Second Chance: How to ID a Cat!

15 Dec Second Chance: How to ID a Cat!

Second Chance Humane Society’s Animal Resource Center and Thrift Shops have been serving San Miguel, Ouray & Montrose Counties for 27 years. Call 626-2273 to report a lost pet, learn about adopting a homeless pet, or about our Emergency Response, Community Medical, Spay/Neuter, Volunteer, or other services. View shelter pets and services online: www.adoptmountainpets.org.

Go here  for more options from Second Chance.

Sassy & Ebony

According to the Humane Society of the United States, only 2 to 5 % of the millions of lost cats entering shelters annually nationwide are reunited with their owners. That is mainly because cats do not arrive at shelters with secure identification to get them returned home. Compare this to dogs, reunited with owners at eight times the rate cats are. (Only 14% of cats arriving at shelters have i.d. as compared to 43% of dogs.)

Why the crisis and why the disparity between dogs and cats? Are dog parents more responsible than cat parents? Do they care more than cat parents? No way. It appears simply to be a lack of education about the importance of providing i.d. for a cat, and an understanding of the proper and safe means of doing so.

Some cat owners feel if they have an indoor cat they don’t need the pesky collar, while others are turned away by the “fit of contempt” that often takes place from first-time feline collar experiences. The realities are that indoor cats escape and become lost, while, if properly fitted, cats quickly adjust to new collars. And I recommend brightly colored break-away or elastic stretch collar that allows you to slide two fingers between the collar and the cat’s neck.

Another reason cat parents avoid collars is from concern: they fear the collar will get caught on something and choke or hang the cat. The response from the animal welfare industry is simply that the risk of this happening is far less than that of your cat becoming lost and unable to find its way home. Shelter folk say these concerns are overblown, especially considering how many lost animals are euthanized across the nation because their families cannot be found.

For those who are really having a difficult time convincing themselves and their cat that a collar with i.d. is an agreeable solution, Second Chance Humane offers a great (if not preferable) alternative – the micro-chip. These minute devices, rather painlessly implanted in the subcutaneous layer of the pet’s skin, are really the best protection for a lost cat. Second Chance’s Community Medical Clinic offers microchipping for as low as $10, so cost is no longer a barrier to getting that done.

In a review of 53 shelters, across 23 states, return rates of cats to owners was found to be 20 times higher for cats with microchips. This form of safety net can still be sabotaged by human error – such as by not maintaining a current address and contact information in the database the chip is linked to. So add that to your to-do list if needed.

About us:

In the 16 years of Pet Columns there has never been a co-authored story – until now. I would like to introduce my bestie Sassy. She is 7 and asks me every day when our new family will give us a Home for the Holidays. She wants you to know that she is smart and did all the research for this Pet Column.

My name is Ebony. I am 10 and can’t wait to meet my new family, but I can’t imagine life without Sassy, so we are waiting it out until someone with space in their heart and home can adopt us together.

Come meet us today!

AND… To continue the new Second Chance Highlights section we wanted to share the following:

Update on the 28 pets Transferred from Towaoc

Kylo with forever family

The continued story of the puppies, dogs, cats and kittens we evacuated from the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation (due to no heat in the facility) is one of true second chances and lives saved. The two litters of puppies (11 total) were very sick when they arrived and our medical team and staff have been giving it everything they have to keep them alive. We lost one, which was devastating, but believe that at this point the rest will make it.

As the Towaoc facility was not one with medical care or the capacity to treat sick animals none of them would have survived this illness. Although losing one was super tough, we know we saved many lives. The pups are still all in medical isolation, but many have pulled through completely and will be ready for spay/neuter and adoption in a few weeks.

The mama dog and her seven nursing pups are doing well so far while the three sweet, but timid adolescent lab mix sisters are warming up quickly to staff and volunteers, have been spayed and are ready for forever families!

Kylo, the adult male, was placed in foster care as he needed treatment for two tick-borne diseases prior to being adopted. He is getting healthier everyday, putting weight on and eagerly adjusting to life in a warm, cozy home with four family members who absolutely adore him. The Wick family was smitten the day they met this special guy and are adopting him into their family forever!

And last, but not least, the mama cat and her offspring have warmed up quickly to staff and are ready for their new homes too – our Home for the Holidays campaign has never been more needed for all these deserving pets!

Thank you for making Second Chances with us!

Community Partnerships! 

Second Chance is thankful to be a grant recipient of the Women’s Club of Ouray. The grant will go directly towards special medical needs of our shelter animals.

Second Chance also received a grant from Western Colorado Community Foundation – Ouray County Community Fund to support our Community Medical Program and Low-Cost Community Behavioral Training.