“Do your ears hang low, do they wobble to and fro?” No, they’re pointed and move back and forth depending on what they can see and you can’t. Helen Sanders CatPAWS’ Camp Kitten adoption event at the Marina Shores Petco received a boost that was sweeter than a s’more toasting. On April 14, the Petco Foundation awarded the all-volunteer rescue a $1,000 grant that will help pay for veterinary care, spay/neuter, food and needs for fosters.

a group of happy people hold up a huge oversize check for $1,000
Grateful CatPAWS volunteers are having kittens over the grant gift from the Petco Foundation.

“We take into account how many adoptions an entire organization does [when we award a grant],” said Amanda Penny, Petco’s Orange County district leader. Last year, CatPAWS rescued 205 cats through partnerships with shelters and adopted 170 of them.

Even the happiest camper wants to go home eventually. Here are a few who came to Camp Kitten. Fill out an application here to claim any of them, and see the rest of them in CatPAWS’ adoption folder on Facebook. Here’s to an even more successful adoption year.

lilac-point Siamese with stroped tail lies on a gray covering staring right of camera
Keerah

Keerah was counselor to the littlest kids in the camp. She’s 9 months old and likely had a litter before CatPAWS rescued her (cats can become pregnant as early as 6 months old). She looks like a lilac-point Siamese. She’s a sweetheart, as you can see in the video (yes, several of those kittens are still available) but is still a little timid. She needs her own little cabin where she can feel safe.

Brown tabby with big light-green eyes sits in a meat-loaf position.
Ripley

If you’re a sucker for brown tabbies and are looking for a sweet, easy companion, Ripley’s your girl. At Camp Kitten, she showed amazing prowess at stalking and leaping. She needs a forever home that will help her continue to build her confidence in people.

Black cat with white chest and paws sitting tall
Trinity
fluffy black cat with green eyes, crouching
Crockett

Trinity and Crockett, female and male respectively, are both 4 years old and didn’t make it to Camp Kitten that day, but they do have a campfire story. CatPAWS had adopted them to a woman who took them home with her to Corona. Recently, the woman unexpectedly died. Someone who had access to the woman’s home fed them until the house had to be closed up. Corona’s animal control scanned them for chips, and CatPAWS’ information came up along with the adopters’. CatPAWS as well as other responsible rescues lists its information on the chips in case of situations like this one.

“If the shelter hadn’t been good about scanning the chips, Heaven knows what would’ve happened to them,” said CatPAWS volunteer Annelle Baum.

Baum said that the adopter had taken beautiful care of both cats. They’re ready to go home again, preferably together.

Things to do, pets to support

Please send any Long Beach or Seal Beach pet-related events or projects to [email protected]. Posting subject to approval.

Feline Good Social Club Grand Opening: Saturday, April 27, 10 a.m., 301 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, adoption fees apply

We don’t need coffee to keep us awake for this event! Finally, feline-ally, Long Beach is getting its own permanent cat café! Three entrepreneurial, passionate cat ladies have pounced on this opportunity to place rescue cats in a permanent and loving home. The Feline Good Social Club will have its grand opening in the heart of Downtown Long Beach and will offer a unique opportunity to socialize with adoptable cats in a playful environment supplemented with unlimited gourmet coffee and tea. The grand opening will feature a VIP Package with exclusive perks for those who would like additional time with the cats in a luxury setting, and merch bags filled with cat-themed gifts are sure to tickle your whiskers. All of the cats are rescued from the local rescue group Long Beach Felines.

Do Good with Burritos Fundraiser: Sunday, April 28, 4–8 p.m., Chipotle, Marina Pacifica Mall, 6376 E Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach, menu prices apply.

Whoever would have thought that fundraising would be such a gas! Dine at Chipotle during this event, show the above flyer on your phone or printed out, and 33 percent of the proceeds will benefit Fix Long Beach to help spay and neuter as many cats and dogs as possible. Cool beans, right?

a white dog paw with tan spots and a brown paw rest on two human hands

Mayor’s Animal Care Visioning Task Force: Tuesday, April 30, 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m., Recreation Park Community Center, 4900 E. Seventh St., Long Beach, free.

Agenda TBA. Public is invited.

Helen Sanders CatPAWS Bowling Fundraiser: Saturday, May 11, 3–5 p.m., Westminster Lanes, 6471 Westminster Blvd., Westminster, $40 per ticket.

You know that if you draw whiskers on the head of a bowling pin and paste pointed ears on the crown that it’ll resemble a cat sitting up? That and the fact that it’s a good fund-raising idea for the cats and kittens under the care of Helen Sanders CatPAWS rescue. This annual event raises money for food, veterinary bills (they mount) and neonatal care, including the free DIY kits for bottle-feeders that CatPAWS makes available free of charge at the shelter. Details are on the flyer—so roll one down an alley for the alley cats!

Fix Long Beach Free Spay/Neuter Clinic: Saturday, May 18, 9 a.m.–3 p.m., Ramona Park, 3301 E. 65th St., Long Beach, free spay/neuter for qualifying Long Beach residents, with appointment; free microchips, shots, flea-med doses, dewormers and nail trimmings $10 each—no appointment necessary. Appointments available for future clinics—come make one. Full details are available here.

Fur Baby Beach Ball fund-raiser for Live Love Animal Rescue: Saturday, May 18, 4–8 p.m.; location tba to ticket buyers; $50 online, $60 at door.

Live Love Rescue has pulled hundreds of otherwise unwanted dogs from shelters and fostered or adopted out just as many. All that vetting, neutering, spaying and training costs money. What better way to fund it all than with an exclusive Hamptons-type do at a private home? All dogs and their well-behaved humans are welcome!

Kitty Hall: : Tuesday, May 21, 2–5 p.m., Long Beach City Hall, 333 E. Broadway, Long Beach, $20 adoption fee.

Cats and kittens from area shelters and rescues will lobby for good homes during this successful event. Each of them will enjoy his or her own platform, as long as something’s dangling over it.

Fix Long Beach’s ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ Casino Night: Saturday, June 22, 6–10:30 p.m., Cosmic Brewery, 20316 Gramercy Place, Torrance, $20 per ticket, available here.

It shouldn’t be a gamble to see whether Fix Long Beach can spay and neuter as many cats and dogs as possible as well as support the fosters. But it sure can be a neat way to fund the clinics, if last year’s event was any indication! The bash includes a burger bar with a vegan option, s’mores bar, discounts on beer and wine, and $50 casino cash for full-size craps, poker, roulette and blackjack tables. Come dressed to win in your favorite Western wear, and have fun during the Best Moustache contest; the 50/50 drawing; the silent auction; which includes some amazing trips; and the opportunity drawing. Prizes will go to the biggest casino winners. Tickets are available here.

Ongoing

Adopt, adopt, adopt

The following pet-related businesses regularly feature cat, dog and rabbit adoptions. If you’re a Long Beach-area rescue and don’t see your adoption event listed here, please email [email protected].

Chase Bank, 5200 E. Second St., Long Beach

 Gelson’s Market, 6255 E. Second St.

Kahoots Pet Store, 18681 Main St. #102, Huntington Beach

Petco Animal Supplies, Marina Shores, 6500 Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach

Pet Food Express, 4220 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach:

PetSmart Cerritos, 12741 Towne Center Dr, Cerritos

PetSmart Compton, 1775 South Alameda St., Compton

PetSmart Garden Grove, 9835 Chapman Ave, Garden Grove

PetSmart, Long Beach Exchange, 3871 N Lakewood Blvd., Long Beach

PetSmart Signal Hill, 2550 Cherry Ave., Signal Hill

PetSmart Seal Beach, 12341 Seal Beach Blvd., Seal Beach.

Unleashed by Petco, 600 Redondo Ave.

tiny gray kitten sleeps in someone's hand

Long Beach Little Paws Project needs donations

The most vulnerable animals in the public shelter system are kittens under 2 pounds. These fragile babies, especially those not yet eating on their own, are typically euthanized on intake at most public shelters. In an effort to change the fate of far too many kittens, two non-profit rescue organizations, The Little Lion Foundation and Helen Sanders CatPAWS, have launched a joint effort to create and operate a kitten nursery. This nursery will give kittens too young to be adopted or those who need medical care a safe place to heal and grow. Newborn kittens are fragile and vulnerable. You can tell by those photos—if you look closely, you’ll see the beautiful cat that each of them will grow to be. Please read all about them here, and please, please donate.

Free Pet Food Distributions

Pet food is available at Beacon for Him Ministries, 439 W. Anaheim St., Mondays from 9 a.m. to noon and Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m. A dog-washing station with a stainless-steel tub is also available onsite at these hours. Donations and supplies such as shampoo, flea control meds and pet food are always gratefully accepted.

The Pet Food Bank is sponsored by Christian Outreach in Action, located at 515 E. Third St., Long Beach. Hours are Thursday from 9 to 11 a.m.

Pets of the Homeless provides many collection places across the country to help homeless people to feed and care for their animals. Please support them through a cash donation, or bring pet food to the Long Beach-area drop-off center, Trendi Pawz Grooming, 3726 E Seventh St., Long Beach. Access this link for resources and donation areas in SoCal and across the country.

Shelter-enrichment supplies requested for ACS’s cats, dogs and rabbits: Drop-off Wednesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., shelter side of P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village, 7700 E. Spring St., Long Beach.

Canned kitten food (Royal Canin), yogurt, beef and chicken broth, pipe cleaners, toilet-paper and paper-towel rolls, catnip, canned pet food, wine-bottle corks (for cat toys) and ice cube trays, all are needed. Donations are tax deductible.