HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

There is a site that has been brought to my attention that is All About Cats at Raisingwhiskers.com. It has various articles helpful to those who are potential cat owners and individuals that are already owned by cats.  Occasionally, sites with such a broad subject do not go to great depths to be complete about every little aspect about cats, but give you an overview  to entice you to continue your research.  I do encourage people to fully weigh all the pros and cons before looking for a pet.

I was surprised that there was a lot of interesting facts that I never knew, and I am going to file away in my brain.  Being that my brain is usually a receptacle for useless or trivial knowledge, I am sure I will be able to use it when there is a lull at a party.

Do you know that your cat’s hearing is more sensitive and powerful than dogs and humans? Humans can hear sounds within 20khz while cats can hear up to 65 khz. She can hear you coming from 100 feet away!

I always thought dogs had other domestic animals beat when it came to their hearing.  Very interesting!  Irregardless, dogs have cats beat in the nose department.

There are two things I would have liked to see on the site. There is a list of cat breeds, some I have never heard of before. I would have liked to see photos on that page.  However, it is enough information about the more exotic breeds to inspire me to research further so not necessarily a deficiency.  I have never heard of, for example, a Somali cat.  More importantly, the page on Cat Pregnancy had a statement that I found a little troubling.

Cat pregnancy is good news for cat owners. Now, you’ll have cute kittens walking around the house! However, pregnancy is a stressful time for cats and you need to take extra care for your beloved pet, so that everything goes well.

Cat pregnancy is something that is not particularly good for new cat owners, as they may be the least experienced with animal care.  Cats tend to be good at taking care of kitten birth, but complications can always happen endangering the life of a pet.  Moreover, the lure of cute kittens is one of the least legitimate reasons to breed an animal, as their small size is temporary.  Shelters across the country are filled with accidental kittens, and there are many ready for immediate adoption.  In fact, a local shelter euthanizes cats that have a sniffle or are not completely healthy as soon as they are relinquished. There is just not enough demand for cat and kitten adoptions to house them, and breeding cats deliberately adds to the number in shelters, or takes homes away from cats who would normally be rescued.  Cats that are fearful or too shy sometimes do not make it to be adopted either.   Some cats that are lucky enough to end up at a nokill shelter sometimes grow up and grow old waiting to be adopted as there are just so many.

On another page, the benefits of adopting kittens as pairs is touted. I was pleased to see this.

First of all, there are millions of cats, young and old, brought to animal shelters every year, and sadly millions of those poor souls are brought to their death because there are simply not enough people out there giving them homes. Saving the life of an animal is invaluable; saving two is doubly rewarding.

Perhaps the site is written by more than one individual.  Even so, I hope someday that they take a more cautionary approach site wide to the idea of cat breeding, to not only match up with the rest of the site, but to encourage cat owners to think twice for both the health of their individual cat, and other cats in the community who are fighting for a chance.

The race is on for whose blog will be voted the very best pet blog.  You can vote once every 24 hours.  Somehow, the website “knows” that you already voted so no cheating.  Although, I guess you can call a significant other who is at work and tell them to vote too.

There are two blogs that are in the race that I recognize, and I am recommended you to VOTE.  I would like to see these two blogs win in a tie - as they are both winners!

Daisy the Curly Cat - This blog is the personal diary of the eponymous curly coated cat and her good pal, Harley.  Join Daisy for pictures, stories, videos and anecdotes about daily life.  Most every Sunday, Sunday funnies are posted starring Daisy, and often her friends Snail, Mr. Shrill, and Harley.   Great fun.  There is a lot to do and see, and after awhile, you won’t feel weird about talking back and forth with a kitty!   Daisy sometimes shows us kitties who need a home, too.

Holy Cuteness - An adorable picture or a video of a rediculously cute animal every day (I mean it…your head will explode into a million pieces of candy).  If you like pictures of baby monkeys making friends with birds, dogs and cats sleeping together, and baby Cheetahs who count a Puppy as their best friend, then this is where you need to be.   The Holy Cuteness blog posted a picture of a kitty in need for us once and the kitten plus a few others found homes that way!

Okay, I bid you to vote for your favorite and then call someone now to vote for the other one.  And then tell all your friends to vote for their favorite too!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE!!  

Among the charities that I highlight, there tend to be more articles about those that cater to dogs and rabbits rather than cats. I hope to make up for that eventually, but I think that because I have never owned a cat, my mind naturally steers towards dogs and horses and reptiles, species I am more acquainted with. The sad fact is that there are many more cats in the country that never find a home than dogs.

Sometimes a cat gets lucky when it is deciphered they are a particular breed or a high mix of such, and sometimes a rescue is more likely to take them because of the adoption demand. Not that they don’t want to take a domestic short hair tabby, but they know, even if they are pretty full, a fancier cat will probably get adopted more quickly and they will have room to take in other cats quickly, or fund the care of other more pedestrian cats who may stay around longer.

When I think of Persian Cats, I naturally think of long hair. However, there are other breeds such as Angoras, Himalayans, and the like have the same characteristic. Unlike the other breeds, a Persian has a very shortened snout, short legs, a wide roundish head, and wide set eyes. The Persian that we know today originated in the 1600s when long haired cats were imported from Persia and were crossed with the Turkish Angora.

I knew often people brushed Persians, but didn’t know that it was because the cats’ fur was too long and thick for the cat to maintain it themselves.  In otherwords, they are not cats for someone who wants a low maintenance pet, or someone with not the means to afford regular groomings.  Of course, just like dog owners who have dogs with specialty coats, someone can learn to do it themselves with education and patience, but it takes time.  It is always worth it, I think, to learn to groom your pet because it gives you a nice time to bond.   A shampoo treatment with a thorough brushing is the remedy.  You also need to check the eyes for debris in them or around the lids, especially as the cat gets older because may be more difficult for the cat to self groom with a paw to clear his/her eyes because of all the fluff.

The life expectancy for Persian cats is similar to other breeds of cats.  Indoor cats live 12-15 years, and even into their 20s.   Some Persians, however, are genetically susceptible to develop polycystic renal disease, which causes kidney failure.  So, please adopt a Persian from a shelter or rescue group rather than deciding to breed your cat to produce a housemate for him/her.  It is an extremely rewarding experience, and in fact I saw a few on the Cat Channel Site that needed homes.  In fact, the site also has many pictures, so you will be able to see the color variations.  If you work for a rescue and are trying to identify a cat, you will be able to not let your image that Persians are only white sway you into misidentifying a cat that just came into your care.

Gino, shown above, is a gray Persian young man at the Detroit shelter of the Michigan Humane Society that is looking for a great home.  There are many others around the country as well looking for a warm and safe place to cuddle up in.

You have probably seen this video already, as it has been circulating. I don’t know if this one has gone quite “viral” yet, but as I saw it twice, I am sure that it is on its way.  I had injured myself (more on that later) so was feeling pretty sorry for myself. This video cheered me up.  I hope it does the same for you. Sit back, and watch carefully…

I wonder how the ever talented Daisy the Curly Cat would review this video.  She certainly has some fun ones of her own.

Surely this kitty will get invitations from around the world for a job with the Secret Service, a permanent residence at a Shaolin Temple.  The follow up video would be Crouching Kitty…Hidden Dragon.   Or maybe on Her Mewjesty’s Secret Service.   I have to quit while I am ahead.

The wishes are a little late, but better late than never.  October 16th was officially Feral Cat Day, as sponsored by Alley Cat Allies.  Ninety events went on in thirty states to raise awareness.

What is a feral cat?  A feral is not merely someone’s lost cat.  Often they are descendants of house cats or have otherwise reverted to their wild state.   In the past, the more popular alternative has been to remove them from an environment or to euthanize them.  This is ineffective, as new cats just move in on the food source.  Taking a cat, who is not used to a cage, into a shelter, will only cause them to act very terrified, and therefore be euthanized immediately.  The only humane way to control a population is to trap, spay, and return them to where they were found.  If you see one or two cats, there are probably five more hiding.   The population will natural dwindle as older cats eventually die.

For more information on Feral Cats, visit AlleyCat.Org

Previously, I have written about kitten season, and why it is so lethal.    There is really no part of the country that is immune to it.   Kittens, born of feral cats, and born of cats people just don’t get around to, or care to spay, end up in shelters by the dozens during the spring and summer especially.  There are just not enough homes for them all.

There are several kittens at Heard County Animal Control in Franklin, Georgia, who are absolutely beautiful, but are on the euthanization list for this week.  They are all siblings.

There is still something wrong with the camera at the shelter. The photos were just taken a few days ago, not in 2004!

Heard County Animal Control Center
11818 Ga Hwy 100
Franklin, GA 30217
Phone: 706-675-3570

These kittens are slated for euthanization in just a few days from now! Please help!Please contact your favorite rescue or adopt. If you have a cat, or have one that tends to wander up to your house, do them a favor and spay or neuter them. There are programs that offer discounts for the ferals that are wandering around too. The more unwanted kittens there are, the more that are euthanized. The more cats that are not pregnant by accident, but because their people thought it would be a blessed event or their children would love kittens, the more kittens are euthanized too. A kitten that is purchased or taken as a “free kitten” also takes up a spot in a home that a shelter kitten would have received.

Independence Day is this Friday. That means it is a “short week.” There will be barbeques, boating, or if you are in Florida….dodging the rain! This week is not so fun for shelter animals. While we are away on vacation, time marches on without us. The week is the same for the animals, but where have all the people gone? Adopters are not thinking about adding a family member, adoptions are slow at rescues so they can’t take as many in as they would like, or are not around at all either, as a rescue is made up of people who have friends and families too.

Just remember that if you were thinking about stopping at the pound after the holiday blew past, why not change your plans? Visit today and tomorrow and you can save a life in the nick of time!

“Kiddie” is an owner turn in. Isn’t she just the perfect Siamese kitty with her beautiful markings? They were nice enough to send her with all of her medical records, but not nice enough to keep her. How much room could she possibly take up?

Kiddie has a flea allergy, so she needs to always be on flea preventative and needs to be an indoor only cat. Her adoption fee is very low, as she is already spayed. What a “no brainer” it is to adopt her if you have been thinking about a feline companion.

The shelter is still euthanizing on Friday - even though they are closed…we have to hurry!   They will honor faxes on friday but will NOT be open so we really only have today and tomorrow.

Heard County Animal Control Center
11818 Ga Hwy 100
Franklin, GA 30217
Phone: 706-675-3570

It is 10:00 P.M. on Thursday.  It is not even Friday yet, and my brain already hurts.  Despite getting 40+ dogs and cats out of Heard County Animal Control last week, euthanization day is upon us AGAIN.   There must be a neon sign over the shelter that says “Kitten Motel.”    Seven litters of kittens are at the shelter, six of which came in this week.  Yes, Kitten Season is in full swing.  Oh yes, and it is a short week this coming week.

One life was lost so far.  One of the pretty cats from the hoarder was euthanized because she was a little too wild, scared, unsocialized and was causing injury.   Let’s make sure no others are lost.

***CRITICAL NO REPRIEVE FOR THIS DOG Unless an adopter or rescue comes forward******* Poochie is a very sweet girl.  Despite being at a shelter, she still wags her tail and presses her nose up to the bars in hopes of being petted. 

Her family surrendered all their pets because they didn’t have time for them, and Poochie was the straggler.  Everyone else was surrendered over the previous week or two.  She is the only one left.  She wasn’t overlooked, just surrendered last.

Unfortunately, because she has a dark spot or two on her tongue, she was labelled a Golden Retriever/Chow Mix. Volunteers who have seen her have not seen any bit of chow. Not that a being a chow is bad, but not when you just aren’t and some folks just don’t rescue them. If you saw her siblings, they didn’t look chow either. This shelter sometimes errs on the side of coat color when id’ing breed. Personally, i think she is shepherd/retriever.  GOOD NEWS FOR POOCHIE  CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT IT

*****CRITICAL***BUTCH HAS BEEN HELD OVER UNTIL TUESDAY.  WILL BE EUTHANIZED THEN ***  He needs a place to go!! Poor Butch!   Butch is from a hoarder who has slowly been giving up dogs.

He is very sad and is looking for his family.    He likes the people he knows, and when you give him a chance to get to know you, he is a very nice boy. Basically, his “crime” was putting up a fuss when a stranger came onto his property and that is why he is here.

He just needs a chance! Is that such a bad thing for a dog to do?

This sweet pup is just about 5 months old.  Her canine teeth are just starting to come in.  She is labelled Border Collie, but really, it is totally unknown what she is.  She weighs in at about 35 lbs right now, and will get a little larger as she fills out.  Ask about ID 35108

It is unfortunate that her photo is so terrible.  She is really a sweet girl deserving of a chance.

This is how Friday is working out:  Poochie and Butch will be euthanized if they don’t have a rescue or adoption, regardless of what happens to other dogs, or others get out.   They have been there too long.   If more dogs come in, the black puppy will also be  euthanized, as well as a terrier that I will post shortly.

Here she is:  SHE IS NOW RESCUE PENDING  - SAFE

4-6  Month old puppy.  25-30 lbs. Labelled Akita/Shepherd but really we are not sure what she is.  It is just a guess. Id 39008

Black and white puppy - 20 lbs. 3-4 months old. id 39408

White dog - 1 year old.  Gets along well with other dogs. 35-40 lbs

Two Chihuahuas one is 4, one is 2.  One boy and one girl

Scooby is the boy - SAFE !  RESCUED

Pretty is the girl - it would be very cool if someone adopted them together or someone rescued them together.

SAFE! RESCUED!

This pretty pastel calico came from a hoarder.   She appears healthy.   Her problem is that she is unsocialized, as she was only accustomed to her elderly owner and there was not enough attention to go around to them all,  and needs a home where her new guardian will give her a chance.   It would be great if she had another cat friend at home where she could look to the other cat to “learn the ropes.”  She may never be a lap cat, but is a life worth saving.  There are also.  Not One, but TWO Siamese from the same home.  These cats are also going to be euthanized tomorrow if no claims them (out of area adopters and rescues welcome!).  The calico is being ADOPTED.  THE SIAMESE HAVE BEEN HELDOVER TIL TUESDAY -

If you are looking for a more ready-made cat, this mother cat is very sociable and friendly.  She came in with her litter who are now weaned and no longer need her. Her id is 30908.

Also, we need to make a dent in the 7 litters of kittens that are there - either through rescue or adoption.

The adoption fee is $25.00 per kitten.  If they are 6 weeks old, a spay and neuter contract is required.  (You must spay at your own vet in a certain amoung of time.

If they are 7-9 weeks old, you will be required to pay for the spay - $45.00 for a girl, $35.00 for a boy, which is very reasonable.

They are all incredibly precious.  Here are just four of the 7 litters.  They are urgent!

I know this is someone’s cat. She is not a feral or a wild cat. Feral cats just don’t tend to wear pink flea collars.

She was at a lady’s house, scratching at the screen. The woman’s instinct was not to check her neighbors to see if their girl had gotten out somehow. Her immediate instinct was to call someone to come get her and take her to the pound because she might rip her screen. If only had she bothered to make a phone call or two. It would not have cost anything to make a few local calls.

Now, this pretty kitty sits at the shelter, hoping her people think of coming to the county pound to look for her.

It is both the mindsets of the owner and of the finders, if only shifted, would save many, cats, from being stuck in this predicament.

Of course, the obvious response is to blame the finder of the cat. Personally, it would cost her little to nothing as far as time and money to simply call her neighbors to find out if any of them were missing a kitty. It could have been a quick reunion.

The other side of this is the owner. I have covered the benefits of your cat being an indoor cat, of course. What disturbs me in this case is the assumption many people have that the “cats always come back.” Panic or even mild concern doesn’t seem to set in, if it does, until the cat is gone for a few days. There is an even an old folk song called “The Cat Came Back.”

Unfortunately, waiting a few days may be way too late, being that in some counties, they are only obligated to hold strays 2-3 days. If your cat shows up at someone else’s house, they are likely to be seen as a nuisance and it is likely animal control will be called. Some facilities hold a cat or dog as long as they have room, some don’t. What that means is that your cat could be long gone by the time you think to mobilize a search for them. Either they have a new home or they are euthanized. Or, it is possible your cat could have been at the wrong place at the wrong time and could have been attacked by a coyote, other cats, or could have been hit by a car.

I am not trying to scare you, but it is unfortunately true.

For cat owners or those considering a cat:
Spay or neuter your cat. It removes the extra motivation to wander.
Consider making your cat an indoor cat.
Put a tag and collar on your cat, so if God forbid they get out, it clues someone in to the fact that someone would want them back.
Microchip your cat. Not everyone checks, but shelters are likely to.

For those that find a cat, before you call animal control:
If they approach you, they are probably someone’s cat rather than feral.
Check for tags.
Call neighbors. Remember those behind you, not just on your block. Give people a reasonable time to respond. Some people are not home during the day.
Pay attention to lost cat ads.

The tone of this message was not to “place blame,” but to make it clear that we are ALL in this together, whether we own a pet or not.   By doing something very small, we can all prevent one more life from being ended, one more from being lost.

Cat declawing is a bit of a controversial subject. At one time, the thinking was that a cat who is declawed won’t shred your furniture, thus making it happier or easier to take care of. Nowadays, declawing is viewed as cruel. Indeed, declawing doesn’t just involve “removing the nails,” but part of the bone as well. Across the board, most people in animal rescue do not recommend the procedure for several reasons. One reason is losing the claw as a tool. The the cat cannot defend his/herself, or easily recover from falling into a tight spot by getting a better grip. Also, however, aberrant littering habits were observed in declawed cats who are not able to perform some natural behaviors.

The second question which is a little more of a gray area for some people is: Would you declaw a cat to save the cat’s life? If the cat had gangrene or some type of cancer where physically removing a claw or claws would save a life. Then, in my opinion, absolutely. However, the kind of life saving that is an issue is removing the claws so the cat can find a home. With many cats dying everyday at shelters, or a family wishing to bring a fondling in, is it ethical? Or even not a question of ethics - does it help or harm the cat?

I am not implying that a cat is better off dead than declawed. However, when it comes to thinking about dogs, we recognize that a dog is not one size fits all. A couch potato would be counseled away from adopting a high energy herding dog that needs “a job.” There is little need to fit a square peg into a round hole. But with cats, unless it is a particular unusual cat, the view tends to be that “one size fits all.” People strive to force an unsocial cat to sit in a lap, or otherwise try to change a cat rather than having the mindset that not all cats are a fit for all people or vice versa. They have different personalities and characteristics like dogs do, though they don’t have nearly as much physical diversity.

That brings me to declawing. Not adopting an already declawed cat, but setting out to get a cat declawed. A natural characteristic of a cat is to stretch one’s claws and not being able to do so is frustrating. Could it be that people that are deadset on getting a cat and declawing it, just not the “right fit” for a particular cat? If the tables were turned, what would we think about someone taking a shelter dog and docking its tail and ears? We would not look at it favorably. To take it one further, I have heard many stories of folks adopting neighborhood strays and the only way perhaps that they could justify it is declawing the cat. With dogs, we can easily identify if a rescue dog’s temperment and breed doesn’t fit into the family and we find a good home for them when we help those dogs out. So why do we think a cat is a cat and don’t recognize the same?

There is some informationthat I think you should read if you are thinking about declawing. It may make you see things in a different light.

Maybe I have no room to talk, necessitating my focus for hands on matters on other species because of severe allergies, but I don’t think that because there are so many, many cats that need rescue does it excuse us to change them in that way to save them. It just may take more education to convince people to the contrary, but it is definitely worth the effort.