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Mewswire The newsletter of CatHobbyist.com Summer 2004 In This Issue:
Hi everyone! It may be the lazy hazy crazy days of summer on the calendar, but it can be a dangerous time for your pets. Check the Summer Safety tips below. Heat and travel can present serious problems for you and your furry friends. Recently there have been some discussions on the CatHobbyist message boards regarding microchipping. We’ve included some information to help you make informed decisions on the right identification for your cats. Also, our CatHobbyist Bookstore is featuring all the latest 2005 cat calendars that were just released August 1. Some of the popular ones sell out fast so it isn’t too early to plan your needs for keeping track of time next year. Don’t forget to check the updated chat schedule. We’ve added a late night Thursday chat at 11:00 PM ET following the popular Cat Trivia Chat at 10:00 PM ET. Also new for CatHobbyist is our partnering with DogHobbyist for Ask The Vet Chat on Wednesdays at 10:00 PM ET in the Dog Den. Cat and dog questions are welcome! Another feature is our weekly “Caption This” on the Cats Let People Chat Board which let’s us all be gag writers for the humorous photos. If there are topics you’d like covered in future editions of the Mewswire or you have comments, please don’t hesitate to let me know! I look forward to hearing from you! Moira O'Connor
Tired of standing in line or fighting the crowds book shopping? Check out CatHobbyist's Bookstore! With newly expanded areas, over 50 new titles have been added and many more to come. Come check out the new 2005 Calendars too, something for everyone! And if you want to review a cat-related book, or submit a book you have written for us to review, just contact Bookstore Editor PHJoker!
Summer is upon us. While many of us and our animals look forward to the warmer weather, there are dangers we need to be prepared to face. Even if you are not planning to travel with your cats, heat and dehydration can be a problem. Make sure your cat has access to plenty of fresh water at all times. There are a number of ways to keep the water cool when the temperature rises. Most cats don't like really cold water, but you can freeze water in milk cartons or extra plastic bowls and place them in an extra water dish before you leave for work. The cats will then have cool drinking water in the afternoon. The new thermal packs can be frozen and placed under a bowl to keep it cool for several hours. Placing ice cubes in the bowls works, too, but may lead to impromptu games of ice cube hockey. Outdoor animals should be provided with shady areas with water available. Make certain that the area where the water is kept is not going to be in the direct sun at a different times of day. This is also the time of year when we start spending more time outdoors and leaving windows and doors open. Of course we tempt our furry friends by carrying out platters of food for picnics and barbeques so they want to join the party. Squirt bottles and soda cans with coins inside can be used to aid in door training. Screen climbing is another favorite summer sport. Again the squirt bottle and soda can be used to discourage this. For screen doors, a member had a great suggestion, place a thin piece of plexiglass on the inside of the screen door from the bottom to about the cat's standing height. Also, keep those claws trimmed! Careful Preparation is the Key For Travel When packing, don't forget your pet's food, food and water dishes, bedding, litter and litter box, leash, collar and tags, grooming supplies, and a first aid kit and any necessary medications. Always have a container of drinking water with you. Carry a current photograph of your pet with you. If your pet is lost during a trip, a photograph will make it easier for others (airline employees, the police, shelter workers, and others) to help you find your pet. Your pet should wear a sturdy collar with ID tags throughout the trip. The tags should have both your permanent address and telephone number and an address and telephone number where you or a contact can be reached during your travels. Traveling can be upsetting to your pet's stomach. Take along ice cubes, which are easier on your pet than large amounts of water. You should keep feeding to a minimum during travel. (Provide a light meal for your pet two to three hours before you leave, if you are traveling by car, or four to six hours before departure, if you are traveling by airplane.) Allow small amounts of water periodically in the hours before the trip.
If you see an animal in a car exhibiting any signs of heat stress, call your local animal care and control agency or police department immediately! You don’t just expose your pet to the dangers of heat stress when you leave him in a car, you also expose him to pet theft. Thousands of pets are stolen each year from unattended cars. Taking your pet for a ride may seem like fun, but many pets prefer to spend time with you in the comfort and safety of home. Explore activities that you and your pet can share at home and avoid taking risks by leaving your pet in the car. If you must take your pet with you in your car, do so safely. Cats should ride in pet carriers, and dogs should ride in travel crates or be on a leash. When a pet travels, he or she should wear two ID tags-one with a home address and one with a destination address and a cell phone number.
In the United States, a pet is lost, stolen or missing every 30 seconds. Over 90 percent of these pets are never reunited with their family. One means of recovering a lost pet is providing the pet with identification so it can be returned if found by an individual or shelter. Less than 70 percent of animals picked up as strays in California shelters have any form of identification. There are three basic types of pet identification:
Most communities require dogs to be collared with license and identification tags. The same is not true of cats. Some communities do provide licenses for cats, but the display of the tag is not common. When an indoor cat gets out, it may be completely disoriented and unable to find its way home. If the cat is found by an individual or turned into a shelter, rarely is there a way to identify and reunite the cat with its owner. The use of collars and tags with cats has always brought about great debate as cats frequently slip out of the collar or the concern over the cat becoming snagged on something resulting in injury. I am sure many of us have stories of cats being injured or worse due to wearing collars. The safety collars using a break-a-way or elastic stretchable portion to enable the cat to free itself if it gets snagged have reduced the hazard but have not increased the ability to identify the cat. Collars and tags are the least expensive (initially) way to provide identification. If you move frequently or your cat loves to remove its collar and tags, the cost of replacement may increase the low initial cost. There are collars on the market that are embroidered with the owner's information that eliminates the necessity for the dangling tags. In researching information for this article, I found many sites on line that offer tags and/or collars by searching on the phrase "Pet ID Tags." They also may be available through your veterinarian's office, or at local pet supply stores. Tattooing is another option for identification. While tattooing has long been used as a means of identification for horses, it has not been popular with companion animals. This is a permanent method, but also has drawbacks in that if the collar tag with the company's phone number is lost, the finder might have to do some research to contact them. Also, some cats would not be too cooperative with a stranger trying to get the identification number (usually on an inner rear leg). Prices vary, but one company advertises with an initial cost of $35.00 with $10.00 for each additional pet. The most recent development in pet identification is microchip. A microchip is a tiny, totally inert electronic transponder about the size of a grain of rice. The chip is implanted into an animal using a simple, painless procedure similar to a routine vaccination. For most animals (dogs, cats) the chip is implanted in the scruff of the neck (the loose skin over the pet's shoulder blades). In birds, the chip is implanted under a wing. This procedure takes seconds and does not require anesthesia. Once implanted into the animal, the microchip remains inactive until read with a scanner. Scanners send a low-radio-frequency-signal to the chip, providing the power needed by the microchip to send its unique code back to the scanner with the animal's ID number. After implantation, the device remains with the animal for life. Once the microchip is inserted it would require a veterinarian to surgically remove the chip. The use of a microchip allows the ID number to be stored permanently inside the animal, just under the skin, where it cannot be lost or altered or become worn and unreadable like an external pet tag. The chip, antenna, and capacitor are encased in a tiny glass tube. The tube is composed of soda lime glass, which is known for compatibility with living tissue. The glass is hermetically sealed to keep moisture out. The microchip will last the life of the animal. This safe, lifetime protection takes just minutes to complete. Initially three companies began distributing this high tech means of identification. There was one major problem; the scanners used to detect the chips were only able to read the chip of one manufacturer. One of the companies, InfoPet, has ceased operations. The remaining two companies, AVID and Schering-Plough/Destron have continued and improved their scanners to read any of the three chips. Many veterinarians and shelters offer micro chipping. These multisystem scanners have been provided free of charge to most vets and shelters across the country. The cost of micro chipping with registration in the company's national database is between $25.00 and $60.00 depending on the number of pets and your vet's charges. A collar tag is usually provided to indicate that the pet is chipped. Many shelters will offer micro chipping for around $15.00. My local shelter will periodically offer chip clinics and animals adopted from the shelter will be chipped at adoption. If you move or give the pet to someone else, the registration information can be updated. One of the big questions concerning microchips has been the safety issue. If properly implanted, the chips have not migrated or resulted in known health problems. The American Kennel Club has partnered with AVID to provide a national database for dogs, but to my knowledge the various cat registries have not taken any similar action. Schering-Plough's chip is called Home Again. Whichever method or methods you choose to use with your pets, the important thing to remember is with a means of identification, your pet can be returned to you if it is found. Without some means of identification, the chance of reuniting a pet with its family is much less likely.
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