Showing posts with label Old Blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Old Blog. Show all posts

Sunday, April 30, 2017

Looking ahead: same content, new station

 

Looking ahead: same content, new station


 

Hi and (sort of) goodbye, everyone. This note will be the last post about animals to appear here – but it will continue from a different site and with a different name.

Why?

Well, since this blog started last December and we’ve published a dozen posts, it occurred to us that there’s an easier way to do this, requiring less time and fewer people.  So I’ve continued blogging at a different site – one where you can also subscribe to receive every post.

The new blog is AnimalBeat II, and its name echoes that of a blog I wrote awhile ago: same purpose, same blogger. You can reach it via 1moreonce.blogspot.com. And if you wish to avoid ever typing that address again, just subscribe when you get there.

As was true before, I once again would like to thank Angi Metler, APLNJ executive director, and Janine Motta, programs director with APLNJ, for their unstinting help and understanding.

Hoping we meet again at AB II!

--Pat Summers

 

Return to our website for details
on what we’re all about “for the animals.”

Monday, April 17, 2017

Focus on foxes: it started right here

 

Focus on foxes: it started right here


It began with APLNJ’s original blog motif -- the beautiful fox in snow.  Whenever I saw it, I thought about foxes I have known. “Seen” would be the better word, since I’ve never been closer to one than from the car window to the side of the road, where I’ve watched occasional foxes moving along.  They were smaller than expected, coppery and thoroughly self-possessed.

More recently, a friend mentioned a fox family near a wooded area in her backyard: a mother fox and three pups.  Not to disturb them, she wisely watches them with binoculars, agreeing that the kits do look more like puppies than foxes at that stage of their lives.   https://www.thedodo.com/fox-cubs-mistaken-puppies-2359418877.html    

This double take on foxes reminded me of Pax, a wonderful children’s novel for all ages by Sara Pennypacker that I read last year.  Pax is a young fox rescued by a boy, Peter.  They are virtually inseparable – until the boy’s father makes him abandon the fox.  The rest of the book, alternating viewpoints of fox and boy, describes what they each do next and what they learn.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/14/books/review/pax-by-sara-pennypacker.html?_r=0

All this fox-talk prompted me to check into foxes -- including those in New Jersey.

To begin with, male foxes are known as dogs (or pups), tods or reynards; females, as vixens; and young, as cubs, pups or kits.  A group of foxes is known as a skulk, leash or earth.  And it figures that baby foxes look like puppies since foxes are members of the Canidae biological family that also includes domestic dogs, wolves, jackals and coyotes.

The three wild species in the family who live in New Jersey are the coyote, the gray fox (with the unique ability to climb trees) and the red fox, the one most common here.  Foxes resemble small dogs with bushy tails, and weigh anywhere from 6.5 to 15 pounds.  Though they’re generally not dangerous to humans, small domestic animals and livestock can be at risk. 

People described as “foxy” may be sly, cunning, crafty, wily (think La Fontaine’s fable about the crow and the fox) -- and/or attractive or sexually appealing.  

In New Jersey, both gray and red foxes are classified by the Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) as “game species and are considered valuable furbearers and have both hunting and trapping seasons.” http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/speciesinfo_fox.htm

APLNJ reports that last season, over 3,000 foxes were killed by firearms alone during the 185-day season, which also includes coyotes.  Lucky foxes: all of 180 days left free from being targets.  (Scroll down the link below and try to visualize the variety and numbers of animals killed here in one year by “sportsmen.”)   http://www.aplnj.org/assets/pdf/DFW_Killing_Summary_2015-2016_LOCKED.pdf


The Undeniable Pressure of Existence 

  by Patricia Fragnoli   

I saw the fox running by the side of the road
past the turned-away brick faces of the condominiums
past the Citco gas station with its line of cars and trucks
and he ran, limping, gaunt, matted dull haired
past Jim's Pizza, past the Wash-O-Mat,
past the Thai Garden, his sides heaving like bellows
and he kept running to where the interstate
crossed the state road and he reached it and he ran on
under the underpass and beyond it past the perfect
rows of split-levels, their identical driveways
their brookless and forestless yards,
and from my moving car, I watched him,
helpless to do anything to help him, certain he was beyond
any aid, any desire to save him, and he ran loping on,
far out of his element, sick, panting, starving,
his eyes fixed on some point ahead of him,
some possible salvation
in all this hopelessness, that only he could see.


 --Pat Summers

4-17-17

 

 

                                                               

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Selected short (animal-related) subjects

 

Selected short (animal-related) subjects


 

Haven’t you been wondering . . .

. . . what’s “shark finning” all about?

You're swimming along in the ocean, minding your own business, when suddenly your arms and legs are cut off.  Without means of propulsion, you sink to the bottom, dying a painful death by suffocation, blood loss and attacks by other species.

Millions of sharks are experiencing this horrific fate all over the world, once their fins – the functional equivalent of human limbs – are sliced off and they’re thrown back into the sea, to die.  Why?  So humans can eat shark fin soup.

What a sinfully trivial reason for killing a sentient being – and one so key to ocean ecosystems.  But finally, counter actions are underway to stop shark finning. When Air China announced its  “No Shark Fin” carriage policy in January, the claim was “We were one of the first airlines in China to raise the awareness of the unsustainability of the global shark trade.” 

“Unsustainability” was the best reason they could come up with? Not "unconscionable cruelty"?

Anyway, by prohibiting sale or possession of shark fins, New Jersey will do its bit if A3945/S2044 is passed. https://www.thedodo.com/shark-fin-soup-2338113590.html

 . . . why does horse “soring” continue? 

A couple posts back (“Feds block . . . “), I referred to continuation of “cruel horse soring” because of recent government action.  But first, what is “soring”? It’s “a cruel and inhumane practice used to accentuate a horse’s gait . . . by irritating or blistering a horse’s forelegs with chemical irritants . . . or mechanical devices.”  Here’s what it looks like: https://www.thedodo.com/tennessee-walking-horses-soring-abuse-2306089500.html

Almost no sooner had the USDA finalized a rule to end soring (slated for publication in the Federal Register) in early January, than the Trump White House decreed that all unpublished rules should be sent back to the relevant agency for review. So now it’s questionable whether soring will be banned in the foreseeable future.  https://www.americanfarriers.com/articles/8946-trump-administration-withdraws-horse-protection-changes

. . . what’s a great “cat fix”?

If you can’t get enough of cats, the 80 enchanting minutes of Kedi, a documentary about cats in Istanbul, will bliss you out: so many cats, of all kinds, most all of them loved and cared for as important, respectable beings by (their fellow!) city residents.  Cats walk along sidewalks looking just as entitled as the people they mingle with; they go about their lives matter-of-factly, having families to feed; squabbling over territory or mates; being petted and having adventures. 

Kedi’s filming is spectacular, and its narration and interviews are studded with philosophy and quotable quotes about cats and people.  I’ll paraphrase an idea I personally have found to be all-too-true: Those who don’t love animals can’t love people either.

See it, rent it, beg or borrow it – but don’t miss Kedi.                                  

http://www.vox.com/2017/2/11/14582684/kedi-review-cat-documentary

. . . about those tree-leaf balls?

Quick!  Before spring buds open into tree leaves and hide them, take another look at those bunches of autumn leaves you noticed in neighborhood trees last winter. They’re probably squirrel nests, or “dreys” – much more than “bunches of leaves.” 

In fact, they’re made of layers of different materials: live green twigs to moss and damp leaves, then protective twigs and vines, with a “mortar” of more material filled in to strengthen them.  This careful animal architecture helps explain why it’s uncommon for the nests to fall apart or allow baby squirrels to fall out.         https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/science/squirrels-nests.html?emc=eta1

. . . how to identify Tim Eustace (D-38)?

The last post mentioned two state assemblymen recognized at Humane Lobby Day, but didn’t include a photo of Rep. Tim Eustace.  Here it is now, with some by-play that occurred when Eustace arrived for the presentation.  The then-speaker said she was happy to be “trumped” at the microphone by the legislator.  Eustace suggested “bumped” as an alternate word, adding, “We have to be ‘the wall’ to protect this state from the legislation coming from Washington.”  (Hear, hear!)

 

--Pat Summers 

Return to our website for details

on what we’re all about “for the animals"

Thursday, March 30, 2017

‘Birds of a feather’ flock to Trenton

 

‘Birds of a feather’ flock to Trenton 



I’d rather describe last week’s 6th annual “Humane Lobby Day” in Trenton as “Useful Info Day” – it was that jam-packed with issues and discussions about animals.  It also featured numbers of people I was happy to see, meet and hear from. And yes, there was some lobbying too, although the networkingthat occurred may prove more effective in the long run. 

This post isn’t meant to cover the day, but to share some of the info I was impressed, and occasionally depressed, by.  

To start with, heartening numbers of bills concerning animals are working their way through the legislative process, and one awaits the governor’s signature – we hope not in vain.  Already passed by the state senate and assembly, it’s “the puppy mill sales” bill, A2338/S3041, which would prohibit the worst puppy mills from doing business in NJ, thereby protecting consumers and animals.  Phone Gov. Christie at 609-292-6000, to ask him to sign the bill.

(For this and any other bills mentioned here, you can go to http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/  to check status, read and/or print out.) 

Among other animal-related bills in process are Nosey’s Law (A4386/S2058), which bans elephants in traveling shows; and a bill prohibiting sale or possession of shark fins (A3945/S2044).

The day’s events included awards to two legislators, starting with Troy Singleton (7th district),  the assemblyman behind the bill that would ban declawing of cats except for medical reasons. Singleton spoke feelingly about animals, cats in particular.  His bill awaits action in the Senate. 

 

Tim Eustace (38th district), the animal- and environment-friendly assemblyman who has introduced and supported bear protection bills, was also honored by Brian Hackett, NJ State Director for the Humane Society of the US, which sponsored the event.  


“Bear hunts have nothing to do with public safety,” said Angi Metler, APLNJ’s executive director, during her presentation. “They’re all about the Christie administration’s ‘bait and shoot’ recreational trophy hunt.”  She described NJ’s Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) as “the hunter-based state agency that’s allowing use of illegal traps” and distinguished between the two websites for bears: (1) BearSmartNJ.org is for information and solutions, not action, while (2) SaveNJbears.com is the site for activists who may do phoning, tabling and demonstrating.

Over 4,000 NJ black bears – including moms, cubs and Pedals, the iconic upright bear – have been killed during Gov. Christie’s time in office.  Pedals’ death during last October’s hunt prompted Sen. Ray Lesniak to introduce Pedals’ Law (S2702 /A4285), calling for a five-year moratorium on bear hunts, among other advocate-approved provisions. 

 (Note: In blessed contrast to those depressing numbers, since 2000 three NJ governors (Whitman [3], McGreevey [1], Corzine [4]) have stopped eight bear hunts.)

Unfortunately, Pedals’ Law and another of Lesniak’s initiatives -- to protect the 1984 duly-enacted law against leghold traps (S2750/A4407) – have so far been stalled in the legislative process. Those who want the bill to move forward can contact Senate President Stephen Sweeney (856-251-9801), asking him to post the bill.

An open panel discussion among representatives of the “partner organizations” who spoke  earlier closed out the event.  One of the last audience questions dealt with Senator Linda Greenstein’s recently introduced S3019, a bill that would reform animal shelters in NJ.  (More on this bill to follow . . .!)


Return to our 
website for details
on what we’re all about “for the animals”

 

 --Pat Summers

#

Friday, March 24, 2017

New bill promises better NJ animal shelters


 

New bill promises better NJ animal shelters


Right now, what happens to the animals in many New Jersey animal shelters is uncertain, at best.  Facility conditions can be unsafe and/or unhealthful; medical treatment, inconsistent; and live-release rates, especially for cats, shamefully low.

An “Intake & Disposition” report filed each year with the state supposedly lists animals entering and leaving a given shelter. It’s not required and it’s self-reported, meaning that its numbers can be questionable, to say the least. In fact, the fate of countless animals who enter animal shelters here is a mystery.    

All too often, “what happens to the animals in many NJ animal shelters” gives the lie to the most positive definition of “shelter.” Cats in shelters -- especially “feral,” or “community” cats -- are still much more vulnerable than dogs, leading in numbers killed.

Although we may know of “model animal shelters” here and there, we hear too often about “bad shelters,” ACOs who routinely kill feral cats or hunt for recreation, and animals who have “lived” in shelters for months or years.  New Jersey was enlightened in 1982 when it became the first state to ban gas chambers for the euthanasia of cats and dogs.  Now we’re overdue for more enlightened behavior toward, and for, shelter animals.

On February 27 a light went on at the far end of a very long tunnel.  On that date, Senator Linda R. Greenstein (District 14, Mercer and Middlesex), introduced in the state legislature S3019 – establishing “additional requirements for operation and oversight of animal shelters . . .”  Here is just one excerpt to love on sight:

           . . . shelters and pounds should be caring, safe havens for animals in need [,]

           with a life-affirming mission reflecting the humane values of  the State’s

           citizens, residents, and taxpayers; that these safe havens save the lives of

           animals and work toward ever-increasing live-release rates. . . .

And that, literally, is just the beginning of what could lead to significant animal shelter reform. The bill is replete with informed, humane requirements for informed, humane animal shelters (necessarily known in Greenstein’s bill as “regulated animal holding facilities”) -- exactly what New Jersey animals deserve.  Among many other considerations, S3019 mandates

·        consulting with a licensed veterinarian, developing and implementing protocols for many facets of shelter operation;

·         establishing community outreach policies and procedures to maximize opportunities for adoption of shelter animals;  

·         implementing if feasible a “trap, neuter, vaccinate, ear-tip and return” programas an alternative to euthanasia for feral cats;

·         maintaining specified shelter records for the Dept. of Health to compile and make readily available to the public online;

·         inspecting of shelters at least three times a year by certified inspectors, visiting without notice, to assure compliance with regulations;  

·         adhering to specified shelter hours of operation that include weekdays, evening and weekend times.

Starting its move toward hoped-for passage, Greenstein’s bill will first be heard in a NJ Senate (then on with the legislative route to be followed toward adoption . . . [now missing])

And please do all you can to support this much-needed bill that will strengthen the laws governing animal shelters and make life much better for shelter animals throughout New Jersey.


“Return to our website for details
on what we’re all about “for the animals”

 

--Pat Summers

 

Saturday, March 11, 2017

Feds block online animal welfare data

 

Feds block online animal welfare data  (revised)


Extensive commentary after last year’s presidential election included the belief – or was it a fervent hope?—that caring for and protecting animals is a bipartisan effort, so activities already underway on behalf of animals would simply continue.  

Then came reports that US Dept. of Agriculture records having to do with the Animal Welfare Act and Horse Protection Act had without warning or reason become inaccessible. Noting that the USDA had purged its website of all government inspection reports, enforcement actions and related information on thousands of puppy mills, circuses, laboratories and roadside zoos, one animal advocacy organization concluded that “animals are under attack.”

Such taxpayer-supported online materials had been readily available to the public. Now they can be obtained only through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, which reportedly “can take months, or even years, to process.” Although a widespread outcry in reaction caused the USDA to restore some reports, most are still unavailable. 

While claiming a need to balance transparency (by making info available) with individual privacy (presumably including that of proven violators), the department has made it easier to hide violations of the two animal laws and generally mistreat animals with greater impunity.     

End result, at least for as long as USDA materials are out of reach:  those who abuse animals will not be brought to justice, and their unchecked actions will lead to immense animal suffering. The treatment and fate of “research animals” will be unmonitored; cruel horse soring will continue; puppy mills will turn out more sick animals while shamelessly over-breeding their mothers; animals in Alaskan wildlife refuges will be cruelly trapped or shot in their dens. . . and on and on.

Wait a minute!  Aren’t we humans supposed to become more enlightened as time goes by?  And aren’t animals supposed to be less threatened as humans grow smarter?

In mid-February, two APLNJ reps joined Senator Robert Menendez at a press event where participants spoke out against USDA’s removal of this online info and urged people to contact their federal legislators  1-844-872-0234 – to request their intervention. Doris Lin, director of legal affairs, and Doreen Frega, an associate director with the BEAR program, responded to Senator Menendez’s invitation.   

Among many other “animal organizations” also protesting, the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) has advised phoning the USDA, at 1-844-820-2234, to express strong opposition to its decision to remove inspection reports and other important information on facilities regulated under the Animal Welfare Act.  (Don’t be deterred if you’re told, as I was, that a review for privacy and other guidelines is underway; demand that the records be made publicly available again.) 

 

Finally, in the belief that every effort counts, sign all bona fide petitions calling on the USDA to stop covering for abusers and make that material accessible once more. 


Meanwhile, here in NJ . . .     

Two bills that would greatly benefit New Jersey animals are moving through the legislative process, and in contrast to current federal changes and blockades, these are easy to find, read, promote and track online!  Passed by the state Assembly, the earlier bill (A3899) would make declawing cats illegal except for medical reasons. Now, S2410 must still make its way through the Senate, surviving the hurdles awaiting it there.

Late last month, S3019 – the Animal Shelter Bill -- was introduced by Senator Linda Greenstein in the state Senate.  It seeks to revise and strengthen the laws governing animal shelters throughout NJ.  Anyone familiar with this state’s shelters will rejoice to know about this bill – much more on it will follow soon.  Meanwhile, you can check  it out at  http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/     

 

                                                   Return to our website for details

on what we’re all about “for the animals”

 

--Pat Summers

 3-11-17


Friday, March 3, 2017

Considering Canada geese

 

 Considering Canada geese

 

Think “Canada goose” and your first image might be a V-formation in the sky. 

Or geese in water, suddenly diving to harvest bottom grasses.  Or, undeniably, the messes they make on sidewalks and paths.  But messes happen everywhere, right?

In fact, there’s much to be said about these birds that’s positive.  And surprising.  For instance, they typically mate for life – which can be up to 24 years -- usually returning to the same site every year to lay their eggs. 

After the nest of twigs, grasses and similar material is made, the mama goose shapes it into a bowl with her body and proceeds with her maternal duties.

With their eyes open, downy goslings hatch after about a month, and within a day, they leave the nest to follow their parents. The gander protects his mate and offspring, sometimes hissing away seeming threats – as he may have done earlier when competing for the goose of his choice.  

Born swimmers, goslings stay with the family for up to a year, leaning needed skills from their parents and potentially growing up to 20 pounds in weight and five and a half feet in length.  

While raising the family, adults – who look alike, by the way -- molt, or shed feathers. Since most are flight feathers, entire families are made temporarily flightless at the same time.     

Geese seeking a spring or fall change of venue follow strict migration paths with traditional stop-over sites.  (Well, when you drive to the shore, don’t you always stop at the same frozen custard stand?)  They can fly between 40-55 miles an hour, and travel up to 1,500 miles a day.  Their well-known V-formation reduces wind resistance and keeps the flock together.  As you might imagine, the goose in the lead works the hardest, so the birds take turns in this role.  

Canada geese have serrated bills, helping them to both slice through vegetation and groom, so they’re not only streamlined and strong, but also well-coifed, or feathered.  Essentially herbivores, they subsist on grasses, sedges, grains, and berries – which explains their habitats of fresh water or grassland.  But they don’t turn up their noses/bills at fish and insects they may encounter. 

Found across North America, Canada geese have been introduced to parts of Europe and New Zealand. (You read that right: Australia wasn’t mentioned in the National Geographic source I consulted.  What do Aussies have against them?)

These days, non-migrating Canada geese can be regarded as pests. “They consume vast  quantities of vegetation, foul their surroundings, and may even collide with planes near airports,” says Kim Kurki, author-illustrator of the beautiful National Wildlife’s World of Birds: A Beginner’s Guide (2014) -- one of my info sources here.  (The others were Stan Tekiela’s Birds of New Jersey Field Guide (2000) and various online National Geographic sites.)

However, Kurki adds, Canada geese are “living beings that we are compelled to treat humanely and live in harmony with.” 


--Pat Summers

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Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Poor pigs: loved for all the wrong reasons

 

Poor pigs: loved for all the wrong reasons

 

(From a phone call to a bakery):

“Do you want the ones with bacon or the regular ones?”

“Did you say ‘bacon,’ B-A-C-O-N?”

“Yes, I did.”

OMG! and Ai yi yi!  But then . . . why was I surprised?  Last fall, I saw billboards for pricey chocolates, with bacon. Then I noticed the doughnuts at the supermarket café were topped with crumbled bacon. And now, it’s sticky buns with bacon. 

(BTW, I ordered the “regular ones.”)

Pigs don’t have a chance, and I’ve often wondered:  did they ever have a chance?  Despite their being smart, friendly, loyal and playful, the main thing about pigs to most everyone in the world is, alas, their It’s your ribs. I’m afraid they’re delicious.”

What else is there to say? 

Although overall, far more chickens than pigs are slaughtered for human consumption, I’m not aware of people moaning about their love of chicken breasts, wings or legs.  Pigs are another matter, given the incessant rhapsodizing about bacon. or ribs. or ham. or pigs feet.  and even pork rinds – “everything but the oink,” as the saying goes.

If I believed in reincarnation, I’d already be praying not to come back as a pig, “purpose-bred” to be eaten.  And en route to that fate, being raised on a factory farm with routine tail-docking and gestation crates; seen as nothing but dinner in the making – not even a meal ticket, but a meal!

Only consider that a quick Google search for our state’s pig population (pigs + number + NJ) included “pig roast” in each of the eight “related searches.”  They can’t escape it.  For the record, our in-state pigs number around 9,000, according to a Star-Ledger story about gestation crates.  And there are some 300 pig farms – or euphemistic “pork farmers” in New Jersey, according to a Wall Street Journal story. (Surely, you’ve seen little “porks” gamboling in farm yards all over  . . .?!)

It’s no wonder I well up watching videos on The Dodo that feature pigs who escaped from trucks taking them to slaughter.  Saved by caring people, they’re shown living au naturel, frolicking with their new, non-traditional family members: goats, dogs, cats, children . . . . There should be so much more to life than death.  https://www.thedodo.com/pig-dog-goat-video-252913810.html

Besides vegetarians and vegans, here’s what we need much more of in this world.  A few stories like the one below might give pause to people who are just plain pigs for pigs. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/51604

Now that is “some pig!”


 Return to our website for details on what we’re all about

“for the animals” -- http://aplnj.org/food-for-life.php


--Pat Summers

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Saturday, February 11, 2017

Show your love: spay or neuter

 


Show your love: spay or neuter

 

 “One cat just leads to another.”  --Ernest Hemingway


Think February and probably
think Valentine’s Day: hearts and flowers, caring, love. There’s also World Spay Day on the last Tuesday of the month – this year, Feb. 28.  And building up to that animal-caring and loving day, February is also Spay/Neuter Awareness month!

So, happy Spay/Neuter Awareness month, everyone!  And if that awareness turns into actual spays and neuters for our community cats (and companion animals too), we’ll all be better off.

Why?  fewer community cats out there to worry about and care for and save from shelters (known to be the worst possible places for outdoor/feral/community cats, as well as cats in general)  . . . fewer surprise litters of kittens and puppies at home to place in safe new homes . . .  fewer animals overall with uncertain-to-frightful futures.

You probably already know about “kitten season,” but just in case: Starting next month, it’s the spring-summer (plus!) time of year when kittens seem to pop up everywhere – often without their moms, invariably needing care and shelter, and adding to the overpopulation of homeless cats.  

Preventing kitten litters now is the best way to reduce that feline mob scene later.  That’s a job for Project TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return), a key APLNJ campaign that’s close to home, bristling with expertise and known for person-to-person helpfulness. Its comprehensive website section, “New Jersey’s Central Resource for Feral Cat and Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) Information,” offers specifics on the basics, along with low-cost spay/neuter providers, technical and legal assistance and resources for caregivers, property owners and municipalities.

There’s also “Sponsor Our Spays (SOS) Subsidy program,” which contributes $30 toward the vetting of cats who will be returned outside.  To be eligible, those interested must be members of the Feral Friends of NJ, a no-fee Yahoo group.  For information on joining, email Sandra Obi at feralcats@aplnj.org     

For Obi, Project TNR director, “Sterilization and immunization are the most helpful things anyone can do to help with the issue of cat homelessness and foster the well-being of these cats.”


If you’ve got to be scared into spaying and neutering as many cats as you can, just remind yourself of these facts:  Cats can get pregnant as early as four months of age.  So, unsprayed, a March 1 “kitten season baby” could become a mom by summer’s end because of cats’ nine-week gestation period.  

 

Imperative as it is to cut down on pregnancies and litters among community cats, spay and neuter are also recommended for companion animals.  Sterilizing pets can provide medical and behavioral benefits while helping to curb pet overpopulation.  Too often now, pet homelessness leads to euthanasia of perfectly healthy animals -- so cruel, even to contemplate.   


For Valentine’s day this year, why not skip treats and toys?  Instead, give gifts of spay or neuter to community cats -- and be sure to treat your own pets too.  Show them you love them: spay or neuter.


Return to our website for details on what we're all about

“for the animals”  (http://aplnj.org/projectTNR.php)

 

   --Pat Summers                   

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