VOLUME 2, ISSUE 3

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"I could talk about cats all day!"  When I interviewed Lilo for the Kitty Scoop, I realized she wasn't kidding.  She CAN talk about cats all day.

Lilo Bernheisel, a full-time elementary school teacher, has been volunteering with Folsom Feline Rescue (FFR) since the inception of the group in the year 2000.   Lilo met John and Janet Bennett when she did volunteer work for another group, Cats About Town Society.  When John and Janet Bennett split off from Cats About Town Society to start their own cat rescue group, Lilo joined them.

Lilo loves fostering.  She cares for a maximum of three foster cats at any one time.  She staffs an adoption event every other week.  She has strict standards for adopters of the cats she fosters.  She screens each potential adopter and questions them about their desire for an indoor or an outdoor cat.  If they want an outdoor cat, she refers them to other resources.  After an adoption of one of her foster kitties, she follows up with a telephone call to make sure the adoptee is adjusting and to see if the new owners have any questions.  In some instances, she calls a second time. 

"Do you cry when your fosters are adopted out?" I asked.  "Sometimes," she said, "It depends on how long I've had them."

When asked about the "indoor only" policy, she told me she learned the hard way that cats need to be kept indoors.  Her home backs up to a natural ravine and creek area and she had the unpleasant experience of losing three to the coyotes or other animals before she knew there was a threat.  Now, it's "indoor only" for Lilo and for Folsom Feline Rescue for that matter.

Lilo is so dedicated to cats that she remodeled her home to add on a cat room equipped with scratching posts, beds, toys, litter boxes, and feeding bowls to accommodate a number of felines.  I asked her the number of cats that she has as pets, but I discovered that number is confidential.  I asked her how many kittens she had ever fostered at one time.  "I had 10 once."  "That was insane," she said,  "I learned my lesson."

Besides fostering and staffing the adoptions, Lilo has worked on special projects for the group, including the construction of the FFR display for the community fair at Sunrise Mall.  She is a dedicated foster and a committed advocate for cats.  If you have any questions about cat care or about cats as pets, talk to Lilo.  She's knowledgeable and she has "hands-on" experience. 

Here we are again at the Sacramento PetExpo. We learned a lot from last year's experience. We begin each day by spraying the cages with Feliaway to help calm the cats and kittens for adoption. This year we also have hand disinfectants available to help keep the infection rate down on our cats. I can relate to the stress level put on the cats at this event because I started to feel it Monday before the event even started on Friday. It is amazing the amount of work that goes in to preparing for an event like this. It all pays off on Friday when you can stand back and look at a professional booth that promotes your cause and stresses your efforts on spay, neuter, and feral programs. My smile grows on Friday as I enter our booth and see piles of Nutro food products to hand out. This is one of the benefits to these events, Freebies! From the very first event two years ago we have put up our Nutro banner and it pays off.

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