I’m new to this Blog the Change for Animals campaign, folks. But I’m excited about it. After all, I’m the “spokescat” for CATalyst Council. Our mission is to elevate the status of cats as America’s #1 companion animal. We exist because we realize there is a serious need to raise the level of care received by cats nationwide. And I do that here on CATalysta Mewsings by blogging about it. What better way to Blog the Change…for Cats!
I know that most of the other bloggers today are going to be talking about dog rescue. But you didn’t really expect me to talk about dogs, did you? REALLY? Personally, I’ve got nothing against dogs. Some of my best friends are dogs. But, come on, folks…CATalysta Mewsings, CATalyst Council, CAT Stanley. ‘Nuff said!
So, let’s talk a little bit about the problems facing cats today. We have a reputation of being aloof and not needing or wanting human contact or care. This reputation is totally undeserved and absolutely incorrect, I assure you. That’s one thing that needs to be changed!
We’re also being relinquished to shelters and rescues in alarming numbers. And those of us that do have homes still, on average, don’t visit our veterinarians nearly as often as our canine counterparts.
Those are the problems, some of them anyway. What can we do to change them? Honestly, we can do a lot. And a lot of it involves education.
- Educating the public in general about the real nature of cats
- Educating cat owners about how to properly care for their cats. (Did you know that your cat needs to visit the veterinarian at least once or twice a year?)
CATalyst Council has a number of resources designed to help cats. Check out our CATegorical Care publication, a cat owner’s guide to caring for America’s #1 pet, the cat.
To help get more cats adopted, we have a program designed to build relationships between local animal care and control agencies and local veterinarians.
For veterinarians and veterinary practices, we have a series of presentations designed to help veterinary practices become “cat-friendly”. For veterinary practices that wish to go even further in creating a “cat-friendly” atmosphere, we recommend the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) Cat Friendly Practice Program. Let’s face it. Cat-friendly veterinary practices can make veterinary visits a lot easier for cats and cat owners as well as veterinarians and their staff. That’s a win-win situation for all of us.
That’s just a brief run-down of CATalyst Council and what are we are doing to improve the lives of cats. Please check out the CATalyst Council website for more information about us. We’ll keep working and I’ll keep blogging to bring about change. Because, as you know, it’s all about the cat!
Donna and the Dogs July 15, 2012 at 2:32 pm
What a great way to spread the word about the plight of this country’s cats. Hey, blog the change days are for all animals, not just dogs (even if I’m a bit biased), and I think its wonderful that you are trying to grow awareness about the needs of cats.
P.S. I do have cats, too, so I’m not completely biased! LOL!
CAT Stanley July 15, 2012 at 3:22 pm
Thanks, Donna. So many of us share our homes with dogs and our people love us all of us. I just love the idea of blog the change…it’s a wonderful concept. And it’s fun to see what causes other bloggers (some of whom are not cats!) are championing.
Cathy Keisha July 15, 2012 at 3:52 pm
Just stopping by from the Blog Hop. In my blog about fostering CATS today, I found out an alarming fact: cats don’t have to be held at shelters 5 days like dogs do! We can be euthanized immediately. Adopt cats! We deserve it!
CAT Stanley July 15, 2012 at 4:29 pm
Hi Cathy. Glad you stopped by. That is an alarming fact! Does that change depending on location, I wonder? Either way, you’re absolutely right. We do deserve to be adopted.
Ryker's Boyz 'n' Allie July 15, 2012 at 5:44 pm
We’re stopping by on the blog hop to say HI to Stanley and support the movement! Cats are still adopted at about half the rate as dogs are, and they need our help!!
KimT July 15, 2012 at 7:05 pm
Kudos to you for speaking out on behalf of all the cats out there! I’m afraid that often too little is spoken or even understood about our feline friends. The blogging event may refer to “dogs”, but in my mind and heart – it’s about all rescue pets.
Welcome to our community!
Thank you for blogging the change for animals,
Kim Thomas
btc4animals.com
cindylusmuse.blogspot.com
Pup Fan July 16, 2012 at 12:27 pm
Absolutely fantastic post for today’s event – in spite of my “want more puppies” blog name, I would actually love to have more kitties if Bella would tolerate it. For now, I’ll just have to settle for sending an enthusiastic “BRAVO!” your way.
A.J.
BetheChangeforAnimals.com
Martha Steward July 23, 2012 at 6:13 pm
A wonderful article with kitty treats of information. Thank you for Sharing : )
Pam Torres July 27, 2012 at 2:52 pm
I enjoyed your post and believe that people in general need to be educated about animals: cats, dogs, all of them. For the most part I think that people ar unaware or unclear about what it means to own a pet.
CAT Stanley July 27, 2012 at 2:58 pm
I think you’re right in too many cases, Pam. We’ll keep trying to educate.