Caboodle Ranch FAQ- CaboodleRanch.net (UPDATED)

If you're a regular reader of my blog please be sure to check out the following previous posts regarding this situation HERE and HERE first for more information. Also be sure to read www.caboodleranch.net for up to date case information.

Flounce cats: caboodle ranch edition 

I've gone back and forth about making another post on this subject here on my makeup blog. I feel like the vast majority of my posts should be about makeup, and that some people probably aren't super interested in my personal life (which is okay!). I feel though- as if I have some responsibility not only to stand up for myself publicly, but keep my readers sort of updated about this topic I've already discussed several times.

If you're a new reader I bet I can guess where you came from and who sent you here.

I also bet I can guess who sent you to my facebook, google+ account, fan page, and *snicker* some old textnovel account. Yeah, I'm not even kidding unfortunately. It sounds very naive, but up until now it never occurred to me that my involvement in the beauty community has made some of my personal information more accessible. Mostly people use that information to ask me a question or to do a review or some other totally innocuous reason.

I KNEW I'd face some negative attention from these people for my opinions (and I have since 2009). I can't be too angry that I've received backlash when I've put myself in the line of fire. But on the other hand I think some of these Pro-Caboodle Ranch people don't have a very clear sense of appropriate boundaries.

I expected a bunch of youtube comments to spill over on to my other videos at the very worst. I didn't think i'd have to pull my phone number and location information off of all the websites relating only to my makeup work. I didn't think some hack radiologist from South Lake Tahoe CA (who incidentally is also a furry... oh the things one can find out on the internets...) would use clips of my videos in his disturbing documentaries. 

Here is just a few examples of what I've had to put up with:

Caboodle Ranch Lynching- "documentary" version 2 ( Now removed)

Caboodle Ranch Lynching- version 1 (Now removed)

and another video: At Caboodle Ranch They Had a Chance (also featuring me.. I feel so special) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-2xxy6sCNI&feature=share (new link - video reuploaded)

                                       

Just one of the many colorful posts allowed on Caboodle Ranch  Inc. Fan page.

Still shot from "Caboodle Ranch Lynching". 

I've never dropped off cats at Caboodle Ranch. I've been advising people to NOT drop off cats since 2009-2010.

It's really easy to harass people when you can hide behind fake names and cartoon avatars, isn't it?

Yo dawg..I luv your inaccurate statement by Peta!

If anyone wants to purchase my face jewelry I'll be sure to donate the profits to Craig & Nanette's legal fees.

OMG they know my secret!!!! 

From what I've gathered from all their comments and videos this is a pretty accurate description of how Caboodle Ranch Inc. views me. LOL 

I am tired of addressing these issues over and over again with unreasonable people, soo these are some misconceptions I'd like to clear up for those particular people once and for all:


1. I am not affiliated with Peta. I have never been affiliated with, employed by, volunteered for, or been an investigator for Peta. I was NOT the undercover investigator in this case. By spreading a rumor like that you are making me a target for anti-Peta extremists. That is exactly why undercover investigators remain anonymous. Giving out my information and telling people to do with it what they will is highly irresponsible.

2. I am not even a Peta supporter. I side with them on many topics involving animal rights, but I do not usually agree with how they choose to deal with those problems. In this case, I agree with their very limited involvement. I think anyone questioning Peta's euthanasia statistics needs to first do some research on the organization. A lot of Peta's work involves euthanizing critically injured/terminally ill pets whose owners cannot afford to take them to a vet to do so. Euthanasia to prevent suffering is a very sad part of pet ownership and animal rescue. You cannot save every animal, and to let an animal with no chance of recovery suffer is animal cruelty.

 I wish I could live in a pretend wonderland like Craig Grant- where all cats need is cute little playhouses and no cat ever is sick/injured enough to be euthed. But unfortunately I do not.


3. I do support the ASPCA and the HSUS- however- I am not an employee or associated with them in any way. Nor is anyone I am involved with. My involvement with the HSUS is limited to volunteering to walk dogs from time to time :)


4. "What do you know about Caboodle Ranch? You've never been there.".

Nope, and neither have most of the Caboodle Ranch supporters from China, Japan and Germany. What I know about Caboodle Ranch is that when I came to them in 2009 with questions about how their sanctuary was run I was told to stop asking those questions. I met a lot of other people with the exact same questions. So we've been researching the ranch ever since..and in that time have learned more than we ever cared to know. I cannot just turn a blind eye to cold hard facts like some people choose to do. No one person can take in an unlimited amount of cats without adopting any out, or having a dedicated staff & on-site medical facility. Even if you overlook every other single fact in this whole case there is no getting around that one. Hmm..I think there's a term for that......oh yeah, I believe it's called common sense.

5. "You just want attention."

Yes, I love death threats and other random crazyness. No, actually I just wanted to bring some attention to this cause. It's safe to say I succeeded in doing that. We as a society utilize social media websites such as Youtube all the time to talk about all sorts of events in the media, as well as our personal lives. I figured it would be the fastest way to make the public aware that there was a side to Caboodle Ranch they weren't going to see from Madison Voice's staged videos. I've received many private messages from neighbors, former supporters, and from people who were going to take cats to Caboodle Ranch but then changed their mind after seeing that video. That is exactly the reason I made them. If Craig Grant has nothing to hide my personal opinions should be of no interest to him.

6. "What is your gain in this?"

Nothing. I just would like Madison county to stop harboring this hoarder who is doing a lot of harm to their community. I would like these cats to be placed in either real sanctuaries or in suitable adoptive homes. I would like this to not be allowed to reoccur ever again. I would definitely like the animal control officer working in this case to be fired. There is no personal gain for me here. And honestly even if every single one of these things happens there really will be no real sense of satisfaction. Hundreds of cats died horrible deaths at Caboodle Ranch before the raid and nothing can ever make up for that. Good people were lied to and swindled out of their money thinking they were leaving their cats somewhere wonderful. It's not going to be a happy-ending situation any way you wanna slice it.


7. "What have you done to help cats? You're a cat killer"

I would love to tell you all about my background in rescue, but since you're a bunch of unstable nuts I can't afford to give out that information. What I will tell you is that I have fostered since I was 20 years old, I currently have 3 cats who were rescued off of 'death row' from animal control, and I've been involved in the 'clean-up' of 2 hoarder situations in my state. One of those hoarder situations haunts me to this very day and is the reason I feel so very strongly about Caboodle Ranch and all other out of control hoarding situations.


Since I am a big fan of putting my money where my mouth is.. This is a picture of the last kitten I fostered, Spike. He came to me with a warble embedded in his eye,a URI, and he and was in pretty poor shape. Now he's a happy, healthy boy. (He's still up for adoption- feel free to contact me about him if you aren't crazy)

8. "What can I do to help?"

Well for starters you can donate to the many wonderful legitimate organizations and rescues helping with the care of these cats who have been confiscated. I'll list a link for each one. Other than that you can keep yourself informed by going to CaboodleRanch.net or join the conversation HERE


Atlanta Humane Society

Bay Area Disaster Relief

Cat Depot

Florida State Animal Response Coalition

Good Mews Animal Foundation

Humane Society of Broward County

International Fund for Animal Welfare

McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center

PetSmart Charities, Inc. (Phoenix, Ariz)

RedRover




There you have it all in black and white. In the future I hope these people will either stop harassing me (and everyone else involved) or address their concerns directly in a less abrasive manner. There's always a price to pay for speaking out against situations like this one... but it's usually worth it.



-Kaitlyn

[Update]

The documentaries of Dr.Howard Friedman have now been taken down (but I do have copies saved). The youtube link has been reuploaded in a way so that I could not embed it here conveniently. The link however is still working.

The past 2 weeks..

Thank you ASPCA!!!

I was trying really hard to avoid going into all of this on my makeup page or blog.


Since my blog(and thus this page) and my Youtube channel are connected some commentary about *this* situation may spill over onto here. I haven't seen any yet except for on YT, but I felt like I should probably just clue you all in to what is currently going on just in case. Anyone who is a YT subscriber of mine may have already noticed some comments on this subject on my channel or latest video.


To summarize for those who don't feel like reading the news article: Caboodle Ranch is (was) a large scale cat hoarder who operated under the guise of being a wonderful 501c3 non-profit rescue & sanctuary for cats. In reality it was little more than a concentration camp for cats. He never adopted out a single cat, never kept medical records, didn't allow volunteers, no spay/neuter programs in place, not enough proper medical care or disease prevention, no protection from predators, no proper disposal of deceased cats, no euthanasia for suffering, dying cats, filthy conditions... the list is endless. Last Monday it was finally raided by PETA and the ASPCA in the largest seizure of cats from one location in the ASPCA's history. 


How did I get involved in all this you ask?


By opening my big, fat mouth of course. 


When I found out about Caboodle Ranch I was immediately suspicious of how one man could take care of 700+ cats with very little outside help. And upon asking several questions to the owners of this ranch, it was very clear that something was really wrong. And when something is REALLY wrong I do what I can about it. And the only thing I could do was email a lot of organizations, talk to experts, and take to social media to get my message out there. It turned out that I was not alone in this, and that actually there was a lot of evidence to back up my suspicions. I made a series of Youtube videos that were viewed by a lot of people involved (including animal planet) either directly or indirectly and garnered some negative attention for Caboodle. That is my only role in this story. But it has been enough for Caboodle Ranch supporters to harass me since that first video (which I took down when Nanette Entriken threatened to sue me). I never expected a video, and some random activism to turn into such a big part of my life these past couple of years, but it has. I am just a blogger. 


So that's why my posting has been so flaky and erratic the past 2 weeks. That's why @Patricia is helping out on admin (Thanks so much!). And that's why I have not had time to enter a lot of your contests that I want to, and haven't interacted a lot. Things WILL settle down soon. It's just been crazy the past few weeks first with my Grandpa passing away, and then this and some other personal stuff. Just bare with me for now and when all this craziness is FINALLY over I WILL be having my amazing 500 fans/1 year Bloggiversary giveaway i've been promising to you. If anyone has any questions about any of this just feel free to ask. If you do see negative comments here just report them and ignore them. 


Thank you for understanding!
♥- Kaitlyn




For more info on Caboodle Ranch's seizure please see the following:

This is the video that got me into trouble lol

http://www.aspca.org/Blog/caboodle-ranch.aspx

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Caboodle_Ranch_Cat_Sanctuary_Operator_Faces_Cruelty_Charges_140581263.html#.T0vJjy7NWN0.facebook

http://www.pictures-of-cats.org/peta-investigation-shuts-down-caboodle-ranch.html

Donate here

http://www.news4jax.com/news/Caboodle-Ranch-owner-denies-allegations/-/475880/9210152/-/sjhswp/-/index.html?fb_comment_id=fbc_322639001118787_3787226_322680017781352

Jacksonville news

Playing catch-up & new stuff

So.... I have been slacking on my blog again. That tends to happen from time to time. I am back though, and with several updates!

As you may or may not already know I have started a Youtube channel to compliment this blog. I will be trying to put out a different video at least once a week. I already have several up right now, so please check them out and give me some feedback. I put a lot of work into them- although you'd never know it from how amateurish my videos are lol. I am terribly awkward on camera so don't expect me to be talking much :P

(And then there is *this*. I (obviously) didn't make this video, but it is noteworthy to say the very least LOL. Thanks Celeste & the fabulously hairy Dancing Dror! )

I plan to focus a lot on Halloween makeup through the end of October, but I definitely will be doing some makeup looks for fall soon as well. I am fairly new to making videos so bear with me while I learn and (hopefully) improve on my skills. If you have special requests for ANY sort of tutorial please let me know in the comments! I will also be doing more natural skin treatments/masks just because I think they are fun :)

I do want to briefly touch upon the other 2 non-makeup related videos on my YT account for those who were wondering. I made these videos (along with 2 other ones that are no longer public) awhile ago because I wanted to address an extremely sad large scale animal hoarding situation. I have received some backlash for these videos however I feel they serve a greater good so they will remain on my channel for the time being. I had considered just making a whole new channel for the glitter blog but I didn't want to have to resubscribe to everyone's beauty channels. I made these videos because I have done cat rescue for several years and just think it is important to give a voice to those who have none. I probably won't be putting many more videos like this up though so it's not really anything you guys need to worry about too much. If you are interested in Caboodle Ranch, why it's a bad place, and animal hoarding please check out these links: Caboodle Ranch: save the kitties, ASPCA Facts about Hoarding


Other than YT and Halloween excitement, I am also now a promoter for a wonderful indie boutique- Abigail's Boutique Designs. ABD offers a wide variety of amazing mineral pigment shades ranging from subtle and sparkling to the bright and bold. They are all unique hand mixed pigments made with high quality ingredients. I'll be putting up a review later with some swatches, so I'll save the rest of  my praise for that post :P Here is a sneak peek at some of the beautiful colors for you though.

which one is your favorite???

Abigail's Boutique Designs also offers many other things such as bath & body products, cute clippies and bows, soy candles, and many other things for you OR your little princess. How cool is that? Check out Robyn's facebook fan page & Blog for more information, news, and contests/giveaways.



That's my news for now! Stay tuned for some reviews comin' up here soon.

Killer trend: Rooster feather hair extensions

Almost overnight it seems that rooster feather hair extensions have popped up as the latest trend. I have to admit they do look beautiful, but I am so saddened that this is 'what's in' for summer. Along with feather hair extensions I am seeing an influx of feather headbands, earrings, necklaces, and clothing embellishments.

 

 

Many celebrities (everyone from Stephen Tyler, to Megan of NYink, to Roseanne) have been spotted wearing these colorful feather extensions. I am seeing them in magazines and fashion ads. And I am seeing them on your average everyday girl next-door. Chances are- they probably are being done right now in a salon not-so-far-away from where you live. They are EVERYWHERE.

I wonder if the people who buy these even stop to think about where those beautiful feathers may have come from. I wonder if your average trendy gal knows that a rooster was killed for those feathers. I wonder if these people realize that it takes a rooster about a year to grow the long saddle feathers that are prized for not only this trend, but for use in fly fishing. Roosters are even genetically altered to produce extra long colorful saddle feathers. I also wonder if these people know that the process of plucking the feathers is painful, cruel, and requires the bird to be euthanized. Once they are killed they are then turned into compost, because for the most part carnivores don't even eat them. 1000's of roosters are dying each week to meet the demand of the fashion industry....all so that you can wear some feathers in your hair for about 1-2 months. It seems disgustingly selfish and wasteful to me.

There are plenty of sources for cruelty-free feathers, and alternatives to using real bird feathers. While I love feathers, they aren't ours to take. The rooster feather hair look can be duplicated with things other than bird feathers (ribbons, faux feathers, those streaky hair clip-ins from Hot Topic). Once I pick up a few supplies, I will try to put up a tutorial on how to do an animal friendly version of the hair feathers.

There isn't ever an excuse to hurt animals in the name of fashion. If you MUST have a feather accessory this summer,  please make sure the feathers are obtained from a cruelty-free seller. The roosters will thank you :)