Enough great cats for everyone who'd love to have one

Wolfgang

“Wolfgang, the cat I've been working so hard with -- he made biscuits for me for the first time today!  They were tiny biscuits, but biscuits none the less!”  

 Andreya Dunks, an assistant manager at the Ewing Township Animal Shelter, exclaimed over a breakthrough with one of the cats. 

Her caring enthusiasm is so typical of the cat-positive attitude found there that you might want either to be a resident cat. . . or to adopt (at least) one! 

As animal shelters go, this one, managed by the EASEL Animal Rescue League, is packed with desirable elements: it’s proudly a no-kill facility; it’s populated with cats who generally seem contented as they wait for adopters to choose them; it’s relatively spacious, with high, wide cages and windows – a real boon; it’s a happening place, with lively people in and out and “roamers,” or cats allowed the run of the cat room.

Snookie

And for many good reasons, the Ewing shelter does a boom business in cat adoptions.  Meet a feline you like one day, and there’s a good chance s/he won’t be there if you wait too long to come back and renew your acquaintance.  “Now you see them, now you don’t.”

Why is that?  Because complete information about each cat is readily available and an effective adoption team works on their behalf.  For instance, newly arrived cats are carefully checked out while temporarily housed in the trailer outside the building.  Each cage has a color-coded sticker showing the cat’s strengths and needs – for instance, a green circle denotes a happy cat, while a yellow one means go slow; skittish feline.

Extensively trained volunteers then work with each one toward becoming adoption-ready.  As space permits, those cats move into the building, where they can be visited by would-be adopters who have successfully applied to adopt.

Jasper

Still other felines are also housed in the cat room at the local PetSmart, a successful meeting, greeting and adopting place, while special needs cats – elderly and pregnant cats, kittens for bottle feeding and those having difficulty in the shelter – are among those going to fosters.   

Shelter rules are designed to benefit the cats.  For instance, bonded pairs of felines are not broken up; it’s a two-fer or a no-fer.  As with people, cats can also have health conditions that can’t be ignored.  An example: those who are FIV+ can go home with adopters who understand they’re safe and can lead normal lives.

All cats need medical clearance before moving to loving homes.  O’Reilly had a worrisome bump on his nose, so only when a vet declared it benign and removable could he leave the shelter.  Warren’s adopter happily agreed on canned food for this handsome old orange cat because most of his teeth had been removed.  Caramel Apple’s hyperthyroidism is treatable with two daily meds – a responsibility her adopter willingly accepted. 

Zane

So, what’s in a name when it belongs to a shelter cat?  For one thing, a name can invite a possible adopter to take a closer look.  (Wouldn’t you too, with felines named Lucius and Malfoy, straight out of Harry Potter?)  Those two beauties were snapped up by adopters who definitely don’t live in Slytherin House.  

The website – easelnj.org/cats – is attractive and informative, an ideal way to get both an overview and details on how things work at the Ewing Township Animal Shelter.  

“Oh!  As I walked by today, Wolfgang came to the front of his cage, purring, without my even having treats or opening the door!  He was just asking for attention (that I of course gave him!).  I never thought he would                                       get to this point!  (Hoping he's adopted soon!)” 

Cormac

 

(The Ewing Twp. Animal Shelter is at 4 Jake Garzio Drive (in the municipal complex), Ewing, NJ.  Phone 609-883-0540  Website: easelnj.org/cats.  Note: Not all the cats pictured here are still available for adoption!)

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Cat comments are welcome at 1moreonce.blogspot.com

News briefs on animals: cats’ knees to magpies’ smarts

Because my list of animal topics for this blog grows longer every day, I’ve decided this is a good time to share some of them here.  I’ve written a brief overview of each one that especially appealed, ending with a link to the source.

Then you can take your pick and start reading!  I hope you’re as fascinated by each story as I was.  

Manatees' salad:  Earlier this year, Florida manatees were starving because sea grass, their main source of food, had been mostly wiped out through human actions.  So, in an unusual move, lettuce by the ton was provided to the hungry mammals.  Enough?  We don’t know yet.

 Even if the lettuce suffices, the manatees will still be up against the same culprit: humans.  First, it was fatal boat strikes; now it’s pollution that destroys their food supply.  Much as people claim to love manatees, will they ever care for them enough to stop killing them?  https://tinyurl.com/mrx7mfpb

The knees know:  Do cats have knees?  That’s the last question you may have thought to ask about your beloved cat while admiring her feline grace in movement.  Have you ever heard anyone refer to this body part in cats? 

Annie

Fact is, cats do have joints that function the same as knees and elbows — they just aren’t called knees and elbows . . . and your cat’s knees might not be where you think they are. 

Now that you’ve started wondering about this, take a look at the illustrated story below.  And while you’re at it, try to not even think about bees’ knees.  https://tinyurl.com/3zky2wsw

Cats & arthritis:  Speaking of knees and joints and thinking of cats’ lithe moves, they do grow older and can suffer from arthritis, causing pain that cramps their style.  Which is why news of the first cat arthritis drug OK’d by the FDA was announced with such fanfare earlier this year.

Look into Solensia, an injectable medication given by a veterinarian once a month to help control osteoarthritis pain in cats.

Hippos endangered:  Massive and frightening as hippos are – or maybe for that very reason – hippos and their body parts (like teeth, skin, skulls) are widely sought after by traders and trophy hunters.

Regarded as “ecosystem engineers” in the African river and lake areas where they live, hippos are a captivating sight moving through water channels, reinforcing routes. 

                                                                               Hippo Advocacy pic

But now, slaughtered in cruel numbers, hippos must be protected.  To save them from near extinction, we should ask the US Fish & Wildlife Service to list them under the Endangered Species Act, assuring federal protection from such obscene results as a glass-topped table resting on a hippo skull.  Sick.   https://tinyurl.com/ypkkybcd

‘Smooshed’ look is out:  You know what they say about dogs being our best friends.  That’s nice, but humans are far from best friends with Bulldogs and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.  So dramatically have we inbred them into smooshed-faced pets that too often, they have short, difficult and unhealthy lives. 

The good news is that a court in Norway recently ordered a stop to breeding these dogs.  Viva, Norway! – but where is our AKC on this issue?  (The answer to that is bound to be long and UNsatisfying.)

https://tinyurl.com/5cp7mupa

Magpies: beauty & brains:  More and more, birds are seen as much more intelligent than thought till recently.  The Australian magpie has been called “one of the cleverest birds on earth,” with proof that goes far beyond its ability to remember up to 30 human faces and produce “beautiful songs of extraordinary complexity.”

Magpies’ latest feat was to outsmart scientists who had carefully made tracking harnesses for them.  Instead of cooperating, the birds helped each other remove the harnesses (birds: 1; scientists: 0; end of study?).   https://tinyurl.com/2szkxzrt

New way to help:  And finally, although first in importance, Humane Society International has initiated a new way to help Eastern European animals  (including those who escaped from Ukraine).  If you still want to help these needy animals, or to help them again, please look here then take action:  

https://www.hsi.org/news-media/free-veterinary-care-for-pets-of-ukrainian-refugees/ 

     Please make time to dip into these animal news briefs during your spring holiday weekend!    

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                                  To comment, please go to 1moreonce.blogspot.com.

Singing the praises of unsung heroes for animals

In our world of big names, curiously, our true heroes tend to be anonymous.  In this life of illusion and quasi-illusion, the person of solid virtues who can be admired for something more substantial than his[or her] well-knownness often proves to be the unsung hero: the teacher, the nurse, the mother, the honest cop, the hard worker at lonely, underpaid, unglamorous, unpublicized jobs.  --Daniel J Boorstin (1914-2004)

 

“Heroes” are in the eyes of the beholder – or the eyes of the appreciator.  Save a life at the risk of your own and you’re seen as a hero by any observer and the person whose life you saved.  But some “unsung heroes” also save lives and take other actions behind the scenes that only the beneficiaries may know of.

Donate to help imperiled animals in Ukraine knowing they’ll never write you a thank-you note. . .  Vote for an official who’s also an animal welfare advocate and it’s your secret. . . Contact a local agency to report animal abuse and your good deed will go unrecognized even though the mistreatment may stop.

You are an anonymous, unsung hero.  Thank you!

And you chose the path of promoting animal welfare (despite its being hard, lonely, underpaid, unglamourous and unpublicized work) simply because you saw it as the right thing to do.  You couldn’t not do it.  Thank you!

The back of a treasured old tee shirt reads, "Speak for those who cannot say, ‘Please don’t hurt me, I don’t want to die’  Be the voice for animals.”  That tee came from the Animal Protection League of NJ (APLNJ.org) –the only statewide organization taking a hard stand for animals in New Jersey.

APL members have taken that message to heart, as evidenced by their myriad issues, projects and yes, successes.

A while ago, I wrote about two of them: one, a widely acknowledged “cat specialist,” who reaches out to share her expertise and experience with anyone who asks; the second, a member who befriended the geese she was working to save from death.  They remembered her later, lovingly.

Others who are affiliated with APLNJ regularly  

• keep track of and work for passage of legislation that benefits NJ animals, including geese, deer and black bears
• meet with legislators
• form coalitions to strengthen and unify APLNJ’s positions
• research animal issues and write position papers and op-eds  
• talk up APLNJ efforts through “tabling” to distribute materials at public events, publications, billboards and aerial banners
• demonstrate or protest to raise awareness and right wrongs  
• propose positive alternatives to town councils, homeowner associations, park commissions, etc., about practices toward animals that are unconscionable 
• make speeches, write letters to the editor and legislators to build support  
• testify at legislative sessions on APLNJ positions  
• lead by example and inspire the organization’s members

Our too-often unsung heroes for animals all need reinforcements.  There can’t ever be too many aware and caring people working for animal welfare – simply skim media stories for a  frightening idea of how animals, domestic and wild alike, are abused.  

Of course, donating to respected animal advocacy groups is always welcome.  But the power of a group of like-minded people brainstorming ideas, joining up for outreach, directly aiding animals in need . . . such activities can bring about remarkably positive (internal and external) results.

Please visit www.APLNJ.org for ways to contribute – then make a move “for the animals.”

Hoping you'll comment -- how about on unsung heroes in other organizations for animals?  -- at 1moreonce.blogspot.com.