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Meeting notes |
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Twenty brave souls battled the frigid, wickedly cold weather to attend our meeting on January 7th. Our meeting started with announcements, followed by a discussion with bk pet necessities, and ending with Dennis Mathias' information and demonstration of how to construct a low cost feral shelter.
Molly Hoffmann: We had a neat donation at Christmas time from a private citizen - a lemon spray anti-bark collar valued at $125. Lots of dogs are surrendered due to their persistent barking and this collar is a humane training aide that will help teach a dog to not bark. The collar is triggered when the dog barks and sprays out a small amount of lemon spray. The spray distracts the dog which stops the barking. If anyone has trouble with their dog barking excessively, please let us know. We will loan out the collar with a signed contract and $10.00 deposit. Once the dog has learned to not bark, the collar can be returned to us. When the collar is returned, the $10.00 deposit will be returned.
We are working with Friends of the Dog Runs and Greater Lincoln Obedience Club to obtain approval for putting up weather proof plastic display boxes with a lid, containing newsletters, brochures, Pet Food Bank applications, business cards, etc. We hope to have these displays up shortly. After they are put in place, if you could help us keep an eye on them to ensure they aren't empty or vandalized, we'd appreciate it. Eventually we hope to have these display cases at vet offices and other businesses. The plastic display cases are very reasonably priced at about $6.00 each.
Mary Douglas: After having received over 100 telephone calls in the month of November, we decided it was time for the Lincoln Animal Ambassadors to have a telephone number. Our number is 402.817.1168. Currently, we have four people checking the voice mail system and returning telephone calls. Our phone number has been added to the website as well as to the Pet Food Bank applications.
A permanent drop off location for Pet Food Bank donations has been arranged with Cause for Paws, which is open 7 days a week. We only ask that a name and address is affixed to the donation so that we can mail a receipt to the donator.
Pet Food Bank applicants can pick up their pet food and supplies from Cause for Paws while our members Larry and Karl are volunteering there. We have also made arrangements for applicants to pick up their pet food and supplies from the St. Matthews Episcopal Church. If you would like to volunteer to help us with distributing pet food and supplies, please let us know. Volunteers are needed from about 7:00 - 8:00 PM only on those evenings that arrangements have been established.
To date, over 5,000 pounds of pet food has been distributed. Towards the end of January, or in the month of February, we will receive another mass donation and if you would like to help us transport the donation and organize it in our storage unit, please let us know.
Kyndall Bedell: The Cat House has 2010 calendars for sale. The calendars are priced at $10.00 and all proceeds go to The Cat House. The cats showcased in the calendar were chosen from a photo contest. The calendar is very high quality and contains many tips and stories. All the artwork was done by Kyndall. You can hang the calendar up or use it as a "coffee table" calendar. The calendar is available at The Cat House, the All Feline Hospital, or from The Cat House's website: www.thecathouse.org
Karl Skinner: The Nebraska Voters for Companion Animals, while only a year old, is a very active group. They have established a voters bloc. Recently LB6 was swiftly defeated (LB6 would have resulting in cutting the funding for the Commercial Dog and Cat Operators Inspection program) due to the Nebraska Voters for Companion Animals' swift action. Senator McGill has proposed a bill where protection orders granted to people would also be extended to their pets, which is supported by the Nebraska Voters for Companion Animals. If you are interested in joining the Nebraska Voters for Companion Animals, you can sign up on their website: http://www.nebraskavca.com/index.html
Save the date! A concerned Lincoln citizen is graciously holding a fundraiser for the Lincoln Animal Ambassadors and the Capital Humane Society on Saturday, February 13, at 7:00 PM at the Holiday Inn! We feel this will be an excellent opportunity to strengthen our relationship with the Capital Humane Society and improve the opportunities available to homeless animals. Many of the details are still being worked out but so far, the fundraiser will have a DJ, a fashion show highlighting clothing from the Cause for Paws. Animals may be involved with the fashion show. A raffle will be held and one of the items up for the raffle is a 3 ct diamond broach!! Tickets for this event will be $25 for a couple, $15 for single people. Ten volunteers from the Lincoln Animal Ambassadors as well as from the Capital Humane Society are needed. If you would like to volunteer, please let us know. Additional information will be sent out, as soon as all the plans are finalized.
Maddie McAlister: Maddie is conducting a compare/contrast survey on feral cat colonies and TNR (trap-neuter-return) as part of her project with the Upward Bound program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with EnvironMentors. You may remember that Maddie previously did a statistical analysis of animal shelter records from Lincoln, Beatrice, and York that revealed large, dark colored, male dogs take longer to be adopted than other dogs. Maddie was awarded a $500 scholarship and trip to D.C. for her statistical analysis and hopes to receive another scholarship and trip with her work on feral cats. If you would like to participate in Maddie's survey, please let us know and we'll provide your contact information to Maddie.
bk pet necessities: Kendra & Karl Detweiler of bk pet necessities brought an incredible feral shelter for us to look at. The shelter was fully insulated, had a hinged roof and a removable porch. Everyone commented on how well constructed the shelter was and how nice it looked! Not to mention how reasonably priced the shelter was! bk pet necessities (the "b" stands for Becky and the "k" stands for Kendra) is a grassroots organization that helps our animals and also helps women from prisons to develop skills. bk pet necessities can be found at the downtown Haymarket in the summer or at their home office on Saturdays. 10% of all their sales to go The Cat House and they also generously donate to the Pet Food Bank each month. Kendra explained that all their shelters are hand made and they can easily customize the shelters in any way. The shelter can be left as it is, be stained, or painted. You can contact then at 402.432.1812 or via their website: www.bkpetnecessities.com
Dennis Mathias: It is appropriate that on the coldest day on the year, we are talking about feral care and demonstrating how to make a low cost feral shelter. Dennis said that we actually should have had this discussion and demonstration in November. Therefore, I will resend this information out at the end of October.
There is an estimated 75,000 feral cats in Lincoln. You live close to feral cats. If you don't think you live close to feral cats, keep an eye out for paw prints in the snow to see how many live by you.
One thing that some feral cats tend to do to stay warm, is to crawl up inside the engine area of a vehicle. Before starting your vehicle, it is a good idea to firmly pat the hood of your vehicle several times or tap your horn. The idea is to startle the cat and encourage them to run away before you start your engine.
The following information will cover storm drains, keeping a cat dry and out of the wind, food, water, and then the construction of a low cost shelter.
Storm Drains:
Storm drains provide some warmth and running water for feral cats and when the weather gets severely cold, a lot of cats will take refuge in the storm drains. Snow plows tend to pile heaps of snow on the openings of storm drains so make sure that storm drains remain open. If a storm drain is covered by too much snow, a cat may not be able to dig their way out. When clearing the storm drain of snow, don't remove out all the snow from the entire storm drain entrance area, just enough of the area (perhaps a 12 to 18 inch wide area) to provide an egress point for cats.
Keeping a cat dry and out of the wind:
Medically, the biggest health problem for cats in severely cold weather is frozen ear tips. If a cat is dry and out of the wind, it is less likely to suffer from frozen ear tips.
A properly constructed shelter is better for a feral cat than the storm drains. A properly placed shelter helps the cat better throughout the bitterly cold weather by keeping them dry and out of the wind.
Elevate the shelter about eight inches to keep it as dry as possible and keep the entrance shoveled out so that the cat does not track snow into the shelter.
Ideally, shelters should be placed on the southern side of a building or bushes, with the entrance of the shelter facing the south. In this way, the shelter will be in a more protected area.
Cats, when exposed to such cold weather without any shelter, will not survive for very long. If the cat remains dry and out of the wind, it should do OK. If a cat becomes wet, they lose their ability to stay warm and will not survive for long.
If you provide a shelter, ensure it remains dry inside by using straw on the inside of the shelter. The straw will help the cat to warm themselves up. Do not use any material such as towels or blankets within a shelter because these types of materials retain moisture. Keeping the cat dry is critical.
Food:
Food is critical. A cat will survive longer without water, than food. If a cat does not eat every day, it can develop health problems such as "fatty liver disease." (When a cat lacks food, its body releases fat cells to the liver to process into lipoproteins for fuel. Unfortunately, a cat's liver is not efficient at processing fat and much of the fat ends up being stored within the liver cells. Left untreated, the liver will fail and the cat will die.) Therefore it is very important for a cat to eat frequently and ideally should be given food 3 to 4 times a day. If a cat is hanging around, feed them. The food needs to be placed in a semi-sheltered area, in a location that is out of the wind.
Eating cold food is not the best for a cat because their body has to warm the food up before it can be digested. One trick is to use a one gallon electric heated water bowl. Place a small amount of water in the bowl so that the water is about ¼ to ½ inch deep. You can then put the food into the bowl (it should float) or put the cat food into another, smaller container and place it into the electric heated water bowl. The warmth of the water will radiate up through the cat food and will keep the food from freezing.
Water:
Water is very important in the winter and unfortunately, lots of snow and ice don't qualify as fresh water. If a cat does ingest snow, it would reduce their body temperature too much. Cats are originally desert animals and do have the ability to retain water for a long period of time, which is why their urine is so smelly.
The easiest way to provide water is to use an electric heated water bowl. If the cat is located in an area that does not have electricity, do not put out hot water for the cat. If the cat is thirsty and anxious for water, it may scald its mouth. It is best to use the 55 degree water straight from the tap or room temperature water . Two to three timesa day, remove the frozen water and replace with fresh water.
Construction of a low cost shelter:
Materials needed: two storage tubs with lids that close securely (one larger than the other), about two cans of expanding foam insulation, small blocks of wood that are the same thickness (size does not really matter), a small amount of a plastic rug protector sheet, some type of saw, spray adhesive, a small amount of aluminum thermal insulation foil (looks a lot like aluminum bubble wrap), a small amount of foam core insulation, and straw. You may also need something like concrete blocks or bricks to weigh down the lid of the storage tub.
Optional material: Electro-kennel heater. A small one is best so that the cat can lie on the pad to warm up and then move off the pad if they get too warm.
Ensure your smaller tub is large enough to be comfortable for a cat.
Start with the larger tub. Remove the lid and set it aside. Place the small blocks of wood on the inside bottom of the tub in a "sunburst" pattern.
Line the bottom of the tub with enough expanding foam to cover the entire bottom of the tub and the blocks of wood (keep in mind that this stuff really expands).
Place the smaller tub inside the larger tub before the expanding foam hardens. Ensure the smaller tub is placed in the center of the larger tub so that there is an equal amount of space on each side of the tubs.
Use more expanding foam to fill in the space on the sides between the larger and smaller tubs.
Let the foam harden.
Cut pieces of foam core insulation to line the inside of both of the lids with. Take your time and trim a little here and there until the foam core insulation is just the right size. Use a small amount of spray adhesive to affix the foam core insulation to the inside of the lids. Cover the foam core insulation with aluminum thermal insulation foil and use spray adhesive to affix it in place.
After the expanding foam has hardened, cut a hole for the cat to be able to enter the shelter by using a saber saw, coping saw, or even a utility knife. Be very careful when cutting the hole! The size of the hole should be just large enough for a cat to be able to enter the shelter. It should not be more than 6 to 8 inches wide. Don't cut the entrance hole too low. The entrance hole should be 3 to 4 inches up from the bottom on the shelter.
You can construct a door for the shelter by using the plastic rug protector sheet. If your shelter entrance is round or oval, use a plastic rug protector sheet that is about four inches longer and about two inches wider than the entrance. Cut the protector sheet into one inch wide strips, leaving about two inches at the top (imagine a comb or hair pick). Use spray adhesive to affix the solid portion of the protector sheet above the entrance, with the strips hanging down covering the entrance.
Line the bottom and sides of the inner storage container with the aluminum thermal insulation foil.
Place the optional electro-kennel heater on top of the thermal insulation foil.
Place about three inches of straw on top of the electro-kennel heater (if not used, place the straw on top of the thermal insulation foil).
I realize these instructions may be difficult to follow. If you are constructing a feral shelter and need help, please let us know. We will be more than happy to help! At some point, I will develop an photo-illustrated step-by-step guide and will post it on the website. |
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