Spotted Cat Designs

Today is the 9th anniversary of the day Panther came to live with us (nine is a special number for cats, the way ten is special for humans). Since he is First Cat, this is also the anniversary of the beginning of cats being part of our family. Dates before this are considered B.C. (Before Cats) and after this C.E. (Cat Era).

Panther is still sleek, beautiful, black, and very special, as befits a cat who was able to call out to me telepathically as I walked through the county shelter, probably just days before they would have taken him out of this world. That’s pretty special indeed, because as cat listeners go, I’m pretty much deaf.

Panther is by far our oldest cat but still manages to get a twinkle in his eye and chase Jennifur around the living room every two or three weeks

I found the No Kill Advocacy Center as I usually find such things, by browsing the Internet. OK, I feel a visit to my soap box coming up….

Their online “tour” of shelters is a chilling reminder of how publicly funded shelters can be deceiving us into thinking they are killing adoptable pets to make room for others. Yes, irresponsible members of the public who do not spay/neuter are part of the problem. But so is the attitude of county officials, jaded shelter workers, and the unwillingness of the many to change the rules for the few.

The challenge as the No Kill Advocacy sees it:

“…From entrenched bureaucrats who are content with the status quo, to uncaring shelter directors hostile to calls for reform; from agencies mired in the failed philosophies of the past to those who have internalized a culture of defeatism—the roadblocks to No Kill are substantial, but not insurmountable. We have a choice. We can fully, completely and without reservation embrace No Kill as our future. Or we can continue to legitimize the two-prong strategy of failure: adopt a few and kill the rest. It is a choice which history has thrown upon us. And a challenge that the No Kill Advocacy Center is ready to take on. The No Kill Advocacy Center is the nation’s first organization dedicated solely to the promotion of a No Kill nation. And it is the only national animal welfare agency that is staffed by people who have actually worked in and created a No Kill community.
The power to change the status quo is in our hands.“
If you want to become proactive in your community they offer numerous free .pdf files detailing every step to take to help change the status quo. They have a free enewsletter and listserv signup. They accept donations and offer a paying membership which includes a magazine.
Just to show you how detailed and well thought out their program is, with the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society, they created a “matrix” of injuries, illnesses and other conditions (like being an adult cat or dog versus a kitten or puppy, or having fleas) for shelters to use in order to determine adoptability of the pet. The ultimate goal being to stop the killing.

They have information for educators, students, shelter advocates, dog owners whose dog faces a “dangerous dog” hearing, grants, and how to start your own no kill shelter.

Go forth, learn and become proactive!

Not sure what to get? You need a gift for “someone who has everything”? Your friend said no gift this year? How about donating in their honor to one of these worthy causes.

Petfinder.com you can donate in Honor of or in Memory of someone (human or feline), or sponsor an unadopted pet waiting for a home. They also accept donations for their Disaster Relief Fund and the Animal Shelter Fund (Purina is the corporate co-sponsor).

Purebred Cat Breed Rescue not all abandoned cats are mixed breeds.

Operation Nobel Foster every time reservists and others in the armed forces are called upon to serve overseas, the drop off rate at shelters sky rockets. This group was formed to help prevent such heart wrenching events. Volunteers foster the cats of military personnel so that when they come home, their cats are waiting for them. No matter what your political leanings may be, please consider helping this worthy cause.

Consider your Local Shelter or volunteer adoption groups. Not sure how to find them? See my blog entry on how to find them in your area. They can always use: money, cat food, litter, beds, blankets, paper towels, coupons to pet stores, pet food coupons. Call and ask what they need. then make a donation in someone’s honor. A gift that serves more than one!

I found Cat Rescue of Australia quite by accident.

My only complaint is that the grey text on black background is hard to read

A commercial site UKPets is a combination a business directory, ads, news articles, links to catteries, kennels, groomers and anything else pet related you might want to search for within the U.K.

this code gives us a news feed (use the Html view)

A very worthy cause…I have not yet found one for cats. Please donate to help them spread the word, or better yet adopt a dog if you can. Thank you.

As they say about themselves:

“DogsInDanger.com is owned and operated by The Buddy Fund, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)3 animal welfare organization dedicated to helping dogs in need.

DogsInDanger.com is a national shelter outreach program…It may be uncomfortable for some to see lists of names and photos of dogs scheduled to be euthanized, but, the truth is uncomfortable. By making it personal, we believe more people will be compelled to help these dogs. Thus dogsindanger.com refuses to present a sanitized version of the truth. Our ultimate goal is to see a day where healthy and treatable animals are no longer killed by their most trusted friends.“

They have an Education Page listing a number of sites for more information about no kill ethics, solving pet behavior problems, and dog adoptions.

We have seen the commercials and ads for years…but did you know Del Monte 9Lives company was helping abandoned cats, too?

From their Business Wire Press Release:

Celebrate the 500,000 Adoptions Milestone for Morris’ Million Cat Rescue campaign

A shocking 3 out of every 4 cats that enter shelters do not leave alive. The reality is that 5.5 million cats are euthanized each year, representing 71% of all cats that enter animal shelters. Many don’t know that there are tremendous advantages for the entire family in owning a pet — for adults, pet ownership can decrease the risk of having a heart attack by up to 6%. Pet ownership can teach children about responsibility, compassion and loyalty — in addition, positive self-esteem is enhanced in children with pets. And pet ownership has been shown anecdotally to help children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to focus and concentrate.

About Morris the Cat

In 1968, a street-wise orange tabby from a Hinsdale, Illinois shelter was languishing for a loving home after being abandoned by his owner when the shelter staff noticed something special about the cat – a certain star quality. They quickly contacted Bob Martwick, a professional animal handler who quickly adopted him on the spot, and — 20 minutes from death — Morris the Cat got a second chance. Recognizing his charisma, 9Lives cat food quickly signed him up, and the entire nation took notice of this new star of their television commercials.“

“Morris’ Million Cat Rescue mobile adoption bus will visit Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade between Santa Monica Boulevard and Arizona Street from 12:00 p.m. – 5 p.m. PDT to mark the momentous occasion and to promote pet adoption. The 500,000^th cat will be officially adopted by Audrina Patridge of MTV’s “The Hills,” who will also participate in an exclusive check-donation ceremony. A grand total of $10,000 will be donated in her name to a local area shelter, Feline and Friends, to help them continue in their mission of finding loving homes for homeless cats.

According to Thomas, the Morris’ Million Cat Rescue tour will be making additional stops this year in San Francisco (9/27), Sacramento (10/03), Portland (10/11), Seattle (10/18), and Denver (10/27) before going on winter hiatus. For more information about Morris’ Million Cat Rescue Campaign, bus or van stops, visit www.9Lives.com.”

I was looking for information on the Japanese Meneki Neko (lucky cat). For those who do not know what I am talking about, see “What is Mankei Neko?” Cats are important in Japanese culture. There are quite a few phrases that relate to cats. Nyanda Park in Chiba allows paying visitors to be with the resident cats. Here is a flyer about this Park in Japanese (warning: the automatic English translation is terrible).

Our friend “Neko” lives in Tokyo. She and other Neko Obasans (literally, “cat mothers”) foster and neuter stray or abandoned cats that live in a small beautiful bicycle “pocket” park. They provide food, water and medicine. Most of these cats have no other home. See her blog about her cats, some of whom followed her home to be adopted.

I’m not sure why some of us want purebreds. I think we are attracted by a certain “look”. As I look at our cats, they are all short haired, some more slender than others. We do have two Bengals; Charger was a rescue, while Aurum is a retired queen and great-granddaughter of our first Bengal, Glory. Our other cats are mixed tabbies, and semi-Siamese or possibly Burmese types.

While I love Maine Coons and Norwegian Forest cats, the daily brushing they require would be problematic for those of us with full-time jobs and other responsibilities.

At a nearby adoption center I have seen what appear to be purebreds (OK, they are not papered), Maine coons, Russian blues, and various Siamese mixes. There’s even an online resource center for people who want to adopt a cat of a specific breed.

My point is, if you want a certain “look” but don’t necessarily want the pedigree papers, and are not interested in showing your cat at highly competitive cat shows, consider going to your local shelters and finding your new friend there. You won’t regret it!

This is a question I am asked a lot at work.

There are three main types of organizations to look for in your area when finding your new pet. Find them using your local phone directory/yellow pages or the Internet. The best place online to find adoption groups from anywhere in the U.S. is Petfinder.com. As they say about themselves:

“You can:
Search 213,653 adoptable pets…
Locate shelters and rescue groups in your area.
Browse our resource library to learn more about pet care.
Post classified ads for lost or found pets, pets wanted, and pets needing homes.
Sign up to be a volunteer to help your local shelter or rescue group.”

City or County shelters take in any and all animals turned in to them as lost, unwanted or “nuisance animals”. You can usually find their listing in the phone book under County Government. They will euthanize ill or unadoptable pets, or those that stay in the facility “too long”.

Humane societies are run by both salaried and volunteer workers and supported by donations. They may be selective in which animals they accept.

Local area fostering groups are often “no-kill” volunteer groups who don’t have a physical location. They make arrangements with pet stores to have “adoption days” each week or even have permanent facilities in larger stores to which the adoptable pets are brought. If they are a big enough group, they may have other programs, such as bringing specially chosen calm pets to nursing homes. These groups will have people that catch strays. The strays are evaluated for health issues, vaccinated, neutered or spayed, fostered, and then put up for adoption. Whatever fees a group charges to finally adopt a pet does not come close to covering the costs they incur in this pre-adoption care.

cat adoptions adopting a cat animal shelters

I like to shop at The Animal Rescue Site. You can also click to donate (free to you) money to this worthy cause. As they describe themselves:

“The Animal Rescue Site focuses the power of the Internet on a specific need — providing food for some of the 27 million unwanted animals given to shelters in the U.S. every year. Over 10 million animals are put to death every year in the U.S. alone because they are abandoned and unwanted.

Each click on the purple “Fund Food for Animals” button at The Animal Rescue Site provides food and care for a rescued animal living in a shelter or sanctuary. Funding for food and care is paid by site sponsors and distributed to animals in need at the Fund for Animals’ renowned animal sanctuaries (including Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Texas and the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in California), pet shelters supported by the Petfinder Foundation, North Shore Animal League, and other worthy animal care facilities supported by the GreaterGood.org foundation.

100% of sponsor advertising fees goes to our charitable partners.

The Animal Rescue Site provides a feel-good way to help promote awareness and prevent rescued animal deaths every day — through easy and quick online activities.

Please remember to click every day to give help and hope to those most in need. Every click counts in the life of a rescued animal.

In addition to clicking the purple “Fund Food for Animals” button, visitors can help more by shopping in The Animal Rescue Site store. With each item purchased, shoppers generate funds for the feeding and care of animals in shelters and sanctuaries. The store offers a wide array of items to show your support.”

Care2.com is another place to shop, send ecards, or do daily click to donate for various worthy causes.

Endangered Species Chocolate Fair Trade, educational, conservation support, great customer service, and delicious, too!

Let me know if you have any favorites, too!