Burmese

BURMESE

KITTY STATS

COAT
Short, satiny

LIFE SPAN
10 – 16 years
BREED CHARACTERISTICS

Affectionate with Family – Extremely

Amount of Shedding – Less Than Averagee

Easy to Groom – Extremely

Friendly Toward Strangers – Almost Always

General Health – Fair

Intelligence – Highly

Kid Friendly – Extremely

Pet Friendly – Usually

Potential for Playfulness – High

 

Bombay

BOMBAY

KITTY STATS

COAT
Short, Sleek

LIFE SPAN
12 – 16 years
BREED CHARACTERISTICS

Affectionate with Family – Extremely

Amount of Shedding – Less Than Average

Easy to Groom – Extremely

Friendly Toward Strangers – Usually

General Health – Very Good

Intelligence – Above Average

Kid Friendly – Extremely

Pet Friendly – Usually

Potential for Playfulness – Very High

Tendency to Vocalize – Moderate

 

Bengal

BENGAL

KITTY STATS

COAT
Short, Thick

LIFE SPAN
10 – 15 years
BREED CHARACTERISTICS

Affectionate with Family – Extremely

Amount of Shedding – Average

Easy to Groom – Very

Friendly Toward Strangers – Usually

General Health – Very Good

Intelligence – Very

Kid Friendly – Extremely

Pet Friendly – Extremely

Potential for Playfulness – Very High

Tendency to Vocalize – High


 

Balinese

BALINESE

KITTY STATS

COAT
Long, fine and silky

LIFE SPAN
9 – 15 years

BREED CHARACTERISTICS

Affectionate with Family – Very

Amount of Shedding – Moderate

Easy to Groom – Usually

Friendly Toward Strangers – Usually

General Health – Fair

Kid Friendly – Extremely

Pet Friendly – Usually

Potential for Playfulness – Very High

Tendency to Vocalize – Very High


 

American Wirehair

AMERICAN WIREHAIR

KITTY STATS

COAT
Crimped, tight, medium length

LIFE SPAN
14 – 18 years

 

BREED CHARACTERISTICS

Affectionate with Family – Very

Amount of Shedding – Moderate

Easy to Groom – Extremely

Friendly Toward Strangers – Sometimes

General Health – Excellent

Intelligence – Above Average

Kid Friendly – Extremely

Pet Friendly – Sometimes

Potential for Playfulness – Moderate


 

American Shorthair

AMERICAN SHORTHAIR

KITTY STATS

COAT
Short and Thick

LIFE SPAN
15 – 20 years

 

BREED CHARACTERISTICS

Affectionate with Family – Moderately

Amount of Shedding – Moderate

Easy to Groom – Very

Friendly Toward Strangers – Usually

General Health – Excellent

Intelligence – Above Average

Kid Friendly – Usually

Pet Friendly – Sometimes

Potential for Playfulness – Moderate


 

American Curl

AMERICAN CURL

KITTY STATS

COAT
Long or short

LIFE SPAN
12 – 16 years

 

BREED CHARACTERISTICS

Affectionate with Family – Extremely

Amount of Shedding – More than Average

Easy to Groom – Very

Friendly Toward Strangers – Usually

General Health – Excellent

Kid Friendly – Usually

Pet Friendly – Usually

Potential for Playfulness – High

Tendency to Vocalize – Very Low


 

American Bobtail

AMERICAN BOBTAIL

KITTY STATS

COAT
Medium-length double coat


LIFE SPAN
11 – 15 years
BREED CHARACTERISTICS

Affectionate with Family – Extremely

Amount of Shedding – More than Average

Easy to Groom – Somewhat

Friendly Toward Strangers – Almost Always

General Health – Very Good

Intelligence – Above Average

Kid Friendly – Extremely

Pet Friendly – Extremely

Potential for Playfulness – High

Tendency to Vocalize – Moderate


 

Abyssinian

ABYSSINIAN

KITTY STATS

COAT
Medium length, fine

LIFE SPAN
9 – 15 years
BREED CHARACTERISTICS

Affectionate with Family – Moderately

Amount of Shedding – Moderate

Easy to Groom – Somewhat

General Health – Fair

Intelligence – Highly Intelligent

Kid Friendly – Extremely

Pet Friendly – Extremely

Potential for Playfulness – Very High


 

DJ on the roof

Okay. The roof story. D.J.’s always been an indoor/outdoor kitty. I’ve always lived on a lot of acreage and wanted my kitties to have the best of both worlds. When we moved here two years ago I, of course, made D.J. stay inside for three months before he was allowed outside. About two weeks after we settled in, there was a rattling noise outside my bedroom window (I’m a very light sleeper). My bedroom’s on the second floor, and there’s a roof outside the window that wraps around the rest of the building. So this rattling had to stop. I removed the screen, opened the window and climbed out to see what the problem was… never thinking D.J. would follow me, which, of course, he did. He hates being trapped inside and in the past has broken through a window screen to get outside. So now D.J.’s on the roof and I panic because he’s scooting along the edge looking like he wants to jump off to get “free.” Long story short, I finally get him (after 30 mins of chasing him around the roof). From that point on, D.J. has sat on that bedroom windowsill peering out and scratching at the window to get out. Even after he was allowed to go outside on his own, he still wanted to go out that window. So, now he got his wish.

Continue reading “DJ on the roof”

Sushi with dad

Checking the spread out. Where to start, where to start…

What say we start everything off with a little saké. Aw, just like dad!

Boy, he really likes that saké (just like dad).

Yumm, salmon. My fave.

Trying to get that stupid rice away from the fish. Let go already!

There we go. Nom nom nom nom nom nom.

What say we finish everything off with a little more saké. Just. Like. Dad. 🙂

DJ

I recently learned that my cat, D.J. has squamous cell carcinoma (an oral tumor) in his right nasal cavity/mouth. Since he’s 17 years-old, I’ve made the decision not to put him through surgery, chemo, etc. If he was half his age or younger, I’d consider aggressive treatment. But D.J.’s had a long, wonderful, pampered life. I want him to spend the rest of his time enjoying every minute to the fullest, not in pain from treatments, not dreading going to the vet, and certainly not, at any time, missing me. Continue reading “DJ”

White Shoes

This was a tough but right decision to make. Not tough because I was saving the life of a cat. White Shoes would be euthanized (killed) at any shelter he was surrendered to because of his megacolon (deeming him unadoptable). Tough because I’d have two cats in my house, White Shoes and my cat, D.J., who does not tolerate other cats. It was the right decision because White Shoes deserves a chance at a good life after surviving such a tough past. I told myself that I’d make it work. I had to. If I couldn’t, there would be no future for White Shoes. Continue reading “White Shoes”

Orion

In early 2012, an extremely emaciated/dehydrated cat came into our shelter (big surprise, I know). We routinely receive cats and dogs in need of nourishment and/or hydration, but few that are as bad as this cat. He reminded me of Marmalade, and I instantly thought, “Here we go again.” Continue reading “Orion”

Dinah

I haven’t written anything for a while ‘cause kitten season(s) have been keeping all of us very busy here at the shelter for the last six months. I’m happy to say that we’re down to our last 15 kittens. All 105 kittens that have passed through our door this year have found good homes, and I’m sure that’ll be true of the last 15. I’m also very pleased to add that our disease rate amongst kittens this year was about 5%, opposed to about 80% the year before I joined the shelter*.

In the midst of kitten mania, a cat (who we named Dinah) came into my clinic. She had trouble walking (walked as if drunk). I know our first thought should’ve been cerebellar hypoplasia (CH), but we have to cover and clear everything else before we defaulted to CH. Continue reading “Dinah”

Jingles

Having spent six years volunteering for Forgotten Felines of Sonoma County, I know a thing or two about feral cats. At least I thought I did.

Enter Jingles.

Jingles was trapped in Healdsburg and brought into the shelter last year. Upon arrival he hissed and growled and showed every tell-tail sign of being feral. Still, I knew from experience that cats who’ve been stray for a while will act feral but then turn around and become “tame” again. So I placed him in ISO just in case he was carrying something contagious then, once I knew he wasn’t sick, brought him into my clinic to see what I could do. Continue reading “Jingles”

Marmalade

Marmalade came into my life just as I was leaving the Healdsburg Animal Shelter (HAS) after my “tri-out” day for the position of Vet Tech. I was walking out the door when a woman came in carrying a half-dead cat. She explained she was following a car and the car pulled over to the side of the road and someone just threw the cat out the window. Didn’t even bother to stop the car. Just threw the cat out like it was a piece of garbage.

Welcome to shelter medicine. Continue reading “Marmalade”

The Sniffy Chronicles

Sniffy came to the Healdsburg Shelter on March 4, 2011 as a stray cat. He (we originally thought he was a she but more on that later) was totally withdrawn and scared of everyone and everything. I put him in my clinic/office so I could work with him; so that one day, hopefully, he’d be adoptable.

For the first 23 days Sniffy hid under a blanket in his cage and never came out while I was there. He was extremely scared and didn’t want anything to do with anyone. I tried several times a day to pet him, but that scared him even more. So I decided to just let him be. Continue reading “The Sniffy Chronicles”