53 days after escaping at a Cheyenne, WY truck stop, Millie the Cat has been reunited with her family, thanks to her ID tags.
In September, the Schnieber family lost Millie at the Flying J truck stop when she leaped from the back window. After an extensive search, the family returned to their home in New Mexico.
The Schneibers had given up hope, but two months later, they got the phone call. Millie had been found, buried in the snowbank on the side of a highway. Her rescuer, Scott Alexander, saw her back paw move slightly. He and his family dug her out.
“At that time, we saw just her back paw move just a little bit, and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s alive,’” Alexander said. “Her body felt like an ice cube. Nothing worked … I didn’t think she would make it.”
Alexander adds that when she woke up, Millie was blind and would run into things. “She was very uncoordinated. But as you can see, she’s back!”
We’ll conclude National Shelter Appreciation Week with a mythbusting post, covering common misconceptions about animal shelters:
Myth: Shelters can raise the money they need to humanely care for homeless pets through the fees they charge for adoption.
Fact: On average, it costs more to provide shelter, food, and necessary medical care for an animal than a shelter can recover through adoption fees. If adoption prices are too high, fewer pets will get adopted, so shelters usually cannot raise adoption prices to cover their overall cost. Shelters depend on donations and fundraising to make up the difference.
Myth: Only “No Kill” shelters deserve support.
Fact: According to the Humane Society of the United States, there are up to 8 million dogs and cats entering shelters in the U.S. every year, but only about 4 million are adopted. Many of the others will ultimately be euthanized as animal shelters do not have the capacity or means to humanely care for them.
A shelter basically has two options in dealing with this reality. The first option is the approach of many “no kill” shelters. Many of these shelters take in only the number of animals that they can care for–limiting the ones they accept to those they believe are most readily adoptable, leaving the others to be cared for by other organizations. Other shelters accept all animals, no matter how many animals they already have or whether or not the animal seems likely to be adopted.
Shelters often work together to transfer animals between shelters to make sure all available space across shelters is used. The unfortunate reality is that euthanasia will not be eliminated until there are enough homes to take in the number of homeless animals entering shelters each year.
Myth: Euthanasia is the animal sheltering community’s responsibility to eliminate.
Fact: Euthanasia is not a problem that the animal sheltering community can solve on its own. Euthanasia will be a heartbreaking reality as long as there are more homeless pets than there are adopters or capacity in animal shelters to humanely care for them.
As a current or prospective pet owner, you can help eliminate euthanasia a few ways: be responsible– spay or neuter your pets so they do not contribute to pet overpopulation. Microchip and ID tag your pets so they will not use valuable space in a shelter if they get lost. The next time you are looking for a new pet, adopt one from your local shelter.
Myth: If my pet gets lost and ends up in an animal shelter, it could be euthanized immediately.
Fact: For any shelter that takes in stray animals (animals brought in by someone other than their owner, including by members of the public or animal control) there is an established “hold time” before the animal may be adopted by a new owner or euthanized. The period, which is set by local law, allows the animal’s owner a chance to find him.
In some communities, strays with a microchip have longer required hold times.
(NOTE: With widespread budget cuts, holding times are being cut in many locales. The best way to prevent your pets from being euthanized when brought to a shelter is to tag and microchip them. Find out more in The Cat’s Meow’s Guide to Pet Recovery.)
Myth: Most of the animals in shelters are “undesirables” with behavioral or medical issues. Buying a puppy and starting “fresh” is the safest route to go when choosing a new pet.
Fact: It is not in the shelter’s best interest to adopt out pets that will be returned to them. Most shelters incorporate behavioral testing / assessments in determining which pets are adoptable, and to what type of family. Medical attention is also given, and any known conditions are disclosed to prospective adopters.
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Everyone’s favorite cat guy, Paul Klusman, has some updates and news in this video clip, including the announcement of a new cat flatulence video coming out before the end of the year.
Unfortunately, Paul’s daytime job as a rocket scientist is really eating into the time he has available to make cat movies, so he is sending out a request that everyone send a letter to his employer, requesting that Paul be laid off (making him eligibile for unemployment) so that he can make more cat movies. Details are in the video.
FIV is not an immediate death sentence for cats. My mother-in-law’s FIV+ cat, Babe, has lived with FIV for more than ten years, and has had no more vet visits than the average cat. He’s a wonderful pet, and a great comfort to his mistress.
Today, meet O’Ryan, an FIV+ cat who was fortunate enough to have been rescued by Purrfect Pals, a sanctuary to nearly 300 cats who have nowhere else to go. These are cats who have tested positive for FIV or feline leukemia, cats with behavioral issues, feral cats, geriatric cats, and cats with diabetes or other long-term health issues. All live in colonies in a clean, comfortable, cat-oriented environment, receiving regular veterinary care.
Here’s O’Ryan’s story:
O’Ryan was found abandoned along a river bank, starving and ill. He probably wouldn’t have lived more than another day or two if a Purrfect Pals volunteer hadn’t rescued him. He was placed in a foster home and had dental surgery, abscess care, and extensive medication. His foster ‘Mom’ found him to be an extremely loving cat who wanted constant attention and loved to be petted while he lay next to her. He is very vocal and talks to you in his deep voice as long as you will listen.
After regaining his weight and his health, O’Ryan met a nice couple, Dianne and Donald, who fell in love with him and took him home to be a friend for their other FIV cat, Penny. Like all Purrfect Pals FIV positive cats, O’Ryan was ‘adopted’ as a permanent foster. FIV cats can live long and healthy lives, but they are also more susceptible to mouth and dental problems. As a permanent foster a FIV kitty can always have any medical problems related to FIV cared for at no charge at our Purrfect Pals clinic.
O’Ryan has become Penny’s best buddy. Even though Penny is a bit of a princess, she accepted O’Ryan immediately and they love to run, play and sleep together. When not playing with Penny, O’Ryan loves to sleep on the back of Donald’s chair or beside him begging for attention or to sit on Dianne’s craft table patting her hand to get her attention
O’Ryan is a very fortunate FIV+ cat. He has found a home where he is adored and well cared for. The Purrfect Pals Sanctuary has an FIV room currently occupied by many wonderful affectionate cats who are hoping that you might consider giving one of them a loving home as well. Donate now.
If you don’t currently have cats and are considering adoption, why not consider opening your home to a pair of FIV+ cats? You’ll certainly be saving a couple of lives, and are likely to be rewarded with an appreciative, devoted companion.
Shutterfly has some great deals running this month – you can save a bunch on holiday cards, photo books, calendars and shipping.
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If you’re going to feature your cats on Holiday cards, photo books or a calendar, you should do it this week through Shutterfly and save 20%. Limited time only; no expiration date provided.
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You can get free shipping, too, on orders over $30. Enter coupon code SHIP30 at checkout. Free shipping offer ends 23 NOV 2009.
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Over the past two weeks, the Jesusita wildfire raged near Santa Barbara, California, 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles, consuming over 8,700 acres of land and forest, and destroying or damaging nearly 100 homes. Some 30,000 people, over half the city’s population, were forced to evacuate their homes. While thousands of firefighters devoted their time to containing the blaze, one group of rescue workers gets scant media attention – animal rescue teams that work around the clock to help displaced pets and wildlife and save as many lives as they can.
“Don’t you dare!” I hear Julia Di Sieno say gently to someone in the background as I speak to her on the phone. She is Co-founder and Director of Animal Rescue Team, a nonprofit organization which has been inundated with animals they’ve rescued and calls for help since the fire broke out last week. Her organization specializes in wild animals, particularly fawns and mammals, while domestic pets they rescue get sent to the local Humane Society. Out of curiosity, I ask who she’s talking to, figuring it’s one of her animals. “It’s the bobcat! She was trying to pee on me!”
Di Sieno helped rescue the bobcat kitten in the photo a week before, near Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Ranch, where it was dehydrated and near death. Di Sieno nurtured it back to health. They rescued the fawn during last week’s wildfire. Although wild animals, especially of separate species, are never placed together due to regulations, in this emergency situation, they had no choice. During the mayhem of the fire, they were forced to put animals anywhere they could, since they had run out of crates large enough for the fawn. The kitten ran to the fawn, and it was instant bonding.
Most wildlife knows instinctively to flee fires – to fly away, burrow, or run – but some don’t make it out in time. Rescue workers walk near the fire line with nets, searching for any injured animals or young separated from their parents. “Burn victims go to the local care hospital,” says Di Sieno. “We rescued bunnies, squirrels, two fawns. We’ve rescued I don’t know how many geese, chickens ducks, cats, birds, turkeys, and a baby owl and a baby raptor.”
Another local nonprofit, Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network, specializes in songbirds and seabirds, but during emergencies rescue workers help any animal that needs it. “All rehab centers in California work together as a team to help wildlife who are in need of care due to injuries often caused by man, dogs, cats, cars, etc,” explains Julia Parker, Director of Animal Affairs at WCN.
California currently faces severe drought conditions, which increases the chance of wildfires breaking out, and of spreading out of control. Just last year this same region had the Goleta Gap fire and the Montecita Tea Fire. During these fires, which can escalate and spread rapidly due to shifting winds, pets sometimes run from their homes, or alternately get stuck at home when a fire spreads rapidly and desperate homeowners can’t get to their homes.
All of these Santa Barbara area animal rescue organizations have put out a national plea for donations because of the overwhelming need for animal food, medicines, and space to house displaced animals. ART currently leases a 1.5-acre plot of land that houses rescued animals in enclosures on the property, which require around-the-clock care, and the organization is desperate to purchase the land. The morning after Di Sieno – along with an insanely cute bobcat cub and fawn photo – appeared on the Ellen Degeneres show – the landowner decided he needed to sell it and she’s concerned for the future of the animals she and her fellow workers just rescued. The WCN also seeks funds for their Oiled and Injured Seabird Rehab Center, and receive no City, State or federal funding. One of their volunteers, Nancy Callahan, runs W.I.L.D.E. Services which focuses on raccoons and opossums, had her home and facility burnt to the ground and must start over from scratch. After rehabilitation, the groups reintroduce rescued animals to the wild.
A few yeers ago, my frend Mimi Lennox started a Blogblast for Peace movement, and it spawned a sub-movement of cats hoo join in and PURR FUR PEACE. We beleeve there is no more peaceful a sownd in the hole entire werld than the sownd of a purring cat. And if evry persun in the werld held a purring cat on his lap, we’d have peace evryware in abowt ten seconds flat.
Today is a Blogblast for Peace day, and as usual, lots of cats are pawtisipating, purring fur peace. My speshul frend Daisy the Curly Cat even rote a poem fur the occasion:
Through Cat Eyes
Coats of brown, black, white, or tabby
they are all the same to me
Our furs long, short, plush or curly
they are just coverings you see
Purebred diva or shelter rescue
we’re all one family
If a cat can make a difference,
then man can, too, surely
A world of peace and harmony
one day will come to be ~ by Daisy
Heer are sum of the others cats hoo are pawtisipating:
This week, we’ll cover 13 Thanksgiving Costume ideas in our Thursday 13. With the holidays fast approaching, you cats need to cut down on the naps and focus and how you can be the star of your family’s Thanksgiving celebration.
The cat above, the interwebs sensation, Daisy the Curly Cat, is showing off her pilgrim attire. Her strict attention to detail has paid off in a stunning Mayflower ensemble. She even has a lifelike turkey prop which, unfortunately, is inedible.
The top three feline Thanksgiving costume options include the Pilgrim, the Indian, and the Turkey.
Tabby has gone for traditional Pilgrim attire above, but ate so much turkey she can’t get up. Make sure your costumes have enough room to accommodate a big meal.
Mao and Skeezix were pilgrims one year. As you can see, Skeezix rocks that pilgrim look.
Here’s Daisy again, but this time in a more casual Pilgrim look, with a sporty tee-shirt and hat. If you plan to romp around in the Autumn leaves before dinner, this is a good choice.
Scooter the Pilgrim Cat (above) shows off an authentic Puritan look, which is also worn by the Pilgrim cats below:
For every Pilgrim costume, there’s usually an Indian costume.
Taz has been practicing his gobble-gobble for a stint as a turkey:
While this cat seems to be using the disguise to lure unwitting turkeys into his clutches:
If you’re just not into the whole costume scene, it’s purrfectly acceptable to arrive for dinner wearing an elegant sweater with a seasonal applique:
Whatever you do, don’t let someone trick you into wearing a chicken outfit instead of a turkey outfit! You’ll look like a real turkey if you’re dressed as a chicken on Thanksgiving!
