The Scratching Post is a weekly newsletter from pets columnist Kate Karp, bringing you all the latest news on pet adoptions, animal welfare and ways to get involved.
March is coming in like a lion with all the pet events, so this newsletter will devote itself to every one of them that can squeeze into the newsletter’s word count. Save the newsletter link, or print out the text and keep a dog-eared copy on the fridge.
Tail waggers and nose boops
Kittens, Cocktails and Drag Bingo
What’s more faaaabulous than Queen Mia Anastasia Farrow or any generous drag performer worth her shimmy? Cats and kittens, of course! Enjoy cat-themed cocktails, participate in raffles, and have hilarious fun playing bingo with Queen Mia while helping to fund two kick-tushie animal organizations: Friends of Long Beach Animals and The Little Lion Foundation.
Kittens, Cocktails and Drag Bingo takes place Saturday, March 2 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Tap24 Bar and Grill, 4750 E. Los Coyotes Diagonal, Long Beach. Tickets are $20 and include five rounds of bingo; buy tickets here.
11th annual CatPAWS Bowling Fundraiser
Show any cat anywhere that you’re just as good as rolling a ball around as they are! Fundraiser tickets include savory appetizers or a personal pizza, two hours of bowling, a soft drink, and bowling shoes.
Prefer to lie around and watch, like a cat? No worries! For just $20, you can be part of the fun by cheering on your team and friends and enjoying delicious food and a soft drink, which your ticket covers. Plus, every ticket comes with an entry into the opportunity drawing. Prizes await the highest and lowest scores for participants. All proceeds benefit the lucky rescue cats at Helen Sanders CatPAWS!
The CatPAWS bowling fundraiser takes place Saturday, March 23 from 2 to 5:30 p.m. at Westminster Lanes, 6471 Westminster Blvd., Westminster. Tickets are $45 for bowling and $20 for spectating; buy tickets here.
Lounge acts at Feline Good Social Club
If your landlord, roommate or relative has put the kibosh on having a kitty, you can have all the cat time you want at Long Beach’s only cat lounge! If you already have cats but can’t get enough of them, the Social Club has so many of them that there’s no room to swing a human.
You can book a session and bring your work, and it’ll be just like home, except with more cats lying on the keyboard. The Social Club always features monthly events — Punk Rawk Yoga, Sound Healing — and on March 24 at 1:30 p.m., you can create a scarf or a blankie during Crochet with Cats (Cats. Yarn. Hmmm …). If you fall ears over tail in love with any of the cats — they’re all adoptable.
Feline Good Social Club is located at 301 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach. Session information and prices are available here.
March forth with the Bottle-Baby Brigade
Except that the meeting takes place on March 16. The Long Beach Bottle-Baby Brigade is a grant-funded collaboration between The Little Lion Foundation and Long Beach Animal Care Services to get ready for the kitten tsunami that comprises kitten season.
That sounds adorable — and it is — but the cloud around that silver lining is the number of kittens that can’t be saved and whose births could have been prevented through TNR. Come to the meeting and see how it works and how you can be a part of it!
The Long Beach Bottle-Baby Brigade will take place Saturday, March 16, 1 to 2 p.m. at Pet Food Express, 4220 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach.
TNR Community Cat Action Group to hold second meeting
In January, TNR (trap/neuter-spay/return) cat trappers and supporters, representatives from Long Beach Animal Care Services, spay/neuter advocates and anyone interested in finding out how to help with TNR joined forces at a private location to share knowledge and resources for spay/neuter, vaccination and releasing community cats.
The hope is to mitigate the number of kittens born to the streets and filling shelters and rescues. It was a full house.
The next meeting will take place March 24 at 1 p.m. To sign up, email Kris Beardsley at [email protected]. Organizers will provide location to participants.
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Pets to adopt or foster
Hope you attend Helen Sanders CatPAWS’ Bowling Fundraiser (see events above), and I also hope you’re bowled over by their adoptable cats! To adopt any of these kitties or any in foster care, complete the application available here.
Zane, 3 years old, is a mellow, laidback fellow with a penchant for catnip. He’ll be glad to spend his time in a mellow, catnip-rich haze if conditions are right. “The Dude” abides, man. Zane was adopted recently but was returned because of the other cats in the house, who said they were there first. Zane doesn’t necessarily have to be an only cat, but he does need to be in a quiet home with maybe one other passive animal and a human who gives him the time and space to adjust and feel comfortable.
Mary Poppins was a doting mother to her own kittens and a nanny to kittens she didn’t give birth to! Thanks to Mary’s tutelage and care, all the kittens have charmed people into adopting them. Now, it’s her turn!
Mimosa is one of the fairly rare 20% of orange cats who are female. She first landed at the shelter, wounded and pregnant. She’s a bit more emotionally sensitive than your average kitty, but her loving foster mom has worked wonders. Mimosa, as you can see, is great as an office manager, but she really needs someone who “gets cats,” especially high-spirited ones like her. Adults only with Mimosa, and a status as an only cat, although she may get along with an older, easygoing kitty.
To see a list of local animal rescue groups, click here.