Cougar, a new addition, a new venture

Cougar is at a boarding facility called Now Boarding, owned by the Animal Humane Society. They have offered to board a dog and/or a cat for Pet Haven while they wait for a forever home or for a foster home opening.  

Cougar just came to us from another shelter.  He is a BIG boy and polydactyl on all 4 feet to boot. He is front paw declawed, tested negative for feline leukemia and fiv and is up to date on vaccinations, neutered and microchipped. 

This fellow is very people friendly and gets along well with another cat. Cougar loves to be petted and talked to and can hardly wait to try out the 'cat walks' at the boarding facility.  He has had brief exposures to a dog or two and we think he would be fine with a respectful dog. This handsome gray tabby who was named 'cougar' because of his size is a gentle giant.  We hope to be able to bring him to adoption events soon too.  

Inquires about Cougar or other Pet Haven cats can be sent to cats@PetHavenMn.org.  

Babies

These little guys were born one day this last week on someone's deck.  There were 4, one was probably dead at birth or shortly after.  Another died during the day when mom left and didn't come back.  

These two, a boy and a girl, were found when the owner came back from work.  She called a vet clinic we work with and they were brought in and are being bottle fed in a Pet Haven foster home.

It's not the same as having a real mom but some moms don't have much maternal instinct.  The mother has been back to eat since then and the owner will continue to try to live trap or catch this feral girl in a carrier so she can be brought in to be spayed.  The owner has had a project on her hands over the last few years with trapping, altering and then releasing or finding homes for the ones that could be tamed.  

How do we end up with feral cats breeding uncontrolled?  

Someone puts outside a tame cat they no longer want - she got pregnant again!  

Why not take her to a humane society or rescue group?  

Why  not get help and get her spayed and enjoy her company for years?  A number of groups offer to help pay for spay and neuter.

Why?  

Peter

Peter is one of the new fellows at Pet Haven.  On his visit to the doctor, he needed to be encouraged to step on the scale - we can certainly understand!  

Peter had been hearing that perhaps he was , s-h-h-h-h, OVERWEIGHT!

The news is not good.  A 4 letter word is in order!  D-i-e-t!  

Peter is such a charming fellow he isn't going to mind too much.  He's gentle and laid back and wants to be with you.  If he's alone at bedtime he calls out, "Hello?  Hello?.  Perhaps you will call me and I can come sleep on the bed with you".  He's finding toys he likes in his foster home too  -  a hamster in a cage that runs and runs and makes for great watching.  He likes the ball in the ring too.  Peter has accepted the pug in the house easily as well as another couple of cats. Soon his bio will be up on the website and he'll be ready for a new home.  

Pet Haven Spring Garage Sale

Pet Haven volunteer Becky is again hosting another garage sale. All funds raised will go directly to helping homeless dogs and cats. The garage sale will be on Saturday, 5/29 and Sunday, 5/30 from 9 - 5. Becky is now accepting donations. Here's a note from her:

"I will be having a spring garage sale May 29 and May 30th, Friday and Saturday from 9 to 5 both days. I am looking for good saleable items: small furniture, yard and garden items, kitchen items, kids clothes and shoes in good condition and a few adult clothes in really good condition. Paper back books and games sell quite well but stuffed toys do not. A good test is to think, would I buy this at a garage sale? and if the answer is yes! donate it! Last year I sold hostas and lilies that I had dug from my yard. If you have any excess plants donate them too as they went very well last year. I will start taking donations the week of April 20th. You can email me at rebeccasheldon@yahoo.com or call me at 952 854-8827 and we will set up a time for drop off. I am also looking for some help on both days. I need volunteers to help set up and take down. Also people to help during the sale. You can work mornings or afternoons for a few hours or all day. Any help is appreciated. Remember, all money goes to Pet Haven to help homeless cats and dogs."

Thanks Becky!

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Sadie is still on the run, please keep an eye out for her if you are in the Longfellow area of Minneapolis.

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Don't forget to vote for Pet Haven in the Animal Rescue Site $100,000 Shelter Challenge!

Amanda and Alex

Amanda and Alex are siblings - they're very attractive gray tabbies with lots of personality.  

Amanda likes to play, she is patient and gentle and helps you think of all the things you enjoy about having a cat in your home - a warm bed, food in the bowl and someone to snuggle with.  

Alex is a little more of a live wire and enjoys having you play with a pole toy with him!  He's cute and clever in his actions and likes to be busy around the house.  Alex was with a dog briefly and thought the dog was a lot of fun too.  

Alex and Amanda would make a great pair if you are looking for a pair.  We have not had them with children but they should do fine with gentle children.  Neither is a biter and would probably just find another place to rest if they grew tired of attention from a youngster.  They do not have to be adopted together.  

One weekend, two adoption events

Pet Haven cats will be at the PetCo in Richfield on both Sat. and Sun. this weekend.  The location is at 66th and Lyndale Ave. S.

Sat. April 18 from 11- 1 p.m.

Sun. April 19 from 1-3 p.m.

Different cats will attend each event.  

On Sat. we will have Gerry, Kelly, Koko, Helen, Serena, Parker, Chance, Pazazz, Alex and Amanda.

On Sunday we will have Blake, Brooklyn, Milhouse,  Buster, Fudge, Betty, Brenda, Pixel, Nick and Riley.  

We have no 'baby' kittens at this time.  Our youngest is Pixel who is about 15 weeks old and the oldest are 2-3 yrs.  

Vote for Pet Haven

Here's an easy way for us to raise money for homeless dogs and cats! As of Tuesday in Minnesota, the rankings are #1: RAGOM (Retrieve a Golden of Minnesota), #2: Animal Ark, #3: Minnesota Companion Rabbit Society. Let's see if we can catch up with these guys!!

Vote for Pet Haven of Minnesota at www.theanimalrescuesite.com and we could win $20,000 to help pets in need. I believe a direct link is: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3

The Animal Rescue Site is hosting a special challenge for eligible Petfinder.com member shelter and rescue groups. The grand prize is a $20,000 grant, and they will be awarding many other grants to rescue groups with the most votes -- a total of $100,000 in grants for animal welfare organizations.

Help us win! All you have to do is click to help rescued animals, and then vote for Pet Haven in The Animal Rescue Site $100,000 Shelter+ Challenge. Both of these actions are absolutely free! You can vote once a day, every day, from April 13 through July 26,2009. Every time you vote, or tell a friend to vote, you are making a huge difference for us.

Vote today!

Visit: www.theanimalrescuesite.com

Once again

Moose has had surgery on his right ear.  At another shelter, he had a damaged ear flap and it was removed.  Unfortunately, the vet did not look carefully enough to discover the cause of the problem.  

Moose had polyps in that ear.  He has lived with infection in his ear for a number of years and when he came to Pet Haven he was treated for an infection but when it  didn't clear up as it should have, the vet took a more careful look.  Moose was sedated and he had several polyps in his ear. 

A specialist was called in for surgery and Moose has had his total ear canal removed.  It had multiple polyps, infection and damaged tissue from the years of infection.  Moose is a good natured boy but he has struggled with pain and eye drops and oral medication and antibiotics (which caused diarrhea).  The indignities of it all!  

Right now Moose is having trouble blinking his right eye because of swelling after the surgery and we hope he will get over that soon.  'Dry eye' drops are keeping his eye healthy until he recovers that ability. He may be hard of hearing in that ear but will manage fine since he has another ear to hear you coming up for some special Moose-pats.  

Soon Moose hopes to be feeling much more like himself - a gentle giant of a guy who loves to be with you, likes to be on your lap and sleep near you, who plays and amuses you.  He's an easy going fellow who gets along with another cat and loves tummy rubs also!   Keep checking - he'll be ready to be adopted soon.  

Beautiful Sadie finds a home!

Sadie was adopted on Sat. after waiting almost a year to find her new owner.  A friend of the family reports that this great, 10 yr. old girl is busy trying to decide whether lap time is the best or playing with her new toys!