Hello, everyone. I'm Bandit, shelter manager at Cats Haven. I haven't had a chance to blog since our Silent Auction at Arni's last week because I've been a tad more relaxed than usual. Hehehehe. Y'see, at the Silent Auction, my new best friend Naj McFadden gave Barb a HUGE bouquet of fresh, just out of the garden, hand-picked catnip. And being the diligent shelter manager, I had to make sure this herb was safe for all the cats here. So I sampled some of it. It seemed fine . . . really fine, now that I think of it. BUT to make  absolutely sure it was safe, I sampled some more. Then a little more. That was a week ago Tuesday, I think. Kinda hard to remember exactly when the catnip came in. Well, to make a long story short, the catnip is now gone and if Naj is reading this, has anyone told you recently what a fine, upstanding person you are? How we all appreciate what you do for all animals everywhere? How I bet if you'd enter the Miss Universe contest, you'd win? Bring more catnip, Naj. Soon. Thank you.

So, the Silent Auction was a great success!! Thank you to everyone who came out, had dinner, and bid on the fantastic items we had this year! Between the auction and the dinners you guys had, Cats Haven raised over two thousand dollars!!! (I wonder how many catnip seeds we could buy with that . . .)  This will go a long way towards vet bills and other shelter expenses. Thanks, too, to Dr. Myra and The Cat Doctor for putting together this wonderful evening. Each year, it just gets better and better! 

A few days before the Silent Auction, we had our annual Spring Fling event, too. We had lots of artists, a flea market, a massage therapist, a tarot card reader, a couple of belly dancers (much to the delight of the kids and also the neighbors), and a great time was had by all! David Molloy and I gave shelter tours to anyone who wanted to meet our current residents, and it was just a super day all way 'round. April, Jenn, Victoria, and Barb, you guys did a fantastic job of putting this one together. From this day, we again raised over two thousand dollars!!!! Woo hoo!!!! 

But wait . . . there's more! Because we have such a nice and abundant selection of adoptable kitties, we're running a special! Y'see, June is Adopt a Shelter Cat month. We're a shelter, we've got cats, so this seems like a given, doesn't it? Here's the fan-tabulous special that'll go from June until Labor Day. We're offering adult kitties (nine months and older) for . . . get this . . . $30! That's right. You heard correctly! Thirty dollars for an adult new best friend! We're calling this our "Summer of Love" special! All of our adults are spayed or neutered, current on their vaccinations, microchipped, tested for FIV and feline leukemia . . . all you need to add is some food, some water, and a lap! (Hang on a second . . . is that some catnip here on the desk? *sniiiifffff* AH! It IS! *sniiifffff)  Mmmm, I'm sorry. Where was I? Oh, yeh. Summer of Love. And if $30 for a kitty isn't good enough for ya', for another $10, you can adopt ANOTHER adult! That's two . . . count 'em . . . two new family members for just $40!!! (I wonder how this sprig of catnip ended up in the desk? *sniiiiiiiif*) So, um, yeh. Two wonderful, soft, fuzzy, friendly little kitties for $40, or one sweet, purring kitty for $30. Is that a deal or what? (*sniiiiiiiiiiiiiif*) This is really a great country, isn't it? Wow. I love you guys. Really. *SNNIIIIIIIFFFFFFFFFFF*

Sho, I tink dats all frum CatHven. 8[OO BLO5 qfqin w00n.... Hahahah!  Oooops . . . I was uushing the rong roe of keees! Hahahaha! *Sniiiiiiiiffffffff* Hey! Hey! Did you guys hear the one 'bout the horse that went into a bar and the bartender said "Hey, buddy . . . why da long face?" HAHAHAHA! *sniiiffffff* Do we haf any Freetos or Ding Dongs around heer? I bedder go t'bed now . . . bAndIT 

Hello everyone! I guess you all know by now that I'm Bandit, shelter manager at Cats Haven. How is everyone today? I hope you're all doing well. Me? I'm great, thanks for asking. And things here at the shelter couldn't be better! Well, come to think of it, I guess they could be better, but I'm not gonna complain! I mean, we could all be eating lobster every night and have a massage therapist on staff, but I think we're all pretty darned lucky to be here and have Barb care for us like she does.

This is gonna be a fairly short blog because I've got to get to bed so I can get up in the morning to listen to the Smiley Morning Show on WZPL at 6:45. KJ's Strays is going to feature Cats Haven! Why? Because Tuesday, June 2nd, is our annual SILENT AUCTION at Arni's Restaurant! This is the 5th annual SILENT AUCTION that Dr. Myra and The Cat Doctor have done for us, and from what I understand, this is a very cool event. Now, last year, I wasn't at the shelter yet when they had the SILENT AUCTION, but everyone has told me how much fun this is. Everyone eats, bids on tons of really awesome silent auction items, visits with Barb and some of our volunteers, and since I'm the shelter manager now, I get to mix drinks with Smiley and do some kareoke!! Yes, I'll be there, and I'll be singing some of my favorites like Free Bird and Muskrat Love! It's gonna be great! I'm trying to decide what to wear, but . . . oh, wait a minute. My assistant shelter manager Lady Gwendolyn just told me that I'm not going. She says that cats aren't allowed in the restaurant. I can't believe this .  .  . how disappointing. I was really looking forward to seeing Deb from The Cat Doctor. Between you and me, I think she's really pretty and very nice. But I guess I won't be singing or bartending, but Lady Gwen says everyone will still have a great time. The food at Arni's is fabulous, and very reasonably priced. I hear their mouse meatball marinara subs are to die for!!! And if you print the flyer from our home page and go in after 4 p.m., 20% of the price of your meal will be donated to the shelter!! Eat in or carry out!! Uh, ooops. Lady Gwen just told me they don't serve mouse meatball marinara subs. I thought I saw those on the menu . . . And you should see all the silent auction items. We've got stuff from the Colts and the Pacers, vacation packages, golf packages, artwork, chipmonks, Yellow Rose carriage rides . . . wait a minute again, please. Lady Gwendolyn just told me that we're not auctioning off chipmonks. I could have sworn someone told me we had chipmonks. . . *sigh*  Well anyway, there are over 50 different items that you can bid on, and all the proceeds go to help fund the shelter. So join Barb, the two Sue's, KJ, Smiley . . . everybody but ME, apparently . . . at Arni's on 96th Street. You'll have a great time, and will help the shelter, too!

Okay, I need to curl up and get some sleep.  It's been a long day, and it's gonna be an early morning. I'll blog after the Arni's fund raiser and let everyone know how we did. I'll also let you know how Sherman the baby possum is doing . . . he's at possum school now and is learning possum survival training! So stay tuned for another blog later this week . . . as well as introduce a couple of new residents. And I'll tell you all about the Spring Fling, too! Don't forget . . . go to Arni's on Tuesday!! - Bandit the puddytat