SPECIAL OFFER - LIMITED TIME
Through a special, anonymous contribution and until funds run out, our adoption fee per cat will be reduced by $25 to $125. The anonymous contributor will donate $25 to Challenger's House for each cat or kitten adopted.
SCHEDULE CHANGE AT SHELTER IN TONEY - Our new schedule at the shelter, effective immediately, will be as follows: Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday - 11am-5pm by appointment only; Friday & Saturday - 11am-5pm; CLOSED Sunday & Monday.
PLEASE NOTE: Our adoption schedule at PETsMART on University Drive will be as follows: Tuesday & Friday evenings from 6-8:30pm and Saturday from 11am-5pm. Wednesday evening adoptions have been discontinued indefinitely.
PLEASE ADOPT AN ADULT CAT
Adult cats love attention but usually require less than busy, rambunctious kittens. Many of them are perfectly content to sit beside you and watch TV or cuddle up on your lap to be brushed or petted. Adults sometimes prefer to be alone but most of them can get along with other cats or animals as long as they are properly introduced.
We can help you choose your new family member and give you plenty of tips to make the transition easier for everybody. Cats are creatures of habit so sometimes a bit more time is necessarry to introduce them to a new home and ensure that everybody in the family - humans and kitties - remains happy & well adjusted.
ALL PETS MICROCHIPPED
When you adopt from Challenger's House, your new family member will be implanted with a microchip that will enable most shelters and vet clinics to identify the cat in case it escapes and is picked up by an individual or another shelter. This is an additional safety net for you and and your cat and is included in the adoption fee. There are no additional charges and you can update your contact information by simply phoning a toll free number or going online.
ADOPTION FEE INCREASE
Effective November 1, 2007, Challenger's House will be increasing our adoption fee to $150.00 per animal. We have not had a fee increase since 2005 and although we regret having to make this change, our expenses - especially veterinary costs - have been rising steadily.
Click on the banner below to access a Free Online Training Video brought to you by Animal Planet.
The True Blood 6 are coming. Sam, Bill, Hoyt, & Lafayette will be at Petsmart on University Drive on Friday, October 16. Along with Sookie & Terry (not quite ready yet), their names are from the HBO drama series “True Blood." True Blood details the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps (meaning "good times" in French), a fictional small northern Louisiana town. The series centers on Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a telepathic waitress at a bar, who falls in love with vampire Bill Compton The litter of 6 kittens came to Challenger’s House from a family in Gurley, AL on August 3, 2009. It was obvious that they probably had eye infections & maybe upper respiratory infections. After a few days of putting Terramycin in their eyes, and the goopiness going away, their foster mom came to realize that there was something odd going on with their upper eyelids. It’s hard to describe, but they kind of looked like there were pieces missing - like something had taken chunks out of their upper eyelids, or they’d gotten torn - but their lower eyelids were just fine. They went back to the vet on August 10 to find out what was wrong.
As it turns out, they all had “eyelid agenesis”, which basically means that their upper eyelids began forming correctly, but at a certain point they stopped - so where it looks like there’s a chunk of eyelid missing, there’s no eyelid, just fur growing down to the very edge. They all have it, some more severe than others. Terry’s the worst of the bunch - he can’t actually close his right eye all the way, which isn’t good for the eye; it gets dry and you can see that already his corneas are cloudy. There’s obviously some sort of damage to his vision at this point, but he still manages to get around pretty well. Bill’s the second worst, then Sam - and then the other three have much milder cases. Out of 12 little eyes, only 1 eye was normal. Over the course of the next 2 months there would be eye ointment and vet visits and ultimately, surgery to repair the eyelids. Dr. Wendy Rosenbek from Ardmore Companion Animal Hospital performed the eyelid surgeries sometimes at the same time as the neutering (5 boys, 1 girl) or with the more severe cases, separate surgeries so the kittens would not have to stay under anesthesia so long.
This innovative surgery consisted of taking a small piece of skin from the corners of the lips and grafting it to the existing eyelid to create more complete eyelids. This not only made their eyes more comfortable but allowed some of them the opportunity to finally close their eyes completely – something that some of them couldn’t do before.
The kittens may require lubricating ointment for a while (we will provide a couple of tubes to get you started) but more than likely, just some eye drops once in a while should do the trick. They are very well socialized and after what they’ve been through, they are amazingly resilient. Oh, and did we mention that they were some of the most loving kittens we’ve ever had?
NEED A BARN CAT?? Challenger's House has a few cats at the shelter that would be perfect for a safe, outdoor environment. These are nice cats but they have been adopted one or more times and seem to be litterbox challenged. Please contact the shelter at 256-420-5995 for more information.
We are also actively seeking volunteers to serve as adoption counselors. You must be at least 21 years old for this position. Please call 420-5995 or email (see note at bottom of page) if you are interested.
We will be holding training sessions for all volunteers on an as-needed basis.
We need help at the shelter in Toney on Sunday. Sunday hours are flexible from 9am-2pm.
If you would like to receive our newsletter by email please send a message to challengershouse@mchsi.com and put newsletter in the subject line.
Challenger's House T-shirts now on sale! $20.00 for short sleeve, colors dark purple or lavender (please specify) $22.00 for long sleeve, purple only. Add $3.00 S/H or purchase at the shelter or at PETsMART during adoption times. All cats and kittens are tested for feline leukemia and feline AIDS, checked for parasites, given vaccinations appropriate for their age, are spayed or neutered, and microchipped prior to adoption. We like to house between 50-60 cats depending on the situation and the cats' needs, so call for information concerning available space to take animals.
Challenger's House offers all adopters pet insurance through Petfirst Healthcare and sponsored by petfinder.com. Petfirst also has policies for your current pets or pets that you acquire from another source.
Challenger's House is located at 112 Tristian Road in a house situated on six acres. From Huntsville, take Jordan Lane north to Old Railroad Bed Road. There is a veterinary hospital, Country Clinic, at that intersection. Turn right (north) on Old RR Bed Road. Go 2.5 miles and turn right on Tristian Road. We are the first house on the right. We are easily accessible from Madison, Athens, and south central Tennessee. Please call for directions or we can email a map to you.
Challenger's House has been chosen as PETsMART's Love-a-Pet Partner. We house cats at the University Drive location on a continuous basis, 7 days a week. Cats/kittens not adopted in 2-3 weeks will be taken back to our shelter since we are a free-roaming facility and being caged is foreign to many of these cats. If you would like to volunteer to help care for the cats either at the shelter or at PETsMART, contact us at the address/phone/email below or come to PETsMART during our scheduled adoption time or the shelter during the hours below. PETsMART is located on University Drive in front of the Target Super Store just west of Madison Square Mall.
SHELTER HOURS:
Effective October 1, 2007 hours at the shelter will be as follows: Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday - 11am-5pm by appointment only; Friday & Saturday - 11am-5pm; CLOSED Sunday & Monday.
Adoptions at PETsMART:
PETsMART - University Drive location - adoption hours
We gladly accept donations by mail (check or money order), by phone (Mastercard/VISA), or select the button below to donate through PayPal.
Challenger's House
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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Challenger's House has the need for volunteers to take care of the cats at the University Drive PETsMART on Monday & Friday mornings. Volunteers can get there as early as 7:00am and can stay anywhere from less than an hour to 2 or 3 hours depending on how much time you want to spend playing with the cats. We do occasionally need fill-ins - especially during the holidays. You must be at least 18 years of age to work as a PETsMART volunteer by yourself or have an adult with you if you are younger. If you are interested, please call 420-5995 or email (see note at bottom of page).
Sizes small, medium, large, x-large, xx-large. These shirts have a new design with Challenger & his brother, Trooper and the words Challenger's House above.
Who We Are
Challenger's House is a limited admission, no time limit safe haven for homeless or unwanted cats. We are sorry that we cannot help all the callers who request our assistance. Challenger's House is a 501(c)3, non-profit tax exempt organization and your much needed contributions are tax deductible.
Adopting a friend
All people wanting to adopt a cat or kitten must fill out an application to give us basic information about their home & family and must go through an interview process. Our adoption fee is $150 and is refundable within 30 days if the animal is returned. Our animals always have a home with us for their lifetime if a guardian is unable to keep them.
Come Visit Us!
Jones Valley location - Challenger's House does not house cats or hold adoptions at this PETsMART location.
112 Tristian Rd.
Toney, AL 35773
Phone: 256-420-5995
Email:
challengershouse@mchsi.com
Click here for a list of pets at this shelter
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