Spring = kittens. So many kittens.

We have had many calls lately about litters with no momma cats and we are currently at capacity for cats.

If you can help as a short-term foster willing to take cats and/or kittens, please contact the shelter and we will give you more information. The need is urgent!

If you are trying to care for young kittens while waiting to get them homes or to us, a couple of care notes below:

1. Kittens can not have cows milk. It is not a substitute, they get no nutritional value from it at all. KMR which is a cat milk substitute can be purchased at vet clinics. But there is a way to make it at home for minimal cost:
1 cup evaporated milk
2 tsp of plain or vanilla yogurt
1 tsp of corn syrup
1 egg yolk

2. Young kittens have to be stimulated to relieve themselves. A warm wet cloth acting as momma tongue will help the kittens go, as they cannot without the stimulation.

If you have questions about caring for kittens give the shelter a call at 306-773-1806.

This is Chance. He came to us in mid-March with a serious leg injury. Unfortunately the leg was beyond saving so Chance had an amputation but he is already back on his feet and adapting to life as a “tripod”. He’s a sweet cat and he’s doing amazingly well! He will require a dental surgery for a broken molar later on and then we will be looking  for the perfect home for him.

The cost of Chance’s care will be substantial so we are asking if you can help with the cost of his surgeries and care. You can donate online under our Donate tab on this site, in person at the Shelter or by mail to Box 1163 Swift Current S9H 3X3. Please let us know it’s for Chance when you donate. Or donate through our Go Fund Me page here: https://www.gofundme.com/7u3nq-a-chance-for-chance

$19 for 2019 – that’s what we are asking from folks in the southwest to help keep our community-funded animal shelter available to serve homeless pets in our area.
A $19 (or more) donation stays right here in your community to help stray, lost and unwanted pets looking for their way home or to a new forever home. This is our Annual Appeal to help fund shelter operations. In 2018 we helped more than 425 pets. Our shelter depends on community support for 85% of its annual budget. Hundreds of pets each year depend on us.

Can we count on you to help the smallest and most vulnerable this winter?

Donate online here or at the shelter, SPCA bookstore or at our table when we are out in the community, or by mail to Swift Current SPCA, Box 1163, Swift Current, SK S9H 3X3.

It’s looking good! We are now accepting photo entries for our 2020 Calendar. If your Feline is Fabulous, or your Pooch is Pawsitively photogenic, why not get them published for all to see! Make it a date in 2020!
Click here to go to the entry page

We are currently seeking new foster homes for our ASK (Animal Safekeeping) program. This program temporarily places pets with anonymous families while their owners leave situations of domestic abuse and re-establish themselves. Foster families are supported by the SPCA and the pet owner will not know where the pet is placed.
For more information on the program please call the shelter at 306-773-1806 or download and complete the form here and bring it to the shelter.

Time to move that clunker parked in your driveway or farmyard?? Create some space and donate to the Swift Current SPCA through our new partnership with Donate-a-Car Canada.

Donate a Car Canada accepts Vehicle Donations for the SPCA Swift Current. Free towing is provided in most areas across Canada, or you can drop off your vehicle to maximize your donation. When you donate your old car, truck, RV, boat, or motorcycle to the SPCA Swift Current through Donate A Car Canada it will be recycled. Donate a Car Canada will look after all the details to make it easy for the SPCA Swift Current to benefit. After your vehicle donation is complete, our charity will send you a tax receipt and will put your gift to good use.
Please click here to donate a vehicle

Did you know…

• The five most common dog names: Male: Bailey, Max, Charlie, Buddy and Rocky
  Female: Bella, Lucy, Molly, Daisy and Maggie
• The ten most popular dogs (AKC, 2015) are in order: Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Bulldog, Beagle, French Bulldog, Yorkshire Terrier, Poodle, Rottweiler and Boxer
• A famous Beagle you might have heard about is Snoopy the dog. He was a character from the Peanuts comic strip. Everyone loved the adorable Beagle named Snoopy that was in the newspaper since 1950.
• Dachshunds were bred to fight badgers in their dens.
• Chicken or steak bones leftover from dinner can choke your dog or break and cause damage to the inside of her body. Visit your favorite pet store to find special bones that are safe for your dog to chew.
• Some dogs have coats with two layers: the beautiful hair you can see, and a hidden, second coat called an undercoat. This undercoat helps a dog stay warm and dry in cold weather and it protects his skin from the hot sun, too.
• A puppy is born without teeth. When the pup is three to four weeks old, 28 teeth will break through the gums so the puppy will be able to eat solid food.
• Dalmatian puppies are pure white when they are born and develop their spots as they mature and grow older.

If you’re already a “cat person”, you don’t need to be convinced that a cat or kitten makes a great pet! But anyone can learn to love cats, and for modern lifestyles, choosing to adopt a cat or kitten is a relatively low maintenance pet choice, particularly if you do not have a large outdoor area.

Cats and kittens are easy to care for!
Cats look after themselves much of the time. Of course they need daily feeding and lots of love, but they’re also capable of being very independent creatures. Cats are particularly good for owners who don’t have the time or the physical capability to take daily walks.

Cats and kittens are the perfect pets for indoors or outdoors!
Cats and kittens are very adaptable to any living environment. As long as they get plenty of sun & cozy sleep time, they can live indoors or outdoors. That makes them the perfect pet for apartment dwellers. (Just check with your landlord first!)

Cats and kittens have real personality!
Cats have as much personality as humans! Every cat is different, and part of the adventure of being a cat owner is finding out your cat’s quirks – its favourite place to stretch out, where it likes to be rubbed, what puts it in a good or bad mood.

Grown-up or not, cats and kittens are always happy to have a loving human companion. And they don’t care how old, young, messy or presentable you are – so don’t hold back! Come and find your fur-buddy today!

Caring for a pet has many benefits – including reducing your stress levels! Studies also found that:

• Pet owners are less likely to suffer from depression than those without pets.
• People with pets have lower blood pressure in stressful situations than those without pets.
• Playing with a pet can elevate levels of serotonin and dopamine, which calm and relax.
• Pet owners have lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels (indicators of heart disease) than those without pets.
• Heart attack patients with pets survive longer than those without.
• Pet owners over age 65 make 30 percent fewer visits to their doctors than those without pets.

Pets can ease loneliness, reduce stress, promote social interaction, encourage exercise and playfulness, and provide unconditional love and affection. Caring for a pet may even help you live longer!
A Shelter animal could be just what the Doctor ordered!

SPCA Bookstore Positions Open!
If you love books and people and can volunteer some time to help this important fundraiser for the SPCA, we would love to talk to you about the following opportunities at the Bookstore:

Bookstore Volunteers:
– 2 hour shifts available from Monday to Saturday; sorting and stocking books, customer
inquiries, cash handling. Training provided.

If interested, please leave your name and contact information at the SPCA Bookstore – 37 1 st Ave NE.

Adopting a pet from a Shelter – any Shelter – is a great step in the right direction. But why should you spend money on adoption fees when your “friend” has free animals to give away? Sounds like a deal until you think about it. Just like getting a car is not the end of the costs, all pets require some on-going expenditure to keep them healthy and safe. Our adoption fees cover initial health check, spay or neuter and vaccinations – all of which, as a responsible pet owner, you would be responsible for if you get that free pet. These veterinary costs alone could be as much as $600.00 – when you adopt from us, it’s all included! Not only would you save money by adopting from us, you would be giving a loving home to a deserving animal!

Many people automatically think of a puppy or kitten when they are considering adopting a pet. They’re warm and cuddly, and everyone wants to hold and pet them. But puppies and kittens demand patience and energy to help them become wonderful family members and companions. Older dogs or cats, however, can be as cute and lovable, and they often come with many wonderful qualities that youngsters take years to grow into.

Maybe you are reluctant to adopt a senior pet because you fear that your time with your new best friend will be short, bringing that painful time of loss closer. But the privilege of loving a senior dog or cat makes every single day special, as you and your companion share love, friendship, and a special relationship that grows stronger with the knowledge that you have given this fine old feller a second chance at life. The love that grows from this knowledge is stronger than the pain of eventual separation.
So spread the word! Adopting a senior dog or cat is a wonderful experience for you both. You will gain a faithful companion. You will save a life. And don’t forget, senior dogs or cats and senior people bring out the best in each other. They make great friends!

• When senior pets are adopted, they seem to understand that they’ve been rescued, and are all the more thankful for it.
• A senior pet’s personality has already developed, so you’ll know if he or she is a good fit for your family.
• A senior pet may very well already know basic household etiquette!
• Senior cats are often already litter trained and are less likely to “forget” where the box is.
• Senior dogs know that great outdoors is for eliminating and the house is for relaxing. Your carpet will last longer with a senior dog.
• A senior pet won’t grow any larger, so you’ll know exactly how big an animal you’re getting!
• Speaking of relaxing, senior pets make great napping buddies.
• Senior animals are some of the hardest to find homes for — so when you adopt a senior cat or dog, you’re truly saving a life.

There is also a substantial reduction in the adoption fee for any of our senior cats and dogs

We completely understand that having your pet go missing is worrying – and you’re anxious to get the word out there to try and find it. Unfortunately, we regularly get texts or emails with the minimum of information “I’ve lost my dog – if you find him let me know”
If you contact us about your missing pet, we’re more than happy to try and help – but, please, make sure you give us as much information as possible. This should include your contact info, your pet’s name and description, where and when the animal went missing (this is important!) and if it’s wearing a collar/tag/is microchipped. We get lots of calls from all over the southwest, and it is important we have the information needed to try and reunite pets with their humans. Thanks!

Let’s face it, not every animal would be a good fit for you. But we’ve also seen some unexpected matches of the most unlikely pets and people. Hence our Test Drive program. Ok, so you don’t actually drive them, but we think you know what we mean – take your potential pet home and see how things work out. Give it a fair go – don’t expect too much too soon. And if it doesn’t work out, bring them back to us with no hard feelings – we want them to go to the right home, both for the animal and the humans. So if you’re looking for a furry Ferrari or a purring Porsche, we have several racey models on the lot now. Why not drop by for a test drive?

SPCA Swift Current is a local organization dedicated to finding responsible caring life-long homes for lost, abandoned or unwanted animals. This includes preventing unwanted litters by incorporating spaying and neutering in all of our animals’ adoption fees. We are not funded by the provincial or federal government, nor are we connected or affiliated to any other shelter. We are a no-kill facility. We do not euthanize animals solely for space – only in rare cases of severe medical issues or aggression.

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