What DO cats do when they're home alone?

What do cats do when their owners are away? There was one way to find out – "cat cams."
Fifty house cats were given collar cameras that took a photo every 15 minutes. The results put a digital dent in some human theories about catnapping.
Based on the photos, about 22 percent of the cats' time was spent looking out of windows, 12 percent was used to interact with other family pets and 8 percent was spent climbing on chairs or kitty condos. Just 6 percent of their hours were spent sleeping.
"What surprised me was how active the cats were. I believed my three cats were sleeping during the day," said Jill Villarreal, an animal behavior scientist who collected the data for Nestle Purina PetCare's Friskies brand of cat food.
The 777 photos studied by Villarreal showed the cats looking at a television, computer, DVDs or other media 6 percent of the time and hiding under tables 6 percent of the time.
Coming in at 5 percent was playing with toys; eating or looking at food finished at 4 percent.
Will the cats get movie cameras next? "We are in the think tank now," Villarreal said.

Remove Ken Salazar!!

Recently, US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar enacted a plan to remove Endangered Species protections for Wolves in the western US. This will lead to 1000's of wolves deaths.

We move for the removal of Ken Salazar... seems fair, doesn't it?

Please sign the petition and leave your thoughts on the comments area.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/ask-ken-salazar-to-step-down

Thank you.

Thank you for not smoking... indoors

Everyone knows that second hand smoke is bad for people, but does anyone consider how bad it can be for their pets?

Animals can be just as sensitive to airborne pollutants as humans and if you smoke, there is a chance that you are one of those many people that do it inside your home. You take your pets for their checkups, take them for walks and feed them only the best food; you're doing good right?

Well, every time you light up indoors and around your animals, you could very well be undoing all of that good.

Pet owners are rightly concerned about the safety of the food they feed their pets, in light of this year’s wide spread recalls. But pet owners who smoke might be inflicting just as much harm, a veterinarian warns.
Dr. Carolynn MacAllister, an Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Service veterinarian, says if secondhand smoke is harmful to people, then it stands to reason it hurts animals too.
“There have been a number of scientific papers recently that have reported the significant health threat secondhand smoke poses to pets,” MacAllister said. “Secondhand smoke has been associated with oral cancer and lymphoma in cats, lung and nasal cancer in dogs, as well as lung cancer in birds.”
She said a study conducted recently at Tufts College of Veterinary Medicine found a strong correlation between secondhand smoke and certain forms of cancer in cats.
The number of cats with mouth cancer, also known as squamous cell carcinoma, was higher for those animals living in smoking environments versus those felines living in a smoke-free home. In addition, cats that lived with smokers for five or more years had an even higher incidence of this type of oral cancer.

Fatal fur

“One reason cats are so susceptible to secondhand smoke is because of their grooming habits. Cats constantly lick themselves while grooming, therefore they lick up the cancer-causing carcinogens that accumulate on their fur,” MacAllister said. “This grooming behavior exposes the mucous membrane of their mouth to the cancer-causing carcinogens.”
Malignant lymphoma is another type of cancer that cats that live with smokers have a higher risk of getting.
This cancer occurs in the lymph nodes and cats are twice as likely to have this type of cancer compared to cats living in a non-smoking home. This form of cancer is fatal to three out of four cats within 12 months of developing the cancer.

Polluting the pooch

MacAllister also pointed out that secondhand smoke is greatly associated with the increased occurrence of cancer in the nose and sinus area among dogs. Research also indicates a slight association with lung cancer.
“A recent study conducted at Colorado State University shows that there is a higher incidence of nasal tumors in dogs living in a home with secondhand smoke compared to dogs living in a smoke free environment,” she said. “The increased incidence was specifically found among the long nosed breed of dogs. Shorter or medium nosed dogs showed higher rates for lung cancer.”
MacAllister said the longer nosed breeds of dogs have a great surface area in their noses that is exposed to the carcinogens. This also provides more area in which the carcinogens can accumulate. The carcinogens tend to build up on the mucous membranes of long nosed dogs so not as much reaches the lungs.
Unfortunately, dogs affected with nasal cancer normally do not survive more than one year.
“The reason short and medium nose dogs have a higher occurrence of lung cancer is because their shorter nasal passages aren’t as effective at accumulating the inhaled secondhand smoke carcinogens,” she said. “This results in more carcinogens reaching the lungs.”

Canaries in cages

Pet birds also are victims of secondhand smoke. A bird’s respiratory system is hypersensitive to any type of pollutant in the air.
MacAllister said the most serious consequences of secondhand smoke exposure in birds are pneumonia or lung cancer. Other health risks include eye, skin, heart and fertility problems.
Secondhand smoke is not the only danger faced by pets that live in smoke filled environments. Poisoning is another risk they face.
“Curious pets can eat cigarettes and other tobacco products if the products aren’t stored properly,” MacAllister said. “When ingested, this can cause nicotine poisoning, which can be fatal.”
It is important, both for the health of pets and others living in the household, that the smoker has a designated area in which to smoke that is physically separated from the home. In addition, always keep cigarettes, cigarette butts and other tobacco products put away.
“A better choice that could enhance your chances of enjoying a healthier lifestyle with your family and pets would be to stop smoking altogether,” MacAllister said.

Kingston's Story

 The following is a story that was emailed to us by an employee of a local animal shelter:

In early December of 2006, we received a phone call from a gentleman seeking assistance for an abandoned dog that had been living in an alley behind his house. The gentleman, James, had been trying for weeks to gain the dog’s trust and had made little progress as the dog was very skittish, probably meaning he had been on his own for most of his life. The best James could offer was to provide the dog with food and water and blankets, in the hopes that this brought the dog with some comfort. James suspected the dog was living under a car parked in the alley and according to neighbors, had shown up in the area at the start of the many snowstorms and frigid nights we endured.
On the morning that James contacted us, the dog was hit by a car speeding down the alley and then picked up by animal control. Animal control reported that they suspected the dog was a pit bull mix, and would thereby be euthanized after being held at the shelter for a certain number of days. James immediately contacted area rescue groups, hoping that someone would be able to save the dog from the fate that awaited him, due to his breed, and work with the dog while he learned to once again trust in people. Two rescue groups offered solace to this poor dog, and the dog was placed in foster care at a kenneling facility to await a foster home.
Three weeks following the dog’s rescue, a fire broke out in the kenneling facility where the dog was being housed, and he died along with two other dogs. James had visited the dog, which he named Kingston, a number of times during his stay at the kennel, and was so relieved to finally see Kingston, finally safe, warm and cared for. It is beyond heartbreaking for all of us who knew, or had only heard of Kingston, to know what he suffered, only to meet such an end.
Unfortunately, too many animals experience horrible things as a result of the decisions made on their behalf. Kingston’s story highlights so many areas where much work is left to be done. Please spay and neuter your animals, and encourage everyone you know to do the same. Every unwanted dog and cat pays the price of pet overpopulation and very, very few will find their way into forever homes. Question breed specific legislation and breed bans. Educate yourself about the breeds and breed mixes under fire right now and acknowledge that legislation proven to be ineffective is determining the fate of hundreds of thousands of dogs, based solely upon what they look like. Cultivate compassion for all creatures. Animals depend on us to make the right decisions for them. Care for them as you would want to be cared for, with kindness and respect.
We dedicate our ‘In Memory of’ page to Kingston, in the hopes that his life and death will bring us all closer to allowing our lives to be guided by compassion and giving.

Animal Abuser Registry Moves Forward

A bill to establish a publicly accessible statewide registry of people convicted of felony cruelty to animals, introduced Monday in California, would, if passed, be the nation's first such registry. And proponents hope it will spawn similar legislation in more states.

To capitalize on the buzz surrounding the California bill, the Animal Legal Defense Fund has launched a website — exposeanimalabusers.org — with data and model legislation to prompt grass-roots efforts to get more animal-abuser registry laws passed.

"The idea is to protect a vulnerable population at risk of abuse," much as sex offender registries warn communities of sexual predators in the area, so the public, shelters and law enforcement can work together to keep animals safer, the fund's Stephan Otto says.

Bills similar to the one in California have been proposed in Rhode Island, Colorado and Tennessee, though none became law. But this year there's confidence about passage, partly because it's favored by California's Senate majority leader, Dean Florez, and because "this is an example of law catching up with society's values," Otto says.

"Cruelty against animals is happening every hour of every day," says Joyce Tischler, the fund's co-founder. Studies link such abuse with violence against humans, so monitoring animal abusers can be vital to public safety, she says.

Still, such registries aren't universally applauded. Opponents have many concerns, says Randall Lockwood, a cruelty expert at the ASPCA. Among them: Is it fair to offenders who have served their sentences to wear a life-long label? Will offenders plead guilty to a lesser offense to avoid registry inclusion?

"An upside is that a registry enlists the public in the monitoring process," he says. But many worry "a spirit of public vigilantism" could arise, prompting people to "take revenge on an offender who in their minds has not been suitably punished by the legal system."

United States Armed Forces - Covering Up F**K-Ups Since 1778

Colorado Springs, CO -  23 year old Jackson Czechowicz, a United States Army soldier just returned from a tour in Iraq, was arrested by Colorado Springs Police on Monday afternoon after a neighbor had called saying that Czechowicz had beheaded a dog in his backyard after kicking it fiercely with his boots.

The neighbor admits to peeping from his upstairs window and says that he saw Czechowicz drag the dog outside and kick and beat him for a few moments before he: "Reached down in one clean motion and severed his head with a few hard hacks from what appeared to be a combat knife." Says the witness.

Police were skeptical until the body and weapon were discovered in the suspect's dumpster, wrapped in trash bags. Czechowicz was arrested for aggravated animal cruelty and neglect and appeared before a county court judge early Wednesday morning.

Jackson spent his speaking time whining and complaining to the judge that: "It was his dog and he did as he pleased with it." He further went on to state that: "He didn't understand what the big deal was." The judge did note that Jackson has had TWO previous complaints of animal abuse and neglect filed against him by neighbors and friends and has had a previous conviction for assaulting the child of a girlfriend three years ago.

(Here's the REAL kicker:)

Czechowicz has opted to fire his court appointed attorney in favor of a US Armed Forces Legal Aide that has taken his case. Their first move? Dismiss the charges claiming that Czechowicz is suffering from PTSD from his tour overseas and should be given special consideration for his veteran status.

Essentially, the US Army is asking a civilian court (with every jurisdictional right) to dismiss this case and let him go because he's one of their own. They state that: "He will be dealt with by our own courts and manner of justice."

If that isn't the most egotistical, self-serving load of crap that has even been told...

We at CLAWS feel that this isn't right. This man should NOT be given special consideration for his status (when it comes to committing crimes) and should HAVE TO ANSWER to the law LIKE ANYONE ELSE would. We are aware that the US Armed Forces have had a long history of training men to think with a "Gun and God Complex" frame of mind and simply have had enough.

Please sign the petition to see to it that he not be released to courtmartial by a sympathetic group of friends and spends time in a civilian jail where he WILL NOT be given special treatment. The link is below.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/4/stop-military-condoned-animal-abuse

Please take a moment to join us and be "1000 Hearts United." It's free, takes very little time and together we can help stamp out animal abuse wherever it may exist. Click here: Join Here

And A Child Shall Show Us The Way.....

This is a letter from 8 year old Caeleigh Nelson to the Canadian Prime Minister regarding her thoughts on conservation:


http://blog.peta.org/archives/CaeleighNelsonLetter.pdf

It is 4 pages long.

It's truly amazing to me that an 8 year old child can see the problems with our world and yet our "adult" elected leaders cannot.