Archive for Help Cats

Why Foster a Cat?

Why Foster a Cat“Fostering a cat is not a lifetime commitment, it is a commitment to saving a life.”

This is the watchword of cat rescues everywhere.

To foster a cat is, quite simply, to save that cat’s life. A foster home provides this same cat with a safe, temporary place of refuge until he/she is ultimately placed in a permanent, adoptive home.

Most rescues rely solely on a network of dedicated, volunteer foster homes, and could not survive without them. And rescues NEVER have enough foster homes.
Why? Because there are more cats in need than there are foster homes available to meet that need.

There are many benefits to fostering, many pleasant surprises and many unexpected rewards. Foster parents, past and present, describe it as one of the most memorable and gratifying experiences of their lives.

Fostering is both a way of enriching the lives of the cats and people involved, and a constructive way for people to give back to their communities. Fostered cats can provide endless hours of entertainment and love for their humans, and provide invaluable life lessons for adults and children alike.

By taking a deserving cat into their home, fosters increase that cat’s chances of being adopted. Foster families have the time and the ability to transform their foster cat — through one-on-one contact, exercise, feeding and training — into a happy and well mannered companion pet any person or family would be proud to call their own.

Fostering provides a needy cat with a stable environment, coupled with love, attention and affection. While the foster family provides the food, the rescue usually provides everything else, including payment of all medical costs to ensure the cat’s ongoing health and wellbeing.

Fosters are the essential eyes and ears of rescue. By spending every day with their foster cat, fosters will learn all they can about his/her particular personality. They will be able to identify any behavioral issues that need to be addressed, then work on addressing them.

If fosters already have a cat – either their own or another foster — in residence, all the better. The more animals their foster cat meets, the more socialized he/she will become, the more easily he/she will handle stress, and the more relaxed he/she will be around strangers.

For those who have never owned a cat, fostering provides them with the unique opportunity of seeing whether they themselves are suited for permanent “pet parenthood.”

But fostering a cat is NOT a form of trial adoption for that particular cat. There is even a term for it: foster failure. The most successful fosters are those who, despite being emotionally invested, know that they are essentially a stepping stone towards their foster cat’s future. And that as one successfully fostered cat leaves their home, another needy and deserving cat is waiting to enter it.

Ultimately, then, fostering a cat saves not just one life, but two.

Article written by Nomi Berger. Nomi is the best selling author of seven novels, one work of non-fiction, two volumes of poetry and hundreds of articles. She lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with her adopted Maltese, Mini, and now devotes all of her time volunteering her writing skills to animal rescue organizations throughout Canada and the USA.

#pets #cats #kittens #foster #animalcaretaker

5 Ways to Fundraise for Felines

When it comes to advocating for cats at The Cat Network, we think the more creative, the better! We’ve listed five pet-friendly ways to raise money for the felines we care for. 

  1. Pet Photo Day: Become a photographer for the day, and set up a “studio” at your location of choice! Bring in some props for the photos–yarn, toys (the options are endless!) and charge per photo. Charge for photos, but consider offering printed merchandise as well! Who wouldn’t want a t-shirt or coffee mug with their cat’s face on it?
  2. Pet Bake Sale: Not only do we love sweet treats, but our feline friends do too! Research online homemade cat treats and bake away! Host a local “pet bakery” and donate the proceeds.
  3. Pet Walkathon: Walkathons have become an extremely popular fundraiser style for charitable organizations. Make yours animal-friendly by encouraging people to bring their leashed cats (dogs too!) along for the fun. Set up water stations along the way to keep our four-legged companions hydrated.
  4. Pet Friendly Dinner Party: Organize a dinner party– and invite your pets! Sell tickets to the event for guests and their pets, utilizing ticket funds for donations. Set up a kitty-approved menu of courses that your guests and pets will love, even the after-dinner treat!
  5. Pet Yoga: With the rising popularity in goat yoga, why not get our cats involved? Find a yoga instructor in your area to host the event, and sell tickets. Your attendees will be ecstatic to “Namaste” with their furry friend!

Ready to host your own fundraiser for The Cat Network? Create your event through this online nonprofit registration tool– it’s a great way to plan your event, grow awareness and manage donations!

Meow Mobile Low Cost Spay/Neuter Schedule Extended Through March 5, 2023

The Meow Mobile low cost spay/neuter surgery center schedule through March 5, 2023 has been posted.

Click here to view the entire schedule

The Miami Meow Mobile provides low cost spay & neuter surgeries, vaccinations, and basic wellness care to cats and kittens in Miami-Dade county. It is a fully equipped surgery center on wheels, ready to provide the safest possible sterilization procedures for our feline friends.

The clinic is owned and operated by The Cat Network, Inc., a 501(c)3 Florida not-for-profit corporation dedicated to humanely reducing cat overpopulation by educating the public about the need to sterilize their pets and strays; providing access to low-cost spay & neuter services for cats; helping members in their efforts to place adoptable cats in loving homes; and advocating non-lethal population control and humane public policy.

A reservation is required in advance to bring cats to the Meow Mobile. To make an appointment, view the schedule, and send us an e-mail at meowmobile@thecatnetwork.org.

IMPORTANT!

Once you have made your appointment you need to fill out and print the “Cat Intake Form.” This is a fill-able form which means you can fill it out on your computer and then print it. If you are unable to manage this, you may print it and then fill it out— being very careful to print NEATLY. Please fill out one form per cat.

This form must be filled out COMPLETELY, with NO FIELDS LEFT BLANK BEFORE YOU SHOW UP FOR YOUR APPOINTMENT.

Those who have complied with instructions by showing up for their appointments with this form properly and completely filled out will be given priority and served first.

We appreciate your cooperation!

Also, please keep the following options in mind:

  • You can purchase and use Cat Network certificates and go to one of our participating vets.
  • You can go to Miami-Dade Animal Services/Doral or to Miami-Dade Animal Services clinic in Homestead for free spay/neutering.

Check in for all spay days events begin at 8:00 a.m. All feral cats must be brought in traps to be spayed or neutered. Events are subject to change due to circumstances beyond our control. Appointments are also required for all services such as vaccine, nail trim, and microchip. Please note: KITTENS MUST BE EIGHT WEEKS OR OLDER TO BE TESTED.

We reserve the right to refuse service for cats that are deemed unhealthy or unfit for surgery for any reason.

The Cat Network’s mission to compassionately address community cats extends also to its community of pet owners and volunteers. Therefore, please read the COVID19 instructions for check in and check out procedures which will be sent to you once you request a confirmed reservation.

Keep in mind that you can check with our participating vets and use our certificates to spay/neuter. Please check our web page to see a list of participating vets who accept our certificates.

Thank you for all that you do for the stray and homeless cats in our community,
The Cat Network
Miami Meow Mobile Team