cats

By Martin Mersereau

 Dogs have been disappearing in Idaho. One dog, named Bean, was found shot dead and left near a canal. A hiker found another dog in a canyon, covered with a sheet and apparently beaten to death. Two other dogs, Gauge and Mac, went missing and were later found shot to death on a neighbor’s property. Two dogs were believed to have been abducted from a fenced backyard. A small dog who was let outside to relieve himself hasn’t been seen since. Rumors are swirling that dozens of other missing dogs may have been abducted, shot or used as “bait” in dogfighting rings.

If your animal companions are snoozing at your feet or curled up on your lap right now, good. But if they’re outside alone, don’t keep reading—go get them. As the Idaho residents whose dogs have disappeared or been killed have learned the hard way, leaving animals outdoors unattended—even for “just a minute” in a fenced yard—is irresponsible and an invitation to tragedy.

We all want to believe that our neighborhoods are safe, but in my work, I have seen that every community is full of dangers for dogs and cats. Most of the 400-plus cruelty cases that PETA receives weekly involve animals who were victimized while outside unsupervised. In Volusia County, Fla., for example, a cat who usually roamed the neighborhood at night was found one morning sliced in two. The front half of his body was in his owner’s backyard, and his intestines were in the front yard.

Friendly cats and dogs are also the favored victims of bunchers—people who cruise neighborhoods, picking up animals in order to sell them to laboratories for experiments—and dogfighters looking for free “bait” to train dogs to attack. In Buchanan, Ga., two dogs who were kept outdoors on chains were believed to have been abducted by a neighbor and used as dogfighting “bait.” One dog was returned paralyzed, and the other was found dead on a neighbor’s lawn.

It’s also not unusual for cruel neighbors with short fuses to take matters into their own hands. In Enola, Pa., a cat who was allowed to roam went missing. Five days later, the cat’s owner discovered him dead in her trashcan. A neighbor had previously warned her that he was sick of her cat using his yard as a litterbox.

In Frenchtown Charter Township, Mich., a man pleaded no contest to attempted animal killing or torture for leaving out meat spiked with sharp objects to stop a neighbor’s dog from coming onto his property. The dog, named Jinx, ate the meat and had to be euthanized because of his injuries. There is no excuse for harming animals—and animal abusers must be prosecuted—but people who leave their animal companions outdoors unattended share in the blame when their animals meet gruesome fates.

Cruel people aren’t the only dangers lurking outdoors. Every day, animals are injured or killed in traffic, poisoned and attacked by other animals. Chained dogs are especially vulnerable because they have no way to escape from aggressive roaming animals.

Just as responsible parents would never let their 2-year-old wander freely around the neighborhood, we shouldn’t leave our animals to take their chances outdoors, either. We can keep our animal companions safe by keeping them indoors and allowing them outdoors only on a harness and leash, under our constant watchful eye. That way, we’ll never have to wonder whether our animals are safe, and we won’t ever be haunted by the regret of having allowed something terrible to happen because we failed to protect them.

That being the case, making your own homemade dog treats can be one of the best ways to not only be sure of what you are feeding your dog, but it can actually save you money too. Thousands of recipes can be found online.

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And for 2013 … try to eat way less meat … or go veggie! A song by one of our fave vegetarians (you thought we were gonna pick Paul McCartney, didn’t you?) Click on link below. – R. Tirella

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL5spALs-eA

By Deb Young

Winter is here and while the weather outside is frightful, these winter pet tips can keep your precious pets snug, safe, and warm.

Keeping Your Pet Warm: Many people misunderstand an animal’s coat of fur. Although it may be plush and beautiful, it is not always the perfect insulator, and if your pet has short-hair or hairless, they are even more vulnerable to the cold. To help prepare your pet for warmth, start with a dry, draft-free shelter.

Just remember, if it’s too cold for you, it’s too cold for your pet.

Pet Clothes: Good or Bad Idea: The real answer is: It depends. There is nothing wrong with dressing your dog for the season, as long as it does not inhibit breathing or movement. Cute clothes for cats are usually not a good idea. They are more stubborn than dogs and could actually do more harm than good. In cold weather, keep cats (even outdoor ones) inside with a warm blanket and they should be fine.

Keep the Outdoor Adventurers Inside: If you have a dog that spends most of its time romping in your backyard, or a kitty that spends the day in a sunny patch on the front porch, winter’s arrival may be a rude awakening. Pets are at risk of getting frostbite or hypothermia just like a human. If your pet has been playing in the snow, make sure to supervise and clean his/her paws, ears and coat when returning inside.

Pets need more calories, primarily from fat and protein in winter to keep they’re internal furnace stoked. Because they are burning up extra energy to generate body heat, increasing the daily calorie intake by switching to a high-protein, high-fat diet during cold weather ensures energy supply doesn’t dwindle.

Another frequently overlooked winter need is hydration. dogs and cats can dehydrate just as quickly in the winter as the summer. Check your outdoor water bowl often and break ice that may form on top. Although many pets eat snow, it is not an adequate substitute for fresh water. In fact, eating snow can be dangerous,especially if vehicles are nearby because they pose a possible antifreeze threat, which is my next point.

Tis the Season for Poisons: Coolant and/or Anti-freeze can spill in the parking lot, garage or driveway and are EXTREMELY poisonous to pets. Unfortunately, dogs and cats love the smell and taste. So, it is important to keep an eye on them when around these areas. Wipe paws, legs and stomach when returning from the rain, sleet, or ice.

Save a Cats Life this winter: Cats love to be warm and cozy, especially in the winter. Since they don’t know any better, what better place than an engine compartment? This unfortunate accident causes numerous cat deaths a year. Save a life this year by banging loudly on your hood. This will give any sleeping cats a chance to vacate before turning over the motor.

It doesn’t take much to keep our pets safe when things get frosty. Just like us, our feline and canine friends need shelter, warmth, food, and care. When winter’s chill sends you scurrying indoors, don’t forget your furry four-footed pals and their simple needs this season.

By Alka Chandna

As our nation grieves the massacre at Aurora, Colorado’s Century 16 multiplex, the recurring question in many of our minds is, “How?” How could anyone be so cruel, so violent, so numb to the suffering of others that he could blast away unsuspecting victims in cold blood and not display a hint of remorse?

There is no easy explanation for such senseless violence, and there is never an excuse or justification for it. But a look into alleged shooter James E. Holmes’ history reveals that he was immersed in a field of study—neuroscience—in which violence against helpless sentient beings is deeply ingrained. Click to continue »

By Lindsay Pollard-Post

It’s a nightmare come true: In a moment of distraction, a baby is left behind in a parked vehicle. The sun beats down, the car heats up and the child—unable to escape the sweltering vehicle—dies of heatstroke.

A Virginia father lived this horror on July 13. He reportedly forgot to drop off his 5-month-old son at daycare on his way to work, instead leaving the infant strapped into his car seat all day. The father realized his fatal error only after he went to pick up the boy after work and found him unresponsive in the backseat. By then, it was too late. At least three other babies have died in similar tragedies in the past few weeks. Nearly 40 children die every year after being left in hot cars.

Animals, too, suffer and die every summer after their guardians forget them—or intentionally leave them—in a hot vehicle. Two days before the Virginia boy’s death, Jeg, a drug-sniffing dog with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, had to be euthanized after his human partner reportedly left him in a hot patrol car for more than an hour. The officer was apparently switching vehicles when he left to respond to a crash and forgot that Jeg was still in the first car. Click to continue »

By Paula Moore

Every morning, just before the alarm goes off, my cat Romeo jumps into bed with me and kisses my face until I get up. When I sit down to read a book, my old lady cat, Chloe, snuggles up on my lap, purring contentedly. My other cat, Mochi, doesn’t let me go to sleep at night until we’ve played a rousing game of “catch the Cat Charmer.”

If you’re looking for a companion who can double as an alarm clock, lap warmer and exercise buddy, then this June, “Adopt a Shelter Cat” Month, would be the perfect time to adopt a cat. Better yet, adopt two.

Personally, I think that every month should be “Adopt a Shelter Animal” Month. But it’s no coincidence that “Adopt a Shelter Cat” Month coincides with “kitten season,” the dreaded time of year when unwanted kittens and mama cats pour into animal shelters.

With 6 to 8 million animals entering U.S. shelters every year, most are constantly filled to capacity. Click to continue »

By Deb Young

Americans own more felines then canines. Why?

We don’t treat them as well, You would think from the numbers that cats are “Man’s Best Friend.”

But here is the dirty little secret: Cats are more often neglected than dogs, more often relinquished to shelters than dogs and less often taken to veterinarians than dogs!
Cats are second –class pet citizens, I have even heard them called the Rodney Dangerfield of pets, they get no respect.

Owning a cat means more then just throwing down a plate of food and water, and letting the cat roam outside all day and night.

People complain their cat is over-weight, destructive, or aggressive, so they put it outside when it may be because he’s bored out of his mind.

The ultimate thrill for a cat is the hunt, stalk, chase, pounce. You can provide stalking and hunting opportunities indoors by leaving food, treats and toys hidden throughout the house.

Find toys that mimic your cat’s play. Click to continue »

By Lindsay Pollard-Post

For most of us, the unusually warm spring that much of the country is experiencing is a welcome relief from winter. But for people who work in animal shelters, it signals an early start to the most dreaded time of year: kitten and puppy season.

Dogs and cats reproduce year-round, but early spring through late fall is prime breeding time—especially for cats, whose heat cycles are triggered by increased daylight hours. People who thought they could wait “just a bit longer” to have their cat spayed are often surprised to find out their kitten has become a mother herself. Female cats can go into heat every two to three weeks and can become pregnant while they are still nursing kittens—which means that one cat can give birth to multiple litters over the course of a single season.

Where do all these kittens and puppies go? Some end up on the streets, where many die young and in pain after being hit by cars, succumbing to diseases, starving or crossing paths with cruel people. Others pour into animal shelters across the country, leaving them scrambling to accommodate the surge of kittens and puppies. One shelter near Atlanta reported that it typically takes in 400 to 500 stray kittens each month during kitten season.

Baby animals may be cute, but their overabundance leaves shelters in an ugly situation. With 6 to 8 million animals entering U.S. shelters every year, most are constantly filled to capacity. In order to accommodate the deluge of baby animals during kitten and puppy season, open-admission shelters (those that never turn animals away) must euthanize other animals who have been at the shelter for a while to make room for the newcomers.

Playful kittens and puppies tend to steal the show (and people’s hearts), making it even less likely that the gentle, affectionate adult animals who have been waiting in shelters for homes will ever be adopted. But with so many litters flooding shelters, not even adorable kittens and puppies are guaranteed a home. Every day, caring shelter workers are forced to hold animals in their arms and euthanize them—including those whose lives have just begun—simply because there aren’t enough good homes for them all.

This tragedy could end if we all spayed or neutered our animals. Sterilizing even one cat or dog can prevent thousands more from being born only to end up on the streets, in the hands of abusive people or in shelters. Without spaying, one female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 dogs in six years, and one unaltered female cat and her descendants can lead to a staggering 370,000 cats in only seven years. Male animals contribute to the overpopulation crisis even more than females do: Just one unsterilized male animal can impregnate dozens of females, creating hundreds of unwanted offspring.

Sterilization also has many health benefits for animals. Female cats and dogs who are spayed before their first heat cycle have one-seventh the risk of developing mammary cancer. Spaying eliminates female animals’ risk of diseases and cancers of the ovaries and uterus, which are often life-threatening and can require expensive treatments, including surgery. Neutering eliminates male animals’ risk of testicular cancer and reduces unwanted forms of behavior such as biting.

By having our animal companions sterilized and helping our friends, family and everyone we know understand why it’s so important for them to do the same, we can save lives and make spring a season of hope instead of sadness for animals and the people who care about them.

We usually don’t do this, but having had scores of cats, four dogs (including my present best bud, “Jett” the husky mix), three turtles, two newts, one guinea pig, two hamsters, two feral cat colonies (for 10 years!), and one very elegant grey and white mouse named ”GiGi,” we run these adorable photos.

Please boycott circuses, adopt homeless dogs and critters, go vegan or vegetarian (like I did – except for fish), and bug govt officials to change laws/enact better ones,  re: animals! Learn more at PETA.org!

- R. T.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gallery/2012/feb/03/unlikely-animal-friendships-in-pictures

By Paula Moore

I would like to propose a simple New Year’s resolution that requires almost no effort and will prevent countless animals from suffering: Keep your cats indoors. Allowing cats to roam outside unsupervised puts both them and other animals in peril.

Case in point: Late last month, a cat miraculously survived a terrifying four-hour, 200-mile trek under the hood of a car in Ohio. The cat was discovered when the car’s driver stopped at a rest area after smelling something burning. With the help of a passing police officer, the driver was able to free the cat, who was wedged in the engine compartment and had suffered burns to his right side. He was rushed to a veterinarian, underwent surgery and is expected to recover.

This story is unusual only in that the cat survived. During the winter months, many animals are maimed or killed when they crawl inside car engines, seeking warmth, and are slashed by fan blades when the unsuspecting driver starts the car. (That’s why, in wintertime, it’s always a good idea to bang on the hood of your car a few times before starting it to give any animals who may be hiding underneath it a chance to jump out.) Click to continue »