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We made it another year, my pretty kitties!
As we bring 2022 to a close, we at OCSP Cat Rescue want to thank all our volunteers—big and small—for sticking with us. We know rescue work is rewarding, but it is also emotionally draining sometimes. We work hard to care for these cats who need a second or even a third chance to find a loving home. None of the hard work we do would be possible without people.
We are thankful for our officers who secure the cats and file the paperwork for everything. Our volunteers clean the kennels and transport the cats to vet appointments. Our fosters enable us to save cats by providing them with a place to live and socializing them. Lastly, our donors help fund our medical expenses. We’ve made it through this year. It takes a village.
This is the time of year to be joyful, but it is also a time for reflection. We get emails daily from owners who need to surrender cats or about cats on the euthanize list at a municipal shelter. While everyone deserves help, we are a small team. The truth is we need more fosters to expand our volunteer circle.
Tip of the Month
One way you can help rescues is to educate people. While pets are popular for the holidays, we would like to stress that owning a pet is a gift—the pet is not a gift.
Cats live an average of 18-20 years. That’s a huge responsibility. Gently remind people to consider vet visits when factoring in care in addition to food, litter, cat furniture, and toys. Animals need routine and emergency care just like us. Rescues work hard to ensure potential adopters are ready for the responsibility. Circumstances beyond our control can change, so let’s all do our best to help people prepare for a new addition to their families.
Need a New Year’s Resolution? Please consider opening your home and becoming a foster for your resolution as we welcome 2023. The new year is the time we ask ourselves how we can improve. Fostering is an amazing way to give back to your community. We say this all the time, but fostering saves lives. All the effort pays off when you see a cat get adopted because you know that you helped it along the way.
Cat of the Month: Roscoe
This month we highlight a cat we’ve had in our care for a long time. It would melt our hearts with joy if he could find his purrfect home for the holidays!
I came to OCSP when a good Samaritan found me on the street looking for food. I loved to be scratched behind the ears and will push my head into your hand for more! My favorite activities are exploring and playing with my human—especially if you have a yarn toy. Feed me some salmon treats and let’s nap!
Interested parties should email ocsp.adoptions@gmail.com with their adoption application. Or, you can come to one of the weekly adoption events and fill out an application in person.
 Paws in the Air!
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Shopping!
Raise your paws if you’re doing your holiday shopping online. Me too!
Did you know that OCSP Cat Rescue has a Wish List on Chewy?
You can shop and have these items sent straight to us!
Here are some of the items we always need:
- Comfort Zone Multi-Cat Calming Diffuser Refill for Cats, 30 day, set of 6
- Capstar Flea Oral Treatment for Cats, 2-25 lbs, 6 Tablets
- Cheristin Flea Spot Treatment for Cats, over 1.8 lbs, 6 Doses (6-mos. supply)
- Nature's Miracle Advanced Platinum Cat Antibacterial Stain Remover & Odor Eliminator Spray, 32-oz bottle
- Royal Canin Feline Health Nutrition Kitten Dry Cat Food, 15-lb bag
- Royal Canin Feline Health Nutrition Kitten Loaf in Sauce Canned Cat Food, 3-oz, case of 24
Now I know what you’re thinking. You want a little something because you’ve been so good this year! You’re thinking, “Hey, I volunteer; I foster; I donate. I want to get my paws on some human treats.” I’ve got you covered.
 If you like comics, you may have heard of Sarah’s Scribbles. Sarah Anderson, the creator, shares how she navigates adulthood, anxiety, and relationships through fun and relatable comics. She frequently features her cat. Her tales of woe as a cat owner are instantly recognizable to any of us with a furry companion. She is also the author of Cryptid Club, for fans of the mythical, and Fangs, for fans of vampires and werewolves. Check out her website for her comic collections and more! (Image credit: Sarah Anderson comics Instagram).
 Purrhaps games are more your style. Have you heard of the card game Furball? Furball: A medieval family card game is a simplified RPG card game that allows 2-5 players to assume the role of a heroic cat. You must save the kingdom from vicious creatures, like cucumbers!, and beware the dreaded hairballs. It’s a family-friendly game with simple rules and fast play. It’s great for kids! In fact, this is a Kickstarter game created by someone who wanted to introduce his kids to RPG games in a fun and easy way. It has glowing reviews from people of all ages. And I can purrsonally say, this game is a lot of fun! (Image credit: Kickstarter’s website).
Fri ends, I’d like to tell you a secret. I love The Great British Baking Show. Fans out there might already be familiar with Kim Joy, a contestant popularized by her cute food trends. Her newest cookbook is called Bake Me a Cat. This is what she had to say about it on her Instagram page:
It’s not just a book full of bakes that look like cats; I also wanted it to celebrate the quirkiness, unique personalities and joy of cats. So there’s cookie cats cosying up in fruit tarts; grumpy ginger snap cookies; pop tart cats that have probably had too much cat nip; a Schrödingers Cat box; lots more and of course Pavlov’s Cat - the cover star Pavlova!
Sadly, this book is only available for pre-order and will not release until May 9, 2023. Until then, you can follow Kim Joy on Instagram and catch her savvy baking skills on The Great British Baking Show Series 9 and a holiday episode, streaming on Netflix. She also has other adorable cookbooks available for purchase. She is beautifully creative and a seriously skilled baker. She is also a cat lover and an advocate for rescue work. Let’s take a page from her philosophy book and appreciate all the different purrsonalities cats offer. (Image credit: Kim Joy’s Instagram).
Need more ideas? You can also check out Wirecutter’s list The 16 Best Gifts for Cats (and the People Who Love Them). I’ve used these items from the list.
- I was gifted Jeasona Women’s Funky Novelty Cat Socks last year, and I wear them all the time. Just as the review says, they are still soft. And they are very cute.
- I’ve also previously written about K&H Pet Products Thermo-Kitty Mat Heated Pet Bed. I have three in different spots, and my cats love them. Come winter, my cats are glued to them.
- I’m also a fan of Yeowww Catnip. Both Yeowww and Meowijuana brand catnip provide high-quality catnip that cats love. I’ve used both at home and with the kennel kitties.
Happy Pawliday Wishes, and I’ll see you all next year!
With much love and festive cheer,
Late last year we commemorated #RememberMeThursday. So many adoptable pets are euthanized every year because organizations cannot find homes for them and because no-kill organizations lack the resources to save every animal. Help our organization by donating, volunteering at one of our Petco locations, or/and fostering with us.
When you foster a cat, you free up space in our organization, which allows us to help other cats in our community who need assistance. We rely on fosters to provide housing for cats while they are waiting for their forever homes. We are constantly called or messaged on Facebook about cats who need shelter. The truth is, if we don’t have space, we can’t take them. We do reach out to other organizations, but they are also stretched thin.
But only with your help! Save a life by signing up to foster. Please complete the fostering application, email us at ocsp.adoptions@gmail.com with “Fostering” in the subject line, and be sure to tell us a little about yourself so that we can talk to you about the details personally. If only 2% more of pet-owning households fostered just 1 pet a year, we could end this tragedy.* If you are unable to foster, please help us by spreading the word. Ask friends, family, or co-workers if they’ve considered fostering. And you can direct any questions they may have to our email address listed above. We greatly appreciate all of your support, dear readers.
What is it like to foster cats/kittens?
 Ready to be purrfessional kitten wrangler? As a foster, your primary job is to watch over the cats, feed them, and socialize them with play time. This may also include transporting them to the vet for checkups, teaching them good litter box behavior, providing a space for recuperation after surgery/injury, or administering medicine. You would be their primary human contact before they are adopted, so your role is imperative.
We have cats of all ages that are looking for foster care. You can specify particular preferences (kittens/special needs/ willing to medicate/willing to isolate/etc) on your foster application. If you’ve never fostered, our team members are available to get into specifics and answer any questions you may have along the way.
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Other Ways to Help OCSP Cat Rescue
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Your monetary donations keep our organization going, and for that, the cats and all the volunteers at OCSP are eternally grateful. We are a 100% volunteer-run organization and couldn’t do this without your support.
 Volunteer with us; we need you! Fill out a volunteer application and email it to us at ocsp.volunteers@gmail.com with “Volunteer” in the subject line. We have multiple locations in Orange County that need all paws on deck, so your help is highly appreciated. Yes, you clean litter boxes, but you also get to play with cats. Tag us with your Insta worthy photos @OCSP_catrescue while volunteering. As always, consider giving us a donation to help us care for the cats.
 Can you foster? Please email us at ocsp.adoptions@gmail.com with “Fostering” in the subject line. Complete the fostering application, and be sure to tell us a little about yourself so that we can talk to you about the details personally. We rely heavily on foster homes to save cats.
 Find your next best purr-fect roommate or new best fur-iend through OCSP! Check out our cuties on Pet Finder. See someone you like? Fill out our adoption application and email it to OCSP Cat Rescue at ocsp.adoptions@gmail.com, putting the cat’s name in the subject line.
 Do you order pet supplies from Chewy? OCSP Cat Rescue has a Wish List with Chewy. You can purchase gift cards, food, toys, cat litter, and other things on our list for our cats. Chewy takes care of the rest for you by shipping it directly to us. It’s so easy, and our fur babies appreciate it.
 Donate year-round without thinking about it! Amazon allows you to set a charity for your account. When you order from smile.amazon.com with our charity selected, we automatically get a portion donated to us. Please find us on AmazonSmile: OCSP Cat Rescue, Inc.
Follow us on social media!
Instagram @OCSP_catrescue or follow our Facebook page to keep up with all our happily ever after stories. Our YouTube channel is full of cute videos showing our cats in action. If you have adopted from us, tag us with pictures of your new family member!
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Here at OCSP Cat Rescue, our name means quite literally, Our Cats Save People. We get to see firsthand what a positive impact the right pairing can have on both cat and human(s), and that's why we're committed to finding the best cat for you and your family and the best human match for the cats in our care.
We love hearing from our adopters and receiving updates on the furry friends we've sent to loving homes, which reinforces why all of our tireless volunteers do what we do. From time to time we will be bringing you stories and pictures from our adopters and their OCSP Cat Rescue alumni.
If you'd like to share a story about how adopting from OCSP Cat Rescue has made a positive difference in your life, email your story and any photos to ocsp.sec@gmail.com - it may just be included in a future newsletter!
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