Enjoying the Outdoors Safely

Enjoying the Outdoors Safely

All Posts, Cat Blog Articles, Vet's Corner
Enjoying the Outdoors Safely By C. M. Saracco It’s a dilemma many cat parents face:  they want their cats to enjoy the outdoors while remaining safe and protecting wildlife. What if it wasn’t strictly an either/or choice?   Leash / Harness Training   Training your cat to tolerate a harness and leash can help your cat explore the sights, sounds, and smells of the outdoors while remaining safely near you.  Combined pricing for both units is affordable, often $15 - $40.  For more than a decade, I’ve used this option with my now 19-year-old cat Ezekiel, a rescue who had been accustomed to roaming outdoors and occasionally fought with neighbor cats or dashed across the street.  He’s now indoors-only except when we harness him for a backyard sunbathing or garden exploration session. …
Read More
Growing Your Own Kitty Treats

Growing Your Own Kitty Treats

All Posts, Cat Blog Articles, Vet's Corner
Growing Your Own Kitty Treats By C. M. Saracco The sunny days of Spring are a great time to grow cat grass or catnip for your kitties.  Both are easy to cultivate in Santa Clara County, in containers or in the ground.  And both are reputed to offer mild health benefits – for example, cat grass can aid digestion and help cats eliminate hairballs, while catnip can reduce anxiety and encourage exercise. Most cats like them.  Growing these treats for your cat is actually quite easy.  You just need a couple of sturdy containers and a sunny spot indoors or outdoors.  If you’re impatient or just don’t want to get your hands dirty, many garden shops carry cat grass and catnip plants.  But growing your own is fun and inexpensive and…
Read More
A Special Story About A Special Cat

A Special Story About A Special Cat

All Posts, Cat Blog Articles, Happy Tails
A Special Story About A Special Cat Written by Amber Le As we frequently see many cats find their special homes, one of our most heartfelt stories is about Wendy (now known as Winnie). Wendy pretty much had the whole package: exotic looks, a loving nature, and her overall positive presence. However, it was a bit hard for her to be adopted. She has a condition called feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) which severely weakens her immune system. FIV is only contagious through deep bite wounds and cats with this condition tend to live long, healthy lives. Wendy’s charm and affectionate behavior usually caught people’s eye but potential adopters would usually worry about her health. As a result, she remained at the shelter for a while. As the days went by…
Read More
Summer Tips For A Bay Area Cat

Summer Tips For A Bay Area Cat

All Posts, Cat Blog Articles
Summer Tips For A Bay Area Cat Summer in the Bay Area can mean a lot of different things in terms of weather. Within a single day, temperatures can soar to heatwave levels and then drop to the high 50s. At noon, you might need lots of sunscreen and a popsicle or two to keep you cool. But don’t be surprised if, by 3:00, you’re zipping your jacket up to your chin! Some days, the sun is blocked by clouds or an impenetrable fog layer. That is what you can expect from a Bay Area summer—in other words, the unexpected. For example, Morgan Hill, the home of Town Cats, averages a high of 88°F for the month of August, whereas San Francisco averages a breezy 67°. These temperature variances are…
Read More
We’re Celebrating YOU: Our Foster Heroes

We’re Celebrating YOU: Our Foster Heroes

Cat Blog Articles, Current "Mews", News & Happenings
It’s National Foster a Pet Month! We’re Celebrating YOU!   We’re celebrating National Foster a Pet Month with the Petco Foundation and Skechers’ charity footwear collection, BOBS from Skechers, by recognizing all of our incredible foster volunteers. Your dedication, love and care enable all of us to save pet lives. Thank you!   To kick off Foster a Pet Month, we’re celebrating one of our own Foster Heroes, Nannete Hopson. Nannette Hopson is an extraordinary foster whose compassion & efforts are critical to the success of our mission to save the most vulnerable cats in our community. When there's struggling kittens that need extra care to survive, she jumps to the challenge and does everything in her capacity to save them. While we have many outstanding fosters in our network, Nannette…
Read More
Lady Bunny’s New Home

Lady Bunny’s New Home

All Posts, Current "Mews", Happy Tails
When Lady Bunny first arrived at Town Cats at the end of last year, she hid under her blanket in fear and would not let anyone near her. It took weeks for her to even come out from underneath her blanket let alone be touched. We knew she was going to need some time, love, and attention to help her come out of her shell. We started with small gestures, pets, treats, and gentle speaking to get her comfortable with being in her new environment at the shelter. In January, she was adopted by a family who was aware of her shyness and was willing to work with her at her home to socialize her, however, she unfortunately was returned for lack of progress. After 2 months of regimented Cat…
Read More