Winter Edition - Humane Society of Vero Beach & Indian River County

HUMANE EDUCATION
Cat won’t wear a collar and tag? He just might…
Many in our community know that The Humane Society of
Vero Beach and Indian River County offers free pet I.D. tags.
While we often get requests to issue these tags for dogs, it’s hard
to convince those who live with cats to get tags for them, too.
Why do we face this obstacle? The most common reasons
we hear include “my cat always stays indoors,” “I can’t keep
a collar on him,” or the even more dire, “my cat’s collar might
catch onto something and she’ll choke.”
Happily, a new study by the University of Ohio puts these
concerns to rest. Assistant Professor of Veterinary Medicine Dr.
Linda Lord studied 538 cats for six months and found that close
to 75% – three out of four - kept their collars and tags on for
the entire study.
Surprisingly, a person’s perception of how a cat may tolerate
a collar and tag plays a major role in determining if someone
will put a collar on their feline at all. “Part of the success of
a cat wearing a collar is the expectation of the owner. For some
owners, if a collar came off once, they were done. Some put
the collar back on their cat five or six times,” Lord said.
None of the cats in Lord’s study had any serious injuries
resulting from wearing a collar; however a small number of
cats (3.3 percent) had situations where the collar caught on
the animal’s mouth, forelimb, or another object. “I would never
say that something like this can’t happen,” Lord explained, but
states that a simple buckle collar that’s properly fitted (two
fingers should be able to pass under the collar), along with
monitoring your cat for the first week a collar is introduced,
should reduce the chance of any problems.
Describing the 2 percent national return rate for lost cats as
abysmal, Lord added that a cat has a greater chance of becoming
lost and never recovered than becoming injured from wearing
a collar and tag. Lord also theorizes that lost cats without
collars are often fed by good Samaritans or taken in by strangers,
thereby greatly reducing their chances of being reclaimed
by their true families.
Her findings also addressed the myth that indoor-only cats
don’t need tags. Previous research published by Lord found
that 40% of lost cats in one community were indoor-only cats.
We hope this research study will change your mind about
putting a collar and tag on your cat. If you would like to take
advantage of our free pet I.D. tags for your cats, please contact
us at (772) 388-3331 ext. 10.
JW
EDUCATIONAL SEMINARS
February 2nd, 12 - 1:00 p.m.
“Living with Urban Wildlife”
Presenter: Ilka Daniel
Admission: Free
February 9th, 12 - 1:00 p.m.
“Thinking Outside the Box" -
Addressing Litter Box Problems
Presenter: Dr. Suzanne Gambella
Admission: Free
February 16th, Noon - 1:00 p.m.
“Help for Pets with Allergies”
Dr. Jeffrey Slade
Admission: Free
February 19th, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
“Introduction to Nose Work* for Dogs”
Presenter: Cissy Sumner
Class Size: Limit 10
Registration Fee: $25
February 23rd,12 - 1:00 p.m.
“Don’t Leave Me!" -
Helping Dogs with Separation Anxiety
Presenter: Cissy Sumner
Admission: Free
*Working with dogs' amazing sense of smell
10
PET PAGES
Book Review
Curl up with your pet, child, or grandchild & a good book
Wiggins Learns His Manners at the Four Seasons Restaurant
written/illustrated by local author, Leslie McGuirk; with Alex von Bidder
This is a wonderful book! The characters are adorable. Wiggins, an unruly
chocolate Lab pup, takes young readers through captivating adventures
at the Four Seasons Restaurant where he learns ten key lessons in
proper etiquette, kindness, and respect. Leslie and Alex have effectively
made good manners cool again. (ages 4 - 8)
Gypsy, The Christmas Cat
by local author & HSVB&IRC Volunteer, Laura Guttridge
In Gypsy The Christmas Cat, a simple act of kindness marks the beginning
of Gypsy's journey, gently teaching children about compassion,
patience, and trust along the way. Every child will adore the story of the
homeless cat, Gypsy, and the young girl who teaches her how to love, and will be
delighted to learn that it is based on a real-life cat named Gypsy! (ages 9 - 12)
Fluffy Saves Christmas
by Kate McMullen; illustrated by Mavis Smith
Fluffy, a popular and loved classroom guinea pig, experiences Christmas
through a series of exciting adventures leading up to Christmas Eve.
Fluffy and his fellow guinea pigs will be delivering the gifts with Santa.
Why? Because Santa needs help from the cleverest rodent around. It’s a
heartwarming and fun story for children. (ages 4 - 8)
CP