Have you seen the warnings we’ve posted about the salmonella epidemic affecting songbirds? There’s another side of it too, and it’s one I have firsthand experience with. I hope that this warning might save both birds and cats. This is my daughter, and this is her best friend, Happy. As an advocate for both wildlifeContinue reading “Songbird Fever in Cats: A Warning”
Tag Archives: pets
The Coyote’s Violet Gland
If you’ve been lucky enough to see wild coyotes up-close, you might have noticed that many have a prominent dark spot on their tails. Just under this spot is a nifty organ called the supracaudal gland or violet gland! It gets its name because it produces a musky oil that smells very strongly like violets.Continue reading “The Coyote’s Violet Gland”
How to Tell A Bobcat from a House Cat
Mistaken identity seems to be a recurrent theme in our phone calls and messages. Many of you likely recall the viral story about our bobcat patient Arwen, whose finder mistook her for a stray domestic kitten and made an unintentionally hilarious post attempting to rehome her. In much more frustrating cases, we’ve had people cussContinue reading “How to Tell A Bobcat from a House Cat”
Let Livestock Guardians Do Their Jobs!
One of our most important goals as an organization is to promote peaceful coexistence with wild animals. We strive to make sure that owners of livestock seek effective, nonlethal methods of protecting their herds. Instead of killing native predators— a futile, cruel, ineffective approach— many ranchers make the excellent decision to employ livestock guardian dogs.Continue reading “Let Livestock Guardians Do Their Jobs!”
Do Coyotes Lure and Kill Dogs?
We humans have a strange urge to create monsters. For many, it’s not enough for believe in predators that hunt prey. We have to also project strange, sinister, and even supernatural forces onto the creatures who share our planet. Since the beginning of time, we’ve created and exaggerated stories of dragons that abduct maidens, giantContinue reading “Do Coyotes Lure and Kill Dogs?”
Your Cat Can’t Raise Wild Animal Babies
You’ve likely seen— and possibly even shared— those cute viral photos and videos of domestic cats raising wild animals. Stories of cats raising wild animals are always adorable and heartwarming, but the sad truth is that most of these stories are fake, and most attempts to recreate them end in tragedy. Take, for example, theContinue reading “Your Cat Can’t Raise Wild Animal Babies”
Killing Coyotes Makes More Pups
Coyotes are among the most persecuted wild animals of North America. Have you ever wondered why they’re still very common, despite being heavily hunted? When an adult coyote is killed, the social structure of its family, and nearby families, will fall apart. Its pups will be forced to disperse sooner, its territory will become wide-open,Continue reading “Killing Coyotes Makes More Pups”
The Truth About Euthanasia at For Fox Sake
We keep hearing about nasty rumors being spread about For Fox Sake. Most recently, someone publicly accused us of gassing all of our raccoons to death. (We has the less-than-professional reaction of, “Wait, WTF?” upon hearing this.) So we’re here to clear the air because we value transparency and honesty. And here is the honest,Continue reading “The Truth About Euthanasia at For Fox Sake”
Your “pet” raccoon will be killed. It’s your fault.
Folks, we need to have a talk. This isn’t a pleasant, cute, or cuddly talk, but it’s one that we Tennessean animal lovers need to have. I get calls all the time from people who find baby raccoons and, instead of calling a qualified rehabilitator, they choose to raise the animal as a pet. ByContinue reading “Your “pet” raccoon will be killed. It’s your fault.”
Bobkitten or Regular Kitten?
Take a look at this kitten. This is a 100% domestic cat… not a bobcat, and not a hybrid! We were disappointed in some of the responses to Arwen the bobcat, who was brought to us by a well-meaning woman who had mistaken her for a domestic kitten. Several people called her names like “stupid”Continue reading “Bobkitten or Regular Kitten?”
