The 19th October 2019 marked the one year anniversary of Dorothy’s arrival at Sydney Dogs and Cats Home. Abandoned at a veterinary practice and brought into the Home by the council ranger, Dorothy was in terrible condition.

Estimated to be a six-month-old pup, Dorothy had a serious case of demodectic mange and a terrible skin infection. She was also extremely underweight. Having lost almost her entire coat of fur, nearly every centimetre of her body was red raw, inflamed and covered in scabs, and there was a strong odour emanating from her infected skin.

Thanks to the care and dedication of the team at SDCH, Dorothy made a full recovery, but sadly more than 12 months on Dorothy still has not found her forever home.

As a member of the Getting 2 Zero movement, SDCH doesn’t place a time limit on any animal awaiting adoption. Whilst in the Home’s care Dorothy has been adopted and returned twice. She is currently residing in a foster care home, where SDCH still provides her and her foster care family with support in terms of behavioural consultations, veterinary treatment, and the provision of Hills Prescription Diet Zd Skin and Food Sensitivities dog food.

If you’d like to learn more about Dorothy please check out her full profile here.  Or if you think you can offer our beautiful girl Dorothy a forever home please contact the team on 9587 9611 or email info@sydneydogsandcatshome.org

We found loving homes for 20 cats in a single day thanks to our Super Caturday Adoption Event which was held last month. Partnering with PETstock Rockdale we were able to rehome 10 cats from their location as well as clear our cattery of all but one cat – Lettie.

Lettie, we are pleased to report, has now found her forever home too after being in our care for more than seven months! As we head into kitten season being able to empty the cattery is a welcomed event as we will need the space and more in the coming months.

Bottle babies have already started to arrive at the Home and our Foster Care Coordinator Sabrina has created a Bottle Baby Brigade in anticipation of what is to come this kitten season. The Bottle Baby Brigade will be looking after the neonatal kittens – new born to four weeks old – that find their way to us.

Neonatal kittens require rigorous and intensive care. This includes feeding every two hours around the clock as well as stimulating them with a warm moist ball of cotton after each feed to help them eliminate waste. If you would like to join the Bottle Baby Brigade for this exhausting but highly rewarding task or if you are interested in becoming a kitten or cat foster carer please contact Sabrina on foster@sydneydogsandcatshome.org.

Everyone loves a kitten, a cute cuddly little ball of fluff, however adopting a kitten may not be the best choice for you or your family.  Kittens have tonnes of energy and raising a kitten may not suit a busy, time-poor person or family.  As we spend the week focusing on all things cats – with our LOVE CATS campaign, we want to highlight the advantages of adopting an adult cat.  Some of these benefits include:

• Adult cats require less supervision than kittens and are less likely to destroy your home if you are not around to supervise them.

• Their personalities are fully developed so you know what you are getting.

• Adult cats are more likely to be litter trained.

• Most adult cats have come from a home so they may be accustomed to children or other pets (NB: they may initially be shy, but they have experience interacting with humans and are likely to be friendly).

• Adult cats are better with children as they don’t have the very sharp teeth and claws of a kitten, and they will be more gentle-natured in their play and interaction.

• Older cats still like to play in-between their naps.

• Adult cats still need love and attention and are affectionate and loyal companions.

So if you are thinking of adopting a kitten please also consider the advantages of adopting an adult cat.

Imagine coming back from holiday to find that your beloved family pet has gone missing. There are messages on your phone from the local shelter and a notice in your letterbox explaining that your pet is in their care and if you don’t reclaim your pet within two weeks it will become available for adoption by someone else. You call the shelter immediately, but it is too late! Your pet – in their care for 20 days – has been rehomed.

If another 24 hours had passed this would have been the reality faced by Fonzy’s family.  Fonzy’s family had been on the overseas holiday of a lifetime, only to return and find their precious pooch missing.  Fonzy had been entrusted into the care of a family-friend.  Somehow Fonzy ended up wandering the streets and was picked up by a council ranger who brought him to Sydney Dogs and Cats Home when he was unable to reach Fonzy’s owner.  The pet-minder who lost Fonzy, didn’t tell the family he’d gone missing and didn’t know how to find Fonzy.

Fonzy’s story, unfortunately, is not a unique or isolated case.  The following week we had another occurrence of an owner leaving a dog in the care of a friend while they went overseas for three days.  The dog went missing on day number one and the minder didn’t tell the owner.  Thankfully this dog was picked-up, unharmed and brought into Sydney Dogs and Cats Home. We were able to reunite this dog with his owner during the two-week hold period.

These two instances both had positive outcomes for the pets and the owners.  However, this may not always be the case. To help safeguard your pets should you leave them in someone else’s care, we have developed the following precautionary checklist:

1. Make sure your pet is microchipped and the contact details are current; updating your details is free and can be done at your council or online at petregistry.nsw.gov.au.
2. Add the carer – or a trusted friend who isn’t on holiday with you – as a ‘secondary contact’ on the microchip; this can also be done at your council or online via petregistry.nsw.gov.au and there is no cost.
3. Ensure your animal has a collar with a tag with your contact details and that of the temporary minder; do it yourself don’t rely on the carer to add their details.
4. Leave the carer with the number of your local impound facility as well as contact details of your local vet; you can find contact details of your local impound facility from your council or via a google search.

Additional advice for people leaving their dog in someone else’s care:

• double-check the carer’s fencing to ensure it is secure with no means to escape;
• brief the carer to leave the dog’s collar on at all times;
• advise the carer to only ever walk your dog on lead – even at the off-leash dog park; and
• ask the carer to stick to your routine as closely as possible (e.g. feeding timing, walking, etc.).

Tips for people leaving their cat in someone else’s care:

• never let the cat out whilst it is being minded by someone else, even if  it is in your own home; and
• ask the carer to stick to your cat’s routine (e.g. feeding, toys, litterbox cleaning, etc.) as much as possible.

Accidents can happen and if you reside in one of the eight council areas (i.e. Bayside, Fairfield, Georges River, Inner West, North Sydney, Randwick, Waverley, Woollahra) service by Sydney Dogs and Cats Home please go to the lost page of our website if your pet is missing.  Nothing can ruin a post-holiday high faster than finding out your pet is lost.  We hope the above can help safeguard that from happening or at least ensure that if it does you and your pet are reunited.

In late March, Gopher was brought into Sydney Dogs and Cats Home as a stray.  The beautiful one-year-old Staffy X was covered in ringworm lesions.  They were on his face, head, legs and even his paws.

Ringworm is a contagious fungal infection that causes hair loss, skin ulceration and itchiness.  Not only can ringworm spread from one dog to another but it can also spread from dog to human.

So poor Gopher had to spend his first weeks at the Home completely quarantined and isolated.  Gopher couldn’t go out on walks because of the risk he would spread the fungal infection to the other dogs living in and around the shelter.  Also the team members who interacted with Gopher had to be covered from head to toe in disposable protective clothing to ensure they didn’t becoming infected or pass on the fungal infection to the other animals in our care.

The team put together a treatment plan for Gopher which addressed not only his ringworm infection but also a way to keep this young boy entertained and happy whilst in isolation.  For the first two weeks Gopher’s lesions were treated twice daily with the application of an anti-fungal cream. Gopher was also given a weekly bath with an anti-fungal shampoo over the quarantine period. To keep Gopher occupied while his skin slowly healed and his coat grew back, the team provided this big boofhead with lots of enrichment games, toys and treats to keep him busy.

Finally, after five weeks, Gopher was given the all clear.  Our volunteer photographer Peter from Tame & Wild Studios captured some amazing images of Gopher which went up on our website.  And in no time at all a wonderful human came forward to adopt Gopher and give him the forever home he deserves.

Thinking about adopting a kitten?  Maybe you should consider adopting two!  Turns out cats may not always be the solitary creatures we believe them to be and there are many good reasons to adopt two kittens together rather than one.  Some of the benefits of adopting two kittens include:

1. Healthy mind, healthy body! Kittens that are raised in pairs exercise with each other, with the same play styles and develop better social skills. It’s proven that cats who have had their siblings as playmates are much more adaptable when they are older.

2. Peace of mind! Two kittens keep each other busy and out of mischief, and you can rest easy that they are safely bouncing off each other (and not the TV!).

3.  Never lonely! Nothing can compare to having another kitten for company when you’re out at work.

4. Learning life lessons! Kittens can play rough with nails and teethies! With a sibling play partner, they are taught how to play gently with people and save their playfulness for their sibling.

5. Fun, Fun and more Fun! Kittens romp, leap, wrestle, clean each other and then curl up next to each other to snooze. Hours of entertainment to watch!

6. Boredom breeds insanity (with kittens anyway!) Out of boredom kittens start entertaining themselves – chewing plants, exploring electrical cords and sockets, climbing legs. Two kittens prevent boredom!!

7. Avoid being “preyed” on at night! Kittens are most active at night and a good night sleep is valuable – the last thing you want is your toes to be attacked! With two kittens, their night stalking and hunting will happen between the two of them!

8.  Older cats are past their play years! Older cats don’t really want a toddler under their feet! Two kittens bouncing off each other will let the older cat do their own thing (and enjoy their twilight years in style).

So if you are thinking of adopting a kitten consider the advantages that come with adopting two… or three.

Here are a few things you can do:

• Keep your dog indoors, or if that is not possible, provide them with safe and secure shelter.
  

• Give them access to a safe haven, whether it be a crate or a cosy room with familiar smells.

• Remove any potentially dangerous objects, e.g., electrical cords, glass items, furniture which could be knocked over.

• Make sure all doors and gates are closed and secure.

• If your dog is already used to music being played or the TV being on, considering leaving them on while you’re out to provide a familiar environment and a  distraction from the noise outside.

• Stay at home – if you haven’t already got plans to go out and party, why not welcome in the new year at home with your pooch? If they are frightened when the fireworks get started, you can be there to help distract and comfort them.

• If you already know your dog gets spooked easily, have a chat with your vet about the best options for them and if medication is necessary.

As always, make sure your dog is microchipped and the registered details are up to date in the event that they do run off from home. We also advise that you put a collar on your dog with a tag with your contact details.

We hope you and your furry loved ones have a safe and happy new year!