Author: Jennifer

No matter how much time you spend in the shelter’s socialization room, or on a foster home’s floor, trying to get to know your potential new cat… it’s pretty hard to get to know a cat as quickly as you might say a dog, or even a person! Cats are such amazingly complex creatures, and even well-established adult personalities can shift from one environment to the next. So, what do you do if you adopt (or inherit or otherwise end up with) a cat that doesn’t quite fit into the figurative perfect cat box you’d hoped for?

One of our favorite cat authors at the wonderful Way of Cats blog has explored this topic in her usual attentive and insightful style! She writes: ” One of the many reasons I encourage and emphasize the choosing of our cat, when possible, is how the right cat match will make us both so happy. There’s a number of circumstances that can interfere. We could have misinterpreted the signals we got from our choice. Perhaps the stress of the cat’s current situation made them act contrary to their nature. With a rescue of any kind, we obviously have no choice at all.

Can mismatches still work out?

When we are finding romantic partners, we often discover that breaking out of our “type” opens a whole new world; which may contain our soulmate. With cats, we can find that while we never thought of picking such a cat; we love the results!

But if that’s not the case, here’s some important considerations for when we wish our cat was different:

Are we mistaking rescue for relationship? When we rescue a cat who turns out to be everything we’d love a cat to be; we feel incredibly validated. So when we rescue a cat who creates problems for us, we feel stuck. And, we shouldn’t.

If we have done all we can to make our cat happy and secure, we are seeing this cat at their current best. They might not be the right cat for us. In which case, we rescued them for some other lovely person; who is waiting for their cat to arrive.

Are we asking too much? Often, I get letters from people who would like their cat to be more outgoing, assertive, and cuddly. There’s nothing wrong with wanting that; unless it’s something this cat can’t give.

Recovering ferals, genetically challenged cats, traumatized cats; these could be cats who will never be the court jester or lovebug we really want. That’s fine.

Go out and get a court jester or lovebug, then. They could be exactly the cat to model the behavior we want from our other cat; and exactly the cat to make us happy, and stop radiating disappointment.

Are we sure the cat is unhappy? Many times, I must gently counsel that the way the cat is now is the way the cat is meant to be. We might see this as a restricted and miserable life; but the cat is living it, not us.

If the cat is content and not showing signs of anxiety or stress, then trying to change them is not the answer.

What is best for both of us? When I ran my cat rescue, it was easy for me to tell if a cat wasn’t going to be happy in my Circus of Cats. Obviously, the answer was not to give up my Circus and the cats who were happy there. It was to find this particular cat a place where they could be Only Cat.

There are many people who want and need an Only Cat. They can have restricting living situations, or restricted budgets. They might have health challenges that extend their energies to only a single pet, or live with people who want to deal with only a single pet. There can also be the desire to be the world to some other being; and give them the world in return.

There are many other possible mis-matching circumstances. Some cats love activity, while other cats need peace and quiet. We might be away so much our cat is lonely; we might be lonely, and are overwhelming the cat with requests they can’t fulfill.

If a cat needs something we can’t give, if we are asking something of the cat they can’t give; rehoming isn’t an admission of failure.

It is the recognition of what the cat needs, and giving it to them.

Which is what every relationship should be, with every cat.

Read more cat articles on the Way of Cats by clicking here!

Adopt-a-Pet.com’s partnership PEOPLEPets.com is raising awareness of animals adoption! Each month, PEOPLEPets.com highlights a pet from AdoptaPet.com who is looking for a home. This month, it’s Cosmo and Newman, two bunnies who were abandoned at a California pet store and living in an uncomfortable fish aquarium when volunteer Christy Schilling first laid eyes on them. “They couldn’t even hop, the tanks were so small and there were bright lights on them,” Schilling remembers.

The animal lover rescued the duo (Cosmo is white with black and brown markings, Newman has gray and black touches) and has been trying to find them a permanent home since the end of February. “They’ve been inseparable ever since,” she says. “They’re complete buddies.”

They really love spending time together (“They clean each other!” Schilling says) and would thrive with a little outdoor space. “They’re very sweet and you can pet them and hold them. They’re good with kids,” she says.

Cosmo and Newman weigh 2 lbs. each, are both about a year old and won’t get much bigger. Both boys are neutered and litter-box trained. “I just put the litter box in their cage,” says Schilling, “and they went in it.”

If you could see Cosmo and Newman bouncing around your home, check out their profile at http://www.adoptapet.com/pet5388278.html and email the Los Angeles Rabbit Foundation at losangelesrabbits@earthlink.net

It’s not that uncommon for veterinary students to help out at their local animal shelter, trading their time and skills for hands-on learning experiences. But typically the time they spend is as interns or assisting the vet staff, practicing drawing blood, handling animals, and other medicine-related tasks. However veterinary students at the University of Florida in Gainesville took their mission to help animals to another level!

Sophomore veterinary student Lauren Gray was at the Alachua County shelter almost daily last summer. As she collected blood samples from cats for the research project, she realized the overcrowding was resolved by euthanasia. “It was heartbreaking to see a cat one day and not see him the next,” Gray says.

When Levy learned that healthy, adoptable animals were meeting this fate due to a lack of space and lack of adopters, she turned to Lauren Unger, a third-year veterinary student and president of the shelter medicine club. Levy proposed that Unger consider leading an adopt-a-thon, with the goal of finding homes for the animals. “I wasn’t sure it was feasible,” Unger says. “It wasn’t the best time of year because many students had already left for the summer.” After thinking it over, Unger accepted the challenge. She encouraged club members, saying, “At least we can try.”

You can find out what happened next by reading the rest of their story that was published in the Rally To Rescue magazine by clicking here.

Just like humans and other animals, cats go through very distinctive formative periods in their lives. Kittenhood, pre-teen/adolescent, teenager, young adult, mature adult, and senior ages all include important differences and a loving educated cat owner that recognizes and responds to each appropriately will help their cat live the richest and happiest life possible. So what about those often troublesome teenagers? They aren’t tiny baby kittens exploring and learning like little furry sponges, nor are they out-of-control wild young adolescents, but rather like human teens, their feelings can be very sensitive. Easily hurt but also quickly consoled, they require a bit of special nurturing at certain times to help them along their path to being a happy, well-balanced adult cat.

Our friends over at the wonderful Way of Cats blog explain teenage cats through an example with their 8-month-old kitten Tristan. ” Last weekend, I made meatloaf. Which meant eight month old Tristan got locked in the bathroom. Most of the time he perches on the cat cabinet, or the kitchen stool placed near the work area, and simply watches like a Good Boy. He gets a few reminders and he’ll ignore brownie batter. But the combination of raw hamburger and my mixing it with my hands means if his curiosity gets the better of his common sense, there’s not a lot I can do about it.

Thus, I do a pre-emptive strike; and put him somewhere else.

This simple precaution is an excellent kitten approach; past a certain point, they aren’t learning anything, and we are getting exasperated, so it’s time for the lesson to be over. Then we can complete our task, and they can ponder their lesson, or not, depending on their age.

Our kitten needs raising in a way that acknowledges their needs and limitations. So if we find ourselves getting frustrated, both we and the cat need a “time out.” In this case, I started by assembling my ingredients. When Tristan persisted in getting on my kitchen cart, I was able to put him away before my hands were too messy to do so.”

You can read the rest of how Way of the Cats manages Tristan’s hurt feelings at being confined away from the hamburger (for his own safety) at http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/the-teen-years-in-cat/13304

kitten photo credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/721201

In a recent issue of one of our favorite magazines, Rally To Rescue, we read a particularly inspiring article about rescued dogs and cats who in turn, helped rescue their rescuers! There’s Champ the Beagle who was found nearly burned to death, a Siamese cat who repeatedly pounced on his owner until he woke up to save him and the rest of his family including two other felines from a house fire, a Cattle Dog who’s barking was a life-saver instead of an annoyance, and a kitten with a rare bloodtype who helped save another cat’s life. You can read all about these amazing animals and their full stories at http://www.rallytorescue.org/articles/article.aspx?articleId=147

Can you tell if your cat is upset? We don’t mean angry, that is usually an easier emotion to read – but upset, as in unhappy, disappointed, or worried – or as Webster defines it, “emotionally disturbed or agitated.” Cats have many ways of telling their human caretakers that they are upset, but if you aren’t familiar with the intricacies of cat behavior and language, or if you just adopted your cat and you’re still learning to communicate with each other, it can be a bit of a challenge, and you might miss some of the clues that will tell you that your cat is upset – and miss out on being able to help them be the happy content cat you want them to be!

The wonderful Way of Cats blog writes in detail about some of the different ways cats communicate distress. Their article’s insights start out with:  “If we have a close relationship with our cat, signals get through pretty well. I know when any of our crew is unhappy; but the ways they show it will vary among different cats.” They then go on to describe the various categories and displays of upset behavior signals in their delightfully witty and enlightening way. You can read about how upset  cats use Complaining to management, Yelling for help, Catching our eye, Hanging around and Bad Behavior in detail at http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/how-to-tell-if-the-cats-upset/13053

We read this inspiring story in an issue of Rally to Rescue and thought you’d all enjoy reading how one person can make a huge difference in dogs lives! Day after day, Mikael Hardy passed by the same yards and saw the same dogs. Making deliveries as a volunteer driver for Meals on Wheels in Greenville County, S.C., she saw the dogs alone, looking bored and neglected, living on the ends of oversized chains. Hardy noticed that the dogs were often chained quite a distance from driveways, paths and doorways, where people would frequently pass. The dogs’ lack of socialization led to further neglect. Whenever someone tried to show them interest, they undermined the attention by jumping up and making the interaction unpleasant. Visits were infrequent, however, loneliness was the least of the problems caused.

“The neglect contributed to the dogs being underweight and malnourished,” Hardy says. “Their water bowls were usually either empty or green from the growth of algae. The dogs often had heartworms, and were starved for love.”

Fed up one day with seeing so many dogs face these potential hardships, Hardy stopped her car outside one of the houses. She went to the front door and knocked. When the owners answered, Hardy started talking, trying to convince them to bring their dog inside or at least build a fence and let the dog off his chain. For 18 months she knocked on door after door. The response she got was always the same: “Dogs live outdoors, and fences cost too much.”

It was in the middle of one such conversation that Hardy became particularly frustrated. She stopped trying to persuade. She threw up her hands and blurted, “We’ll do it. We’ll build a fence for you.” She hadn’t paused to think how that might happen, but when the homeowner accepted the offer, Hardy committed to the task.”

Read the rest of Hardy’s story to find out how she did it at http://www.rallytorescue.org/articles/article.aspx?articleId=150

I don’t know about you, but every time I’m at Home Depot I’m drawn to the adorable mini-barn storage sheds that line the parking lot, and my future animal sanctuary dreams kick back into overdrive… well one amazing woman in Pasadena, CA has already turned that dream into a special reality! Her Cat Cottage Senior Sanctuary is an inspiration to cat-lovers who wish they had more room to be able to adopt more cats – and maybe a bunny or two! All you need is a small space in your backyard, some DIY skills or handyman help to add heating, A/C, and cool cat customization catwalks and perches, and voila, instant cat sanctuary – and home office or guest room with en-suite feline company! We found out about this amazing cat getaway on one of our favorite blogs, Modern Cat – click here to see all their photos and let us know if you’re inspired to make your own cat cottage!

National surveys of pet owners show that only 25% of pets are adopted from shelters. Potential pet owners often believe that shelters are overwhelming and depressing, and that shelter pets are pets with issues – not realizing many shelters are now bright friendly modern facilities with up to 25% purebred pets and most are wonderful healthy friendly family pets who were just displaced due to no fault of their own. Enter a “new” kind of pet adoption center – the storefront! Last week we interviewed  Found Animals about their Adopt&Shop retail pet adoption center located in a mall, and this week we talk to Sante D’Or, who have a successful and very different type of pet adoption center and sanctuary, in what used to be a retail record store!

What is the goal of your pet rescue’s storefront location?
To bridge the gap between rescued animals and their potential adopters, as well as invite supporters and interested parties to see first-hand how we operate and how our animals are treated.

How did you come up with the idea for having a storefront?
It seemed the most logical solution for an efficient adoption process and operation transparency.

What’s it like inside?
We are mostly one large room, with a small front entry space for merchandise (t-shirts and tote-bags) and literature, and then a small back room where new animals can be acclimated, or sick animals can be separated for treatment.

How many paid staff & volunteers are in the store daily?
We have only one paid staff member, our Executive Director, who runs the rescue facility full-time, and we are otherwise entirely volunteer-run. Volunteers care for and interact with our animals during two shifts each day, seven days per week. The shifts are mornings 9-12 and afternoons 4:30-6, and our Executive Director is on-site during the in-between hours. Additionally we have a Vet Tech in weekly to examine each animal’s health.

What are the store hours?
12-5pm, Friday-Sunday.

How do adoptions happen from the store?
Application, consultation with our Executive Director and then a home check. Our Director also offers consultation during the transition to assist with any concerns and the bonding of new and existing animals.

How long are the pets left alone when the store is closed?
They are only left alone over night, at which time they are tucked away in their cages for safety and so that we can monitor eating and behavioral habits in the mornings to ensure optimum health. When volunteers are there to clean in the mornings and afternoons, the animals are able to run free and play and exercise. While they do have to be left alone during the nights, they have daily one-to-one interaction, exercise and socialization. While no rescue facility can take the place of a forever home, it is truly the next best thing.

When did it open?
We were founded in 2003, but our storefront was opened in 2007.

How many adoptions has your store had since it opened, and on average?
More than 1400 since opening, and we average around 8-10/month.

Where do the pets come from?
Almost anywhere. Many are either dumped at our doorstep, found by volunteers, or surrendered by owners. Others come from our vet who contacts us when there is a situation with a client who is unable to care for an animal or is requesting euthanasia for a healthy animal. During kitten season, we also have numerous people calling and stopping by with litters they have found on the streets, by dumpsters, on hiking trails, etc. We have multiple calls per day from people seeking assistance with strays or turn-ins. We actively seek to quickly secure loving, forever homes for as many animals as possible and increase our outreach capabilities so that we can assist in more of these situations.

Who planned the design of the store and/or the business plan to make it viable?
Our Executive Director and Board of Directors.

How did you find the location?
We are celebrating the 1-year anniversary of our new location. Our Executive Director and Board President sought out the location, as we were having difficult building challenges in our former space.

How much did it cost to get it up and running?
There were only a few costs associated to making it “animal friendly” which were funded by donations.

How much are the monthly or annual operating costs to your organization?
We average roughly $8,000/month, depending on vet bills and number of animals.

How does it generate income, and does that cover your costs?
Grants, donors and fundraisers. While we do cover our costs through these avenues, we are actively working on more sustainable funding initiatives to enable progressive, long-term growth.

If you’d like to visit the Sante D’Or storefront adoption center, they are open to the public from noon to 5pm Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and by appointment during the week.
3165 Los Feliz Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90039
http://www.santedor.org