Hurricane Gustav and Gulf Coast pets/animals

Hurricane Gustav is headed for the Gulf Coast. A massive evacuation has taken place, but of course there are still people and pets in the path of the storm, and the storm could shift to the east or west.

Petfinder.com has a blog with updates on the storm, and information they receive from members and organizations involved with regional support.

If you learn of other blogs or up-to-the-minute online sources, please post them in the comments, and I'll add them to this post. I'll be moving this post to the top of the blog each day.

Updates: The following sites also have up-to-date information:

Best Friends Animal Society via their Twitter feed.

Animal Rescue New Orleans (ARNO) via their home page.

Nola.com forums (Thank you, Connie, for the ARNO and NOLA links).

FEMA has a registry for people attempting to local displaced family members

Let's hope and pray Gustav that lessons learned from Katrina shine, and rebuilt levees hold. So far we've seen a successful evacuation, and pet-friendly evacuation buses. Let's see what else we've learned.

Music to mow to.

Yesterday I was mowing and this song came on the radio headphones. I thought I'd share.



The only other version of this on YouTube had scary promo photos of Montgomery Gentry. The lyrics on the screen distract from the song, but you can always close your eyes.

I appear to have caught myself a stomach bug. Lovely.

"You can't see me!" Adopter photo

Holly mentioned this photo when I ran into her yesterday, and I told her it sounded way too blog-worthy to pass up. And Yes, Holly makes her beds. It's just that Jack unmakes them.

A wandering Saturday

What a sweet day.

Got up. Made coffee, bottle-fed kittens, cleaned the cat facility, hugged cats, read newspaper with Bear on the porch with coffee and some (old) donuts. Lamented that 6 donuts is too many for a single person to eat before they are no longer fresh (small store, no bakery, can't buy less than six). Checked garbage level in garbage cans, and money level in wallet, and determined trash run could wait until next week. Washed dishes, picked up house, answered email. Drove to Ithaca, fed Fast Food Ferals and South Hill Cats. Waved at staff member at lumber yard. On the way to the Farmer's Market, passed lawn sale. Uh oh. Turned around. Found tacky artificial tree that I've always wanted ($75 in stores) for $7. Bought tacky tree. Discovered it had tacky dragonfly string lights already on it. Laughed. Went to Farmer's Market. Knew no one, but enjoyed the crowds. Noted that flowers go for $15 a bunch. Didn't buy any veggies because I could get them from Spencer farm stands on the way home. Drove to various stores looking for planters on sale to grow fall lettuce on the porch (failed; nothing on sale; I'll find something in the barn I can use instead). While in Walmart, grabbed a cart and stocked up on 8 bags of cat litter and 2 bags of Purina Indoor Cat cat food. Now I don't have to go into town at all the rest of this week.

Ran into Holly (Jack's mom) in Walmart and got updated on Jack's health issues, and enjoyed some human conversation as well! Parched...bought a soda off the McDonald's dollar menu. Started to head home and then realized I had meant to get a library card because I've re-read all the books in the house (previously I used Christopher Robin's card). Turned around, drove to the Tompkins County Library 25 minutes before closing, got myself a library card, and took out three books. While leaving, ran into Nancy J. on the sidewalk, (adopter of Romulus, Wizard, and Rune). Went out to dinner at Diamonds (she paid to save me the walk to the ATM; I'll pay next time).

Great conversation. Real human contact!!!!

Drove home. Scraped paint off the house for an hour. Put tacky fake tree in the Great Room. It looks wonderful! And seven feet tall. Laughed at tree again. Mowed until dark. Called my mother. More great human contact. Went out and bottle-fed kittens. Cleaned cat facility. Tucked Bear into downstairs of cat facility for the night.

Counted myself damned lucky. What a great day.

Friend/adopter's grooming blog

I've been enjoying reading Nancy's grooming (plus) blog Hair of the Dogs at http://hairofthedogs.blogspot.com. It nice to have blog friends close by, so I don't feel quite like such an anamoly. There just aren't enough hours in the day to talk to everyone by phone, so it's nice to be able to check in on other people's busy lives at any hour, by blog.

If you haven't been following the blog comment I've learned this week that beautiful Ramona and Harper from the Caturday blog(who live in NH) came from Paradise Gardens, which is about an hour and 45 minutes from me, and does great work. Caturday is a blog I've been reading a long time, and they do great work, too, taking gorgeous photos for their local shelter, and probably a lot more I don't know about.

Cosmo(ic) coincidences

The other day, I received a gift from the Stouts, which will take care of Lily's spay, plus some.

"Here is a pittance in memory of two friends - Russ Colton and John Goodrow. And for Linda Barton, who did something freakishly nice for us when she absolutely did not have to. :) Love, C and G, Peet and Paat."

And on the same day I received an adopter photo of Cosmo (kitten photo here), one of the kittens that C and G rescued. All grown up and obviously well-loved:



Here is to kind people all across the spectrum, who are friends to one another, and by being friends to the person next to them, reach out an unknowing hand to another person down the line.

Pass it on. Just pass it on.

With much love to you all, from Cosmo's rescuers and the friends they honor, to Cosmo's adopters.

The Wildrun Clan

Caging feral momcats

I snitched this caging option from a visit to Paradise Gardens Animal Haven in nearby Woodhull, NY.

You take two standard wire dog crates of the same size, fold the back doors in flat on the floor, cover the bottom with towels, and provide attached bowls of food and water for mom, and low bowls for the kittens. The cages are held securely together --back to back-- with plastic wire ties (cable ties, zip ties, etc.) This provides room for the kittens to play. I added a sling in case mom wanted to get away from the kids. So far she has not wanted to.

In this set up, there are doors at both ends, so you can easily clean the cat box, or replace food, and play with the kittens.

To get mom and her babies out of the previous cage and into this one, I placed the plastic lid to the Rubbermaid bin that is her bed right over the top of her and her kittens. And held it SECURELY when I moved the bin from the small cage to the new set up.

SECURELY! :)

Isn't it a great setup? This is the second year I've used it, and it works great. The best way to learn new things is to visit other rescue organizations and shelters.

Just a quick plug for Niagara Falls

While I was traveling from Buffalo to Pittsburgh, it came to light that another speaker had never seen Niagara Falls! Well!

Should you ever be in Buffalo, the trip to Niagara is a mere 20 minutes, and it's easy in, easy out. The highway will spit you right out into the parking lot, and if you get there early, you may even be able to park right by the pathway entrance, as we did.

The American falls are only a 7 minute stroll into the park. You can walk over to the Canada side via footbridge. The signs as to whether a passport are not required were vague. They basically said that U.S. citizens should be able to get back with photo ID and supporting documents, but frankly, I don't walk around with my birth certificate in my pocket, so I guess it's time to get a passport if I wish to visit my neighbors to the north.

From the Canada site:

If you are a citizen of the United States, you do not need a passport to enter Canada. However, you should carry proof of your citizenship, such as a birth certificate, certificate of citizenship or naturalization, as well as a photo ID. If you are a permanent resident of the U.S., you should bring your Permanent Resident Card (i.e. green card) with you.

Get a passport.

Parking is only $10, and a ticket for all the of special tour options was under $50. We just walked in to visit the falls and headed out again. Given how quickly I got to Buffalo (3 hours) if I ever need to just get away for two days and do something fun and simple, I may zip over to Niagara and do all those silly things I've never done, like the Maid of the Mist boat tour.

The people watching options are endless, so while going with a friend would be optimal, going alone would be fun as well.

What is feral?

While traveling, I learned of a Critter Control franchise owner who was found guilty of animal cruelty for capturing and dispatching three feral cats in response to a complaint by a TV station concerning a colony of cats behind their building.

A pest-control operator will have to get his license re-certified but is not facing jail time after being convicted yesterday of misdemeanor animal-cruelty charges in Henrico County.

But Keith Copi, who operates the Richmond-area Critter Control franchise, said after court that the convictions further cloud animal-cruelty laws and will make it difficult for homeowners and businesses to deal with nuisance animals.

"You'd be better off trying to get rid of a homeless person camping in your yard than having to deal with a stray cat," Copi said.

He said that state laws defining so-called companion animals are so inclusive that animals ranging from house mice to snakes might be covered by state animalprotection laws.

Copi received three 12-month jail terms, all suspended, and was fined $250 for each of the three cats he gassed.

He acknowledged in Henrico General District Court yesterday that he gassed the cats he trapped in June in a parking area behind WRLH Fox 35 television studios in the 1900 block of Westmoreland Road. He said he was not aware of an emergency law passed in February banning the use of a gas chamber in killing companion animals; nor did he know that feral cats must be euthanized by a veterinarian.

Here, WVRA, a Richmond radio station, discusses whether feral cats should be considered companion animals.

Here is the Richmond SPCAs timeline in blog format (bottom to top)

The Richmond SPCA is responding to this situation by training community members in trap/neuter/return.

As a former wildlife control contractor who handled cats, I frequently spoke at wildlife conferences and explained to my colleagues that the killing of cats, whether feral or friendly, was not permitted by a non-owner. In NYS, if a stray cat shows up at your rural barn, no, you can't fetch the gun and shoot it. The cat could be someone's pet. In addition, it is illegal to dispatch a cat with a firearm in a non-emergency. CO2, while considered "humane" in the wildlife control field, is reviled in domestic animal control, and is often illegal for use on non-wildlife. In places where gas chambers are still used for dogs and cats, members of the community are fighting to end the practice.

The issue is not, to my mind, whether a feral cat is a pettable companion animal. It is whether a third party on the scene is capable of telling for certain that a cat in a trap is a born-on-site feral cat, or a lost pet cat. Or, whether that feral cat might in fact be treasured by someone. My Fast Food Ferals are neutered and rabies vaccinated. They are fed every day. Whether or not they can be petted, one can argue they have been provided with all the same care received by an outdoor pet cat. They are loved by the person who cares for them. Does "companion" really require physical contact?

Animal control shelters exist (and hold stray animals for 3-5 days by law in most cases) specifically to sift out the wanted from the unwanted. If your cat doesn't show up for a day or two, whether on your front porch or at your feeding station behind the local TV station, you can go to the local shelters to see if your cat is there.

If a wildlife control business sets traps and immediately kills your cat, you don't have that option.

In this situation, it appears to me the contractor used his natural resources text as his guide, rather than domestic animal control and animal cruelty laws. On one hand we can point at wildlife control manuals that state CO2 is the most humane option for dispatching raccoons, skunks, etc. and on the other we have state laws that specifically forbid its use on a raccoon-sized animal like a cat, on the grounds that it is inhumane. How can that be?

Is it any wonder that wildlife control contractors are confused?

Luckily, in NYS we have a wildlife control manual that gives WCOs a heads up on cats.

It was Mr. Copi who was charged with animal cruelty---not the TV station who hired him. That is the most important lesson for WCOs. When it comes down to the wire, the one held responsible is the one who took the final action. The business owner is expected to know the law, even if the TV station made the call and paid the bill for the removal.

Most of my friends who are WCOs have made arrangements with their local shelter to accept the cats they capture. Many of them include a donation with any cat they bring in. Some even are involved in TNR, if the landowner is willing to pay them for it. Others wisely say "no way, I'm staying right away from cats."

However, I do know at least one business who catches cats and then dumps them--unneutered and unvaccinated--at farms (with permission), thinking this is humane. This is also illegal in NYS, permission or no.

Unfortunately, in this case it still appears as if the point is being lost. The question isn't "is a feral cat a companion animal." The question is "how do we tell with 100% certainty that one cat is beloved and another is not?" Answer: "You can't."

Domestic animal control laws were put in place to protect the public and safeguard property (the pet). That is why there is a holding period. That is why cats and dogs should be handled by DOMESTIC animal control specialists (or with the cooperation of domestic animal control specialists), not strictly by wildlife control specialists for hire.

Only a holding period -- or reporting a captured cat as "found" to your local shelter -- can answer the question "does anyone care for this dog or cat?" before the decision is made to kill it or give it away.

Happy to be home

Thank you to Cary and Donna for taking care of my clan (house-sitting, even!) while I was traveling for work. Cary even sent me kitten photos daily, and took wee little Tinkerbell (aka Scrabble) home with her to continue bottle-feeding because she wasn't keeping up with her sibs.

I came home to a shining clean cat facility and very happy cats. Well, except feral Lily, who hissed at me when her kittens came tumbling over to say "hi" to me.

It's good to be home

Emergency kit returned, and new FFF cat

I gathered together the very simple stuff that I normally carry in a cat crate as an "emergency kit." This is different from the standard trapping gear I have when I go out to catch cats. So we are back in the saddle again.

I went and looked for the kitten, and did not find him. In the light of day I could see there were four houses very closes by, one of which had called me about kittens before. So I left a note on that person's door to call me if the kitten surfaced...if he had not already.

Then I went to feed the Fast Food Feral, and this fellow was crossing the bridge to come over to eat just as I arrived.




He (or she) is new, and young--maybe just under a year old? He also doesn't seem feral. He just sauntered away, and stopped to look at me several times. So I'll get some traps out to catch him next week.

This is why Trap/Neuter/Return works. Not, as often claimed, because resident cats will keep new cats away. It's because the caretaker(s) visit every day to feed resident cats, notice new cats, and remove or sterilize them before they have kittens.

Reality check

I headed out tonight to feed Gillian in Ithaca, with some errands in mind, and a personal experiment that involved a diary and a dark restaurant. For some reason I thought it would be enlightening. In a way it was. But I don't much care anymore.

It was nowhere near as enlightening as the drive home. When I came down a dark straight stretch of Crumtown Road, there was a small yellow kitten in my headlights. Maybe seven weeks old.

This was nothing that hasn't happened a few score times before. I pulled over and could hear him mewing plaintively in the weeds. Good sign! Tame kitten! Probably dumped only that evening by some jerk. I stepped out and mewed. He mewed back, but farther away. I turned back to the truck.

And realized I had nothing. No net, no cat food, no pillowcase, and not even a damned flashlight for God's sake!

WHEN DID I STOP CARRYING RESCUE EQUIPMENT? WHAT THE FREAKING HELL HAD HAPPENED TO ME?

The kitten and I played a tormenting dance of echoing mews in the darkness until finally for the first time in my life I was forced to leave a kitten behind. With a flashlight, a can of tuna, and a net, catching that kitten would have been no big deal. You just locate the kitten, toss some tuna into his flight path, wait until he starts gnawing away, and net him.

But somewhere along the line, my own problems, my job, and lately my self-absorption over Christopher Robin's "walk-away" eclipsed something that has been core for me for 30 years. Not only was I without those basics, but I had driven around that way all summer! This wasn't one day's lapse. This was some huge hole I had let develop, and now there was a little mew in the darkness paying the price. I could keep chasing him in vain, and if he possibly had a momcat around, I would be chasing him farther away from her. Normally I would have flashlight and could cast around to find a glimmer of eyes.

But I had no flashlight. Not even a flashlight!

So I left him behind. There wasn't enough gas in the truck to get home and return, and the gas station in Spencer only takes credit cards at night. It was going to be morning before I could return, and I can only hope he uses typical dumped-kitten defense and just stays put. Luckily it is warm and not raining, and he was right near a house (no one home; I left a note). I don't even have all my friend's phone numbers programmed into my cell phone so that I could call for help. Another thing I've just neglected to do.

Driving home I was in shock, thinking about all the other holes I was letting grow larger and larger, eating up what used to be "me." I began making mental lists of what I need to do this weekend and early next week to stop this backslide.

I have been doing a lot to keep things in order. And that's important. And I've been happy with the progress--and still am. But what is "order" if you forget what you were doing all of this for? I've created this bunker mentality. That's got to go.

I have people coming to look at cats this weekend. I've also been putting off putting some of the really shy guys into foster homes (because if are unhappy in a foster home, it means some really tough decisions to be made).

Wildrun was so named because that's what I used to do: run around and catch wild critters--including wild cats. Such a simple thing. Yet all these other things developed over time: the spay/neuter movement, the cat facility, the public outreach, off-site adoptions, open houses, etc. Not to mention work, as well as just the day-to-day of life. And somewhere along the line, I took the cat crate out of the truck so I would have the space to haul some mundane thing (probably trash), and never put it back.

This isn't a matter of TIME. This is a matter of PRIORITY.

No comments on this post, please. This is something I just need to work out this weekend. I'm sure you've all had your own "oh shit" moments in your life. I just had one of mine.

Amazing Snarky Blog!

I was running through my bloglist today and picked up Fugly Horse of the Day from Pet Connection.

I've only spent just a few minutes reading it, and hey, this is a damned good blog about horse welfare, horse rescue, ethical horse breeding, and professionalism, with no punches pulled. I found the snarkiness contagious...it makes you want to arch your neck and start kicking out about your own cause as well.

Yes, I do believe you can be a blog about "professionalism" even while using terms like "freakin' asshat." I doubt I could pull it off, but Fugley Horse does.

Hey, it's Friday! Be wicked productive at work today, and at quitting time, run like hell! Have a great weekend.

Nothing beats a good wash

Tonight I was invited to a regular "Thursday Girls Night Out". It was great to sit and listen to people laugh in a group again. Having Nancy's dog Jack at our feet begging pizza crust was also enjoyably familiar. I do miss having Sadie around. It's fun to listen to new people and new stories. And I will have to go back for another gathering, since I went and forgot the bowl I brought!

Thanks for the invite, Nancy!

Afterward, I went and stopped at two stores for the "pre-back-to-school" sales, since the shelves are being cleared of summer stuff. Normally I have a fairly large expense that falls due this time of year--but no longer. It sort of made it feel like I had an extra $200 in the bank (even though I don't really). I permitted myself a small splurge when I discovered 5x6 pillar candles and some porch string lights on sale. In fact, the candles were so cheap (and are now confirmed to burn very well and smell great too) I may go buy them out tomorrow so I'll be set for winter. And the string lights...well, I've been looking at them all summer and couldn't justify buying them full price. Now I'll have an incentive to finish the trim on the porch so I can hang them. I'll put them on a timer, and I won't have to leave the two automatic porch lights on all night long. That should save a few watts, and make me smile as well.

When I got home there were kittens to feed! They get cuter every day.



Scrabble is still too small for my comfort, but she sure knows how to pull on a bottle! As you can see, they are also learning to wash. Lily let me touch her head today. She didn't much like it, but she put up with it, and she has been oh-so-good about me handling the kittens.

Okay, the dishes are washed, Bear is tucked in the barn, and it's closing in on 2 am. Time for bed!

A kitty litter box for humans

No, really!

Emmi explores

Emmi is checking out the big, big house. She started in the guest room, graduated to the upstairs, and down has ventured down. She deals well with being hissed at. When she's had enough of being followed by Ivan or Squeak, she growls, I hear her, and rescue her.

She very much likes windows.

Eight years of blogging

Yes, really!

It occurred to me that the Election is this November. I had begun my Cat Out Loud blog out of my disbelief that George W. Bush could possibly be elected way back then, and my fear that he would.

Eight years!

The blog lasted longer than the marriage. :)

And so did many of you.

Hug your cat, hug the ones you love, and send me a toast on the weekend, will you?

Oh, the dog? Oh, yeah, I guess the dog will do for a hug, too (just kidding; I love dogs, too)

Love you all.

Raise your hand if you remember the late, great, Edloe. If you do, you are a true cat blogger. And probably old, too. Ha!

If not, Google "Edloe" "R.I.P." and you'll see the most blogged cat on the internet. And you can read here about how cat blogging began.

Drat. If that link takes you to a registration window for the NYTimes, go here instead and then click on the very top link.

Letting it go.

I discovered today that Christopher Robin apparently took a solid week off and left town to continue his journey in storybook land...and left Gillian and the south hill cats to go unfed for what would have been seven days, without thinking to give me a heads up so I could feed them, or arrange for them to be fed.

I drove in tonight to feed them, and I should be able to get out each night the rest of this week as well. At first I was angry. Then I just took a deep breath and let it go. This is the way it is; the way it is going to be, and my getting angry is not going to make one whit of difference. In Christopher Robin's toy box, the rest of us are plush animals, and plush animals don't feel pain.

Lily's kittens are getting restless. It's time to set up a back-to-back cages with a box they can crawl in and out of. Bear is interested in them, but I'm not sure he wants to play with them...or eat them. So we'll just keep him away from the kittens until they are larger and mom is FeLV/FIV tested.

Nancy has a blog!

Local readers will know Nancy C., a longtime fosterer, friend, barn-painter, cat shelter builder, and all around life saver. She has begun a blog on her new venture into the world of dog grooming.

This is the third adopter/fosterer to start a blog! Valarie posts her photography on CNY Photography and Martha has begun Pots By Martha.

Saudi Arabia bans dogs and cats as pets

Every once in awhile you read something on the internet that causes you to think "this can't possibly be real"

And "If I post that, sure as heck in two days it'll turn out to be a myth, or misunderstood."

Out of the many blogs that are posting on the subject, that particular posts seems to address a variety of issues rather than just the "pets as ways for men to make passes" issue.