KITTENS?....I GOT YOUR KITTENS RIGHT HERE!!!

By Daniel Quagliozzi

One persons burden can easily be another persons blessing. A day does not go by that I am not reminded of the gravity of the situation happening at the SF/SPCA. Summer is officially here, although you wouldn't know it if you lived in San Francisco, as our weather has been quite foggy and a little bit humid this month. However...if you work with shelter animals in any capacity, summer has nothing to do with weather. Summer is just another word for "Kitten Season".

Daniel Quagliozzi marvels at the overwhelming number of kittens.

We brace for the summer months every year. It's not like it takes us by surprise or something. The thing is, you can never truly anticipate just how many kittens are going to invade your shelter and this year posed a very unique threat....The Economy!!! Sure, blame the economy right? Everyone is pinning their woes on the economy these days. Lets face it, people are tightening their wallets and being very mindful of their money. Parallel with poverty, people are also losing their homes and subsequently their companion animals as a result. You put the two together and what do you get? A shelter filled to rafters with cats!!

Here at the SF/SPCA we are compensating for the kitten storm in very inventive ways. Aside from being really creative about housing the cats (3 or 4 to a room and rolling kitten cages into our lobby) we are also hosting an Adoption Fair on June 20th, reducing our fees to help out our adopters ( Fees on Adult cats over 6 are WAIVED!!) and we are even having a party called "CATNIP" on June 25th.

Please spread the word about the state of affairs here at the SF/SPCA. Open your heart and your home this summer. Skip the BBQ's and chew on some food for thought instead. These little guys don't want to spend the next few months sitting in a kennel. They would much rather go home with you.

Click here to see over 130+ AMAZING SUMMER LOVERS

Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

By Daniel Quagliozzi

Our recent blog, My Cat Made Me Do It and My Alarm Clock Is Hungry sparked some seriously interesting replies from our readers. It's good to know that I am not alone in my situation with Matilda, the 18 year old tortie-terror.

As promised, I have compiled a lot of the replies that I found most intriguing and have posted them below. What amazes me the most about your emails and comments is the popularity of cats that drink from glasses, sinks and non-pet specified decanters. Maybe we're on to something here? Enjoy the comments and thanks to all of you for contributing to LDYK!

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink...

My little Matilda's name was Klarizza, big gold eyes and black she owned me! Also not only did she drink from the glass she would cup her paw in the glass and drink that way. But what I still miss is I couldn't figure out why I didn't always here the alarm. Because Missy Klarizza would walk on or around my head and stand with her from legs on the snooze button and then go back to her pillow and back to sleep. That was my girl and I still miss her.

~ SFGATE comment

Double ditto on the water glass. And if the water level is too low for the little pink tongue to reach it, in goes a cupped paw to get the water up to tongue level. Cats have staff.

~ Heandi

Daniel has Matilda the cat. My roommate Karole has Betsy. Betsy drinks out of a medium sized blue mug located on top of Karole's bookcase. Usually she dips her front paw into the water and then licks it off. Over time Karole has tried to replace it with other styles of mugs, but Betsy refuses to drink from them. Betsy also likes to collect random objects from all over the house and deposit them on Karole's bed. Yesterday's haul was a plastic straw and a quarter.

~ Jamey

I am currently the owner of two adorable, large, quirky cats. They are both physically eccentric, which makes me even more fond of them, and in my eyes very enjoyable to watch in their day to day activities. One of my favorite things to watch these little rug rats do is drink water. I swear, I have tried every shaped water dish for cats you could find. They refuse to drink out of water bowls, it's just not in their nature. They eat of out normal cat dishes, but when you place the water next to it, they could really care less. Usually, they just pig out and get food in the water, thus turning them off even more.

So how do my cats stay hydrated? My bathroom sink! I could hire Mr. Clean and I still would have a consistent amount of kitty paw prints on my sink counter. Lily literally wedges her entire body into the sink, head towards the faucet, only to enjoy just the smallest dribble of water. I can be doing my make up, brushing my teeth or cleaning and she will still just get all up in the sink, like she owns it. I guess it's therapeutic for her? She reminds of a fat raccoon washing in a stream - except it's my big girl cat who knows she's getting her way.

~ Jessica

Soze balances on the toilet ledge, using his one front arm to steady himself, and then dunks his head into the water. I mean full on facial dunk into the toilet, like he needs a refreshing dip with his beverage? He will also meow/howl if the toilet seat is down, only to stop once you lift the lid for him (don't assume I'm rude b/c my toilet seat is always up!). He also gets annoyed if the toilet is in use, because apparently toilets only exist to keep my cat's thirst at bay (for the record, he only drinks clean toilet water!).

I suppose this is bad kitty behavior, but I have literally tried to detour them, and it just won't work. It also doesn't help that they can open doors, so shutting them out of the bathroom is just a joke to them. All in all, they are good kitties, and I am a sucker so therefore they get their way. I must admit, it's pretty entertaining to see 12+ lb cats wedge and dunk in my bathroom, when they could just simply lap out of a water dish. Although, I must admit, life is pretty good when the only living thing hogging your bathroom is your cat....

~ Stacey

It doesn't end with water. Some people shared all kinds of stories with us...

My number one cat had a list of tricks to play on me, seventeen pages long, single-spaced. She never had to go beyond page one. One of my current cats came to me when he was eight years old. He is still training me; I am so stupid.

~ SFGATE comment

I had a cat like Matilda. Her name was Gina. Funny, also a torti. And funnier still - with that exact behavior of turning in circles under the covers until she found her exact comfy spot. One cute thing she did was she would curl up around my neck and let me wrap an arm around her to which she would raise her arm and drape over my arm. God, I miss that.May she rest in peace 1989-2007

~ Tortimom

My 14+ year old 16 pounder also has her list of commands, which include: 1) I should stay home all day every day (it's a challenge, what with the full time job and all) 2) Water in the same locale Matilda prefers--and it had better be fresh! 3) Shade pulled up JUST enough to let her see out and make maximum use of afternoon sun 4) food bowl NEVER EVER SHOWING THE WHITE AT THE BOTTOM! 5) litter box cleaned WAY more than I do it. Apparently I am still not quite fully trained, but I'm working on it! God I love cats.

~ SFGATE comment

My feline companion, LittleBit, comes to me in the afternoons and demands I tuck him into bed. He will sit there and cry, then race to the bedroom and proceed to burrow under the covers by my feet. I have to stay put for at least 10 minutes or he gets cranky. He also let's me know when the kitty litter is getting nasty by having me follow him to the back, placing one paw in the litterbox, then looking up at me. He's such a good boo.

~ SFGATE comment

First off, I would like to commend your most recent blog about Matilda's quirks, it was a very fun read and it's nice to know that my cat wasn't the only one to demand cold water out of a glass :) Missy hated anything and everything with a strong odor. So I suppose it goes without saying that everything scented had to go. No more lotions, perfume, hair products, air fresheners, incense, smoking, even gum - it all had to go. She was blessed with many crazy quirks, which can never be duplicated quite the same, and despite her passing last year I still plan on keeping my house ever more scent free...

~ Kirsten

And FINALLY, We saved the BEST for Last...

My cat Violet was born to a feral mother who lived somewhere among the runways at SFO. She's never been a particularly affectionate cat (with humans, that is. She loves her cat companion, Junie, like crazy), but she has ways of asking for the kind of attention she's comfortable with.

This video shows her engaging in her nightly bid for some "buttbone-bumping" with my foot:

~ Dennis

Wait....before you click to see Violet's Ritual, take note of the two links below it. Ok, now you can watch the video.

* VIOLET'S RITUAL *

We love your stories. Keep them coming! Email any stories or requests for Cat Behavior advice topics to catbehavior@sfspca.org

Also, don't forget to visit http://www.sfspca.org/ to get up to speed on EVERYTHING The San Francisco SPCA is doing.

BREAKING NEWS 5/13/09

Wow, every week "Litter Did You Know" seems to be gaining popularity. We give our heart felt thanks to the editors of http://www.sfgate.com/ for featuring "My Cat Made Me Do it" on the front page of their site. It has generated a huge interest in our blog and created a worldwide fanbase for my 18 year old cat , Matilda. We both thank you dearly.


Daniel


UPCOMING EVENTS:

COME BUY SOME AMAZING ART AND SUPPORT THE ANIMAL ASSISTED THERAPY PROGRAM!


The Art for AAT auction will be held on May 16th at 201 Alabama Street. Come meet AAT volunteers and therapy animals and hear about the real impact of our work firsthand. The auction will feature Bay Area artists and collectors who have donated beautiful items in support of The SF/SPCA AAT Programs. There will be dozens of pieces in a range of prices. For donors, including first time donors, we will have two special talks on Parrots and Therapy and our new MESCAAT program. All proceeds benefit The SF/SPCA AAT Programs.


What is Animal Assited Therapy?

At The San Francisco SPCA our Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) Programs started in 1981, making us the oldest program operating within a larger animal welfare organization. We currently have more than 100 volunteer teams making visits to locations throughout San Francisco. Working with their own friendly dogs, cats, small animals and birds, our busy volunteers share the human-companion animal bond with more than 40,000 people annually.
The Animal Assisted Therapy Department operates two programs: the General AAT Program and the Puppy Dog Tales Reading Program. Both programs are designed to facilitate communication, healing, and motivation by bringing the love of companion animals to people in mental and physical healthcare facilities, libraries and schools.

For more information on becoming an AAT volunteer please call 415.554.3060 or email AAT@sfspca.org to request an application.

Zynga Partners with San Francisco SPCA to Raise Awareness for Helping Homeless Animals

Zynga (http://www.zynga.com/), the largest developer of social games, and The San Francisco SPCA today announced their recent successful partnership, which has resulted in more than $20,000 in donations for the animal welfare agency. Through virtual transactions of real-world in-game currency in Zynga's highly popular virtual world game, YoVille, players can adopt special SF/SPCA shelter cats and dogs from the in-game shelter through virtual transactions paid with real-word money.

YoVille is a free-to-play online virtual world game that is located on Facebook and MySpace. Users create custom characters and apartments, and can invite their real-world friends to play and interact with them in the YoVille universe. Through the newly added Pet Shelter, players are able to adopt a bulldog wearing an SF/SPCA vest with YoCash, YoVille's real-world in-game currency. The sale of each bulldog donates $2 to The SF/SPCA. Players receive an in-game philanthropy badge for adopting their SF/SPCA companion animals and are able to take them to their YoVille home to care for them and play with them. In addition to the bulldog, players are now also able to adopt a special SF/SPCA cat.

"Zynga builds games for social networks, and one focus for social networks is altruism and philanthropy," said Mark Pincus, CEO, Zynga. "We had been looking for ways to help users of Facebook and MySpace give back to society while interacting with their favorite social network game. In YoVille and The SF/SPCA , we found the perfect match."

"We are thrilled to partner with Zynga," said SF/SPCA President, Jan McHugh-Smith. "By reaching out to the virtual world, Zynga helps raise awareness about adopting shelter animals and, at the same time, supports the local community by selecting the San Francisco SPCA as the designated non-proft receiving this generous support."

MAYA STILL NEEDS A HOME!!!

Despite our best effort to get Maya adopted on "CINCO DE MAYA", she is still here looking for a home. To help you get a better idea of Maya's amazing personality, we have posted a video clip below:

If you are interested in adopting Maya, give The SF/SPCA a call at 415- 522-3500

BREAKING NEWS:

Cat Behavior Blog Amazes The San Francisco Chronicle

Wow... it's been a milestone week for the Cat Behavior Program! We are proud to announce that not only has "Litter Did You Know' been featured on the front page of www.sfgate.com three times, but it is among the top ten most read blogs achieving over 14,000 page views for the month of March! You can find our blog in the pets section. Just in case you want to read it twice.

MESSIER The OFFICE CAT is fully recovered and ready for adoption!

After a long road of recovery, Messier our resident Maine Coon has graduated from not eating at all to stealing bear claw pastries from the top of our file cabinet. Imagine our surprise when we found a giant hole eaten through the bag and half of the bear claw devoured! It's been a pleasure getting to know Messier but he is just feeling too well to live in our office. It's time for him to go to a real home. How about your's?

Messier is a beautiful Maine Coon that came to the SFSPCA after having a hard time living with children. He actually got so stressed out that he stopped eating and had to be revived with the help of a feeding tube. Now, he's back in action and happy to go home to a house free of toddlers. He loves petting all over his body, especially his tummy and will roll over. Despite being declawed, Messier is hard player and will love to get some playtime each day as well as some sleepytime when hes done. A great match for a home that wants a loverboy in their lap every minute of the day

If you are interested in adopting Messier (A07422587 ) Call 415 522-3500 and talk to our Adoption Services staff.

Upcoming Events!!