Foster Cat Blog

Community Cat Management

Blind Dog and Cat Friends

Feral Cats in Two Worlds

Just as feral cats occupy a unique niche between wild and domestic, they also occupy a gray zone in the law. For many cats, their status as "domestic animals" means certain death in shelters. But wild animals tend to fare little better.

In those states where it is allowed, wildlife is subjected to trapping, poisoning and hunting, particularly, if they are an unprotected species. Feral cats, in essence, are caught between two anachronistic world views. If they are legally domestic, they are subject to mass slaughter in shelters by the humane movement. If they are they are legally wild, they are subject to hunting, trapping and poisoning.

The feral cat, in this case, is a grim reminder of how far we have yet to go - as a humane movement and as a society.

from Nathan Winograd's No-Kill Newsletter

Taking Action

Taking action has never been easy in this world; forces of doubt and inertia are everywhere, even within our mind and body. Turning ideas into action requires energy, sacrifice, courage and heart, because to act is to risk. We have to overcome all the good reasons to put it off, to let someone else do it, to remain in the easy chair of good intentions. But the law of Action delivers the same message again and again: It is better to do what is best than not do it and have a good excuse.

from Laws of Spirit

Karen Dawn on Animal Issues v Human Issues

Even somebody who does nothing to end human hunger wouldn’t justify his apathy by telling relief workers that there are more important things to worry about. That’s because society as a whole acknowledges that human suffering matters. Animal suffering, however, is treated as trivial, even as billions of beings endure unimaginable institutionalized cruelty. To those touched by the suffering of animals, the injustice of the suggestion that animals just don’t matter is a call to action.
The question, moreover, is based on a faulty premise. It suggests that compassion is like a pie we must divide into parts, and that if we offer big pieces to some, others will get left with slivers. But compassion is not some sort of finite substance that might run out. It is more like a habit we get better at as we practice, and the animals are a good place to start exercising it -- for their sake and for ours. George Angell, the founder of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, put it well when asked why he focused on kindness to animals when there is so much cruelty to people in the world. He said, "I am working at the roots."
Compassion and cruelty are not species-specific. Most of us have heard that serial killers usually start by killing animals. The same compulsion drives the killer’s behavior when he moves on to humans; the urge to hurt just becomes so strong that it outweighs societal norms and fears of legal retribution. So it is with less active cruelty, with the closing of our hearts that has us sit by as others suffer. The compassion shutdown switch that allows us to chew pieces of veal while blocking out thoughts of baby calves alone in crates is the same switch that guides us to change TV channels away from news of children starving in Darfur. We don’t want the images to hamper the taste of the meat or our enjoyment of the wine we are drinking, a bottle of which costs more than it costs to feed a child in Darfur for a month. When we disengage that switch, when we get out of the habit of closing our hearts, the world will be better for the calves and the kids.

George's Way to Keep Them Dry and Cozy

Feral Cat Quiz

Cat Chanel

Animal Attraction

Lautenberg Bill Prohibits Canned Hunting

Forgotten Tails

Humane High School

Humane Lesson Plan

Companion Animal Issues

Maxine Takes Her Chance and Runs

Animal Reading

Reasons to Go Vegan

Eat Veggies, Reduce Carbon Footprints

Per person, in the United States, an animal based diet requires 4,200 gallons of water per day (for animals' drinking water, irrigation of the crops that they eat, processing and cooking). A vegan diet requires 300 gallons water per day.

Nine times more energy is required to produce protein from animal foods as compared to plant foods.

So You Found a Stray

Hero Dog of the Year

Maya saved her person from an attacker.

Dogs Deserve Better Reps

Vicktory Dogs

Prepare for Wildlife Emergencies

Protect Wildlife

Wildlife Rehabilitator Association

NJ Rehabilitators

Healers of the Wild

Finding a Mammal

Finding a Baby Bird

Leave Young Wildlife Alone

Quote

“The eternal being…, as it lives in us, also lives in every animal.”

-Arthur Shopenhauer (1788-1860)

Backyard Habitat for Wildlife

Food Sources. Native plants, seeds, fruits, nuts, berries, nectar
Water Sources. Birdbath, pond, water garden, stream
Places for Cover. Thicket, rockpile, birdhouse
Places to Raise Young. Dense shrubs, vegetation, nesting box, pond
Sustainable Gardening. Mulch, compost, rain garden, chemical-free fertilizer

Certify Your Yard for Wildlife

Migrant Birds Nix Urban Areas