From the monthly archives:

August 2008

Being Ready to Evacuate with Your Pets

by Cool Pet

A great post was made by Karen Crooke of Terrificats Cattery to a Maine Coon cat group that she gave me permission to repost here. It is full of great tips for evacuating not just with cats, but with any kinds of pets. Lots of food for thought and great practical tips on what to do during hurricane season. This is a little long, but be sure to read the whole thing, you won’t regret spending the time on this. Just replace the words “cats” and “kittens” with “dogs” and “puppies” or whatever types of pets *you* have.

Hurricane Readiness 2008 – Tips Gleaned from 2005 Experiences
Posted by: Karen Crooke
Date: Thu Aug 28, 2008

Folks,

It looks like we might be getting some hurricane activity soon…..
So keep the things listed below in mind if you live in one of the Gulf Coast states.

Tropical Storm Gustav is expected to develop to hurricane strength
by Saturday, move into the Gulf of Mexico possibly stall out in the Gulf so it can
strengthen over the water, and make landfall Monday night or Tuesday morning
somewhere on the Texas-Louisiana-Mississippi-Alabama coasts. Of course,
we all know how reliable hurricane forecasting is….<>

So I may well be crying “Wolf” at the cat show here….but it never hurts to be
prepared. Lots of times these storms fizzle out…let’s hope Gustav does!!

TO TRACK HURRICANE ACTIVITY – WWW.NOAA.COM

For Gustav specifically,

I wrote the info below one year after Hurricane Rita. I know many others had
equally or much more horrifying experiences during Hurricane Katrina and posted
then, too. We should all remember and take heed. Most of my comments
below are directed towards the cats….don’t forget about your own important
papers, medications, records and irreplaceable momentos you want to save…
AND YOUR COMPUTER….you will need all those things. And take some clothes!

Emergency Preparation Steps: (From Karen Crooke – 08-02-06)

* Make your connections with other cat fanciers now. Get cell phone and
land line numbers and put them in your cell phone memory, plus make a
hard copy in case your battery dies. Your cat friends are the only ones likely
to be sympathetic about your need to transport and care for multiple cats!

* GET YOUR VEHICLE SERVICED NOW. CHANGE THE OIL AND THE FILTER AND THE
AIR FILTER EVEN IF IT DOESN’T NEED IT. A LONG EVACUATION IS HARD ON THE
CAR. CHECK THE BELTS. CHECK THE TIRES. KEEP THE GAS TANK FULL.

* Get some CASH. The most you feel you can afford and feel
comfortable carrying.If power is out, they won’t be able to take credit
cards at gas stations and hotels!

* Get an extra battery for your cell phone and charge it up. Keep
cell phones charged.

* Get walkie talkies if you are caravanning with another vehicle.
Cell phones don’t always work.

* Get a portable radio and fresh batteries.

* Call around and find a place to go if you need to evacuate. Study
the maps and figure out the best way to get there and then find an
alternate. If there is mandatory evacuation, the DPS often controls the
roadways after it is underway and you are required to follow their direction.

* Don’t put any more food in your freezers. Start eating out of the
freezer to limit the amount of food in them in case the power is out for a
long time. Nearly everyone had to dispose of their refrigerators and
freezers because of spoiled food in 2005.

* If you’ve been planning to shave down a cat or two and haven’t
gotten to it, do it now! Any evacuation, even in a car with a/c will be hot
and stressful. They will shed out the coat anyway from the stress. Try to
keep your show cats in the coolest part of the vehicle (after young kittens
and moms and very old cats).

* Most of these recommendations are for those who have a number of
cats. If you have only a few, it won’t be nearly as complicated to account
for them and transport them if we have to evacuate.

* Get those cat carriers cleaned up. Check that the doors and screws
are very secure. If there are cracks in any old ones you might need to use,
tape them up with duct tape or replace them. WalMart has pretty good
prices. Make sure you have enough carriers! You cannot stay behind if we
have a large hurricane with mandatory evacuation just because you can’t fit
your animals in your vehicle. That’s one thing we all need to consider when
determining the maximum number of cats we cankeep (among many others). Can
you get them all out at one time, quickly and safely.

* If you are short on room in your vehicle … WalMart has some
wonderful “soft sided” carriers for one cat that are only $15.99. They are
VERY secure and study. I wouldn’t want to use the smallest soft-sided carrier
for one cat for a long, crowded trip unless absolutely necessary. But if it was
the only way I could fit my cats in the car, I would do it.They also have some more
expensive soft crates that collapse and are held upright by metal piping
(but still reasonably priced).

* Count carriers and cats/kittens. Assign carriers to specific cats.

* Decide if anyone can share a carrier. Think about the heat….don’t
put more than 2 adults in a carrier together (minimum size 100 Varikennel
or Pet Porter) nor more than 3 kittens of any size.

* Make a list of your cats and their sex/age and any special needs
they have. Take the brightly-colored Duct Tape and label each carrier with
the name and sex of the cat that goes in it. Check off the list when you
have assigned that cat a carrier. That way if all the carriers are filled
you know you haven’t forgotten anyone that sneaked away to hide in the
confusion of packing up. Make more than one copy of your list. Double
check it.

* Use the larger carriers (200 VariKennels or Large Pet Taxis) for mom and
litters (if you have any…and remember next year not to breed any cats from
March to August so you won’t have any litters to worry about).

* DO A PRE-EVACUATION PACK-THE-CAR/VAN test. Get plenty of bungee
cords to tie down the carriers so they don’t shift. The new “flat” ones are
great and work best Be sure all your carriers will fit in the car with you
and any other humans you need to carry.

* Take a Rubbermaid bin with needed supplies for the cats (food, some litter….
you can always improvise for litter and where you are going will probably have
stores where you can buy stuff….I became a convert to the pine pellet litter on my
evacuation…light, you really don’t need a lot of it if you change it all
the time, and the cats seem to like it).

* After you get the car packed (with empty carriers) make a diagram outlining
which carriers go where and cats’ names….so you can load the car quickly
and efficiently. Put a hand towel or cut pieces of the Rubbermaid anti-slide
shelf lining to use between carriers so they won’t shift. Bungee them down,
too. Try to leave space for air circulation.

* Go to Sam’s Club and buy a box of 128 incontinent pads for about $28
and fold them in quarters and put two in each carrier (they are soft,
padded, and very absorbent. With two, my cats will wrap up any feces in the
top one and therefore stay out of any mess). Urine is well absorbed.

* BE SURE TO TAKE SOME EASILY ACCESSED AND HANDLED FOOD FOR YOURSELF.

I was stuck on the road for 18 hours with NO FOOD and no food available and
my small ice chest was buried under cat stuff (didn’t plan that well!). I
ate straight tuna packaged in the ENVELOPES (like some of the cat food
now)….it was protein; it was low fat (or good fat) and it kept me going.
I haven’t eaten much tuna fish since, but hey, it was better than nothing.
I stuffed a couple of packages of them in the side pocket of my car door
before I left, and I was glad I had.

* Make some provisions for yourself for toilet facilities…to be
blunt, those incontinent bed pads were created for a purpose. At least take a
couple of rolls of toilet paper. Many of us (please don’t laugh) have said
we’d buy Depends and wear them on the next evacuation. Now, we’re too young
to need them normally, thankfully, but they might work. The folks in other cars I
was in the evacuation line with got out and went in the woods of East Texas,
but there were more than one person in each car, and they had someone to
stay with the car, or if no pets, they could shut off the car and go. I had
to stay with the car because I was alone and I couldn’t shut off the air
conditioning for the cats….it was 110 degrees! So I left my house at 7
a.m. and used the restroom for the first time at 4:30 p.m. when I finally
arrived somewhere where there was one open and the DPS would let you stop!

* IMPORTANT: BE SURE TO TAKE A LARGE SPRAY BOTTLE FILLED WITH TAP
WATER AND SOME BOTTLES OF WATER…. If you get stuck on the road without gas
in this horrible heat, there’s not much you can do. But if you should find
yourself in that situation, at least you could spray the cats down and it
might keep them cool enough and hydrated enough to survive. That was my
greatest fear last year…that my car would die or run out of gas and my
cats would bake in the heat. Last year t he car thermometer read 110 for
most of the day (outside temp) and I couldn’t turn off my car while the
traffic was stopped in jams. I was SO worried about running out of gas.
Hopefully the evacuation routes are better and will be better managed if we
have to do it again.

* If you have time, go to the Dollar Store (Dollar Tree) and buy small
Tupperware-like clear containers that will fit in the carriers (even the
small Pet Taxi) for litter boxes. Just put a couple of sheets of paper
towels in the container with about 1/2 cup of litter on it (for this, use
plain clay litter….the cheapest and best is the Hill Country generic white
clay litter from HEB). The pine pellet litter will scatter too much and the
clumping litter could stick to the cats like cement in such small quarters.
Use just enough litter so the cat knows that’s what the pan is for. The
paper towel will absorb most of the urine.

* In 2005, Kroger (pet food aisle) had the very small plastic crocks
for 99 cents each and I bought one for each carrier. I put about 2 oz of
dry food in each of them. Once that was gone, I could have offered water had
I had the chance. If you have water bowls that will attach to the carrier
doors, so much the better.

* While you’re at the Dollar Store, get a couple of packages of
various sizes of plastic storage bags aka “baggies” in the cheap brands for
holding cat waste and containing the odor. Get a couple of rolls of regular
garbage bags, too. And some water for drinking. Don’t forget paper towels.
And Handi Wipes for your hands. And a roll of Clorox Wipes for the cages if
needed.

* Get your cats paperwork, registrations and medical records and any
meds that you have together, too. And don’t forget your and your family’s
stuff!

* Most of all, be sure you have a PLAN. And a PLACE TO STAY where all
your cats can be taken care of adequately. And LEAVE EARLY.

* Remember to plan for housing your cats at your evacuation site (a
friend’s house, hotel). The same concerns for spraying males and cats that
don’t get along that we have in hotel rooms for shows will apply, but
possibly for a longer period of time. Remember some of use were gone for at
least 3 weeks even if we had no significant damage to our homes…but we did
not have electricity or water or gas and couldn’t return home. So if you
can pack some wire cages or soft crates on the top of your van (if you have
one) or…. perhaps UNDER the carriers in your vehicle….it would be a great idea.

* Know what the facilities will be like for your cats….if you can fit in a fan to use there
in case there is no A/C in their area, bring it!

* If any of your cats are not up-to-date on their rabies shots, take
care of that NOW. Above all, they need rabies shots. Be sure you have
rabies certificates where you can take them with you.

I’m sure others will be able to add even more useful tips to this.

Good luck …Hopefully we won’t have to use any of these hints any time soon.

Karen Crooke
Terrificats

An In-Depth and Honest Review of Sit Stay Fetch by Daniel Stevens

by Book Reviews from Ezine Articles

Inside of this book, you will find an extraordinary array of information. This book will cover everything including behavioral problems, advice for new dog owners, how to select the right dog or puppy, information on breeds, the best places to get them, how to deal with the first visit to the vet, how to make your house dog and puppy proof, and house training.

Link:
An In-Depth and Honest Review of Sit Stay Fetch by Daniel Stevens

Top 5 Dog Training Books

by Book Reviews from Ezine Articles

1. SitStayFetch: Dog training to stop your dogs behavior problems. In this book you will learn comprehensive information on how to fix any dog behavior problem, tips and secrets to use in your everyday dog obedience training, specific commands and tricks to teach your dog, the best way to select, buy and raise a new puppy or older dog.

Excerpt from:
Top 5 Dog Training Books

Sit Stay Fetch Review – The Best in Dog Training?

by Book Reviews from Ezine Articles

Let me tell my encounter with the Sit Stay Fetch program. I was researching for a puppy teaching course that might aid in the training of my young German Shepherd.

Visit link:
Sit Stay Fetch Review – The Best in Dog Training?

Warning: Dangerous Dog Toy Recall

by Rose De Dan

If you have a toy called “Four Paws Rough and Rugged Pimple Ball with Bell” it has been recalled due to a design malfunction that can cause a vacuum to be created when your dog plays with it, potentially resulting in your dog’s tongue being sucked through the opening. This has resulted in injury to several dogs, some with severe results. It saddens me greatly to think that any business would not have the best interests of their clients at heart.

Check out Four Paws’ website for recall information.

(Snopes.com is still verifying the following, but the recall is real)
If you would like to read a personal account from someone who claims their dog, Chai, was severely injured by this toy you can follow this link.

See the original post here:
Warning: Dangerous Dog Toy Recall

When Hope Flies In: The Return of the Purple Martins

This week I attended a networking gathering put on by the Port of Seattle. Attending this sort of event is not my usual style, however I went for three major reasons. First, I went as a member of the Alki Wildlife Habitat Project (AWHP), and unofficial photographer. Our hard-working leader, Dolly Vinal, was presenting a certificate of certification of Jack Block Park as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat from the National Wildlife Federation along with a sign for display to the public. Our group has been working on community certification of Alki for five years. We will finally achieve that goal this year; certification of Jack Block Park fits into our future vision of certifying all of the West Seattle peninsula and the Duwamish area specifically. Second, I went as a shaman. My recent experiences conducting the monthly public Peruvian shamanic despacho ceremonies have raised my awareness of the need for me to begin seriously applying everything I have learned about shamanism toward the goal of reversing global warming and reconnecting people, animals and the natural world. Sometimes that role takes the form of simply showing up with the intention of being available to Spirit and seeing what happens. Third, I went because I love Jack Block Park, and any excuse to hang out by Puget Sound and watch the marine wildlife is good. Jack Block Park is perhaps one of the least well-known of the Seattle parks, even in Alki. Located on 15 acres next to Salty’s Restaurant on Harbor Avenue, Jack Block Park contains a walking path, 45 foot high observation tower, a walking pier, and a kicking view of the Seattle skyline and Mt. Rainier (on a good day). And something else few know about, a breeding colony of Purple Martins. The following information is extracted from the beautiful handout for the presentation at Jack Block Park, designed and written, respectively, by fellow AWHP members Wilda Boyd and Kara Whittaker. “Purple Martins are a migratory swallow species that breeds in North America and winters in the Amazon basin of South America. “In Washington, Purple Martins were once locally common near marine shorelines, but their populations have declined steeply over the past 50 years. They are now a Washington State Candidate species, meaning the species may meet the criteria for listing as State Endangered, Threatened, or Sensitive. The primary reasons for their decline are the removal of natural snags and nest cavities and increased competition with exotic bird species for nest cavities…” “Purple Martin boxes were first erected in West Seattle at Jack Block Park by local volunteers in 1996. The lower Duwamish waterway is home to three nesting colonies which together make up one of the most productive sites in Seattle. A fourth colony site was established this spring with six new gourds at the Seacrest Park Pier, but no new nesting activity has yet occurred there. It is expected that Martin ‘scouts’ will locate these new gourds late this summer and return to nest in them next spring. “The Seacrest gourds were installed by members of the Alki Wildlife Habitat Project, whose goal is to promote neighborhood involvement in restoring the natural legacy of our community.” After the certification presentation and some truly mouth-watering food prepared by Blue Willow Catering (so maybe I had a fourth reason for attending!), I decided to break away from the networking and go off and explore the scenery. The hour was getting close to sunset, and the light was perfect for taking some photographs. I checked out the purple martin gourds, hanging from the walking pier, but they all seemed pretty quiet, no one in attendance. Suddenly, at the end, I spotted a lone martin just sitting on the pole. The angle for the shot was perfect, straight geometric lines of the pier framed the graceful steely curves of artificial lampposts and the natural curves of the gourd houses, and in the background, the one lone purple martin. To me the shot captured the essence of urban conservation—finding ways to balance the wants of our society with the needs of nature. I returned to the networking group wishing I had been able to see more of the martins. As the sun sank lower I was alerted by Greg Whittaker of Alki Kayak Tours that some purple martins were congregating at the gourds closest to the end of the pier. I hurried to see, and arrived in time to take some amazing photos of a purple martin family in full feeding swing. With two babies to feed, the parents were quite busy; one would land on the gourd, stuffing the insect it carried into one gaping mouth, while the other parent waited on the sidelines with the next mouthful. I just kept clicking away, hoping to be able to capture some sense of the beauty and grace of the parents as they swept in and out. Finally satisfied that I had done my best, and with the light fading, I made my way back toward the group. Along the way I paused for a moment to take in the cloudy sunset illuminating the shorelines of Alki and Seattle, the passing ferry, and the barge moored nearby, and noticed a flying Caspian tern carrying a fish in its beak. Largest tern in the world, its clean, aerodynamic lines enable it to drop like an arrow into the water to catch its dinner, and as it made its way past our urban skyline I felt hope. Hope that through places like Jack Block Park we will be able to watch future generations of purple martins, as well as other wildlife, raise their families. Hope that we can not only preserve the beauty of the natural world by creating more oasis and corridors for wildlife within our urban landscapes, but that we can increase the presence of wildlife in our neighborhoods and in our hearts. Hope flies . For more information on how to get your backyard or community certified as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat visit the National Wildlife Foundation website . Photos by Rose De Dan©2008 Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing LLC Website: www.reikishamanic.com Blog: www.wildreiki.wordpress.com Animal and Reiki Art: www.cafepress.com/reikishamanic

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Blessing for the Animals Day

Blessing for the Animals Day Sunday, September 14, 2008 12 noon – 4:00 p.m. Blessing Ceremonies to Honor the Animals Begins at 2:00 p.m. Rose De Dan, a Pampamesayoq (Earth Steward) and mesa carrier in the Peruvian Q’ero shamanic tradition and owner of Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing LLC, will offer blessings to animals on Sunday, September 14, 2008, during the Blessings for the Animals Day at Heavenly Spa, a therapeutic canine hydrotherapy spa located in Fall City, Washington. Admission is free and all animals are welcome to the event, which runs from 12pm to 4pm. The series of group Blessing Ceremonies begin at 2pm and will also include representatives from Native American, Christian, Buddhist, and Hindi faiths. For everyone’s safety, dogs should be on leash, cats and other small animals should be in carriers. If your animal companion is unable to attend please bring a photograph. De Dan says, “Animals who share in our lives also share in the energy of all of the sorrows, frustrations, and challenges that we face and can be knocked off balance mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually, resulting in less quality of life. A blessing for the animals promotes wellness and helps to reconnect animals to the natural world, reuniting them with the larger circle of life.” Learn How to Keep Your Pet Healthy There will also be booths offering presentations by holistic healing modalities: practitioner, tools, products, and information all day, from 12 noon – 4:00 p.m. From her booth, De Dan will also be offering free individual blessings to animal companions. Copies of her popular new book, Tails of a Healer: Animals, Reiki and Shamanism , will also be available for sale. Come meet the practitioners and learn more about how to help your pets achieve their perfect wellness! For Event Information: Teri Sahm, All Pets Go To Heaven, 35022 SE Fall City Snoqualmie Road, Fall City, WA 98024, 425-222-7221, www.allpetsgotoheaven.com About Rose De Dan: Founding her practice, Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing in 1996, Rose De Dan was an early pioneer in promoting the need for alternative healing for animals. De Dan received her Karpays (transmissions of power) directly from Don Manual Quispe, Q’ero elder, master shaman, and Altomesayoq trained in an unbroken shamanic lineage. She maintains a private healing and teaching practice in Alki, Seattle, WA. For more information about Rose De Dan, Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing LLC, visit her website .

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