Author: Jennifer

Just as you drift off to dreamland, a small lion starts yowling in your living room… not really, but if you’ve had your sleep interrupted by a cat’s nocturnal caterwauling, you may have thought it would sound about the same! The word “caterwauling” according the Webster dictionary is “to make a harsh cry; to protest or complain noisily” and we’re sure it got the “cat” part of its name from the cries that neighborhood cats make as they prowl around at night. So why is your indoor cat singing the street blues? Read on to find out many of the possible whys, and some possible solutions so you both can sleep the whole night through!

Remember, new behavior takes about two weeks to get established, so don’t give up too soon.

Truth: Change can stress cats. If you recently moved or adopted a new cat, they may be meowing because they are stressed. They may be calling out to try to locate their past home, or cat friends. Giving your cat time to adjust to the new home may be all it takes, but you can speed that along and help your cat be less stressed by:

1. Get your cat on a solid steady routine, cats find routine reassuring.
2. Use calming pheremone plugins (i.e. ComfortZone or Feliway) in every room.
3. Give your cat plenty of hiding places, either up high if they like being up high, or under things like under your bed if they are happier there.

Truth: Cats are nocturnal. However, they are also creatures of habit. If your cat is in the habit of sleeping all day, and having a party (on your head) all night, you can take steps to reset their internal clock. Tip: Play play play all day with your cat! If you work all day, make time in the morning before you leave from work, and especially when you come home at night, to play until your cat is worn out tired. Bonus tip: If you have a cat that is just not that interested in toys, you can get them interested in food games. Don’t free feed, and divide their meal up into ten portions, and make them follow you walking around before you put it down for them to eat it.

Truth: Cats like attention. If you are paying any attention to your cat because they are waking you up at night, that’s rewarding their nighttime yowling. Even yelling at your cat is giving them attention! Tip: it can be tough, but get some ear plugs and ignore that night time yowling while you use the other tips on this page to break them of their night time vocalization habit.

Truth: Cats usually get sleepy after they eat, just like humans when they eat a big meal. Tip: feed your cat his main big meal later at night, right before your bed time, after your big play session. This of course only works if you are not free-feeding!

Truth: Cats can be territorial. If your neighborhood cats are prowling around outside your window, your cat may be defending his territory, or having a conversation with that sexy kitty from the next block. Tip: Close your curtains at night. Motion detector sprinklers or lights can also sometimes help keep outside cats farther away from your home.

Truth: Cats are athletic and smart. If your cat is singing at night, it may be a sign that she is bored and has pent up energy.  Cats need daily mental and physical exercise. How much depends on their age and physical fitness. Try our tips for exercising your cat here.

We hope these caterwauling prevention tips help you and your cat.

Max says he is the happiest dog in the world. We have to agree that his life does look pretty awesome since being adopted! Watch Max’s video and see for yourself: http://bit.ly/Y4KIMH This lucky boy was adopted by Adopt-a-Pet.com staffer Jennifer, who has given him a terrific “Happy Beginning!” What would your pets say about their own “Happy Beginning” with you? See what others have said and join in with your own comments on our Facebook page.

“Little baby Liam is doing just great settling into his new home!! Thank you for all that you do!” This happy email was accompanied by the adorable kitten photo you see here, sharing the happy news of another Happy Beginning of a pet found on Adopt-a-Pet.com and adopted! His adopter went on to say she found him through Adopt-a-Pet.com and, “He was at PPAW in Greenback, TN! He’s a joy to have! We recently lost our two cats. They unfortunately got into some kind of poison in our neighborhood and passed away with in a week. It was awful. But we soon started looking for another furry friend, one that we could keep as an indoor-only pet. I got online and looked and saw little Liam and I just loved him already. We went and picked him up the day we saw him! And now he is all settled in and the whole family has just fell in love with his cute little self! And he will be an indoor cat only. We don’t want anything to happen to the little guy. His name actually came from the daughter of the woman who fostered him until we got him. There were 4 kittens in the litter and she named them after the boy band One Direction, and we just thought that it suited him well and decided to keep it!” Thank you Destiny for sharing your story, Liam’s photo, and for adopting a pet! Did you find your newly adopted pet on Adopt-a-Pet.com? Email us at info@cms.adoptapet.com if you’d like to share your Happy Beginning and inspire others to adopt too!

This amazing Happy Beginnings story comes to us from a rescue organization that lists their pets for adoption on Adopt-a-Pet.com. If you’re an adopter with your own Happy Beginnings Story of a pet you adopted after seeing him or her on Adopt-a-Pet.com, we’d love to hear from you too! Please send us an email with your adopted pet’s story and photo to info@cms.adoptapet.com.  Now on to Frankie’s wonderful story… a volunteer for the rescue that saved Frankie says: “A concerned person working in an apartment complex in Las Vegas, NV, made a call to A Home 4 Spot animal rescue about a dog. The dog was in terrible shape, living on a small balcony covered in his own poop. The person had witnessed the poor dog being kicked and hit with a stick when he tried to go inside the house. A Home 4 Spot reached out to one of their volunteers, LaRue, so she could do some community outreach and check on the situation. LaRue found the dog and confronted his owners. LaRue was allowed in and after speaking to the family and seeing the dogs condition, asked if she could take the dog. The family replied, yes, that they did not want him and could not afford him. He didn’t even have a name! A Home 4 Spot rescued him, named him Frankie, and started him on his journey to a new life.

Frankie was so happy he gave LaRue gave dog hugs and kisses when she went out on the balcony to save him. He went right on the leash and seemed so happy to be leaving with LaRue. He hopped right into the car, and went to sleep on the ride to LaRue’s home. Once there, she could see how horribly matted and dirty Frankie’s fur was. He had all types of debris stuck in his fur too! The next day it was off to be groomed by another A Home 4 Spot volunteer, Carol. Such a wonderful dog, Frankie sat still without fear as his coat was shaved off in clumps. A gorgeous poodle emerged. After a haircut, bath, and a nail trim he looked like a whole new dog.

Next it was off to be neutered by a local vet, vaccinated, and microchipped. Then his photos and story were listed on Adopt-a-Pet.com. Soon after, a forever home saw him there! One meet and greet and his new human mom and dad were in love, and so was their current dog. Frankie now lives in a huge house with a older dog brother and a patient mom and dad. Many happy days lie ahead for Frankie!

One dog’s life totally turned around – all in 7 days because someone cared to make a call about a dog, a dog rescue was there to help, someone opened their home to foster him, and a family went to Adopt-a-Pet.com to find a new dog.

Here is a link to his YouTube Video:

http://youtu.be/GqIZmYrPTuA

A Home 4 Spots link on Adopt A Pet http://www.adoptapet.com/adoption_rescue/84801.html

Service dogs are incredible. They are unwavering in their unconditional love and devotion to their jobs, which in hospitals, is to give comfort to humans who are suffering. NBC Nightly News has this story about how service dogs are helping the Boston bombing victims in the hospitals, saying, “Of all the traits that make dogs special, here’s one of the best: They don’t judge you when you cry. For that reason, specially trained therapy dogs deployed by Lutheran Church Charities are making bedside visits to dozens of hospitalized victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. Many patients are responding mightily to the one-on-one doses of canine comfort.” Our greatest sympathies go out to those who all those who’ve lost family and friends, and to the survivors. We are so grateful to the comfort dogs and their volunteers for their wonderful work!

 

Who doesn’t love  reading stories of an adopted pet’s happy beginning of their new life… especially with a dramatic “before” and “after” transformation like with Mercy! (Did you find your pet through Adopt-a-Pet.com or one of our Search Saver email alerts? Let us know! Send your adopted pet’s story and photos to info@
adoptapet.com and let us know  how Adopt-a-Pet.com helped you find your new pet.) Here’s more from Keith who adopted Mercy: “I was looking for a female Doberman to replace my ‘DeeDee’ who passed away. Last January you folks emailed me that there was one named Mecedes at the Tulsa, OK pound. When I saw her she looked so bad (to see her before picture below – click the “read more” link) I walked out. When I got out to my truck I thought, “If I don’t take her she’s dead in seven days.” I went back and adopted her. She’s only half Doberman, only 35 lbs. I think the other half is beaver as she has a penchant for my wood pile. After a few vet bills and some TLC she’s doing fine. (After photo, above). I shortened her name to Mercy because when I took her from the pound the lady there put her arms around me, she was crying and said, “God will have mercy on you for taking her.” I’ve heard adopted dogs appreciate you more. Mercy shows it every day. I encourage anyone looking for a pet to adopt. It’ll make you and the pet feel good.”

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Ten out of ten cats agree: bigger is better when it comes to the preferred size of their litter box! In my informal study conducted over the past few years thanks to my cooperative foster cats, I tested out a wide range of litter box sizes and styles.  I’ve also talked to hundreds of cat and kitten adopters and fosters over the decades about what size and styles of litter boxes their cats preferred. (Different types of litter, litter depth, litter box location, and how to fix or cure litter box avoidance issues are topics for other blog articles!) My litter box size preference results are straightforward: the biggest box gets the most use. Humans may prefer a smaller box or a covered box, but cats seem to want one thing: room! Room to turn around, to dig, to comfortably stand up, squat, or put their paws on the edges and stand while they do their business. Then they want plenty of room to dig dig dig and make sure its completely covered! Or not, I’ve had a few non-cover-ers in my testing too. Smaller boxes right next to the bigger boxes were passed over – “litter-ally” for the bigger boxes. Bonus to bigger boxes too: cats can kick like crazy and most of the litter stays in the pan!

I’ve heard that some cats don’t mind covered boxes, but mine also preferred open top ones (not covered), I think they prefer the roomier feel to an open box too. Some didn’t mind jumping into ones with very high sides, while other older felines did appreciate having a lower entrance, so they could easily step in. Now that I know that my foster cats like the big litter boxes, its what I recommend to all new cat adopters too!

Don’t forget: cats are creatures of habit. If you want to see if your cat would prefer a bigger litter box, keep their same litter box available, in the same location. Offer the new litter box as an additional alternative for at least two weeks, right next to the old one if possible. Let your cat “tell” you which litter box he or she prefers. If she likes the new one, or likes both, after two weeks of consistent use of the new one, you can remove the old one.

Happy litter box testing!

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Adopt-a-Pet.com has been busy on Pinterest pinning photos of adoptable pets like Adoptable Labrador Retrievers, Adoptable Pit Bulls, Funny Stuff, animal art, bonded pet pairs, inspirational words and photos, cool DIY pet beds, and more on Pinterest. And we’re just getting started! Follow us and, together, let’s pin to spread awareness of adoptable pets and save lives!

It’s hard to pick favorites, but this is one video that will surely help anyone to see how much potential lies within every shelter pet. Meet Tessa. Tessa was dumped at a shelter after she went blind. She could not walk or even stand. Watch Tessa’s video to see what a little love can do for a homeless pet. Her story is not one you will soon forget. If you like this video, you can click an icon below to share it on Facebook, Twitter, and more!

Adopt-a-Pet.com would sincerely like to thank all those who participated in our first annual Great American Pooch Smooch & Kitty Kiss, which helped to raise $5,000 for emergency veterinary care for homeless pets. Not only was the event a huge success in raising money to help shelter pets, it was also a lot of fun! On February 10th, we kicked off with a live Pooch Smooch & Kitty Kiss with NHL stars David Backes and Barret Jackman of the St. Louis Blues hockey team. We – along with Backes, Jackman, and their wives Kelly and Jenny – visited shelters in the St. Louis area on a mission to kiss every homeless dog and cat. Lots of local media came out to join us and capture these great moments in an effort to raise awareness of all the love that waits for adopters in America’s animal shelters.

Then, we took it to the web for a social media event like no other! We invited the public to share their own kiss photos on our Facebook page and for each upload, a donation was made to our veterinary care fund. Well, we’ve got to hand it to animal lovers! From all over the globe, people shared their own personal pooch smooch and kitty kiss photos and we’re proud to announce that $5,000 will be added to the fund!  Thank you to all who participated.

You can view pictures from both the Facebook and St. Louis events on our Facebook page.

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