Shelter Kitties

Here's yet another post about cats on my dog blog. It's sort of a product plug, too. I had a bunch of cat shampoo leftover from Annie, so yesterday I used the rest of it to wash some of the shelter kitties. This stuff is really great: Vet's Best Waterless Cat Shampoo. It's just a foaming leave-on cleanser that you massage into the cats' fur. Surprise: they actually enjoy it!

I mentioned in my posts about Annie how difficult it is for cats, particularly kittens, to stay healthy in a shelter environment. I learned something kind of gross through fostering Annie, but it helped me begin to understand a little bit of what shelter cats go through. Cats are obsessive self-groomers. Most of us have seen a cat lick its leg a few times, swipe it over its face, and then repeat the process multiple times. Here's the thing, when cats are sick with an upper respiratory virus like Annie's, they don't stop grooming themselves just because they've got runny noses and goopy eyes. As the yucky stuff gets smeared on their legs and faces, they continue to lick and groom, which results in them ingesting and spreading the junk continually. Gross, I know, but I wouldn't have thought of it if the shelter staff hadn't explained it to me. I'm really glad they did. By the time Annie came home with us, her front legs were super covered in crusty old dried up glue. So the first thing we did was give her a bath with this shampoo. It loosened up the gunk enough to rub it away with a towel. Then once she dried, her fur was silky soft and good as new.
 
While I'm not claiming this shampoo is all a cat needs to kick a cold, it certainly helps give a better chance of recovery if the cat isn't re-contaminating itself 24/7. Of course getting out of the shelter is still the best thing for a cat, but in the meantime I figured I'd do this small little thing to maybe help some of them have a fighting chance. If nothing else, a few cats and kittens got some extra love, a great massage, and shiny fur to show off because of it. These are a few of the kitties I washed yesterday. They're all at DeKalb County Animal Services, just like Annie was, and they're all hoping to find furever homes where they can lead healthy and happy lives. More information on adoptable pets can be found on the shelter's Petfinder page: http://www.petfinder.com/pet-search?animal=&breed=&age=&size=&specialNeeds=&declawedPets=&children=&status=&id=&internal=&contact=&name=&shelterid=GA423&sort=&preview=

Also, here's an Amazon link if anyone is interested in the cat shampoo: http://www.amazon.com/Veterinarians-Best-Clean-Waterless-Bath/dp/B0002AQN2M

Annie's Adoption

I normally like to write regular updates, but my behind-the-ball posting just means this entry is one big pile of great news: Annie is fully recovered and adopted!

After leaving the shelter, it only took about 2-3 days before Annie showed improvement. This little kitty really is a fighter. You can see her yucky runny nose in this first picture, taken just a couple of days after she moved in with us. Annie's strong playful spirit shines through in this picture, despite her condition. Once we washed all the snotty gunk off her fur with an awesome waterless cat shampoo, she turned into a silky soft cuddle buddy. She still looks little bitty here, but she quickly doubled in size as her health improved.

Annie loves toys so much. Her yellow spring made a huge splash, but her all-time favorites are little furry mice. Seeing her run and play like a healthy kitten made us feel awesome. She is so sweet and well-behaved. We hardly even knew she was here the first week we had her.

So many people ask how we could "give up" Annie. It's not a matter of giving her up, it's handing her over to the home she deserves. If you look back to my very first blog post, I voiced a similar concern about saying goodbye to a foster animal upon adoption. The emotional attachment is inevitable, but the reward of knowing you made a difference is so great. There are so many homeless pets out there who need foster homes, so we have to say goodbye to Annie in order to keep our door open to others who need her place.

Also, Annie deserved a much better home than we could have ever given her. Our three dogs thought she would make a tasty Scooby Snack and just could not control themselves around her. Poor Annie lived in an extra large dog crate in our guest closet while she was sick. Once she got better, we moved her to the laundry room where she could roam freely. Still, she was so lonely and bored. She only got about an hour of human interaction each day, which is far from what a cat craves. Although safe, healthy, and much better off than she had been at the shelter, Annie deserved more.

Annie's new mom is lucky to have such a wonderful kitty, but Annie is just as lucky to have a loving home where she can play and grow. Not only does Annie get a great mom, but she also has two feline siblings: Charlie and Kara. Kara is older, but Charlie is feisty and is very glad to have a new playmate to keep him entertained. Annie will never be bored or lonely again. (By the way, Annie had a brother who came into the shelter with her. He has since been adopted also!)

Annie's adoption is also a big deal for the shelter. She was DeKalb County Animal Services' very first foster animal and the very first to be adopted! We are so excited about the shelter's foster program and we hope to see it grow into a strong network. If you want to get involved, please let me know. This is an awesome way to help homeless animals get a fresh start and find the homes they deserve.

We couldn't have hoped for a better new beginning for little orphan Annie. Best wishes, kitty! 

So, we learned that we are definitely dog fosters. We managed, but it certainly was not an ideal situation for Annie or our own motley crew. Our dogs were really stressed and although Annie didn't seem to mind them one bit, it was not fair to keep her cooped up all the time. Nonetheless, she is safe, healthy, and happy now.

And hey, we did it! We fostered successfully! We are super excited to continue our foster journey. For now, we'll take a short break while I finish this semester. Maybe soon I'll get a chance to post an update on the dogs, since it's been so long. I think some new fun pictures are in order.

Annie the Kitten

I know this blog's title suggests that it will be all about dogs, but it turns out that's not the case. It's actually all about fostering. Yes, I created it thinking that I'd only be a foster dog mom, but alas, there is an unexpected twist around every corner in this life. I went to DeKalb County Animal Services yesterday for our weekly CHARM school dog socialization session. I came home +1 very sick little kitty. Her name is Annie and she is a 4 month old gray and white domestic shorthair. Those of you who know me know that I am a die hard dog person. It's not that I dislike cats, but rather that I know nothing of them and tend to prefer the warmth and companionship of the canine sort.

Regardless, it didn't take much to talk me into loading Annie up into the car last night. She came in as a stray and is suffering from a bad upper respiratory infection. It's very common for kittens to come down with URIs, but it's extremely difficult for them to recover in a stressful shelter environment. Annie was not improving. She went from snotty and wheezy to sneezing blood, even after being on antibiotics for two weeks. Infection is always rough on a small kitten's system. Annie was to be euthanized the next morning before the infection had a chance to ravage her poor little body.

Maybe I'm a sucker. Maybe I'm a madwoman. Maybe I should have talked to my husband before bringing home a cat. In case you haven't caught on, all of these "maybes" are certainties. In spite of my impulsiveness, Annie has a quiet place to sleep tonight. She is still sneezing blood, but she maintains a great energy level. She's a fighter and that's why the folks at DeKalb so desperately wanted to see her have a second chance. I'm not sure yet if she'll make it through, but we're doing our best to help her recover. Please share Annie's story. Once she regains her health, she will be available for adoption through DeKalb County Animal Services. Her information is listed here: http://www.adoptapet.com/pet/7734645-decatur-georgia-kitten

Oliver's Cat Test

Oliver had quite an interesting afternoon yesterday: he went to AARF Pet Central to be cat tested! It's important to know how Oliver behaves around cats in case a potential adoptive family includes some feline members. The same goes for children and other dogs, but we already know Ollie is great with both.

Fortunately, there are a few cats at AARF Pet Central that are very dog-friendly. Ben was happy to help us out:

Oliver was definitely interested, but only politely so. He didn't show any aggression toward Ben at all. Ollie even backed up and gave Ben some space as he walked by. After about 10 minutes of controlled curiosity, we determined that Oliver wasn't the least bit interested in doing anything rash. We are proud to report that Ollie has been deemed officially cat-friendly! This is great news; Ollie is much more likely to find a great home now that we can say he is good with children, other dogs, and even cats. What a marketable dude!