Adopt a Cat June is Adopt a Cat Month... It's the purrfect time to add a little zest to your life. Cats are a wonderful addition to any family. Their personalities, quirks and idiosyncrasies provide hours of entertainment and insight into the mysteries of life. If you are interested in adopting a fantastic feline....visit our shelter at 101 Champagne Ave. South or any of our PAL outlets (PetsMarts on Merivale and Innes Roads; PetPatch in the Herongate Mall; Little Farm Pet Centre in the Rideau Mall or SuperPet on Merivale Road) if you are interested in adopting a fantastic feline!! Cat Care Exercise and the Housebound Cat Although the cat is by nature a prowling hunter, many cat owners-whether deliberately or by default — keep their pets confined to the home. People living in a high-rise apartment may have a housebound cat simply because they find it inconvenient to let it in and out. But, in North America particularly, many cats are kept indoors for safety. This is particularly true in cities, where free-roaming cats are inevitably exposed to a high rise of street accidents. Kittens and elderly or deaf cats are, of course, particularly at risk, but few cats acquire enough traffic sense to deal with large numbers of vehicles. Suburban and country cats may be in less danger, but any cat — particularly an uncastrated tom — may wander and become a stray, or may fall victim to cat thieves. This last risk is obviously the greatest in the case of valuable pedigree cats, and cat breeders everywhere commonly keep their queens and toms in restricted quarters if not totally indoors. Whether pedigree or not, tom cats free to roam are liable to suffer wounds in fights, and entire (intact) females may constantly present their owners with unplanned litters. Outdoor cats are more likely to pick up infectious diseases and parasites and if let out indiscriminately in localities with extremes of temperature may suffer from heat stroke or exposure. All in all, there are potent reasons for restricting your cat to the home, and they are endorsed by many vets - particularly in North America. General Care and Safety There is no difference in principle between looking after a housebound cat and one that is allowed out, but even more attention must be paid to providing for its needs. A regularly cleaned and emptied litter tray is a must, and should always be kept in the same place. Be sure to provide regular, balanced meals; a succession of tidbits is particularly likely to lead to obesity in a cat that has little exercise. If you go out to work all day, regular feeding is particularly difficult. Morning and evening meals may be sufficient for an adult cat, but kittens need more frequent feeding. If fresh food is left out it may be contaminated by insects or go bad in hot weather. Semi-moist or dry cat foods are more convenient because they do not spoil, but you must introduce your cat to a dry diet gradually and be sure to provide plenty of water with each meal. Cats with working owners are likely to become lonely and bored; probably the best solution here is to provide the companionship of another cat or a dog. If a housebound cat is to be left alone for long periods, it is important to ensure that your home is safe and neither too drafty nor too stuffy for the cat. You can fit windows with a hinged frame onto which plastic-covered (5 cm) mesh is nailed. Then you can open the window for fresh air without the risk of the cat escaping or falling. (In areas where mosquito screens are the norm, these will of course double for the cat so long as they are strong enough.) Balconies, at whatever level, must be similarly ‘cat-proofed' and roofed with wire mesh. It is also possible to build a sun porch out from a window, or fit an observation perch to the inside sill. To many owners, the safety of the home's contents is as important as that of the cat. Soft furnishings and carpets are inevitably at risk from a bored feline's claws. Early training to use a scratching post should prevent this problem, but adult cats may not be easily deterred from using valuable furniture in preference. Clipping the cat's claws is an alternative as is confining the cat, when you are out, to a part of the home where it can do little damage. A fairly common problem concerns houseplants. A cat kept indoors is more likely to nibble its owner's plants than one free to eat vegetation outdoors — and some houseplants are poisonous. Growing the cat its own greenery may provide a solution, but otherwise plants will have to be placed high out of reach or in positions that make nibbling awkward. Exercise Many of the confined cat's destructive habits may be due to boredom, and providing plenty of entertainment and exercise may be the answer. A collection of large, strong cardboard boxes with holes cut in the sides, or a few wide-bore cardboard tubes, will give endless fun as the cat rushes in and out of the tunnels. A climbing tree will be much appreciated, and you should build up a collection of toys. Owners with gardens may be able to construct or buy an outside pen, which can be fitted with shelves for jumping and trees — artificial or natural — to climb. If this is not possible, it is perfectly feasible to train the housebound cat to go for walks on a lead. Provided that it also has regular balanced meals, plenty of companionship and a safe home, it will be just as contented as its free-roaming counterpart — and may well have a longer and healthier life.

Wiggle Waggle Walkathon Reserve Sept. 12, 1999 on your calendar The 11th Wiggle Waggle Walkathon (WWW) will be held on Sunday, September 12, 1999, at the Experimental Farm Arboretum. We should have our posters and pledge forms available in early August. For those who wish to start early in obtaining pledges, we have created a Pre-pledge form. Feel free to make photocopies should you require additional space or give a copy to a friend. At last year's walkathon, we had over 700 participants and raised over $55,000. The Rinaldo's are our honourary chairs for this year's walk. They are the proud parents of CoCo and Chanel, two maltese. They are also owners of Rinaldo's Hair Designers and Spa. Looking forward to seeing everyone at this year's walk! Turning lost into found Submitted by Dianne Robertson I would like to thank the Humane Society for its help in re-uniting a lost dog with his owner — and in particular for your Lost and Found register that made this possible, so quickly. I recently found a beautiful blonde lab/collie name "Polar". He was at a busy Merivale/Kirkwood intersection, in heavy traffic and in danger of being hit. I brought him home and started searching for his owner. He had a collar with his name inscribed but no tags, making it difficult to track down the owner. I put an ad in the "found" column but with no luck (the owner later said he had not thought of looking there — his first source was the Humane Society). I called the Society, described the dog, and within seconds, we were able to match dog, owner and finder. This was only possible because of your Lost and Found book. Even with its brief description of the dog, his collar and location, you were able to quickly identify him. Within an hour of my call, Polar was back home. The owner, who had been to the Society twice a day looking for his dog, was over-joyed, even brought me, the finder, flowers, Polar's picture, and a promise to keep in touch. This was truly a "happy ending" — a beautiful gentle dog was re-united with his rightful owner in a very short time. I know you have many disheartening cases to deal with on a daily basis. I would like to thank you so much for your help in turning "lost into found" for a wonderful dog and his grateful owner. The Spirit of Volunteerism It is no secret that the spirit of volunteerism runs high at the Humane Society of Ottawa-Carleton. The HSOC relies on volunteers for everything from data entry and public relations to board and committee involvement. Volunteer resources have allowed this organization to maintain long-standing initiatives such as Companion Animals and to implement new ones like "For Pet's Sake ‘99" Auction. The relationship between a not-for-profit organization and its volunteer base is a rich one. Volunteers can energize an organization with their commitment and passion. In the case of the HSOC volunteers, they provide a vital link to the community we serve. They give us our "human face". In light of the contributions that volunteers make to the community April 18-24 is designated as National Volunteer Week. The National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating indicates that one in three Canadians over the age of 15 volunteer their time to charitable and non-profit organizations. Other Canadians help others directly, rather than through a charitable or non-profit organization. Almost 75%, for example assist through activities such as driving someone to appointments or doing unpaid teaching or coaching. These people offer a wealth of experience and resources to society. National Volunteer Week was established to acknowledge on a National level the value of these efforts. While the HSOC and other organizations like ours benefit from volunteer hours it is also a give and take relationship. Many unemployed volunteers believe that their volunteer efforts increase their chances of finding employment. Other volunteers find that new skills acquired through volunteer efforts provide them with skills that can be applied directly to their paid jobs. Once again this year the HSOC recognized the efforts of our dedicated volunteers during National Volunteer Week with special thank you cards, posters and goodies. While we know it is important to have this type of recognition staff and managers would like to let all volunteers know that their efforts on behalf of the animals are appreciated year round — every day. Thank You!! Did you know?? The Shasta daisy is a perennial flower which comes back annually, keeps growing in size, can be separated and replanted and still continues to flourish. For this reason, the Shasta daisy is the national flower of volunteering. The only difference between this wild flower and volunteerism, it seems, is that volunteerism is in season all year long.