As cat lovers, we all know that cats are “different” and that’s why we love them. Cats are very different from most other animals when it comes to their nutrition too. Here are a few important things to know, plus some help on how to decipher the ingredients on your kitty’s food labels. Please note that this information is not intended to be advice, medically or otherwise. Every individual animal is different! If you have further questions, or any concerns about your cat’s nutrition and health, it’s always best to talk to a veterinarian. The information I’m providing assumes your cat is in general good health.      READ MORE

Cat Nutrition and Understanding Food Labels                    By Fiona Dudley            

Newsletter 5/25/2016

Fiona is a long time supporters, sponsor and in school to become a registered Vet Tech- Thanks for writing for us Fi!

St Pauls Festival

We had lots of fun meeting the community during the St Paul’s Community festival!  Madison & Alec are 2 service personnel that dropped by the booth and then came to visit us at open house. If you are in the Fayetteville NC area 6/4 & 6/5 we will be at Pet Fest,  come visit our booth!

Thank you to everyone that came to visit us for open house!  The cats loved having your visit :) Our next open houses are  6/11,  7/16, 8/13, 9/10, 10/5 & 11/12   noon - 4

Open House

Cat Updates

If you have been following us on Facebook or the newsletter you know that Ziggy had been struggling with leukemia.   His upper respiratory infection had cleared up but he was not improving.  He was still not eating enough on his own to maintain his own weight.  We took him back to the vet and had new blood work done.  Our hearts just sank when we saw the results.  He was so anemic it was for a blood transfusion.  His bone marrow was no longer working.  It was time to let him go.  He spent his last day sitting out on the patio enjoying the fresh air.    I held him as he looked out the window watching the birds as he returned to his maker.  He was a very sweet loving fellow and will be greatly missed!

Ziggy photo bomb - how we would like to remember him

Tom went to Raleigh to have surgery on his legs.  The ortho surgeon felt he wanted to do the real bad one first. The CT and x-rays showed a lot of damage and he was not sure once he got inside that it was going to be repairable. He called me while doing surgery and felt the damage was too great and that he would not be able to give him a stable leg.  He felt the correct choice would be to amputate his leg.  Now he is a tripod.

He is recovering well

Mini - Mack

Mini Mack is also FELV+  He is also struggling with his health He is back home on antibiotics.  We are not real sure what is wrong with him.  Sadly, I am not expecting a good outcome for him.

Fred

Fred is in the hospital.  We are still waiting on more tests.  He is FELV/FIV+

Tom

Ziggy

DO YOU SMOKE?

Did you know your smoking  could be killing your pets?

There are so many studies out there that show how bad smoking is for humans but now the studies are showing what it is doing to our 4 legged family and it is not pretty! Did you know that cats living in smoking households are more than twice as likely to develop malignant lymphoma (a type of cancer) compared to cats in nonsmoking households?  The risk increased with the duration and amount of exposure and cats with 5 or more years of exposure to secondhand smoke are more than THREE as likely to develop malignant lymphoma. Dogs living in homes with smokers have significantly higher levels of cotinine in their blood indicating exposure to nicotine through secondhand smoke.  An increased risk of cancer of the nasal cavity an sinuses of dogs.  Shot and medium nose dogs are twice as likely to develop lung cancer in smoking households. Tobacco Free Utah summarizes how exposure to tobacco and smoking affects pets and what the health consequences are for pets so exposed: How: By ingestion of cigarette or cigar butts which contain toxins. By drinking water that contains cigar or cigarette butts (which can have high concentrations of nicotine). By breathing secondhand smoke. By ingestion of nicotine replacement gum and patches. Health Effects: Breathing problems in dogs and asthmatic-like symptoms in cats Salivation Diarrhea Vomiting Cardiac abnormalities Respiratory difficulties and respiratory paralysis Feline lymphoma in cats Lung cancer in dogs Nasal cancer in dogs Death: from 1-5 cigarettes and from 1/3-1 cigar can be fatal if ingested E-Cigarettes Are Poisonous for Pets!! Pet Poison Helpline in Naples, Florida has noted a 400 percent increase in pet poisonings linked to e-cigarettes. "It's a very real potential danger to your pets," said Animal Life Veterinary Center's Dr. Randy Eisel. He claimed that the refills for these vaporizers contain nicotine, which is lethal for your furry friends. "Nicotine is very toxic to dogs and cats and children and humans. If you drink that much of that, you could have a serious problem, " he added. Eisel also explained that the flavors of e-cigarette refills are attractive to the senses of pets. "They're flavored like things that dogs would love: vanilla, chocolate, you name it," the doctor noted. Pet Poison Helpline veterinarian Ahna Brutlag said in a  DogTime report that the nicotine in one cartridge of an e-cigarette is twice the amount found in a traditional one.  "Many people don't stop at two, so nicotine poisoning in pets has a rapid onset of symptoms - generally within  fifteen to sixty minutes following ingestion," Brutlag added. Some of the symptoms of nicotine poisoning among animals  are diarrhea, vomiting, agitation, increased heart rate, depression, weakness, coma, tremors and cardiac arrest.

http://ow.ly/YZ8I9  (FELV room) http://ow.ly/YZ8NZ  (crazy blind room) http://ow.ly/YZ8WD    Other crazy blind room

Did you know you can watch  the cats 24 hours a day?

Some fun screen shots from tours and the meshare cameras Daily tours are done daily live on Facebook noon & 3 pm  EST,  We upload them the next day to our Youtube channel if you are not on Facebook.

Ustream

 ROKU

It is black & white because the lights are off in the building

Bear Chillin in the banana bed

Dueal wheel runners

Simba getting a toupe

So many cats, one banana

Something startled Skittle

You May Know My Name . . . . By  Bob Seifried       I stretched out lazily on my soft beige carpet. Paws reaching skyward, basking in the warmth of the climbing sun. My senses on full alert, heightened by the smell of fresh food wafting through the morning air. “Breakfast is here” said my grumbling stomach. Outside birds chirped cheerfully, preoccupied with their own daily routine, but little did I know . . . . . there would be nothing routine about this sunrise. Unbeknownst to me my family had made a fateful decision, an outcome that would forever turn my world upside down.            CLICK TO CONTINUE READING

If you would like to submit a story or article to our newsletter, we would be honored to read it. Please email  alana@blindcatrescue.com

FREE WAYS to Help The Cats Click every day:   http://shopforyourcause.com/click-to-donate/donate?ctd=4 Do you shop with Schawns?  Use our link and it helps the cats: https://www.schwans-cares.com/campaigns/21909-blind-cat-kitty-care    NEW LINK! Do you shop with Amazon?  Shop through  http://smile.amazon.com  and pick Blind Cat Rescue as your charity and their foundation will make a donation to the cats Make your own fund raiser for the cats.  Share your birthday, anniversary or anything else you would like.     http://fundraise.blindcatrescue.com Do you like to run, walk, jog?  Download the resqwalk app, pick Blind Cat rescue and then will donate to us for every mile you walk.  Apple and droids :)    http://resqwalk.com