Happy Tuesday, Missians!
First off, I want to thank all of you who checked out this past Saturday's Missy Show episode, "Why Him? The Psychology of Choosing Odd Pets". For those of you who were with us at 5 pm sharp, I apologize for the technical difficulties. Since it had been awhile since D had joined us on Google Hangouts, I'd forgotten her Gmail email to invite her for the call, (this isn't her normal email, so I don't know it by heart--though, I will in the future). I kept thinking I could just use her screen name to send the invite. So, when that didn't work, I had to disconnect the first session, and create another, (I already know I'm not the most technologically savvy gal out there--I'm working on it). But luckily, I think we were back on air and ready to roll around 5:10. Don't worry, I've learned from that lesson, so we should be good when we return on March 3rd.
Okay, on to today's blog post. This post goes hand in hand with this past Saturday's post, "The Crazy Cat Lady: Hero or No?" In it, we discussed some of the positive and negative aspects that can go along with helping more cats than you have room for, or can afford to. In today's post, we offer some suggestions on the best way to help strays of any kind--especially if you're in no position to take them in.
Prevention: Spaying and Neutering
First off, the most important way to help strays is to ensure there aren't any, (or as many), in the first place. This means being a responsible pet owner, by having your pet spayed or neutered. Don't take on a dog or cat that you have no intention of getting "fixed". This is especially important if your pet is going to be an outdoor animal. When I was a kid, it was a common neighborhood practice to have outdoor pets who were allowed to roam beyond their yards--which isn't the best thing to do anyway, but even worse when the animal isn't spayed or neutered. So, please get your pets to the vet once they reach the appropriate age, so you don't end up with more puppies or kittens, than you can handle.
Build temporary winter shelters for stray cats, using storage bins
I first heard about this concept online about a year or so ago, and thought it was neat, but didn't look any further into it; but with winter-time still upon us, I thought about how this could be a great way to help cats, (or any stray animal) to shield them from the cold. Alleycat Advocates has a great article on this, with instructions on how to build and set these structures up. Please check it out here:
https://alleycatadvocates.org/communitycat-care-center/creating-winter-shelters/
If you do have the room and resources, you could take in an animal or two, (either permanently or by fostering).
Of course this will not solve the stray situation at large, but for those who have the money for food, vet bills, toys, or other supplies, and are willing to dedicate the time and energy involved in caring for the animal(s)--and have a large enough, and orderly home, you could always make a huge difference in the life of at least one stray animal. As discussed in Saturday's post, the problem comes in when, you're taking on more animals than you can handle, and/or bringing them into an unhealthy/unstable situation.
Additional tips for helping stray cats:
https://pets.webmd.com/cats/helping-stray-and-feral-cats#1
How to help stray dogs:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/05/28/help.stray.dog.mnn/index.html
Here are some great tips to follow in case the stray animal (any) may belong to someone:
https://bestfriends.org/stories-blog-videos/latest-news/how-help-stray-animals
That's it for today's blog post. Make sure you check out all the links above for more useful ways to help stray animals, (even if you can't adopt them yourself). Be sure to check back on Friday for our Hibernation Nation, Animal of the Week post.
Until then,
This is your host J,
signing off...
First off, I want to thank all of you who checked out this past Saturday's Missy Show episode, "Why Him? The Psychology of Choosing Odd Pets". For those of you who were with us at 5 pm sharp, I apologize for the technical difficulties. Since it had been awhile since D had joined us on Google Hangouts, I'd forgotten her Gmail email to invite her for the call, (this isn't her normal email, so I don't know it by heart--though, I will in the future). I kept thinking I could just use her screen name to send the invite. So, when that didn't work, I had to disconnect the first session, and create another, (I already know I'm not the most technologically savvy gal out there--I'm working on it). But luckily, I think we were back on air and ready to roll around 5:10. Don't worry, I've learned from that lesson, so we should be good when we return on March 3rd.
Okay, on to today's blog post. This post goes hand in hand with this past Saturday's post, "The Crazy Cat Lady: Hero or No?" In it, we discussed some of the positive and negative aspects that can go along with helping more cats than you have room for, or can afford to. In today's post, we offer some suggestions on the best way to help strays of any kind--especially if you're in no position to take them in.
Prevention: Spaying and Neutering
First off, the most important way to help strays is to ensure there aren't any, (or as many), in the first place. This means being a responsible pet owner, by having your pet spayed or neutered. Don't take on a dog or cat that you have no intention of getting "fixed". This is especially important if your pet is going to be an outdoor animal. When I was a kid, it was a common neighborhood practice to have outdoor pets who were allowed to roam beyond their yards--which isn't the best thing to do anyway, but even worse when the animal isn't spayed or neutered. So, please get your pets to the vet once they reach the appropriate age, so you don't end up with more puppies or kittens, than you can handle.
Build temporary winter shelters for stray cats, using storage bins
I first heard about this concept online about a year or so ago, and thought it was neat, but didn't look any further into it; but with winter-time still upon us, I thought about how this could be a great way to help cats, (or any stray animal) to shield them from the cold. Alleycat Advocates has a great article on this, with instructions on how to build and set these structures up. Please check it out here:
https://alleycatadvocates.org/communitycat-care-center/creating-winter-shelters/
If you do have the room and resources, you could take in an animal or two, (either permanently or by fostering).
Of course this will not solve the stray situation at large, but for those who have the money for food, vet bills, toys, or other supplies, and are willing to dedicate the time and energy involved in caring for the animal(s)--and have a large enough, and orderly home, you could always make a huge difference in the life of at least one stray animal. As discussed in Saturday's post, the problem comes in when, you're taking on more animals than you can handle, and/or bringing them into an unhealthy/unstable situation.
Additional tips for helping stray cats:
https://pets.webmd.com/cats/helping-stray-and-feral-cats#1
How to help stray dogs:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/05/28/help.stray.dog.mnn/index.html
Here are some great tips to follow in case the stray animal (any) may belong to someone:
https://bestfriends.org/stories-blog-videos/latest-news/how-help-stray-animals
That's it for today's blog post. Make sure you check out all the links above for more useful ways to help stray animals, (even if you can't adopt them yourself). Be sure to check back on Friday for our Hibernation Nation, Animal of the Week post.
Until then,
This is your host J,
signing off...
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| Let's do our part to help strays |
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