A Haven for Cats on Long Island - The Patricia H. Ladew Foundation

I’m sure it will be no surprise to our readers that when I attended Cat Camp in March my favorite spot was the adoption area. There were several shelters and rescues present, but I was particularly happy to see that the Patricia H. Ladew Foundation was there. I had been familiar with the Ladew Foundation for quite some time, receiving their newsletters and following them on Facebook, and I had been wanting to visit the sanctuary. I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Susan Whittred during Cat Camp who graciously invited me for a tour. 

Life at the sanctuary

The sanctuary is a very lovely, unassuming house situated on a residential street in Oyster Bay, NY. A caretaker lives in an apartment on the premises to make sure the daily needs of the cats are attended to. In addition to the caretaker, there are three full-time staff, three part-time staff and approximately 10 consistent volunteers, who are the cats’ family. 

Photo courtesy of theladewcatsanctuary.org

It’s the Year of the Cat! Celebrate with Wellness® Complete Health Cat Food #HealthyMeetsHappy

Hello, everyone. This is Lexy checking in with some exciting news. It’s the Year of the Cat, and it’s time to celebrate! A great way to honor your favorite feline is to give them some wholesome, natural nutrition with Wellness® Complete Health™.

As part of our festivities, Lola and I took a little trip to PetSmart with Mother to pick out some Wellness cat food.

Throwback Thursday - Our First Nose Kiss!

Hello, and Happy Thursday! Today's throwback photos were taken about six weeks after I moved in.  I was lounging on the bed one day... 

It's Lexy's Seventh Gotcha Day!

Hello, everyone! This is Lexy and I’m here to tell you that today is a very special day. It’s my Gotcha Day! But like to refer to it as “the day my life changed forever." 

It’s actually a two-part day with the first being April 10. Seven years ago on April 10, 2010, Mother and I found each other. It was serendipitous if I do say so myself. By happenstance, Mother found herself in Petco in Nanuet, NY the same day I happened to be “on display” at an adoption event with Hudson Valley Humane Society. 

I quickly accepted my reign as Queen at the White House. 

Throwback Thursday - My not so Secret Hiding Place!

Hello, and Happy Thursday! Not long ago Mommy wrote a post that included some older photos of us. Our friends, Momma Kat and Her Bear Cat told us how much they loved one of the photos. Well, guess what? I was sitting on Mommy's lap last night while we were looking through some old files on the computer, and we found a little surprise! We thought Momma Kat and Bear would love to see them. 

Let me set the scene. When I first moved here, I didn't like when Lexy chased me, so I used to hide in the wall unit. This is usually how it went...

Lexy will never find me here.

We won a Certificate of Excellence from the Cat Writers Association!

Lola: Hello and Happy Wednesday! We have exciting news for you today!  *chases tail in a circle*

Lexy: Lola, calm down! You'll  make yourself dizzy!

Lola: *plops down* I'm just so excited! You tell everyone, Lexy, while I catch my breath.

Lexy: Ahem... We are happy to announce that Lola The Rescued Cat has won two Certificates of Excellence from the Cat Writer's Association for two of our blog posts.

Cats Helping Children with Autism

April is National Autism Awareness Month. This is an opportunity to promote autism awareness, autism acceptance, and to draw attention to the tens of thousands facing an autism diagnosis each year. The aim of this month is to educate the public about autism, which is a complex, lifelong, condition and developmental disability characterized by difficulties in the way a person communicates and interacts with other people. I’ve been working with adults and children on the Autism Spectrum since 1988, and in one of the many newsletters I get at work I saw a brief mention about cats improving social skills in children with Autism. This piqued my interest so I decided to read more about it.  

Animal Assisted Therapy or AAT (also known as Pet Therapy) is a type of therapy that involves an animal with specific characteristics becoming a fundamental part of a person's treatment. Animal-assisted therapy is designed to improve the physical, social, emotional, and/or cognitive functioning of the patient, as well as provide educational and motivational effectiveness for participants. 

In general, AAT has many benefits which include improved interactions with others.  There is a growing body of research which suggests that this dynamic may be helpful for children with autism and could account for increased social interaction when the children are living in a home with pets. There are also many articles written about it, however, most of the information relates to dogs and horses.  I didn’t find any empirical research related to cats being used in AAT with children or adults with Autism. I did, however, find some anecdotal stories about cats helping children on the spectrum. 

Iris Grace Halmshaw is a young Autistic girl who is a talented painter. The behind the scenes assistant is her therapy cat, Thula. Thula has decreased Iris Grace’s anxiety over daily life activities and has also encouraged her to be more social. Thula offers Iris Grace her companionship, friendship and supports Iris Grace’s mother in encouraging her to interact. 

Photo Credit: Bored Panda