Month: September 2011

Just when we think our friends over at The Way of Cats blog have covered every possible topic relating to cats, they post yet another great article that makes us think, educates us, and amuses us! Their latest is titled “Cats Who Are Attracted To Us” but as is their style, they start off on what seems like a totally different topic at first, which is the huge range of emotions an adopter can feel when walking into a shelter and seeing the cats for adoption. Then they delve into how that emotional response evolves into a connection, and some of the emotions that could motivate you to pick a cat that might not be the best match for you home. Then… well, we’ve given enough away for now! You can read on to find out the rest below…

Pamela writes: “My friends like to tease me that I will choose the “most pathetic kitten in the shelter.” It’s not that I choose them because they were pathetic; I chose them despite their pathetic-ness. I chose Reverend Jim and Olwyn because they were the right type of cat for our situation. But also because they both reached out to me and declared they liked me on very short notice.

This is like going out with someone who we know likes us. We have a head start on the relationship.

It’s not that people don’t use emotion when they choose a cat. It’s that they often use the wrong ones.

Nostalgia. There’s nothing wrong with choosing a cat who looks a lot like a favorite, past, cat. As long as we realize we are getting a new cat; not a replay of our old one. We can grow fond of a Maine Coon Cat’s cuddling style or the talkativeness of a Siamese. Discovering which breeds we love can help guide us to suitable choices. But we must never expect a “replacement” cat. This will disappoint both of us.

Amusement. I see it over and over; people are captivated by the little clown who has endless antics. They bring them home to the mild-mannered older cat who has never lived with another cat. This is the operating springboard of most situation comedies. But we don’t want to actually live with this much conflict. By all means bring home the lively little one, only make sure they have a playmate. If our existing cat or cats will not fill the needed position; there’s a whole roomful of applicants right there.

Aesthetics. Oh, the pretty ones. There’s nothing wrong with choosing a beautiful cat; unless that is the only reason they attracted us. This can often take the form of seeing a “purebred” and finding the prospect so appealing we overlook warning flags about this cat’s suitability for us… or even, at all. Many people will go for the cheap purebred, discover the serious issues that come from ignorant breeding of a restricted gene pool; and abandon the cat. It’s not that such cats cannot be good pets; my Chantilly/Tiffany rescue, Smokepuff, was both gorgeous and sweet. But he also had problems my vet agreed could have a genetic origin.

Pity. I only get the “most pathetic” if that cat has problems I know how to fix. A kind heart that overrules a cool head is the quickest way to take on far more than we can handle; and then find our whole household disrupted. It is delightful to bring a shy cat from their shell, rehabilitate a little bag of bones, or turn an aggressive cat into a love bug. But we must be prepared that our efforts might only make these cats more comfortable being the way they already are. This will make for a happier cat, but might not bring much change to their outward behaviors.

These are all strong emotions, but better expressed when applied to a cat who is suitable in many ways; not just this one.

People who don’t feel much confidence in their ability to figure out cats will feel reluctant to choose. That’s why choosing a cat, who chooses us, means so much. It means we’ve already demonstrated the ability to emotionally communicate.

In my experience, humans make a fundamental mistake when they do not use emotion to make an emotional decision. We are looking for a cat to feel close to. That is not a given.

Except when we choose for it.”

For more about choosing cats from an emotional linkage, see The Way of Cats post on Feeling the Connection.

Meet Jenny-fur! She’s a pretty princess of a pup who likes to wear a pink sweater. The now 10-month-old pooch arrived at Bedford, Texas-based Homeward Bound Animal Rescue as a three-month-old puppy after she was surrendered to a local shelter shortly after being purchased at a pet store. The purebred Catahoula Leopard Dog is a medium-sized pup who is spayed and up-to-date on all shots. Jenny-fur has been a good girl while in foster care—she has befriended doggie playmates, loves the water, and has a ton of energy! Thanks to our pet-loving friends at MyPetHealthGuide.com for featuring Jenny-fur and helping homeless pets!

Last month Time Magazine reported that dogs are being trained and can successfully sniff out lung cancer more reliably than traditional tests currently used by most doctors! A dog’s sense of smell is infinitely better than a humans, some sources say 100 times better, while others report up to 1,000 times better, so it’s no surprise they can smell the cancerous cells, but quite amazing that they can be trained to detect them so accurately. Time Magazine reports: “German researchers report in the European Respiratory Journal that dogs can be trained to detect lung cancer by sniffing human breath. The scientists worked with an admittedly small number of canines — just four, including two German shepherds, a Lab and an Australian shepherd — but the dogs had good success. They were able to suss out cancer in 71 out of 100 breath samples from lung cancer patients, and were able to correctly identify 93% of cancer-free samples, giving them an impressively low rate of false positives. That’s better than the imaging tests that most physicians currently use to detect lung cancer.”

Back in 2006, dogs in labs were shown to be able to successfully sniff out both lung and breast cancer, as you can read about in People Magazine too. You can read the full recent Time Magazine article here: http://healthland.time.com/2011/08/18/a-new-way-to-detect-lung-cancer-dogs-can-sniff-it-out/#ixzz1YQco8S00

This week’s featured Adopt-a-Pet.com pet from the  Wet Nose Guide is the lovely big girl Chyna in Denver, Colorado. Don’t judge this dog by her size, because she is sweet, quiet, friendly and very mellow. As a St. Bernard/Labrador Retriever mix she has a large and lovable presence. Chyna came to a shelter in the Colorado area when her previous owners learned they were expecting and weren’t able to find room to fit their expanding family. Chyna gets along with children and other dogs, just as long as they don’t try to impose on her bed. She knows her manners, is housebroken, spayed, and up to date with shots – she’s just completely ready to join her new home. She would fit within a home that is looking to complete their family with a furry friend. For more info on Chyna, visit her page on Adopt-A-Pet.com.

For Colorado Dog owners, Wet Nose Guide is now in your area!

As our human population continues to grow, we are spreading into areas where wildlife once ruled. Coyotes are being seen more and more in urban areas, where they used to reside only in the countryside. Housing developments and natural habitat destruction like wildfires & flooding are forcing them into finding new territory. Coyotes have even been found in the middle of Manhattan! (See photos taken in Central Park.) Just because you haven’t seen them, don’t assume they are not there – coyotes now live in every part of North America. A single coyote’s range from their den can be a radius of 12 miles, and while they tend to be nocturnal, they do hunt at all times of the day. Coyotes are very adaptable and opportunistic, taking advantage of many human behaviors that unintentionally provide them with easy food and water. So what can you do to keep you pets safe from Coyotes? Read on!

Coyotes are like any other wildlife. We need to learn to co-exist with them as peacefully as possible. They have just as much a right to be living on this planet as humans and our pets. We wish them no harm. That said, we certainly want to keep our pets (and humans) safe from being eaten or hurt by a coyote! So here is our favorite advice assembled from city, state and university websites whose links we’ve included below, as well as our first-hand experience. We’ve tried many of these tips for living safely with coyotes we’ve seen in our own urban neighborhood. It is very rare for a coyote to attack a human or a dog on a leash being held by a human. (Rare = From 1988 to 1997 in southern California, 53 coyote attacks on humans– resulting in 21 injuries– were documented by a University of California Wildlife Extension Specialist.) If you or your pets are attacked by a coyote, contact your local wildlife agency to ask if you should file a report.

What should I do if see a coyote?

• GET BIG! You want to appear larger than the coyote to scare it off. Raise your arms, wave them around, and shout as loud as you can to scare off the coyote. (We like yelling “GET OUTTA HERE!!!!) If you are wearing a jacket, open it up and  flap it around like a cape.
• Keep your dogs as close to you as possible, but do not bend over. (Some experts say quickly pick up small dogs, but see #3 below.)
• Carry a large colorful umbrella and a bunch of golf balls or rocks in your pocket. You can open and close the umbrella a few times, put it over your shoulder so you look BIG, and if they don’t head the other way, throw the golf balls/rocks at the coyote.
• Carry an air horn and blow it to scare coyotes away.

If the above scare tactics don’t work, walk slowly backwards (do not turn your back to the coyote) to a safe place, like a friend’s house, a business, your car, or across a busy street.

What should I NOT do?

1. Do NOT turn your back on them and run – that is acting like prey.
2. Do NOT throw food at them
3. If they are within 50 feet of you, do NOT bend down to pick up small animals. This will make you look like you are cowering and small. Get your pet as close to you as possible and get big!

How can I keep my dog safe out on walks?

• Walk your dog on a 6-foot or shorter leash at all times.
• Walk in high-pedestrian traffic areas.
• Try not to establish a regular routine (leave at different times each day) and walk different routes each day to avoid setting up a pattern for the coyote to detect. They will stalk you if they learn your routine!
• Avoid bushy areas or paths near abandoned properties.

Is it OK for my dog to “play” with coyotes?
Never encourage or allow your dog to interact or “play” with coyotes. We have friends who have seen a pack use a young coyote as “bait” to lure a dog to “play” with them, and then to follow them into their pack attack area and be killed! Our friend watched this happen from their 2nd story window next door, at first thinking it was “cute” the dog and coyote were playing. You can watch a video of a pack working like this at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCyUuIMFAro — nothing violent shown (it ends before they attack) however read the video description.

Don’t FEED them!

When coyotes are fed by humans, they loose their natural fear of humans. This is VERY DANGEROUS! You may be OK, but the next small child or person with their pet may not be so lucky.

How can I keep my pets safe from coyotes at home?

Keep them indoors when not with you on leash. Pets kept indoors (no pet doors) are safe. Pets allowed to roam free (such as cats) even in a fenced yard are not. But dogs go outside to use the bathroom, and feral caretakers aren’t going to bring their feral cats inside. So here are some more tips to protect you pets at home from coyotes:

Clear brush and vegetation. Remove habitat for small animals that may attract coyotes and to remove areas where coyotes can hide while stalking their prey.

Install cat posts. You can install one or more 7-foot or higher posts with a platform at the top for cats to use as an escape from coyotes. The posts need to be made of a material that the cats can climb, like tree bark, sisal rope, or outdoor carpet. When being chased by a predator a cat can hopefully climb the post and sit on the platform until the coyote is gone.

Remove items that will attract coyotes:

• Pet food. Of course you aren’t leaving pet food outside and feeding the coyotes, are you? But even putting down your pets food and feeding them outside, if the pet drops any of the food on the ground (and then licks it up) will leave the SMELL of the food on the ground, and will attract coyotes. Feed pets indoors and ask your neighbors to do the same.
• Other “food” you should pick up ASAP is fallen fruit.
• Compost piles should be outside your pet yard.
• Fountains and fish ponds are watering stations for coyotes. Consider draining them and replacing them with other landscaping, or surround them with electric wire.
• Keep kitchen garbage stored inside until just prior to garbage pickup.
• Vegetable gardens are delicious buffets for coyotes, so keep them as far away from areas where you play with your pets, outside of your pet yard.
• Small animals such as rabbits or chickens housed outside are a HUGE attraction. As you can see in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=A20PVog0ra0
• Birdfeeders are delicious to coyotes. Hang them high out of reach, and not in your back yard, and do not overfill. Keep the area under them swept clean of seed.

Keep pets on leash with you, even in your yard.
Unless you have a coyote-proof yard (see “fencing” below) all pets in coyote-prone areas should only go outside while on a 6 ft leash or shorter held by a person. The smaller the dog, the greater the risk – but coyotes may also view bigger dogs as a threat (to their territory, food, or young) and attack. Coyotes are FAST. They can run up to 40 MPH, and have been clocked sprinting at 45 MPH!!!  Even if you are standing in the yard with your pet, there is no way you can stop a coyote from running in at that speed, and biting, killing, or carrying off your small pet.

Here’s a video shows how quickly a coyote can run up and grab a little dog. Fortunately, their Rottweiller saved his little friend’s life: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQbXSl1ReuQ

“Is my bigger dog safe?” The size of the coyote determines how big of prey they can carry off. They can easily kill a cat or small dog and dart off with it, even leaping over a fence with it, before you have time to do anything. Single coyotes are known to kill animals up to the size of and including Bobcats (20-30 pounds) with a single shake. (See studies here.) Packs of coyotes can take down an elk weighing over 500 pounds (reference here). That said, what are the chances your bigger dog is safe off-leash in your own fenced yard? There are too many variables to be able to make a definitive statement. Coyotes behave differently in different environments. You can use the tips on this page to reduce the risks as much as possible, but any size dog loose in a yard is at risk.

Fencing.
Coyotes are AMAZING athletes and very smart. Most can clear-jump without touching a 5 foot fence. (As you can see in this photo.) They can jump and get over a 6-7ft fence barely touching it with their paws – we’ve seen it live, it looks like they are levitating! Here’s a video of a coyote leaping like a cat onto a 6ft wall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3at0R8QZWE (the leap happens at the very end).

Fencing should be solid and smooth (like a smooth stucco or vinyl with no toe holds) and 6-7 feet tall, then add 15 to 20” long extenders that extend outward at a 45-degree to prevent the coyote from climbing the fence. Another option is chain link (or solid fencing) topped with www.coyoteroller.com. All fencing should also have hardware cloth buried 2 feet down and out along the perimeter, as coyotes are excellent diggers, and going under a fence is their preferred method.

Tall multi-wire or electric fencing or barbed wire on top of a solid tall fence is also effective. Of course check with your local ordinances before installing or modifying any fencing.

Coyote-proof enclosure.
Is a 6-sided (top and bottom) chain link or steel mesh run. Coyotes can easily tear through normal chicken wire, and are incredibly good diggers. You need to use heavy gauge wire mesh ( like “hardware cloth”) on all 6 sides (including the top AND bottom) of your small pet enclosure outside to make them coyote-proof. Washington State has some good diagrams on their website here http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/coyotes.html#problems

Here are some other resources if you’d like to read more about keeping your pets safe from coyotes:

http://www.laanimalservices.com/About_Animals/Wildlife/coyotes.htm
http://www.desertusa.com/june96/cycot_qa.html
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74135.html
Learn more about Jennifer, our blog author at Google+

CHICAGO – Blackhawks Left Winger Bryan Bickell has a message for Chicagoland residents: Learn the truth about pitbulls and adopt one today!

Bryan Bickell and fiance, Amanda Caskanette have partnered with Found Chicago and Adopt-a-Pet.com for a campaign aimed at debunking myths about pitbulls and raising awareness for shelter pets.

Beginning this week, Chicagoland residents will see a billboard featuring Bryan and Amanda with their pitbull, Bailey, in Streeterville along with televised public service announcements. A second billboard will go up in Lakeview later this month.

“Pitbulls and other dogs that look like them are discriminated against because most people don’t know the truth,” states Bickell.

“We’re excited to join forces with a great organization like Found Chicago, and with Bryan Bickell, to educate people about the true, loving nature of pitbull-type dogs,” says Abbie Moore, executive director of Adopt-a-Pet.com. “It’s our collective hope that the billboards and the public service announcements will make people give these maligned dogs a second look. We know if they do, they’ll fall in love.”

Bryan and Amanda will be celebrating the launch of the campaign with Blackhawk teammates Marian Hossa, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Corey Crawford, and All Star MVP Patrick Sharp on Thursday, March 22, from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at Dogs & Diamonds at Mon Ami Jewelry, 23 N. Wabash. Bryan, Amanda and attending Blackhawk players will be available for media interviews and photos throughout the evening. Dogs & Diamonds is a fundraiser benefiting Found Chicago’s life-saving programs.

“Found Chicago, Adopt-a-pet.com, and Bryan and Amanda recognize the importance of the Chicago Loves Pits campaign as it is one that we hope will help these amazing companion animals that are too often abused, mistreated and discriminated against. We want people to see these wonderful dogs for who they truly are: loving, kind and loyal pets,” says Alicia Boemi, Found Chicago’s director of programs.

# # #

About Found Chicago: 
Found Chicago is the only non-profit rescue and re-homing center focused on individualized medical and behavioral rehabilitation for homeless dogs and cats that would otherwise be euthanized. Found’s community rehabilitation programs help dogs, cats and humans through our work with autistic children and returning veterans. Found’s also offers a training and rehabilitation center that is open to the public and their dogs who need help. Found offers training classes, board & train, 2-week boot camps and more. All training and rehabilitation is facilitated by the two best trainers and behavior counselors in Chicago, Curtis Scott and Jeff Jenkins. All funding from Found’s training programs goes directly to rescuing, rehabilitating and re-homing homeless dogs and cats in Chicago. Learn more at foundchicago.org.

About Adopt-a-Pet.com:
Adopt-a-Pet.com is North America’s largest non-profit pet adoption website, helping over 11,500 animal shelters, humane societies, SPCAs, pet rescue groups, and pet adoption agencies advertise their homeless pets to adopters. Over 200 Chicago-area animal shelters rely on Adopt-a-Pet.com’s services to help them find homes for the pets in their care. Every month, Adopt-a-Pet.com displays photos and descriptions of adoptable pets to over two million people trying to adopt a pet. Funding for Adopt-a-Pet.com is provided by the passionate pet lovers at Nestlé Purina and Bayer Animal Health

Some of us might have seen our cats watching birds or fish on our TV screen. Most of us have cats who love to look out the window. It’s all Cat TV. Their instincts demand it. Cats ambush. This takes planning. This takes reconnoitering. A cat’s vision is very motion-sensitive. They are constantly on alert to “signs of prey.” Part of a cat’s fascination with the movie credits were how they mimicked motions in nature. While it was symbolic (there was no actual prey on the screen) he saw similar patterns. We have given our sunniest window to the cats, because the kitty grass will grow there. It’s a wonderful balcony seat to what goes on three stories below, too. Squirrels climb trees, birds fly past, chipmunks work in the rock wall at the neighbor’s. Tiny people walk down the street and tiny cars go by.

One of our favorite cat authors at the wonderful Way of Cats blog noticed how their cat Tristin watched the movie credits on the TV one rainy afternoon, and wrote a great blog article about cats watching TV, plus at the end look for the two links to their other articles to read more about the Cat TV concept and explore movies to watch with our cat!

We know that sometimes despite your best efforts, like following our “How to Avoid Picking the Wrong Pet” advice, you can end up with a dog that feels like the farthest thing possible from the “best” match for your home. Maybe you rescued a pet off the street, or inherited one when a family member passed, or you stepped up to save a coworker’s pet who was on their way to the pound. Whatever the reason, first we want to thank you for helping the pet in need! Before you make the drastic decision of trying to find a new home for your new dog, we are here to encourage you to take a deep breath, and see if you can give your new dog a TWO-WEEK TEST by trying these tips below first. These are the three top reasons we hear as to why a new dog might be deemed as “too” fill-in-the-blank and about-to-be rehomed. In just two weeks, your efforts could turn your Disaster Dog into your will-soon-be Perfect Pet! After all, remember perfect pets aren’t born that way – it takes time, love, patience and attention to good behavior to help make and keep your pet perfect for you.

1. “My new dog is too active.”

• https://www.adoptapet.com/blog/more-training-please-why-training-your-pets-is-important/
• https://www.adoptapet.com/blog/dog-training-tip-play-ball/
• https://www.adoptapet.com/blog/knowing-when-to-give-your-dog-a-chew-toy/
• https://www.adoptapet.com/blog/a-truly-tough-tug/
• https://www.adoptapet.com/blog/indoor-games-with-your-dog/
• https://www.adoptapet.com/blog/daycare-can-enhance-your-adopted-dog’s-social-skills/
• https://www.adoptapet.com/blog/teach-your-high-energy-dog-to-jump-through-hoops/
• https://www.adoptapet.com/blog/running-biking-with-your-dog/

2. “My new dog is too noisy.”