With winter approaching, I think about all the feral cats that do not have a cozy warm place to sleep. We have many clients who feed feral cats in their backyards. Most have been trapped, neutered or spayed and are given food and water but a lot of them do not have shelter or a cat house to get out of the winter weather.
We buy small dog houses or medium size pet carriers at garage sales and estate sales, clean them up and convert them into weather-proof cozy cat houses. We have given away four so far but need to make more. They need to be big enough for an adult cat to turn around in but not too big. Some people need multiple houses and have limited space to put them in. I wish I could supply houses like the one shown in the picture, but ours aren't quite so fancy. (Perhaps a future project?)
If you have an old pet carrier or small dog house that you don't want or need any more, email or call me (281-788-6611) and I'll come pick it up. You will be helping to provide another feral cat with a warm place to sleep in the winter. On the otherhand, if you have feral cat(s) and need a house, email me and I will put you on the list.
Not Fit for a Dog! is another good book full of information about commerical pet foods. Written by three veterinarians, this book provides an in-depth appraisal of the pet food industry and what people are feeding to their cats and dogs. It "highlights the dangers of modern pet foods--how it is unbalanced, creates addiction, and often contains ingredients that can literally poison your pet. It explodes the myths propounded by pet food companies that human food is "bad" for pets, and that natural diets are unsafe. It exposes the horrific truths that pet food manufacturers will sell you a "normal" diet for your cat that will cause diabetes, and then sell you another prescription diet to help control the diabetes, and how prescription diets themselves can cause illness."
In this book, you will learn how to read pet food labels and what you need to avoid for your pet's sake and how to save on vet bills by preventing your pet from developing one or more diet-related diseases. You'll learn why your vet may not have much to say about pet foods, what diet-related diseases your pet may already have, and how a change in diet can help. It explains how our health and our pets' health are interconnected and how we should all support organic farming practices and suppliers. This book is a massive indictment of the pet food industry, but also of our entire approach to growing and processing food--for us humans as well as for our pets. Get your copy now at Amazon.com or Half.com.
The health of your pets depends so much on what you feed them. I cannot stress that enough. That is why you need to read this book, Food Pets Die For; Shocking Facts About Pet Foods by Ann N. Martin (2008). This book is a real eye-opener when it comes to the commercial foods we feed our pets. This book is well-organized, well-documented and full of facts you need to know as a pet owner.Ann Martin, internationally recognized as an authority on commercial pet food, has been investigating the multi-billion-dollar commercial pet food industry since 1990. Sonoma State University's School of Journalism's "Project Censored" recognized her investigative writing on the pet food industry as one of the most important yet under-reported news stories. She has exposed the truth behind what is contained in many commercial pet foods. She also documents the ongoing animal experimentation funded by many major pet food companies in the name of nutritious pet food.She first began to question the pet food industry twenty years ago after her two dogs, a Newfoundland and a Saint Bernard, got severely ill after eating dry dog food. She had the food tested at an independent lab and results showed a zinc level twenty times higher than the daily recommended dose of 50 parts per million (ppm). Zinc levels in excess of 1,000 ppm can be toxic to dogs.She quickly learned that this multi-billion dollar industry in many ways is self-regulated. She "also learned that there are many deplorable ingredients that legally can be used in pet foods as sources of protein -- in particular, euthanized cats and dogs, diseased cattle and horses, road kill, dead zoo animals, and meat not fit for human consumption. In addition, fiber sources in many foods are composed of the leftovers from the food chain, including beet pulp, the residue of sugar beets, peanut hulls, and even sawdust sweepings from the floor of the rendering plant!" She talks about how researchers found traces of Pentobarbital in pet foods as far back as 1998. Pentobarbital is used for euthanizing animals. "The researchers surmised that Pentobarbital was finding its way into commercial pet foods through animals who had been euthanized with Pentobarbital and later rendered for 'meat meal' in pet food", she stated. Research done in 1995 concluded that sodium Pentobarbital "survived rendering without undergoing degradation". Not only that, but while researching the latest information on the 2007 pet food recall, she came across disturbing information that indicates rendered cat and dog carcasses could be entering the human food chain. She found "evidence that leads to the strong possibility that shrimp, fish and eel grown on fish farms in China and other Asian countries could be eating 'tankage' shipped form renderers in California." And speaking of the pet food recall of 2007, (which by the way, killed over 8,000 pets) you are aware of that one because it was so big and so many different foods were involved. She lists in detail several other examples of pet food recalls going back to 1995. I currently get notices of pet food recalls on a fairly regular basis.
She gives a detailed explanation of what all the ingredients are in pets foods, how they are processed and tested, what the laws and regulations are, what studies have been done and more! This lady has really done the research! She tells you how to read the labels, what to look for (or look out for!) in the ingredients. She has a list of recommended natural pet food companies and tells you about each one. She has recipes for home cooked meals for cats and dogs. She also has a chapter about bloat: a canine killer, a chapter on designer dogs and pet scams on the internet and newspapers. This book is full of information. Information you need to know as a pet owner. Available on Amazon and bookstores.
Another great inspiring read from Nathan Winograd and the perfect follow up to Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation & The No Kill Revolution in America.
We've heard it time and time again. We've been lead to believe that there is a pet overpopulation problem and it's because there aren't enough homes for them. That's why we kill over 4 million pets every year in this country. But when you look at the facts, this just isn't so:
There are 8 million dogs and cats who enter U.S. shelters annually.
Over 90 percent of those -- just over 7 million -- are savable. (The remaining are hopelessly ill or injured animals and vicious dogs whose prognosis for rehabilitation is poor or grave.)
4 million will actually be saved. 3 million will be killed.
Of those killed, over 2 million to 3 million (on the high end) need a new home. The remainder includes lost strays who should be reclaimed by their families and feral cats who should be neutered and released.
Other than those who will always adopt from a shelter (those saved above), there are 17 million people who are considering a new dog or cat next year and who would also consider adoption from a shelter. 17 million! "Consequently, even if roughly 80 percent get an animal from a source other than a shelter, killing of healthy and treatable animals can be ended."
"Today, there are about 165 million dogs and cats in homes. Of those, less than 20 percent come from shelters. Three percent of 165 million equates to 4.9 million, more than all the savable animals killed in shelters." Therefore, we need to increase the market for shelter pets by only three percent in order to eliminate killing."
So there are, in fact, plenty of homes for the animals killed in our shelters every year. There is NOT a pet overpopulation problem! The problem is that our shelters, some of who are very large and powerful, are not doing all they can do to save lives. They are stuck in the old belief that the only answer is to kill. They are not doing what we expect them to do with our donations -- save lives. "If all shelter directors cultivate the desire and will to do so, and then earnestly follow through, we can end killing for all savable animals right now--today!"
"From the perspective of achievability, therefore, the prognosis for widespread No Kill success is excellent." And these results have already been achieved in communities across the country; some urban, some rural, in the North and in the South. In liberal states and conservative ones. "Demographically these communities share little in common. However, they do share shelter leadership committed to saving all the lives at risk."
So what can we do? We can demand from our politicians and shelter leaders to adopt better policies, procedures and management by using The No Kill Equation, which has been proven to stop the killing. We can donate to the organizations who advocate and use these no-kill methods instead of the ones who continue to go on with the same old belief that adopting out a few & killing the rest is acceptable. We can adopt from animal shelters.
We can't wait for the big humane organizations with the big political muscles to lead us. "Instead, we must lead them. We're the ones we've been waiting for. We have found our voice, and recognize the potential its fullest expression can create. No more compromises. No more killing."
In a recent issue of Dog Fancy, they listed the following five iPhone apps that might interest dog owners. Cat owners might be interested too!
MiPets: Basic way to track upcoming vet appointments, microchip numbers, medications, and food information for an unlimited number of pets. You can email the file to a pet sitter or boarding kennel. $1.99; www.vurgoodapps.com
PetFinder.com: A terrific free resource for finding thousands of adoptable dogs, puppies, cats, kittens and other animals around the country. You can share listings via Facebook, Twitter or email. http://www.phunware.com/product.html
Pet Safe: Contains a searchable database of plants harmful to dogs, cats, horses, compiled by expert toxicologists from the ASPCA. You'll find toxicity symptoms for each plant and a direct link to the Animal Poison Control Center hotline. A portion of the proceeds goes to the ASPCA. $2.99 www.trevisomedia.com
PetSnap: To help get your dog (or cat) to look at your camera, this app contains 32 different sounds that catch your dogs' (or cats') attention. Turn up the volume, snap the picture, add a frame and email to friends. $1.99 www.spacelama.com/petsnap
PawTrotter: This app has more than 130,000 pet stores, dog-friendly hotels, veterinarians and dog parks. The app uses the iPhone's GPS to determine your location and find businesses near you. $2.99 www.pawtrotter.com
If you know of any more iPhone apps for pet owners, let me know!
I rescued another dog today. An 11 month old male Maltese named Snowball. He was running down Stella Link right in front of me as I was driving. Thank goodness he had a tag. I called & went to his address but no one was home. I dropped him off at my house while I finished my pet sitting rounds. They called a short time later & he was returned safe & sound. His family was very happy that I rescued & returned him! They had gone somewhere & it started thundering & he got scared & jumped through the wrought iron fence in his yard. He had gone quite a distance for such a little bitty thing. I was just happy to get him out of the street & back home! I love happy endings!
Pet Sitters International, the largest trade organization for professional pet sitters (currently has over 8,000 members world-wide), of which I am a member, is the only source for statistics, data and information on the industry of professional pet sitting. The last survey which was conducted in 2008, with a total of 1,814 members (24% response rate) responding, was tabulated and analyzed by an outside marketing research firm. Although this survey is a little old, I'm sure the results haven't changed that much in the last couple of years. When they do a new survey, I'll be sure to update you with the current findings.
The survey says.....
The typical member is Female (92%), age 41 to 60 (60%), Caucasian (94%), Married (59%) and owns her home (82%). Additionally, she has completed at least some college (88%), entered the pet-sitting industry due to her love of animals (55%), and has been in business for 5 years or less (61%). 98% of all businesses are independently owned.
Pet sitters most commonly own dogs (79%) and cats (61%). Of these, members typically own two dogs and three cats. Approximately one-third of all members belong to an animal rescue or shelter organization. A large majority of members carry both liability and bonding insurance (84%).
Nearly all PSI members service both dogs and cats, while two-thirds service fish, birds and cage pets. The average number of clients (for 2007) was 191, and the average number of pet sitting assignments was 2,169. More than 90% of all members advertise; through word of mouth (98%), business cards (96%), and PSI Pet Sitter Locator Web (94%). 68% of all members advertise through their own website. (This percentage may be bigger now.)
On average, the typical pet sitter client is a married couple between the ages of 36-50. Survey respondents reported that there are more married couples without children (40.5%), than couples with children (28.9%) who utilize their services. Single females tend to use pet sitters at a higher rate than males. Individuals ages 26-65 appear to utilize pet sitters at the same rate, while those under 25 years old made up only 4.2% of all clients. The top three reasons for the use of pet sitters are vacations, midday walks/visits and work schedules.
So where did Cozy Critters stand in 2007? (I am definitely a "typical" member and one who entered this profession because of my love for animals.) We had serviced dogs, cats, horses, birds, rabbits, fish and various other caged critters. We had been in business 5 years, had 175 active clients (259 clients since we began but we lose a percentage to moving or death of pets) and did 4,218 visits that year (351 visits per month average).
Something else a lot of people don't realize about pet sitters is that we typically work 365 days a year (those of us who do it full time). Our busiest times are holidays and summertime. In the (now) 8 years I've been pet sitting, I've been trying to think of any other profession or job that requires you to work every day of the year and I cannot come up with any. If you can think of one, let me know. I also cannot think of another profession or job you could have where every time you show up, you are greeted with such love, excitement and enthusiasm!
