Sunday, December 11, 2011

Tis the Season

It's the holiday season, when everywhere you turn everyone is wanting your money. It's also the season of giving, and in that spirit, HART has a new promotion for December:

For every regular can of cat food that you bring to the shelter, you will receive $1 off the adoption fee of a cat! How is that for saving money :)

Also, we have a very generous anonymous donor who is going to match every donation HART receives before December 31st, up to $10,000!

Please pass the word along to all your friends and family. Happy Holidays everyone!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Why Keep Your Cat Indoors?

HART has an indoor only policy with their cats, and sometimes people ask why. Below are 5 reasons why cats should be kept indoors:

1. Humans. People can have a huge impact on an animal's life. A good samaritan may think your cat is a stray or lost, and take the cat home or to a shelter. Cats crossing roads can be hit by cars, and cars swerving to avoid a cat can lead to fatal car accidents. There are also (unfortunately) many people out there who are cruel to animals and could get their hands on your cat for any number of reasons, including to use as bait for training fighting dogs.

2. Animals. Living in Maine especially, there are a lot of animals out there that could potentially kill your cat, including other cats. If you live in a city, don't think you're exempt from these animals being around. Ever see a moose in Portland? I have. Fishers, coyotes, foxes, lynxes, bobcats, birds of prey, and dogs are just some of the animals that would think your cat is a tasty meal.

3. Disease. Even with vaccinations, cats can pick up a variety of diseases including rabies, feline leukemia, FIV, and cytauxzoonosis. They can pick up fleas and ticks and bring them into your home. If they get into a fight they could receive injuries resulting in the need for costly medical care.

4. Domestication. There is a reason why your cat is a "domestic ____ hair." Your cat, despite its wild cat instincts, has been bred to live with and be cared for by people. A cat that has been indoors all its life and is suddenly left outdoors has a poor chance of survival unless found by a good samaritan. Letting a cat outside when it is young to "get used" to being outdoors is not any better - young cats have not fully developed their skills and are even better prey for other animals and diseases. If you have let your cat outside before you have probably noticed that the birds and small mammals it kills get brought to you - not eaten. A domestic cat has the wild cat instinct to go after and kill the small animals, but its domestic instinct is to bring its kill to you for a reward. This is not survival behavior, and can seriously impact the food chain in your area.

5. Life expectancy. An indoor cat can live 12 - 18 years (many times even longer than that!), but an outdoor cat typically only lives 4 - 5 years. Wouldn't you rather have 18 wonderful years with your pet?

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Pretty Little Charlene

I'd like to take a moment to tell you about my foster cat, Charlene, because she is awesome.




When Charlene first came to HART, it was thought that she was an older kitten, due to her size. A visit to the vet however revealed that she is actually a couple of years old. She was not really approachable, and very timid, so she was added to the quietest room at the shelter. It was in this room that I first met her - if you tried to approach her, she would run and hide with other cats. She was always with other cats, never off by herself. She always looked terrified at the sight of a person. I decided if there was any hope for her to learn to trust people, she needed to be in a home. Thus, Charlene became my foster.




She hid for the first day, which I expected. It really didn't take very long though, for her to make herself at home and appear (ever so cautiously) when I was in the room. It took her even less time to find the box filled with cat toys, and I learned that Charlene LOVES to play. She not only loves to play with all the toys, she also likes to play with my two cats, and with my feet!


It took Charlene awhile to stop going around the very outer edge of the room in order to get around me; now she just dashes behind my chair and is on her way. She is still pretty cautious when I approach, and I can't pet her, but she will come up and sniff my hand if I extend it out to her. She gets up on my bed while I'm in it, and will tackle my feet. She's even slept at my feet for a few minutes. She has come close to my head a couple of times, but usually will run off if she thinks I'm even marginally alive. Despite her nervousness, she follows me all around the house, and sleeps on the couch next to me.





I love watching Charlene, she provides hours of entertainment. It helps that she is just too cute! She doesn't meow, but I have heard her chirp at birds, and I've seen her mouth open in a silent cry at me when she wants to be fed. I've discovered that she is an undergarment thief as well - if socks or other garments are on the floor and I turn my back, she'll run in and grab them, take them into another room and roll around on them! She's really well behaved though - I only had to speak to her a couple of times to get her to stay off my counter, and she doesn't scratch my furniture.


If you're interested in adopting Charlene, come into HART and fill out an application.


Update: On November 6th I woke up to find all 3 cats sleeping on my bed - including Charlene! She woke when I moved to take a picture, but instead of running, she decided to take a bath. Didn't she pose so pretty for the picture?


Tuesday, October 11, 2011

When Danger Strikes

I used to have this sticker that I kept in my apartment window advising firemen that I had cats. Then I thought I was "cool" and put up this sign (with an "S" added to Cat with black marker):


Truthfully though, I never had a real plan for what to do with my cats in the event of an emergency or disaster. I can't imagine what it was like for people who had to leaves their homes due to Irene, or Katrina (just to name a few.)

Thankfully, FEMA is out to help.

Plan for Pet Disaster Needs

  • Identifying shelter. For public health reasons, many emergency shelters cannot accept pets. Find out which motels and hotels in the area you plan to evacuate to allow pets -- well in advance of needing them. There are also a number of guides that list hotels/motels that permit pets and could serve as a starting point. Include your local animal shelter's number in your list of emergency numbers -- they might be able to provide information concerning pets during a disaster.
  • Take pet food, bottled water, medications, veterinary records, cat litter/pan, can opener, food dishes, first aid kit and other supplies with you in case they're not available later. While the sun is still shining, consider packing a "pet survival" kit which could be easily deployed if disaster hits.
  • Make sure identification tags are up to date and securely fastened to your pet's collar. If possible, attach the address and/or phone number of your evacuation site. If your pet gets lost, his tag is his ticket home. Make sure you have a current photo of your pet for identification purposes.
  • Make sure you have a secure pet carrier, leash or harness for your pet so that if he panics, he can't escape.
  • Animals in Emergencies for Owners This video, developed by the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) /FEMA, is intended to help pet and livestock owners prepare to protect their animals during emergencies.

Prepare to Shelter Your Pet

  • Call your local emergency management office, animal shelter, or animal control office to get advice and information.
  • If you are unable to return to your home right away, you may need to board your pet. Find out where pet boarding facilities are located. Be sure to research some outside your local area in case local facilities close.
  • Most boarding kennels, veterinarians and animal shelters will need your pet's medical records to make sure all vaccinations are current. Include copies in your "pet survival" kit along with a photo of your pet.
  • NOTE: Some animal shelters will provide temporary foster care for owned pets in times of disaster, but this should be considered only as a last resort.
  • If you have no alternative but to leave your pet at home, there are some precautions you must take, but remember that leaving your pet at home alone can place your animal in great danger! Confine your pet to a safe area inside -- NEVER leave your pet chained outside! Leave them loose inside your home with food and plenty of water.  Remove the toilet tank lid, raise the seat and brace the bathroom door open so they can drink. Place a notice outside in a visible area, advising what pets are in the house and where they are located. Provide a phone number where you or a contact can be reached as well as the name and number of your vet.

During a Disaster

  • Bring your pets inside immediately.
  • Have newspapers on hand for sanitary purposes. Feed the animals moist or canned food so they will need less water to drink.
  • Animals have instincts about severe weather changes and will often isolate themselves if they are afraid. Bringing them inside early can stop them from running away. Never leave a pet outside or tied up during a storm.
  • Separate dogs and cats. Even if your dogs and cats normally get along, the anxiety of an emergency situation can cause pets to act irrationally. Keep small pets away from cats and dogs.
  • In an emergency, you may have to take your birds with you. Talk with your veterinarian or local pet store about special food dispensers that regulate the amount of food a bird is given. Make sure that the bird is caged and the cage is covered by a thin cloth or sheet to provide security and filtered light.

After a Disaster

  • If after a disaster you have to leave town, take your pets with you. Pets are unlikely to survive on their own.
  • In the first few days after the disaster, leash your pets when they go outside. Always maintain close contact. Familiar scents and landmarks may be altered and your pet may become confused and lost. Also, snakes and other dangerous animals may be brought into the area with flood areas. Downed power lines are a hazard.
  • The behavior of your pets may change after an emergency. Normally quiet and friendly pets may become aggressive or defensive. Watch animals closely. Leash dogs and place them in a fenced yard with access to shelter and water.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Too Many Kittens!

Wow, I never thought I'd see the day when HART has too many kittens, and they're not getting adopted! Everyone loves kittens! We have so many kittens that need homes, we're having TWO tabling events this weekend (October 8th):

Kittens 12 weeks and over will be at HART from 11 to 2 (302 Range Road, Cumberland)

 



Kittens under 12 weeks will be at Pet Life in Portland-Northgate Shopping Plaza from 10 to 1


 
 
 

Monday, September 26, 2011

Long Live the Kitty Mafia

I first became a HART volunteer when I was in college, but after awhile life got in the way and I stopped volunteering. I started volunteering again because of the Kitty Mafia.

What's the Kitty Mafia? If you own cats, you are probably living with the Kitty Mafia yourself. Let me explain...

When I was 11 years old my Christmas present was an adorable little calico kitten I named Holly (short for Holly Berry, since I found her playing in the Christmas tree.) When I graduated college and got my first apartment, I brought Holly to live with me.

The only problem was, I spent very little time at home, due to my work hours and commute. At the time I was still volunteering at HART, so I decided to adopt a kitty to keep Holly company. Thus Cleo (short for Cleopatra) entered my life.


At least 6 months went by before I realized that I was living with the Kitty Mafia. The realization came to me as I lay in bed one Saturday morning, attempting to sleep in but being completely thwarted by the cats, as was usual.

I am not a morning person. If I had my way I'd be up until 1 or 2 in the morning and then sleep until 10 or 11. So the weekends are my chance to do just that. Unfortunately, just as the sun would start rising at some far edge of the planet, Cleo would climb on top of me and start purring, kneading, and licking my face. This of course would instantly wake me up, and I'd have to fend her off with the blanket until she would finally settle down next to me. Grumbling, I would go back to sleep.

As soon as I would return to dreamland, Cleo would get up and search around the room for any bit of plastic or other noisy items that should could rustle. Again, I would wake instantly. Stubbornly keeping my eyes shut, I would yell at Cleo to go away. The rustling would stop for a minute, then start up again. This would continue in a loop until I would fumble around on my nightstand for an empty water bottle or chapstick that I could throw in the general direction of the sound. Ah, peace at last!

Not.

Cleo would return to my bed, to purr, knead and lick again, this time joined by Holly. Holly never messed around - she would just sit right on my head until I was forced to get up. The cats always won.

You may be wondering how this lead me to the realization of the Kitty Mafia...

One sleepless night I woke early, before the cats. I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. As the sun started to come up at some far edge of the planet, Holly rose, stretched, hit Cleo on the head, and then left the room. Cleo, having been woken by Holly, got up as well, and left the room. She didn't make it out of the doorway before I heard an hiss and glimpsed Holly's paw reaching out to smack Cleo again. Cleo ducked her head and came back into the room. She jumped on the bed, came over to me and started purring, kneading and licking. I fended her off with the blanket until she settled down. I waited, and heard soft growling coming from the doorway. Cleo got up and jumped off the bed again. She searched around the room to find something to rustle. I was completely dumbstruck as the lightbulb went off in my head.

Since that morning, I watched their interactions more closely, and found that Cleo deferred to Holly in everything. She wouldn't even eat food until Holly had finished. Holly was the Kitty Mafia boss, and Cleo was her soldier.

I enjoyed my Kitty Mafia, but sadly the mafia boss became old and sick, and eventually passed away. I adopted another cat from HART, Danu, and she joined with Cleo to form the Kitty Assassins! (They vowed on Holly's deathbed that they would spend every day trying to kill me, in honor of her memory. They're very good at it. Danu has needles of death (i.e. very sharp claws!))


What has the Kitty Mafia done in your house?

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Only the lonely

@PetFinder tweeted today that it is "Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week" and it reminded me of several promotions we have done in the past at HART to try to get the "less adoptable" cats adopted. I did a brief Google search to see what the interwebs thinks is the least adoptable cat. The consensus seems to be that black cats are the least adoptable. Although I agree that black cats are harder to adopt, I don't agree that they are the least adoptable of all shelter cats. Here is my list of least adoptable cats, in order:

1. Senior cats (particularly those on medications.) We do get the occasional angel who comes into the shelter specifically looking for a senior cat, but most adopters want a young cat (even more prefer a kitten.)

2. Semi-feral cats. Though some, maybe even many, of these cats will eventual become very loving, not many people want to put the time and energy into socializing the cat. Foster homes help this process tremendously, but it is hard to place these cats in foster too.

3. FIV+ cats. Most people are turned off by the "aids" misconception. See this blog post for more info: FIV


4. Bonded pairs. You might think that most people coming to adopt a cat would want to have more than one, and that usually is the case. So why do they ignore the bonded pairs? In many cases, they already have other cats at home, and are looking to add just one to the mix. In many other cases, they like one of the pair, but not the other, and are far more likely to find 2 unbonded cats to adopt.

5. Pure black cats. Call it superstition, call it whatever you want, but pure black cats do stay longer at the shelter before getting adopted.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Are shelters really hurting?

You may be wondering if shelters are really hurting for money and adoptions as much as I've let on. Let's examine the issue.


On Saturday, during HART's open house, they adopted out 6 kittens and 4 adult cats. It was a wonderfully busy day, and an exception, not the rule. Based on the current adoption special, those adoptions brought in approx. $650. (The number is approx. because there are 2 different rates for kittens, based on age, and I don't know the age of the kittens adopted.)


Also on Saturday there were 10 kittens and 6 adult cats, one possibly pregnant, surrendered. Already the numbers are not good...more coming in than going out. At least 4 of the adults, and all of the kittens, will need to be spayed/neutered.


What happens to cats when they are brought into HART? They are weighed, checked for fleas/ticks, treated for fleas/ticks/parasites, and given a general lookover to see if there are any issues to bring to the vet's attention. They are brought to a vet where they are vaccinated for rabies and distemper. They are tested for FeLV, FIV, and heartworm. They are spayed/neutered if not done already. They are given a health exam, and any health issues found are followed up with the prescribed treatment by the vet.


What would all of this cost you, if you had the vet do all this to your cat?

          Medical Service                                                            What You'd Pay
          Neuter (male)/Spay (female)                                                  $92 / $200
          FeLV/FIV testing                                                                                $52
          Rabies vaccination                                                                            $29
          Distemper vaccination (1 shot)                                                         $20
          Revolution (fleas & ear mites)                                                           $18
          Pyrantel (hook & round worms)                                                          $8
          Droncit (tapeworm)                                                                             $6
          Total Cost:                                                                           $225 / $333

HART is fortunate to work with local area vets who are able to offer these services at a reduced rate, but it is still well over $100 per cat. This does not take into consideration the expenses of normal, every day care, such as food and litter. The regular adoption fee for a cat from HART is $75.


Let's go back for a moment to that $650 that was brought in through adoptions. Let's assume that all of the cats/kittens brought in will need $150 (for easier calculations) each in vet care. That's $2400. I'm terrible at math, but even I can see that HART is fighting a losing battle.


This is why donations are so important to shelters like HART. This is why I am trying to raise $10,000 to help them, and to help these cats. The cats deserve the high quality of care they receive, but even more they deserve good, permanent homes.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Apple family

It's come to my attention that the ChipIn donation widget does not display on iPhones, iPads, iPods, etc. If you are viewing my page from one of these devices and would like to make a donation to HART, please use this button:

Saturday, September 3, 2011

A Request

If you donate to your local shelter as a result of reading this blog (kudos if you do), please leave a comment on this post with the state and name of the shelter, so that others in your area might do the same.

Did You Know?

Did you know...that a cat's digestive system isn't designed to handle grains? Cats are carnivores, and in the wild do not eat grains, fruits and vegetables.


Did you know...that the primary ingredient in most cat foods (particular dry kibble) is grain?


Did you know...one of the leading contributing causes of diabetes in cats is a steady diet of dry kibble and food high in carbohydrates?

A simple diet change could change your cat's life forever.


For more information about feline diets and diabetes, please check out Lisa Pierson, DVM and Feline Diabetes.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Now For Some Kittens

Can't post about cats and not show kittens! These guys were just 3 days old. Yes, they are all HART cats, and happily they have all been adopted.

An FIV PSA

In addition to raising money for HART, I would like to spread a bit of knowledge. Here is a video that was done a couple of years ago about FIV. Happily, most of the cats in the video have since been adopted. Unfortunately many more have come into the shelter to take their place. Also, there is a vaccine available to prevent your cat from getting FIV. Be warned though - if you vaccinate your cat for FIV, keep a record of the vaccination because your cat will test positive from then on.

Why should you donate to HART?

You may be wondering why you should donate to HART and not another shelter, perhaps one closer to you. The truth is, you should donate to your local shelter. Shelters do a lot, without much funding, and are very important in their communities. I've lost track of the number of people who have come into HART, heartbroken because they lost their house and couldn't take their cats with them to an apartment, or out of state. Others simply can no longer afford to take care of their cats. There are so many different stories out there, but they all result in more cats brought to the shelter.


HART is entirely run by volunteers. There is not a single person paid to be there, helping the cats. That includes the Board of Directors. Every penny that HART raises or is donated to HART goes directly to the care of the cats. Currently there are about 150 cats in the shelter, and more in foster homes. All of these cats are under HART's care.


I am passionate about helping HART, and I hope that you will share some of that passion, if not with HART then with your local shelter. Animals need our help.

Why am I doing this?

I've been a volunteer at HART for several years and have watched with a sad heart the toll that the economy has taken on pet owners and all of the shelters, not just HART. Traditional fundraising methods bring in some money, but just not enough. I wanted to do something, in a big way to help the shelter. I have serious doubts I will come anywhere close to my goal, but every penny helps and nothing is lost by trying.  I also strongly believe that the Internet can be a wonderful way to spread word about our wonderful kitties and (hopefully, fingers crossed!) increase our adoption rate.

What is HART of Maine?

HART of Maine is a non-profit, no-kill, open concept shelter and adoption center for cats. In short, they are really, really awesome. You can read more about the shelter and see the cats here: HART of Maine