Ani-mail

Aside from helping animals, another plus of joining or donating to an animal-rights organization is getting return address stickers. I've received over 50 labels from The Humane Society, the ASPCA, PETA, and more; all of them have pictures of cute animals on them. I don't think I'll be able to use them all before I move. In that case, I hope they send me some more to my new address.

Grain Free is the Way to Be

About a year ago I switched from regular Purina indoor cat formula to Felidae grain-free cat food. At first I was happy with my choice, but the company changed the ingredients and doubled the price. So recently I switched to Natural Balance grain-free, limited ingredient formula. Why limited ingredients? The fewer ingredients, the less likely the cat is to vomit. They have very sensitive digestive systems, so too many ingredients can upset their balance. Grain-free cat food is good too because there are fewer, if any, fillers and grains are not always easy to digest. For just a little bit more than I was paying for Purina, my cats get a healthier diet. My mother and sister both feed their cats a grain-free cat food as well. They use the best: Evo. While I can't afford Evo, I will still go grain free. Grain free is the way to be.

Animal Magnet

It seems that no matter where I go, lost and homeless animals find me. Just in the last two years, I have found several cats and dogs--or rather, they find me. It's almost as though I have a magnet, a beacon, or some other kind of homeing device that leads them to me. Maybe they know I'm an animal lover, someone who will help them--not hurt them. They always wait for me to get home too. Justs as I'm getting out of my car, they emerge from behind bushes and from under cars. Whatever it is, I'm glad they come to me and not someone who will abuse them. For this reason, I keep cat and dog treates on hand.

Oliver Jones

I like to post my rescue stories whenever I remember to. The most recent was last summer. I had just started my job at Allstate. I was taking my son to the park after work one day when suddenly I changed my mind and decided to go to the cemetery on Sycamore--I know, great place for a kid, right? I was drawn to a civil war statue that I used to pass. At night it is lit up and the only thing you can see clearly. we walked around, following the U-shaped path when we passed an orange tabby sitting on a flat tombstone. I rushed back home to get my sister to help me catch the cat. Turns out, he was friendly, so the box and blankets and food-bait we brought were not necessary. Without a collar to give us a name, I called him Oliver Jones, because that was the name from the tombstone where we found him. We took him home and fed him. Turns out, he had an owner who was looking for him and his name was gimpsy. I prefer Oliver Jones. It felt good to reunite him with his loving home.

hopefully, more rescue stories to come