The wrong reason for adopting a cat?

I've just been reading a letter in one of the cat magazines I get - a lady was saying that her cat wasn't being as friendly as she wanted and was thinking about returning her to the rescue centre she came from. I was amazed that she thought that this was a good thing to write in about, and didn't realise that many people might have a strong view on this.

Now, I don't ever like to get angry, but this really does do it for me. It also happens now and again at Animals in Distress that the pets that people adopt don't fit their ideas of what they should be like, or sometimes their lifestyles.

I really don't think I can be the only person who believes that when you offer a home to an animal you do it for the animal's sake, not for yours. Sure, it's great if it's a lovely 2-way relationship and you both get something from it, but animals will be animals.

In this letter the lady was complaining that the cat only comes in to eat, and otherwise spends the day wandering. Well, to my mind that's a happy cat. She knows where to come for her food, and does return. But she's also a cat, and it's in the nature of cats to wander. Some more than others, and of course there are cats that don't ever want to go out. Obviously she wanted a snuggly lap cat, and this one isn't.

But really, to be thinking about returning her because of that, to me is cruel. She should be glad that the cat chooses to be with her, and enjoys the territory around her. She should be happy for the cat who has found the perfect life for her.

What do you think?

Choose your cat sitter with care

Everyone's feeling the pinch a little these days, so it's not surprising that when going away, people are looking to get the best value for money - be it from the holiday itself to the cost of taking care of their pets.

This often translates into looking for the cheapest service, but this isn't always what it seems. I and other local cat sitters have noticed recently that suddenly there seems to be a lot more pet sitters around - often charging ridiculously small amounts that it's actually difficult to see how they can do this and not make a loss. I noticed one that invited people to name their own price, and Vanessa (a local cat sitter friend) saw one that was saying they could do visits for £3 per day!!

I contacted the lady offering to take whatever people wanted to pay, to ask her a little more about her service. She freely admitted that she was doing this as a way to make a little pocket money. I've absolutely no doubt that she loves animals as she claims, and having helped out friends with their pets when they went away, she clearly does have experience of caring for animals.

But........ there's a big difference between helping friends out and taking money from people you don't (yet) know to provide this service.

When people advertise their services at very small sums, it is extremely unlikely that they're providing a professional service. By "professional service", what I mean is that they probably won't be insured nor CRB checked, they've not been trained in animal first aid, they don't have a clear agreement for you both to sign (meaning uncertainty about the services provided), and are not undertaking any form of CPD (continuous professional development) in aspects of animal care.

When you need someone to come and care for your cherished pets while you go away, you're doing this because you care about them. You want them to have the best possible time when you're not there, and you want to feel secure in the knowledge that they will receive the highest standard of care - don't you?

So even if times are a little tough, please be sure to select the right pet sitter - after all, you're spending hard earned money on yourself when you go away, so doesn't your pet deserve the same?

Some other things to think about.........

1. When comparing costs, be sure you know the time period you're being quoted for. Some offer 20 minute visits, while others offer 30 minute visits. Compare on a like for like basis. If you'd like a longer visit, most pet sitters are very happy to be flexible, so ask for a quote for a different time period.
2. More than anything, ensure you meet your pet sitter first. Be sure you feel happy with this person, that you can trust them to give the best possible care to your pet and your home. Trust your intuition. If one doesn't feel right for you, then arrange to meet another.
   
3. Don't leave booking your pet sitter until the last moment. You may find you don't have time to meet others if the first one isn't right, and at busy times you may find it difficult to find any availability at all.
   

Finally - wishing you and your pets a great holiday!

So Many Cats

I try to get along to Animals in Distress at least once a week. On my last visit there I was shocked to see how full to the brim with cats they were.

It's always difficult when it's so full, as they have to tell people looking to bring cats in that there's no space for them. It's not a big sanctuary, but some people just don't seem to get that when they're full, they're full. There's literally nowhere else to put more cats. Of course that's so difficult for the staff, as they'd like to be able to help all the cats that people want to bring in. But it's just not possible. They'll always give the contact details of other rescue centres, but frequently they're full too.

What tends to happen is that the staff arrive in the morning to find a box containing a cat or kittens (sometimes both) dumped outside the gates, or left outside a vet surgery. I guess that if they're going to dump cats, those are the best places, but it causes more problems.

This had happened last week, and when I arrived they'd had to cram cats into just about every spare space they could find. So, a couple of rather large cats were in tiny cages that only had room for a litter tray, a small bed and feeding bowls. I really felt for them, as there was just not enough room for them to even stretch out properly. But what else could the staff do?

The problem has been made worse by the fact that recently there haven't been too many re-homings. When cats are homed, this makes space for new arrivals, but at the moment this is hardly happening. There are some lovely cats needing new homes, although admittedly some of them have some challenges. But there are also lots of cats who'd be perfect pets (and even the more difficult ones still need someone to love and care for them - it's not necessarily a lap cat type relationship).

So, if any of you reading this know of anyone who might be interested in giving a new home to a lovely new friend, please ask them to contact Animals in Distress, and just get along to see the gorgeous furries in their care. Phone number is 0161 775 2221, and address is 55 Silver Street, Irlam. Many thanks. x

The scourge of clumping cat litter!!

In the course of my work with animals, I must have come across about every type of cat litter there is. All my customers seem to have their favourites, and they stick to these. But I've never been able to understand the attraction of clumping fullers earth cat litter!!

Sure, when it's wet it all sticks together and you can remove the lump, leaving the rest all clean and fresh - in theory..... In reality it doesn't happen like this. It turns into a horrible sludgy mess at the bottom of the litter tray, and leaves a nasty wet soggy residue that's so difficult to remove. Then it sticks to the scoop, and you spend ages trying to clean it off. That is if you haven't already broken the scoop by trying to scrape out the nasty residue.

Don't try to rinse anything down the sink as this just clogs up the plughole!! You just have to wait for it all to dry (takes ages) then chip it off. Such vile stuff.....

Nothing's perfect, but about anything else is better than this. Why do we need it to clump? All the other types just soak up the wet stuff, and unless lots of male cats all share the same litter tray, it keeps fairly fresh until the whole thing needs changing.

Bella loves Brush!!

When I go to look after cats I'm frequently told "I'll leave the brush out for you - he quite likes a brush now and again." The reality is often quite different though!! Some will just about tolerate it, throwing me a dirty look from time to time, but apart from Enrico (you met him in an earlier post), I've never come across another cat who really loved her Brush quite like Bella does.

Truth be told, when she first came to live with us, we thought we'd try to get her into a good habit. I made the mistake of trying to brush her back, but as she had no idea what it was, she didn't react too well!! So I tried again, gently introducing her to this new friend (I hoped!), and let her sniff it, then rub her face in it. Cats love scratching, so she really enjoyed this, and over a few days, she learnt to love being brushed all over - well almost; to this day she'll only let her tummy be brushed if she's in a really good mood, and don't ever try to touch her back legs.

But it didn't take too long before Brush (as it became known) was her best friend. Pretty much ever since then she expects - no, demands - to be brushed every day, and whenever else she feels like it. I know what her word for Brush sounds like, and she totally knows what Brush is whenever it's said. I sometimes have to spell it out, rather than say it out loud, when talking about it to someone else, much like dog owners have to spell out w-a-l-k-i-e-s, otherwise there she is, demanding again.

It's great for bonding, gets her in a lovely calm mood (until she's had enough, that is!), and is very beneficial for her skin, circulation and coat. Almost like the cat version of a massage - which is what it is, really! But we always need to make sure we do plenty of face brushing first......