Two local shelters share the myths and realities of rescue operations October 26, 2024
When The Northern Express spoke with Melissa Smith, vice president of TC Paw Cat Rescue, she was intently watching the trail camera’s live feed. A living trap was displayed on the screen.
“There’s a humanitarian trap,” Smith said. “No one was hurt. “I just made a small food trail and the kitten kept coming in. The cat stepped on something and the door closed with the cat inside. ”
Smith said she has set up a trap just 10 minutes from her home for stray cats reported in the area. In fact, she has prepared several different traps. “There’s never a dull moment,” Smith jokes.
TC Paw was founded just over a year and a half ago after another county Antrim shelter, AC Paw, announced it would end its animal rescue operations to shift its focus to other services. As with many new organizations, founders must wear a variety of hats. Most of Smith’s job consists of handling media relations for TC Paw, but she has taken on a few other responsibilities along the way.
“When it comes to cats outside, I keep track of everything,” Smith says. “I often search for and rescue lost cats.”
Smith said what he’s seen on trail cameras over the past year and a half has been eye-opening. As we search for one cat, we often come across many more who have never been rescued.
“When I see another cat, I think, wait a second, who’s this cat? You never know how many dozens of cats you’ll see on camera at night.”
Pepsi and Coca-Cola are available for adoption through the Cherryland Humane Society.
pets aren’t cheap
Smith said one of the big factors why so many cats can be seen in the wild is simply the cost of keeping them. Financial hardship appears to be the cause of many lost or surrendered cats.
Of nearly 2,000 U.S. consumers, 12 percent of Americans (and 25 percent of Gen Z) said they gave up their pets because they could no longer afford to care for them, according to a study released last month by LendingTree.com. . Additionally, 85 percent of pet owners say that inflation has made ownership more expensive, and 41 percent are struggling to pay the costs.
“I think what we’re seeing with TC Paw’s work is that people are facing an economic crisis,” Smith said. They have lost their homes or are unable to afford homes that allow them to take their pets. ”
Over the past five years, cat adoption trends have remained stable, but dog adoption rates, especially large breeds, have declined. This is likely due to the additional costs associated with large pets. Tia Barbera, an animal behaviorist at Cherryland Humane Society, also sees this and connects it to a larger trend.
“These adoption trends seem to only cause pets to stay in shelters longer,” Barbera said. “The reasons vary a little bit from community to community, but the biggest one is things like the cost of living, which is inflation. When it comes to not only caring for animals, but also caring for ourselves, that care has improved dramatically. ”
Poe is available for adoption through the Cherryland Humane Society.
black cats are not unlucky
But another reason why some pets stay in shelters longer has nothing to do with economics. Smith says black cats and dogs are too often misunderstood.
“I think a lot of it has to do in part with seeing a black cat and thinking, oh, that’s bad luck,” Smith says. “Or it’s related to something scary or Halloween.”
But it’s not all superstition. Barbera has noticed a tendency for darker-skinned pets to stay longer in shelters (a phenomenon known as “black cat bias”), but there are very practical ways to get these pets adopted. I think there are several ways.
“The general trend is that darker pets like dogs and cats are often ignored,” Barbera said. “But how we present these animals in our shelters, how we promote them, how we market them, and how we let people get to know the animals in front of them and their individual personalities. , which may be important after all.”
Tim Hortons is available for adoption through TC Paw.
Age is not a deciding factor in contracts.
Even animals that are easily managed are even more likely to be overlooked when they are older or have health problems.
“I think there’s a mentality that people think this kitten is over 10 years old, which means this kitten is going to be the type of cat that’s going to have all kinds of medical problems, and otherwise this kitten is going to be over 10 years old. “I mean, you don’t want to be like, ‘Be sociable,'” says Smith. “I think the great thing about senior cats is that they have that protected, unconditional love in their prime. They say, ‘I don’t have the energy of a kitten.’ I’m not going to run around and exert all that high energy, but just knowing that there’s a human being out there who loves me is all I need. ”
She talks about recent adoption success stories. Among them was Opal, a 10- or 11-year-old calico cat with thyroid and kidney problems who had been waiting for a year for her forever home. Smith said she was taken in by a woman in her 70s who decided “we would live out our golden years together.”
Indoor cats often live for 18 years or more, especially if they receive consistent care from a veterinarian. And even people with disabilities or health conditions can live long, healthy lives.
For example, it’s not uncommon to see “FIV+” listed on an adoptable cat’s bio. Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is similar to human HIV and can weaken your cat’s immune system. The Humane Society of the United States estimates that 3 to 5 percent of healthy cats in North America are FIV+.
“These cats can live really normal, healthy, wonderful lives,” Smith says of FIV+ cats. “If you have other cats in your home, obviously be wary and know that FIV can be transmitted through cat bites, but you usually don’t actually see cats get to the point where they bite each other. .”
Professor Smith recommends separating food and water dishes for cats with FIV and working with your veterinarian to learn how to care for an FIV-positive cat, but FIV cannot be transmitted to other cats in the household. They say it’s extremely rare.
Cats don’t need to go outside
Another common myth is that all cats want to spend time in the great outdoors. Sure, some people are daring to claw at the door and run away, but Smith says staying indoors is the safest for everyone involved.
“Unless the cat is a barn cat, which can be key to feral cats, it’s best to keep the cat inside,” Smith explains. “And sadly, I don’t know how many cats I’ve found on the side of the road this summer, and they’ve passed away, so I take them to that clinic. And I’m just thinking, ‘ Oh my god, why was this cat outside?’
Smith points out other downsides to letting cats outside, from the impact hunting has on wildlife (particularly birds) to shortened lifespans. She also notes that many outdoor cats are not spayed or neutered, which leads to more cats being born.
“Spaying/neutering is at the top of our list,” she added. “We spay and neuter all of our cats.”
Fanta is available for adoption through TC Paw.
There’s no such thing as a crazy cat (or dog) woman
After all, TC Paw and Cherryland Humane Society are working to find safe homes for animals in our region.
“Part of the reason I joined is to not only educate people about cat psychology, but also to debunk the term ‘crazy cat lady,'” Smith says with a laugh. “My daily mission is to try to make this world a better place for animals. That’s why I’m involved with TC Paw because we want to be a resource and an educational tool.”
She explains that whether you’re a dog person or a cat person, it’s best to be an animal person and help pets in need.
Along those lines, both shelters report that what they need more than anything is volunteers. Specifically, TC Paw focuses on foster care, and the cats we rescue are placed in foster care volunteer homes around northern Michigan.
“All we ask is that you provide a safe, clean space for cats and kittens in your home while we work to place them into their forever homes,” Smith said.
Both Cherryland Humane Society and TC Paw are always looking for volunteers to step up as new foster homes. To support volunteers, each organization covers all the financial burdens associated with owning a pet, such as medical expenses, food, and cat litter.
“The more foster homes we have, the more cats we can adopt that are homeless or surrendered,” Smith said. “We are facing a never-ending battle, so we want to help as many people as possible.”
