April is Animal Cruelty Awareness Month

Considering this is  Animal Cruelty Awareness Month  I should of posted this the first of the month. I was a bit disappointed how little involved my state is in the concern for animals. But then I thought what am I doing? It's about time I became aware in the concern for animals and helped to promote the cause.

We should all help in any way we can, no matter how humble it might be. Simple acts of kindness, volunteering, writing letters, fostering pets, or donations. All good deeds great and small help to make the animal world a place, where animals are treated with compassion and respect. I think promoting our own state is a good way to start. I'm making a commitment to myself to get involved and understand more about the concern of animals in the New Hampshire State Legislature. And considering that the state line of Vermont is only a few miles away from where I live, I would also include the state of Vermont.

Legislature

Animal Cruelty

Concord SPCA

Spay Neuter NH pdf

Other ventures I started this month

Feral Cats Yahoo Groups

The Humane Society Of The United States

Upon researching about how money might be raised for nonprofit animal shelters, I came upon this informative website.    ActivistsCash

I am against any animals being kept in unsanitary, abusive, neglectful conditions. I'm also against circus performers keeping animals in abusive, neglectful unsanitary conditions. But after reading about the HSUS I was surprised to learn how wealthy the organization is, and how little they contribute to our local animal shelters?

Remember the big football player, Michael Vick? One good thing the HSUS did was shut him down. This article also claims the negative side of the Michael Vick subject. The HSUS claimed that they rehabilitated the Vick dogs, but other sources claim they had nothing to do with the funding of their rehabilitation.     The Vick Victims 

In my opinion credit should be given where credit is due.

The Unsung Feline Heros Among Us.

Being concerned about the hostility between Zelda and Isabella, I had previously called the clinic where Isabella was spayed (Riverside Rescue) to see if they could take her in. No room for her there, or any other shelter for that matter. When I spoke to the lady at the Riverside Rescue she gave me the number of a lady that just takes in cats, gets them neutered and try's to find homes for them. Her name is Linda and she lives way up around Cannan Vermont, some distance from where I live. I called Linda, but she had no room for her. The more I thought of it, it saddened me to think of Isabella locked up in a cage all day.

Linda was very friendly and helpful with many tails of woe, of her experiences with stray and feral felines. She has trapped many feral cats, and had them neutered/spayed and inoculated. She said she kept them (in cages) for awhile to see if there was a possibility that they might be adoptable. A few of them came around and bonded with her, but the cats that remained aggressive towards her were eventually released back in the wild. As for the cats that accepted her, she tried to find homes for them, and very few were successful adoptions. Seems that most of them bonded only to her. And when they remained unlovable and fearful towards their new owner, they were eventually returned.

She told me a very sad story about a mutilated cat that was found. The poor thing had a smashed up leg, it's front paw was bent backwards, it was matted and loaded with fleas. Two men were going to shoot it, to put it out of it's misery, but she stopped them. She thought perhaps it might belong to someone, so she took the cat to the vet. The vet cleaned it up, put the front paw in a cast, and had to amputate the leg. She tried to find the owner, but nobody claimed it. So she ended up with a fearful, aggressive, cat towards humans, and a very high vet bill. Finally after a time the cat bonded with her, and she found a home for it. So far she's not sure if this cat will come around and bond with it's new owner, so time will tell. She seems to think that this cat was abused by some one. But I would rather believe it was a wild animal, and that there are no humans that cruel.

Her current project is nursing some very young kittens that were recently born. Some cats were found living in an abandoned barn, and apparently the mother cats milk dried up. She said every few hours they must be fed. Now that's a time consuming task, those kittens will surely imprint themselves on her. But they will probably be very acceptable to human hands.

Considering her past experiences, she knows a thing or two in dealing with the shelters in our area. I was surprised that the shelters don't take cats unless they are friendly and lovable. If they have the room, they will take friendly cats that have already been spayed. Seems everyone wants a kitten, so they will take kittens because they can place them quickly and make more money on them. They tend to be more accepting of the Angoras, the Maine coons, and the Siamese cats. I certainly believe this, because when I called the shelter about placing Isabella, her first question was "what kind of cat is it?" I said "she's an american short haired cat, all black with a little white at her throat" Her reply was "I'm sorry we have no room" :(

Now unfortunately there is no catch and release programs for feral cats in the state of New Hampshire or Vermont. And I can understand why the shelters don't want to get involved with the difficulty in dealing with feral cats. However there are many cats that are just strays that have gotten lost, been abandoned, or ran away because they were abused. How sad that such little concern is shown for the ordinary looking stray cat, that might have a few social problems. Well I guess they need to turn the money around so they can board them, fund inoculations, and being altered. However if taken to a clinic to be altered it's not that expensive. It only cost me $52.00 to get Isabella inoculated and spayed, at the Riverside Clinic in Vermont. I'm sure they take all the kittens to that clinic, or one like it for their medical procedures. My granddaughter took 5 kittens there all together, and it was amazingly cheap. I cannot comment on all shelters, but for the shelters in my area, it's all seeming more like a profitable business?

God Bless people like Linda, that are willing to take in and assist any helpless stray or feral cats in need of care. She try's to place the cats in good homes, and requests no fee. With the goodness of her heart, she does it all on her own. After talking to her I thought to myself, most shelters are charitable non profit organizations, relying only on private donations. Considering that I'm sure they don't get any help from the state. Now I'm wondering how many states are involved with the 'catch and release program' And might one go about requesting a state to assist in funding a catch and release program for feral cats? I'm sure someone has already inquired of that. And if it were doable in this state, there would be a program.

The tom that keeps coming back

I opened the bedroom door to Isabell's room and she ran right out on the deck. Considering that we finally got a little warm weather, I thought she might like to stay out for awhile. After an hour I checked on her, to let her in. When I opened the door she was right there, but this brown and white tom that has been lurking around here since last July was also on the deck. When Isabell went for the door he jumped in front of her. Then their was a cat fight, and Isabell ran off with the tom chasing after her. I thought tom's only went after cat's in heat, and since she's been spayed, she can't be throwing off the mating scent?? I called her and called her but she was gone most of the day. I didn't get her back in the house until hours later

Last summer I thought he might be a hungry stray, so I offered him some food. At that time he seemed gentle, with no interest of a hand out. So I assumed he was someone's pet that was well fed. The people that live up the road from me have a small barn and 2 or 3 horses. Possibly he could be one of their barn cats. Unfortunately he has not been neutered, and I'm sure he is the cat that got her pregnant.

Still Coping

It's still an uphill battle dealing with 2 cats in separate quarters

When discussing the situation with a friend, she suggested I cuddle and bond with Isabella. Considering that she gets to stimulated when being petted, that's currently impossible. Because she has had very little or no human contact, she starts biting and scratching the hand that is petting her to show affection.

I also informed my friend that I did not take the cat in because I wanted another cat. I took her in because it was so cold in the winter months. Some advice I was given from the get go was "if you didn't want another cat, you shouldn't of fed her, and you should of ignored her"  Well that seemed rather harsh. They have no catch and release programs in New Hampshire, where they will offer some assistance. For the people who care they are on their own. For me it was sort of a catch and release situation. But after she healed, and was let out, it seems that she didn't really want to be released. When I thought about finding a home for her, because of her bad habit of being so close to feet, I had visions of people tripping over her. If she was in a household where people had no patience in dealing with her problems, it could turn out to be disaster. Some people think they want a cat, then when it doesn't turn out to be what they expected they bring it back or throw it out to fend for itself. .

I came to the conclusion that I would start with some spray bottle training and give her more freedom. I don't want her to get to attached to me, so I'll be kind and patient, but not affectionate. Every day I put Zelda in my room and set up a gate. Then I let Isabell out of her room for a couple hours. Every time she got close to my feet I gave her a quick, light spray. So far she gives me freedom to walk, and now she knows what the bottle is for. Most of the time when I hold it up, I don't even have to spray. She generally walks around and explores for awhile. One day she jumped up on my kitchen cabinet. I only had to abruptly say NO! and she got right down. I have been doing this for a few days, with no problems. Unfortunately today it was a different story. When I let her out, she was doing fine at first, but then I noticed her getting into a stalking possession (the thing cats do when stalking their prey) I got up from my chair and noticed that Zelda was in plain site of her, but way back against the wall away from the gate. When I said NO, she heard me, took notice, but decided to ignore me. Later she did not want to go back in her room, so it took awhile getting her back in her there.

Before she was afraid of Zelda, but now I can clearly see that she has claimed her territory and wants to be the Alpha cat. I don't want Zelda living her senior years in fear. So once I get her trained to keeping away from feet, I think I should start looking for a good home for her.

Doubting Thomas

I have been striving on getting some spring cleaning done, so I took some time off from blogging. I planned on fostering a Brittany spaniel, until I was given no guarantee that a dog I might foster would be good around cats. I'm a little disappointed, because on Petfinder it states if the dog is good with cats and kids. After talking to the person in charge of the Brittany spaniel rescue, he claims no guarantees. Until I get that guarantee, my foster dog project will be put on hold.

I miss my Daisy since she passed away, and I need a watch dog. One that barks and alerts me of any unusual noises. but I am not going to allow a dog to terrorize my cats.

I could of adopted the 2 year old papillion, named Phoenix, but so far I've dragged my feet on that decision. All though it's a gift, it seems this little fella comes with a few problems. Unfortunately he has a stubborn streak and really bad gingivitis. I can live with ongoing dental care. The other problem is getting him to walk along with you while on a leash. Every time she tries to walk him, he lays down on the ground. She got him as a young dog from a past coworker in Phoenix, Arizona, (claims he is now 2 years old) that bred and trained papillions. She gave him to her for free, but she had to pay $92.00 to have him transported to New Hampshire. When she called her up and alerted her of all the problems, she said "if your not happy you can send him back" Well that would of cost her another $92.00, and when most people get an animal even if they don't get attached most would prefer not to reject it to more transportation stress. She does love dogs, she had 3 papillions and 2 shelties. She placed one of the papillions. Now she has 2 sheltie's Jake and Patches, two papillions, Red and Phoenix.

First time I spoke to her (over a week ago) in spite of my uncertainty she was very determined on me taking the dog.(Perhaps she expected an instant decision) Then last Thursday when I saw her everything seems to of changed. She's telling me about an acquaintance in Massachusetts who is very good at training dogs, who has been interested in him for some time now. I'm wondering why she didn't inform me of this when we last spoke. I felt like saying "if this person already knows how to break this dog to stop laying down, when on a leash. You should give the dog to her" The fact that a dog refuses to cooperate while on a leash, makes it almost an impossible situation in taking the dog out to do his doggie business. She' at work all day, so when she gets home from work, she puts all her dogs outside in a little pen. Now I'm wondering how house broken her dogs are?

When I make a decision I generally put a great deal of thought into it. With this new information, being suddenly brought to light, I sort of felt like she was pushing me into a premature decision. Such as "if you wanted the dog you should of taken it last week, or you better take it now, or it will be gone" I'm thinking that if this person has been interested for some time, in this little papillion, why hasn't she taken it?

Cats And Dogs

I let Isabella out yesterday. She ran out on the deck and disappeared for awhile, Then I called her and she came right back and ran into her room. When I let her out I had a gate up, so I did not lock Zelda in my bedroom. Zelda sat by the gate looking in at her, and this time it was Isabella that got aggressive. She hissed and jumped at the gate. (almost knocking the gate down)

I have decided to make an attempt at being a foster mom for Brittany Spaniels. I applied online, and I am presently waiting acceptance from the .Brittany Rescue Of New England 

Yesterday I visited a friend and she has a registered, 4 year old, free Papillion that she offered me. She showed me a photo of one online. They are atttractive dainty looking little tykes, listed under the toy breed. They weigh from 4 - 9 lbs  Height at the withers is approx. 8 to 11 inches. Anything over that disqualifies as a show dog. but none of that matters to me, because I'm not a show dog person.

They were named papillion because of the butterfly ears, papillion is the french word for butterfly.