We have all seen cat owners carrying around their furry friend in cute bubble backpacks, especially in online videos and photos. The pets look cute to humans, but are these bags safe and comfortable for the cat?

Benji the cat would attest that NO! these bags are not safe and are rather scary. Benji was abandoned on the Sydney Dogs & Cats Home doorstep in one of these cat bags. While these bags may look handy and convenient and makes cats look like little space travellers, these bags are uncomfortable, stuffy and makes cats like Benji become scared and frightened of people, making it difficult for them to trust.

When Benji was finally released from the confides of these bags, he spent the next 3-weeks frozen in the corner of his enclosure and refused to interact with any of the Sydney Dogs & Cats Home staff. He finally felt comfortable and safe enough to accept pats, and he is now the sweetest, smoochy and cuddliest cat who is now looking for a forever home he can feel safe and comfortable and never has to be confided to one of those cat bags again!

Let’s have a closer look as to why these on trend carriers are not ideal for your pets.

Leaves no place to hide

Cats love having small spaces to hide and to make them feel calm and secure. Cats have extremely strong senses, so some environments can be overwhelming. Cat backpacks don’t allow for your pet to seek refuge away from an overstimulating environment. Having your cat exposed in these bubbles, can lead to unnecessary stress and trauma.

Not enough room

Cats need to lie down or curl up to completely relax. Cat backpacks only allow enough room for cats to sit up and doesn’t allow for adequate room for food or water.

Hot & stuffy

Cat backpacks tend to be made from plastic which traps heat. They also radiate your pet’s own heat whilst sitting inside. The ventilation holes don’t allow for adequate air circulation and can create an uncomfortable environment of heat and stuffiness.

Although these carriers allow for pet owners to have their hands free and look trendy and cute to others, they are not suitable transportation devices as they pose a health risk to your cat. Traditional cat carriers allow for proper ventilation, an area to hide and adequate space for food and water.

If you own one of these bags, or know someone who does, we encourage you to use traditional carriers for your cat’s health and safety.

If you would like to give Benji the comfortable and safe home he deserves, you can view his adoption profile here: https://sydneydogsandcatshome.org/animal/benji/

We spend a lot of time ensuring our pets eat the right nutritious food, drink enough water and get adequate exercise to ensure they have optimal health. But are you ensuring that your furry one’s fangs are in tip top shape? Proper oral hygiene is a key piece to great overall health for your furry friend and makes for a more pleasant lap companion. We discuss 4 tips to ensure that your pet’s teeth are healthy, strong and odourless.

Brush Weekly

Like humans, it is important to brush your pet’s teeth at least three times a week. By utlising a proper toothbrush with special pet friendly toothpaste, we ensure that our furry friend’s gums are not overlooked. Your pet might get agitated with this exercise however doing it regular will lead to them becoming more comfortable with the process. The best way to get your pet familiar with tooth cleaning, is to follow Sydney Pet Dentistry’s Slow and Sneaky Method.

Book Regular Cleans at Your Vet

The most important piece to keeping your pet’s teeth healthy, is to book in regular deep cleans at your local vet. Your vet will be apple to pick up dental problems and stop them leading to infections or serious health issues. Your vet can ensure your pet gets a proper deep clean by removing plaque, adding gum protectant, and most importantly ensuring a fresh breath.

Serve Your Pet the Right Foods

It all starts with what you put into your pet’s mouth. Raw kibble, carrots and apples are great for both cats and dogs, as their texture create a brushing motion against their teeth.

Chew Toys

Treat your furry one to specially designed chew toys that promote oral hygiene. Having your pet play with non-abrasive toys, help remove food particles and plaque build up.

To find out more, about what you can do to ensure optimal dental health, speak to your local vet.

After raising a collective $2500 for Sydney Dogs & Cats Home in 2020 and 2021 through the Return & Earn container recycling scheme, 13-year-old Vaughn Arambatzis was named a ‘local legend’ by local media and public figures for his outstanding fundraising efforts. But now that title has come true with Vaughn being awarded the Keep Australia Beautiful Young Legend’s Award.

Vaughn’s family, friends, the local South Sydney community and local businesses have helped spread awareness of the fundraiser, collected bottles, donated bins, and helped transport containers to Reverse Vending Machines. Vaughn was able to recycle 15,000 containers over the last two years with 12,000 containers collected in 2021 alone.

Covid lockdowns didn’t slow Vaughn’s collection efforts down at all. While Return & Earn Vending Machines and depots remained closed during Sydney’s 2021 lockdown, Vaughn extended his collection deadline and bottles and cans continued to accumulate in his family’s front yard, allowing him to smash his original goal of $1000 and instead, impressively raising a total of $2000.10 for Sydney Dogs & Cats Home.

When asked what winning the award meant to him, Vaughn said; “It means a lot because it’s a big award. Winning the award gives Sydney Dogs & Cats Home recognition and that might encourage people to donate more money. I hope it also encourages more people to use Return and Earn and to recycle.”

Vaughn’s win of the Young Legend Award has motivated him to set his sights on expanding his recycling and fundraising efforts with the hopes of working with the Georges River Council. Vaughn also has plans to expand his container collection efforts and hopes the local community and local businesses will sponsor him so he can utilise the Return & Earn purple bin service. Vaughn says his other goal for 2022 is “to try and raise as much as I can.”

If you are interested in donating your Return & Earn refund to Sydney Dogs & Cats Home, you can do so through the MyTOMRA app before returning your containers at a Reverse Vending Machine. 100% of the refund will be transferred to Sydney Dogs & Cats Home and will assist in the continued efforts to rehabilitate and reunite Sydney’s lost and abandoned pets. You can also keep up with Vaughn’s recycling and fundraising efforts by visiting www.instagram.com/vaughnsfundraiser.

Published 2 February 2022

Gentle giant Six came into the shelter as a lost dog with his Rottweiler buddy Rocco last October. While Rocco found a new home, Six remained at the shelter and won over the hearts of the staff and volunteers with his slobbery smile and friendly and loving personality.

Six presented to the Home with several issues including mild dental disease and bilateral entropion, an abnormality causing the eyelid to roll inwards causing pain and discomfort, and when not treated can cause corneal damage and interfere with vision. Six also experiences issues that are consistent with his large breed. Being a Boerboel, a mastiff-type dog from South Africa, Six weighed in at 72kgs.  He had a mild case of happy tail, an issue where the tail will repeatedly hit a solid object resulting in the skin splitting open and he also had a severe generalised joint disease related to arthritis and degeneration of his joints, a consequence of his large breed.

The Animal Care Team performed surgery on Six to correct his entropion and happy tail as well as a clean and scale of his dental disease. Six recovered nicely from surgery with some rest at the Home and receiving pats and hugs from the staff and volunteers. Six has also been placed on lifelong medication to manage his joint disease. While Six is only 4 years old, his joint issues mean he presents more closely to a senior dog and requires the right person to take on a special dog such as Six.

After 104 days in the Home, Six finally found his forever home with a family that will spend the rest of his days spoiling him and showering him with love, all the while being showered in Six’s slobbery kisses. We captured the sweet moment Six finally left the Home, click here and share it with your friends and family.

Published 1 February 2022

When Trifle came to the Home last year after a life on the streets our Animal Care Team ensured that Trifle was his best self to find a new home. Trifle had tested positive for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), had a nasty scar on his left eye and had a number of dental concerns. After much-needed surgery to extract his canine teeth and receive treatment for FIV, Trifle was a new man and was now able to groom himself properly and enjoy his food.

Trifle was known around the Home for his strong headbutts, his love for food and his impressive growth from a fearful street cat to a friendly cat full of personality and a face you could never forget. This was also true for Ailin and Dom who adopted Trifle and gave him the loving and safe home he deserved. Ailin says the deciding factor to adopting Trifle was “he looked like he had a ton of character and we loved that about him!”

It took Trifle some time to settle into his new home, but now Ailin says Trifle has become confident enough to explore around the house but prefers to remain in his oasis upstairs where he spends most of his day sleeping. “He likes the humans to visit him from the afternoon onwards for headbutts and pats but prefers to keep his mornings free for eating and sleeping.”

Trifle is definitely living the life he deserves and is being spoilt on the occasion with his favourite food, chicken! Ailin says that adopting Trifle has been an extremely rewarding experience, especially now that he has grown to love his new family and life.

Published 1 February 2022

In mid-December, a young cat of Sydney named Clementine had found herself in a life-threatening situation. She had been through a trauma and broken her front right leg, causing immeasurable pain when she moved.

Brave Clementine managed to make her way next door to the home of a good Samaritan, who took her to a local vet clinic for emergency treatment. There Clementine received x-rays and surgery to save her leg and ensure her smooth recovery.

When Clementine was brought into our Home after her surgery, she was still in a great deal of discomfort, and was understandably very agitated. She wouldn’t let anybody touch her.

Our animal care team continued Clementine’s pain medication and organised physical rehabilitation to assist with the healing process. Clementine spent lots of quality time with our team, enjoying tasty food while they gently exercised her joints. Throughout her rehab sessions, you could tell she was starting to feel better as she was dishing out smooches and cuddles!

Not only did Clementine have her broken leg repaired, she even received the best Christmas gift – a forever home! Clementine was adopted less than three weeks after her accident and is making great progress in her new home. She is even walking on her front right leg with no signs of discomfort! Clementine is enjoying being a lap cat and is on strict orders to rest her leg so it will continue to get even stronger.

Clementine will soon return to the Home for her desexing procedure and follow up x-rays to ensure everything is healing as planned. It won’t be long before Clementine will be back to jumping onto laps and distracting everyone from getting anything done with her big, adorable eyes!

Published 1 February 2022

Lovely Lexy the Shar Pei came to Sydney Dogs & Cats Home in October as a lost dog and was a little nervous to be here. Who can blame her, with there being so many new sounds, smells and people? Little did Lexy know, things would start looking up for her.

It was clear Lexy had a few health issues that needed addressing, including dental disease, inflammation in the ears, joint pain in her left hind leg, and bilateral entropion – a common issue in Shar Pei’s where the eyelids turn inwards. This can be painful as the eyelashes and skin constantly rub on the surface of the eye.

The Animal Care Team quickly came up with a plan to make Lexy comfortable and alleviate her pain. Lexy went into surgery for extraction of her diseased teeth, desexing and entropion correction. She was also prescribed pain medication to address her joint pain and inflammation.

Lexy’s surgeries were a success, and it clearly made a big difference for the lovely lady. With her discomfort behind her, Lexy became a lot less nervous and started making friends with the staff and volunteers. She became excited when she saw someone she knew outside her kennel and enjoyed having a chat with her doggy neighbour Maya.

Lexy’s favourite activity is her daily walks and sniffing everything in the neighbourhood. Since Lexy is a mature lady at nine years old, she prefers taking her time on her walks and is happy to amble alongside her humans rather than racing ahead. When Lexy isn’t basking in all the smells in the neighbourhood, she is stretched out and resting on her favourite comfy bed.

Lexy has now made a full recovery from her surgery and has even found her forever home! She is now spending her days snoozing on her bed and smelling everything she can in her new neighbourhood. She’s looking forward to many golden years ahead!

Published 15 December

Treacle came to Sydney Dogs & Cats Home as a tiny 4-week-old kitten with very unusual-looking eyes. She had a birth defect called eyelid agenesis – the complete absence of eyelids, which made her eyes look wide open all of the time. She looked constantly shocked, but it wasn’t surprise she was feeling – it was constant discomfort.

Without eyelids, Treacle’s cornea was completely exposed, which can lead to incomplete blinking, irritation from hair touching the cornea, ulceration and scarring. Without treatment, Treacle was at risk of long term damage to her vision.

As Treacle was so young when she came to the Home, she went to a foster home so she could grow and gain weight for surgery and adoption. She was put on a diet of baby cat food, milk and Hill’s dry biscuits, courtesy of our sponsor at Hill’s Pet Nutrition, which helped her get big and strong. Being in foster care also helped to socialise Treacle, introducing her to the pleasures of pats and affection. 

Our vets organised for Treacle to see an eye specialist, who made a plan for her treatment. She would need a very precise surgery, to take a graft from her lip and transpose it into her eye to create a new pseudo eyelid. Treacle would need 4-6 weeks of special eye drops to prepare for the big day. 

With her surgery booked and her future looking bright, our team got working to find Treacle’s new forever home. It wasn’t long before she found a family, who has been giving her eye drops every day in preparation for surgery. In mid-December with the help of our supporters, we funded Treacle’s eyelid surgery at a specialist vet, and we’re told she’s comfortable and doing very well post-op in her adopted home.

Treacle is now ‘looking forward’ to spending Christmas at home with fully functioning eyelids and a family committed to keeping her healthy and happy.

Published 15 December

Bonded buddies Joey and Stanley are a pair of senior gentlemen who came into Sydney Dogs & Cats Homes as lost dogs in desperate need of a fresh start. The two Maltese x Shih Tzus were very dishevelled with dirty, unkempt coats and troubling signs of serious health concerns.

It was clear Joey and Stanley had lived many years together and had much more in common than their curly, matted fur. Upon a vet check, it was discovered their health had been neglected for some time. They both had major dental disease, retained testicles and an umbilical hernia. All three of these issues were causing discomfort and can severely impact quality of life if left untreated, so a plan for treatment was devised and the dogs were sent into foster care with a trusted staff member.

Joey and Stanley received a clip and clean which revived their tired coats instantly and cleared the fur from their eyes. They are receiving pain relief medication and have been booked for dental surgery to scale, polish and extract some of their teeth. The duo will also have a desexing procedure, during which our vets will repair their hernias and resolve their retained testicles. This will prevent the contents of the abdomen from herniating and negate the risk of testicular cancer.

Unfortunately for Joey, his upcoming surgery won’t be the end of his veterinary care. Joey has a striking cloudy film over his eyes – a sign of cataracts and vision loss. In some cases, cataracts can lead to blindness, so it’s vital Joey gets the specialist support he needs. Joey is scheduled to see an ophthalmologist by the end of the year to see if surgery is the correct option to repair the cataracts in his eyes. If the surgery is right for him, Joey will ‘look forward’ to bumping into objects way less in future.

After an initial examination of Joey’s eyes, our vets put a stethoscope to Joey’s heart and were disappointed to hear a whooshing sound in between heartbeats – a heart murmur. Joey was booked in for blood tests and an echocardiogram to diagnose the reason for his heart murmur. The tests revealed he has Stage B1 Myxomatous Mitral Valve Degeneration. This is the early stage of heart disease, where a murmur is heard but there are no visible signs of heart failure or heart enlargement. Further intervention is not required at this stage and it won’t impact his quality of life, however if his condition does progress, therapy will be needed to delay the onset of congestive heart failure.

With their surgeries on the horizon, Joey and Stanley are looking forward to a comfortable future where they can eat, groom and move around without discomfort. They’re best buds, so it’s important they find a home together, with a family that will commit to giving them the health care they need.

If you can give Joey and Stanley the retirement they deserve where they can live a life of leisure, sunbathing and rolling around in the grass, then apply for these two senior boys today: https://sydneydogsandcatshome.org/animal/joey-and-stanley/

Published 14 December

Fluffy girl Polly (previously Polar) is a three-year-old Japanese Spitz who came to Sydney Dogs & Cats Home as a lost dog with her mate Luka (previously Beluga). It was clear on arrival the pair was significantly overweight and had an appetite to match. Their fur was also in desperate need of a clip and brush, with mattes taking over their bodies and causing them to chew on their fur and wear down their teeth.

Our team gave Polly and Luka a pamper session which saw their coats clipped and brushed. This is a very important task for breeds like Spitz’s whose beautiful coats require regular grooming and maintenance.

Unfortunately for Polly, this wasn’t the end of her rehabilitation journey. She had a medial luxating patella (dislocated knee joint) that caused her to limp when she walked.

Our Animal Care Team got to work to make Polly feel more comfortable. While she and Luka were desexed, we performed x-rays on her pelvis and knee to investigate the severity of her dislocated knee joint.

While Polly waits for her x-ray results and treatment plan, she receives anti-inflammatory medication to reduce discomfort. She’s been recovering from her desexing surgery with Luka in foster care, enjoying the luxuries of a big backyard. It seems the pair were fed very well in their past home – a little too well – as they have learned to beg for their humans’ food. Polly and Luka are undergoing manners and toilet training in their foster home to ensure they’re ready for adopted life. To their dismay, they are also on weight loss plans to get them to an ideal weight. This will assist in minimising Polly’s joint inflammation as she won’t be carrying around extra weight.

Depending on Polly’s x-ray results, we may need to provide further treatment such as specialist surgery to resolve inflammation of her knee joint. But for now, she and Luka have been adopted and are looking forward to going to their new home, where they can enjoy a new, healthy life together.

Published 13 December