Adopt a Cat Month & A Contest

Yes, it's June and we're well into Adopt a Cat Month. This is a good time to remember that so many cats are available for adoption now.  Not only is Kitten Season in full swing but shelters are full of cats who simply will not survive if they're not adopted.  And all of the kittens push the wonderful older cats aside as they fill the shelters. There's nowhere for those cats to go but to be put to death in kill shelters. 

I've already told you how I feel about the people who rush in after an older relative has died and take everything but abandon, or throw into a shelter, that person's one source of love and companionship. Often they don't even show up to visit but manage to find their way there to take what they can after death except for that living, breathing, loving, sentient being.  Then there are the cats whose owners can't afford to keep them thanks to the current economy.

Photo of Taffy by Diane Smith

If you have room in your home and your heart, and can afford food, litter, toys and veterinary care, I hope you'll consider adopting a cat or two this month. No matter if you take an adult cat or a kitten or two home, you'll be saving a life and bringing untold happiness into your own life.

You can go to www.petfinder.com Or you can find breed rescue if you want a pedigreed cat who has lost her home.  You can search using the name of the breed + rescue.

Please remember that there are colonies of feral cats who consider where they are their home. The best way to help these kitties is Trap, Neuter, Return. By neutering them and returning them to their colony, they can live their lives in peace and not reproduce. This has been found to be the most effective way to handle the situation. The people who do TNR also make sure that the cats have shelter, food and water. For more information please point your browser to Alley Cat Allies: www.alleycat.org

Photo of Alana by Claire Clayton

Every cat deserves a wonderful, loving family of his or her own, whether it's feral cats with their clowder of other feral cats or an unowned cat who is available for adoption. The cats you see pictured here are both adopted. Taffy was born outdoors and raised for her first weeks by a veterinarian before she was adopted and is now living indoors only with all the love (and toys!) a kitty could ever want.

Alana was found wandering in a field. She was a young cat and adopted by a first-time cat owner. She lives with two dogs and has no problem getting alone with them.  Of course, it's likely that it's Alana who rules the dogs!  But everyone is happy, loved and content.

Now for something Special for some lucky person who adopts a cat.
The nice people at The World's Best Cat Litter will send a coupon to a reader of PerPETuallySpeaking who adopts a kitty during Adopt a Cat Month.  Leave a message on this post and one winner will be chosen at random at the end of the month!

If you think about it, during Adopt a Cat Month, EVERYONE wins - because they have a wonderful new family member and a kitty or two will have a new home and will live!

Summer Safety & Identify Your Pet!

With the start of the Summer season, more people are thinking about traveling with their four-legged family members and spending time in the great outdoors, whether on holiday or in their own backyard. But accidents can happen, some because owners don't know some of the facts of outdoor life with a pet.

Be very careful of fleas and ticks. Go over your pet daily and have your veterinarian show you how to safely remove ticks so the head it's left in the pet's body. Be sure you vacuum your house and every place your pet sits or sleep. Wash bedding and toys and check for flea eggs - those dark spots on your pet's skin. There are various safe treatments for fleas on your pet. Again, talk to your veterinarian. Some of the products you can buy over the counter or via e-mail can be poisonous to your pet and that is not anything you want to try!

On very hot days, your car can heat up like an oven. Even if it's only in the low 70s your car can quickly turn lethal even with the windows cracked open. To prove this to yourself, put a chocolate bar on your dashboard and see how long it takes for the candy to melt. Your pet can die of heatstroke.  Please leave your pet at home while you run errands.  If you're on the road traveling, either pack a meal or use a drive-through window.  Don't leave your pet unattended. 

Walk your dog in the early morning and late afternoon.  The hours between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. are when it is hottest. Avoid walking your dog during that time and don't ever put a pet out in the heat!  It's dangerous. If your dog begins to show signs of heatstroke turn fans on him and dunk him in a cold bath to try to bring down his temperature and then rush him to your veterinarian for emergency treatment.  This is no time to let your cat go outdoors into a cat enclosure. It's just as dangerous for kitty. 

Don't walk your dog on pavement or hot top or tar. The rule of thumb is that if it's too hot for the palm of your hand, it's too hot for the pads of your pet's paws. And tar or hot top can adhere to your pet's paws in the heat because it melts. That's dangerous. Don't try to peel it off because you'll peel off the pads of the paws at the same time!!  You can put some petroleum jelly on it but best to go to your veterinarian. Better yet, don't expose your pet to that in the first place.

No matter where you go, your pet should be protected by proper identification in case he gets lost. Dogs and cats have been known to bolt out of cars at rest stops and finding them again can be extremely difficult. You should always travel with recent pictures of your pet in case you have to make posters or show the picture at shelters and veterinary hospitals.  And you should have the name of a veterinarian in the place to which you're going. But you will also need identification for your pet!  I prefer two forms, a microchip that can be read and reunite you with your pet (don't forget to register it!), and an i.d. tag. You can have an extra tag made up if you are, for example, going away for a week or more and have the address of the place where you'll be staying so your pet can be returned to you there.

 You can have your pet microchipped at your veterinarian's office. If he or she doesn't do it you can be referred to someone who does. Identification tags can be purchased in many places including veterinary hospitals and pet supply stores. However, if you would like a nice one that's absolutely free, you can take advantage of this offer from http://www.just4mypet.com Just4MyPet makes a silver tag available free of charge, with no charge for the engraving. Follow this link to the tag offer:

http://www.just4mypet.com/free-pet-id-tag.html

  

Have fun with your pets and keep everyone safe!  

NOTE: I am not paid by Just4MyPet.com I am simply supplying information for my readers if they want a free tag from that company.

The photos of pets with pet tags were provided by  

                  Just4MyPet