UPBEAT TIMES • January 2014 • 11 Redwood Empire Pets SNAP Cats: Special Needs Are Precious! From Darryl Roberts, Executive Director ~ SNAP Cats


an educational center where the community – including boys & girls clubs, 4-H, wounded veter- ans, local schools and other groups – will be invited to learn more about special needs cats and how their special


needs


SONOMA COUNTY, CA. ~ SNAP Cats, founded by Darryl Roberts in June 2013, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to the rescue and care of spe- cial needs cats. As we know, our local shelters are full, and unfortunately the first animals to be euthanized (killed) are old animals, for lack of adop- tion interest, and special needs animals because shelters are not equipped, either physical- ly or financially, to house spe- cial needs animals. Cats are high on the kill list because there are many more cats who need homes than dogs. That’s where SNAP Cats steps in. Located in Healdsburg,


SNAP Cats’ vision is to work with local shelters to rescue special needs cats (including


two seasons in Scotland: June and Winter.


Billy Connolly There are


older cats), give them a won- derful place to live, work with their special needs (therapy), then try to find them a lov- ing home. For cats that aren’t adopted, they will spend the rest of their lives with SNAP Cats.


Roberts’ goal is to create a unique rescue and sanctuary. He wants his facility to be a Disneyland for cats and peo- ple, with a fun, interactive and inviting atmosphere. Roberts wants visitors and volunteers to leave with a huge smile on their face (and maybe a few cats!). He believes the more positive energy people bring to the facility the better the cats will feel and respond to therapy. SNAP Cats will also house


TASTING BAR WIDE OPEN and therapy “toys” for


can be an advan- tage instead of a handicap. There will be a library of books, bro- chures, comput- ers and interactive media, along with all sorts of games the


cats. The more the community understands special needs cats the less likely they’ll discrimi- nate against them, resulting in more being adopted. Using their Facebook page


(facebook.com/SNAPCats) and website (snapcats.org), SNAP Cats is working with rescues and shelters to feature adoptable special needs cats in Sonoma County. They are also placing books (binders) in County pet shops so people don’t have to go online to see who’s available. Pet shops currently hosting SNAP Cats books are: NorCal Pet Supply in Santa Rosa; FROLIC: For Pets in Windsor; and Bow Wow Meow in Healdsburg. More books will be placed in the coming months. SNAP Cats’ most current


concern is finding a new home so they can save more special needs cats. Their goal is to find a vacant small school or church or converted barn or some sort of facility that has a large communal room, with a few smaller rooms for offices and a clinic. If you know of or have a facility like this please email darryl@snapcats.org.


Weird Facts & Trivia - 3


In the Georgian calendar, the calendar that most of the world uses, January is the very first month of the year. The name January came from a Roman god Janus. According to the Roman legend, in 700 B.C., the ruler Numa Pompilius added January to the end of the 10-month Roman calendar. When it was added, Pompilius gave 30 days to January. However, Romans later made January the first month of the year. Moreover, in 46 B.C. Julius Caesar added a one more day to January and that's why there are 31 in January today.


CAT DREAMS


John Follansby of Windsor, CA. sends us a photo of his cat Poncho.


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UPBEAT TIMES • January 2014 • 11


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