Rest, Gunny

A few years ago, a kind neighbor passed away. Her husband and her sister in Kenya asked for help with two senior cats, Miles and Gunsmoke. How often do you receive an email from Kenya asking if you might help with homeless pets, only to learn that the cats in question belong to your next-door neighbor? Both Miles and Gunny found wonderful homes with different nearby neighbors. Miles returned to Wildrun for vet care for his last days and passed away at age 16. Today, Gunny has passed on in the safety of his second loving home.








I cannot thank Donna and Tim enough for the loving home they provided to Gunny, and the care they provide to all the Wildrun cats when I travel.

Back porch heartbreak

Older citizen coaxes female kitty, whom she has been feeding on her back porch since kittenhood, into her house. Calls around to find local cat Caretaker to help her. Local cat Caretaker arranges contact with Wildrun. Wildrun says "sure, we can get Pretty Girl (aka Tribble) fixed." Pretty Girl comes to Wildrun and has uneventful spay. Charms us with her cute little dancing front paws. Right before Send Home Weekend, Pretty Girl is drooling a bit. Goes to vet, comes home with meds for calici virus. Over the weekend, Pretty Girl is not doing as well as she ought, although better. Monday, to vet again. FeLV test is positive.

Sigh. Sadness.

Owner says "I'll keep her for the rest of her life if you get her better."

Pretty Girl gets fluids, antibiotics, pain meds for her mouth ulcers. Is doing pretty damn well! Wildrun calls owner to arrange to bring Pretty Girl for an owner visit. Caretaker will be there too.

Morning, Pretty Girl is doing fine.

Afternoon, Pretty Girl has passed away. Where that morning there was a lifted head and bright eyes, that afternoon there is silence.

Wildrun calls owner to tell her. We are both numb, but the owner more so because, of course, she loves her pretty girl. She sent her pretty girl away to have her life improved, and she never came back.

Wildrun calls Caretaker to tell her. Caretaker will visit owner. Brave, brave caretaker.

Pretty Girl is mourned by three women who really, really wanted her to live. Four or more, if you count the veterinarians and staff involved.

And most of all, the woman who opened her back door to let her in.

Wildrun heads out to a bar in Owego, because, you know? Life sometimes just. plain. is. sad.

March 14 Pancake Breakfast to Benefit Stray Haven

Who wants to go with me to have a great breakfast to support Stray Haven and SPCA, our local shelter? This is this upcoming Saturday. Maybe could meet here and carpool over?

Also, I'm helping Debra (Waverly feral cat rescuer extraordinaire) with a Kuranda bed drive for Stray Haven. We aim to replace ALL of their Kuranda beds this spring so their dogs can sleep up off the cold run floors. They have some beds, but they have definitely reached the end of their life. I am purchasing them Bed Number One today, to hopefully take to the breakfast to drum up more support there as well.

So, let's do breakfast!

************************************

WHEN: Saturday, March 14th
Time: 8:00am – 11:00am

WHERE: Waverly United Methodist Church
158 Chemung St., Waverly, NY

TICKETS: Available at the door on Saturday, March 14th OR
IN ADVANCE at Stray Haven S.P.C.A. & Humane Society located at 194 Shepard Rd., Waverly, NY
• $6.00 per Adult
• $5.00 per Senior Citizen
• $4.00 per Child 12 and under

Come out and Enjoy Breakfast while supporting Your Local Humane Society……the dogs & cats thank you!

***********************************************

What about Wildrun, you say? Well, I'm planning a painting party once the weather gets warm, so fluff up your brushes and don't throw out that old shirt!

Roses and friends at the Spencer Business Expo

(Gratuitous "Hope and Simon" blogging above!)

Poor Tink! She didn't think much of being "poster kitty" at the Spencer Community Business Expo, but the kids sure loved her. She has recovered from her trauma after three hours of being cooed over and petted by countless citizens. She didn't appreciate the limelight the way Shakespeare and Espie have in the past. Donna W. and I made the rounds of the Expo with Tinker-in-arms (with harness and leash). At one point she looked relaxed and sound asleep as I walked. Don't be fooled. She was petrified and pretending. Poor girl!

Nonetheless, I had fun, and I even had the satisfaction of watching quite a few people pick up information on how to trap/neuter their cats. I suppose it's time to admit I go to the Expo to visit my fellow local business and spend precious dollars on beautiful things for not-so-much money.

Baker Florist was right across the aisle from me. He had buckets of roses for $10 a dozen. Not pre-made bundles with six nice roses and six that probably should be headed for the compost bin. You got to choose your own 12 roses from the four buckets of gorgeous roses he had there. They smelled heavenly. I waited until just before break-down time and chose 12 roses (six flame-point type, and six deep pink) and they now grace my piano in an antique vase.

Now and then I go in and bury my face in the bunch and breathe in. Roses are a luxury I enjoy every three years or so. It's difficult to spend money on something so transient. It's easier when you purchase them at a local fair from a local business that's just trying to make a living.

So, no guilt here.

I never get any adoption nibbles at the Expo, and only get a few dollars in donations. But people take my information and the kids just love petting whatever cat I bring along. One little boy was absolutely mute but, as he petted Tinker, kept looking up at his dad and smiling, pointing at Tink, looking up at his dad with a smile, pointing at Tink...His dad gave a big broad smile himself and reached down and petted her as well. The boy never said a word, but the smile on both of their faces made the whole day worth it for me.

That and the roses.

Good trapping day

In the interest of finally finishing all those responsibilities I've been putting off, I headed into Ithaca to trap Fast Food Ferals, as there are at least three "new" cats there -- or so I thought. As I drove in, the fuzzy tom cat, stepped out of a shelter and trotted away, which was surprising because he normally sticks around to watch me. Maybe he knew what was up. Hope's mom shot out of the same shelter, ran across the bridge, and watched me from the other side of the creek as I set a trap, baited it with tuna fish/dry food mix, covered it with a slit pillowcase, and retreated to my truck to watch.

She didn't disappoint me. 15 minutes later she was in the trap, in the back of my truck, and I was happily erasing feral kittens from my list of "unwanted things that could happen this spring if I don't get my butt in gear." I set a second trap and went back to my truck.

Fuzzy Tom did not appear, and it was starting to get dark and rain more heavily. Soon I wasn't going to be able to see the trap.

A black shape detached itself from the weeds and slunk slowly up to the trap. I had seen a black cat now and then across the creek. He or she always ran away when I arrived. I could never be sure if the cat were an old or new resident. Over the years, I've fixed at least six black cats there. This cat took forever to finally decide to go into the trap. At least...I thought the cat was in the trap. It was so dark, I was unsure if the door had fallen or not, and the last thing I wanted to do was scare the cat off if it were partway inside and the door was still open. Finally I was convinced that the trap was shaking (cat trying to get out) and I headed down to check the trap.

When I peered in, I saw my black cat. Only she wasn't black. She was torti.

It was Pichou!



Pichou was the cat who started it all. Back in 2001, when the fast food strip was still swarming with cats and kittens, a few cats, Pichou included, sported eartips. Someone was trying TNR. However, no one was feeding or sheltering the cats, and they continued to hang out forlornly in the bitter winter on the edges of dumpsters, etc. and kittens were still everywhere, because no one was attempting to catch all the cats. After learning who was responsible, and confirming there was no caretakers, I got my back and attitude up (as only I can!) and took the colony over. However, I was never able to catch Pichou for a booster rabies shot. She avoided the traps at every turn. For awhile, she almost became tame. When I was fixing the skirting on the old trailer (since removed) where she and Annie-the-gray-cat were living, she used to sit right behind me and watch me work. But one day she was suddenly shy again, and I often did not see her for months at a time.

Here she was, in my trap! I am thrilled. I'll take her off to the vet, have her teeth checked and get her shots, and I'll probably return her, since she's lived eight long years on the fast food strip and seems to have avoided the hazards of four-lane highways and parking lots.

Pichou was the fund-raising poster kitty for Alley Cat Allies during Hurricane Katrina. In the photo above she is genuinely perched over a flood, but a local one, not Katrina. If I can find the ACA announcement, I'll post it.

The other "new" cats will come to my farm to live as free-roaming barn cats, as I need to reduce the population on the fast food strip in case the abandoned lumber yard gets bulldozed. Only original cats will go back.

I'm afraid my camera is MIA, so no new photos until I track it down.

Keep me company at the Spencer Business Showcase Sunday!

I'm crawling out of my box and will be at the 2009 Spencer Community Business Showcase tomorrow (Sunday) 1-4 pm.

If you are local, I hope you'll find time to nip over to the Spencer Middle School. If you need flowers, Baker's Florist always has the most beautiful display. There are lots of crafts, and of course, yours truly. I wasn't able to go last year, but I have been there previous years.

Come visit me! I'm thinking Tinker may be the cat I tow along for this event.

One more thing on the "To Do" list.

Ironically, one aspect of my life that has been neglected is my Petfinder account. I discovered how badly it has been neglected when I received an inquiry about sweet Leo and discovered I had listed his age in years rather than posting a birthdate. I have him listed as four, and I know he is older than that. I am now digging out his record to update his age and send more accurate info to the inquirer, with apologies.

I am slowly, slowly, getting my life in order after years of being three steps behind in all things. I'll be posting exactly how I'm doing that on my personal blog (but not this morning!)

More reading....

Thank goodness my friends send me things, or this blog would be empty this week. Kim sends this link to an article about the BBC dropping coverage of the Crufts dog show due to breeding practices that are detrimental to the well-being of dogs.

Microchip reunites cat with owner

My friend Nancy had this link posted on her Facebook page.

I've considered chipping our Wildrun cats. It's something I should look into soon.

Oprah adopts a shelter pup

Sorry I've been out of touch. Morning coffee reading here!

Why I love country music

It just sums up life so well.

Normally I recommend turning off the screen and not reading the lyrics, but the spelling errors are just all part of the fun!

Back in the saddle again.

With spring comes the mad dash to spay every female cat that comes within reach, and neuter any male cat that happens to get in the way, before kittens start appearing. Debra was referred to a Waverly resident who has a back-porch cat who needs fixing, so this black tuxedo cat is here tonight awaiting her trip to the vet tomorrow.

We may be beginning a fairly large TNR project soon. I'm not sure we will have the liberty to share the location, however it is a commercial location with quite a few cats and a caring staff.

Yes, indeed, it may not feel like it, but it's spring!

Hope's mom gets a new job!

Cary, Wildrun kitten-bottle-feeder, and adopter of Hope and Simon, and all of her additional long-time animal welfare efforts for other groups (well before Wildrun wandered into her life), has a new job! Congrats, Cary!

We've got a couple of Angus photos here and (hold for photo!)

Adopter photo: Hope grows up

And such good friends she has.

Wanderer cat on Ellen set?

I just got an email from Best Friends Animal Society suggesting I watch the Ellen DeGeneres Show to find out, but I don't have a television. So someone be sure to let us know what's up, OK?

Hemingway Home

The Hemingway Home in Key West is a bit of a Mecca for cat folk. The lot is surrounded by a stone fence, but it is easily scaleable by cats. Because these descendants of Hemingway's polydactyl cats are used in marketing for the museum, they technically may fall under USDA regulations for the use of animals in exhibition. This would mean they may need to be restrained by primary and secondary enclosures, and a host of other requirements. An understanding was struck that enabled the cats to remain. Purrfect Fence was erected to keep the cats safely on the property.

The story is fascinating. Here is an article from when the controversy was still open.



Hemingway had this fountain built for the cats to drink from.




You can see the Purrfect Fence (mesh that bends into the property) at the top of the existing stone fence.






This fellow totally ignored a tour as well as the tour guide who explained how it was his own job, at the end of the day, to relocate this fellow outside. The cat, oblivious now, knew exactly when the day was done and would come to life at closing time, making his daily eviction less than easy.




I'm afraid at nearly 2 am, I'm fresh out of narrative.

OK, I'm done now. Back to work.

These should be small enough to go on an anklet without dragging it down. And faster to make as well.

Okay, that's enough of the "Adult PlayDough Session." Back to work! I hear cat boxes calling me...

No food, no litterbox required.

There are some offsite adoption opportunities coming up at which, in the past, I have never succeeded in adopting any cats. They aren't events that people go to intending to encounter cats that need homes. However, I know the organizers like having me there to add some "color" to the aisles. And the kids love it.

It makes sense to have something to sell, to at least make my time there worth it. Even if I sell nothing, having something available keeps people at the table--talking about cats.

I've been playing around with beaded jewelry for the past year but, looking what is available at the Farmer's Market, I realize I don't have the vision to design truly unique and beautiful adult jewelry. Of course, I didn't learn this until I had already purchased, over time, a hefty bead inventory.

So I decided to go for whimsy instead. I have one kitty design, and my family may recognize him, since he has graced the back of my envelopes since college. I don't have a kiln, so I bought some Sculpey today to move him from 2-D into 3-D. The kitties above are my first three tries. The black kitty bead with the black feet is the most recent attempt. We're getting there! Once I get the kitties down, I'll decide what other beads will best show them off in a silly-sweet necklace. I supposed I could make them into pins as well. Or on a single strand of beads as a window charm so people who wouldn't be caught dead wearing one have an excuse to buy one to hang from their car rear-view mirror.

I also have a ton of shells and stone beads, and will make anklets for those of us longing for summer weather.

I cannot begin to tell you how hard it is to make a tiny cat! These guys are an inch high. You know how small those noses are? I finally gave up on trying to make them triangular. Yikes! I had to break out my $1 Rite Aid glasses to see what I was doing.

As I play around with these "cute" kitties, I'm going to also be bending my brain on a design that is more elegant than sweet. Maybe the typical ying/yang cat....

Is anyone here on Facebook?

Want to be friends?

I can't believe how many people I have found (or who have found me) that I haven't seen nor heard from in years.

If you haven't joined, perhaps you should! :)

Just a note on "peripheral" people

In trap/neuter/return, the issue of whether to fix free-roaming cats when they could be someone's pet comes up again and again. And as time goes by, more and more stories come up of people who don't even notice their cat has been fixed. They fail to notice the shaved belly or missing equipment, and assume an ear tip is a fight wound or fanbelt encounter.

I've never neutered a free-roaming pet on purpose, but I have discovered after the fact that a handful of cats I've had neutered were loosely owned by more than one person. Owner #1 requested neutering. Owner #2 lived a block away and had no knowledge that "their" cat was also living on another back porch. None had ever been to the vet or had a rabies shot (required by law in NYS).

In Key West, I was sitting at an open-door bar with friends. We were attended by a friendly male barkeep. We asked the name of the cat keeping vigil on the doormat.

He said "That's Bobbi. She's 16 years old. She's not really anyone's cat, but this is where she hangs out." Bobbi did indeed have the craggy good looks of a senior cat.

I raised an eyebrow at my friend and said. "Really? When did she last have kittens?" And he replied, "Oh, about six years ago."

I was pretty sure when I bid "Hello" to Bobbi upon entering, that Bobbi was a neutered male. I wandered to the door and knelt down. Bobbi was more than happy to boost "her" butt to be petted. Yes, Bobbi was definitely a boy.

I didn't see any point in mentioning this. Everyone was happy, right?

I wonder what happened to the original kitten-bearing Bobbi? Or had the kittens in the area actually belonged to some other cat, and this Bobbi simply tolerated them around him? Who knows?

Obviously, one night early in his life, Bobbi was scooped up by someone and taken for a trip to the vet, and his current absence of testicles led the barkeep to assume this cat was a lady.

Probably that trip to the vet is what has enabled him to live to this grand old age, gracing the mat of this handsome bar, where northern cat ladies can stop for a rum-runner and enjoy a Key West breeze.

Maybe no human noticed, but it has made all the difference for Bobbi.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Florida Keys SPCA

One of the great perks of working for a pet-related website, is that you can walk into an animal shelter, say where you are from, and people treat you like gold. The Florida Keys SPCA staff practically threw gold dust at my feet even though I arrived five minutes before they closed. Of course, everyone in Key West was wonderful--even the taxi driver who dropped me off and somehow magically showed up at the very second my half-hour tour with Matt ended.

Key West of course got walloped by Hurricane Wilma and could be in a storm path at any time. They showed me how high the water reached in their facility, and explained their evacuation plan for Wilma, and future storms.

Spay/neuter for pit bulls and feral cats is free. Oh, how I wish we had that here! And they have a very low-cost spay/neuter program for other pets.

Like most shelters, their facility could use a face-lift, and they are hoping to build a new shelter in the future.

They jokingly offered to bundle a little senior chihuahua up into a soft-sided crate that would fit under the seat in my plane. :) Or a hamster or two. I managed to resist.




The cats have an air-conditioned room, and screened cat porches where they can lounge or stare (and try to chase) passing birds and chickens. Their cat and dog intake is lower than my area. Most dogs are returned to their owners. But they have the huge additional challenge of "stray" iguanas and chickens. Not to mention the looming presence of storms.



Sally was happy to show off for me.

I promised to send them some grant resources, and I need to get on that.

They had a big handsome black pittie with white paws who was reaching out to me between the gap where his door met the frame. There are far too many sweet pit bulls in the world who need homes!

Catch-up blogging

Ugh. You know those overdone head-cold medicine commercials with the absolutely average looking woman (but pretty--it is a TV after all) with the swollen, tearing eyes, sneezing her head off...more than any person really does in real life?

OK, that is me. People really DO get puffed up eyes like that. I had to stop telephone conversations today to sneeze, and stood off to the side in the supermarket today until my eyes stopped watering lest something think I was crying. Luckily, I have no fever, aches, pain, etc. Nothing that boxes and boxes of Kleenex with Lotion and some NyQuil won't ultimately solve. I'm staying away from fellow humans though. No one else deserves this.

I realize I have ignored you all week. Yikes! I've been catching up on work email, digging through family paperwork, dealing with slightly odd rescue-related threats (my first in a quarter century), and I even had my job evaluation (a good one--yes!). So I promise over this holiday weekend, I will fill in the blanks.

First up are delayed Key West posts. One of the places I went to visit was The Butterfly and Nature Conservatory. The entrance fee was $12. Really $13, as there was tax. I was in and out in 20 minutes. If you really love butterflies, and have a good camera, this is a great place to stop. If your wallet is thin, the store is open to you without a fee. I chose to go inside.

Bring a lens cloth, or treat your lens ahead of time, because it will fog up every few seconds due to the high humidity.

It is interesting to see the different behaviors of the butterflies. Some flit briefly from plant to plant. Some seem never to land and are hard to catch on film. Some ignore the windows. Others beat their wings against them with futility. There are tiny quail running around that no one else seemed to find fascinating. I could have watched them for hours rather than the butterflies. The birds were finches. Obviously they could not have birds that might try to make a meal of the insects.

It was a fairly small area. Small or not, I'm sure it takes an incredible amount of work to maintain. I would have like to have seen more interpretative signage in the actual conservatory, with artwork of each type of butterfly, their origin and habitat, and information about the plants as well. In such high humidity, they would have been expensive signs of course, to survive in that environment.

They have a learning center, with video, before you enter.

Heading home

After a week in laid-back Key West, I notice no one seems to much care that the windows of the airport restaurant are sealed with duct tape. The food is good and the waitress calls me "Sweet Pea." A ringnecked dove is watching me through the window.

I could live here, spiders or no spiders. I'll keep it in mind when I'm truly tired of shoveling snow.

If it weren't for the spiders, I would move to Key West

I'm blogging at you from outdoor wireless on a patio in Key West, a block away from the revelry on Duval Street. It took only five minutes for a cat to find me (relaxed, happy, neutered). Were it not that the trees are home to a fair number of webs and spiders, and the cheapest house costs $250,000--with the average at around 600K--you might see me selling everything I have and coming here.



After breakfast at the Blue Heaven I bid goodbye to my coworkers and remained behind as most flew back north. I have a day and a half of sun, cats, and chickens, before I climb on my own plane.



This is Coach, a Blue Heaven cat, absolutely blind and absolutely happy. She has her own plastic chair with a bed a customer bought her, and a sign with her name on it. She has many co-habitants here at the restaurant.




I roamed Duval Street today, picking up some small presents for family and friends. I bought a toe ring to celebrate my happy feet, watched the sunset (a rite of passage I am told, on Key West) with Mike and Joan, our founder Betsy's parents, and am now listening to the wind blow through the palm trees, and the buzz of scooters up and down the quiet street. You would never know hundreds of tourists and residents are partying just a block away.

Key West has not only community cats, but community chickens.



This little fellow came right over to see if I had anything edible.



Three full nights of sleep for the first time in perhaps a half year, a bit of sun, and the freedom of toes, has even loosened me up enough to post a photo of myself.



The lovely white lady is a Hemingway cat, but you will have to wait until tomorrow for me to post those photos, as it's a wee bit cold out here.

Tomorrow, breakfast, a beach, the shelter, the Rooster Rescue Team, then home again, home again.

Art for Factory Cats

(Artwork from "The Animal Rescue Art Project.")

I opened up a great email this morning asking if we could publicize an art event to benefit feral cats in Cincinnati. Absolutely!:

A group of artists across the country is creating art inspired by these cats. Through an auction of these donated artworks, our goal is to raise enough money to have all the cats spayed and neutered, provide medical care for any who need it, and get as many cats as possible into foster homes or permanently adopted. We also hope to provide Bud with a continuous supply of food and access to veterinary services to allow him to continue to care for the cats left at the factory ruins.

Bidding begins as a silent auction on Valentine's Day and continues on eBay. Check it out!

Street cats in Key West

It took me exactly 20 minutes to get checked in, change my clothes, a find a hammock on the beach. Quiet waves, bright sun, brisk wind (which made the plane landing a bit...adventurous), I took advantage of the few free hours before work meetings begin tomorrow morning to free my poor frost-bitten toes.

A half-hour of bliss later, my phone rang and fellow staff called to summon me to a street-trek in search of dinner. And what did we find? Cats, of course. This fellow was friendly, fur-rough, thin, but healthy, car smart, and neutered.



The street cats in Key West are evident, and fairly friendly. And fed right out in the open. Perhaps these particular cats are pets rather than community cats. While the next two days are packed with back-to-back meetings, Friday afternoon and Saturday morning I hope to visit the local SPCA, the Hemingway House cats, the Chicken Store (home of the Rooster Rescue Team) and do a bit more exploring.

A Google search of "Key West Feral Cats" finds all sorts of information.



The influx of so many Jerseyites, New Yorkers, and DC residents at once appears to have altered the weather patterns here. They are experiencing an unusual chill. I'm convinced we are the cause.

I finally triumphed over the espresso machine in my hotel room this morning. I consider that a good start to a good day.

Post-note: I checked the weather at home. High of 6F and low of -14F? Crank the heat in the carpeted cat room, Donna! Brrrr!!!

Guess that airport

This is an easy one. Any guesses?

Sleeping beauty...

There is an entire bed in my den. And except when I'm sleeping on it and Ivan dares to come up, it is the realm of a single cat. Ditz. She looks so sweet, doesn't she? Yeah, right. Tell that to any other cat that jumps up hoping to share one tiny corner of the four-inch-thick memory-foam, microplush covered bed upon which six cats should be able to sleep comfortably.

Nope. Just Ditz. She turns into a shrieking banshee should anyone dare. Even the Terrorist Kittens.

Speaking of which, I need to turn my attention to finding them homes in February. They have made me laugh, but they need people of their own.

On gassing cats

Here is an excellent article on the less-common but continuing practice of killing shelter animals via gas chambers.

Barbara Mansfield has become an advocate for homeless animals, especially those that are euthanized with gas at many of the state’s shelters.

A resident of Pasquotank County, Mansfield is raising awareness about soon-to-be-introduced legislationadvocating humane euthanasia practices and a ban on gassing.

Although most of North Carolina’s animal shelters use lethal injection to euthanize animals, 32 shelters, including the tri-county animal shelter for Chowan-Gates-Perquimans and Hertford County shelters, use carbon monoxide gas chambers.

How gas chambers work: Multiple animals are placed together in the chamber. It is not pre-charged (because the chamber is fairly large, pre-charging would be dangerous to the humans placing animals inside). The length of time to unconsciousness is therefore quite long while the chamber fills with gas. The animals panic, vocalize, and struggle.

Sometimes animals may not all succumb to the gas. In unfortunately situations, when staff open up the chamber, a few animals may still be alive. The chambers either needs to be refilled all over again, or a secondary form of killing has to be administered. If lethal injection isn't available to begin with (otherwise, why gas?) the secondary killing form is likely to be a physical method, brutal on both the animal and the human who administers it.

(Note: small chambers are also used to kill sick or injured wildlife. These chambers are pre-charged with CO2 gas, only one animal is placed within the chamber and the animal is usually caged unless it is already comatose. If the chamber is not pre-filled, because it is so small it fills very quickly. Unconsciousness takes place in about a minute in a large raccoon, death within 3-5 minutes. It's still not particularly humane, in my opinion, but it is significantly different from large chambers that gas multiple animals, especially larger animals such as dogs).

This comment from the article is very telling to anyone who has experienced burnout in an animal shelter or animal laboratory:

Bass advocates use of the gas chamber statewide and claims her colleagues prefer the use of a gas chamber for euthanasia.

“We prefer the chamber because it’s less stressful on us,” Bass said. “Putting the animals down is hard enough, and now we have to worry about comforting each one as we do it?”

And a later comment makes it clear we still have a long way to go in educating shelter staff about how simple it is to restrain a feral cat:

“It’s a personal choice here, older dogs and puppies we don’t put in the gas chamber, it’s usually just for the aggressive ones we can’t handle,” Bass said. “Can you imagine trying to hold down a feral cat for an injection?”

Yes, I can. It's done hundreds, probably thousands of times a day, at spay/neuter clinics and vet offices across the United States. And yet so many animal sheltering professionals (and veterinarians) still are unaware of it. That would appear to be our fault. How do we do a better job? Instead of making shelter managers out to be demons for using gas, how do we make it easier for them to switch?

It IS very stressful to work in a shelter and kill animals. The fact is, it's part of the job. And its the responsibility of every professional in every field to strive to use the best tools available. If the job of a shelter manager is to handle the unwanted pets of a municipality in the most professional manner, appealing to "personal choice" isn't an option.

In additional, taking personal responsibility for killing individual animals also forces us to see them as individuals rather than a herd. As humans, we are more likely to take extra steps to lower the death rate, I believe, if we rebel against killing so many individuals. We are more likely to look at other optons--increasing spay/neuter, creative adoption events, etc. if we rebel against having to kill so many animals.

We are less likely to do this if we just load up the chamber, turn on the gas, turn off the gas, put in our earplugs, and come back in an hour.

When it comes to domestic animals, it is time for the gas chamber to be put to sleep, retired as a back-up only until, as most shelters have already discovered, it gathers so much dust someone says "why do we even still have this thing around?"

NYC Mayor's Alliance reports progress

The NYC Mayor's Alliance reports that they are on track for their goal of no euthanasia of adoptable pets.

Evidence of the Alliance's success can be seen in the decreasing euthanasia statistics. In 2007, for the first time in New York City's history, euthanasia at municipal shelters fell below 50 percent, to 43 percent. When final numbers for 2008 are available next month, the euthanasia rate is expected to be 38 percent. That number is down from 74 percent in 2002 (the year the Mayor's Alliance was formed), when 31,908 of the more than 40,000 dogs and cats entering NYC's Animal Care & Control (AC&C) shelters were euthanized.

"We have a long way to go but we're definitely making progress toward our goal," says Jane Hoffman, president of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals. "The current economic downturn puts additional pressure on our facilities, but we're determined to become a no-kill community and the Alliance has realized some impressive achievements along the way."

TNR is an important part of their blueprint. Read the entire article for more.

Morning feral cat news

Tehama County discusses their feral cats.

Feral Friday every Friday in Oregon.

Denver citizens react to state legislator's recommendation to shoot ferals.

And from yesterday, rounding up abandoned pets in Miama-Dade.

Another hiss cat blog

Love and Hisses.

Now don't you wish you'd thought of that name?

Possibilities are never out of reach

I SO need to stop reading Gary's blog. Today he had a post about his friend Ben's exhibit wall at the Kitschen Sink art garage. I was headed into town and thought I'd swing by.

Oh, big mistake. Or big blessing. I'm not sure which. Because ,Alice Muhlback was there, and a piece of her art has been preying on my soul ever since I saw it hanging at The Smart Monkey Cafe. I own a few of her small pieces, and people who know me well will see immediately why they speak to me.

"Cat Never Left." Need I say more?



"Blue Print to Relax." Any questions?



(click image to enlarge) Note: both pieces are now safely back on the wall.

About seven months ago I walked into Smart Monkey, and there was a large painting on the wall, on a very beautiful piece of vintage wood, of a fairy with a wand chasing a "Cat Never Left" cat, and beneath it was printed "Queen of Possibilities."

This was back when I was recovering from The Great Walkout and was looking for a swift kick in the ass where ever I could find one.

Every time I planned to eat out, I stopped by The Smart Monkey and stared at that piece. And the price tag. At the time, lunch a restaurant was a luxury I couldn't much afford. Artwork was certainly out of the question.

Then one day it was gone, and I figured someone had loved it as much as had.

When I heard Corinne, current owner of the store (post-note, Gary points out that Liz Tilley is the owner; Nancy points out that Corrine is a exhibitor) mention to another visitor that the woman conversing in the corner was Alice, I realized I was doomed. I circled the place five or six times, and finally went over and asked if she still had the Queen of Possibilities.

She does indeed.

It appears the Queen of Possibilities maybe moving here to stay.

So how is it that this is a "rescue post" instead of being on my Feral By Nature blog? Well, while I was paying for purchases and conversing about cats with another visitor, Corinne points to me and says "Are you Susan?" She proceeds to tell me she adopted three cats from me. After much conversation, we realized this would have been almost seven years ago. Yet I do not remember her! So I am not certain if she adopted from me or from Susan M. So many people think we are the same person. Sometimes I think the two of us get confused as well. She also mentioned "I" had sent her home with medicine for ringworm for one the cats, and I'm certain I've had no cats with ringworm until two years ago when I had my first experience with it.

But this wouldn't be the first time I've had a total memory blackout about a person!

The first thing I did when I got home was to call Susan M. and leave her a message, and tonight I'll pull out my old adoption records to see if I can find Corinne's name.

And you'll have to go over to Feral By Nature to see what I did buy. But I haven't posted it yet (8:07 pm ET) so don't be in a hurry.

I also remember a very large painting that I'm now certain Ben must have done, also hanging at the Smart Monkey on the second floor, that also took my breath away. I'm fairly certain it had a "sold" tag on it however, so I think I'm safe from that one.

Well, of course I was checking out the name...

I was checking out the blogroll on another blog and my eyes stopped on the interestingly named Did a Cat Shit in Here? No, it is not about cats. It is about smell, and search-and-rescue. And it is absolutely fascinating, especially to my dog readers.

Sparta's Dad "Mr Safety" on Cat Trapping

While checking out the Mean Kitty channel, I found they had made short file on Trap/Neuter/Return! It's not the most comprehensive video, but it is a testament to how TNR has become more and more mainstream.

"I'd get her spayed, but I can't get a hold of her." We hear this all the time, especially from owners of "just kinda shy" backporch kitties like the one featured in this video. You can now. You can trap her. And chances are good your vet will have had trapped cats brought to her/him by now, and she will know how to handle her.

It's reassuring to see videos like this, with its link to more information. "Mainstream" means more lives saved.

Sparta has Feline Leukemia

Even the "mean little kitty" of YouTube fame isn't safe from this virus.

Good thoughts to Sparta!

Phil and Eugenia's cat Rhett is now over five years old, FeLV positive, and still going strong.

Day in the life of a cat-crusader

Since I've been working from home, I have not been trapping as much as I used to when I worked in Ithaca and commuted to a job that cared less if I nipped out to check traps, so long as the work got done.

The adventures of others bring it all back oh-so-clearly!

This lady is amazing. You need to read today's post to see what cat-folk go through. (Scroll down below the photo montage). Just like in dog control, the problem is people-management, not animal management. Cats are easy to catch. It's the people you want to stick in a cage to keep out of the way! And when you find someone who "gets it" -- man, that just makes it all worthwhole.

Sunny breakfast made brighter by blog friends

I visited Gary Rith's studio in Etna yesterday to pick up my teapot and witness a heart-mug in the making. I got to meet his wife, and sweet beagle Penny. There is a beautiful view of Fall Creek from his studio window.

It was fascinating to watch him work on his wheel. He makes it look so easy. I distinctly recall the alarming wobble in my school attempts to work on a potter's wheel. It didn't occur to me until I sat watching him that--even though many of my current and past friends are potters--I've never seen them work on the wheel. I've only seen their final product, which is simply not the same.

I love my teapot. It has a shape that you just want to hold cupped in your two hands. The size is perfect, and it's precisely sturdy enough that I won't break it--which is specifically what I asked for. I hate buying things I love only to bust them with an idle tap on the sink faucet or some such. I use a teapot daily and I didn't dare risk a handle like this. I'm glad he decided on his own to make a sturdy spout, too. I am not a dropsy-type person, but I do tend to wack objects accidentally against other things with disturbing consequences.

The little piggy mug was a gift from Gary as I walked out the door. The teapot was nearly a gift, too, at the price he set for it. I'm pretty sure I received a generous "blogger friend" discount. I had put aside money for this teapot, so since I had money left over I promptly deposited a check via ATM into The Leewit Fund for spay/neuter. This seemed to be fitting--sort of a double gift.

I do have to push his heart mugs. They are gorgeous, and the red glaze is as dark and beautifully muted as it appears on his blog. The heart teacups with saucers, which I have not seen blogged on his site yet, are absolutely precious, so if you have a tea-drinker in your life and need a Valentine's gift, email Gary and ask for a photo. Both the mugs and teacups are comfortable enough for everyday. They whisper "Love" rather than shout "Valentine's Day" so can be sipped from every day of the year. Or given as a gift at any time, I might point out.

Which is what love is all about, right?


Post-note: Ah, Here are the teacups! Seriously, are they not beautiful? And here is the whole store.

Jack and The Leewit go digital, too

Mary, founder of our Leewit Fund (sorry, Jack, I do not mean to leave you out, but it's important to have a name that sticks in people's minds and makes them go "umm, what the heck is a Leewit?") got a digital camera. This means more J and The L photos, because previously I never got around to scanning their hardcopy photos and posting them on the blog. Instead, they reside on my refrigerator where, unfortunately, only I get to see them.

People have asked about donating since I took down the Amazon link, and I apologize, as I have not set up the PayPal account. I think that may be a good task for this weekend, to gear up for summer kitten season.

Here's some good news: Black Cat Rescue has their first adoption of 2009!

Inside joke

This is funny to most folk, but probably hilarious to people who adopt out homeless pets, as the "pets-as-gifts" issue is a hot one. On one hand, what if the person doesn't want the pet? On the other, people will get a pet somewhere else if you say "no" and research shows that people are more, not less, likely to keep a gift pet. Nonetheless, I've had gift-pets returned, so I understand the hesitation.

Emmi, however, is doing great, and is reportedly much-loved! Apparently her silly quirks and wide range of chirps are much appreciated. So she is one gift-cat who is a lucky gift-cat.

Hope goes digital

Cary sends this photo of Hope, who has just discovered the TV. I should point out that the digital switchover has been a boon to those of us who don't get TV but do watch DVDs. Cary and John have gifted me with not one but two beautiful large analog TVs that have come their way, and I now watch my Netflix in style.

On killing cats to save birds

If you follow feral cats, you may already be aware of the management disaster at Macquarie Island....originally touted as a massive success at eliminating feral cats, but quickly becoming an ecosystem disaster as rabbits reproduced and devastated the landscape.

A number of years ago, we were holding an adoption event at Barnes and Noble in Ithaca (where EVERY cat was adopted--thank you B and N!) and a gentleman and his young son came over. The son was fascinated by blind Buttercup, standing on a chair and petting and petting Buttercup, who was lounging on top of his cage.

The gentleman made a few friendly/sarcastic comments about feral cats, and finally I sat down next to him and learned that, in fact, he was a management agent who had been responsible for shooting/trapping/poisoning feral cats "on an island." He was now working at a local university.

I explained what we were doing with trap-neuter-return, and the successes we had had with it locally, and pointed out that the cats being adopted at the bookstore that day would be adopted to indoor homes only, and that, in fact, TNR advocates had the same agenda as eradication advocates---No More Feral Cats. I mentioned my background in nuisance wildlife control, and how I had come to work with feral cats. He expressed surprise that we were so level-headed, and we all quietly laughed when his son declared loudly that this was what HE was going to do when he grew up. Well---we advocates did. I'm not sure dad did. But he was certainly nice enough, and stopped the comments once he realized we were in fact grounded in our beliefs and actions.

He then asked if he could leave his son in our care while he stepped out to browse the bookstore. I said "Absolutely, if you don't mind leaving him in the company of a bunch of childless women." He looked around at the group of 30ish (at that time) not-unattractive women (no supermodels, certainly, but no one went running in the other direction when they looked at us) and said "NONE of you have children?" We all shook our heads no and smiled. He sort of looked at us, called his son to come, and left. It was a bookstore, after all, so we did not howl aloud in laughter, but I wanted to.

They did come back to say goodbye to Buttercup before they left the store.

I have a photo of blind Buttercup on my refrigerator that Susan M. obtained for me, from his owner. He's doing great.

I've always wondered if the gentleman had been referring to Macquarie Island. There weren't many islands where feral cats were successfully eradicated.

Before and after photos of the rabbit damage can be found here.

Aflatoxin concern with chick feed litter?

Donna sends the following:

Just as an FYI about using chicken feed as cat litter.....I'm sure there's a lot of discussion about the "real" risks involved, but below is a section from a Petfinder Forum post at http://forums.petfinder.com/viewtopic.php?t=148000:

I posted about the use of corn feed about a month ago. We used it for about 2 months with no problems. Then all of a sudden all our cats started getting sick, one by one. We checked everything. While researching some things and talking to our vet, it dawned on us what could be wrong. Our corn litter. We bought a black light and tested the litter. Nothing. The next night we tested again and there it was, aflatoxin. The conditions were perfect, warm pee and untreated corn feed. Once we got rid of the corn feed and disenfected the pans and the surrounding areas the cats are now much better. Cheap litter for sure but it really wasn't worth a $2,000 vet bill. It's actually not almost the same thing. Regular chick feed untreated. World's Best Kitty Litter is corn feed that has been treated and sanitized in order for aflatoxins not to grow.

I've seen other reports about such problems, kind of like this one at http://www.litterbox-central.com/litter-box/smartscoop/topic2618.html:

Chicken feed tends to grow mold that contains aflatoxin, which causes liver damage in cats. If the mold is present or grows in the liter, your cat will ingest it after walking in the litter and cleaning her legs/paws. I know someone on another forum who tried this and all 3 of her cats ended up in the hospital with serious live disease, and they will never fully recover.

Well, poop and piddle, something always has to rain on my parade. But that's why we blog, isn't it, to get input from a community? So I went off to do some additional web research and found that "Aflatoxins are produced under certain conditions, which include temperatures from 55--104 °F (optimum 81--86 °F), and 17--18 percent and higher moisture content."

So conceivably, using this litter in my foyer cat box room (currently 35 degrees F, brrrrr...) during the winter would likely be safe, but in the summer when its 75 and very humid probably wouldn't be such a hot idea.

I'll need to go stick a thermometer in the cat facility cat boxes. I'm guess in the winter they also are pretty chilly, since they sit on the floor. And it is dry, dry, dry up there now--I even have humidifiers going to reduce the static shock in kitty fur.

Aflatoxin is definitely a concern. Certain levels are permitted in feed.

What is aflatoxin?
Aflatoxin is a mold (Aspergillus flavus) found in corn and cottonseed (but also peanuts, sorghum,soybeans and rice) that is carcinogenic. It is caused by moisture and temperature conditions both in thefield or storage, usually greater than 70 F. Toxic response depends on species, amount consumed, level of aflatoxin, age, sex, nutritional status and physiological state. The liver is the principal organ affected.(Merck Veterinary Manual, 8th Ed.)

What are the allowable levels in animal feeds?
Feeds with greater than 20 ppb aflatoxin are not allowed for dairy animals and are not recommended for young animals. Aflatoxin levels up to 100 ppb are permissible for adult animals and up to 50 ppb for wildlife. Aflatoxin levels up 200 ppb are suitable for finishing swine and up to 300 ppb for finishing steers.

The things we learn as we blog...

BTW, today is Delurking Day

So if you've been reading but not commenting, please consider saying "hi!" in the comments. :)