We’ve had an excellent year so far, with 6 clinics and 403 cats spayed or neutered. And that’s just at our clinics! There were another 139 cats done at our local veterinarian offices!

Our first clinic was January 23rd. The Ocean View community, as well as the advoCATS volunteers, benefited from the use of the 100 new traps donated by the Kawananakoa family. This Neuter Scooter clinic sterilized 91 cats. The January 25th Neuter Scooter clinic in Kailua was an interesting event for some of the neighborhood kids, who were invited into the clinic for some education about cats and the importance of spay/neuter. That day, 91 cats were sterilized.

A tsunami warning February 27th left us scrambling to reschedule a clinic planned on that day in Kailua, but our advoCATS volunteer Sharon Karayianis came through like an angel and made her ohana apartment available on February 28th. We hoped that people and cats could still come, so many phone calls were made back and forth. After a shaky start, the clinic went smoothly. We had fewer cats than anticipated, but 37 cats were brought in by our trappers. Mahalo to Dr. Rochelle Brinton and Linda Steenson who came all the way from San Diego to do the surgeries.

Dr. Celina Hatt

On March 24th we had the pleasure of working with a new spay/neuter clinic team: Dr. Celina Hatt and her husband/vet tech Alvaro Rodriguez who came over from Oahu to do a clinic in Kailua. They charge $25. each for ferals and $45. for domestic cats and fosters for adoption. We sterilized 63 cats at that clinic. Dr. Hatt is the owner of Animal House Veterinary Center on Oahu and graduated from Washington State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine in 2001. She came to Hawaii with her husband Alvaro in 2004 and joined the Ewa Beach Animal Hospital as an associate Vet. In 2002 she bought the practice. Her newly refurbished office is equipped with CO2 laser, blood machines, dental machines, digital radiology and ultrasound imaging. She enjoys seeing her dream become a reality and gives her thanks to the support and advice of her husband, parents and dear friends. Dr. Hatt ends each day with her 2 dogs, Lola and Ruby and her cat Pablo. We look forward to working with them at many more clinics in the future. Check out their web site: http://www.theanimalhousevet.com

Volunteer & foster mom Jan Abbott with bottle-baby kitten she brought to the clinic. It needed to be fed every three hours or so.

Another visit from the Neuter Scooter team came in April. On the 20th we had a clinic in Kailua at the Queen Liliuokalani Community Center where 68 cats were sterilized. Dr. Peavy invited children and their parents to observe the clinic procedures. The children were outfitted in scrubs, which were donated to our garage sale and saved for this event. Each child had a chance to see the cats and surgery area. They were shown the pre-op procedures of anesthesia, the shaving station and sterilizing of instruments in the autoclave. They witnessed the surgery of a spayed female and a neutered male then followed the cat to the post-surgery stations for ear tipping, micro chipping, vaccinations, defleaing and ear cleaning. Several of the students want to be a vet and one child even became an expert in the shaving procedure, under the tutelage of Aria, Dr. Peavy's daughter. A videographer was in attendance and filmed some interviews with the kids and adults. The video will be used for teaching the importance of spay and neuter. Foster mom Nancy Hitzemann brought home 6 very young abandoned kittens that day to be fostered and a 7th kitten came at the last minute from a neighbor who found it alone and crying on clinic day.

On April 23rd we had our 5th clinic at the Ocean View Community Center where we sterilized 54 cats. We have now spayed or neutered 437 cats there, preventing thousands of kittens from being born in this area since the first clinic there last June. At this clinic, Dr. Peavy brought a one-day-old foster kitten with her and was bottle-feeding it throughout the day. The kitten came from the Keaau clinic the day before which was sponsored by Hui Pono Holoholona. It seems Dr. Peavy just cannot get enough of cats; she also adopted a kitten from foster mom Jennifer Olson, which was neutered at the Ocean View clinic. She will take these kittens back home with them to Indiana.

Foster kitten finds foster mom at clinic. This is the one-day-old kitten adopted by Dr. Peavy. At the Ocean View clinic it enjoyed a temporary snuggle and drink of milk from a nursing mom about to be spayed.

Other groups on the island have also been focusing on spay/neuter clinics as well, such as Hui Pono Holoholona in Fern Acres, KARES in North Kohala and Rainbow Friends in Keaau. With everyone's help we are really making a difference in the lives of our island cats.

We owe our biggest mahalo’s to you, our supporters, and to those that offer products, services and accommodations that help make these clinics such a success. Clinic hosts: Kona United Methodist Church, Ocean View Community Center and Queen Liliuokalani Community Center. Accommodations: Jim & Diane Merriam for their condo and The Nay Station B&B. Products: Miranda’s Farm for their Kau Coffee, Mauka Coffee from Blue Journey Farm for their Kona Coffee and Starbucks for their BIG pots of coffee donated for many of our Kona clinics.

Torties, Patched Tabbies and Calicos
A cat randomly patched with different colors is a tortie, patched tabby, or calico.
Tortoiseshell or Tortie is randomly patched all over with red, black, and cream.
Blue-Cream (also called blue tortie or dilute tortie) is randomly patched all over with blue and cream.
Brown Patched Tabby looks almost like autumn leaves, with patches of brown tabby and patches of red tabby. This color is also known as Torbie because it’s a tabby tortie.
Blue Patched Tabby is a soft color with patches of blue tabby and patches of cream tabby.
Calico has more white. As a rule, the more white there is on the cat, the larger and more distinct the red and black patches will be. You'll notice that the large black patches are solid black and the large red patches are actually red tabby.
Diluted Calico has the same amount of white as a calico, but instead of red and black patches, it has blue and cream patches. The blue patches are solid blue and the cream patches are cream tabby.
Patched Tabby, White or Torbie & White may have any amount of white.
Patterned Calico is a patched tabby with a lot of white, like a calico and has large distinct patches of color and is sometimes called Calico Tabby or Caliby.

Are Calico and Tortoiseshell CATS Always Female?

Calicos and Torties are the result of a sex-linked gene and require two X chromosomes to appear. Usually these colors will only appear in females. Very rarely, these colors may appear in male cats, but these males are genetically abnormal (they have XXY instead of the normal XY) and are almost always infertile.

An interesting note: According to Dr. Peavy of the Neuter Scooter, Hawaii has the largest diversity of breed types in it’s feral cat colonies, especially on Oahu. She should know, she’s spayed or neutered thousands of Hawaii’s colony cats since she started coming here several years ago. Sadly enough, the reason can be only one thing; with Hawaii’s transient population coming from all over the world, diversified amounts of cats are being abandoned here.

From the quilt maker who donated the quilts:

Hi advoCATS,
Thanks so much for forwarding this lovely letter and the picture of kitty on her quilt. I call them “Cozy Mats for Kids and Pets." I'm thrilled that they have made it all the way to the Netherlands and for the profit of advoCATS. I donate them in honor of my very missed friend Sue Dwyer, an advoCATS volunteer, who left this island last year for Las Vegas.
Mimi Wood

Every day one of our volunteers answers the messages left on our help line. These three dedicated volunteers rotate the job monthly. They work on some of the difficult issues concerning our island cats and offer suggestions and information to help the cats and or their guardians. We always need more volunteers to help us, so if you are looking for a great way to help our island kitties please join us.

Stefanie Delmont - I was born, raised and educated in California in the San Francisco East Bay Area. I taught High School for 22 years then retired to indulge my love of growing things, which soon evolved into participating in a Farmers Market for 10 years before moving to Hawaii in 2000 with three dogs, two cats and one husband. My husband John introduced me to the joys of having cats. Only Jerry, our Sheltie, remains of the original animals I brought here, but he has been joined by 3 additional dogs and 6 cats. I can't remember exactly how or when I became involved in advoCATS, but I credit Merrylynn Von Cramm with luring me into many animal related activities. I enjoy doing my stint answering the advoCATS helpline, as it involves problem solving, educating the public and offers opportunities to make a difference. I find it can change, or at least have some impact, on people's mindsets. It also involves networking and supports the efforts of those who are also trying to be part of the solution. I like to encourage people to show their appreciation by helping with donations or becoming a volunteer.

Sharon Karayianis - I am originally from Massachusetts and have lived in many places, all warmer than New England: Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Athens, Greece and India, before making Kona my best-loved hometown in 2005. I attended medical school in Athens, did residencies in Boston and Salt Lake and practiced pathology in Scottsdale. In 1999 I reinvented myself by becoming a yoga teacher and student of Ayurveda, and then spent 2 years in India before moving to the Big Island. Through it all, I have had an abiding love for cats and am currently the "Mom" of Shri and Kali, both homeless rescues from 2 different parts of Kona.

Denise Towle - I was born and raised in Southern California where I married my first husband. We moved to the Napa Valley in 1973 and had two daughters. I met my current husband, Dean, while racing sailboats in San Francisco Bay. We married in 1995 and bought a house in Napa where we took in our first cat, a Maine Coon, who had been abused. Then came a little female who had 2 kittens. Lastly, we took in an abandoned litter of 5 kittens! Unfortunately, we couldn't bring them to Hawaii in 2001, so new homes had to be found. After moving here I adopted an abandoned cat right away and then met Debbie Shearin, who feeds many homeless kitties. We soon adopted two homeless kittens and finally another abandoned cat. I have always loved animals and working with advoCATS has been a very informative and rewarding experience. My husband and I now feed a small colony of cats near where I work at West Hawaii Explorations Academy.

Laverna R. Holenstein 05/12/1921 ~ 12/13/2009 Laverna and husband Al loved to travel and found a place they really loved: Hawaii. In their home on the Big Island, Laverna loved the Hawaiians and everything Hawaiian. When they first came here in the 1960’s, they felt right at home. They even called their mainland home in Montana “Hale Mele Mauka” (Happy Home in the Mountains.) When they bought their first home in Kona in the 1960’s, they soon discovered the condo did not allow animals on the property. Al loved to play jokes, so in front of the building in the lava rocks he placed a long spigot to make it look like water was available there. He laughed as beachgoers tried to get water out of a non-functioning pipe. Soon a very malnourished stray cat was seen trying to find water and also get fish from the ocean. Laverna brought the cat up to their unit and fed it. Owners kept saying “no cats” on property. Laverna insisted the cat was an asset – eating bugs and mice. Soon the cat was accepted and a collection got going to neuter the cat. After that the bylaws were changed and “Akamai” stayed for the rest of his life at the condo. For over 40 years, every time Laverna was on island, she carried cat food in her car to feed any cat who was hungry and fed a colony of cats in Kona twice a day. When cats would come up to her table while dining, she would give her entire meal to them. Each time she departed from her beloved Kona, she worried about what would happen to the cats when she was gone.

Her family set up an endowment in her name to help advoCATS and the cats of Kona. Mahalo to Ella Mae Cromer, Richard & Diane Cromer, Gaye Godbout, Richard & Marlene Head, Jim & Nancy Hitzemann, Judy Kocon, Lawrence & Janelle McCaffery, Dorothy Miller, Sharon Osborn, Dr. Edward & Jodi Peretti/Amherst Animal Hospital and Herbert Young for donating to that fund.

Also, Louis Goodman of White Rock, Br. Columbia, Canada, passed away on Jan 1st of this year. He was a supporter of advoCATS since 1999 and volunteered his time when here on holiday. Louis loved cats all over the world wherever he went. He will be missed by all; cats and people alike.

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IN MEMORY OF

"Chloe" from Irene Tschappat
"Sharky" from Jenny Crusat & “Ollie”
Bev White from Susan Sharin & Davis Sweet
Jesus Crusat from Jim & Nancy Hitzemann
Capt. Mike Rand from Friends of Mike Rand
Baby T. Wolfe of Seaview Circle
"Snickers" from Jim & Nancy Hitzemann
Tess, Sinbad, Mario and Fluffy of Ocean View

Without volunteers there would be no advoCATS. It takes dozens of volunteers to run an organization and make it work. We are always looking for more helpers and we need help now, more than ever before, if we are to continue on our mission: to end the over-population of unwanted cats on the Big Island. Believe it or not, there are only about a dozen or so volunteers doing most of the work to keep our organization running. If we have more help we can do even more to help our island cats. Can you spare a few hours a week? Call us at (808) 327-3724 or email us at advocatshawaii@aol.com. Some of the areas we need help with are: public relations, feeding colony cats, trapping, taking TNR cats to veterinary appointments or clinics, fostering kittens and answering our advoCATS phone.

Right now we urgently need someone who has a storage area in Kailua Kona where we can keep and organize our traps between clinics and assist in lending them out, something like a trap librarian. It wouldn’t require much time, just a secured and covered space about 10’x 10’x 10’.

Starbucks is a proud and generous supporter of our spay/neuter clinics. They believe that businesses can and should have a positive impact on the communities they serve. Ever since they opened their first store in 1971 they’ve been dedicated to earning the trust and respect of customers, partners and neighbors by being responsible and doing things that are good for the planet and each other. Their goal is to mobilize their partners and customers to contribute more than 1 million hours of community service per year by 2015. With 150,000 passionate partners around the world, they have a unique opportunity to serve as a catalyst for positive, relevant change. They are taking action by facilitating community efforts and by prioritizing service as an important aspect of their company culture. In total, Starbucks partners and customers around the world contributed more than 186,000 hours of community service in 2009. Their goal is to engage 50,000 young people to innovate and take action in their communities by 2015 and give their partners and customers another meaningful opportunity to support local causes.

They invite you to learn more about their efforts to support and enrich the communities where they do business at:
http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility

We are sisters: Sassie & Sadie. Our foster mom calls us “Two Little Female Darlings.” We were born on March 4th and were spayed at the April Neuter Scooter clinic. Now we are ready for adoption and never have to worry about having kittens. Phew, that’s a relief! It would be fun if we could stay together. Can you give us a home?

Contact Nancy in Kailua about the 2 kittens above. Phone: 329-4337 or Email: nhitz@hawaii.rr.com

Minnie is my name and I am a spayed female about a year old. I was born in the wild and I thought I would not like to be domesticated, as I wanted nothing to do with my foster mom. When she released me to her outdoor colony, I decided domesticity did suit me after all. I’m a very playful, active cat who loves a good scratching and I’m always ready with a purr. I also get along well with other cats.

To see Minnie contact Jennifer in Ocean View: Phone: 929-9606 or Email: catlady2004ster@gmail.com
See more of Jennifer's Kittens on her web site: http://home.roadrunner.com/~bigislandkitties/

April Garage Sale Brings in BIG BUCK$

At our garage sale in Kilohana on April 17th we had total sales of $1,972. plus another $73. in the donation jar which brought the weekend total to $2,045. Thanks so much to everyone who helped out. It was an exhausting weekend, but we did great!
Our garage sales are a grueling three day affair. On Friday we haul the goods from our storage garage on Alii Dr. to the sale site in Kilohana and start pricing and arranging things. If we suspect we might be foiled by rain, we cover everything with tarps, as it’s all outdoors. On Saturday the sale begins as early as 6:00 AM. and continues throughout the day until at least 5:00 PM. By then our volunteers are kaput! Sunday morning we open for a short time if there are still lots of items left over and start to break down around noon or so. Then we begin packing up and hauling the left overs back to the storage garage. Phew!

Mahalo to all our hardworking volunteers: Lisa & Tony, Laurel, Nancy, Christy, Karen, Judy, Ferol, Lori, Mike, Diane & Jim, Jennifer, Cathy, Cindy, Denise, Katrina & Margie. And a BIG Mahalo to Kathy Vilander for holding the sale at her house and feeding us.

Mahalo Kona Bay Books...
for buying our donated books. We made an additional $41.25 for our spay/neuter program.

Kona Bay Books currently houses thousands of books, CDs, audiobooks on CD, and DVDs. Love to read? Moving but don't want to just dump your books? Looking for an out-of-print or older book? They buy and sell used books and are a destination for both locals and visitors looking for used and out-of-print books.

Mahalo Kathy

Kathy Vilander has been our garage sale hostess for many years now. Her centrally located Kailua-Kona home is the perfect place for our sales and probably the reason for their huge success every time. She opens her home, as well as her garage and even prepares food for us during the sales.

Who is this wonderful lady whom we appreciate so much? Kathy was born in Mason City, Iowa and moved to California when she was 16. While in college she worked at Disneyland when it first opened. She was widowed at the age of 26 with 2 small boys and one on the way, but she was determined to survive this crisis and became a policewoman to support her family. Kathy worked the women's jail and has many bizarre experiences to tell.

Once she was asked to orchestrate a Hawaiian theme get-together and ended up meeting her future husband at the party. His 3 kids and her 3, plus a new baby, made up their family. During this time she visited and fell in love with Hawaii and after all the kids were grown-up, Kathy became a Big Island resident.

Kathy has always been busy with crafts, cooking, cake decorating, etc. She has taken advoCATS volunteers under her wing and fed us well at clinics and other events.

AdvoCATS promotes early-age spay and neuter. Kittens can be safely spayed or neutered at six weeks, or as soon as they weigh two pounds. The Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ (ASV) guidelines recommend that a veterinarian should make the final decision regarding the acceptance of any patient for surgery, but it is just as important to note that the opportunity to neuter an individual animal may not present itself again.

While the traditional approach has been to wait until a cat is at least six months old before sterilizing, the ASV guidelines recommend neutering before the cat reaches sexual maturity to prevent unwanted litters. Early-age spay and neuter eliminates any chance of an “oops litter,” since female cats can become pregnant as young as four months.

Early-age spay and neuter is safe. Endorsed by the American Veterinary Medical Association and the ASV and in practice in animal control pounds and shelters across the country, early-age spay and neuter surgery and the anesthesia associated with the surgery show no adverse effects on animals in both short or long-term studies.

There are many benefits to cats from early-age spay and neuter. Veterinarians who perform early-age spay and neuter report that it is an easier, faster procedure, the patients recover quickly, it is the highest level of prevention of litters and it produces the most prevention per dollar invested. Research shows that kittens and puppies spayed or neutered before 12 weeks of age have fewer complications from surgery than those over 12 weeks. Also, kittens and puppies rebound much faster after the surgical procedure, with less stress than their counterparts over six months of age.

Spaying and neutering outdoor cats improves their lives. Spayed and neutered cats lead improved, healthier and longer lives. Spayed outdoor females are able to enjoy a happier and longer life without the constant stress of endless pregnancies and nursing kittens. Neutered males are calmer and no longer suffer injuries in fights over females and territory. Additionally, spaying and neutering virtually eliminates the chances for mammary and testicular tumors. Even young cats who have been in heat only once have a significantly higher risk of developing mammary cancer.

Spaying and neutering cats before adoption significantly reduces the number of animals entering animal control pounds and shelters. And early-age spay and neuter means that animal control pounds and shelters can ensure that 100% of animals leaving their facilities are sterilized. Since compliance rates are traditionally low with spay and neuter voucher programs (where adopters are required to bring the animal back to the agency for surgery), neutering kittens and puppies before they are adopted ensures that there is no opportunity to reproduce. Veterinarians who perform these early-age surgeries are helping to stop the birth of kittens who are likely to end up in shelters, where more than 70% of cats are euthanized for lack of a home.