing habitat

where they can go out our sun room window into the unit and be outside, but protected.

They do love it and spend as much time out there as possible, even on cold days.

Our Free Standing 18' Long by 5' Wide by 8' Tall Outdoor Habitat

Cat # 14 - Garfield

Short Video of the Outdoor Habitat we built to protect our cats from harm.


So where were we? Oh yes, Garfield. I was very thankful that we were able to get him

inside as we were running those two heating pads, that were wrapped in towels so that

it would be just warm enough and not too hot for him while he was living outside.

Running them 24/7 as we did racked up the electric bill. So, I thought, "Finally, that's

done." WELL... four days after Garfield, Skidders showed up. This guy was exactly

that..... Skiddish. He would NOT go into the heated chair, even though I changed all the

bedding to new, clean towels. Skidders would not even go into a brand new heated box

we built for him. It is now, at night time, in the SINGLE DIGITS and my wife and I are

highly concerned, especially for his delicate ears. He would sit on a snow melting mat

we put out, but that did nothing for his head. After a couple of days, we were able to

grab him in during a feeding on the steps by our door like we did with Garfield, so this makes Cat Number 15.


Skidders - Cute, Adorable and Lovable


Skidders personality type is always CURIOUS !! He just has to get into your space to

see what's going on. One thing he is notorious for is, if another cat goes into the litter

box to go potty, he'll walk right up to them and it's like he's asking: "Whatcha Doing?",

not giving the other cat(s) any privacy. During the day it's not so bad, but at night, he is

in a cage, right next to sneakers where they sleep overnight and the other cats have

some privacy!! Otherwise he, like Sneakers, is free to roam/play with the others

close to18 hours a day. As of January 2022, we are going to try to do away with

his cage as well as since he is getting older, he seems to be mostly better with his

“Curiosity” habits.


At this point I have broken my wife's law (about no more cats) THREE TIMES. Well,

since I am a habitual law breaker, what's one more, right?? Actually, for the first six

months of 2019, I thought we must have finally got all the cats from the neighborhood

as no more showed up, which I was actually thankful for. To take care of just 15 cats, at

regular costs for food, cat litter, toys, cat trees and bedding and vet bills for when they

get sick or need care, it runs approximately $1000 to $1200 per month, sometimes

more. For November 2021, we had THREE cats with dental issues that ran almost

$1000 alone for those three dental surgeries. We keep approximately fifty, 38LB Boxes

of Arm & Hammer Clump & Seal Multi-Cat litter on hand, we use approximately 20 cans

of quality moist food per day to help keep them hydrated better; dry food we use the

Purina Cat Naturals, Purina One Series, Royal Canin and Blue Buffalo brands. Then we

use Vetriscience Lysine and Multi-Vitamins to keep their immune systems up. For the

most part we have very healthy cats.


SO, July 2019, shortly after the 4th of July holiday. This skinny, gray cat showed up at

our house and was hanging out near where we feed birds. I saw this cat for about three

weeks, but every time I got near it, it just ran off and would not come back until I left the

area. I had not put any food out for it as "I Thought" this cat must live in the

neighborhood somewhere. In hind sight, I should have put food and water out for it.

Finally on the 3rd Saturday, after dark, I went to retrieve our bird feeders because if we

don't the raccoons will knock them down and run off with them. As I rounded the back

corner of our house, I am hearing a cat crying at the top of it lungs. I had no clue it

would have been that same gray cat that had been hanging around, but it was.


This cat was just sitting under an evergreen tree at one of our tree lines on our property.

After about 10 minutes of coaxing it out, it finally came to me, allowed me to pick it up

and carry it into the garage. As I was carrying it, I am thinking: "WHAT am I going to tell

my wife?? Honey, LOOK WHAT I FOUND !" I called for her and she came to the

garage, she looked at Grayson (yes, we named him) and as I explained what had just

happened, my wife said: "AWWWWWEE". Unfortunately, we do have a Rule/Law in the

house that NO cat comes inside until after it has been cleared of illnesses by a vet. So

we had to keep it outside until Monday, not knowing if it would stay or not. We fed it a

3oz can of moist food and another one on Sunday morning as fortunately, Grayson

stayed in the flower beds by our house. By Sunday afternoon, he was following me all

around the perimeter of the house, never leaving my side, just like a little puppy dog. He

made SEVERAL attempts to try to follow me inside the house just breaking our hearts

with its poor, pitiful rejection look and cries.


Monday morning rolled around and YES, he was still there. We called our vet right when

they opened and we were able to get in before noon. To our SURPRISE, the doctor

said he had not eaten for potentially 3-4 weeks, partially dehydrated, about 4 lbs

underweight (due to being TALL and LENGTHY he only weighed 9.75lbs and should have been 14lbs. Today he is almost 15lbs) This was due to him being DECLAWED, (he could not catch birds or other animals he was hunting) and he was also already fixed. We looked for well over a month at lost and founds and called places, but no one claimed Grayson, so here is cat# 16. This cat is the most appreciative, loving, soft and a Complete Ham for pictures.

Talk to the Paw and meet Mr. Grayson !!


So Where is cat # 17 you ask? SPOOKY is cat # 17 with a floating number. Spooky

actually came to us with Kris's mother (now 82) when she moved in with us due to health

issues. That was her cat and she resides upstairs in her large bedroom with two very

large closets & bedroom to play in. Spooky has a three window area to be able to watch outside, get fresh air and sunshine along with seeing people walk up and down the neighborhood which she loves. Unfortunately, she is a much older cat, and starting to get cataracts in her eyes we suspect, as you can tell by the pictures. She has always been a "One Person Cat" and does not want to integrate with other cats very well.

Our mothers cat, Spooky.


About late August, 2019, I had this idea to act on what has been building for a long time, on how neat it would be to be able to have a place to adopt cats out. I know there are MANY cat adoption agencies already. Reality has finally set in and we realize that 17 cats is our max. So I can now help other cats through this organization we have formed by coming along side of other "Rescue Shelters" to help with their "Over Crowding". We ourselves will not rescue as far as our organization is concerned, as we will not have that type of facility we are structuring. Initially, we were looking at only a Cat Cafe with Cat adoptions with a 5500 Sq. Ft. building and just big enough to fit three operations under one roof which would of also included Cat Boarding.


There are really just four places in Ohio and 58 in the U.S. that are a "Coffee House & Cat Adoption" type facility as of October 2019. In Ohio, Gem City Catfe in Dayton, Kitty Brew Cafe in Mason. affoGATO Cat Cafe in Cleveland, opened in January of 2019, and has already adopted out 241 Cats this year so far (at the time of this writing). Eat Purr Love Cat Cafe in Hi (Currently Closed at time of this posting) is also among just a few places like this that exist. All four of these are a Minimum of 75-90 minutes up to 3+ hours away from where we will be located.


There are NO Cafe's that we found that also would have a full time DVM's (doctor veterinarian medicine) and have a type of facility (all under one roof) that could do x-rays and blood labs onsite (if needed) as well, to speed up the process of treating our furry little felines quicker so they would not have to suffer from the condition they would have come in for. We also want to provide a "Waiting Area / Lounge" for those parents who wish to stay close to their babies (cats) while they have surgery and to keep them informed throughout the process.


PetSmart of Wooster, Ohio has been very gracious in getting our supplies we need for our own cats, and staff there has promised to also assist with our operation. In talking with staff at several pet stores who are close to the adoption arena, they have all said something like what we would offer is highly needed. We are currently planning on having up to 5 Veterinarians on staff to implement all of our programs and keep up with the demand. We can even potentially become a 24 Emergency Clinic within a year or two of opening.


What will make us different? Why will we succeed when we get funded enough to open a facility? There is a big need in our area for a Low Cost Facility and there was one in one county over in Medina who no longer does Spay/Neuter, that was QuickFix. Secondly, Our Attitudes, Genuineness, Knowledge, Care and Love we have for cats, along with our Strong Business Plan with 8 Revenue Streams that should allow us to be a Self-Sustaining Non-Profit Organization!!


We understand that the overall laws on animals is that they are "Property". That is not how we feel, nor how we will operate. They are like "Family" to us as we will treat them as such. These cats, and other animals can feel "Happy, Sad, Depressed, Sick, Aches & Pains, they Bleed, get Cavities / Bad Teeth, Infections and much more JUST LIKE us Humans!! If we could save them all, we would. However, that is not reality!! But, for EVERY CAT that will pass through our facility, we will will make a huge difference in their lives and to them personally !!


We do not know who you are (reading this post) or where you are from. We are not asking you to stop supporting any animal shelters or facilities in your area. But if you have extra, if you would like to help us make a difference here in NE Ohio, perhaps you even donate in honor of a cat you have, Your donation will GREATLY help us meet our goal for our Building & Property. We so Greatly Appreciate Your Donation and support! Feel free to email us and we will do our very best to respond as soon as we can. THANK YOU for your Time & Consideration. All Contributions are Tax Deductible with our 501c3 Organization!!


Please visit our Facebook Page and "LIKE" and/or "Follow" us and we will start to update there as to what all is happening and keep you posted. You can also BOOKMARK our BLOG Pages as we will have Monthly Updates Starting in January 2022, that will be updated on a monthly basis. If you have supported us, we want to say in advance a BIG THANK YOU!! Please feel free to stay a part of our family and watch us grow, all because of YOU!!


 

Paypal Payment Link eMail Us @ office@catifycafe.org



Mail Check or Money Order to:

Catify Cafe & Adoptions, Inc.

P. O. Box 21

Orrville, OH 44667

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