*Recap*

I have done several blogs now and would like to recap what they are about so that you can find what you are looking for faster without having to look through all of them!

1. *Welcome*-  This blog is an overview about why I started this blog and also tells you a little about myself.
2. *Homeward Bound 1*-  This blog talks about how my family got our first rescue.
3. *Homeward Bound 2*-  This blog talks about how my family got our second rescue, which I caught myself.
4. *It’s Potty Time*-  This is a blog about different products for both cats and dogs that help to promote a healthy lifestyle and healthy digestion.
5. *Purrs and Pants*-  All of the blogs with this title is about featured cats and dogs of the week.
6. *It’s Toy Time*-  This talks about why playing with your pet is important and toys that we have found work best for our cats.
7. *Furry Friends*-  This mentions the benefits of having more than one pet in a single household.
8. *The Gift That Just Keeps Giving*-  This is a blog that mentions the physical and mental benefits to owning a pet.
9. *Sweet Summer Time*-  This gives you summer tips for your pets.
10. *Furever Friends*-  This tells you about my website.
11. *We’re In The Red*-  This is a story about what it is like around my house when we have bad storms.
12. *Tornado Ready*-  This mentions some things you may want to do when storms get bad.
13. *Pets Aren’t For Everyone*-  This is a blog explaining why pets are not for everyone.
14. *Make New Friends, But Keep The Old. One Is Silver, The Is Other Gold*-  This is explaining why your old pets need just as much attention as your new pets.
15. *Bad Kitties*-  This is a story about two of our cats and one of their bad habits.
16. *Games For Pets*-  This blog reviews another blog that gives suggestions to playing with your pets.
17. *Adoption Tales 1&2*-  These talk about other people’s experiences with adoption.
18. *Texas Passes It’s First Puppy Mill Law*-  This is just what the title says and I also give a few of my opinions about the situation.
19. *Poops*-  This is a story about how our cat, Pouncer, got her nickname Poops.
20. *Routines*-  This talks about the importance of routine in an animals life.
21. *Ways To Help Out*-  This mentions a few different ways to help less fortunate animals out.

*Ways To Help Out*

Even if you are not able to adopt a pet, there are other ways to give back.  One way to help the animals is to donate to different nonprofit organizations or shelters.  Donations are always appreciated and you know that all of the money donated is going to helping take care of the animals.  Another way to help is to volunteer at a nonprofit organization or shelter.  There are always shelters that are looking for help especially volunteered.  This not only benefit’s the animals, but it can also benefit you.  Volunteer work is a great way to boost your resume and set you apart from other applicants.  A third way to help out less fortunate animals is to start your own fundraiser or event.  You can set up a car wash, a benefit, a marathons, etc. to help the animals.  This would also look good on a resume because it would show to potential employers that you can effectively set up and run an event.  You can also help transport animals to their homes.  People from different places often find animals that do not live close to them and need help getting their pets to them.  You would pick up the pet and drive them part way and drop them off to another person who would take them part way and this goes on until the animal is at its new home.  There are many other ways to help out less fortunate animals that are inexpensive and very rewarding in many ways.

*Routines*

My previous post titled Poops talks about how one of my cats gets upset easily.  One thing that I have found that helps to keep not only her, but our other two cats, relatively calm is a schedule.  All three of our cats are a little high strung and tend to get upset.  All three of them react in different ways though.  Pouncer will leave turds around the house.  Pyrrha will get very jumpy and be on edge all the time.  And Isis will start to get very nervous and hide.  To avoid putting too much unnecessary stress on our cats we make sure to keep them on a schedule.  We make sure to feed them at the same time, or within a half hour, every time they are fed.  They get fed periodically throughout the day to avoid over eating and stale food.  We also make sure to play with them at the same time everyday.  Each of us plays with them at different times, so they still get played with several times throughout the day, just by different people.  They also have their routines with each of us everyday.  They help each of us get up and ready and know who gets up at what time and what our routine is.  Our house has no children or any other pets besides our three cats so it is usually pretty calm over here.  Even with that just said, our cats still get upset easily, even when their schedule is interrupted, and we try to do all we can to make sure that they are as happy as we are.  

*Poops*

Our oldest cat Pouncer is a very sensitive cat.  She gets very upset when people yell and will start to meow and panic.  When she gets extremely upset, she will also leave little turds around the house.  Luckily she does not do this very often and it is always in a place where we can see it.  But her doing this has led us to give her the nickname Poops.  She first started this when she was about 3 years old when my mom’s boyfriend moved in with us.  Before he moved in with us she would sit on him and love on him.  It was after he moved in with us that she started to leave turds.  Luckily she did not do this for too long, probably about a week, and she tolerates him now but does not really pay too much attention to him.  She still will leave turds periodically when she is extremely upset.  We do not make a big deal out of it or yell at her because she only does this when big changes happen or she is extremely upset.  Instead, we make sure to give her extra attention and try to calm her down.  The extra attention seems to work and now she will only leave turds for a day, maybe two.  Also, she only leaves a single turd about once a day when this does happen.  So if you find that your cat is randomly doing this, try to just give her a little extra attention and see if the problem goes away.     

*Purrs and Pants (Week of June 26- July 2)*

I have decided to do dogs and cats from a different state each week.  This week our featured dogs and cats are going to be from the state of Washington.  The featured dogs and cats will also be babies (puppies and kittens) that are ready for a wonderful home and family to love.  I will also be providing a list, provided by ASPCA, of the top 10 reasons why people should get their pets spayed and neutered.  For the full article please click here.

1.     Your female pet will live a longer, healthier life.
Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer, which is fatal in about 50 percent of dogs and 90 percent of cats. Spaying your pet before her first heat offers the best protection from these diseases.

2.     Neutering provides major health benefits for your male.
Besides preventing unwanted litters, neutering your male companion prevents testicular cancer, if done before six months of age.

3.     Your spayed female won't go into heat.
While cycles can vary, female felines usually go into heat four to five days every three weeks during breeding season. In an effort to advertise for mates, they'll yowl and urinate more frequently—sometimes all over the house!

4.     Your male dog won't want to roam away from home.
An intact male will do just about anything to find a mate! That includes digging his way under the fence and making like Houdini to escape from the house. And once he's free to roam, he risks injury in traffic and fights with other males.

5.     Your neutered male will be much better behaved.
Neutered cats and dogs focus their attention on their human families. On the other hand, unneutered dogs and cats may mark their territory by spraying strong-smelling urine all over the house. Many aggression problems can be avoided by early neutering.

6.     Spaying or neutering will NOT make your pet fat.
Don’t use that old excuse! Lack of exercise and overfeeding will cause your pet to pack on the extra pounds—not neutering. Your pet will remain fit and trim as long as you continue to provide exercise and monitor food intake.

7.     It is highly cost-effective.
The cost of your pet's spay/neuter surgery is a lot less than the cost of having and caring for a litter. It also beats the cost of treatment when your unneutered tom escapes and gets into fights with the neighborhood stray!

8.     Spaying and neutering your pet is good for the community.
Stray animals pose a real problem in many parts of the country. They can prey on wildlife, cause car accidents, damage the local fauna and frighten children. Spaying and neutering packs a powerful punch in reducing the number of animals on the streets.

9.     Your pet doesn't need to have a litter for your children to learn about the miracle of birth.
Letting your pet produce offspring you have no intention of keeping is not a good lesson for your children—especially when so many unwanted animals end up in shelters. There are tons of books and videos available to teach your children about birth in a more responsible way.

10.  Spaying and neutering helps fight pet overpopulation.
Every year, millions of cats and dogs of all ages and breeds are euthanized or suffer as strays. These high numbers are the result of unplanned litters that could have been prevented by spaying or neutering.

Pumpkin-Maple Valley

Tang-Milton

Mini-Kent

Goose-North Bend

Frankie-Snoqualmie



Buddy-Issaquah



*Texas Passes It's First Puppy Mill Law*

Texas has finally signed into law the Commercial Dog and Cat Breeders Act (CDCBA) on Friday, June 17.  This act will allow inspectors to go into commercial dog and cat breeders facilities to make sure that they are enforcing the new law.  This law includes the minimum standards for the “humane handling, care, housing and transportation of dogs and cats kept by large-scale Texas breeders” (ASPCA).  Texas had become a retreat for bad breeders because of the lack of state inspectors.  While Texas has taken the first step in animal protection, there are still a few problems that the ASCPA will be working to get fixed.  Two of the problems ASPCA will be working towards getting fixed is to prohibit cages with wire flooring and to prohibit “the stacking of cages” (ASPCA).

I think that it is sad that it has taken Texas so long to finally decide to do something to help protect animals, but I am glad that they are taking some action.  I hope that in the next year, or few years, they decide to add the removal of cages with wire flooring and prohibit breeders to stack cages.  I also would like to see the few remaining states that do not currently have animal protection laws take action like Texas has finally done.  For more information on this topic and the ASPCA’s involvement in the fight against puppy mill cruelty, please click here. 

"Victory: Texas Gets Its First Puppy Mill Law!." ASPCA. ASPCA, 24 Jun 2011. Web. 27 Jun 2011. <http://www.aspca.org/News/National/National-News-Detail.aspx?NDate=20110624&NType=National#News5>.

*Adoption Tales 2*

This story is about my aunt and uncle.  They have just recently gotten married and bought a home.  They have both finished college and pretty content at their jobs.  They are not ready for children yet, so they decided to rescue a puppy from a shelter.  They rescued a retriever mix so they knew it would be a decent sized dog.  They also assumed that it may take a little more work because the dog was already a few months old when they got him.  They were completely wrong.  This has turned out to be one of the best and easiest dogs I have ever heard of.  They barely had to train it and when they do it does not take long because he catches on quick.  He is very friendly and loves people of all ages.  He also loves other dogs and never starts a fight with any.  He loves to play and is not annoying or obsessive about it.  He does not beg for food or jump up on you when you are eating.  He does not freak out and go balistic when they leave.  He is basically an amazing dog.  He actually made my parents contemplate getting a dog, but they say that we are all too busy for a dog and that our yard is not big enough.  I could not agree more but it still sucks.  I cannot wait until I have the time and room for a dog.  I am sure my cats cannot wait either!