Merry Christmas to all of my friends! The shelter is bustling today because all the kittens are so excited about Santa Claws coming tonight. Do you all know about Santa Claws? No? Well let me tell you the story, just like I tell the kittens every year.

Santa Claws is a giant, fat red and white cat who lives at the North Pole and makes wishes come true for as many kitties in the world as he can. Every Christmas Eve, he hitches up his reindogs (he has nine of them . . . Fido, Spot, Rover, Lassie, Abercrombie, Fifi, Junior, Brownie, and Rufus who has a bright red nose and lights the way) to a HUGE sleigh, and he flies around the world leaving gifts and treats for all the good cats, and grants wishes to many others. But there are so many cats in the world that he can't make wishes come true for all of them. There just isn't time, and some of them are kinda hard to find. So what he does then is give humans the power to make a difference for all the cats in the world. He helps the kitties he can, and then makes it so that people can care. But humans have gotta believe in Santa Claws for this to work, and it seems as tho a lot of people just don't believe in him. We all here at the shelter believe, tho. You know why? We believe because we have a warm place to sleep, all the food we can eat, and lots of nice humans who care about us. Most importantly, we have Barb. She was a gift from Santa Claws!! Hundreds of years ago, as the story goes, Santa Claws visited Barb personally one Christmas Eve and told her that she needed to make a place for us and call it Cats Haven. She looked at this giant red and white cat and said, "HUH?!" So he explained to her that he had chosen her to be one of his helpers . . . an elf, if you will . . . and that her mission was to spread the word about Santa Claws and help as many kitties as she could for the rest of her life. She didn't believe him, so he sent three ghost cats to visit her that night. The Ghost of Kitties Past, The Ghost of Kitties Present, and The Ghost of Kitties Yet To Come all showed Barb what the world would be if she didn't do what Santa Claws said. These three ghost kitties made her cry because thousands of kitties would not have homes, but they also made her see that Santa Claws was giving her the gift of caring. When she woke up on Christmas morning, she ran out into the street and announced "I believe in you, Santa Claws! I will create a safe place for all the kitties that I can, and I'll get as many humans to care as much as I do!" Then the neighbors came out on their porches said "Go back inside, you crazy woman, and stop yelling in the street! And for God's sake, put on some clothes!!!" Stephanie had to go and get her out of the street, apologize to the neighbors, and explain to the police that her mom was just overcome by the Christmas spirit, but that's another story. But that's how Cats Haven got started and how we all got blessed by having Barb.

So here it is, another Christmas Eve. And Santa Claws has already begun his journey around the world. We know that he will visit many cats and kittens tonight and will bring them toys and treats. And lots of humans like you guys will help the ones he can't because you all believe in him, and you believe in us. And we believe in you, too. While we have Santa Claws once a year, you're all we've got for the other 364 days. You all  must be Santa Claws' helpers, too, because you haven't let us down. Thank you all so very much for all you do for us. Here at the shelter at midnight, we'll all gather 'round and feel the presence of Santa Claws as he gives us another year of everything we want . . . our shelter home, our food and water, our wonderful vets who take care of us, our good friends who come by to see us, and the chance to find families of our very own.  So Merry Christmas Everyone!!! Time for me to get some presents under the tree, and help Miranda make snacks for tonight. Peace be with you all - Raspberry

Hi, guys! I've just put the kittens down for their afternoon nap (thank you, Dzana, for getting their juice boxes for them), and thought I'd take a minute to post to my blog. We're gearing up for a big party on Friday this week! We're going to have our last open house of the year .  .  . AND we kitties will all be celebrating the Winter Solstice! Yes, we also celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanza, but our big cat celebration will be this weekend.

Celebrations of the Winter Solstice are some of the oldest winter festivals in the world. Long, long ago, cats and humans both lived outdoors more than they do now. Because of that, cats and humans became more acutely aware of the changes in season, and the diminishing daylight at this time of year. Did you guys know that the Norse people believed the sun was a wheel that changed the seasons, and their word "houl" is probably where our word "yule" came from. For the ancient Celts, the midwinter sun was believed to stand still for 12 days (which is where "the 12 days of Christmas" originally came from), and a log (a yule log) was lit to conquer the darkness. Cats still honor these ancient Celtic rituals, and Friday night after everyone is gone from our open house, we'll be dancing and singing to chase away the darkness, just as our ancestors did. You gotta admit that it works because each year after all the cats in the world do this, we have more daylight each day! But the kitties here at the shelter have been working very hard on a wreath. In true Celtic tradition, our wreath is made from evergreen branches, which symbolize strength and endurance during the harsh winter months. On Friday night, we will light candles, hang our wreath, and let it grace our shelter home for 12 days. At that time, we will take it outside and return it to nature. And then we can sit back and watch the days grow longer and the nights shorter. No need to thank us . . . it's just what we cats all over the world do.

So come by the shelter on Friday between 5 and 8, have a glass of cider, do a little shopping at our Holiday Bazaar, and join us in celebrating the Winter Solstice! Even tho it's a "cat thing," we'd love for you to be a part of our holiday! Whooops, it sounds like the kittens are getting up from their naps. I hear one of them blowing bubbles in their juice box. So I better go. I hope you guys can stop in Friday night. We always love to have company, and we've still got lots of nice items you can purchase for last-minute Christmas gifts! We will also be accepting donations of canned and dry food, litter, cleaning supplies, and retail gift cards for the shelter. Bye, guys. Til later - Raspberry

Hello all my friends. Raspberry here again, blogging before I finally curl up and go to sleep for the night. As usual, we've had a lot going on here at the shelter. We had a grrrr-eat weekend last weekend with lots of people coming to visit during our annual Holiday Bazaar. Thanks to everyone who came out, did a little shopping, had a snack, and saw ME! Yeh, all the stuff we had for sale was really cool, but I know that most of you came to meet and visit with the RazMan. Because of all of you, we raised money for the shelter, and had a wonderful time doing it. You guys should all come by more often. I love company, you know. And thank you April Tchiguka for bringing your gorgeous photographs to the shelter. You're very talented . . . and you captured my boyish charms on film. I'm blushing.  :)

This weekend . . . weather permitting, of course . . . we're going to be at Pet Supplies Plus on Rockville Road, doing our last Kitten Kaboodle adoption event for the year. Barb, Sue, and The Other Sue will be there with lots of kitties looking for their families. I know for a fact that Ava Halftail, Joey, and Mick will be there. Maurice might even make an appearance. We'll have lots of fun and surprises, so c'mon out from noon til 4 Saturday and Sunday both. If you're looking for a specific kitty, like a big white male or a polydactyl female, call us at the shelter, and we'll try to bring your specific kitty along with us. Be sure to call the shelter or Pet Supplies Plus, tho, and make sure the weather isn't so bad that we're snowed in. I've told Barb that she's not to take the van out if the weather is too bad. We don't want her getting stuck in the snow somewhere.

Guys, I'd like to write more, but I'm one tired little fuzzy orange guy. This evening, we played a game of Kitten Twister before putting the little ones to bed, and then the teenagers and I played Scrabble for Cats for over an hour. I finally just had my dinner and I can hardly keep my eyes open. Barb and I got up really early this morning, so I'm going to wander off to bed now. I hope a lot of you guys can make it out to Pet Supplies Plus this weekend. Even if you can't adopt a kitty, just stop by and say Hi to Barb and the two Sue's. Later, friends. I'm . . . falling . . . asleep . . . - Raspberry

Hi, guys! It's me again . . . Raspberry! I've only got a couple of minutes here because the kittens and I are putting the finishing touches on the shelter house before this weekend. We've got the Biggest Weekend EVER coming up this Saturday and Sunday when we have our annual Holiday Bazaar and Open House! We're all so excited about this. We've got lights and a Christmas tree and all kinds of cool stuff for sale. And we're gonna have food and hot cider and music and people. It's gonna be GREAT!! More on this in a minute.

Aside from getting the Bazaar set up, we've had an exciting week at the shelter. It started last Saturday when Frankie got adopted! Her new dad, Mike, thought she was absolutely beautiful and took her home with him. Way to go Frankie!! And Gizmo's foster mom checked on Gizzy this week, and he's doing tremendous in his new home. Congratulations, Gizzers! Our old friend Puma has found a new home, too. Thank you, Renee, for helping out this little problem child of ours. And Lela got one of her kittens adopted at Petco this past weekend. Thank you, Lela. You're such a babe. We had lots of people at our Monday evening Cat-a-holics meeting, and one of the things that The Other Sue brought up was volunteers. Now, I gotta tell you all that I think we have the best volunteers in Indianapolis . . . maybe even in the whole world! But we've got so much stuff going on all the time, trying to raise money and find homes for our shelter residents, that we can use a lot of extra hands. If you've got a couple of hours to spare, let us know. We can always use help at events, taking the kids to and from the vet, scooping litter pans, just spending time with the kids, helping to keep the shelter clean and neat, and of course there are lots of projects around the shelter, too! So, we came up with this idea that we're gonna put a schedule inside the front door, and if you can help out during the week or on the weekends, just sign up! That way, all our friends who come by for dinners on Monday night will know what we need. Even if you don't come by for dinner, just let us know when you're available, and we'll let you know what needs to be done.

Now, about this coming weekend. Come to 2603 North College Avenue on either Saturday or Sunday from noon until 4, and be a part of our Holiday Bazaar!! We've got all kinds of fun stuff for sale, from tree ornaments to stuff toys. Gypsy Cat also has some of her gorgeous jewelry for sale, too. If you haven't seen some of her new stuff, wow are you missing out!! All proceeds go directly to the shelter to help with food, litter, vet bills, and stuff that we need. And our friend April Tchiguka is gonna be selling her wonderful photographs with a portion of each sale going to the shelter! She's really cool. I wish I could grow my hair out like hers. *sigh* Anyway, we're gonna have a delicious torta with crackers, some cookies, other snacks, and hot spiced apple cider, too! Of course, I'll be there and I know you all want to come by and see ME! I even have a new grey sweater with a black furry turtleneck that I'll be wearing just for this special occasion. Even if you don't need to buy anything, feel free to stop in, grab a bite, and visit with us. We love company, especially during the holidays. Call the shelter at 317.925.7001 if you need more information about our Bazaar. Who knows . . . maybe I'll answer the phone!

So that's it for tonight, friends. MacArthur is trying to hang ornaments from Cricket's tail, and the Cats Haven Kitten Choir is ready to practice some more, so I better go. See all of you over the weekend. It's gonna be GREAT!! - Raspberry