Home » Groups » Nye County Cat Rescue » News and Events » Pahrump pussycats start migration from yurts to CatWorld

News and Events

Welcome to Nye County Cat RescueNews and Events!

Last Updated 07.07.09 by | Total Entries [0] | Total Comments [4,601]

< Previous | Next >

Post 238 of 288

Pahrump pussycats start migration from yurts to CatWorld

The Great Kitty Rescue in Pahrump, Nevada, was a remarkable feat saving the lives of over 800 cats.

Pictured are graduates of the first class of Miss Sherry's Finishing School for Felines, classmates (left to right)Snoopy, Carson, and Gus. See First 10 cats graduate for these kitties' proud moment.

These were cats doomed to certain death in the middle of the desert with very little food, water and a filthy environment. We knew they could not stay in this environment and through the course of this rescue and after many attempts and successes with adoptions; there were some cats that would have to return to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.

These were the cats that needed more extensive medical attention as well as some help with social skills in order to be successful finding a new and forever home.

When we came home, we continued our rescue efforts by setting up comfortable, temporary housing for our work socializing these remarkable survivors. What emerged from this time was Miss Sherry’s Finishing School for Felines.

Many students were enrolled in Miss Sherry’s and there were many graduates who have gone on to fulfilling lives in wonderful new homes.

Realizing this success, our thoughts turned to our greater population at CatWorld. It is now time to slowly migrate our fabulous feline rescues into the general cat population in CatWorld as this transition will better serve their needs. We are also beginning to see how CatWorld could also benefit from lessons learned in achieving success on the social front. It is a win win for all involved.

The physical school as we know it will no longer exist at Rescue Village- our temporary housing. Many of Miss Sherry’s Finishing School techniques and tools will be implemented in CatWorld within a more open environment so that all the cats residing at the sanctuary may benefit from what we have learned.

This change will enable us to move forward and continue to develop a socialization program that will ensure a brighter future for all cats.

Our full-figured glamour gal, Milkmouth, who is now a happy girl in San Diego. Saying good-bye to Sherry and the gang. Read :Would you like a little surf with your sand? where Milkmouth's famly keep us up to date with this kitty who was so terrified when she came into school that it was like she wanted to be invisible. Check out the entry on Milkmouth and her dad.

Posted Sep 13 2008, 04:12 PM by BarbaraWilliamson

Comments

Posted 13 Sep 2008 8:03 PM by bobmiegl

As a volunteer that has been coming up to work at the Finishing School every month since February, I am deeply saddened to hear that Miss Sherry's is closing down.

Corinne and I have seen first hand the amazing progress that this school has made possible.

To take a cat so afraid that it had to be netted to get to school, to a cat that welcomes and trust humans again is a wonderful thing to behold.

These proven techniques that have been developed by Sherry Woodard and Terri Gonzalez need to be taught to as many people as possible in their original form.

I honestly find it hard to believe that the most powerful adoption tool Best Friends has EVER had is going to be cast aside. The fantastic adoption rate that the Finishing School has had must make everyone take notice.

It has been my pleasure to have seen the magic that has been performed by Terri.

I want to thank all the caregivers that have taught me so much and all the other volunteers that have become friends. I will miss the feeling of accomplishment I have felt every month when I see how much progress has been made.

I only hope that these proven techniques will not be lost among the masses.

The Pahrump cats are a very special group that I feel should never be forgotten.

Bob Miegl

Posted 15 Sep 2008 3:57 PM by Mamakitty2

Ditto what Bob just said...

As a volunteer that helped in Pahrump as well as Miss Sherry's Finishing School in Rescue Village, I have seen some of the most amazing transformations from shy, fearful, sometimes aggressive kitties to loving lap cats. I am currently fostering three Pahrump kitties that have benefitted tremendously by we all learned from the Nye County Cats.

I am saddened to think that there may be kitties from Pahrump who may no longer have the opportunity to benefit from this program and do hope that what we have learned will not be abandoned. I believe with all my heart that for many of these cats, all they need is the chance to regain trust in humans to enable them to move forward in the quest to find their forever homes.

I know that I will never forget what I have learned, not just from the cats but from Sherry W and Terri G as well... Thanks to you ladies for all you have done to change the perception of what these amazing felines are truely capable of!

Shari Timberlake

Posted 15 Sep 2008 4:07 PM by carrie_fosters

I was really hoping that, rather than move these guys into areas where they can go back to hiding, they and other shy cats in Cat World would be exposed to these techniques. Is there some way that the techniques learned with these cats could be put to work throughout Cat World if you no longer want to keep the centralized "school"? Maybe a few cages set up in each building specifically for this purpose?

Posted 16 Sep 2008 1:18 AM by Gilla

I am feeling quite lost.

We are leaving home on Wednesday and will be on our way to Best Friends to work with the Pahrump cats and to help more graduate to find wonderful homes. Now it will all be gone by the time we get there in October. How sad!

Hopefully I can work with a few of the cats in different buildings, if they are not hiding in the rafters.

Thank you Sherry, Terri and all the wonderful volunteers for all you have done for these sweet felines.

Big hugs all around. Gilla

Posted 16 Sep 2008 6:48 PM by Cat_Masher

It sounds to me like the work itself will continue, and that they will be continuing to learn how to apply the socialization techniques to the cats in Cat World.

My question for BF would be: If I'm a volunteer who wants to come to BF to learn and apply the Miss Sherry techniques for socializing anti-social cats, will I still be able to do so within the larger Cat World setting?

If so, I think that this will bring even more opportunities for these new techniques to migrate into more traditional shelter settings.

Posted 23 Sep 2008 3:16 AM by moonvine

For those of us unable to travel to Best Friends, I'd love to see a webinar set up with some of the techniques. We do sometimes rescue "skittish" kitties and new socialization techniques are always welcome.