Tonks Tuesday Tunnel Vision

Tonks loves herself a good ol' tunnel. The only problem is when she thinks she's hiding in it, and yet this obnoxious mom of hers finds her in it anyway. So much for privacy, huh?

Tonks and all of us here wish you a terrific Tuesday! Tonks also hopes that all of you kitties' humans give you more privacy than hers does.

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Doodle of the Day

Today's doodle is a couple days late, as it's the illustration I scribbled up for my dad's Father's Day card from this past Sunday. I failed to share it then, though, so here it is now.

This doodle more or less illustrates my cat-loving dad's life. My parents have 12 cats, and the 2 in this doodle are Trapper and Foggy. They're each nearly 25 lbs, but I digress. My parents' cats have a tendency to invade the table, and there are stories about them attempting to steal my dad's ham sandwiches, spilling his drink, wreaking havoc on the salt and spice shakers, and all that jazz. One of the recent stories I was told involved my dad leaving the table for a quick moment, only to return to find his spot on the table taken by big boy Trapper licking his hind quarters, while equally gigantic Foggy attempted to steal my dad's plate of food. And so, I was inspired to scribble up this doodle.

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Tip of the Day

Today's summer safety tip for strays and ferals relates to the trap-neuter-release (TNR) practice. TNR is crucial for keeping the feral cat population under control, as well as keeping individual ferals as safe and healthy as possible. This being said, always keep the weather and environment in mind when embarking on a TNR effort.

The summer heat can of course pose an extreme danger to cats being trapped. Potentially fatal overheating or heat stroke can occur if a cat is trapped and left sitting in the trap in the sun. In addition to this, traps are often made of metal, which means that if these traps are sitting on a hot surface, such as asphalt, the trap as well as the cat inside can overheat in this way as well. To combat such issues, try to trap and thereafter keep ferals in the shade. After they are trapped, do not leave the cats sitting out in the sun and heat, but instead transfer them somewhere cool as soon as possible. Also keep in mind the cats' safety when transporting them. For example, as you all surely know, the interior of a car can quickly become like a deadly oven in the summer months, so do not leave any animals, including trapped ferals, inside hot cars.

TNR is of course a very important practice for the safety and well-being of feral cats. That doesn't mean there aren't risks to the cats, though, and that includes the weather. So, if you are assisting in the significant task of trapping ferals, of course always ensure the cats' safety in all weather.