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If you're like us and still recovering from losing an hour last weekend, you might have forgotten some thing very important - when you set your clock ahead, did you remember to reset your cat??
Spring forward? How far did you move it?
The spring time change is - other than the loss of an hour - somewhat appreciated by cat people, since if Fluffy wakes you at dawn for her breakfast, dawn comes an hour later now that we turned the clocks forward. But on the other end, when it's 9 p.m. and bedtime - ok, that's wishful thinking - midnight, and well past time when you should have been asleep, it's only 11 p.m. and your cats aren't ready to snooze. What do you do?
Believe it or not, you can alter your cat's schedule. It helps though to first understand what drives that schedule.
Cats are "crepuscular" animals, which means they are naturally most active during twilight or dawn and dusk compared to humans who are diurnal, meaning most active during daylight hours. Domesticated animals being dependent upon us for food become accustomed to our diurnal routines, in which we feed them according to our own patterns of when breakfast and dinner should be. Have you noticed how your cat's activity level increases around mealtime? The reason why Fluffy gets frantic around mealtime is likely due to a number of factors. Cats are focused predators with highly developed hunting skills, and that focus and anticipation carry over to meal time expectations. Perhaps you've seen the "anticipatory" behavior in captive tigers - pacing prior to meal times. This same behavior in our little cats is the intertwining anticipatory dance Fluffy does while you open food cans or fill bowls.
The normal routine for a cat - according to behaviorist Jackson Galaxy - is hunt, catch, kill, eat, groom, sleep. When you want your cat to sleep - going through the other steps of that routine helps. Prior to bedtime, hunt - play with your cat with a wand toy or fishing pole type toy. Let her catch it at the end of play, or give her a mouse toy to catch - and kill. Then, eat - feed her a little snack. If you have a cat that is a little bit overweight, or are concerned that she could become so - reserve a spoonful of her dinner food for this late night snack. Hunt, catch, kill, eat, groom... and get a good night's sleep.
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| | | | | Lilies Are Extremely Toxic to Cats! |
| All parts of the lily - the flowers, leaves, stems, and even the pollen can induce fatal kidney failure in cats after a single exposure to a tiny amount!
This holiday season, please select flowers other than lilies for yourself and as host gifts, if there are cats in the home! |
| | Now Recruiting St. Catrick!!
You've heard the story about that other saint that drove the snakes out of Ireland, right?
Well, now's your chance to become a saint - Saint Catrick, that is - who drove the cats out of the shelter, and drove them to the vet, and to foster's homes...
Once upon a time, in a shelter far, far away, there were a lot of kittens and cats that needed a home. And, there were homes for them! Only, the homes were very far away. Just when it looked like there was no hope, suddenly a cat appeared - driving a big SUV! St. Catrick (there are conflicting reports, but we believe he was a redhead – ah, orange tabby) had the mystical power to operate a car and get the cats from where they were, to where they had to be. Before you could say "hey, wait a minute - isn't a cat operating a motor vehicle illegal in 50 states and the District of Columbia" - the cats were all on their way to furever homes.
And so, every year in March, rescued kitties everywhere celebrate their safe passage from shelters into rescues, where they are able to find forever homes! How do the rescued kitties celebrate? Well, taking a nap, of course – but they also ask all their friends to honor St. Catrick by helping to transport cats from shelters to rescue (and from rescues to the vet, or to fosters, or from fosters to adoption events!).
You can be a St. Catrick, by signing up for our transport group, and responding to an email request when you have time to put on your saint's cap and drive!
Just respond to this email and say "I want to be a Saint!"
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| | | | You're Going to Need... A Bigger Boat Carrier!
That's right... it's almost Kitten Season! Please help us save as many of these little lives as possible - fill out a foster application today! It's super rewarding to help these little guys and girls grow and find forever homes - and we need your help! If you can open your home and heart to fosters let us know today!
(We ask that fosters have access to transportation, as there are only so many St. Catricks!)
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I Feel Like Something Chewy!
Actually, not that chewy, but "Chewy"!
www.chewy.com is a pet product company specializing in home delivery of all things pet-related. FFGW has a "wish list" which you can find here:
Any products you select from our wish list will be delivered directly to us for use at our adoption center at PetSmart and by our fosters!
If you're new to Chewy, we'll even get a gift certificate for bringing in a new purchaser. It's a great way to help us in our mission to help the kitties! |
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You can also help us by making your Amazon purchases through our "smile" link!
You can use the button on the left for anything Amazon - your price doesn't change but a percentage goes to FFGW!
So far this year we've received over $450, which provides 16 distemper shots - enough to completely protect two litters of kittens!
Thank you!
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| https://ffgw.org/cat-adoption-application/Adoption Fairs
Reston Monthly Fair Postponed Until Further Notice
Leesburg Weekly Fair Leesburg PetSmart Weekend Events Postponed Until Further Notice --Midweek and Weekend Adoptions by Appointment for Cats in the Center--
We need volunteers to help care for the cats at Leesburg! Contact Brittany@ffgw.org
Looking for a new cat for your family? Get pre-approved for adoption by filling out an adoption form online today.)
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| | We've Gone Home! Adopted in February (19):
Wendy, Peanut, Lucifer, Sugar, Rose, Finn, Reye, Dipper, Rocky, Thomas, Stanley, Tricks, Bijou, Arial, Esme, Pumpkin, Basilia, Pluto & Dyna
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