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04/16/09
UPDATE!!! Our friend Diego let us know that The Donald came through surgery without incident. Read about it here.
An 8-yr-old Oregon tabby, currently cared for by the Willamette Humane Society, has earned the moniker “The Donald” for a furry pouch that hangs over his face like an ill-conceived combover.
The stray has been at the shelter since early April, and the shelter’s veterinary staff have never seen anything like it. The fur-covered 3-inch pouch seems to be composed of fatty tissue that could be a remnant of an abscess. It completely covers The Donald’s face.
According to Kara Kuh, a spokeswoman for the humane society, “When he drinks water his pouch gets in the water bowl,” Kuh said. “He has to kind of fling it aside.” It does not prove to be an obstacle in eating, however; The Donald boasts a healthy weight. “He’s a normal cat, aside from that funky flap,” she said.
Surgery has been scheduled to excise the flap. It does not appear to be causing The Donald any pain, Kuh said.
He’ll be placed in foster care after the surgery and before he is up for adoption. Kuh says that The Donald is very sweet and friendly.
Interested in adopting the Donald? Contact Willamette Humane by phone (503-585-5900) or email.
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04/15/09
Last weekend we reported on a strongly bonded cat-dog duo who had been surrendered and was seeking adoption in Northern California. The Marin Humane Society reports the good news that Frieda and Morgana have been adopted by a lovely Marin County family! Woooo Hooooo!!!! Enjoy your new home, you two!
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03/16/09
 Hey evrybuddy, Skeezix heer. Yoo know, no famly is complete without a cat or a dog. Owning one will help teech yer kids responsibility and compassion. But how do yoo interdoose a cat into a howsehold with kids, dogs, and/or other cats?
Planning is key to a suksessful introdukshun into yer house. Ask yerself the following qweschuns before yoo adopt:
- Can yoo afford a cat? During our current ekonomik crisis, a lot of peepul are relinqwishing cats they can’t afford. Don’t be one of them. Clik heer to get an estimate of the costs of owning a cat.
- Are yer kids mature enuf to care for a cat? Always assoom yer gonna be the one hoo ends up taking care of Fluffy. Do yoo have the time*, payshunts and inclination to do so?
- What purrsunality type should yoo get? Do yer kids want a frisky cat hoo loves to do nuthing but play? Or a qwiet, affektionate cat hoo will keep them company wile they study?
- How do yoo think yer dog wood react to a cat? If yer dog is the type hoo charges cats evry chance he gits or tends to play ruff, a cat is probly not a good idea. The truth abowt cats and dogs is, they do not always coexist peesefully. My big bruther Mao wood have a nerviss brakedown if he had to live with a dog.
- Ware will yoo be in 20 yeers? A cat can be a 20-yeer commitmint. If yer kids are teenagers, that meens yoo’ll be responsible for caring for the cat for most of her life, and yoo shood chooze a cat that yoo’ll enjoy win yer an emty nester.
It’s impurrtant to inklood yer kids in the cat selekshun process. Assign them the task of reserching breeds, and get them involved in assigning cat care chores. Most importantly, when yoo go to the shelter to adopt yer new cat, take the kids with yoo. They’ll bond with the cat and conseqwently take a grater intrist in yer new famly member.
Once yer new cat is home, give her time to git accustomed to the new surrowndings, peeple and other pets. Read The Humane Society of the United States’ tips on interdoosing a new cat to yer dog(s). Heer are sum tips on interdoosing the new cat to yer kids:
- Teech yer children how we cats like to be handled… and more importuntly, how we DON’T like to be handled. Don’t pik us up by the skruff of our neks. Insted, support our bak legs in one hand and use the other hand to support our chests. Hold us jently but securely close to yer body. Don’t pull our tales. Keep in mind that many cats git overstimulated on thare baks, so teech yer kids to be careful win yoo tuch us thare. Reed this grate artikle abowt how to reed yer cat’s signals fur help on knowing win yer about to git bitten.
- Always snoopervize yer kids around yer new cat. This is espeshully importunt 1) Win yer cat is new, cuz we can git nerviss in new places, and mite hiss or bite if we feel threttened, and 2) If yer kids are yung and excitable. Threttening behavior can inklood cornering us, chasing us, sqweeling or showting, or petting inappropriutly. Yer kids need to understand that it’s importunt to act CALM and QWIET arownd us, and yoo should be arownd to make shur they don’t forget.
- Don’t let yer kids disterb us win we’re eeting or sleeping or using the litter box. PRIVACY, pleeze! Can yoo krap with sumwun lookin’ at yoo?
- Don’t let yer kids play ruff with us. Cuz they’ll regret it. Win yoo play ruff we wip out our weppons: teeth and claws. And we’ll win evry time. Insted, play with us using cat toys. They don’t even have to be ixpensive toys: I’m happy with a paper bag, a big box, or a long piece of string.
- Don’t let yer kids teeze us. It’s not nice. Make shur they understand the diffrinse between teasing and playing.
- Teech yer kids how importunt it is to keep us indoors, so yoo don’t have to teech yer kids how to hold a cat funeral erlier than yoo otherwize wood. If yer kids are at an age ware they and thare playmates are always running and and out of the house, make shur evrybuddy knows to keep the cat inside.
Heer are a few extra adopshun tips:
- Do yer homewerk. Do yoo rent a home (and does your landlord allow pets)? Do yer kids have the rite tempermint for cats? How much time to yoo have available to care for a new cat*? Figyer this out before yoo adopt.
- If yoo have a dog,
 adopt a cat hoo has lived with a dog.
- Consider adopting a speshul needs cat, like one with FIV. It will teech yer kids an importunt lessin in tolerance and compassion. Theeze cats can leed long helthy lives, but are diffikult to find homes for and most often are euthanized by shelters.
- Consider adopting a pair of cats insted of just one. When yer kids are at skool, yer cat will have an aktivity partner, and cats with buddies are often happier cats with fewer behavioral problems.
- Consider adopting an older cat insted of a kitten. Yoo’ll have a much more accurate insite into the cat’s purrsunality, wich can be importunt win integrating a cat into a famly, espeshully a family with yung children.
- Spay/Nooter your pet. Beleeve me, yer cat won’t miss his grapes and he’ll be more mellow and less aggressive. And it purrvides yoo with an opportoonity to teech yer kids abowt responsible pet ownership. Letting Fluffy have a litter of kittens so yer kid can watch the miracle of berth is irresponsibul. In seven years, one female cat and her offspring can theoretikly purrdoose 420,000 cats. Most will end up in shelters and be euthanized; most of the rest will end up in feral colonies and die from accidents and dizeaze.
- Join Catster. It will give yoo the oppertoonity to discuss integration problems with cats and peepul hoo’ve gone thru it themselfs. Membership is free.
Adding a cat to yer household is just abowt the best thing yoo can do fur yer kids. If yoo do yer homewerk, yoo can ensure that the integration will be suksessful, not sukky.
Lern more abowt selekting cats for a kid-friendly home:
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* Yoo shood feed yer new cat abowt a million treets a day. This will make yer cat like yoo a lot. Yoo need to set aside a LOT of time to do this.
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01/23/09
 8-year old Morris (right) has been at Valley Humane Society for three months. Isn’t it time he had a furever home? If you act quickly, you can adopt Morris or one of hundreds of other pets for free tomorrow.
Hill’s® Science Diet® is sponsoring “Change a Pet’s Life Day.” The first ten adoptions at participating Hill’s partner shelters are free on January 24, 2009. Hill’s will underwrite the cost of the first ten cat and dog adoptions at 300 participating shelters across the country. New pet owners will also receive a starter kit that includes free Hill’s® Science Diet® pet food and tips to give their adopted cat or dog the best start in their new life. Hill’s has donated $100 million worth of dog food to shelters to get pets ready for adoption since 2002.
Click here to find a pawticipating shelter near you.
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11/05/08
 Everybody gets better with age, right? That includes most pets as well. You might remember our Catster Superstar profile last month of Minxy, who was adopted at the age of 21 after ten years in a shelter. Minxy’s mom knows that she won’t have Minxy for long, but the quality of time spent with Minxy is priceless.
Senior cats are usually calmer and they’ve already outgrown their mischievous destructive years. November is Adopt a Senior Pet Month — a month dedicated to the oft-overlooked senior animals that come into shelters.
Most people are apprehensive about adopting an older cat because they believe she might have health or behavioral issues. Senior pets arrive in shelters for a variety of reasons. Often it’s not the cat who was the problem, but the human. Their families moved, a new baby arrives in the house, a household member develops allergies, the human no longer has time for the animal, or the human has died or moved into a rest home …  older pets are given up to shelters or rescue groups because owners can’t take care of them anymore, or sadly just don’t want them anymore.
Most senior pets relinquished to shelters face euthanasia. However, some of these elderly pets clearly have time left, often quite a few years. When searching to adopt a new family member be open to adopting a cat of any age. Yes, there may be a concerns with adopting older animals, but the risk of adoption for a senior pet is low and the rewards are immeasurable. BestFriends.org has a list of reasons that you should consider adopting a senior pet:
Less destruction – - With a senior pet you don’t have to worry about “child” proofing your home. Older pets, dogs in particular, are not teething anymore and won’t chew everything in site while they’re growing up. Shoes, furniture, TV remote control and landscaping are generally untouched when you bring an older pet home. With a youngster, no matter how well you monitor them…something is bound to be destroyed.
Bladder control - – Senior pets are generally housebroken. And, if they’re not, they are much easier to train than a young pet that has not yet gained bladder control. Plus, senior pets know the appropriate area to relieve themselves. Senior cats are accustomed to a litter box.
Eight hours of sleep – - Senior cats let you get a good night’s sleep because they are already attuned to human schedules. They don’t get the kitten crazies at 3:00 in the morning waiting for someone to entertain them. Senior pets settle down and snooze soundly throughout the night, just like you do!
Instant Companion – - Senior pets settle in quickly because they’ve already learned what it takes to get along with others. Older cats are ready to enjoy a comfortable nap in your lap or spend time keeping you company while you work on the computer. And, being older and wiser, senior pets sense they have been saved and start showing their love and devotion, in turn, very quickly.
My mom is a huge proponent of senior pet adoption. For as long as I can remember, she’s adopted older animals, often left homeless after their own senior owners died or moved into assisted living situations. These dedicated pets are suddenly left to deal not only with separation from a beloved owner, but are faced with being euthanized if considered too old to be adoptable. My mom swears that these pets are grateful for being rescued, and are much easier for her, as a senior, to manage.
If you’re considering adopting a senior cat and you live in Northern California, our friend Minxy has a senior cat she’s trying to find a home for:
“I just got back from a check-up at the vet and they have taken in a senior kitty called Freckles and are looking for a good home for her. The family of an elderly woman who had to go into a nursing home brought her in to be euthanised but the vet persuaded them to surrender her to them instead. I don’t think the family are super evil as they are finding homes for the younger cats but Freckles was old and sick and they couldn’t find anyone to take her. The vet is treating her to get her back to health but need to find her a home and can’t keep her for long.
“They are not sure how old Freckles is but she is a senior kitty probably in her teens. She was sick and skinny when she came in 3 weeks ago but is getting better and has put on weight and they don’t think she has any chronic illnesses.
“Freckles is a dark tortie with a white chin and white whiskers. When mum went round the back to see her she was friendly and purred and smooched.
“If anyone is interested in adopting Freckles or finding out more about her she is at the Sacramento Cat Hospital 916-488-4161.”
Adopting a senior pet is a wonderful experience and there are many senior pets awaiting adoption at your local shelter. These animals still have time to bring joy to you and are just looking for that one special home to cherish them for the rest of their lives.
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10/27/08
On Friday, an Idaho family had a tough time deciding which cat or kitten to adopt: 329 cats and kittens had been abandoned or taken in by the shelter in the past ten days.
Some families can’t afford the expense any longer and turn their animals in to the local shelter. Far worse, many more people are moving and leaving their pets behind to fend for themselves, as happened to “Prince Chunk,” the 44-lb New Jersey cat who made national news earlier this year. Just this weekend, in my own neighborhood I saw two “FOUND” animal signs — something I’d rarely seen before — and it wouldn’t surprise me if these foundlings were foreclosure victims.
 Like many shelters, the Idaho Humane Society has maxed out its capacity of 150 and its foster-care sysem. Hoping to accelerate the stagnant adoption rates, they’re offering a “free to good home” promotion through the end of this month. Officials are hoping that donations will help defray the costs.
Used to be, the IHS would take in 10 to 15 abandoned or neglected cats daily. On October 8th, it took in 85 cats and adopted out only one.
The problem that the IHS is experiencing is not endemic — shelters across the United States are experiencing a boom in abandonements. What can you do to help your local shelters?
- If adopting, consider adopting a pair of cats instead of just one. Many shelters have littermates or longtime companions that need to be adopted out together, and adopting a pair eases the transition process for both.
- Offer to be a foster family for a local shelter.
- Donate food or other needed items. Some shelters with websites have a wishlist of items they need donated.
- If you’ve been considering adoption but haven’t yet taken action, now would be an excellent time to give a cat a new lease on life.
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