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Have you been thinking of building your very own cat catio?  In case you aren’t familiar with the term “catio,” it refers to an enclosed outdoor area designed especially for cats!  Unfortunately, cats who roam free outside generally have more health issues and shorter lifespans than cats who remain indoors.  It’s important to keep your felines away from the many dangers they would face on the streets. A catio is a great solution as it gives kitties the semblance of being outdoors while providing them with a fully protected sunshine environment.  This way your feline can enjoy the comfort and safety of inside life yet still bask in the fresh air!

People from all over the world have constructed catios for their furry friends, including our very own Director of Shelter Outreach, Jennifer Warner Jacobsen!  Varying in size, shape, and layout, you can really get creative when it comes to building your own catio.  Just remember the most important part is to make certain that your kitties will remain safe and secure while frolicking in there!  Click here to watch a video tour of Jennifer’s catio which is sure to give you great ideas and inspiration when it comes to constructing your own.  You can also see a catio photo tour here. Hint hint, catios can be especially useful when it comes to fostering cats from a local shelter or rescue group!

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Most dogs love car rides! But what if your dog turns into a terrified trembling drooling mess the moment you open the car door? Here are some helpful tips to overcoming your dog’s fear of riding in a car!  Start with baby step building blocks, using rewards for each step if performed without fear. Can she walk up and sit next to the car confidently? Great, that gets a reward! It is very important during these training exercises detailed below that you try not to get stressed yourself! Pets need to go at their own speed, and can sense if you are feeling frustrated or rushed. That will only add to their anxiety, the opposite of what you are trying to do. Each step will take as long as it takes for your dog. Maybe read a book or sing along to a song on the radio! The fastest you should progress through the steps is one a day. Only advance to the next step if she can do the previous step confidently and happily.

If your dog acts stressed at any step, ignore her. You don’t want to reward anxious behavior inadvertently by giving her anxious behavior any attention, even just looking at her.

Bonus tip: giving your dog a special chew toy stuffed with their dinner or extra tasty treats each time you get into the car can help her associate getting in the car with something positive and fun too.

1. Have her sit next to you and the car, on leash, with the car door shut. Increase time sitting until it is one full minute. If no signs of stress, open the car door and stand there calmly for another full minute.

2. You sit in car, holding her leash with her outside. Again increase time up to one minute. (If she jumps or wants to get in the car that’s fine too, just have her get out again right away and you’ve completed step 3.)

3. Ask her to jump into the car (or put her in the car), then out again immediately.

4. Have her get or put her in the car, wait three seconds, get out of car. This step gets repeated with the “wait” getting longer and longer until she can sit in the car for five minutes, either attached to her dog harness seat belt or inside crate, just as she will be when you are traveling.

5. Sit in the car and car gets turned on for 10 seconds, then turned off. Repeat, gradually lengthening the time the car is on each day until you get up to 5 minutes. After 1 week of 5 minute car sessions, or however long it takes till your dog is sitting calmly with you for those 5 minutes, you are ready to…

6. Drive out of the driveway or parking spot! If your dog shows no signs of distress (no panting, freezing, drooling, pacing) you can drive down the block, but keep the total time in the car under 5 minutes. If she becomes distressed, calmly pull back into your parking spot, and once the pet calms down, try driving off again. If the second time isn’t any better, try again the following day. It may take a number of tries and days.

Once you’ve gone through all the steps above, gradually lengthen the car trips over time. Try to make the car trips going somewhere fun, like her favorite park, the pet supply store to go in with you and buy treats (and she gets to eat one there), a friend’s house she likes visiting. Many pets associate car trips with vet visits, and that can be one big source of their fear.

Happy Trails & Tails!

Plus don’t forget our essential…

5 Tips for Safe Car Trips with Your Pets:

1. Pet Seat Belt Harness or Crate. Pets should never be allowed to ride unrestrained inside your car/suv, or outside in the flatbed of a truck. Keep your pets safe in a properly fitted car or flatbed pet harness, secured to the seat-belt or tie-downs, or inside a properly-sized travel crate that is securely strapped in place.
2. Windows Open? Oh my, how dogs love to stick their noses out of a moving car window! But is the danger of your pet being blinded or worse worth it? Check out BreezeGuard‘s car window screens! They will let your dog (or even that adventurous cat) enjoy the same windy sensation much more safely. They also keep your pet safely contained, and inside temperatures matching the outside, when you stop.
3. Back seat. Just like with kids, the back seat is the safest place for your family pet to ride – not all the way in the back of a wagon or truck, and not in the front, especially where an airbag could deploy in case of an accident.
4. Car Sick Pets. Motion sickness is really no fun for you or your pet. Try to not feed them 4-6 hours before the car trip. Make frequent stops if its a long trip. Drive slower than usual, especially around curves. Roll down the window closest to them an inch or two for a safe breeze, or use a BreezeGuard car window screen. If they are a smaller pet, elevating them on a cushion, pet car seat, or in their crate so they can see out the window can help too. You can also get your pet used to car trips and less likely to get sick by taking them on daily short rides around the block, gradually lengthening the trip each time.
5. Collar and ID. Every car trip, make sure your pets are wearing a collar with an up-to-date ID tag. Preferably it should have not only your phone number and address, but your emergency contact phone numbers as well – like your vet, or a neighbor/friend who could take in your pet temporarily. What if you are in an accident, your pet escapes, and you are not home or unable to answer your cell phone? Having your pet microchipped with all those up-to-date contacts is a good safety tip too.

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We love hearing from happy adopters who have used Adopt-a-Pet.com to find their new furry friend! Here’s an email we received with a great photo from Susan: “Hi Adopt-a-Pet.com, I just want to thank you for bringing Gizmo into my life. I really am not sure who rescued whom? I saw Gizmo on your site last November and kept going back to his picture (I wasn’t sure I really wanted the responsibility of a dog). After Thanksgiving, I called “Nate’s Place” in Sarasota and asked if Gizmo was still available for adoption. They said yes, so the next week I couldn’t resist. Gizmo was such a charmer, I filled out the papers etc and pop next thing I knew Gizmo had adopted me. He is a wonderful companion and has become the neighborhood social butterfly. He loves everyone and all the pets too!  He even gets along with my daughter’s two cats.  Such a sweetie! (Photo: It is obvious that Gizmo owns the house and allows me to live here with him!) Truly, if I had not seen Gizmo on your site I would never have found him. Thanks, Susan”

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If you live in the path of or near Hurricane Isaac, there are many animal shelters and rescue groups who desperately need your help with the animals in their care.  Below is a list of five ways that you can help animals being affected by the hurricane right now!  We appreciate that you care about homeless pets.  Together we can ensure that the two-legged and four-legged members of your community are all safe.

1) FOSTER. By taking in one of the hundreds of pets being evacuated from shelters along the Gulf Coast, you can be a hero!  Opening your heart and home to a pet in need is a great way to give back.  For more on the benefits of fostering, click here.

2) ADOPT.  Please consider adopting a homeless pet in a shelter near Hurricane Isaac in order to help these shelters make room for the extra pets coming in at this time.  By choosing to adopt you will be saving many lives as all pet adoption has a domino effect of rescue.  You can even adopt an evacuated pet!

3) DONATE.  Please give generously to shelters directly affected by the hurricane, as well as to shelters nationwide that are taking in pets to help shelters in the area have the room to take in stray storm pets.  Donating directly to an animal shelter will help them offset their extra staffing costs and the increased money they’ll be spending on supplies.

4) NO ANIMAL LEFT BEHIND.  Unfortunately during times of natural disaster, sometimes animals can be separated from their owners.  Please commit to taking your pets with you and do not leave them behind. Furthermore, if you see abandoned animals in need, consider taking action by bringing them with you or call local animal control and law enforcement agencies to help get these pets out of harm’s way.

5) SPREAD THE WORD.  By taking photos, blogging, Tweeting, and posting on Facebook, you can help bring exposure to the animals in the hurricane area who need help at this time.  The more people who see the faces of pets in need, or who hear about all the incredible efforts being done to help our furry friends, the more we can all come together to be a part of life-saving work.

As we all know, it takes a village to save animals.  We thank you for being a part of ours.

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Hamsters are adorable little friends that make great pets!  Did you know you could find a hamster to adopt near you by clicking here?  Hamsters can also make easy pets because they don’t require a lot of living space, they don’t usually make huge messes that you will have to clean up after, and they can be very friendly. But there are suggested tips to keep in mind when it comes to gently holding hamsters in order to best ensure that both you and your furry rodent are getting along. Hamsters have many unique characteristics, such as cheek pouches for storing and transporting food! They’re a fascinating animal and can be quite silly and fun to have around! For a comprehensive guide on all things hamster, click here and learn more.

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If you’ve ever lived with a kitten, the expression “Midnight Kitten Zoomies” probably needs no explanation! Our feline friends are by nature nocturnal, and since kittens have boundless bucketfuls of youthful energy, nighttime is playtime for our kitten friends. For the humans sharing the household – and sleeping spaces – with one or more party-all-night-long kitten rockstars, getting a good night’s sleep can be quite a challenge the first year. A kitten without another kitten to play with often will add a Midnight Meow Mix soundtrack to the festivities too, trying to entice you (and your neighbors) to join the party in the living room… or on top of your head! Good news: it doesn’t have to be that way if you’re prepared and educated about how to channel the after-hours fun. Having fostered hundreds of kittens and helped hundreds of adopters handle the Midnight Kitten Zoomies, I’ve learned a few helpful tips that I’ve shared below. Ready? 3-2-1… Go!

1. I Could Dance All Night

Adult cats sleep 13 to 18 hours a day, say scientific studies (and many cat owners might say that’s a conservative range). But kittens, just like human kids, make the most of their awake time. Especially if you work during the day, and since it is often warmer during the day, kittens will naturally spend that time sleeping. So the first step in adjusting their sleeping times to yours is to try to keep them active and awake as much as possible during the day.

Figure out the day time times when your kitten is awake and moderately active, and try to turn those times into super active play sessions for as long as she will play, or until one of you is worn out! You can also try waking up kittens and encouraging them to play in the day. You will have to be CONSISTENT and PERSISTENT to reset their internal clock. It usually takes about 2 weeks of these new playtimes (at the same times every day) to become a routine.

If you can’t get your kitten playing during the day (say you work long hours), as soon as the sun goes down or you get home from work, try then. You may need start with your super marathon play sessions being just before you go to bed and first thing when you get up, and gradually make the night one earlier and earlier, until you have enough time to add in another one just before bed. Stop playing about 20 minutes before you actually go to bed, to let your kitten to wind down.

Interactive toys that are great for these play sessions are toys on the end of string on a pole, balls you throw, a laser toy (if you have stairs, run them up and down the stairs chasing the laser!), and wind up toys. Interactive = you are making the toy move, not just the cat.

Giving kitten a meal just before you go to bed can also put kitten in digestion/nap mode, instead of play mode.

2. Party of Two

Possibly the easiest fix to being able to sleep undisturbed through the Midnight Kitten Zoomies is adopt two same age and similar energy-level kittens and, if needed, shut them out of your bedroom when you want to sleep. Make sure you’ve totally kitten proofed your home, including all cords & wires in chew proof covers or unplugged, and anything they can knock over or off of shelves put away or attached to shelves/floors with adhesive, just like you’d do for an earthquake.

3. Party In a Box

Bucketfuls of energy need bucketfuls of toys! Have a toy box of quiet kitten toys that only gets put out right before you go to bed. Try soft fabric cat toys that glow in the dark, small kitten-proof stuffed animals (no small parts they can chew off), a wall-mounted Cat Dancer toy attached to the farthest wall, and hidey toys-in-hole-punched wooden or fabric boxes.  If you can, get enough supplies so you can rotate toys so there are different ones out each night of the week. That way kittens will see the toys as “new” each night, and new is always more fun!

My favorite night time toy is a cardboard box fort. My foster kittens quickly learned that right after I brushed my teeth, the fort was going to come out! Each night they would line up in front of the closet with the fort inside, waiting for me to take it out. Kittens are smart! I would put it in a new location each night (new location = new excitement), and you can cut new holes and doors out of it and turn it on its side or its top, or drape it with a pillow case to add a tent to the fort. Each time you change it, you make it new and super fun again.

But what if none of that works…

What if you’ve tried all the above including the daytime play sessions for two weeks, you can’t get your kitten a feline playmate, or you live in a studio apartment and earplugs won’t work as your kitten’s Midnight Zoomies include routing the race track across your face and they are meowing unhappy closed in the bathroom with lots of toys? Consider one or more motion-activated pet deterrent spray cans like this. Position them to keep your kittens totally away from your bed at all times. There are pro- and anti- water spray bottle behaviorist camps, and we have come to believe that using a water spray bottle to try to train a cat is not only often not effective, they are likely to make your kitten afraid of you. The motion activated cans do not have that risk.

(We would be remiss if we didn’t link to the most popular cat video on YouTube ever, Simon, with his version of the Midnight Kitten Pounce-ies.)

We hope these tips help you with your Midnight Kitten Zoomies until your kitten grows out of them!

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There are so many incredible pet-related videos on YouTube these days, it’s hard to know which ones to watch!  Here are our picks for this month’s favorite videos. #1: This chick sure knows how to boss a cat around. Have you ever seen a chickadee snuggle with a kitty? Oscar the cat seems to like it! And best of all, this content creator supports pet adoption. Watch Oscar & the chick video here. #2: Dunder is a wonderful German Shepherd boy with a family who loves to celebrate him. Don’t you wish all pets had it this good? Dunder wants everyone to find their next pet at Adopt-a-Pet.com and he has a new adopted brother to play with these days, too! Watch Dunder’s video click here.
#3: Is there anything cuter than a cat and a dog playing? Yeah, maybe a rescued cat and a rescued dog playing! These two lucky pets made it out of the shelter and into a loving home. Watch then living the good life here as their mom giggles on with the video camera. Click the image below to watch Crazy Cat Attacks Dog:

If you, too, create your own YouTube videos please consider including Adopt-a-Pet.com as an annotation or in the descriptive field below the video so that you can be a part of spreading the pet adoption message.

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If you’ve been reading our blog or following us on Facebook, then you already know about the Adopt-a-Pet.com Veterinary Care Fund and the $20,000 you’re helping us to distribute to some very deserving shelters and rescue groups.  So it will come as no surprise that we have updates on even more pets who have benefited from these grants:

Grant Recipient #5: A Paw Up Rescue – Prosser, WA

Working to help pets suffering from everything from pancreatitis to obesity to parvo get back “up” on their “paws,” A Paw Up Rescue – our 5th $1000 grant recipient – will see to it that even more animals in need will get the medical care they require so that they can transition on to happy forever homes. You can read more about A Paw Up here.

Grant Recipient #6: Cullen’s Archangel RescuE  – Columbia, SC

At Cullen’s Archangel RescuE (CARE), the desperate calls for help come from individuals, veterinary hospitals, and animal control officers. If an animal is in need of medical treatment, and there is no one to take responsibility for payment or to care for the pet during the recovery process, CARE, a non-profit all species animal rescue, says yes whenever possible. Now, with the funds from this grant, they will be able to help more little guys and gals, like Xavier (pictured above). Thanks to CARE, the puppy with “the most trusting eyes and the sweetest soul” is on the road to recovery.

Grant Recipient #7: Shepherds’ Hope Rescue – Glen Head, NY

Shepherds’ Hope Rescue was formed by two independent rescuers who forged an alliance to more effectively help their beloved breed, German Shepherds. As volunteers, they house their rescue dogs either in their own homes, foster homes if available, or board them with dog sitters or kennels until placed with their new families. Because they make the commitment to each and every animal to resolve any health or behavioral issues prior to adoption, Shepherds Hope Rescue appreciates the $1000 grant. With it they can provide services to the breed they have made it their mission to help, as well as other dogs in need like Snow and Mikey, whom they rescued from New York’s Animal Care and Control and found to be visually impaired, suffering from neglect, and in need of surgery for entropian.

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I was a new volunteer at the South LA Animal Shelter years ago when Cindy came up to me. She was looking for a black dog because she had heard that black pets had it especially hard at animal shelters. “It’s true,” I told her. “Black pets are more commonly overlooked or feared, so they are sadly adopted out much less.” Hearing her fears confirmed, she was set on adopting a dark canine from the shelter. I was a novice volunteer back then and I remember being so excited to help her find her match. We walked among the kennels as I showed her all the lovely animals we had up for adoption. Amidst the barking and the pleading eyes, I asked her what her lifestyle was like so that I could better help match her up with a furry friend. That’s when Cindy told me about her son Sean and how he was diagnosed with autism when he was three years old. Now seven years old, Cindy wanted to adopt a dog not only for herself but also to bring Sean some extra comfort and companionship.

Many studies show that autistic children with pets often improve in their communication skills. Often the social impairments that kids with autism experience can be reduced by the presence of a pet, and animal-assisted therapies are used widely to help enhance behaviors. Although much research still needs to be carried out and further assessed, it is now commonly accepted that there is a positive impact when families with an individual with autism adopt a pet. And I was determined to help Cindy find her rescued pooch so that she could help her son.

So we met a few pups, all of them joyous to be out of their kennels, licking Cindy, playful and happy. It’s amazing how much a dog can come out of his shell once he is released from his lonely kennel. Once he meets a kind touch. Once he sees the promise of friendship. Sascha came out first. She was a black Shepherd mix who had way too much energy for Sean, Cindy felt. I made a note to reach out to the local Shepherd Rescues and we put Sascha back in her kennel after many belly rubs and treats. Zucko was a little black Chihuahua mix and Cindy worried he’d be too small for Sean. I made yet another note to reach out to my friend Analee who loves to foster Chihuahuas. One of the hardest things about being a shelter volunteer is that once you meet the animals, once you interact and it hits you how incredibly loving and amazing each personality is, it’s tough not to feel compelled to help get them out of the shelter. Conversely, it’s also one of the best parts about being a shelter volunteer. You get to fall in love over and over again, you get to help save lives and watch them walk out the door, into safety, wiggling as they go as if they’re blowing kisses to thank you.

I brought out Angel and almost immediately I knew this would be Cindy and Sean’s dog. A Labrador mix, she was the perfect sized. Five years old, she had that great blend of energy and mellowness. Cindy looked up at me with tears in her eyes and said, “Angel is the one we’ve been waiting for.” She adopted Angel that day, and because she was already spayed, she was able to bring her home.

I’ve kept in touch with Cindy. She sends emails with updates and pictures so that I can share in Angel’s new life, and in Sean’s new progress. Cindy even reported to me recently that since Sean’s diagnosis, she has not been able to sleep without him, not even for a single night. He has always been so afraid of the dark. But now, she was thrilled to let me know that, thanks to Angel who climbs into bed with Sean every evening, she has not only been able to stay up later on her own so that she can read or watch television, she’s even been able to go on a few dates! All because of Angel’s presence, Sean has been calmed, he feels safer, he has opened up, he has found his best friend. And Angel has found the forever family she always deserved.

Stories like this happen every day. Volunteers at shelters and rescue groups across the county making matches, witnessing miracles, sighing in relief that another pet they love found a happy home. You, too, can be a part of these wonderful events by volunteering at your local shelter and by choosing to adopt when it’s time to get your next pet. Because there are so many Angels out there who are ready to love and heal you if you let them.

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