Packed Full of Felines

Our cat rooms are currently at maximum capacity for adult cats needing new homes, so we’re offering discounts on the adoption fees. Throughout the month of August, the adoption fee for cats 6 months and older is $75 (normally $90) and the fee for cats over 7 years old is $35 (normally $75).

Not only do you get a wonderful, loving companion when you adopt, the adoption fee also includes the spay/neuter surgery, microchip, initial vaccinations and a free visit with a local veterinarian. Not to mention the warm, fuzzy feeling of giving an animal a second chance.

Lovely cats like Luna are available today! Meet her and the other cats at our shelter in Lynnwood or PAWS Cat City in Seattle. See our hours and directions.

Wildlife Patients in Care: Bald Eagle

This Bald Eagle was found on the ground in Coupeville, WA on June 10. She was just learning to fly and was too young to be on her own. No sign of her parents could be found so someone from Best Friends Veterinary Clinic brought her all the way to PAWS.

(Are you seeing a pattern with our wildlife patients this time of year? Lots of young ones on their own!)

Raccoon Moms and Babies are on the Move

The recent story about an encounter with Raccoons on the Magnolia Voice blog prompted me to want to share some important information about preventing conflicts with these native mammals at this time of year.
 
The situation in Magnolia must have been frightening and painful for the people and dogs involved. They were out doing what they probably normally do in the backyard. Unfortunately, it happened that a mother Raccoon was also out doing what she normally does at night--foraging with her babies. Right now, there are many mother Raccoons out there traveling with their half-grown offspring. As any mother would be, they are very defensive of their young and will fight to protect them.  If approached too closely by dogs, humans or others these mothers will do their best to ward off what they perceive as deadly threats to their babies.

On that night in Magnolia when the dogs approached the mother Raccoon, she very likely feared for her own safety and that of her offspring. She fought with the dogs to protect herself and her babies. Understandably, the people ran over to defend the ones they love, their dogs, so the mother Raccoon fought them, too. The babies became terrified so they took up a defensive posture as well.
 
Both sides of the altercation felt like they were under attack, and both sides fought their hardest to protect themselves and their families. Thankfully, it looks as if everyone will be okay.
 
Even in the most urban of settings, Raccoons live side-by-side with humans.  Most of the time we aren’t even aware that they are there.  One lesson to be learned from this horrible incident is that we should not take the safety of our surroundings for granted.
 
Follow these tips to prevent conflicts with Raccoons this time of year while mothers and babies are out looking for food:

• Before you let your pet outside quickly check your yard for Raccoons or other animals. Think of it as similar to looking both ways before crossing the road.
• Securely cover your compost and garbage cans.
• Feed pets inside or bring in the dishes immediately after pets are finished eating.
• Close and lock pet doors at night.
• Harvest ripe fruit and vegetables and pick up fallen fruits right away.

More information on peaceful co-existence with Raccoons can be found in the PAWS resource library.

Wildlife Patients in Care: Douglas Squirrel

This young Douglas Squirrel was found in a driveway in Maple Valley. Apparently orphaned, the squirrel was hungry and confused. He approached a man and started to climb up his leg! 

The man put the poor squirrel in a box and brought him to PAWS for care. The squirrel is now nearly full-grown and almost ready for release back to the wild.

Goose Makes A Full Recovery

On June 1, a Canada Goose Gosling was brought to the PAWS Wildlife Center with an unusual injury.  The young bird had somehow impaled himself on a piece of chain-link fencing and the fence had to be cut to free him. The portion of the fence that had impaled him was still sticking out of his body just behind his right wing.

 

We took radiographs of the gosling to get a better look at the size and shape of the foreign object that was penetrating his body. As you can see in the photo of the radiograph below, it was fairly large and well-embedded.

 
We anesthetized the bird and PAWS Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. John Huckabee carefully removed the piece of fencing and then cleaned and dressed the wound.

 
The gosling had a pronounced limp for several weeks after the impalement wound had healed. There had been some muscle and tissue damage that needed time to resolve. During almost two months of care, the goose grew into a beautiful sub-adult bird, and he retained only a barely noticeable hitch in his walk from his injury. I released the goose on July 30 with three other geese who had received care at PAWS. The photo below shows him making his return to the wild.

More Scenes from Kitten Season

You could accuse us at PAWS Cat City of having kitten on the brain, but it's hard not to when they're on your shoulder and chewing on your shoelaces and climbing up your leg and sitting on your lap...

Here are some scenes from this kitten season (so far!)...

 

 

 

Don't worry, there's still plenty left! Come see them at PAWS Cat City.

Wildlife Patients in Care: Red-tailed Hawk

This Red-tailed Hawk was transported to PAWS from the Seattle Animal Shelter on June 9. We have volunteers who help with transporting animals from Seattle and other places around the Puget Sound.

As a young bird, this hawk was not yet flying when he came in, but we don't know the exact reason he was brought in. Now that he's here, he'll stay with us until he is old enough and strong enough to survive on his own.

Bear Cubs Practice Foraging Skills

We provide the wild animals in care at PAWS with items that encourage them to express their natural behaviors. Since bears spend much time in the wild pulling apart rotting logs to get at the insects hiding within, we place logs in our bear cages to allow our patients to practice this essential skill. The staff hides mealworms and other treats within the logs to further encourage this natural foraging behavior. As the young bear in this video clip discovered, clawing at logs creates dust and small wood particles that can be a little irritating to the eyes.