Since it has been a rainy week for Jacksonville, you’re probably looking for something to do outside of your house. A roller derby event is just the thing you need! It’s a great way to enjoy some time with friends, let go of your cabin fever, and help raise funds for Catty Shack while you’re at it (all funds raised through this event go to help the ranch).

Friday, June 1 is the last day to buy advance tickets to the Roller Derby event through us…just ask to buy some tickets from our cashier when you’re out visiting the ranch for our Friday Night Feeding. If you can’t make it out to visit our cats and get your advanced tickets, you can buy tickets at the door – only $12!

Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate with us for Freddy’s 7th birthday! On Saturday, May 26 and Sunday, May 27, Freddy received birthday cakes and presents for his big day. Pam Shearer and Dan Lynaugh donated a birthday present box (seen in one of our photos), which Freddy thoroughly destroyed once all onlookers left. And what was wrapped within the box? A raw piece of chicken – the perfect treat for the perfect day!

If you would like to see a video of Freddy with his present (from May 26), you can see it here: Day One of Freddy’s Birthday!

Unfortunately, due to the storm that hit the Jacksonville area on Sunday, we had to cancel our daytime event for Monday, May 28. All animals were safe; however, we had a few downed trees and branches that needed to be cleaned up. Thanks to our volunteers, we were able to clean up the debris the next day. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused visitors and hope you come out to visit us for another event soon!

Community First Credit Union of Florida awarded Catty Shack $1,000 for winning the second round of their Investing in You contest. We would like to extend a huge “thank you” to Community First and to everyone who took the time to vote for us. The $1,000 will help buy construction materials to build new kitty kabins for our cats.

Community First recently came out to the ranch, awarded Curt and Kim the $1,000 check and created a quick video highlighting what our project will focus on. Interested in learning more? View the video!

On May 18, the Jacksonville Jaycees and Impact Jax came out for a Catty Shack Work Day! We are so lucky to have great groups of people like these, willing to spend their time helping us work around the ranch. During the Work Day, we got a lot done – the groups helped with everything from weeding to painting to working on the new enclosures (which are now done!)

The Jacksonville Jaycees is a group of young adults that work together on community service project (like this!), helping to provide business leadership training through these projects. The Jacksonville Jaycees were founded in 1922 and Jaycee chapters can now be found in every state of the country.

Impact Jax is the young professionals program of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce. The group provides a place for young professionals to network, engage in the Chamber, and actively help make Jacksonville an attractive prospect for young professionals.

Thank you to both groups for spending the day with us. If you are interested in setting up a work day with us, please contact us.

After much deliberation, “yellow” and “orange” cubs have their forever names! These two girls are sisters and are growing up with our three other cubs – Jade, Cayenne, and Nikki. All five baby girls were re-homed on New Year’s Eve day and just turned 6 months old!

“Yellow” cub’s name is Amara. From Indian origin, the name means “eternal.”

“Orange” cub’s name is Misha, from Russian origin. The name means “like God.”

Again, we would like to thank everyone who participated in the naming contest. The proceeds from the contest have helped with the costs of raising five rambunctious cubs and building their new habitat (a new habitat costs about $10,000!) The girls are now out for public viewing during all tours, so make sure to check out our hours of operation, and come see the girls grow up.

Below, you can see a picture of the girls’ new Kitty Kabin.