Independent Cat Society Mewsletter Fall 2021

For the friends of the Independent Cat Society, a no-kill cat shelter

Fall 2021 #170

Special Gala Thank You! Michigan City Animal Hospital LLC Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Olson Veterinary Services - The Dr. L. Dale and Mickey Olson Fund for Animals Westchester Animal Clinic

Our 2021 Cat’s Meow Gala was a success – thank you to everyone who attended, donated, planned and worked the event this year. A good time was had by all!

We especially enjoyed the Popcorn Bar from Chicagoland Popcorn, the wonderful magic by Joe Bennett, and, of course, the hospitality and great food at Blue Chip Casino, Hotel & Spa. We’d like to take a moment to thank our corporate sponsors and contributors. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Sponsors: Boy-Conn Printers Inc

Centier Bank Chesterton Feed & Garden Center Dawn Collins Executive Realty Garage Experts of NWI Hero Pet Animal Hospital Published for the friends of the Independent Cat Society, Inc. PO Box 735, Westville, IN 46391 (219) 785-4936 Web: www.catsociety.org Email: info@catsociety.org Facebook: facebook.com/INCatSociety The Independent Cat Society, Inc., founded in 1977, is a non-profit, no-kill cat shelter on US Rt 6 at the Porter/LaPorte County Line Road in Westville, Indiana.

Our mission is to rescue, shelter, adopt, and

Silent Auction and Raffle Donors Beechwood Golf Course Bow Wow and Meow Cat Trees by Max Chesterton Feed & Garden Chewy ChicagoLand Popcorn Evexia Salt Caves Float 60 Gelsosomo’s Pizza- Chesterton Hero Pet Animal Hospital Pet Supplies Plus - La Porte Retreat at Serendipity Trinity Salon - Viki Gorman You Sleuth

promote the spaying and neutering of cats in our Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland community.

Adoption hours: By appointment: shelter@catsociety.org or (219) 785-4936.

About our Adoption Fees Include: Spay/neuter, vet exam, feline leukemia and FIV test; age-appropriate vaccinations; parasite treatment; tattoo ID/microchip; 30 Day No-Cost Pet Insurance; Hills Science Diet coupon; and free post-adoption participating vet visit.

Please check our website or shelter for monthly adoption specials!

Board of Directors President: Jocelyn Vereb Vice-President: Paulette Gonzalez Recording Secretary: Beth Hayden Corresponding Secretary: Carol Albrecht Treasurer: Natalie Cebulski Board Members: Diana Foster Jami Heying Bernard Howard Amanda Vargas

Memorials and Tributes In memory of Victor Contri, from his friends at Horizon Bank In memory of Bowtie Kitty, from Karen Coambs In memory of Helen Gardner, from her loving friends and family: Walter Breitinger, Karen Lauper, Gary & Victoria McKinley, and Frances Saar In memory of Eileen Lindberg, from Richard Lindberg In memory of our mom and grandma, Brenda McGinley, from Karen McGinley and Kim & Randy Freij In memory of Lucky and all other pets who have passed, from Florence Schneider In memory of Tiger, from Elaine Torabi In memory of Kiki, from Pat Carillo In memory of Jeff Edens, from Suzanne Abbott In memory of Shadow, from Donald & Barbara Thomas In memory of Rebel, from Christine Gerlach In memory of Alan M. Landing, from Wolfgang Mueller In memory of Koko, Halvorsen, Mona, and Torie, from Ruth Ann & Keith Kreider In memory of Muffin and Katie, from Tim & Sharon Fizer In memory of Sweetheart, from Michael & Selina Modesett In memory and appreciation for Bill Foster, from Judy & Al Lindmark In memory of our sweet cat Buddy, from Camille Beasley In memory of Donald Gemberling, from Ruth Knoll In memory of Keith Greasby, from Dawn & Stephen Heckard In memory of Meisha, we’ll see you on the other side, from Wayne & Carol Albrecht In memory of Bailey and Suki, from Judith Blanchette In honor and memory of Paul Pearson, from his many friends and family, including Jessica Biggs, Michael & Beverly Croninger, Kathy Lewis, Pat Longowski, Bert & Ernest Pearson, Maridean Young, and Bonnie Zosso In memory of Kim Kempf Nash, from Lois Ward and the Kids & Clays Foundation In memory of Mary, adopted 7 years ago, from Arlene Maxwell In memory of Darlene Mitchell, from Kevin & RJ Mallon, Denise Musch, Andrea Postelmans, Carol Prohaska, Barbara Otto, and Beth Simola In memory of my mom, Judy Fredenburg, from Laura Beach In memory of Dewey Birchfield, intrepid master of the house and cat extraordinaire, from Eileen Coates and her family In honor of Beth Braun and in memory of Kelly Braun, from Renee Bosgraaf In honor of Kayla Brennan on her birthday In honor of Patches and Taz, from Kay Miller In honor of Paulette Gonzalez, for her dedication, time, and hard work with ICS over many years, from Pamela Vrablic

Sponsorships and Thank You’s In addition to the donors and sponsors we’ve noted for the Gala, we need to make a special note of the following businesses who have provided services and donations throughout the year. Please support them with your business! For a full list of our Corporate Sponsors, please see http://catsociety.org/sponsorships.html.

Financial Institutions: 1st Source Bank Allegius Credit Union Centier Northern Indiana Federal Credit Union Online: AmazonSmile Cat’s Pride Litter for Good Program Vision Anthologies Local Businesses: Burns Pets Remembered Crematory Flanagin’s Bulk Mail Service KarahTess Clothing & Lettering Old Time Country Market Vincent’s Hair Design Allied Door & Hardware, LLC Amps & Volts Electric Greentree Environmental Services, Inc Morton Buildings Per Mar Security Plumbing Solutions USA Insulation

And ALL of our Participating Veterinarians: All Creature Features, LaPorte Arbor View Animal Hospital, Valparaiso Ark of the Dunes Animal Hospital, Chesterton Gast Animal Hospital, Valparaiso Hero Pet Animal Hospital, Westville LaPorte Animal Hospital, LaPorte Maple City Animal Hospital, LaPorte McAfee Animal Hospital, Valparaiso Michigan City Animal Hospital, Michigan City New Carlisle Animal Hospital, New Carlisle Olson Veterinary Services, Randi Olson DVM Westchester Animal Clinic, Porter Vale Park Animal Hospital, Valparaiso

Attention Volunteers!

You often see us asking for extra help with Fundraising Events and other activities, but did you know there are many other things we need your help with around the shelter, inside and out?

For example, this winter we have a number of maintenance activities inside the shelter to improve the environment for the cats, as well as visitors, other volunteers and our employees. Our primary building maintenance volunteer, Jim, can’t do everything by himself, so we need others who can help him when needed. When the weather allows, we have outdoor tasks as well, especially in the spring with the clean-up of the garden and grounds.

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If you are interested in becoming part of our Building Maintenance team, please email us at shelter@catsociety. org with your email address and/or phone number, and we will contact you with more information about these maintenance tasks.

If you aren’t already a volunteer, please complete our volunteer application at http://catsociety.org/volunteer. html and be sure to check your interest in Grounds/Gardening and/or Maintenance.

Thank you, and we look forward to working with you!

President’s Message I’d like to give a special thanks to those of you who have been answering our pleas for supplies, some of which have been difficult to get consistently through our normal channels. Thank you for your generosity.

Wow – it’s November already!

Where has 2021 gone?

Congratulations to our newly elected (or re-elected) board members for 2022!

Fiona and I hope to see you soon!

Jocelyn Vereb, ICS Board President with Fiona, ICS “Office Manager”

Vice-President: Jami Heying Corresponding Secretary: Carol Albrecht Members-at-Large: Jodi Dusek and Diana Foster

Our 2021 Wish List

Our last in-person event of 2021 will be our Holiday Open House on December 11th and 12th. Our baked goods, toys, and crafts will be availble, so come on out to join us! Please note that we will not be having our January Used Book Sale, however the ICS/TNR Project is working on a special event January 22-23. Our Sweetheart contest will also begin in January, including an in-person Sweetheart Day Event on Saturday, February 26th at the Valparaiso Moose Lodge.

Cleaning supplies • Dryer sheets • Paper plates • Paper towels • 30-gallon trash bags • Tall kitchen garbage bags

Building & Grounds • Water softener pellets (rust prevention) • Aire Bear furnace filters 20x25x5 • 16x25x2 furnace filters (no fiberglass)

At the shelter, adoptions continue to be steady, with over 200 kitties in forever homes! Kitten season has been relentless, but we are proud of our ability to be able to rescue and find homes for so many cats and kittens. This is all due to the dedication of our volunteers, employees and you, our generous supporters!

Featured cat: Miss Bear

Other • Dry cat food (kitten/adult) • Ground flavors of Friskies and Fancy Feast • Kuranda cleanable cat trees • Scoopable & clay litter • Gift cards to Menard’s, Home Depot

Featured cat: Meg

Featured cat: Cuddles

I want to Sponsor-A-Cat from the Independent Cat Society I have enclosed a check for:

__________ $180 for one year of Sponsor-A-Cat

__________ $15 for the first month of Sponsor-A-Cat. I pledge to send $15 each month to Sponsor-A-Cat

__________ I pledge to send the amount that fits my budget and feels “right” to Sponsor-A-Cat each month Please mark “SAC” on your envelope and check memo. The sponsor will receive a photo and biography of his or her Sponsor-A-Cat. Name of sponsor_____________________________________________ Is this a gift sponsorship? _______________ Address_________________________________________________ City______________________________________ State_______ ZIP__________ Telephone _______________________________________ Month of sponsor’s birthday______________________________ email address_______________________________________ Clip and mail to: Independent Cat Society, Inc., PO Box 735, Westville, IN 46391 3

Independent Cat Society PO Box 735 Westville, IN 46391

Non-Profit Organization US Postage

PAID

Valparaiso, IN Permit No. 134

facebook.com/ INCatSociety http://catsociety.org

Become a Member!

Annual Dues:

____ $1000 Corporation ____ $500 Platinum ____ $100 Gold Star ____ $50 Family ____ $25 Individual ____ $1­­0 Student ____ $10 Senior

­­Name____________________________________________ Address__________________________________________ City____________________ State_______ ZIP__________ ____This is a new address. ____ Do not send a “thank you” note.

Are you interested in volunteering? Please enter your contact information below!

Phone___________________________________________ Email____________________________________________ Clip and send to: Independent Cat Society, Inc., PO Box 735, Westville, IN 46391