Tags: I Saw You
Tags: Cheers
Tags: Cheers
Tags: I Saw You
Tags: I Saw You
Tags: Cheers
Back in April, I was fortunate enough to take a trip to the fabulous city of Austin, Texas, to visit a family member and see the sights, which included stops at Austin's two large and successful no-kill animal shelters, the Austin Humane Society and Austin Pets Alive! I documented my visits to the shelters for Cat Friday, which you can read here.
Last weekend, I was in the Pacific Northwest's version of Austin: Portland (or is Austin actually Texas's version of Portland?). Being in Portland last Cat Friday was also the reason I left you all hanging without a new post, so sorry about that.During my short stay in the Rose City, I paid a visit to a very successful and large cat-only shelter there, which I've been a big fan of since discovering it and following its Facebook page.
Cat Adoption Team, or CAT, as it's also known, is a nonprofit, no-kill shelter established in 1998. It's located about 30 minutes south of Portland, in Sherwood, Ore. Since it opened, nearly 30,500 wonderful cats and kittens have been placed into loving homes. Just this year, the shelter adopted out 870 cats, and the weekly adoption count for this week is currently at 49. Pretty impressive.
I noticed lots of positive things at CAT that made it stand out, other than the room full of nothing but totally adorable kittens waiting to find homes. The facility itself was extremely large, with two stories. The first floor included a retail area, reception and a special "kitten room." Visitors to CAT are greeted by a lobby kitty, who gets to hang out in a large plexiglass-walled enclosure. Judy, a beautiful smoke-grey kitty with bright green eyes, seems to have been waiting a while at CAT to find a forever home. She's often featured on the shelter's Facebook page and likes to help out around the office with paperwork and other important duties.
On the second floor, adult cats are kept in private kennels or, if they're friendly with other cats, in small, communal kitty suites with large windows allowing the cats to be viewed from outside the rooms and so they can watch what's going on in the shelter.
This very large kitty named Anton (his paperwork noted his weight at 22 lbs.) watched the happenings at the shelter from a private suite he shares with two other kitty roommates. This particular room housed cats with Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV), which I explain in the CF post about Austin's shelters if you're curious.
During my visit, a volunteer explained that at the peak of kitten season — which is happening right now — CAT has more than 500 cats under its care. Most of that number includes cats in foster homes, but the upstairs adult cat area must have contained at least 50 private cat kennels in addition to the shared kitty suites.
This cute little tabby named Everly was very cozy and content on her milk-and-cookie-patterned blankie. The one-year-old cat arrived at the shelter with two kittens, and now that she's done raising them is looking for a quiet home of her own.
Unfortunately, I missed CAT's Kittenpalooza adoption event by one weekend — it's tomorrow features almost 100 little babies looking for homes. For any readers who might be in the area and looking to adopt, head to CAT for lots of cuteness overload. Adoption fees for adult cats will be waived during the event if you adopt one with a kitten, so don't forget about the grown-up kitties, either.
A cone of shame for this little incision licker! He didn't seem to mind, and it certainly didn't take away from his adorable-ness.
Tags: Cat Friday , cats , Cat Adoption Team , Culture , Arts & Culture , Image
Pacific Northwesterners are known for their love of the outdoors, and here in Spokane the options of trails for hikers, bikers, and those who just want to go for a walk or run are seemingly endless. From the Centennial Trail, stretching west to east, to the Columbia Plateau trail, going north to south, we have our bases covered. The Spokane Regional Trail Plan Update begins this summer, and you can help.
The Inland Northwest Trails Coalition, along with other outdoor organizations, requests that we, the trail users (and wannabe trail users) give them our thoughts on the existing trails through a super quick, easy 10-question survey. Why, you ask? Well, they are updating the trails to better suit the public. The main goals of the plan are to create a comprehensive trail system between all of the different trails, maintain those trails, and create standards that will make the trails overall better for public use.
The survey asks about your current use of the trails, your biggest concerns and what you would like to see in the future.
Tags: trails , Culture , Arts & Culture
We have great music here. I mean, we host Bassoonarmama. Pretty dope stuff. It’s so good, in fact, that it has been (mostly) restricted to only the adult crowd. That is why today, I am both delighted and slightly saddened to bring you this weekend in music. Enjoy it for me. You all-ages cats, there’s a small light at the end of the tunnel.
FRIDAY
We’re not sure what high school kid can afford a ticket to the Gorge’s bassfest, Paradiso Festival, but judging from the pictures, there are a shitload of youngsters with bank accounts far bigger than ours. Some 20,000 EDM fans came out to the 2012 festival, making it the largest electronic music event in the Northwest. This two-day festival is a sampler of all things bassy, neon-colored, glow-sticked and hip in the club world today, with some of the biggest DJs on the planet appearing. Kaskade and Dutch DJ Tiesto split the headlining slots each night. Fri, June 28 and Sat, June 29 at the Gorge Amphitheatre
Baby Bar, My Pinky Has a Name, Kwaaang, BBBBandits (21+)
The Center, Luke Dowler and the Savage Gentlemen (All ages)
The Scoob, Stephanie Hatzinikolis (All Ages)
SATURDAY
Fleetwood Mac comes to the Arena: In 1976, as the band recorded its legendary album Rumours, each member was experiencing something horrible: infidelity, divorce, breakups, bad press. But out of the darkness came a record that spoke to pop and rock fans in a way that few others could. Flash forward to today: the band has experienced the deaths of three different key members over the past two years. Like they’ve always done, Fleetwood Mac turns to music to recover. Sat, June 29, at 8 pm at the Spokane Arena, $28-$126
Checkerboard Bar, Sea Giant (21+)
The Center, Battle of the Bands feat. Dirty Shirley, Dank Submission, The Stagnant Motion, The Backups,
Knuckle Deep, Outlier, Move the Earth (All Ages)
Boomers, Cold Shot (21+)
The Cellar, Kosh and The Jazz Cats (21+)
Sidebar, Maxie Ray Mills (21+)