Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary, Inc.
144 Sanctuary Loop Caledonia, MS 39740 We provide "LIFETIME" sanctuary to the animals that enter the gates of Cedarhill.
October 2008 News
From me to you
Today I tried to remember what my world was like when I was forty years old and only
had 2 dogs and 2 cats.
Here I sit, twenty-four years later, living with over 300 animals whose monthly cost of living averages $35,000.
When I was forty, I had never thought about an exotic cat, much less seen one. Today Cedarhill is regarded as
one of the top three sanctuaries in the United States. So many of you have ridden this roller coaster sitting
right beside me in the front seat. I want to thank each and every one of you for your financial support that
made this happen for so many animals. Over the years, we have suffered through so many tragedies together
and we have sent so many of our friends on over to The Rainbow Bridge. These things are just part of it…
the good with the bad. I think of the lives we’ve saved, the suffering we have stopped for so many
homeless animals, abandoned and abused animals and I know in my heart that I made the right decision
when I was forty years old.Your support is what we survive on. We have written over 100 grant requests
in the past few months and have already been turned down by 50% of them. The grant world is getting so
competitive that I’ve come to believe that it’s who you know, not how much you deserve the grant. 95% of
my time is spent trying to figure out how to raise $35,000 a month. Our newsletters will usually cover one
month’s operating expenses, but the next month before the newsletter comes out again, is the problem.
Expenses…no revenue. So many of you are on a fixed income and I want you to know how much I appreciate
what you do for the animals. There are those of you who have the ability to literally come out of the woodwork
and pull us out financially when we absolutely have to have the help. All of us together make a great team,
times are tough…let’s just work harder to help Cedarhill continue to not only survive, but thrive.
ARTHUR AND HIS TUB
I don’t know if you remember Arthur, the pot-bellied pig, who came from Alabama
last year. He had been raised inside the home of an elderly couple from a small
piglet. Due to their declining health the couple had to surrender Arthur to the local Humane Society.
Arthur did not know he was a pig and to this day still thinks we made a horrible mistake by putting him
in the pig pasture. He refused to sleep in the pig barn, so we got him his own special house. Arthur can
always be seen in close proximity of the miniature horses, certainly not near those fat pigs. Well, Arthur
does come over to the communal drinking and wallowing area, but he does not wallow. The other day,
Barbara watched Arthur walk over to one of the rubber drinking tubs, climb in, sit down for 2 seconds
and then get up and just walk off. I actually got to see his tub-sitting routine a couple of times. Arthur
is a very fastidious petite 
little guy who talks incessantly and has stolen all of our hearts.
Pigs wallow…Arthur bathes.
FLASH, THE THOROUGHBRED, AND THE DEER
Flash, our mostly blind thoroughbred, has a beautiful pear tree in his pasture.
He shares his Pasture with the deer, but not his pears. After he has eaten all
pears off the ground, Flash stands under that tree and picks the pears for as far as he can reach. One
evening, Barbara watched the deer as she kept approaching the pear tree, and each time, Flash would
run her back down into the woods. So Barbara went into Flash’s barn and prepared his evening grain
and hay and then called him in to eat. As soon as Flash was in the barn, Barbara said that doe hightailed
it up to the tree and got her some pears. That deer knew that as soon as Flash went in that barn that she
was safe to steal his pears.
CLARENCE, OUR FAVORITE BLIND
BOY (ONLY BLIND ONE, BUT WE WON'T
TELL HIM)
Clarence was one of four kittens born to Maggie in 1995. Maggie was found starving and very pregnant
and brought to Cedarhill and she immediately gave birth to the first litter to be born at Cedarhill. Clarence is
the sole survivor of his family. Maggie and Mallory perished in the fire and Pugsley died of cancer in 2006.
Clarence lives out in the cat barn and has free roam of the area around the barn. His bed and food are in the
exotic prep room and he has a swinging door to go in and out as he pleases. Clarence began losing his
eyesight several years ago and today is totally blind. He can follow all of us around as if he sees us. He
has his own Seeing Eye cat…Boy. Boy is a longhaired black feral cat and he absolutely adores Clarence.
We will see Clarence leaning into Boy’s shoulder as Boy guides him around the place. Boy grooms
Clarence and lies by him as if to protect him…need I say more!
BLOSSOM AND OUR OTHER HURRICANE
KATRINA RESCUES
After Hurricane Katrina, Cedarhill rescued a total of 53 cats and kittens. We lost
four within the first year due to heart failure, heartworms, lung disease and intestinal disorders. After two
years, we are starting to see the long-term effects of the toxic waste that these cats lived in before they were
rescued. In August, we lost McGeeHee who went into total liver and kidney failure with little or no warning;
Tricky suffered a stroke from the result of a brain tumor. Blossom developed a cancer on her right back leg
and her leg had to be amputated in late August. Blossom is only four years old and she rebounded from the
surgery immediately. She took right off when she came home and hasn’t stoppedsince. Cats never cease to
amaze me.
ENDINGS LEAD TO NEW BEGINNINGS
We also lost Beauty, 19 years old; Oreo, 18 years old; Hercules, 15 years old;
So many over the RainbowBridge, but as usual, there seems to be a swinging
because as one left, another arrived. We welcome 15-year-old Zsa Zsa from New Jersey whose door
owner went into a nursing home. Zsa Zsa’s owner had her attorney keep paying the rent on her apartment
and she would go by and feed Zsa Zsa once a day. The money ran out and 15-year-old Zsa Zsa was
left homeless. Zsa Zsa is a beautiful, serene black lady and she has fit in with the senior crowd quite well.
Nelson, a sleek, young, handsome cat was rescued from certain death by a
Peace Corp volunteer, who brought him to America from the Philippines.
When she got to America, she was reassigned to Armenia and had to give
up Nelson as he had tested positive for FIV. So, Nelson came to Cedarhill via the Philippines via New Jersey.
WE ALMOST HAD TWO COUGAR CUBS
The second week in September I received an email from The Wildcat Sanctuary asking me if I had room
for two ten-week-old cougar cubs. Since we lost Caesar and Tiffany, we certainly had the room for them. It
seems that the cubs were involved in a horrible abuse case. A man in Oregon shot the cougar mother
and captured the two cubs…then began to systematically abuse them. Before the Oregon State Game and
Wildlife could get them confiscated, one cub’s shoulder had been broken and the other’s leg was so mangled
that it had to be amputated. PAWS of Galt, California stepped up the plate and took them because they could
be easily driven to her sanctuary. I had been really worried about flying cubs that young to Mississippi. At any
rate, the cubs thankfully went to a great sanctuary.
“
Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight.” – Albert ShweitzerFor the love of the animals,
Kay 
A Tiger's Tale
In Texas, where you can own a pet tiger, the booming exotic animal trade has grim consequences.
by Melissa del Bosque Full Story
WEBCAM
Our webcam is now online. When you click the webcam button below you will be taken to an instruction page. After reading the instructions and making sure your computer is ready to receive the webcam please click the photo to be taken directly to the webcam.
Welcome
Welcome To Cedarhill
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Whipped...Abandoned in freezing weather... Locked in a room without fresh air or sunshine... Chains wrapped around growing necks... Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary, Inc. was founded in 1990 to serve as caretaker for abandoned, abused, homeless, and neglected exotic and domestic felines. We do not breed, sell or exhibit any of the animals at Cedarhill, because the welfare and safety of the cats is our primary focus. Cedarhill relies solely on tax deductible contributions and support from our loyal sponsors, and is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. We sincerely hope your visit to our website will enlighten all who come to the cruelty and heartache so many of these beautiful and proud creatures of God can face. |
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