Hi Everyone!

To start off the New Year we have a couple of pieces of welcome news to share with you -  a great way to begin 2014. 

ISRAEL FERAL CAT NEWS

Israel has announced it has committed $1.27 million dollars to fix feral cats!  From solid research and positive results from Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR) efforts by various programs around the world, Israel has now decided TNR is the preferred (and humane) option to control and manage feral cats.  Some neuter/return campaigns within Israel had previously received some small government assistance subsidies, but now serious money has been allocated.  

More and more cities and countries are getting on board with TNR as they recognize both the long-term financial savings for their municipal animal shelters (lower numbers) and the humane benefits for the animals (better quality of life and no mass killings for the purpose of control).  The public is looking for sensible and ethical answers and rejecting the archaic bylaws of previous uneducated policies. Please pressure your local government to adopt TNR as its municipal policy.  Tell everyone you know how TNR works!  Israel is a leader.  Let's get more countries following its example.  

Read Israel news article here

VETERINARY FUNDING ASSISTANCE - two ideas

While recently helping someone who didn't have enough money for veterinary care, we ran across a site called 'Petcard'.  If someone is in (urgent) need of funds for their animal's vet care and doesn't have the money upfront, you may want to suggest this site to them.  Its website states 'Canada's Veterinary Financing Company'.  We don't know anyone who has used it but it may be a viable option.

Click on Petcard for further information.

A second avenue of assistance to raise funds for veterinary care in cases where large and sudden expenses are unforeseen is online fundraising sites such as 'Go Fund Me' and 'Fundrazr' .  Pet guardians are also creating Facebook pages to request assistance in certain cases when their own funds are exhausted.


And now some stories of our recent work -

MITTENS

In rescue work you never know what a day will bring.  This little lady gave us a real scare.  Thankfully she is fine now but she gave us a fright during her spay day. 

Jacquie called us in mid-January to say that for about two weeks she had been looking after a little stray cat who was coming to her house begging for food.  It was cold and Jacquie brought her inside even though she had other animals.  The kitty was skittish, had no ID, and she limped a little with one of her back legs. Jacquie had put up posters and canvassed the neighbourhood. Various residents told her that the kitty had been seen wandering around a six block area.  No one had responded to claim her.  Jacquie said that the kitty now seemed to be in heat so we arranged an appointment with our vet clinic.

An examination of Mittens revealed that there was no tattoo or microchip and that she had a notable heart murmur.  An xray of her back leg also revealed that it had been broken at one time and the bone had already healed but not in perfect alignment.   Mittens was scheduled for a future spay day and all went routinely at sedation until after she went under general anaesthetic.  Then she stopped breathing!  The fast actions and expertise of Jen (vet technician) and Dr. Sue Hughson brought Mittens back.  After a quick consultation with us and Jacquie, we decided to go ahead with the spay.  We didn't want to risk general anaesthetic at another time.  The rest of the operation went well  but they had to assist her breathing the whole way.  We were all relieved when Mittens came out of anaesthetic just fine.  She was carefully watched over the next two days and then allowed to go home. 

Jacquie says Mittens has gained weight and her bones don't stick out now.  She has slowly become more comfortable with Jacquie's other cat and dogs and, although sometimes still shy, is very affectionate now.  She loves to follow Jacquie around the house and calls to her.  Jacquie and her family have decided to keep her and we are very happy about that.  Mittens, after all, chose her.

 See Mittens' photos here.

WE LOVE DOGS TOO!

In early January, as the result of a liquidation of a Lower Mainland pet store, PAF acquired a fair bit of dog supplies.

It was kind of like walking into a store and emptying the shelves into our shopping basket! We knew we wanted to help a lot of dogs who were in unfortunate circumstances.  Everything was brand spanking new -  we had collars, leashes, toys, bowls, warm coats, light coats, rain ponchos, harnesses, grooming tools, and even a new thunder shirt. 

We packed lots of boxes stuffed with goodies and contacted some groups that do good work with dogs coming from difficult situations.  We even acquired three freezers of frozen dog food.   Click here to take a peek at the boxes.  

The following groups received boxes from us.  Have a look at their websites and support them if you can!

SNOW TRAILS

We've had more snow and cold nights than usual recently and all the feral caregivers have had to work hard keeping the feral houses stuffed with straw.  Many caregivers also have heating disks which, when heated for 4 minutes in the microwave, leach out a soft warmth for up to 10 hours, and they have tucked these disks under feral house blankets.  Our ferals can be nice and cozy on some of those frosty nights. 

Although snow can be a worry if it lasts a long time, it also provides caregivers with a bit of helpful information.  You can see snow tracks and trails to the stations and therefore you can see where the little ones come from.  Sometimes you can tell if only one cat is coming or whether lots of cats are coming to the feral station.  Various sizes of tracks and trails give you a clue.

 Click here to a look at some of our recent photos.

OTHER RESCUES  . . . .

It was an unusually busy December and January for us.  We had about 10 different situations going on right through Christmas holidays and the New Year.  Have a look at some of our recent work here.

We wish to thank all the doctors and staff of Mosquito Creek Veterinary Hospital, Blueridge-Cove Animal Hospital, and Norgate Animal Hospital for their strong support.  We are ALWAYS helped the moment we walk in the door and sometimes those moments are pretty frantic.

 And a huge 'thank you' to ALL of you who are our partners in helping the cats.   We couldn't do it without YOU!

Lana Simon, Director Pacific Animal Foundation www.pacificanimal.org
	Together we are all helping the cats!