The Heaviness of Being Dependent on Other People

cold snowy day

I’ve been emotionally struggling recently, a combination of post-holiday ennui with a reflection on my current situation. Also, I miss my nephews. One reality I cannot avoid is that I am not self-sufficient. I haven’t had to think about myself as unit of independent sufficiency for 20+ years. Now I’m caught in the fallout of […]

Photos: Community Cats in Cold Winter Weather

The trail cameras on my deck captured stunning images of our cat colony this week. The camera is next to their heated water bowl and lined up with the two heated shelters. The gallery is here We see them at vulnerable moments, escaping the cold or readying to face it. Proximity to the water dish […]

Gallery: Community Cats in Cold Winter Weather

A little background information here

Pet Food Pantry Registers Ten New Households

Pet Food Pantry Pittsburgh

Yesterday, we restocked the Dr. John P. Ruffing VMD Pet Food Pantry with recent donations and strategized on the January distribution. We continue to believe that inflation is impacting our pantry households and potential donors. We’ve added ten households – six members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh who are on strike from the Pittsburgh […]

My best friend Dr. John Ruffing died 17 years ago. His legacy is now a pet food pantry.

Dr. Ruffing Pet Food Pantry

All week, I’ve been loading donations for The Dr. John P. Ruffing VMD Pet Food Pantry into my borrowed Land Rover that we’ve dubbed St. Gertrude or Gertie. She contains multitudes of cat food. Now,there’s no interior light so I bought a head lamp. I added a USB port to the cigarette light – oh […]

The Reason My Cats Think I’m Horrible

Our second month of pet food distribution is underway. We have 50 total colony caretakers registered and 26 are active. All feed cats, some have dogs. Our main focus is dry cat food, especially during these winter months.  We’ll need bags of food in the 10-20 pound range. Smaller bags can be combined as well. […]

Winter Holiday Pet Food Drive Needs 160 Cans of Cat Food Right Now

pet food drive cat lady

Big thanks to cat food donors Danielle, Sherry, Christina, Richard and a ton of anonymous donors. And to our own Marie who dipped into her personal pantry of cat food to even out the distribution. Right now, we need 120 cans of cat food to round up November’s distribution. Can you donate toward that? Drop-off […]

This Holiday Pet Food Drive Update Brought to You By Math, Dental Treats, and a Land Rover

It is almost #Caturday so time to update you on the Dr. John P. Ruffing VMD Pet Pantry Holiday Drive. The pantry serves cat colony caretakers, feeders, TNRs, rescues, and love income pet owners. We prioritize the 18 neighborhoods of the Northside along with adjacent communities. You can register at this link: bit.ly/PetFolxPetFoodPantry Currently, we […]

Sign Up For “The Ruff” Pet Food Pantry for Cat Colony Caretakers

Cat colony caretakers,  feeders, and low income pet owners are encouraged to register for “The Ruff” Dr. John P. Ruffing VMD Pet Food Projects pet food pantry. We distribute based on donations received – we are brand new. This month we gave out 11 pounds of dry and 24 cans of wet to each of […]

A Cat Named Tommy Lived 16 Years, But Only One Week of His Life Inside

This is the story of a very specific feral cat by the name of Tommy. It is also parts of the stories of all feral cats. It is a farewell tribute. It is a call to action. Tommy first showed up in our backyard in 2017. He was sturdy and ate a lot of food. […]