Message from the Director In Loving Memory: The Story of Bigger I can only judge how many years ago it was by the fact that I was married at the time. It must have been 1990 or 1991. I was driving south on 40th street in my neighborhood when what did I see but a very strange sight indeed. It was a poorly looking cat sitting on the sidewalk on the main road. I drove by wondering what he was doing there….. I turned back and he was gone so I turned in a side street where I spied him ducking into a run off drain. I pulled up and out he came. “Who are you?” I asked. I imagine he was thinking the same thing. “Where is your mommy?” It was a rhetorical statement, as I did not really expect him to reply; he was after all a cat. Not much of him left in his emaciated condition. I tried to get him into the car to no avail and away he went. I put out a little pile of cat food and out he came. I left him there eating. I went home and told my now ex-husband about this cat; the skinniest I’d ever seen. Big with long legs and young but no energy like the life had been kicked out of him. “You better go back and get him,” he said. “I know” I said, relieved that hubby agreed. And so began the story of “Bigger” one of the biggest tallest males in the history of CHARM.. When I went back for Bigger, a neighbor came out and said she had been watching and thought I had him. No I said let’s try again. Now with a very large cat carrier in tow and lots of canned cat food I had him!!!!! Home we went and into a nice clean cage with a bowl of food and water and, of course, the litter box which he knew very well how to use.

EASTER LILIES POISONOUS Before you go out and buy that beautiful Easter Lily, please think twice. Many people don't realize that lilies are a deadly poison to our feline friends. Please consult this ASPCA Article by Deborah Sindell for more information. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES The spring months are some of the busiest of the year, we need your help, Click here for more information. Olivia Russell: 'Love That Cat!' 04/17/03 Babies, Babies, Everywhere. What on earth do you do if you end up with a batch of orphaned kittens? Don't panic, this wonderful woman will tell you everything you need to know about raising your own litter. 10/02/02 Meet Max-a-Million Max is one of our special boys here at CHARM. When he got hit by a car, we stepped in and helped to give him a second chance. Here's his story. New Times 8/9/01 Pet Peeves Public pressure gives the campaign for no-kill animal shelters a new lease on life Mary Jo Raffone 8/1/01 Who killed Buddy? A run-in (but not out) with a local animal shelter

There is a standing joke about Bigger. His memory lives on as the cat that didn’t come up for air for 5 days--so engrossed was he in his mission of eating that he basically ignored all of us except his litter box. Eat, drink, sleep. It was a rhythm he had going. I would talk to him while he ate, drank and slept. But he ignored me. I imagine he thought me quite the pest. A few days into this one of our board members, Sarah Work, came over to see this emaciated cat. We could not believe that no one fed him after his family just moved and left him. So domesticated was he that he could not figure out how to take care of himself. He was a typical pet cat: a bit of a baby and an oversized one at that. And so he continued on his mission of consuming volumes of food until he got back up to his fighting form. For Sarah it was instant love; for me instant jealousy as she and Bigger got all lovey dovey together. From that day on they were together until his recent death from congestive heart failure. She recently contacted CHARM to tell of his passing and to give thanks for the many wonderful years they had together. Pets and animals in general add so much to our lives. Sarah recounts her life with ‘The Bigger.” She says, “ I knew from the start what a special cat he was and we had a special connection. Life without him leaves a big empty hole in my heart. He died in my arms as the vet put him to sleep. I hate sleeping without him.” She reminded me of how his tongue used to hang out and we would laugh and call him ‘Tongy.’ It’s those little things that make me start to cry. Just one act of kindness a long time ago gave a homeless cat, and the woman who loved him, a joy filled life. Sarah portrays the type of owner we want for our CHARM cats. No matter what they are cared for. No matter what they stay together as a family. Shortly after Sarah adopted Bigger CHARM was featured on a local TV show. I asked to take Bigger. He was quite the Celeb tooling confidently around the stage as the camera followed him. Then coming back to me when called upon to do a ‘lap shot’. Sarah also related to me that Bigger wanted to thank me. That really made me cry. In the hopes we can help more like Bigger please give to our “Bigger Fund”; the fund we hope will keep getting BIGGER!!!!! CHARM has created a ministry out of helping male cats. Most people ask for females because they are afraid males will spray. We at CHARM feel you are really missing out if you don't have a "Big Boy" in your life. We also refer to them as reformed WWF’s. Stay tuned for more stories on “The Big Boys of CHARM” and be sure to visit our personal section on Petfinder's web site: www.charmcats.petfinder.org. There you may find the Big Boy that's right for you. As always we give thanks for the joy animals bring into our lives. We also give thanks for the joy Bigger brought to so many lives! We give thanks for answered prayers. Mary Jo Raffone Director

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