Hi, guys! Raspberry here again. I finally got Barb and the kittens put to bed, and thought I'd take a few minutes to write before going to bed myself. I'm not usually up this late, but we've had a busy day around here, and have two more busy days to go before we can relax a bit. For the first time ever, Cats Haven is at the Indianapolis Home Show! Is that too cool or what!? We're gonna be there this weekend only, and we're in the South Pavillion, so c'mon out and visit with us. The show is open Friday and Saturday until 9:30, and Sunday til 6:00. We've got catnip toys and jewelry for sale, the latest copy of our Mewsletter hot off the presses, and of course a foster kitty with us. The Home Show is really fun, too. Lots of great home improvement ideas, and thinking of doing home repairs reminds me that Spring really is just around the corner. I'm really tired of this terribly cold weather, and am just waiting for nice, warm Spring days.  

One really lousy thing happened tonight, however. When Barb and Krista got back from the Fairgrounds at about 10:00, they got Milky Way inside and Barb started to check her email, forgetting that the carrying case with the money box was still on the front porch. When Barb remembered about it just a few minutes later, she opened the front door . . . and it was gone. Someone had come up on our porch and had stolen our money box as well as some of Barb's beautiful jewelry. How sad that someone would do this, but they did. All of our donations from Friday were in the case, and all of our cash from toy and jewelry sales were in there, too. I've told Barb that the important thing is that we're all safe and no one tried to come into the house. But it's really creepy to think that someone just walked up on our front porch and stole our stuff like that. We really need to get a fence around our property . . . something we should get done this year. The thing that makes me the maddest is that someone stole from Barb. She works so hard and was at the Fairgrounds for 12 hours today. Then to have this happen. But again, we're all safe and sound, and that's the most important thing.

Aside from the Home Show, we've been busy around the shelter house as well as doing adoptions. Several of our foster friends have gone to good homes, and that's such great news. We've adopted out adults and kittens both . . .thank you one and all who have adopted our foster friends for giving them such loving homes. I've personally trained each and every one in good cat or kitten etiquette.

As I mentioned, the latest and greatest issue of the Mewsletter was just printed, and was mailed out earlier this week. We've also added it to the website here . . . just click on Mewsletters and choose Winter 2008. Lots of good information in this issue about how to keep your cats happy and healthy during these winter months. If you want a copy sent to you, just let us know and we'll get one in the mail to you.

Wow, it's nearly 3 a.m. and I'm getting very sleepy. Guess I should head off to bed. We've got another long day at the Home Show tomorrow, and I hope to see some of you guys out there! I want to thank Krista Dych, Judy and Monroe, Barb Dunn, Sandy Haney, Vicki Colonna, Scott Williams, Rebecca Furnish, Barbara Burke, Sue Hildebrandt, and Cindy Cox for helping out at this event. You guys are the greatest ever! Oh, and thanks to Sue Nuyda for all the wonderful stuff she donated to us before moving to San Francisco. Safe journey, Sue. And good night, all. - Raspberry

Hi, friends. Just me again . . . Raspberry, shelter manager. I'm taking a break from all the hustle and bustle of the day to post to my blog. I might not have time again this week, what with kitten classes back in session and new events popping up daily. We're gonna get to be a part of the Indiana Home Show this year!! I am so thrilled at this. Do you have any idea how long we've wanted to do this show? So far, we're gonna be there January 25, 26, and 27 for sure. If we add more dates to our schedule, I'll let you know. But because of this, I'm working with some of the older kittens and showing them how to put on a tool belt, how to hammer a nail, and how to do home improvements. So far, however, this isn't going very well. The only ones who seem to be able to even put on a tool belt are the polydactyls, and the kittens just want to chase the nails around the house, but we're working on it. Miranda suggested that any home could be improved by just having a cat in it, so we might just have to go with that.

We had a great adoption day this past Sunday. Five . . . that's right, five . . . of our fosters went to their forever homes!!!! Congratulations to Mick, Taylor, Abner, Olive, and . . . and . . . oh, dear I've forgotten the other kittens' name. I'm so forgetful at times. Well, congrats to everyone who charmed their new families, and thank you to those who adopted our kids. And thank you to Lisa at Midwest Friends of Animals for referring a new family to us. They adopted two!! It was so exciting to have Barb call in every time someone got a new home. The phone at the shelter house was ringing off the hook!! We're having a big meeting this Sunday so we won't be at adoptions, but we'll be back at Pet Supplies Plus on the 20th.

Speaking of being forgetful, I totally forgot to tell you all what happened over New Years weekend. Our furnace went out and we had no heat! And it was pretty chilly in here, believe me! So I went down into the basement (Barb won't go down there, so it's my job to do basement things) and took a look at the furnace. Even tho I'm a guy, I couldn't fix it. So I called my good friend Sue Hildebrandt and told her that we were without heat. She came over immediately and found out what the problem was. We needed a specific part, but it was a holiday weekend. Well, one call to my other good friends Kari and Patrick McGlinn, and the problem was solved. They called a friend of theirs who is in the heating and cooling business and even tho he was tailgating at the Colts game, he got the part to us. And then Barb called James Winkle, and he came over and put the new part in! How cool is that?! Within a couple of hours, we had heat again. So thank you to Sue, Kari, Patrick, their friend, and James for making sure we were warm kitties, rather than cold cats. You guys are the best.

Barb is telling me that she's ready to go upstairs and watch a movie while we make more jewelry, so I better go. The kittens have already had their dinners and Diana the Huntress is reading them stories, so I think I've got a little time before I give everyone a good night treat and tuck them into bed for the night. I also need to finish up my lesson plans for tomorrow. I think we'll work on staring blankly into space to further confuse our humans. G'nite, friends. - Raspberry

Hi, guys! Wow, we're already four days into the new year, but it seems like it was just last night that the kittens and I counted down "three . . . two . . . one . . . HAPPY NEW YEAR!" We had a huge party on new years eve, and everyone got to stay up until after midnight so we could ring in the new year together. Earlier in the evening, I had everyone in shelter write down their new years' resolutions, and thought you might be interested in what some had to say.

OciKits - We promise to not sleep in Barb's hair as much.
Pequita - I promise to not try to get out of my room and run down the hall.
Miranda - I will get a home of my own this year. No Kidding!!!
Maurice - I'll try to stop tripping everyone when going down the stairs.
Cashmere - I want to lie in the sun more often.
MacArthur - I resolve to stop picking on my brothers and sisters.
Cameron - I want a Mr. PotatoHead. (Cameron isn't convinced that Christmas is over . . .)
Luck - I will watch less TV and exercise more.
Sinclair - I'll try to remember to  . . . to . . . what was the question again?
Chomper - I will work harder on my algebra lessons.
Cricket - I will try to sniff less catnip.
Diana - I will not run out the front door as much.
Puma - I will do a better job at chasing dogs.
Barb - I promise to not throw telephones.

Those are just a few. So far, everyone seems to be doing a good job at sticking to their resolutions, especially Barb. What? You want to know *MY* new years resolutions? Resolutions are for those with faults, so I have no resolutions this year. Hahahaha! If you have any New Years resolutions, write to me and tell me about them. To my good friend Helen, please make a resolution to stay healthy this year. We don't want you in the hospital again!!!!

As for recent shelter news, several residents have gone to their fur-ever homes! Woo Hoo!!! Ava Halftail found her family a couple of weeks ago. Dear Joey got a home with a wonderful family, too!! Cedar and Sparky are on their way to a new home in Michigan. Some of Lela's kittens have also gone to their new homes, so congratulation to everyone who made it home for Christmas!! Way to go, guys!!! I'm very proud of all of you, and very happy for you, too! We're gonna be at Pet Supplies Plus on Rockville Road this Sunday from 2 til 4 with lots of kitties ready for adoption, so maybe another one or two will find their families. And we're already planning another Kitten Kaboodle for February . . . just in time for Valentine's Day. Nothing says lovin' like a cat or a kitten, you know.

I also want to thank Petco in Speedway for a HUGE donation of food!!! And a big THANK YOU goes out to everyone who thought of the shelter over the holiday season. We received some very nice donations that will go a long way in helping to keep us healthy, warm, and fed.

Back to work for me. I think Miranda is getting ready to serve dinner, so I better make sure all the kittens have their bibs on and remember to use their napkins. More later, friends. Happy New Year!!! - Raspberry