Happy Valentine’s Day!

LEAPIN’ KITTENS!!! They know it’s Leap Year, and they’re leapin’ over each other in our kitten playroom, hoping their PURR-FECT VALENTINE FAMILIES will find them soon!

Already in the 1st month of 2016, SIXTEEN SWEET KITTENS are hoping to make this their SWEET SIXTEEN YEAR for lifetime adoptions! Come watch their antics and find YOUR VALENTINE!

Touched By An Animal Cats-Are-Purrsons-Too P.O. Box 59067 Chicago, IL 60659  773-728-6336 www.touchedbyananimal.org [email protected] www.facebook.com/touchedbyananimal 1

LIFE-SAVING VALENTINES SENT WITH LOVE

SIGNED BY YOU

I am looking at a Valentine card sent to our daily workers by our kitties that says on the front, “You do a lot to keep us happy and healthy, and in return all we do is sleep, eat, shed, and alternately pester or ignore you. So this Valentine’s Day we want you to know – (inside card:) We’re WORTH it!” I smile as I enjoy the pictures of our 80+ feline house companions, any of whom might have pawed such a message to our daily caregivers/house cleaners. And I agree: Every animal and every person we have been honored to help has a special value, and whatever the circumstances, complications, or cost, each is WORTH IT, and we’re glad we’re here to answer the need – like this week’s call from a lady in Kentucky to tell us that her friend in Chicago has had a stroke and her cat is in a motel. Can we get it and care for it until…whenever? Several late day calls to possibly available VOLUNTEERS and several hundred dollars banked from our REGULAR DONORS saved this sweet cat’s life. Its near-starvation, severe dehydration, and kidney failure tell us it was in that motel room alone for several days. And learning that her beloved cat is safe with us helps to save the woman’s life as well, because it gives her a

reason to recover and go through arduous rehab. She has felt so ALONE, looking for a job, and then an affordable apartment after life struck her many blows. Now she knows there are people who CARE, and her cat is waiting for her. That’s the LIFE SUPPORT TOUCHED BY AN ANIMAL VOLUNTEERS and DONORS tur n into VALENTINES ever y day. CAN WE CALL ON YOU to PERSONALLY SIGN SUCH A VALENTINE for the next person/cat who needs a LOVING HEART?

What if I had reached the last name on our volunteer list, (I was, myself, out of state at a family event) or what if I knew our bank balance was too low for an unconditional commitment? WE DO NEED MORE ON-CALL VOLUNTEERS and mor e MONTHLY SUSTAINING DONORS with HEART-FELT LOVE ALL YEAR.

Founder & President Touched By An Animal

VOLUNTEERS Are VALENTINES, Too WE ALWAYS NEED VOLUNTEERS TO HELP us with: 

Socialization



Cat Care



Transport To & From Appointments

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Keeping Our Home Sparkling Clean



Newsletter & Invitation Mailings



Fundraisers & Pet Expos

...and most importantly, SPREADING THE WORD about our Mission. ANY AND ALL HELP IS desperately NEEDED and GREATLY APPRECIATED. Call 773-728-6336 or e-mail us at [email protected] to discuss volunteer opportunities with us! = HIGH PRIORITY NEED Touched By An Animal Cats-Are-Purrsons-Too P.O. Box 59067 Chicago, IL 60659  773-728-6336 www.touchedbyananimal.org [email protected] www.facebook.com/touchedbyananimal 2

WE WANT OUR PURRFECT VALENTINE FAMILIES! TELL YOUR FRIENDS

ADOPT

BIG GUY (male, 13 yrs)

BABY (male, 1 yr)

ARGYLE (male, 4 yrs)

B.J. (male, 12 yrs)

ADDISON (female, 9 yrs)

BENEDICTA (female, 8 yrs)

BLISS (female, 13 yrs)

BILLY (male, 10 yrs)

BELLE (male, 10 yrs)

BRUISER (male, 13 yrs)

COCO CHANEL (female, 11 yrs)

BUDDY (male, 12 yrs)

CANDY (female, 2 yrs)

DOT DOT (female, 14 yrs)

GOT MILK (female, 9 yrs)

CHRISSY (female, 4 yrs)

CARL (male, 18 yrs)

DOLLY (female, 16 yrs)

FROST (male, 6 yrs) ECLIPSE (female, 10 yrs)

IRIS (female, 6 yrs) GEORGE (male, 10 yrs)

BONITA (female, 11 yrs)

LARRY (male, 12 yrs) JOY (female, 8 yrs)

Touched By An Animal Cats-Are-Purrsons-Too P.O. Box 59067 Chicago, IL 60659  773-728-6336 www.touchedbyananimal.org [email protected] www.facebook.com/touchedbyananimal 3

WE WANT TO BE YOUR PURRFECT VALENTINE! BE MINE!

I’LL BE YOURS!

MARIO (male, 4 yrs)

MIA (female, 13 yrs)

LOTTIE (female, 9 yrs) LOGAN (male, 7 yrs)

MOE (male, 12 yrs) MILKSHAKE (male, 3 yrs)

PAISLEY (female, 4 yrs) PADDY MCGEE (male, 5 yrs)

ROSIE BOWL (female, 10 yrs)

S’MORE (male, 2 yrs)

PENGUIN (female, 9 yrs)

SALEM (male, 11 yrs)

PLAID (male, 4 yrs)

ORCHID (female, 6 yrs)

POPPY (male, 6 yrs)

SAMMY (male, 15 yrs) SHELLY (female, 4 yrs)

STRIPE (female, 4 yrs) SIMBA (male, 1 yrs)

NALA (female, 8 yrs)

MYSTERY (male, 7 yrs)

MIDI (female, 12 yrs)

SUNDANCE (male, 9 yrs)

SWEETIE (female, 2 yrs)

TILLIE (female, 2 yrs)

Touched By An Animal Cats-Are-Purrsons-Too P.O. Box 59067 Chicago, IL 60659  773-728-6336 www.touchedbyananimal.org [email protected] www.facebook.com/touchedbyananimal 4

WE WANT OUR PURRFECT VALENTINE FAMILIES! TELL YOUR FRIENDS

ADOPT

TIGER (male, 8 yrs) TINKERBELLE (female, 5 yrs)

WENDY (female, 6 yrs)

TONY (male, 13 yrs)

TORNADO (male, 8 yrs)

TWISTER (male, 8 yrs)

Please consider adopting an adult kitty! They’re “straight shooters” (their purrsonalities have already developed so you know who they are), and they are looking for LOVING HOMES! Call 773-728-6336 to schedule an appointment to meet our WISE and LOVEABLE ADULTS!

Our SWEETHEART KITTENS Also Need Valentines!

JONESY (m) PEANUTS (f) GEMMA (f) CHARLIE BROWN (m) ALEX (m) SASSAFRASS (f) LINUS (m)

DEEDEE (f) CLANCY (m) LUCY (f)

EDITH (f)

BAXTER (m)

We have more kittens who need loving homes with their FOREVER VALENTINES. Call 773-728-6336 to schedule an appointment to meet our little SWEETHEARTS!

Touched By An Animal Cats-Are-Purrsons-Too P.O. Box 59067 Chicago, IL 60659  773-728-6336 www.touchedbyananimal.org [email protected] www.facebook.com/touchedbyananimal 5

WE CELEBRATE VALENTINE LOVE ALL YEAR

EVERY DAY

I adopted Lola, a grey female DSH from Touched By An Animal back in March 2013. Her name at the time was Pipa. My husband changed it to "Lola" from the song "Whatever Lola wants.” And it is very becoming. She responds to "Mama" also. Her meows sound like “MaMa.” She started out being very shy and sweet, but gentle. She is still sweet and has a tender disposition and has become more comfortable with her mom and dad and can be demanding for attention. We don't have children, so she has made our family complete. I got her because I was suffering from depression. She has been a healing force and when I get sad, seeing how much she loves me and how much I matter to her, gives me joy. My husband was anti-cat at first, but accepted her for my sake. Well, now he is smitten by her. He tells everyone about her with pride and enjoys taking pictures of her. Unfortunately, last January his health has been severely compromised with various ailments, including a fall in which he broke, his neck, clavicle, shoulder, elbow, and some vertebrae. He was in a nursing home and asked about having her visit him. He missed her terribly. They did not think it was a good idea, so I would take videos and pictures of her to him every day. It made his day. He is still convalescing at home, but he has company. Last time he fell and I was in another room, she swatted me until I followed her to the bedroom where my husband was on the floor! The three of us are very close. She is like a watch cat, always investigating on what we are doing and who comes to the home. I used to have nightmares, and I find it unbelievable that since she sleeps with me, they are no more! If I tell this to people, I am sure they would not believe it. But it has happened. We could not imagine life without her! We are very thankful to Touched By An Animal for our sweet blessing! -Maribel

At our November Thanksgiving Benefit, we awarded our annual Caring Award to Rustic Hollow Shelter, along with $1,000 donated specifically for them by one of our generous friends. We want you to know how much good that has done.

Dear Marijon and all the wonderful Touched by An Animal volunteers:

December 2015

We were so pleased and honored to receive your wonderful Caring Award. Your donation of $1000 was such a wonderful surprise. We love the awards and will frame them for hanging on the walls of one of our main buildings. Thank you for thinking of us and for sharing our work and mission with so many wonderful people. We wanted you to know that your donation is going to help a large group of cats in what we are calling our “Tent City Kitty Rescue.” On Monday, December 7th, we received a phone call from a Deputy Sheriff in one of our NE Iowa counties. They had discovered a man living in a tent in one of their county parks. Between his car and tent he also had 60 homeless cats with him. He had been evicted from his apartment and moved all of his cats to the park in a tent and a group in his car. Now this is Iowa in wintertime, and while our weather has been above normal temps, it still has been cold at nights. And with cold temps moving in soon, the situation was dire and prompted a need for a very quick response. Rustic Hollow took the lead and committed to taking in 22 cats immediately. Then I began making phone calls and contacting groups that might be able to help. By Friday, most of the cats were transported to homes, farms and rescues who could help. Tomorrow (Saturday), the remaining 8 cats will arrive at Rustic Hollow. All eight of these will have new homes in our county as soon as they are altered. We will be altering over 30 of the cats next Thursday on a special spay neuter clinic day at our sanctuary. We have the facility and the surgery tables and all the equipment for our veterinarian to come in and get them all altered in one day. The man was allowed to keep four cats and they are in foster homes at this time while they help him find a place to live which they thought was going to take a couple of weeks. Before the cats are returned to him they will come to our sanctuary and will be altered by our veterinarian and returned to him. All in all, it was a long but rewarding week. The cats are all healthy and safe and inside where they are warm. They are no longer homeless. Your wonderful and generous donation of $1000 will go towards the altering and care of these beautiful cats. Wanted you to know that your donation could not have come at a better time. God looks out for his animals too. Thank you all again. What you do in your mission is so appreciated.

Carmen Linda Conklin & Wanda Orric Rustic Hollow Shelter (Nashua, IA)

Touched By An Animal Cats-Are-Purrsons-Too P.O. Box 59067 Chicago, IL 60659  773-728-6336 www.touchedbyananimal.org [email protected] www.facebook.com/touchedbyananimal 6

Our HEARTS Are Wound Around Our SPONSORS SPONSOR US!

ADDISON (9 yrs)

WE NEED YOU!

For Our Special-Needs Support

B.J. (12 yrs)

BELLE (10 yrs)

BRUISER (13 yrs)

BONITA (11 yrs)

BENEDICTA (8 yrs)

BUDDY (12 yrs)

BLISS (13 yrs)

COCO CHANEL (11 yrs) DOLLY (16 yrs) CARL (18 yrs)

ECLIPSE (9 yrs)

ROSIE (15 yrs)

SPONSOR US!

DOT DOT (14 yrs)

MOE (12 yrs) MIDI (12 yrs)

SAMMY (15 yrs)

MILKSHAKE (4 yrs)

TONY (13 yrs)

MYSTERY (7 yrs)

WENDY (6 yrs)

Touched By An Animal Cats-Are-Purrsons-Too P.O. Box 59067 Chicago, IL 60659  773-728-6336 www.touchedbyananimal.org [email protected] www.facebook.com/touchedbyananimal 7

TOUCHED BY AN ANIMAL CATS-ARE-PURRSONS-TOO P.O. Box 59067 Chicago, IL 60659 www.touchedbyananimal.org

SAVE-THE-DATES March 18-20, 2016

May 1, 2016

Come visit us at the

Meet Dr. Linda R. Harper at:

TOUCHED BY AN ANIMAL’S

SPRING 2016 BOOKS & BASKETS BRUNCH BENEFIT Sunday, May 1, 2016 11 AM—3 PM Holiday Inn, Skokie, IL The Power of Joy in Giving to Animals By Linda R. Harper, Ph.D., wiith foreword and contributions by Faith Maloney, co-founder of Best Friends Animal Society in Utah.

Chicagoland Family Pet Expo! Booths 501 & 502 Arlington Racecourse Arlington Heights, IL

March 18-20, 2016

We also need VOLUNTEERS to help us run our booth! CALL 773-728-6336 or email [email protected] for more information! The Pet Expo gives us $1 for each person who turns in a coupon with our name on it. Please download our coupon from our website, Facebook, or from the email reminder we’ll be sending out. Or, at your request, we’ll mail you a coupon. Call 773-728-6336 to request our coupon! Give them to friends so our kitties will benefit!