Lost Cats

Over the weekend, we took in a stray female cat and we are now trying to find its owners.

If your cat or dog is missing, be sure to contact rescue shelters and look through the postings of animals for adoption, and keep looking for a few months. Don't just look at listings of "found cats," because not everyone who finds a cat and adopts it out will post there.

Pet Vaccination Clinic

Can't afford to take your cat or dog to the vet for vaccinations? Here's a much more affordable alternative for rabies shots and DHPP. 

Take your cat or dog (in a carrier or on a leash!) to PAL this Saturday afternoon and keep them safe from rabies and parvovirus.

Death Row Dogs

I went to the Waterbury pound this afternoon. They were holding special adoption hours in a desperate attempt to get ten dogs adopted. Only six dogs were adopted, which means they'll have to put some to sleep on Monday. They're open by appointment tomorrow (Sunday), so there's still time to save a life.

Their available dogs can be viewed on petfinder.com and on the Waterbury Dog Pound Facebook page.

Unfortunately, the sad truth is that there are more dogs than there are good homes. Even if all of these dogs get adopted in time, there will be more. Too many people get puppies because they're cute, then abandon them when they realize they're too much work, or not cute as adults. Other dogs get abandoned simply because their owners are irresponsible.

Dogs are supposed to be licensed, but there's no real enforcement. One idea is to do a big sweep in every municipality, going door to door, checking to see how many dogs there really are, and issuing fines for every unlicensed dog.

Entrance to the Waterbury pound on Municipal Road, off South Leonard.

Another idea is to get pet stores to stop selling dogs from puppy mills, and instead offer adoptions of dogs that need rescuing. Puppy mills, for those who don't know, are large-scale breeding operations, where making money is more important than properly caring for the puppies. There is legislation on the federal and state level to regulate breeding kennels, but until the culture changes, there will still be too many dogs.

In Waterbury, the pet stores that used to be at the mall sold puppies, whereas Pet Smart, next to Home Depot, does adoptions through the Rose Hope shelter. These are two completely different types of operations.

By the way, all those cute little puppies and kittens at the pet store? If they don't get sold, they get euthanized. State law requires this be done by a licensed veterinarian, so at least it's done humanely. But it's still done.

Kennels at the Waterbury pound.

Spaying and neutering is another big challenge. Too many people wait too long to get their dogs spayed/neutered, thinking it's all good, they'll make some money selling the puppies. Finding good homes for puppies isn't easy. If the owner of the mama dog doesn't have her registered or vaccinated (which is often the case), the odds are those puppies won't have very good lives.

While spaying and neutering can be expensive, places like the H.O.P.E. Spay/Neuter Clinic in Waterbury, offer low-cost options. If you still have trouble affording the surgery, you do not have enough money to own a dog.

Adopting dogs from shelters is tremendously rewarding. These dogs are at the end of their lives. They've been through rough times, many of them have been abused, many others neglected. They are starved for affection, and they are so appreciative of anyone who is kind to them.

If the Waterbury shelter doesn't have the dog you want, there are other shelters to try. Use petfinder to search the shelters. Try PAWS New England for dogs that have been rescued from death row but still need homes.

The Waterbury pound takes in 50 to 60 dogs per month. The summer is the busiest season, when they take in the most. There are only 40 kennels at the pound (we have former Mayor and convicted child molester Phil Giordano to thank for that; he authorized hiring Worth Construction to build it for a million dollars; I wonder how much of that he pocketed?).

If you can't adopt, but still want to help, there are a couple of things you can do. First of all, share this information on Facebook, and tell all of your friends to adopt from shelters.

You can help the shelter through donations. Financial donations are accepted--call the police department at (203) 574-6961 to find out how, or make a donation online through PayPal.

The pound is also looking for donations of Kuranda dog beds. You can buy one for them online.

I once overhead someone offer my neighbor $8,000 to fight his adult pit bull. My neighbor, fortunately, declined. There's a lot of money in dog fighting, but every pit bull I've ever known has been a sweetheart, wanting nothing more than to be loved and petted and cared for.

If you have a problem with aggressive dogs in your neighborhood, the problem is really with the owners, who have trained them to be aggressive. If you think a neighbor is fighting their dogs, you should report it.

For whatever reason, the trend right now is to own a pit bull if you want people to think you're tough. This leads to ignorant young men adopting or buying dogs for looks. The dogs end up suffering. They've ended up with a bad rep, making it even harder to find good homes for them.

I have a special affection for this girl. She was wandering around my neighborhood this week with a six foot long chain dragging behind her, attached to her collar. If she was good with cats, I would have kept her. She is a total sweetheart. Very well behaved, quiet, affectionate. She thinks she's a lap dog. Somebody, please, give her a good home!

One of the lucky dogs that got adopted today.

The pound is full of good dogs looking for good homes. Please do what you can to help.

Winter Critters

So much for not having anything to blog about. The snow day must be inspiring me.

 The birds are all busy at the feeders. Same crowd as usual. Sparrows, chickadees, cardinals, nuthatches, woodpeckers, and juncos.

Then there are the cats. For some reason, we've been invaded by stray cats. First there was the Cute Black Cat (CBC).

He's adorable. Started showing up at the window when we called for the cat who is supposed to come when called. CBC didn't care that we weren't calling him, he wanted in on the action. Normally I don't feed stray cats, but this one was very persistent. After a couple days of food and water, he started looking better. He figured out how to get into the garage and has been sleeping on the soft top of my car.

CBC hasn't been on the front porch asking for food in several days. He has been replaced by Straggly Kitten. Straggly is a mess. He looks awful. He has trouble using his mouth for eating and drinking. He has a large bald spot on his tail. The first night he appeared, his belly looked unnaturally swollen. His fur was messy, sticking out in all different directions, and filthy. He looks better now.

He keeps trying to run inside the house, but I already have five indoor cats and I'm not going to allow an unneutered, potentially diseased cat inside (especially since one of my older cats is suffering with a bad tooth problem right now).

Luckily for Straggly K, there is a cat shelter on the front porch. I have lined the sides with blankets and made a cozy nest for him. He's been guzzling down all the warm water we bring him, and filling his stomach with food. I picked him up yesterday and realized he is nothing but skin and bones--his belly no longer looks distended, so it may have been just from starvation, not disease. The missing fur could be from flea-related over grooming.

I can't afford to take stray cats to a regular vet (can't afford to take my indoor cats to the regular vet!), but the H.O.P.E. Spay/Neuter Clinic has very affordable rates for neutering and vaccinating. Even better would be if one of my readers wants to adopt him (hint, hint).

Hooray!

The birds have finally found the bird feeder!



Maybe it was the foot of snow that finally led them to spot the feeder, maybe it was just a matter of time. Either way, there were at least three types of birds visiting today.





They are not yet confident of their safety. Notice how this one is watching the feeder and the window over his (her?) back. There were a lot of dramatic, swooping dives as they scoped things out.




Considering that they were being stared at intensely by my cats, who really wanted to be able to pounce on the birds through the window, it's no surprise that the birds were being cautious. I was impressed when this one perched at the top of the window to gaze down on the cats. I didn't have the right lens, so I had to piece the image together from two shots.




More impressive was this shot. My ex-poodle cat proved that holding very very still can bring your prey within easy reach, if only the glass weren't in the way.




Meanwhile, out in front of the house, the neighborhood kids found the perfect way to cope with all the snow on the road: go snowboarding! One neighbor went so far as to shovel out the entire width of street alongside her parking space. Luckily, we mostly got just snow, only a little bit of freezing drizzle before the last inch of snow fell.



Okay, time to go get my driveway cleared for tomorrow.

Squirrelly

This is increasingly becoming the normal scene in my dining room, ever since I set up the bird feeder in the window. The fluffy cat in the window is taking a break from watching the squirrel to watch the snow falling.



There have been a few birds at the feeder, but mostly it's been just the squirrels. Which keeps the cats just as entertained as they would be with birds, but I miss the variety of birds that came to the feeder when I lived on Eastwood Avenue. Other than trying different types of seed, I don't know how to entice more birds. Last winter I had the feeder on the back porch, this year I've put it on the side window, thinking a new location would help. So far the results are the same. Where are all the birds? Maybe someone in the neighborhood has better seed.



The squirrels don't seem to mind the cats at all. Nor were they put off by today's snow!

Poodle Cat

Okay, so this one isn't really specific to Waterbury, but it's too funny not to share. My long-hair cat was having serious problems with matted fur, so I took him in to the groomer at PetSmart, requesting that they remove his mats. They got carried away and shaved his tail, leaving a pom on the end. The poor thing's been poodled!

One Week

That's how long the Waterbury pound keeps dogs before putting them down. They take the dog in, have it inspected by a vet, and if it's disease-free, they place an ad in the paper (not under "Pets" however...) and a week later, if the dog hasn't been claimed or adopted, they kill it (humanely, of course, but it amounts to the same thing).

One week does not seem like anywhere near enough time. One month would be better. I don't know how many dogs the pound can hold, but they are currently advertising five dogs (including the poor puppy I found last week--I'm working hard at finding somewhere for him to go) for adoption/claim. Five dogs that are going to be put to sleep at Christmas if nobody rescues them.

The Republican-American runs a pet photo section once a week, printing photos that people send in of their cats and dogs. Wouldn't it be a better use of that section to run photos of the dogs on death row at the pound?

Snowy Day Adventure

Right after the snow started this morning, I noticed dog poop on my front porch. I was, naturally, annoyed that someone's dog would come up on my porch and do that. Several hours later, as I stepped outside to start shoveling snow, I noticed that the dog had peed as well. Very annoying. As I shoveled the poop off the porch, I suddenly noticed, out of the corner of my eye, something dark in the corner behind the recycling bin. I moved closer and discovered the most emaciated dog I've ever seen huddled up in a little ball. He didn't move anything other than his eye as I got closer. My first thought was that he had already frozen to death, but that little bit of eye movement let me know he was still alive. My second thought was to ask one of the kids playing in the snow if they knew whose dog he was, but then I saw his ribs and spine sticking out, and realized that if he belonged to someone, they weren't ever getting him back.

I rushed inside and grabbed a thick towel to keep him warm, and he was SO grateful for it, but still didn't get up. Then I rushed inside and filled a bowl up with cat food, which the dog quickly inhaled. I got more cat food, and this time he was able to stand up to eat.


Photo is blurry, but you can see how starved he is.

By this point, I was trying to figure out what to do with him. He wasn't displaying any aggression, and seemed disease-free. Not to mention that he kept giving me that heart-melting look of adoration.... The sensible thing, I knew, was to call the dog warden, but this sweet dog has already had a rough time. I called a friend who assured me that calling the dog warden was a good thing to do, so I made the call. No one answered, so I left a message.

(Side note: In the phone book, under Dog Warden in the blue pages, there's a second number to call if no one answers the first number. Well, it turns out the second number is for emergencies requiring the police! Oops! I felt very bad for bothering them, but the man who answered was very nice about it.)

I had been planning on doing some snow shoveling and then maybe going for a walk. But before I called the dog warden, I decided to let the dog come inside. He wanted to come in, and I figured I could toss him right back outside if he misbehaved. (Letting him inside was very nerve-wracking for me, because one of my cats was killed by a dog a few years ago.) When I opened the door and let him in, he made a beeline for the cat food in the kitchen, and completely ignored the cats as they bolted for safe hiding spots. The dog also ignored my gray cat Max, who hovered nearby, growling and mewing.


A less-than-happy cat...


I was going to set up a bed for the dog down in the basement, but he refused to go down the steps. He also refused to go back outside. He wants to stay close to me, so he's currently sleeping on the towel next to the couch. Max is fascinated by him. The other cats probably won't come out of hiding for days. I have no idea when the dog warden will call me back, and, considering that we're well into getting the 6-10 inches of snow predicted for today, I have no idea how long it will be before they can come for the dog. I'm hoping to get the dog to go outside after his nap; he's not exactly house-broken (he's already pooped in the living room). If I have to keep him overnight, he'll have to go in the basement, even if I have to carry him there (which won't be fun, considering that how filthy he is).


A very unhappy cat, trying to figure out where the dog is hiding.

There's One in Every Neighborhood

A few days ago, I was sitting on my couch with my back to the window, when I suddenly felt like someone was staring at me. I turned around and saw a brown tabby cat peeping through the window. As soon as she saw me looking at her, she started meowing loudly and insistently at me.



I've seen her around, wandering through my yard, sleeping on the soft top of my car, but this was the first time she had shown any interest in me. Not knowing whether or not she's a stray, and knowing that extremely cold weather had started, I decided I might as well offer her some food. She devoured the handful of dry food I gave her, then returned to the window and started yelling for more. Since I am very much a sucker, I gave her some more. She ate most of that food, then returned to the window to yell again. This time I decided to let her come inside, and I checked her over to see what kind of condition she was in. No sign of fleas, wounds, or starvation. Considering how at ease she was with me, I think it's safe to assume she's not a stray.

She wanted back outside very quickly (I guess she didn't like my living room... or maybe she didn't like the way my cat followed her around), and returned to sitting in the window like she owned it. After a while, she started yelling at me again. This time she was satisfied with a quick scratch on the head. I decided to call her Vivian.

Vivian was back in the window yelling at me the next day. This time I did not feed her. I don't think she needs me to feed her. I used to have a big gray cat named Gus who spent his days looking for suckers. One of my neighbors told me that there was a big gray cat she was feeding. She said he showed up at her door one day, meowing sociably at her, so she let him inside. It didn't take long to verify that this was my cat, who was very well fed by me, chatting her up for food.

Vivian returned the third morning, although I slept late and left the curtains drawn. When I pulled open the curtains, I was relieved to see that she wasn't in the window. Then I saw her, bathing herself in the sun at the top of my porch steps, looking for all the world as if she owned the place.

Nice Try

My neighborhood has a lot of stray cats. This winter my downstairs neighbors took in a young brown tabby cat, maybe 8 months old, who had clearly been out on the streets for a while and wasn't doing very well. It's more accurate to say that the cat decided to move in with them. He's very docile and even let them bathe him without too much fuss. He's doing well now, and has a small posse (two slightly younger, black cats who were completely feral when I saw them last year).

This big white tomcat has been out on the streets for a couple of years at least. Last year he refused to have anything to do with me, although the black cloth top of my car is his favorite sleeping spot. I know he sleeps there, because he leaves his white fur all over the black top.

Yesterday afternoon when I took out the trash, he was sitting outside my door in the stairwell. I expected him to run away, but he only went as far as the top step before turning to see if I might feed him. Sucker that I am, I went back inside and grabbed a handful of food for him. I set it down on the floor between us and backed away. He wolfed it down and asked for more. Giant sucker that I am, I went back inside and got another handful of food. I held it out slowly, and he almost ate it out of my hand. I think he would have, but I didn't want to risk getting bitten.

I took out the trash. I came back. He was still outside my door. I went to my desk and worked. I could hear my cat talking to him through the kitchen door for almost twenty minutes. Every now and then I would check, and he was still there, staring at the door, hoping I might let him in and give him more food. I'm not that big of a sucker. I know he made it through this winter on his own, and I'd guess he was on his own last winter too. If he wants to become a housecat, he has to go get himself neutered first.

It occurred to me later that he could be rabid. This is the first time he's ever come near me. In the past he always ran away as soon as he saw a person. Now he's all friendly and domesticated. If he's still alive and well and friendly in a few weeks, I'll consider taking care of him. But he still can't move in.