Furrever Friends Rescue and Volunteers, Inc.

In June 2011, research was presented at the 33rd Annual Feline Symposium that shows great promise in treating Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP), a viral infection that may kill as many as 1 in 100 cats.  The treatment uses Polyprenyl Immunostimulant to strengthen a cat’s immunity to FIP.  Although promising, the research is still in its early stages, and cannot proceed without further DNA research and other support.

This article describes the presented research in greater detail, and also lists charitable organizations working to raise funds for FIP research.

Cold weather is just around the corner… and for those who care for feral (outdoor, unsocialized) cats, now is the time to begin winter preparations.  If you maintain shelters for ferals, inspect the structures and repair as necessary, and make sure that their bedding is fresh.  You can purchase inexpensive hay at many farm markets and garden stores that will keep cats warm and comfortable on cold winter nights. If the shelters have filled up with water, drill small holes in the bottoms for drainage, and set them up on bricks.

Also, ferals need reliable, non-frozen water supplies in the winter (the urgency of this, of course, depending on where you live).  Many pet stores sell electric water bowls that warm the water enough to keep it from freezing.  In most cases, you only need to maintain a heated bowl during periods when the temperature consistently dips below freezing (in New Jersey, this means approximately mid-December through March).   See this page for other tips on preventing drinking water from freezing, including solutions for locations without electricity.

Our page on feral cat care has links to resources on everything from feral care basics to instructions on building shelters, plus complete instructions (including videos) on trap-neuter-return (TNR).

UPDATE (8/27/11): VICTORY!!! NJ Gov. Christie uses his conditional veto to preserve the seven-day hold for shelters.  Story here.

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Re-posted from an Aug. 18 ASPCA Advocacy Alert…

Dear New Jersey Animal Advocates,

A companion-animal related bill, S. 2923, has passed the New Jersey Legislature and is now before Governor Chris Christie for his approval. On the surface, S. 2923 looks like something you would support—it establishes a spay/neuter and animal identification program—but it contains an alarming provision to eliminate the state’s current mandatory seven-day hold on all animals entering shelters. This would give excessive discretion to shelters over the lives of your pets, who could be killed immediately upon entering a shelter due to any “age, health, or behavior” reason.

The purpose of the seven-day holding period is to give pet owners time to find their lost and runaway animals. Imagine the pain of losing your pet and knowing that if he or she winds up in a shelter, it could mean instant death instead of a safe haven. This nightmare scenario could become a reality for even the most responsible pet parent.

We’re asking Governor Christie to exercise a power called conditional veto—he could strike this particular language in S. 2923 and send it back to the Legislature for reenactment with that change, leaving the good parts of the bill intact.

We need your help! Please urge your governor to do the right thing by his August 25 action deadline.

What You Can Do
Call Governor Christie’s office at (609) 292-6000 right away and ask him to conditionally veto bill S. 2923, amending it so that New Jersey’s seven-day hold for shelter animals remains state law.

You can also connect with Gov. Christie’s office through…

• The web, at http://www.state.nj.us/governor/contact/
• Facebook, at http://www.facebook.com/GovChrisChristie
• Twitter, at http://twitter.com/GovChristie

Here are a few talking points you may find helpful when placing your call:

• S. 2923 would give excessive discretion to shelters over the lives of New Jersey residents’ animal companions, who could be killed immediately upon entering a shelter instead of being treated for medical issues or given time to be adopted.
• The purpose of the seven-day holding period is to give pet owners time to find their lost and runaway animals—imagine the pain of losing your pet and knowing that if he or she winds up in a shelter, it could mean instant death instead of a safe haven.
• Cats would likely fare especially badly, given the difficulty in distinguishing between feral cats and fearful house cats. Euthanasia should not become the favored resolution for feral cats over humane and effective TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return).

Thank you, New Jersey!

Nestle Purina PetCare Company (NPPC) is voluntarily recalling select bags of its Purina ONE Vibrant Maturity 7+ Dry Cat Food due to possible Salmonella contamination, the FDA announced on Friday.

The products affected by this recall include bags with a “Best by” date of May 2012:

• 3.5-pound bags, with production codes of 03341084 and 03351084 and UPC codes of 17800 01885.
• 7-pound bags with production codes of 03341084 and 03351084 and UPC codes of 17800 01887

These products were primarily distributed and sold in the Midwestern US, but may have been shipped to other areas.

Official Purina press release here.  FDA statement here.