IT'S BABY SEASON! 

EASTER BUNNIES AND BABY CHICKS AND DUCKLINGS ARE TERRIBLE EASTER GIFTS!

Cute little baby bunnies and fluffy chicks soon become fully grown rabbits and chickens. Most families who buy these animals for Easter forget that they are making a lifelong commitment (the same as they would with a puppy or kitten).   Once families discover that their rabbit or chicken will need daily care for the rest of its life, they often abandon the animals. In other cases the pets run away, or they are neglected until they’re too sick to survive. The best advice is not to buy them unless you plan to keep them and care for them for many years.  Alternatives include stuffed rabbits and chicks or taking the kids to an animal shelter and making a donation to help care for their animals.

CURIOSITY…AND EASTER LILIES…CAN KILL YOUR CAT!

Easter decorations can be deadly for your cat. Helen Woodward Animal Center warns cat owners about the hazards of Easter Lilies.   The Easter lily, Tiger lily, Japanese show lily, and some of the Day lilies can be dangerous for cats If your cat eats any of these it could result in kidney failure.  With many poisonous plants, only certain parts of the plant or the flower can cause illness, but with these species of lilies the entire plant can be life- threatening for cats.  Please use plants that won’t harm your pets.

If your cat eats part of a potentially hazardous lily immediately contact your veterinarian. Safe flowers include: Easter Orchids, Easter Lily Cactus, Easter Daisies and Violets.   For info on more dangerous/poisonous plants and foods, go to http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/ .

STREET CATS/ORPHANED KITTENS

If you come upon a litter of recently born kittens in your yard or neighborhood, unless absolutely necessary, DO NOT MOVE THEM.  This time of year, every rescuer and shelter is going to be full because of all the kittens being born all over the Valley, abandoned pets, etc. Whatever you do, do not take them to (or call) the county pounds or Humane Society. If they are feral, they will be euthanized—cute kittens or not! Please read the information on our Feral Cat page and call one of the feral/street cat help organizations listed on the Resource page for more assistance.

BIRDS & WILDLIFE – It’s mating/baby season

Please be on the lookout for baby birds over the next few months (see our information on baby birds if you come across one) and BE EXTRA CAREFUL WHILE DRIVING as wild bird parents of all kinds are constantly building nests searching for food, obtaining food, and feeding their young. This often involves swooping low across streets from one source to another. The bird you hit could leave orphaned nestlings without food.  Most prevalent during morning and evening heavy traffic times, so please remember they live here too and DO NOT understand what cars are all about – to them they are just big moving, noisy objects they try to avoid.

We also seem to have an abundance of “wild” chickens in some areas as well as a variety of ducks near water sources (especially Scottsdale), both of which have a tendency to cross the road with their flock of chicks or ducklings waddling behind them.  PLEASE be alert for them and give them time to get across safely.  In areas I know they are, I drive a little more slowly and look to the sides of the street ahead of me.

Bunny rabbits are on the move now too and scampering into the streets more often – be especially alert during early morning hours and at dusk

PLEASE DO NOT HAVE TREES TRIMMED DURING BABY BIRD SEASON.  Most birds are done mating and nestlings have found their way out of the nests and learning to fly by June,  with the exception of pigeons who pretty much mate all year along except the coldest months.  I will trim trees in summer or fall and any trees housing pigeons in December or January. 

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