The Owl House Foster Spot

09/03/2026

Free Rabies Clinic 👇
𝐁𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲❗️
Please share the post.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 👇
Wednesday
September 9th
4:00-6:00 pm

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 👇
Stray Haven
194 Shepard Road
Waverly, New York 14892

𝐓𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭❗️
(607) 565-2859 ☎️
𝙊𝙍
Stop by Stray Haven 🚗
Tue-Fri 10-5
Sat 10-4....
👉 Rabies vaccinations will be given at no cost. A $10 donation is appreciated, but not required. Thank you.

👉 You do not need to be a Tioga County resident to participate.

👉 To get the 3-year vaccination certificate, please bring proof of prior vaccination.

👉 Stray Haven will close at 4pm on Sept. 9th to accommodate the Rabies Clinic.

09/03/2026

Purina sent us a case of FortiFlora probiotic (good stuff!) for filling out the yearly Petfinder survey. Given that we had very few intakes and adoptions, and were only active on Petfinder for part of the year (since we don't have new cats to post and current foster cats will probably be posted on the PF accounts of the organizations we are fostering for) I was happy they sent us this anyway! Debra, I'll shoot a few your way, just in case you run across someone who needs them.

09/03/2026

More drafts are done, although the more I do, the more I tweak! I can see ways some of these can be combined now that they are down on actual paper. Luckily I had to do all of this is the past for lab animal facilities, so the process is familiar.

Next up, have the medical protocol reviewed, updated, and approved by a veterinarian(s).

I still need to do the day-to-day protocols. Literally, how much and what type of food the cats get. How often and exactly how the cages are cleaned, etc. Pest control is done (that one was pretty easy) but cleaning and feeding needs to be very clear and manageable for someone caring for the cats if I'm away (not that that happens much anymore) or in an emergency.

I don't have our own specific volunteer training program completed yet, but since it's just Debra and myself at the moment, we'll just use the very long (and unfortunately dog-inclusive) ASPCA online learning program until we create our own. Good thing Debra loves dogs!!!

COVID put a big pause on our volunteer base, and with the rescue in the house instead of the barn, people hesitate to let themselves in if I'm not here. I can't say as I blame them. And since I don't yet have a clear, short, manageable volunteer training program yet, I can't really enthusiastically welcome people back.

Right now most of the paperwork has The Owl House name on it, with a spot for whatever organization I'm fostering for, but once Debra and the veterinarians have a look, and the application is sent in, the name will be switched to the 501c3 so we can accept and adopt out cats and kittens again on our own (if approved).

And if it all gets approved by the state, I'll probably make generic versions with no names at all, to provide to other micro-rescuers to edit for their own work, who don't want to start from scratch.

NYS Animal Protection Federation provides examples of other group's protocols, but they are mostly big shelters, have their logos, etc. on them, and aren't editable. Very nice guidance, but not anything you can really copy for a tiny group. There's stuff scattered all over the place, between the ASPCA, NYSAPF, and Ag and Markets. Unfortunately, they all include links to even more pages, instead of just having printables. (ASPCA has tried, with pdf checklists and such, bless them, but they are more "what you need to do" not "take this a edit it to meet your org needs").

But before I share anything downloadable I'll have a chat with an attorney on the best way to make it clear they are guidance/a starting point only. Or maybe I can turn everything over to another larger organization, and they could edit them and share them. We'll see.

I would just hate to have someone who wants to get into rescue decided not to because building the paperwork library seems daunting.

09/03/2026

For people who were looking for Schoolhouse Rescue they are now found under BOCES AG Science and are continuing their rescue work by fostering for Happy Tails! https://www.facebook.com/BTBAgSci

Agricultural Science program at Broome-Tioga Boces on Glenwood Road in Binghamton, NY.

09/03/2026

Each of the three rooms upstairs, plus my bathroom (due to kittens) and the landing (isolation) now have one of these posted in the beautiful glass-front donated memo cabinets that were donated. (Note: The print quality is better in real life. My phone doesn't much like taking pics of lines).

Twice a day, in each room, I need to track the time I feed and play with the cats there, note the temperature, and the ammonia level. I'm hoping the sadness I'm feeling is only because I'm tired of making form after form after form, and that having to do it each and every day so that an inspector can look at it once a year, won't take every scrap of joy out of why individuals and micro-rescues help cats.

Every thing I dig into deeper is one more thing I need to buy or beg for. A small plastic pallet so unopened bags of food aren't on the floor. A bin for every opened bag of food (a drawer for small bags of kitten chow won't cut it). A printer (got it) for all the freaking forms; sign up for monthly cable internet again because the phone hotspot isn't enough to convince my phone and printer to speak to one another, etc.

And now winter is rolling in. After high electricity bills for air conditioning for all the rooms to be sure they all stay below 80, now I need new wall heaters for all the rooms to be sure they stay over 60 all winter long, since there aren't heating ducts to each individual room upstairs. AND if the electricity is off for more than 4 days, cats need to be evacuated or have alternative heat. So that is 4-6 propane heaters to have on deck "just in case."

Keep in mind it's legal for me to toss any cats people give me outside in the cold and keep them as personal barn cats and never find them homes at all, so long as they are spay/neutered. But they can't stay in the house protected from wind and snow if the power goes out.

This is getting crazy. But I think things are mostly in place, except the future heat.

09/02/2026

I delivered a cat to her new home in Varna yesterday, and got to visit with Lily, who was adopted some time back. The family felt Lily needed a playmate, and now she has one. Best of all, Lily has a CATIO to share!

We do not charge an adoption fee for any of the cats we foster (although sometimes an organization we are fostering for, or transfer a kitten to, may make the adoption decision and charge a fee).

Instead we have people come out to choose a cat (so they can see our place) and then after an isolation holding period (3 days technically, but usually ends up being a week for a day when everyone is available) I deliver the cat. So instead of using $$ as a screening tool to be sure people are dedicated to adoption, we use patience.

The best part of delivering cats is seeing how well most people have prepared for them, and how well-loved their current cats are. The internet likes to bash the general public as being bad cat owners (negative stories get more clicks!) but honestly, I haven't found this to be true. Delivering cats is one of a handful of things that allows me to enjoy cat rescue rather than be overwhelmed by it.

So here is Lily, who was waiting patiently in her catio, and said a quick 'hello' to me. Her new playmate is enclosed in their safe room until they are comfortable enough to roam and meet her, and soon two cats will be enjoying their safe haven, both indoors and out.

I already knew Lily had a great home, but the catio was a lovely surprise.

09/01/2026

When you drive all the way to Ithaca and the cat litter you need is still in delivery jail.... drat.

09/01/2026

Pip waded right in (literally) but Twig is convinced food is to be had by chewing the rim. They'll learn!

08/31/2026

This is a first! ❤️

08/31/2026

Little does BeBe know what awaits her. From the day someone walked into a vet clinic with a tiny fuzzball over a year ago to her trip now to a new potential home, BeBe has been meant for something better than being just one cat among seven. She's ready to become the second cat in a loving Binghamton home, and is testing out our new medical and adoption/disposition paperwork that hopefully will cover all the bases NYS wants. Thanks for being the cutest guinea pig ever, BeBe and here's to your new life chapter!