October is Feral Cat Awareness Month, but I prefer to think of it in terms of Community Cat Awareness Month, because when it comes to cats that live outside, there is often a fine line between whether or not the cat is truly feral (meaning the cat has been born un-socialized) or if it is a stray cat that is either lost or has either been abandoned by its owner, which can cause it to act feral. Read more
Cats communicate to us in various ways – whether by meows, the twitch of a tail, body posture, ear stance and more – each action a unique gesture to signify something different. The same is true for litter box habits. Most cats instinctively know to use a litter box, but when they don’t, it causes extreme frustration for pet parents and is one of the most common reasons why cats are brought to shelters. What pet parents might not realize is that when a cat is acting inappropriately, they are actually communicating to them that something could be wrong. Read more
Good graphics, a great photo, and a catchy, relevant slogan are wonderful tools to help get cats adopted. With the current popularity of the NetFlix series, “Orange is the New Black,” this cat-centric spin is sure to get some attention!
If you’re part of the cat world, you’ve probably heard it a thousand times – there are millions of cats in shelters waiting to be adopted. With June being Adopt a Shelter Cat Month, you’ve probably heard the message a thousand more times via assorted social platforms. Adopt a Shelter Cat Month is a great concept, but what exactly does Adopt a Shelter Cat Month mean? Cats don’t magically get adopted just because we bequeath a special month to them. Read more
When it comes to the new summer or fall season of television, I’m all over it with anticipation. With kitten season, not so much. And don’t get me wrong, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE kittens. They are literally one of my all-time favorite things in the entire world and if I could have a house full of them, I would. But kitten season is far more than the sweet images that pop into our heads of darling, fluffy balls of playful fun. For shelters, kitten season is the period when births peak and it can be the very worst time of the year.
According to PetSmart Charities program manager, Bryan Kortis, kitten season happens twice each year – once in the spring and once in the fall, with the more intense kitten season happening in the spring where there will be an estimated 20 million kittens born.
Much as they melt our hearts, there simply are not enough forever homes for them and they overwhelm shelters because resources quickly become maxed, forcing tough decisions to be made. Not to mention, caring for kittens is not an easy job. Neonate kittens — those who are about 2 to 3 weeks old — must be bottle-fed every few hours and shelters must place them with someone who is trained to care for neonates. If they don’t find those adopters or foster placements fast, the kittens are often euthanized. And even if they are adopted, it’s at a price – usually at the expense of the older, less adoptable cats, such as seniors, cats with disabilities, or black cats that are often euthanized to make room for the more adoptable kittens.
I know you’ve all heard this before and I know I’m preaching to the kitten loving choir. But the message really hit home for me this year that kitten season is not just a topic to blog about. It’s real. In the past week, I have reached out to several of my friends in regards to book reviews for Purr Prints of the Heart. Three of them replied back in general conversation that they were busier than usual because they were fostering litters of kittens they had either found, or a shelter had contacted them to help with. And I know if they are helping out, that is only scratching the surface and I can’t begin to image how many of my other friends and colleagues are doing the same.
Photo courtesy of Bernadette Kazmarski of The Creative Cat who found this litter of 5 kittens a few days ago and is now fostering them.
Truly the only way to combat this epidemic is to continue our crusade to spread the news on the importance of spay/neuter to the mainstream public. Whether it is the message that kittens need to be fixed at a younger age, or the message that we must embrace aggressive Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage (TNRM) programs in our communities to help minimize the influx of kittens during kitten season.
As I said from the beginning, I love a great new season, but when it comes to kitten season, that is one season I prefer get canceled due to low ratings…
Have a great Wednesday all and to help spread the news about kitten season, please feel free to share the graphic I provided at the beginning of this post or share this FANTASTIC video “There are Kittens Everywhere – Get Ready for Kitten Season” created by my extremely talented friend, Alana Grelyak of Cat CATastrophes.
To read more about Bernadette and the litter of kittens she rescued, please click here.
To read the review that Bernadette provided for Purr Prints of the Heart, please click here. If you are anything like me, you will find the review to be so eloquent and heartfelt that it will move you to tears…
Kittens. In my day, it was not uncommon to see a kid holding a box with a litter of them that read, “Free to a good home.” It was also not uncommon to see free kittens advertised in the classified section of the newspaper. And if you were going to the mall, a side trip to the pet store to visit with the kittens (and puppies) was always in order even if you had no plans to buy one. None of these scenarios came with baggage attached as to whether or not there was a larger implication at hand with all of these animals at the ready. Read more
October is Feral Cat Awareness Month, but I prefer to think of it in terms of Community Cat Awareness Month, because when it comes to cats that live outside, there is often a fine line between whether or not the cat is truly feral (meaning the cat has been born un-socialized) or if it is a stray cat that is either lost or has either been abandoned by its owner, which can cause it to act feral. Read more 
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