About 9 months ago I had taken home a feral cat from HSHV. Her name is Millicent, and she has been the biggest joy in my life. After about 3 months though, I could see her getting lonely and needing more attention. After debating, I went back to find her another cat to be with when I’m not around during the day. I looked around for about 20 minutes and was unsure. Then a lady there told me they had a room with some cats that came from a bad situation. I went in and tried to pet some of
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Posts by Wendy Welch
Adeline and Elizabeth: A+ Class project
Adeline and Elizabeth decided to donate to HSHV as part of their school project. They made knot tie felt dog toys for the homeless dogs of HSHV. These kind kids say they always like helping animals and decided to help out HSHV this year. Thank you so much Elizabeth and Adeline!
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Gigi, Ava and Julia: Young Entrepreneurs give back
Gigi, Ava and Julia created a lemonade stand and donated all of their proceeds to HSHV. They love animals and wanted to give back! Thank you so much for your amazing donation!
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Aleksandra and Lukas: From the heart
Aleksandra and Lukas each donated some of their money for the animals here at HSHV. They said “We love visiting the animals and want to help them stay happy, healthy and loved! Thank you for all you do for our furry friends, HSHV!” Your welcome Aleksandra and Lukas! We couldn’t do it without compassionate people like you!
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Wasn’t ready for another furry companion. Or so I thought. And then I came to Empty the Shelters.
A year ago today I adopted a 10 year old tortie named Arabella. Adopting a cat was not on my agenda that day. I scarcely knew if I even wanted another pet. It had been a year since I had to send my previous companion over the Rainbow Bridge. I had adopted Pepper, a long-haired, part Maine Coon kitty, at the tender age of 8 weeks, 2 months after the passing of my father. He was with me for 20 years. I was devastated at his passing. The day I came to HSHV I was supposed to have a hair
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Delaney: Birthday donations
Delaney donated a variety of items from HSHV’s wish list for her birthday. When asked to describe what inspired her, she replied “I love animals. They are cute. Animals are kind and generous.” Thank you so much Delaney for your amazing donations and generosity!
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Sparkling Bunny to Penelope Grace
My roommate and I absolutely love animals. We had recently moved into a condo, but something was missing. We wondered down to HSHV to look at the little kittens in hope to find an addition to our little family. There was this tiny 2 lb. kitten, all grey, looking at us with piercing green eyes. We instantly knew she was the one. We played with her for the good part of an hour and the feisty little girl kept escaping our arms. We took her home that day, and, man, is she spoiled. We like to call her “our little
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Adopting a Fearful Cat
[print-me] Why Are Some Cats Fearful? Fearful behavior in cats can be caused by various factors. Insufficient exposure to humans and/or a variety of stimuli during kitten hood as well as traumatizing events in their lives can teach them to react fearfully towards people or new situations. Cats can also be genetically predisposed to being fearful. How to Introduce a Fearful Cat to a New Home Fearful cats usually do best in relatively quiet homes. They are often not suitable for young children as children can easily scare them with loud noises or sudden movements. Many fearful cats slowly become
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Petting-Induced or Overstimulation Aggression in Cats
[print-me] Many of us have had the pleasure of petting our cat, when all of a sudden; the cat bites your hand and runs away. This is called petting induced or overstimulation aggression. It’s a common behavior in many cats, and is something that can be both frustrating and frightening until you learn how to manage this behavior with your cat. What causes this behavior? Cats are normally not as social as dogs, nor do they have as much physical contact with others of their species. They may groom each other and sleep close to each other, but have few
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Adopting a Fearful Kitten
[print-me] What Does “Fearful” Mean? A fearful kitten is generally one that has not had full socialization. If a kitten does not have much contact with people when it is between the ages of 3 weeks and 7 weeks, it is likely to be scared of strangers it meets. Depending on the individual temperament of the kitten, what it has observed from its mother, and how old it is, it may hiss, spit or strike out – or may simply attempt to run away. Some fearful kittens learn to trust people quickly, others can take a long time. This depends
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