December 22, 2003 11:58 p.m. PST

Hello Dear Friends and White Knights,

As well as the many, many improvement projects I want to do for the world's people and the world's environment, I also have improvement projects on my list for our animal friends, both domesticated and wild. Like many of you, I love animals. Our animal friends enrich our lives in so many ways.

Late last summer, an abandoned, young kitty appeared on the two acres where I live. Because we are out in the country, it's not uncommon to have dogs and cats dropped off by people who no longer want or are able to care for them. This young, tortoiseshell and white kitty seemed desperately hungry and after checking that the kitty did not belong to anyone in the area, I adopted the kitty and began feeding it. A few weeks later, the small kitty surprised me by bringing two kittens about a month old to live in our pole building garage. I knew then that I would need to find a way to get the mama kitty and babies into the vet for spaying and neutering but as the months passed, they remained unwilling to be touched.

A few weeks ago I discovered a local organization that rescues abandoned cats and provides foster care and adoption services. From the lady who heads this organization I learned that right around the time the daylight hours begin to increase, many female cats go into heat. The winter solstice, commonly believed to be December 21, has the shortest daylight hours of the year. This means that we are now in a time period when it's almost too late to take care of spaying female cats.

I've learned that one female cat can have as many as 100 babies in her lifetime. I also learned that there are organizations which help people to obtain spaying and neutering of cats at reduced prices. Another thing I learned is that abandoned cats who run wild are the ones who become ill with various diseases which can spread to domestic cats in the area.

If you have a female cat who needs spaying, I suggest you look into taking care of this now. If you do not have the funds to handle this, call your Humane Society or local animal control office and ask them to give you information about any local cat rescue organization which may be able to help you find low-cost or no-cost spaying and neutering services. It's also important to pay attention to male cats because male cats get into a lot of fights with other male cats and contract diseases or receive wounds which abscess and can be life-threatening.

I took my adopted mama cat and her kitties to our local vet associated with the cat rescue organization this last Friday and Saturday. Because these kitties are still not allowing anyone to touch them, I borrowed a humane cat trap device and following the directions of the cat rescue organization, was able to safely and quickly catch the kitties in this humane device and take them safely and uninjured to the veterinarian. I also borrowed a feral cat cage from the cat rescue organization which I set up in the dining area and the kitties will spend the next few weeks inside it healing and I am beginning a gentling process with them.

By the way, this same time of year is true for dogs, so this is an ideal time to look into spaying and neutering your canine friends also. I helped set up a dog rescue organization years ago and there are also low-cost and no-cost spaying and neutering clinics for dogs in some places and at certain times of year in many locations.

I'm sharing all this in case any of this information will be helpful to some of you reading the Dove Reports.

In addition, I want to mention that the cat rescue organization which helped me is Feline Friends and their website is http://www.feline-friends.net.  This organization has a policy that any cat they accept will have a home and they have adopted out between 350 and 400 cats this year alone.

Finally, I have one last thing to share with you. During this last week at the vet I met two beautiful Turkish Van cats whose long-time human companion passed away a few weeks ago. These beautiful white and gold cats are sisters; they are friendly, gorgeous, and sweet. One of them is blue-eyed and one is green-eyed. These lovely "Van Sisters" need a home. When I was at the vet today, the blue-eyed Van sister spoke to me in cat language and made it very clear to me that she knows there is someone out there who would love to give her and her sister a loving home. These beautiful cats are at a vet near Olympia, Washington, and would make someone wonderful companions. You can see these beautiful cats (the picture does not do them justice) at http://www.feline-friends.net and click on "Adoptions". The "Van Sisters" are shown in the second picture from the top. My hands are full with my own cats or I would be happy to share my home with the Van Sisters. Please help me to fulfill my promise to the blue-eyed Van sister that I will help them find a home. If you or someone you know would like to adopt these lovelies, please call "Jo" of Feline Friends at 360-866-0599 and tell her you learned about the Van sisters from Dove.

Those of us in the humanitarian projects of the prosperity programs have many improvement projects we wish to do. We will be able to help people, the planet, and animals in so many ways. Until we can begin our improvement projects, I'm doing what I can to offer a little information and assistance now.

Blessings and Love,
Dove of Oneness