Tips on Flying With Your Cat

If you’re planning on traveling with your cat this summer, there many important things to keep in mind. Your pet’s first flight can be a somewhat traumatic experience.

Here are some tips to help your cat have a safe flying experience:

  Book Early- Most airlines have their own pet policies, so it is important to find out what their rules are in regards to traveling with your pet.

 Visit The Veterinarian- It is important to make an appointment with your pet’s veterinarian for a check-up and make sure all vaccinations are up to date. Obtain a health certificate from your veterinarian dated within 10 days of departure.

  Buy a Carrier- Carriers are available in both hard-sided and soft-sided. Soft-sided carriers are more suitable for carry-on and tend to fit better under the seat, but they're only permitted in the cabin only. To make sure the carrier will fit under the seat on your flight check the size restrictions of the airline in our Airline Pet Policies section.

  After you've purchased an appropriate carrier, write your cat’s name on it and include identification tags with your home address and phone number as well as the address and phone number of someone who can be reached at your destination. Carry a current photograph of your pet as well. If they are lost during the trip, a photograph will make it much easier for airline employees or the local authorities to search effectively. 

Take a Test Drive- Animals travel under less stress when they are accustomed to their carrier before they travel. In the weeks prior to your trip, put your cat in his/her carrier as often as possible for trips around town.

Source: http://www.bringfido.com/travel/top_10_tips/

Disaster Preparedness Tips

You may have heard about, if you were not part of, the natural disasters that have happened around the world.  One thing we know for sure is that hey can happen at any moment, so it is important to be well prepared. 

Emergencies come in many forms, and they may require anything from a brief absence from your home to permanent evacuation. Each type of disaster requires different measures to keep your pets safe. The best thing you can do for yourself and your pets is to be prepared.

Here are 3 easy steps that will help you get started on disaster preparedness.

Step 1: Get a Rescue Alert Sticker to let people know pets are inside your home. 

Step 2: Arrange a Safe Haven in the event of evacuation.

Step 3: Keep an Emergency Supplies and Traveling Kits handy and make sure everyone in your home knows where it is kept. 

Source: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/disaster-preparedness

Seasonal Allergies for Pets

The spring season is upon us, and while we may be experiencing seasonal allergies, it’s important to note that our cats may be as well! In our pets, seasonal allergies look a little different. We may have headaches, coughs, and runny noses, but our pets have different symptoms. They may have itchy ears and skin.

If you notice your cats shaking their head excessively or scratching their skin a lot this season, we recommend contacting us right away for advice. We have options for helping pets that are experiencing uncomfortable seasonal allergies. Ask us today!

Tips on How to Prepare Your Pet for Severe Weather

If faced with sudden disaster, would you be prepared to help your entire family – including pets – prevent dangerous situations? 

Here are some tips to help you better prepare your pet for severe weather:

·      

           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, manual can opener, food dishes, first aid kit and other supplies with you in case they're not available later. Before you find yourself in an emergency situation, 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.

Why Spay and Neuter?

Spaying and neutering pets is a very simple, but also very important procedure. If your pet is not going to be used for breeding, we recommend spaying or neutering as early as possible. Not only does this procedure eliminate the risk of unwanted litters, it also helps to prolong your pet’s life by minimizing the risks of a number of health conditions!

In female pets, spaying lessens the threat of mammary tumors and cancer and ultimately eliminates the possibility of uterine and ovarian cancers. In male pets, neutering eliminates the possibility of testicular cancer and decreases the odds of prostate cancer.

Additionally, spaying or neutering your pet eliminates a lot of negative behaviors. Female pets will no longer enter a heat cycle or attempt to escape in hopes of procreating, and male pets will become more contented house pets, not out seeking females throughout the neighborhood. This tendency to roam can cause a lot of problems, such as danger in the roads (males seeking females are a lot more likely to be hit by cars!).

Spaying and neutering can be done early in a pet’s life. We recommend for females it is performed before they have had their first heat cycle.

How to Care for Outdoor Cats in Winter

Shelter, food, and water are especially important to stray and feral cats in cold weather

No matter how resourceful outdoor cats are, they need help surviving winter. Follow our tips for making sure your local outdoor cats have shelter, food, and water during the cold months.

Step 1: Give outdoor cats shelter from the cold  

Yes, their thickened winter coats help stray and feral cats (often called "community cats") weather winter’s chill, but they still need warm, dry, well insulated, and appropriate-sized shelters.

It’s cheapest to build your own shelters, and there are many plans and instructions that can help you get started.

How to get help building your outdoor-cat shelter

A shelter-building party can be a fun weekend project! Ask your friends, neighbors, and coworkers to join in. Try contacting local youth groups to find out if they will help build shelters as a service project.

Where to find materials for your outdoor-cat shelter

You may find inexpensive or free materials by asking building-supply stores or contractors if they have scrap lumber. Ask friends, neighbors, and coworkers for used dog houses, which can be modified to make good shelters. You can even use a storage bin from the local hardware store.

Creating a life-saving shelter for outdoor cats is easy and inexpensive.

Why size matters with cat shelters

A shelter must trap the cats’ body heat to warm its interior. If the shelter is too large, it will be difficult for the cats' body heat to keep the space warm.

What to put in your outdoor-cat shelter

Straw is the best material to put in a shelter because it allows cats to burrow. Pillowcases loosely stuffed with packing peanuts and shredded newspaper also work.

Keep things clean: Replace straw and newspaper if moist or dirty and wash and re-stuff pillowcases as needed.

However, if it’s really cold where you live and you can’t check on the shelters regularly, don’t use the above insulations. “Wallpaper” the shelter’s inner walls and floor with Mylar. It reflects back body heat, and it’s okay for cats to lie on it.

What NOT to put in your outdoor-cat shelter

Don’t use blankets, towels, or folded newspaper; they absorb body heat and chill cats who are lying on them. Forego hay, too, which may irritate noses and cause allergic reactions.

Step 2: Give outdoor cats food and water
 

Where to place food and water

Protect outdoor cats from hunger and thirst this winter by keeping their food and water from freezing.

If you can do so without compromising the privacy and security of the shelter, place food and water near the shelter so the cats won’t have to travel far.

A way to protect food and water is to place two shelters—doorways facing each other—two feet apart. Then create a canopy between them by securing a wide board from one roof to the other. Then put the food and water under the canopy.

How to keep outdoor cats' food and water from freezing

What you put food and water in can make a difference. A thick plastic water container that’s deep and wide is better insulated than a thin plastic or ceramic container. A solar-heated water bowl can prevent or delay water and canned food from freezing.

If shelters are well insulated, you can put bowls of dry or moist food inside them but far from the doorway. Even if the moist food freezes, the cats’ body heat will defrost it when they hunker down in their shelter.

Don’t put water bowls inside the shelter. Water is easily spilled, and a wet shelter will feel more like a refrigerator than a warm haven.

To TNR or not to TNR outdoor cats in winter?

Don't attempt TNR activities in the winter unless you can return the cats to a warm shelter

People may be concerned about Trap-Neuter-Return during winter because they worry about releasing females who have had their stomachs shaved for surgery. But winter trapping has its advantages. There are far fewer pregnant cats, which makes for a less complicated surgery, and you’ll prevent the birth of many kittens come spring, when the majority are born.

Before you start winter trapping, however, you must ensure that the cats will have adequate shelter when you return them to their territory. If you've followed the directions above, they'll be in good shape.

Originally posted http://www.humanesociety.org Nov. 26, 2013

Christmas Pet Safety

“My cat would never eat food off the table!”

 “My cat would never knock over the Christmas tree!”

“My cat would never bite someone!”

We all know our cats pretty well, but what we don’t always realize is that stress can make anybody do crazy things! When you have holiday guests or flashing Christmas lights or loud holiday music—or all of the above—at your house all at once, your cat may get stressed and frustrated, causing them to act out in unexpected ways. Most cat accidents are met with the statement, “He’s never done anything like that before!”

We recommend always making sure that your pet has a safe place to sit and relax during your holidays parties. Just like some people, cats need to get away from the action and de-stress, but most of the time they don’t know how to ask for their space.  We recommend moving your cats into a quiet room and letting them spend some time resting during your holiday get-togethers. Your cat will be happier, and by extension, you and your guests will be happier! And holidays disasters will be prevented.