Losing a Pet is Like Losing a Member of the Family

Losing a Pet is Like Losing a Member of the Family

When put in the situation of losing a beloved pet, many people might wonder whether it is something wrong to have such intense feelings of grief and pain. Most of them are even taken by surprise to see that they feel worse than if they had lost a friend or relative.

The explanation is simple, as most pet owners in the United States regard their pets as members of the family. Furthermore, more people have pets than children, so it should all be clear by now.

Depending on the part a family member has played in our daily lives, the significance of our relationships with him or her and also on the strength of our attachments to that person, we may react differently when a sudden death occurs. This is the same for people and animals.

Pets are the picture of devotion and availability and are our best source of unconditional love, becoming for many of us the ideal child, parent, mate or friend. No matter how much change we must endure in our lives, our pets are always there for us. They can listen without judgment or reproach. The bad thing about it is that they never give advice. They just accept us exactly as we are, no matter of how we look or feel or behave. They forgive us at once and never hold anything against us. Nowadays even the word pet, which implies ownership of one creature by another, is used less often in the professional literature than the term companion animal, which implies mutual friendship.

Pets are a constant presence in our daily life. We share with them happiness and sadness all the same. They are there when we drink our coffee in the morning, and need our help to toilet, feed, water, exercise and groom. They want us to play with them and even greet us joyfully when we come home to them and may even sleep with us in our beds at night. There is nothing we cannot do with our pets. We can touch them, stroke them, pet them, hug them, even kiss them, and tell them our troubles. People often share their deepest secrets with them.

So, the way people get attached to their pets may differ from individual to individual, but the result is still the same. We just love them and there is nothing that can be done to change that. Sometimes our love for pets even goes beyond their death, causing us to grief and feel an enormous pain in our hearts.

Training Abused and Neglected Animals 10-07-15

Training Abused and Neglected Animals

It never gets easier, listening to the heart-wrenching tales of animal abuse and neglect. Sadly, it seems that the abuse and neglect of animals is on the rise- or perhaps it's just being brought to our attention, because it is being reported more often; at least one can only hope that is the reason.

Our Judicial System is showing these cold-hearted criminals that Americans are not going to turn a blind-eye to this kind of horrid and cruel behavior, anymore. Animals are promptly taken away from the abuser. If they are not beyond the point of being helped: the animals are adopted out by caring, loving families who are able to meet the special needs that these animals so demand.

Then the impending job of retraining, or perhaps, training for the first time, begins. These special need animals need to learn to re-trust humans and not be intimidated and terrified around them, or other animals. Though the road may be long and hard: it will also be one of the most rewarding journeys you and your pet, will ever travel.

As with all forms of animal training - always use positive reinforcement. This can be in the form of treats, petting, play and/or positive attention. Never use punishment in training any animals - especially animals who have already learned to fear humans and will have a difficult time learning to re-trust.

Always make sure your pet can see and hear you clearly. In the beginning stages of training, it's best to have as least amount of distractions around, as possible. As training progresses, you can slowly add to the amount of distractions.

Never yell at your pet. Yelling at an abused animal, can throw him into a panic and set back days of training. He will most likely associate yelling with being hit or whatever form of abuse and/or neglect, he experienced.

For behaviors such as excessive barking, jumping on people, etc... Give a firm, "no", with an associated hand signal: lightly clapping, snapping fingers, etc...

When they learn to mind and follow commands, be sure to show them praise. Rewarding them with love and attention will make them associate minding with positive feedback.

You must be ready to have plenty of patience with your special needs pet. They will need extra TLC in everyday living, as well. They're going to need you to show them that they are valued, and it may take a while for them to understand that when they do, do something wrong - that it will not result in severe punishment. If you do not believe you have the patience required, then maybe an abused or neglected animal is not for you at this period in your life. That doesn't make you a bad person - actually it's the opposite - it means you thought more about the animal, then you did about yourself. There are many calm animals in shelters all across the country, which would love to have a new, loving master and a comfortable home to rest their body and quiet their mind.

Experts disagree on trap, neuter, release program for feral cats

 
Experts disagree on trap, neuter, release program for feral cats

AKRON, Ohio -- In an area of Akron, Ohio, that residents don't want disclosed live three colonies of wild, or feral, cats.

They dine in trash bins, are fed by employees of a local restaurant and find handouts and shelter from people in the neighborhood.

The Beacon Journal isn't disclosing the location because these cats are part of an experiment.

By some estimates, there may be 90,000 feral cats in Summit County, Ohio, alone.

To address this, residents in the area of the colonies have taken the cats to the vet for vaccinations against diseases and to have them neutered, with the thought that the problem will eventually disappear without outright destruction of the animals.

"There are probably five neighbors, and some of the waitresses help pay vet and food bills," said Karen Coleman, who is familiar with the experiment. She is affiliated with Alley Cat Allies, a national advocacy group that promotes TNR (trap, neuter and return feral cats to their place of origin).

The colonies have been monitored for about five years, and there is a feeling of success. The oldest member of the colony is 10 years old -- ancient for a feral cat.

And most importantly, there have been very few additions over that period, Coleman said. That's why they don't want the location disclosed.

Too little, too slow?

Bird advocacy groups argue that the trap, neuter and return method cannot work fast enough to solve what they see as an environmental crisis.

A feral cat is described as a cat born and raised in the wild, or one that has been abandoned or lost and has turned to wild ways to survive.

In seven years, one female cat and her offspring theoretically can produce 420,000 cats, according to estimates from the Humane Society of the United States.

They are not a native species, said George H. Fenwick, president of the American Bird Conservancy of The Plains, Va.

"As such, it has an advantage over all the native species that have found a balance in nature," he said. Because they receive vaccinations and auxiliary food, they have become "a super predator."

"Take the 'C' off cat and replace it with an 'R.' They are both small predator mammals. How would people feel about TNR colonies of rats? They wouldn't take it well," Fenwick said.

His group estimates there are 9 million wild cats nationwide, part of a free-roaming population that is killing more than a half billion birds annually.

In October, the conservancy sent mayors of 50 large American cities letters advising them of the threat "posed to birds and other wildlife in your city by feral and free-roaming cats." The letter stated that outdoor cats, even well-fed ones, kill hundreds of millions of wild birds and other small animals each year in the United States, including endangered species.

"Our read is really quite clear that free-roaming cats -- that includes TNR cats -- are proliferating. They are expanding horrifically and the data that we have, that's been peer reviewed and published, makes it quite clear that there is no evidence that TNR works," Fenwick said.

"During the past year, there has been a lot of misinformation circulating about the decline of bird populations, and the cats in the ecosystem, based on inaccurate information or misleading statistics circulated by groups seeking to bolster their cause," Alley Cat Allies President Becky Robinson said from the agency's base in Bethesda, Md.

Studies have shown cats to be mainly scavengers, not hunters, feeding mostly on garbage and scraps, she said. When they do hunt, cats prefer rodents and other burrowing animals, as witnessed by samples of the diets of outdoor cats, Robinson said.

ACA cites studies that show that the overwhelming causes of wildlife and bird deaths are loss of habitat, urbanization, pollution and environmental degradation -- all caused by humans, not feral cats. And when cats are removed from an area, rat populations soar and wipe out the birds completely, according to ACA.

The estimate of 90,000 homeless cats in Summit County comes from a formula devised by Julie Levy, director of Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program at the University of Florida. Estimates are based on surveys of people who admit they feed free-roaming cats they don't own.

"The people who are concerned about cat welfare also love birds, so we would like to humanely reduce the cat population to help the cats and the birds," she said.

There are examples of TNR successes, but problems arise in expanding the program to have a communitywide effect, she said.

"It's why my main research area has been in the development of nonsurgical contraceptives of cats. I am working on a sterilization vaccine because TNR is a huge bottleneck to trap and transport every cat to get it care," Levy said.

One of a Kind Pet Rescue in Akron altered more than 1,000 feral cats in 2011, veterinarian Meg Geldhof said. The clinic typically alters 30 feral cats per session but would like to raise that to 80, she said.

The clinic's $60 feral cat package includes the surgery, trap rental, rabies vaccine, distemper shots and flea treatment.

"Eventually, hopefully, we can whittle the number (of area ferals) down 20 to 40 percent over a five-year period," Geldhof said.

Veterinary technician Stephanie Sivula, practice manager at Dancing Paws Wellness Center in Richfield, Ohio, said she and her husband, veterinarian Neal Sivula, personally participate and provide TNR in their Akron neighborhood.

TNR works because "spayed and neutered cats mean no more kittens," she said.

"Yowling, fighting and noise from mating is reduced or eliminated. And the bottom line: It's the humane way to control cat populations," Sivula said.

Coleman and her neighbors use ACA guidelines, providing shelter in donated dog houses and insulated igloos she bought on sale at a discount store for $10.

Spay and neuter surgery and vaccinations cost about $50 for each cat and are done at Pet Guards in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

Veterinarian Geldhof said if the conservancy's goal is to reduce the number of feral cats, she doesn't understand its issue with TNR.

"If we do nothing, then we will continue to have an overpopulation of cats. This actually reduces them. And, isn't that what they want?"