Yes, both of you already know my ffffoooo…  ffooorrrr…  my birthday is this week.  (Turns out it’s a bigger mental milestone than I thought it would be, actually.)

Thankfully, I already have a lot of great things in my life.  My DH is first and foremost — then there’s a hutch full of yarn, and my beloved Morgan kitteh.morgan

Some people aren’t so lucky.  The current economic woes have affected lots of people — and one thing you may not be aware of is that government programs, such as food stamps and the like, do not cover pet food.

Some people are having to choose between food for themselves, and food for their pets.  The thought of this actually makes me feel sick.  I’d go hungry myself, as long as I could, before I let my pets go hungry — but there’s a limit to what a person can do without.

So even worse, some people are having to give up their companion animals.  The shelters are seeing people drop off animals that they say they "just found", but it is obvious to the shelter folks that this is a beloved family pet.  If I had to give up Mia kitteh, or the dogs, or especially Morgan — I really don’t know how I could do it — except that if I couldn’t take care of them myself, I’d have to do it, for the animal’s sake.  But what an awful decision to have to make.

Fortunately, there is a different solution.  Here in the Portland area, we have Cat Adoption Team, which is running a monthly food bank for cat food.  Cat owners in need of assistance can get a month’s worth of food at a time for their pets.

Of course, this puts a strain on CAT’s budget.  So as a birthday gesture, I have taken on the CAT Care-a-Thon Challenge — which is to find eleven people to donate eleven dollars in honor of the eleventh anniversary of CAT.

If you are willing and able, I would be honored if you would take a few minutes to visit my secure donation page at http://www.firstgiving.com/cheezfrenz and help out.  Thanks! 

Update:  Carol suggested adding the mailing address, so here it is:

Cat Adoption Team
14175 SW Galbreath Drive
Sherwood, OR 97140
503) 925-8903

(We also have a dog food bank available in the Portland area, at www.fido-clackamas.org.)