Kirkland Foundation

Renee Boches sold me on a free haircut just like the smock she found on Amazon, and then the White Claws kicked in...

Nine years ago, when our balance sheet hadn’t been banged up by COVID-19 and we had more liquidity than common sense, we celebrated Labor Day by building a beach resort on a Friday night in downtown Fresno, complete with 500 tons of sand, a half dozen pools, 80+ palm trees, a dozen cabanas, two professional volleyball courts, sand castle area, a concert stage and SlideZilla, at the time the largest inflatable waterslide in the US. It started with our Club One crew speculatin...Continue reading

We’re thrilled to report that Rose, the Siamese kitten that provided inspiration for at least two posts over the last few months, found her forever family last week. Rose came to us via Dawn Renea Salazar in a shabby cardboard box, the runt of a litter of four, with a damaged eye and, like everyone else around here, more fleas than life prospects. We couldn’t save her eye, but she packed on a couple of pounds and her sassy attitude made her a KF crew favorite. But for her eye Rose would have been an easy adoption so we asked our friends a PetSmart if they’d entertain the notion of her placement. No problem! was the response, and within two days of arriving at Rancho Cordova, Rose purred her way out of a kennel and into a new family. Raise a toast of your favorite grog to this little pirate and her new life!

Gracie update. The second opinion on Gracie's injury confirmed that she's had irreversible nerve damage and lost the use of her front leg for good. She'll have to have it removed, but she wants everyone to know that although she's annoyed by the prospect of wearing a cone for a few weeks, it can't possibly be worse than sharing a bathroom with Griffin.

In looking back over our last few posts, you could come away with the impression Kirkland House is akin to a Civil War field hospital with a gruesome array of maimed patients and a staff of Clara Bartons comforting what’s left of the wounded. While part of our daily routine includes medical attention and rehab, the majority of our furry guests enjoy the use of both eyes and all four paws and suffer only the inconvenience of short term confinement or having to wait in turn fo...r attention. That said, even the ones that are a little scuffed up, like our little pirate Rose here (missing an eye) have it pretty darn good. If we’ve taken you on as a guest, you can count on access to better food service, health care and thread counts than most, a bunch of other cats and dogs to cuddle or chase depending on your personality and preference, a Disneyland of toys, towers and scratching posts and plenty of pillows, beds and other comfy spots on which to nap. You’ll have to endure brushing, nail clipping and selfies, but chubby is encouraged and the people that run the place have resigned themselves to floors with the gritty feel of a beach parking lot and cleaning up after you 24/7. You might be woken up at 4 AM by a furry colleague mistiming his jump on the bed and sending the comforter and 60 lbs of sleeping cats flying or Don Julio prompting Mama Renee to try Alexa, play music everywhere, but even then, the worst you’ll suffer is Litter Box Guy calling everyone a dipshit and you might even be featured in a Facebook post highlighting the hilarity. You’ll have a few more vet visits than your less frayed colleagues, but your life is way better than it was on the street, and you can sleep well knowing that chewy.com has your needs on autoship, the vet knows you by name and your hosts’ favorite jeans have a tear or two and they’re not tossing those anytime soon either. Rose.

We’re very happy Dina found her forever home. It’s moments like these that push us to keep doing what we’re doing. Dina came into our facility a few months ago when she was a tiny kitten. We bottle fed Dina for a few weeks and watched her grow into the kitten she is today. We know she’ll bring love and joy to her new family. If you’re looking to adopt a feline for your family, we have some of our adoptable fur-babies at PetSmart in Rancho Cordova, CA. PetSmart can be located at 10830 Olson Dr., Rancho Cordova, CA 95670. Stop by and meet some of our adorable kiddos. Don’t forget your face masks.

According to family legend, the Reverend Charles L. Kirkland was leading others in prayer as the RMS Titanic slid beneath the surface of the North Atlantic the early morning of April 15, 1912. Having collided with kitten season and COVID-19 a century later, we’re at capacity and listing badly, but until the water’s coming over the rail, we’re filling lifeboats rather than trusting a higher power. When I saw Mona’s post about a kitten with a bad paw on the SPCA short list, I... shot her a text that we’d find room aboard. After convincing the crew of the SS Kirkland that I’d toss myself over the side for the newcomer if I had to, our last busted paw rescue, Griffin, offered to vacate the downstairs bathroom and take the spot in the Big Tower right below that chubby tortie. Ruby wasn’t happy with the insult, but with space for the newbie thus assured, Mama Su took over. A bath, gender check, ringworm check (yup), nice meal and comfy set-up later, Gracie settled in for a nap and safe passage to warmer waters. Truth be told, I had no idea Gracie had 140 something shares and 90+ comments when we offered to bring her aboard. I just happened to see the post, knew that mangled paw was a death sentence and said, We’ll make room. Gracie’s now on calendar with the vet on Monday to get some visibility on her paw and likely has some tough decisions ahead, but she’s in a better spot than she was 12 hours ago and wants everyone to know that any and all donations will be used for her care and recovery. Special thanks to Mona Ahmed for the save and Gilbert Romero for the transport!

Another busy month for the Kirkland Foundation has been checked off our list. For the month of July, Kirkland Foundation welcomed in 126 new fur-babies into our facility! Whether these babies were healthy to be placed for adoption, put on treatment, taken to the vet for injuries, or just needing more socialization, we stuck with them every step of the way. We've also hit our highest monthly adoption number this month! We're thrilled to inform everyone that 31 animals were pl...aced into their new forever homes. We're very happy and wish the best for all the families with their newly adoption family member(s). 121 animals were also transferred to one of our partnering no-kill rescue organizations this month! All these adorable fur-babies were given another chance to find their new forever homes with a few incredible rescue organization(s) up north and down south. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact families and businesses, we would like to ensure you that we are working around the clock to provide the proper care for all the animals that enter our facility. If you would like to assist us in providing food, shelter, and love to our residents, please consider donating to the Kirkland Foundation. All donations are tax deductible and no amount is too small. Head over to www.Kirkland.org and select the "Donate" option!

Today’s unadoptable, Nash, is a hugger. Unlike your annoying friend who two Coronas deep insists that he really loves you, bro, this yellow longhair doesn’t need catnip to let his feelings show. Walk in the room and he’ll rise up and wrap his paws around your leg like a favorite nephew. Drop down to the carpet and he’ll throw his paws around your neck and more often than not, climb aboard for a ride. Admittedly, it’s startling to have a cat work you like Bill Clinton be...fore Hillary and hashtags put him on lockdown, but Nash’s intentions are pure when he’s invading your space and who among us couldn’t use go to source of positive affirmation? So why is he unadoptable? Nash’s shortcoming is that his eyes run, so every few days he shows up looking like Alice Cooper after an August concert or you that night you ran into your ex with that trampy Kappa Delta six days after you told him it was over. Nash cleans up quicker than either you or Alice, but still, it’s a problem when you’re trying to make a good first impression at PetSmart. That said, anyone who’s experienced Nash’s routine leaves with a smile, a post-worthy selfie and vastly improved sense of self-worth. A few dabs with a paper towel every couple of days seems like a small sacrifice to make for that. Nash.

Today’s unadoptables, or category of unadoptables, are the Pirates, our furry misfits who through some past misfortune find themselves short an eye or a leg or otherwise bearing a rough appearance more suited to a Tortuga grog house than a fashionable California home. Despite their imperfections, the Pirates are an adaptable lot, fully capable of defending a spot at the KF buffet, the evening scratching queue or the top of a cat tower. None of these scuffed up furballs will... end up on the cover of Cat Fancy, but were you looking for a show cat who dismisses you like a peasant or a tested little guttersnipe who thinks your idea sounds awesome and you should go for it? Exactly. Sally, Rose and Niko are each missing an eye but slip through life as if one is plenty and, as we’ve seen, the other one would just get in the way. You’ll be tempted to feel sorry for them but it’s empathy wastedtheir heroes Sammy Davis, Jr., Johnny Depp and Nick Fury kept pace with the Rat Pack, blew $650 million and saved the universe with similar limitations. These marauders will find the food bowl, litter box or your favorite scrunchy, no problem. Lance, Maddie Bee and Griffin, each a paw short, still scoff that gravity is for humans and can go "cheetah mode at the pop of a can of Friskies. Mr. Potts with his lazy eye and crooked grintoo many pre-neutering street brawlslooks like Mickey Rourke the wrestler but purrs like the 9 Weeks version. Even Bran is cockroach quick per Jackpot and thinks nothing of chasing down others fleeing in full on four paw drive. You make do with two legs in flip flopswhat makes you think three, with claws for traction and balance, would be a hindrance? You're no doubt thinking, I don’t need my house looking like a Mad Max set, but if we’re being honest here, none of us is much to look at before the day’s first lattehunched over, shuffling around looking for our reading glasses. Each of the Pirates bears the mark of an inopportune decision or curiosity coming up a bit short in its effort to solve the cat problem, but there’s eight more lives of love left in this lot and as Potts notes, Chicks dig scars. When you’re ready to liven up that Facebook feed, there’s something to be said for a cat that is fearless when others scatter. That’s just a Dyson V8 and it’s not even on a full charge. Wake me up if she pulls out the V11 The Pirates.

South Coast Humane society is proud to partner with #PetsmartCharities #KirklandFoundation #CatHouseOnTheKings To place spayed/neutered cats/kittens into homes! Thank you Gilbert Romero for Transport and Rescue!

In Jurassic Park, when paleontologist Dr. Grant (Sam Neill), sees a man-made Brachiosaurus for the first time, he’s giddy with wonderment at the size and grace of the gentle beast. So it is, when today’s unadoptable, Banana, wanders into the roomyour jaw will drop and you’ll be compelled to rub your hands on this colossus to confirm that he’s real. At 17.8 pounds, Banana is the biggest cat we have onsite and worthy of a John Williams score to highlight his magnificence. Ba...nana gets his name from his yellow coat and white chest, but Case of Bananas is a more apt moniker. This furry giant is sweet-temperedwhen you’re bigger than anyone else in gen pop you can beand gets along well with cats (and dogs) of all sizes. Banana’s flaw is that, like his sidekick Thomas, he’s FIV+, which is a non-issue given his temperament and overall health. He had a skin condition, since kickedhis coat is flawlessand importantly, this furry body pillow will let you knead him until your legs fall asleep. He’s had an on again off again sinus issue, but there’s no scenario in which you’d call him sickly. He’s a big sexy beast, and he knows it. For a family with enough square footage and ceiling height to accommodate Banana, an Instagram page documenting his antics will no doubt generate welcome income on the side. He’s an emoji inspiring cat if we ever had one, and despite the fact that you’ll need to engage your core every time you pick him up, you’ll be happy he’s on the bed when the weather turns colder. There’s a side of me that would say the Banana/Thomas combo (both shown below) would be the perfect balance for an otherwise chaotic family, but candidly, we're not sure who could handle 32+ pounds of ginger awesomeness

Well, that’s awkward. We’re three weeks, two vet visits and two blog posts deep with Gretchen, and Su just pointed out the irrefutable spherical proof that Gretchen is more appropriately, Griffin. I suppose my attention to detail (or lack of it) is why I’m generally assigned to hauling litter and supplies, but after review, I think the stories still work regardless of the gender blunder. With that, I’d like to apologize to the rescue community (and Griffin!) for being quick... to assume the scuffed up Coalinga kitten was a girl given its tolerance to adversity, loving personality and quick wit under pressure. I’ve clearly based my gender stereotypes on my own experienceI’d still be whining about the busted paw and have cracked under interrogation about the toilet paper incidentand henceforth, promise to check the undercarriage of my furry subjects part of my pre-post research. See more

Last month, we took in Gretchen, an emaciated kitten from Coalinga with a badly damaged front paw and a rash of other health issues. Three weeks later, she’s much betterkicked ringworm and fleas, packed on a few needed ounces and regained overall strength and mobility. Her mangled paw isn’t improving but her motor is still strong, and she’s figured out one of the go to alibis at Kirkland House when confronted about something unpleasantblame the dogs. For her health and ...safety, we’ve quarantined Gretchen to one of the bathrooms and when I checked on her earlier today the shocking state of the room reminded me of Johnny Depp's hotel room the morning after a wrap. When confronted about the mess, Gretchen was indignant that we would assume such vandalism from a frail kitten with only three good paws and recounted a wild tale about appalling behavior by the dogs, noted that she, in fact, was the victim in all this, and concluded that we should all be thankful that she wasn’t hurt in the melee. We’re still trying to figure out how any of three chubby, immobile dogs reached a 36 door knob, no one heard this wild riot, the tears in the toilet paper are limited to one sidecoincidentally that of her good pawand her stuffed animals remained surprisingly dry and intact, but for now we’re willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and be thankful for her overall improvement and that the dogs seem to have returned to their rightful place in the KF hierarchy quite literally overnight.