HOW FUZZBUCKET FARM BEGAN

The founder, Tiffany, worked on a thoroughbred horse breeding farm in Ohio over 15 years ago where they had a stray cat population problem. You would see pregnant mamas everywhere and kittens of various ages wandering around. The kittens would perish, from getting kicked/stepped on by the horses, to getting stuck in between walls and starving to death, to drinking anti-freeze and hiding in car/tractor engines upon start-up in winter, to normal upper respiratory illnesses, to freezing to death in the hay lofts. Additionally, the farm owners also enjoyed letting their dogs loose on the cats and kittens for sport, and using them for BB gun practice. The vet who came out to work on the horses also had a small animal practice, so Tiffany struck a deal with them to help her catch, spay/neuter, and release the cats and kittens over a period of two years. The owners of the farm laughed at her, so it came out of her pocket and later her parents stepped in to help as well. There were at least twenty cats at the start, mamas and their babies, plus one Don Juan who wandered in periodically from a local subdivision. Some of the mama cats were very feral, so we could just do capture-spay-release. Many of the older kittens and babies were taken in by Tiffany and her parents to help socialize them for adoption, plus the mamas that were more stray than feral. After a long two year process, she had a stable population of six females who kept everyone else at bay, and were fed on a daily basis by the new farm manager. After all was said and done, she rescued or captured/released nearly thirty cats and kittens on the farm.

Tiffany then went on for her Masters degree in Georgia, taking some of her feline friends to the sunny South, and continued rescuing due to a stray cat population problem from all the students. When students would leave for the summer, or even on holiday break, there would be an influx of cats tossed out because the student’s parents didn’t want their kid to bring home their pet. Tiffany rescued 23 cats over a period of two and a half years while going to school, placing some into forever homes through a local vet and other local rescue groups.

When she moved back north to Ohio, her parents had continued rescuing in her absence. Tiffany picked up again, concentrating on stray cats around apartment complexes and shopping plaza garbage dumps. After Tiffany met her future husband, they took the official steps toward beginning a 501c3 animal rescue and Wishful Thinking Endeavors (Fuzzbucket Farm) was born.  Since then, they have rescued cats (and a few dogs, ducks and rabbits too) from all sorts of conditions across the state, including 23 abandoned cats from the home they bought for themselves that had been vacant for five years. Tiffany's parents still continue to rescue in their neighborhood, with some luck of reuniting people with their pets but mostly these animals are being dumped or kicked out for various reasons. Additionally, her parents are trying to help with a feral/stray cat populations out at two office complexes near them in Centerville.

Sadly, it never ends; there is always a poor critter in need of love and TLC, and most times not enough room and money to help. We always need more space, volunteers, and of course that dreaded word, money. Winning the lottery would be a blessing, but in the meantime, we and other rescues and shelters need your attention and love. Hopefully one day, all the critters will be able to find a loving family to grow old with.