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I can hear the ahhhhs over the above kitten picture but my reaction this week is not so fuzzy.

I have been getting cranky over all of the people dumping their animals or trying to re-home them. This may have something to do with my not feeling up to speed (no filters) but it irks me that they don’t think about the animal’s emotions, the human-animal bond, and most never seem to give it a second thought.

In some ways living here is like being back in the dark ages of animal husbandry and care.

In fact, I am going down-the-hill with a friend because his cat has ongoing issues–and at the last visit to a clinic–the vet didn’t draw any blood to double check. It was my complaining that made him ask for a blood test after the first visit in the first place. Liver issues–let me just say that I found him a cat specialist down the hill and I’ll leave it at that.

Anyway, because I work with animals everyone thinks I am a good source to approach about finding new homes for their pets–some how I might be the answer to their problem.

I have news–nobody I know is looking for another pet and with kitten season in full bloom I am really not too happy about getting calls or getting asked if I can help them find a new home for their pet.

Guess I should be happy they are not getting dumped in the woods…

One of the stories I will share is from just last week. Someone came to help move her elderly parents out of town. She locked the animals in the house, gave the keys to the landlord and said, “By the way, the animals are in the house you’ll need to handle that.”

Grrrrrrr.

Kitten season is such a problem that groups such as the Humane Society of the United States address kitten season on their website. Outdoor cats breed which is why cat colonies grow.

Some surprise their owners with a litter. Whoops, did they not spay or neuter their animals?

Every February there is a push for spay and neutering during Spay Day USA and there are low cost spay and neuter clinics around California. If people check locally many vet clinics offer discount days for such procedures. There are also private parties who gather spay neuter lists to help stop the problem.

Shelter staff don’t look forward to the influx of cats and kittens–and I certainly hate seeing the signs all over town for “free kittens.”

Most of the animals in the local shelters won’t make it out.

Those that live outside often become food for the local predators (coyotes, cougar, bobcats) or are exposed to a variety of illness and other threats.

When I was in San Diego I met Gerri Calore and some of the gang at the Feral Cat Coalition and Alley Cat Allies. Feral cats are those that live in colonies and to control the growth.

Most feral cat groups Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) the animals in the colony. This prevents the colony from growing and is an effort that has been found to work well.

If you are looking for tips and hints I like Carol’s Ferals website. Shows what one person can do if motivated!

So, please encourage anyone you know with a new pet to make a lifetime commitment and to get that pet into the veterinarian for spaying or neutering soon…and don’t ask me to help you place a pet…at least not this week!

I believe I mentioned this before but to make sure you didn’t miss the news, I wanted to post this…

Scientists at the University of California, Davis, have spent five years collecting swabs and samples of feline saliva, collating and comparing the DNA from 1,100 cats from around the world. They focused on 22 breeds of pedigreed cat and other feral and pet cats from countries including Korea, China, Kenya, Israel, Turkey, Vietnam, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Egypt, Italy, Finland, Germany, the United States and Brazil. By looking closely at 39 genetic markers in the feline DNA, they were able to ascertain which breeds were most closely related and where they were likely to have originated.

This research confirmed findings in earlier studies indicating that the Fertile Crescent, which stretches from Turkey to Northern Africa through the Middle East, witnessed the appearance of domestic cats around 10,000 years ago. Leslie Lyons, one of the leading scientists on the project, said, “Our data support the Fertile Crescent, specifically Turkey, as one of the origin sites of cats.” Cats from Turkey were found to have the most genetic diversity of all the animals studied. DNA accumulates more changes over time, and this led the University of California group to deduce that cats had been in Turkey longer than anywhere else.

Read the whole article on cat domestication here…

Leslie A Lyons of US Davis is researching genetic markers for felines. If you want to participate and find out just what your cat’s DNA connection is to other feline breeds just visit this page for directions and on how to submit a cheek swab to the project. I believe the deal for participating is still valid–you will receive a DNA profile on your cat, a comparison of your cat to the breed and your breed to other cat breeds.

Lyons research was published in Genomics in January of 2008 but you can read more at Science Daily.

We spent a few days in San Diego where a recent shark attack in San Diego on triathlete David Martin has failed to dissuade tourists from going to the beach or enjoying the shoreline.

Fellow swimmers got together for a memorial swim to honor their friend who was attacked by a Great White Shark–and to perhaps work through some of the lingering post trauma.

Shark attacks are nothing new. In fact, the oceans have been so abused by man it seems that perhaps we have successfully pissed off Mother Nature so that she is retaliating–crying out for our attention.

The past week has reported shark attacks in Monterey, San Diego, and off the Coast of Mexico.

I quit surfing and going into the waters of the Pacific Ocean here in So Cal after I noticed the tidepools were disappearing and diseases (skin, ear, and who knows what else) began to plague the water sports enthusiasts here in Southern California.

It always seemed strange that the locals would get the notice about the bacteria levels and stay clear of the water while the tourists never seemed to get the message. There was even skin eating bacteria found in the So Cal area sometime back.

As someone who grew up on the coast on the cliffs above the ocean and who surfed, dove, swam, and worked as a marine naturalist–this change from my ocean going habits was hard. But more disturbing is the impact on the sea and sea creatures.

Even where I live now, near the lake shore on the edge of the forest, most locals will not go into the lake to swim…

This year I didn’t do an Earth Day specific post. In the past I have–but I’d rather encourage “Earth Day, Every Day.” Some how we have become a throw away, abusive society instead of one searching to conserve. When a recent office changed from large bottles of water to individual bottles–it saddened me.

On the other hand, I always manage to forget to take my cloth bags to the grocery store…guess I need to move them into my car now. I generate little trash and recycle most everything…but there is always more to do.

We are not paying attention to how abusive we have become to the earth and what a burden we put on it. The increase in human-animal encounters has led many to believe that nature is retaliating. I’d say screaming for attention is more like it.

Even Oprah recently dedicated a show to “going green” but changes in habits are something that need to be a serious, consistent effort. Not just a one day event.

People laughed when Oprah squirmed over the earthworms–but I hope that they got the main message instead. It made me sad to see someone of such influence showing her followers such an example–or maybe it was a good thing–who knows?

In case you have not heard, many countries outside of the United States have already banned plastic bags. For crying out loud–even China has banned or taxed their use!

We need to do the same thing–and also to move back to repairable and endurable products. If we quit supporting the nasty plastic packaging and individual bottles of water and sodas we can prevent further problems in the ocean. Check out this plastic pollution article from Santa Cruz or this one on the “Eastern Garbage Patch.”

You can check out more on the lethal litter at these links:

Charles Moore (Marine Biologist) article from Natural History

Greenpeace Ocean Trash Vortex

Plastic Plague from LA Times

US News & World Report on Ocean Plastic

Great Pacific Garbage Patch