Mad About Pets!

If you don't already do your pet supply shopping at Mounds Pet Food Warehouse, now is a great time to check them out. February 2013 is "People for Pets" month at all Mounds Pet Food Warehouse locations! With every pet food purchase for the month of February, Mounds will donate 10% of the purchase price to the Dane and Rock County Humane Societies.

Buy food for your pets, and help support pets in need!

It's a fact: most kids love animals, and most kids love helping animals. Why not foster that love for animals early by helping your child support their local animal shelter? Here are three fun and creative ways your child can help animals in need.

Photo credit: thelastresortrescue.com

Most kids already have way too much stuff. The last thing they need is another action figure or doll! Use your child's birthday party as an opportunity to teach him/her "it is better to give than receive" by asking party attendees to provide gifts for the shelter animals rather than gifts for the birthday boy/girl. Contact your local animal shelter to see which supplies are most needed (towels, detergent, food, toys, etc.), and provide a list of those items on the birthday invitation. Some bigger shelters even have a party room to hold birthday events! Your child will be very proud when they deliver all the animal gifts to the shelter, and may even get a feature on the shelter's website thanking them.

Photo credit: my.hsj.org

There's nothing wrong with a little healthy competition, especially when it helps out animals in need! Contact your child's school administrator to see about hosting a pet supply drive. To give it a little extra incentive, make it a classroom competition. Whichever class raises the most donations wins! You could also consider a "Can the Principal" type of drive, where pet food donations are placed in the principal's office with the goal of accumulating so many items the principal temporarily loses his office (for a good cause, of course!)

Photo credit: freepik.com

Somehow kids manage to amass a small army of stuffed animals at an alarming rate. Encourage your child to pick out a few meaningful favorites, and donate the rest to the dogs at your local shelter. Many dogs enjoy carrying around stuffed toys, and even cuddle with them in their pen at the shelter! Make sure you contact your local shelter to ensure they accept this sort of donation before you go herding up bags of plushies, though. It's also best to wash stuffed animals with an unscented detergent and thoroughly dry them before offering them up for donation. Kids might be sad to see some of their stuffed toys go, but they'll be glad to know their old teddy might be keeping a lonely shelter pup company.

Teaching your kids to support shelter animals at an early age will help them learn more about pet adoption and  the importance of practicing kindness to those (both human and animal) in need.

Vote for Critter Camp in Chase's charitable giving giveaway! Click here---> bit.ly/Qez0IZ

Critter Camp is an exotic animal rescue in northern Illinois that gives abused, abandoned and neglected exotic animals a place to call home. Owner and operator Beth Randall pours her heart and soul into this rescue, as you can see by the interview Mad About Pets did with her a while back.

It takes just 2 seconds to vote, and could make all the difference for this great rescue! If you can share the voting link and get just one other person to vote, you will also get a bonus vote. If you're a Chase cardholder--even better! You get 2 extra votes!

Thank you for your help from Mad About Pets, Beth Randall, and the hundreds of exotic pets saved by Critter Camp every year!

When you think of “rescue cats”, what comes to mind? Probably a tabby cat, or perhaps an orange tomcat. It is true that the majority of cats in shelters and rescue are mixed breed, but once in a while a purebred cat will find itself without a forever home, too. That’s where Specialty Purebred Cat Rescue comes in!

Many of the cats at SPCR arrive neglected and in desperate need of veterinary care

Many purebred cats do not adjust well in a shelter environment. Sensitive breeds like Siamese and Sphynx can become very ill, very quickly when placed in a stressful shelter situation. Purebred cats like Persians and Himalayans have rigorous grooming requirements, and often arrive with painful mats in their long coats. Specialty Purebred Cat Rescue takes in these special purebred cats, provides the proper veterinary care, and matches them up with new forever homes.

SPCR is an all volunteer group, and relies on the generosity of foster homes to provide shelter, care, socialization, and even nurse neglected or abused cats back to health. The number of purebred cats needing help is far greater than you might expect, and Purebred Cat Rescue is desperately seeking more foster homes.

Kirsten Kranz,  Rescue Director of Specialty Purebred Cat Rescue, was kind enough to grant Mad About Pets an interview outlining the need for foster homes within their organization. Please read on to learn more about this wonderful rescue group!

(Mad About Pets) Where do the cats in your rescue organization generally come from?

(SPCR) Our cats come from everywhere. They come from shelters all over the midwest that call us to take their cats. They come from owners who can no longer keep them. They come off the streets when people find them. It's pretty much never-ending.

Siamese cats are one of the common breeds SPCR takes in

What are the most common types of cats seen in your rescue?

We most commonly see Siamese, Persians, Himlayans and Ragdolls. These are the most common purebreds out there and the most being bred. We place more than 500 cats a year.

What exactly is a foster home, and what are foster parents expected to do?

A foster home provides a safe haven for these cats to de-stress, get better and receive any vet attention they need so they can move on to their Forever Homes. Our rescue is entirely foster-based so we rely on our foster homes to care for and evaluate these cats for placement. Foster parents are expected to provide a quiet, spare room and consistent care for the cats in their care. They need to be able to take them to one of our vets as needed, assess the cats' needs and personalities and work closely with us throughout the process. Cats are adopted by screened and pre-approved adopters from the foster parents' homes or from local Petsmart stores.

Why are foster homes so important to Purebred Cat Rescue?

We are entirely foster based. Without foster homes this rescue would not exist!

SPCR takes in rare and unusual breeds, too!

Are there certain areas/cities where you are in the most need of new foster homes right now?

The Madison and Milwaukee areas certainly need more foster homes as the need is very great. We could also use fosters in the Racine/Kenosha area.

How can Mad About Pets’ readers get more information about becoming a foster home for your organization?

Please go to our website at http://www.purebredcatrescue.org/fostering-info . We have a fostering information page there.

If you are interested in helping out Specialty Purebred Cat Rescue, there are many ways! First, please consider fostering. This is the most direct way you can help. If you’re looking for a new feline friend, you should also consider adoption from SPCR! There are constantly new cats listed on the website, and all of them are looking for a great new home.

If you’re unable to foster or adopt at this time, there are many other ways to assist SPCR on their mission. Check out this page to learn all about items the rescue needs to care for the cats, donating through iGive, and many more ways to help out!

Click to find out more about the Mega Match-a-Thon

Help clear the shelter in preparation for spring! Dane County Humane Society announces the ASPCA Mega Match-a-thon event, A New "Leash" On Life, on March 31, 2012. Dane County Friends of Ferals and Sauk County Humane Society will join DCHS at the main shelter (5132 Voges Road, Madison WI) on Saturday March 31, 2012 from noon-5pm.

Every adopter will receive:

•For cats - FREE Collar, ID Tag, Cat Charmer, Incline Cat Scratcher, Plaque Away Pretzel, Large Glitter Pom, Zoom Groom, Slim Cat (retail value $52.15)

•For dogs - FREE Leash, Collar, ID Tag, Book – “Love Has No Age Limit,” Zukes Treats, Tennis Ball (retail value $41.67-$54.91)

•FREE entry to win a year supply of Mounds Pet Food Warehouse pet food

Thank you to the ASPCA for supporting this adoption event. DCHS is one of 56 animal rescue organizations/groups who received grant funding to participate in the first ever ASPCA ‘Mega Match-a-thon’ event. The ASPCA is granting $492,250 to support a host of large-scale adoption events held nationwide in an effort to save more lives of shelter animals. “We hope the grant funding will help these rescue organizations – in collaboration with other groups in their community – save a record number of lives during the ASPCA’s ‘Mega Match-a-thon’ event,” said ASPCA President & CEO Ed Sayres. “If we all work together, we can find loving homes for the many homeless animals in shelters across the country.”

Dane County Humane Society's (DCHS) Animal Medical Services (AMS) provides outstanding medical attention and care to all of the homeless animals that come through their doors. Occasionally, an animal needs special care, and DCHS is there for them! A small, female Maltese mix, now named Sheba, arrived as a stray at DCHS at the end of September. Sheba was severely matted and was exhibiting strange behaviors that were very worrisome to the shelter medical and care staff.

Upon observation, DCHS’s Animal Medical Services thought that Sheba’s behavior, coupled with her high white blood cell count and the fact that she was an intact female, may be because of a medical condition, pyometra (infected uterus), which is treated by a spay surgery. Sheba received the much-needed surgery, but struggled with recovery and had the staff worried about her well-being. She slowly improved, but continued to exude behaviors that were concerning.

After several blood tests, the shelter veterinarians suspected that she had a congenital liver problem. They decided to send Sheba to the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, where their suspicions were confirmed with a CT scan. Sheba was diagnosed with an extrahepatic portosystemic shunt, which is amenable to surgical correction. The shunt is producing a buildup of toxic ammonia in her blood thus causing the behavioral changes, urinary problems, and general malaise. Sheba also has kidney stones that will hopefully dissolve with the help of a specific diet and surgical repair. Surgery will be scheduled as soon as possible, but in the meantime Sheba is on several medications to help her feel better. DCHS hopes to give Sheba the chance to be a happy, healthy dog in a loving home, but they need your help!

Sheba needs your help!

To make a contribution:

Select "Donate to: Help Me Heal" when donating online. You can also mail or drop off your donation at Dane County Humane Society's main shelter (5132 Voges Road, Madison WI 53718). When donating online, please state “Sheba Surgery” in the comment section.

Please help DCHS continue to help animals like Sheba heal. DCHS depends on your kindhearted donations to make miracles happen.

From Dane County Humane Society:

MADISON, WI – For the next four days, Dane County Humane Society (DCHS) is removing the price tag on all available cats, 6 months of age and older, allowing adopters to pay what they are able to pay. The spring and summer months are always busy for DCHS, but a late surge of cats entering the shelter has caused DCHS to quickly near its max capacity. The economy is also putting a new slant on why people are giving up their pets. "It used to be because you are moving and can't keep the pet, or you don't have time for it, but now we really are seeing it trend toward people surrendering their animals because they lost a job, lost their home," said Gayle Viney, DCHS Public Relations Coordinator. "What's hard is these are animals we normally wouldn't see, because their owners really wanted to keep them.”

DCHS traditionally charges $40 to adopt an adult cat and $20 for a senior cat, but starting Thursday, October 27, and running through Sunday, October 30, DCHS is asking adopters to name their own adoption fee. People will be asked to fill in the blank when it comes to paying the adoption fees which include: spay/neuter surgery, distemper and rabies vaccinations, screening and/or treatment for fleas, ticks, mites, worms, ringworm, FeLV (feline leukemia) and FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus), a microchip, a 30-day health insurance policy, and a free bag of cat food from Mounds Pet Food Warehouse; a total value of over $200!

“We’ve heard and read about similar promotions working in other communities,” said Gayle Viney, DCHS Public Relations Coordinator. “By asking people to pay what they think is fair, it encourages people to be invested in our mission to save pets beyond the mere price tag.” Recently published studies have shown that eliminating the adoption fees does not devalue the pet in the eyes of the adopter. Only the adoption fee is changing, all other DCHS adoption policies remain in effect.

-DCHS Main Shelter – 5132 Voges Road, Madison WI·
-Adoption Center West – 7475 Mineral Point Road #42, Madison WI ·
-Sun Prairie Mounds Satellite Adoption Center - 2422 Montana Avenue, Sun Prairie WI·
-Fitchburg Mounds Satellite Adoption Center - 5352 King James Way, Fitchburg WI·
-Middleton Mounds Satellite Adoption Center - 8311 University Avenue, Middleton WI·
-East Mounds Satellite Adoption Center – 2110 South Stoughton Road, Madison WI

Food-releasing toys are best known for dogs, but did you know cats can also benefit from them?  High-energy, overweight, and many other kitties could use this extra enrichment during their stay at the shelter.

Dane County Humane Society is looking for around 30 food toys for their fun-loving felines. Please consider donating one today!

From Dane County Humane Society:

When the Badgers win, so do you!

Cat adoption fees start at $32 and decrease as the Badgers advanced in the NCAA March Madness tournament. PLUS - with every Mounds cat adoption you will receive 16% off merchandise from Mounds Pet Food Warehouse.

*Please note: this offer is valid only on adoptions of adult cats at Mounds Satellite Adoption Centers*:

Mounds-Fitchburg

5350 King James Way

Mounds-Sun Prairie
2422 Montana Avenue

Mounds-Middleton
8311 University Avenue

Stop by any Mounds Pet Food Warehouse location this December 2010 and contribute to the wish list for the Dane County Humane Society. Buy any item on the wish list and Mounds will deliver it to yet-to-be adopted pets this holiday.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE DCHS WISH LIST

Puppies and kittens are only part of the great selection of pets available from the many animal shelters in the USA. Older, and in many cases, already trained pets make up a large portion of the population of these temporary homes for unwanted and unloved pets.

Animal shelters were set up as a safe haven for pets whose owners did not realise the amount of time, effort and money that is required in looking after an animal. It has been estimated that almost half the pets in the shelters are euthanized due to a lack of suitable new homes available. It is likely that many of these are older pets.

When visiting an animal shelter, chances are you will be immediately be drawn in by the cute looks from young animals just wanting you to make them your newest family member. But try not to neglect the great selection of older pets that are also available. These pets are often already vaccinated, spayed or neutered, de-wormed, and most importantly – toilet trained! So the chance of ‘little accidents’ is somewhat less than with young puppies or kittens!

It is an age old fact that kittens and puppies are bought as presents, which seems like the best idea in the world at the time. The realization of what you have let yourself in for only begins to sink in with the chewed up shoes, hairs in the carpet and the need to walk them or let them in the garden in the freezing cold and pouring down rain. Not such a brilliant idea now. Or the pet that was bought for a child that promised they would walk, feed and generally look after it which also loses its novelty when it is no longer so small and adorable.

What is often considered the easy option is to pack the pets off to a shelter where they can just be forgotten about. This is why there is such a huge amount of older animals being left in shelters. People seem to forget the famous saying, ‘a pet is for life, not just for Christmas’.

Now you wouldn’t want to be overlooked or ignored just for being an adult would you? Or be left on the shelf for a younger and seemingly more appealing model. So next time you consider a new addition to the family, why not take a look at the pets that don’t get the attention they most definitely deserve.

(This article was written by Ellie on behalf of GJW Titmuss pet supplies)

Photo credit: www.miccio.org

Living in a shelter is very stressful for any cat, but few realize the extreme challenge that Siamese cats and other Oriental breeds face when in a shelter environment. Oriental breeds tend to be extremely emotional cats and bond very closely to their humans. Being torn away from what they perceive as their family can lead to emotional trauma that manifests itself in many ways, from aggression to depression.

Our family has experienced both ends of the spectrum. When we first met our Siamese cat Gabe (photo: left), his shelter chart stated that he was “shy, but sweet.” Staff had a difficult time socializing with him; in fact, when a staff member took him out of his cage for us to meet him, Gabe hissed at her! We were a little concerned with the aggressive display, but once we were alone with Gabe in a socialization room we realized that we had nothing to worry about. He immediately began meowing with that typical Siamese yowl, investigating the room, and rubbing up against our legs. This is a perfect example of how being confined to a small cage can bring out particularly aggressive or antisocial behavior in a Siamese cat—tendencies which may cause the cat to be labeled as “unadoptable”, when in reality the cat is just under a lot of stress. As a side note, Gabe has never hissed at another person or animal since the day we brought him home. He is also the polar opposite of “shy”; he is the first to greet new visitors, and a total ambassador for the positive qualities of the Siamese breed.

On the other side of the coin, outgoing cats can become shy and reclusive in a shelter situation. When my husband and I were searching for our first cat together, we barely noticed the shy Siamese mix sleeping in a tiny, tight ball in the back of her cage, facing away from visitors. We gravitated towards all the kitties reaching their paws out for attention or meowing hopefully; thankfully a staff member pointed out the Siamese mix to us. The cat’s name was Tinker (photo: far right, with Gabe). We chose to adopt her, and she turned out to be very different from the shy little ball in the back of the shelter cage. Tinker was the most snuggly, amazing, sociable cat anyone could ever ask for. She slept on the pillow with me every night, and even took naps with me on the couch while I clutched her like a living teddy bear. Guests to our home could expect to have Tinker on their lap, whether they liked it or not. Tinker’s story is an example of how many Siamese cats can become reclusive when living in a shelter. All-too-often these cats are passed over in lieu of their more overtly outgoing neighbors, and can face long shelter stays or even euthanasia as a result.

Beyond aggression and reclusive behaviors, some Oriental breeds will even become self-destructive in a shelter. Due to their extreme emotional sensitivity, stress can lead to behaviors like stress-licking, where the cat will lick off its own hair. In some situations, a stressed cat will refuse food. This can lead to rapid weight loss (including muscle loss), illness, and sometimes even death. Sensitive cats like these can literally give up on the will to live.

Thankfully, some rescue organizations (like the Pure Bred Cat Rescue here in Wisconsin) have recognized the particular plight of Oriental cats in shelters and will place these cats into their experienced foster homes. A home environment is much less stressful for a cat awaiting adoption or recovering from a neglect situation, and can potentially prevent serious emotional and physical problems which might occur in a shelter. Even if a Siamese or Oriental cat (or any cat for that matter) experiences a very stressful stay at the shelter, it is imperative to remember that most emotional and physical issues resulting from that time are only temporary. The cat will require patience and time to bond with his new family, but the results of that effort can be astronomical. It may take a few weeks (or months, or even years) before the cat will stop hiding under the bed or start actively seeking your company, but watching a cat blossom to their full potential is a very rewarding experience.

Mounds Dog Fest is scheduled to be held on June 13, 2010 from 10:00 am- 3:00 pm at Angell Park in Sun Prairie.

Mark your calendars! Details to follow as they become available....

From the Dane County Humane Society:

Make a Video and Make a Difference for Homeless Animals: Enter Dane County Humane Society's Adoption Video Contest!

Get creative and help spread the word about adopting a pet from Dane County Humane Society (DCHS). Just grab your friends and your pets, and make a short video about our upcoming adoption promotions. We need YOU to make a catchy, clever video we can post on our website, the Internet (through the YouTube site identified below), and possibly a local news station. Great prizes will be awarded!

For full contest rules and information click here.

Check out an example video made for our Spring Break theme by clicking here.