Thursday, October 8, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Get Smart about Feral Cats
On National Feral Cat Day—and All Year Round
By Becky Robinson, President, Alley Cat Allies
This October 16, 2009 marks the ninth annual National Feral Cat Day—an opportunity for people everywhere to help protect and improve the lives of cats.
Americans care about cats—in fact, over 40% have fed a stray cat. National Feral Cat Day is the perfect occasion to jumpstart American’s admiration of cats by helping communities across the country learn more about feral cats and Trap-Neuter-Return. Many celebrate National Feral Cat Day by educating others and hosting special events, including workshops, fundraisers, and neuter clinic days.
Get started by understanding some basic facts about feral cats:
Feral cats aren’t snugglers. Though feral cats are members of the domestic cat species just like pet cats, they are fearful of humans. Since feral cats are not socialized to humans, they cannot be adopted. They live healthy, happy lives in their outdoor homes.
Traditional approaches for feral cats—such as catch and kill or attempts to relocate—do not work. They are costly, inhumane, and endless. Removing cats from an area creates a vacuum, which more cats move into and breed to fill. Decades of these failed practices prove their futility.
Trap-Neuter-Return improves the lives of cats. Cats are humanely trapped, brought to a veterinarian to be evaluated, neutered, vaccinated, and eartipped. Cats friendly to humans and kittens are adopted into homes, while healthy adult feral cats are returned to their outdoor home. No more kittens. The population stabilizes and their lives are improved. The behaviors associated with mating, like yowling and fighting, stop. Trap-Neuter-Return is the humane approach for feral cats.
Your community wants compassionate solutions. An overwhelming majority of Americans—81%—believe it is more humane to leave a stray cat outside to live out her life than have her caught and killed, according to a national survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Alley Cat Allies. Your community can be a safer place for feral cats if it embraces Trap-Neuter-Return.
Show your support for stray and feral cats on National Feral Cat Day—and all year round—by educating and informing your friends, neighbors, and veterinarian about these feral cat facts. Write a letter to the editor of your town’s paper, hand out information at special events (like a fair) and public places (like a shopping mall), or place an ad in your community newsletter. Samples for all of these materials are available to download online at www.alleycat.org/NFCD.
Here are three more things you can do:
1. Direct your veterinarian to our special web center dedicated to feral cat veterinary care at www.alleycat.org/Veterinarian. What better way to reach out to fellow cat lovers? Put our expert advice in the hands of the professionals people turn to for help.
2. Confirm your ally status. Commit to protecting cats along with Alley Cat Allies on National Feral Cat Day and all year round. Sign the “I’m an Alley Cat Ally” photo pledge and submit your photo online of you and your pets holding the signed pledge. Ask your friends and family to do it too! Find more information online at www.alleycat.org/NFCD.
3. Host an event. Your efforts help us achieve our goals of protecting and improving the lives of cats. Invite your friends and family and other people who care about cats, and be sure to tell us and others in your local community about it by registering your event online at www.alleycat.org/NFCD.
With your help, we can truly make a difference in cats’ lives by simply sharing with others the fact that feral cats require a different kind of care. Education is an important first step in protecting cats in towns all across the country—you can be their voice.
By Becky Robinson, President, Alley Cat Allies
This October 16, 2009 marks the ninth annual National Feral Cat Day—an opportunity for people everywhere to help protect and improve the lives of cats.
Americans care about cats—in fact, over 40% have fed a stray cat. National Feral Cat Day is the perfect occasion to jumpstart American’s admiration of cats by helping communities across the country learn more about feral cats and Trap-Neuter-Return. Many celebrate National Feral Cat Day by educating others and hosting special events, including workshops, fundraisers, and neuter clinic days.
Get started by understanding some basic facts about feral cats:
Feral cats aren’t snugglers. Though feral cats are members of the domestic cat species just like pet cats, they are fearful of humans. Since feral cats are not socialized to humans, they cannot be adopted. They live healthy, happy lives in their outdoor homes.
Traditional approaches for feral cats—such as catch and kill or attempts to relocate—do not work. They are costly, inhumane, and endless. Removing cats from an area creates a vacuum, which more cats move into and breed to fill. Decades of these failed practices prove their futility.
Trap-Neuter-Return improves the lives of cats. Cats are humanely trapped, brought to a veterinarian to be evaluated, neutered, vaccinated, and eartipped. Cats friendly to humans and kittens are adopted into homes, while healthy adult feral cats are returned to their outdoor home. No more kittens. The population stabilizes and their lives are improved. The behaviors associated with mating, like yowling and fighting, stop. Trap-Neuter-Return is the humane approach for feral cats.
Your community wants compassionate solutions. An overwhelming majority of Americans—81%—believe it is more humane to leave a stray cat outside to live out her life than have her caught and killed, according to a national survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Alley Cat Allies. Your community can be a safer place for feral cats if it embraces Trap-Neuter-Return.
Show your support for stray and feral cats on National Feral Cat Day—and all year round—by educating and informing your friends, neighbors, and veterinarian about these feral cat facts. Write a letter to the editor of your town’s paper, hand out information at special events (like a fair) and public places (like a shopping mall), or place an ad in your community newsletter. Samples for all of these materials are available to download online at www.alleycat.org/NFCD.
Here are three more things you can do:
1. Direct your veterinarian to our special web center dedicated to feral cat veterinary care at www.alleycat.org/Veterinarian. What better way to reach out to fellow cat lovers? Put our expert advice in the hands of the professionals people turn to for help.
2. Confirm your ally status. Commit to protecting cats along with Alley Cat Allies on National Feral Cat Day and all year round. Sign the “I’m an Alley Cat Ally” photo pledge and submit your photo online of you and your pets holding the signed pledge. Ask your friends and family to do it too! Find more information online at www.alleycat.org/NFCD.
3. Host an event. Your efforts help us achieve our goals of protecting and improving the lives of cats. Invite your friends and family and other people who care about cats, and be sure to tell us and others in your local community about it by registering your event online at www.alleycat.org/NFCD.
With your help, we can truly make a difference in cats’ lives by simply sharing with others the fact that feral cats require a different kind of care. Education is an important first step in protecting cats in towns all across the country—you can be their voice.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Another entry for our November contest -- what cuties!
Sent in by Carol Olah, who wrote: "This is a picture of two of my babies, Bailey, she is a Yorkie/Dachshund mix and Little Bit, a Shih Tzu. They love spending time outside in the yard."
Friday, October 2, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
The future of Our Place to Paws
Our Place to Paws, the Web site (www.OurPlacetoPaws.com) has been online for nearly three years now. In that time we have posted articles about animals and animal welfare, run monthly photo and essay contests, posted fun animal columns and Kids' Corner art projects and tried our best to create a fun online community for animal lovers everywhere.
The addition of Facebook has helped us connect with new friends, both through the Facebook group and the newer Facebook page, which allows us to post photos and share comments with the fans who have also "Friended" us there.
As 2010 approaches, we have a tough decision ahead -- whether to keep Our Place to Paws online. The site makes no money -- it is run purely for the love of animals and has attracted no advertising (truthfully because I am not a marketing person and have put little effort into trying to get any advertising or into building the daily visitorship of the site after the initial six months or so, when finances ran out to keep the professional effort going). In addition, our visitorship has remained constant -- only about 40-45 visitors a day, and we're not sure how many of those are actually individual visitors.
Much of the decision about whether to keep Our Place to Paws online will depend on whether there are people out there who really enjoy the site and feel strongly about keeping it up. If you do feel strongly about keeping Our Place to Paws online, please send a note to OurPlacetoPaws (at) aol.com and let me know. If I get a strong response, it will certainly help us make the decision. If you have ideas for increasing participation and visitorship, those are always appreciated, too, but keep in mind we have zero budget.
Thanks for your interest in Our Place to Paws, and thank you for caring about the animals.
Best,
Faye Rapoport DesPres
Editor, Our Place to Paws
The addition of Facebook has helped us connect with new friends, both through the Facebook group and the newer Facebook page, which allows us to post photos and share comments with the fans who have also "Friended" us there.
As 2010 approaches, we have a tough decision ahead -- whether to keep Our Place to Paws online. The site makes no money -- it is run purely for the love of animals and has attracted no advertising (truthfully because I am not a marketing person and have put little effort into trying to get any advertising or into building the daily visitorship of the site after the initial six months or so, when finances ran out to keep the professional effort going). In addition, our visitorship has remained constant -- only about 40-45 visitors a day, and we're not sure how many of those are actually individual visitors.
Much of the decision about whether to keep Our Place to Paws online will depend on whether there are people out there who really enjoy the site and feel strongly about keeping it up. If you do feel strongly about keeping Our Place to Paws online, please send a note to OurPlacetoPaws (at) aol.com and let me know. If I get a strong response, it will certainly help us make the decision. If you have ideas for increasing participation and visitorship, those are always appreciated, too, but keep in mind we have zero budget.
Thanks for your interest in Our Place to Paws, and thank you for caring about the animals.
Best,
Faye Rapoport DesPres
Editor, Our Place to Paws
Friday, September 25, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
From the Chicago Tribune: Reduce Your Pet's Carbon Footprint
by
Morieka Johnson McClatchy-Tribune
Most pets spend their days focused on three main events -- food time, poop time and playtime. If only life could be so easy for their owners. Fortunately, there are easy options that will help reduce their mark on Mother Nature. Make just one of these changes, and your pet's paw print will be a bit smaller.
-- Get the good stuff: Invest in a high-quality pet food that lists a protein such as beef, lamb, chicken or fish as the first ingredient rather than a by-product or beef meal. This one change can make a major impact on your pet's health while reducing the amount of poop left to scoop. Read the rest here.
Morieka Johnson McClatchy-Tribune
Most pets spend their days focused on three main events -- food time, poop time and playtime. If only life could be so easy for their owners. Fortunately, there are easy options that will help reduce their mark on Mother Nature. Make just one of these changes, and your pet's paw print will be a bit smaller.
-- Get the good stuff: Invest in a high-quality pet food that lists a protein such as beef, lamb, chicken or fish as the first ingredient rather than a by-product or beef meal. This one change can make a major impact on your pet's health while reducing the amount of poop left to scoop. Read the rest here.
Monday, September 14, 2009
DOG LOVERS: IMPORTANT TO KNOW Sugar-free ingredient called a dog killer
By Patty McCormac
NORTH COUNTY — LuLu, a 2-year-old teacup Yorkshire terrier, ate sugarless gum that she pilfered from a purse that was left on a recliner in her Solana Beach home.
It almost killed her. What probably saved LuLu was owner Dorit Hanein seeing a gum wrapper on the stairs and remembering a poster listing toxic substances for dogs weeks earlier at a veterinarian's office.
“I don't know why I would make that connection, but it took about three seconds,” Hanein said.
With the little dog vomiting and shivering, Hanein raced her to the veterinarian, who successfully treated 4-pound LuLu for xylitol toxicosis. Read the rest of this important story here.
NORTH COUNTY — LuLu, a 2-year-old teacup Yorkshire terrier, ate sugarless gum that she pilfered from a purse that was left on a recliner in her Solana Beach home.
It almost killed her. What probably saved LuLu was owner Dorit Hanein seeing a gum wrapper on the stairs and remembering a poster listing toxic substances for dogs weeks earlier at a veterinarian's office.
“I don't know why I would make that connection, but it took about three seconds,” Hanein said.
With the little dog vomiting and shivering, Hanein raced her to the veterinarian, who successfully treated 4-pound LuLu for xylitol toxicosis. Read the rest of this important story here.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Hamilton
One of our cats, Hamilton, went in for an ultrasound and some needle aspirate biopsies yesterday. So far, so good...nothing showing lymphoma. Hamilton is 14 and has lost some weight recently, and now we're hopeful that it is just ongoing long-term kidney disease, something that can be managed with diet and subcue fluids. We're waiting for the results of a couple of more tests to be sure he doesn't have pancreatitis or something else that might be causing inflammation or other issues.
It's so tough watching them age and worrying that they won't be around forever.
It's so tough watching them age and worrying that they won't be around forever.
Monday, September 7, 2009
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