cats

Michigan lawmakers grappling with how to euthanize shelter animals

Steve Carmody — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 19:38:00 +0000

State lawmakers are a step closer to telling Michigan animal shelters how they can euthanize dogs, cats and ferrets.

Most Michigan animal shelters put down dogs and cats using lethal injection. A bill passed by the state Senate Agriculture Committee recently would mandate all shelters use injection.

There are a handful of shelters that still use gas chambers to euthanize unwanted or unhealthy dogs and cats.

Deborah Schutt is the chairperson of the Michigan Pet Fund Alliance. She says gassing is painful and not humane.

Most popular names for Michigan dogs and cats

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Fri, 10 May 2013 20:08:58 +0000

Failing schools, emergency managers, and problems at nuclear power plants have populated Michigan headlines lately.

Important, but not very cheery.

We thought we'd lighten your Friday by sharing a few stats from Banfield Hospital's State of the Pet report. Here are a few of our favorites.

DNR confirms three recent cougar sightings in Upper Peninsula

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 21:53:02 +0000

The Department of Natural Resources has confirmed three recent cougar sightings in the Upper Peninsula.

Two photos of a cougar with a radio collar were taken in October in Menominee County, while a third photo was taken of a collarless cougar in November in Marquette County.

The DNR does not employ radio collars to track cougars, making the origin of the cat something of a mystery.

North Dakota and South Dakota are the nearest states that make use of collars to track cougars, and the animals are known to travel hundreds of miles in search of new territory.

Vets warn: Lilies are toxic to cats

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Lilies are popular home decorations this time of year. But the plants are highly toxic to cats.

Ingesting any part of a lily can cause kidney failure in cats, and can be fatal without emergency treatment.

Symptoms include vomiting, lethargy, and a lack of appetite.

Dr. Jennifer Aschenbrener is a veterinarian with Irwin Avenue Animal Hospital in Albion. She says it’s important to contact your veterinarian immediately if you think your cat has eaten part of a lily.

"They will most likely have you try to get induced emesis, which is vomiting, which also can be done at the vet clinic. Basically the biggest thing is to get the lily out of the system," she says. "Without treatment, and sometimes even with treatment, it can be fatal. So it’s very serious."

That’s not the only harmful Easter tradition. Local animal advocates are warning against giving bunnies, chicks, and ducks as presents. Many of the animals end up in shelters once the novelty wears off.

-Alex Markel, Michigan Radio Newsroom

Feral cat population probably not as large as reported

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 20:33:07 +0000

A Detroit newspaper reported there were 657,000 feral cats in the Detroit area. But that number might not be correct.

Kevin Hatman is with the Michigan Humane Society. He says he’s not sure how accurate that number is. But he says there is a large population of wild cats in the Detroit area: