9 Lives Cat Rescue had the privilage of being asked to do a presentation on our organisation and our views on the new proposed cat legislation for WA at the Cat Welfare and Managment Symposium on Sept 18th here in Perth.
Despite a lack of attendance by many who said they would be there, the important welfare groups were present and a wonderful series of presentations were heard. We had the opportunity to meet and network with so many fabulous people in the cat welfare industry. Pat Anderson of the Toodyay Trap Neuter Release program, Michelle Williamson from Pet Rescue and Eric Yeoh from Noahs Ark were our biggest inspirations.
Pat through alot of hard work and support has created a successful TNR program in Toodyay to help tackle the feral cat problems in rural areas and is now working in Northam. She showed us just how much one person can achieve!
Michelle gave us an inspirational presentation on thinking outside of the square when it comes to advertising and adopting out shelter animals. Too often we rely on the guilt trips and sob stories to appeal to the public when trying to re home shelter animals when in fact it is these very things that is turning them off adopting rescue companions. Needless to say we are rethinking our approach to rehoming our cats and will be looking at people friendly, positive language and campaign's in order to appeal to the public in the future.
Eric Yeoh was someone we were extrememly keen on meeting as he has a wealth of information on Trap Neuter Release programs and did a wonderful presentation on the much anticipated Spay Station being created for HighVolume /Low Cost Spey/Neuter of animals in Perth. This project will assist with stemming the over population of animals we currently have in this city. Eric provided us with much information and research on TNR and how we can start influencing the change from 'kill all feral cats' to 'looking at alternatives'. Its an uphill battle we are willing to take on.
Of course there were the bigger organisations present also such as Cat Haven and RSPCA but the main focus seemed to be on the smaller, newer and more progressive groups who are willing to look at alternatives to the usual methods being employed to handle cats in this city instead of the outdated methods that are clearly not working.
We were informed by many that our presentation was refreshing and well recieved which is encouraging for us to hear. It was wonderful for us to have the opportunity to present ourselves and hear from others who are like minded and who also challanged our views which is always of benefit as an open mind is the only way to learn.
The general consensis on the day seemed to be that only parts of the proposed cat legislation were acceptable to welfare groups but that they would be passed as is regardless of our opinions. This means we will just have to deal with them as they come and hope they dont do too much damage for the cats of Perth.
Overall we feel it was an informative and positive day and we would like to thank everyone who organised the event and all those who participated. It was a joy to meet all of you and we hope to keep liasing with everyone for the benefit of the cats.
Natalie Mason
President
9 Lives Cat Rescue
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Rules For Dealing With Stray Cats
Just to lighten up the subject a little...
Follow these rules for dealing with stray cats,
and you and stray cat will be very happy campers!
1. Stray cats will not be fed.
2. Stray cats will not be fed anything except dry cat food.
3. Stray cats will not be fed anything except dry cat food moistened with a little milk.
4. Stray cats will not be fed anything except dry cat food moistened with warm milk, yummy treats and leftover fish scraps.
5. Stray cats will not be encouraged to make this house their permanent residence.
6. Stray cats will not be petted, played with or picked up and cuddled unneccessarily.
7. Stray cats that are petted, played with, picked up and cuddled will absolutely not be given a name.
8. Stray cats with or without a name will not be allowed inside the house at any time.
9. Stray cats will not be allowed inside the house except at certain times.
10. Stray cats will not be allowed inside the house except on days ending in y.
11. Stray cats allowed inside will not be permitted to jump up on or sharpen their claws on the furniture.
12. Sray cats will not be permitted to jump up on, or sharpen claws on the really good furniture.
13. Stray cats will be permitted on all furniture but must sharpen claws on new $114.99 sisal-rope cat-scratching post with three perches.
14. Stray cats will answer the call of nature outdoors in the sand.
15. Stray cats will answer the call of nature in the three-piece, high-impact plastic tray filled with Fresh n Sweet kitty litter.
16. Stray cats will answer the call of nature in the hooded litter pan with a three-panel privacy screen and plenty of head room.
17. Stray cats will sleep outside.
18. Stray cats will sleep in the garage.
19. Stray cats will sleep in the house.
20. Stray cats will sleep in a cardboard box lined with an old blanket.
21. Stray cats will sleep in the special Kitty-Komfort-Bed with non-allergenic lambs wool pillow.
22. Stray cats will not be allowed to sleep in our bed.
23. Stray cats will not be allowed to sleep in our bed, except at the foot.
24. Stray cats will not be allowed to sleep in our bed under the covers.
25. Stray cats will not be allowed to sleep in our bed under the covers except at the foot.
26. Stray cats will not play on the desk.
27. Stray cats will not play on the desk near the computer.
28. Stray cats are forbidden to walk on the computer keyboard on the desk when the human is asdfjjhhkl;ljfd.;oier puyykmm4hbdm9lo9jmdskdm,. USING IT.
- Author Unknown
Monday, September 6, 2010
Proposed WA Cat Laws – The Real Issues
For those a bit fuzzy on the subject here's a quick run-down. Proposed new cat ownership laws state that cats must be sterilised, microchipped and/or have proper ID in the form of tags and collars, and registered with their local council. The aim of these laws is to reduce killing in shelters, protect wildlife, promote responsible cat ownership and reduce the number of cats being bred. Sounds good in theory, but these proposed laws fall short of the required mark.
Money doesn't buy happiness...
Like most animal welfare groups I support the idea that all cats should be sterilised and have some form of ID. However, the way these proposed laws are going to be implemented will punish low income earners wishing to have a cat. The laws do not provide financial assistance to the people who need it: they treat symptomatically (trap and euthanise) but ignore the problem (owners not opting for sterilisation). Veterinary practices in lower socioeconomic areas charge some of the highest prices for sterilisations in the metro area, sitting uneasily beside the proposed laws as ticking time-bombs of shelter crowding.
Will these laws increase the rate of sterilisations? The Consultation Paper acknowledges that 9 in 10 cats are sterilised, and that compulsory sterilisation is not conclusively proven to reduce the numbers of unwanted cats. Can the effort, money and time required by these new laws be justified in light of a mere 1 in 10 cats who are the target of the legislation?
Why not use the money used to police the laws to instead fund sterilisations for low income earners, pensioners and lazy owners requiring incentive? Animal Welfare Groups in Perth should band together and pressure the state government to support and develop community sterilisation programs in association with local vet practices, following the lead of the 
Cat Alliance of Australia has been doing for the past 18 months.
Cat Alliance of Australia has been doing for the past 18 months.From http://www.savingpets.com.au :
"The cost of seizing, holding, killing and disposing of a cat because their owner has not de-sexed it could cover the cost of sterilising the pet, plus others."
"The cost of seizing, holding, killing and disposing of a cat because their owner has not de-sexed it could cover the cost of sterilising the pet, plus others."
More cats euthanised?
The proposed laws may increase shelter euthanasia. Local councils will have the power to trap and euthanise any cats that have no proof of ownership (such as semi-owned and feral cats), and could result in a pet who has lost its collar being put to sleep. As the new laws only state compulsory identification, not microchipping, it will still be possible for beloved family members and neighbourhood pets to slip through the cracks.
Furthermore, trapping and disposing of feral cats may not solve the 'feral cat problem'. Recent research has proven that removal of feral cats from an area not bounded by limiting perimeters (such as cat-proof fencing) can result in repopulation from nearby feral coloniesref.
Leading the way...
From a welfare point of view the above scenario is unacceptable when humane alternatives, such as trapping+sterilising with release back into the colony, are available. There are several of these programs running in industrial areas in Perth. These have been facilitated by several welfare groups, such as the Cat Sterilisation Society. So far they have been running with great success and the factory workers have even taken pleasure in seeing their colonies thrive with their help. Other success stories around the world include the following:
Cat Sterilisation Society. So far they have been running with great success and the factory workers have even taken pleasure in seeing their colonies thrive with their help. Other success stories around the world include the following:Project Bay Cat
Kittens seemed to ooze from the rocks in Foster City, California, a sensitive area for an unusual bird species, the California Clapper Rail. The Homeless Cat Network wanted the cats to stay. The Sequoia Audubon Society wanted the cats to go. The local government of Foster City wanted complaints to end! When all three groups worked toward an interest-based solution, they all won. Of originally 170 cats, sixty were adoptable. Strategically-located feeding stations keep the cats well fed and away from nesting areas. The Clapper Rail and other migratory birds using that region are thriving.
Stanford Cat Network
With 1500+ cats on the Stanford University campus in 1989, action was inevitable. Trap and “remove” was the original plan until the Stanford Cat Network was formed and entered into an agreement with University officials. Through the humane commitment of students, faculty, University staff and community volunteers, the current number of cats on campus is estimated at 200.
Kittens seemed to ooze from the rocks in Foster City, California, a sensitive area for an unusual bird species, the California Clapper Rail. The Homeless Cat Network wanted the cats to stay. The Sequoia Audubon Society wanted the cats to go. The local government of Foster City wanted complaints to end! When all three groups worked toward an interest-based solution, they all won. Of originally 170 cats, sixty were adoptable. Strategically-located feeding stations keep the cats well fed and away from nesting areas. The Clapper Rail and other migratory birds using that region are thriving.
Stanford Cat Network
With 1500+ cats on the Stanford University campus in 1989, action was inevitable. Trap and “remove” was the original plan until the Stanford Cat Network was formed and entered into an agreement with University officials. Through the humane commitment of students, faculty, University staff and community volunteers, the current number of cats on campus is estimated at 200.
Final thoughts...
Taking care of our cat populations humanely, whether they be cherished pets, semi-owned neighbourhood pets, or part of a feral cat colony, requires a holistic approach by owners, communities, welfare agencies and the government. Educating and promoting awareness, establishing humane ways to deal with feral cats, supporting community sterilisation and funding organisations such as the Cat Sterilisation Society and the Australian National Desexing Network are solid steps in the right direction. These laws go some way towards making these steps a reality, but in its present form is only going to be a waste of time and resources which could be better used to facilitate more acceptable and 'community friendly' alternatives.
Natalie Mason
9 Lives Cat Rescue
Founder/President
Monday, August 30, 2010
A Happy Ending
We happily took them on but their first foster carer decided that after a week of having them she just didnt have time for them afterall. So they came to stay with me :)
Lots of advertising still didnt result in a home for them as people generally dont want to take on 9 year old cats when fluffy kittens are available. A few months ago one of the cats starting becoming ill and blood tests revealed Hyperthyroidism (an over active thyroid). This required medication twice daily and made it impossible to rehome this gorgeous girl so I decided to keep her as one of my own. Her sister in the meantime was happy and healthy and still with us. We kept their previous family updated as much as we could and they were working on becoming more financial so they could possible have their family members back.
Sadly a week ago we had to put our adopted little one with Hyperthyroidism to sleep as she had congestive heart failure and her quality of life was no more. We loved every minute that we had her in our care.
Her sister was still with us and we had grown very attached to her. Upon informing the previous family of their little girls passing they told us that their baby was well now, they both had reliable incomes and were in a far better place. Could they possibly have their other former family member back if we were not too attached to her.
Of course we were attached and would miss her very much but being able to return her to her previous family of 9 years would be one of the greatest pleasures we could have in cat rescue. So this weekend just gone we took her home and couldnt have been happier by how delighted her family were to see her. She settled in as if she had never left and seeing the joy it brought her family to have her back is what makes what we do worth while.
The family gave us blankets, towels and bowls for the cats in our care to say thankyou for all we had done for their girls. We do miss her very much but she has been so happy being back home that we couldnt be happier about how this story ends :)
Nat
Monday, August 23, 2010
An update...
Its been busy as usual but we just wanted to update you all on the little neglected cat we picked up last weekend. We have done blood tests on her which didnt show much other than that she has been malnourished and had an injury (like her paw) so we will run tests again in a few weeks. In the meantime she is in foster care and putting on weight plus having her paw treated and is so far doing well.
Since then we have had several more cats come into our care as well as some of our older kittens adopted out to good homes.
Currently we are focused on 2 cases.
Case One: Semi - Feral cats in a factory area South of Perth.
There are many feral cat colonies in factory areas around Perth and one in particular was brought to our attention by a lady who has been feeding them and trying to gain their trust. They have now become an issue with the bosses at the workplace who wants them removed as well as avoiding more breeding of these cats in the area. Declining the Trap Neuter Release option we have now begun trapping them to go into care so we can adopt out the re homable ones and try to rehabilitate the ones that have potential. We have a carer who has built an enclosure for them and is spending her time socialising them. So far we have 3 out of 7 caught and are able to place at least 2 more in the current enclosure. The others however have become wise to our traps and are proving difficult but perseverence will pay off!
Case Two: We recieved a call from Rockingham on Sunday night about a cat that was wandering around a house meowing and trying to get in. The lady stated that she was frightened of cats and had never seen this one in the area before. After door knocking she found that no one knew the cat. We picked her up that night and found that by morning she had a lot of milk build up in her teets so we went in search of her kittens. Hoping she would lead us to them we placed her back in the area and followed her but with no luck. she didnt lead us to her kittens and after speaking to several people in the area no one had seen her either. We also had no luck finding any kittens in the surrounding bushland areas.We have now posted her on various sites and are doing a flyer drop to find where she has come from but we fear that if her kittens are young they may already have met a horrible fate. In the meantime mum cat is safe in foster care.
We will keep you updated on the progress of these cases
Nat
Since then we have had several more cats come into our care as well as some of our older kittens adopted out to good homes.
Currently we are focused on 2 cases.
Case One: Semi - Feral cats in a factory area South of Perth.
There are many feral cat colonies in factory areas around Perth and one in particular was brought to our attention by a lady who has been feeding them and trying to gain their trust. They have now become an issue with the bosses at the workplace who wants them removed as well as avoiding more breeding of these cats in the area. Declining the Trap Neuter Release option we have now begun trapping them to go into care so we can adopt out the re homable ones and try to rehabilitate the ones that have potential. We have a carer who has built an enclosure for them and is spending her time socialising them. So far we have 3 out of 7 caught and are able to place at least 2 more in the current enclosure. The others however have become wise to our traps and are proving difficult but perseverence will pay off!
Case Two: We recieved a call from Rockingham on Sunday night about a cat that was wandering around a house meowing and trying to get in. The lady stated that she was frightened of cats and had never seen this one in the area before. After door knocking she found that no one knew the cat. We picked her up that night and found that by morning she had a lot of milk build up in her teets so we went in search of her kittens. Hoping she would lead us to them we placed her back in the area and followed her but with no luck. she didnt lead us to her kittens and after speaking to several people in the area no one had seen her either. We also had no luck finding any kittens in the surrounding bushland areas.We have now posted her on various sites and are doing a flyer drop to find where she has come from but we fear that if her kittens are young they may already have met a horrible fate. In the meantime mum cat is safe in foster care.
We will keep you updated on the progress of these cases
Nat
Saturday, August 14, 2010
All in a days rescue...
Well it has been a mixture of a weekend as it usually is. We have had several adoptions of cats that have been in long term care, stitched the torn eyelid of one of our newly arrived kittens from an industrial area and he is now doing well and rescued a cat that has been a victim of neglect.
We will for legal reasons, when recounting rescues, change the names of the people and cats involved in each case.
The last case we had for Saturday turned out to be more than we bargained for. A week ago we recieved a phone call from an elderly person requesting that we come and collect the cat she had been feeding for 2 years after she was left behind by the neighbours. She didnt like cats and didnt want her inside in case she knocked her over. We have a long waiting list of carers so said we would see what we could do. When in the area yesterday afternoon we dropped in to see the cat in question to assess her and determine which foster carer she would best suit.
Upon arrival we were informed that she had a sore paw and the elderly persons son had been around and pulled out what looked like a claw inbedded in her paw pad and disinfected it. He seemed to be doing his best with the cat when he could visit his mum but said she had not been eating much lately so wormed her and she had seemed a little better.
Our assessment of this poor girl was that she was badly neglected. With the wound in her paw we decided she needed to come into our care immediatley and recieve medical attention. Back at one of the clinics we are affiliated with we found her pysical condition was as follows:
- Severely underweight
- Claws so over grown that they were inbedded in her paw pads
- Moderate dehydration
- Sun damage to her ears
- Flea infested - causing mild anaemia
- Burst abscess in one of her claw beds where we think it was her own claw that had caused the problem
- High temperature due to infection from paw
- Deaf (most likely due to her being a white cat with one blue and one green eye)
We dealt with each problem as we found it, flea treatment, clipped her claws to remove them from where they were inbedded in her paw pads, gave her subcutaneous fluids for dehydration, shaved her paw and cleaned the wound then gave her some antibiotics and pain relief to make her comfortable and bring her temperature down. We then placed her in a kennel with a heating pad and lots of recovery food and water which she got into immediatley.
This little girl will be assessed by a vet on Monday to determine if her weight loss is due to lack of food or some underlying age related problem. Once this is done we will most likely stitch the wound on her paw. This is a difficult case as we pride ourselves on taking on the difficult cats to rehome and special cases. Sometimes this is not always in the best interest of the cats quality of life and the best thing for the cats welfare is to put them to sleep. We hope this isnt going to be the case with this girl as she is very sweet and snuggly but rehoming older cats with multiple, ongoing problems is very difficult as people dont want them very often.
We will keep you all updated as to her progress :)
Nat @ 9 Lives Cat Rescue
We will for legal reasons, when recounting rescues, change the names of the people and cats involved in each case.
The last case we had for Saturday turned out to be more than we bargained for. A week ago we recieved a phone call from an elderly person requesting that we come and collect the cat she had been feeding for 2 years after she was left behind by the neighbours. She didnt like cats and didnt want her inside in case she knocked her over. We have a long waiting list of carers so said we would see what we could do. When in the area yesterday afternoon we dropped in to see the cat in question to assess her and determine which foster carer she would best suit.
Upon arrival we were informed that she had a sore paw and the elderly persons son had been around and pulled out what looked like a claw inbedded in her paw pad and disinfected it. He seemed to be doing his best with the cat when he could visit his mum but said she had not been eating much lately so wormed her and she had seemed a little better.
Our assessment of this poor girl was that she was badly neglected. With the wound in her paw we decided she needed to come into our care immediatley and recieve medical attention. Back at one of the clinics we are affiliated with we found her pysical condition was as follows:
- Severely underweight
- Claws so over grown that they were inbedded in her paw pads
- Moderate dehydration
- Sun damage to her ears
- Flea infested - causing mild anaemia
- Burst abscess in one of her claw beds where we think it was her own claw that had caused the problem
- High temperature due to infection from paw
- Deaf (most likely due to her being a white cat with one blue and one green eye)
We dealt with each problem as we found it, flea treatment, clipped her claws to remove them from where they were inbedded in her paw pads, gave her subcutaneous fluids for dehydration, shaved her paw and cleaned the wound then gave her some antibiotics and pain relief to make her comfortable and bring her temperature down. We then placed her in a kennel with a heating pad and lots of recovery food and water which she got into immediatley.
This little girl will be assessed by a vet on Monday to determine if her weight loss is due to lack of food or some underlying age related problem. Once this is done we will most likely stitch the wound on her paw. This is a difficult case as we pride ourselves on taking on the difficult cats to rehome and special cases. Sometimes this is not always in the best interest of the cats quality of life and the best thing for the cats welfare is to put them to sleep. We hope this isnt going to be the case with this girl as she is very sweet and snuggly but rehoming older cats with multiple, ongoing problems is very difficult as people dont want them very often.
We will keep you all updated as to her progress :)
Nat @ 9 Lives Cat Rescue
Friday, August 13, 2010
Our First Post!
Hi all cat lovers!
We want to keep you up to date with all our experiences, trials and tribulations in cat rescue around Perth. We also want to share our views and news on all the current cat related topics in this world.
We hope you find our blogs enlightening and informative and that you will share them with all your friends! :)
We want to keep you up to date with all our experiences, trials and tribulations in cat rescue around Perth. We also want to share our views and news on all the current cat related topics in this world.
We hope you find our blogs enlightening and informative and that you will share them with all your friends! :)
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