You can enter in any of four categories:

• DOMESTIC ANIMALS
  
• WILDLIFE ANIMALS
  
• MY PET & ME
  
• ANIMAL HUMOR

ENTRY FEE
$12 per entry
($10 entry and $2 donation required. The $2 donation will go to the charity of your choice: Best Friends Animal Society, Kids Saving the Rainforest, or the ASPCA).

DEADLINE: 22 DEC 2009

1 GRAND PRIZE WINNER WILL RECEIVE:

• A Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera
  
• A Kodak ESP 5250 All-in-One Printer
  
• 50 rolls of Kodak Professional Tri-X, T-Max or Portra film

4 FIRST PLACE CATEGORY WINNERS WILL RECEIVE:

• A Kodak EasyShare Z980 Digital Camera
  
• 25 rolls of Kodak Professional Tri-X, T-Max or Portra film

ALL GRAND PRIZE AND CATEGORY WINNERS WILL RECEIVE:

• A PDN Magazine Subscription
  
• A 2010 PhotoPlus Expo Gold Pass
  
• Exposure in our online winner’s gallery and presence in the winner’s print exhibition at PDN PhotoPlus Expo 2010 in NYC
  
• Winning images will receive exposure on the Kodak.com home page and the Kodak “Tips and Projects” blog

There are also prizes for top vote-getters each week.

Click here for the Best Friends Photo Contest website.

[PHOTO: Catster Lola]

Ginger and Mocha are a plus-sized pair of cats who were surrendered to the Marin Humane Society (north of San Francisco) when their guardian could no longer care for them.

Tipping the scales at over 23 lbs. each, these two plus-size pussycats have hearts to match, and have spent the majority of their time snuggling together since they were surrendered to the MHS.

Ginger and Mocha require an extra special adopter who will keep them on a restricted diet, and monitor Mocha who is in the early stages of kidney disease.

“Ginger and Mocha are big cats with big hearts to match,” says Carrie Harrington, Communications Manager. “Adopting a senior pair with health issues takes a very special and committed person. We’re confident that Ginger and Mocha will find the loving home that they deserve.”

The Marin Humane Society (171 Bel Marin Keys Blvd., Novato CA) will begin accepting applications for Ginger and Mocha on Tuesday morning (11/10/09). Shelter hours are 10 am to 5 pm. The adoption fee for Ginger and Mocha is $130 ($65 each as members of the MHS Senior Partners Program). For more information please call Adoptions at (415) 506-6225 or visit their website.

About Ginger

Handsome Ginger can work off calories by chasing toys and dining on a lo-cal diet. He will also benefit from regular grooming to keep his fur free of mats.

We think this friendly gentleman will happily bond with a new family who can give him the things he needs most in life: a sunny window with a cat perch (he’ll need a lift up initially!), some toys for entertainment and exercise, and plenty of grooming and petting sessions from you.

About Mocha

A perfect day for Mocha would include lazing in the sun, but she could certainly benefit from some active play time to help her with her figure.

Mocha enjoys playing with feathery wand toys, a great way to get her moving about.

Mocha is in the early stages of Chronic Renal Failure (CRF), a progressive, incurable disease that affects the kidney’s ability to function. CRF cats can live for many months and sometimes even years without having major problems. Unfortunately, there is no way to predict how long it will be before Mocha begins to show clinical signs of CRF, like increased water drinking and increased urination. A low protein diet and subcutaneous fluids can keep cats in more advanced CRF reasonably comfortable for a period of time.

About CRF (Chronic Renal Failure)

CRF is a progressive, incurable disease that affects the kidney’s ability to function. CRF cats can live for many months and sometimes even years without having major problems. Unfortunately, there is no way to predict how long it will be before cats begin to show clinical signs of CRF, like increased water drinking and increased urination. A low protein diet and subcutaneous fluids can keep cats in more advanced CRF reasonably comfortable for a period of time.

For more information please call Adoptions at (415) 506-6225 or visit their website.

A lot of killing goes on in shelters. It’s a necessary evil, especially now that many shelters are overcrowded. We like to use words like “euthanasia” so that the act sounds less horrific, but killing is killing no matter how you sugar coat it, no matter how nice the shelter and its staff are.

Progress is being made in New York to ensure that unadopted shelter animals receive humane treatment at the end of their lives. A law was recently passed in New York state, prohibiting the gassing of shelter and stray pets, and requires that they be euthanized via injection. There’s much still that needs to be done, but it’s a small step forward toward an eventual goal of 0% euthanasia in this country. Here are the details from the ASPCA:

Victory! NY Bans the Gassing of Stray Pets

An especially challenging political climate in the New York State Legislature has slowed the progress of a variety of pro-animal welfare bills this year. However, hard work by legislators, committee staff, the ASPCA and New York’s animal advocates brought the humane euthanasia bill (NY A. 999B) over the finish line!
Introduced in January, the bill sat dormant until the ASPCA, working closely with Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, Senator Suzi Oppenheimer and staff, helped revive it and secure passage in the Legislature in the fall. On October 9, it was signed into law by Governor Paterson.
The new law, which goes into effect in one year, will:

• Prohibit carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide poisoning (gassing) of stray and shelter animals (effective in 90 days).
• Require that the euthanasia of stray and shelter animals be performed by injection.
• Require that such euthanasia be performed by a certified euthanasia technician, licensed veterinarian, or licensed veterinary technician.
• Prohibit intracardiac euthanasia—a painful injection right into the heart—on unsedated shelter animals.
• Require that veterinarians who perform intracardiac euthanasia on unsedated animals not under the care of a shelter do so only if it is the most humane option and that they document the event and rationale.

“The ASPCA recognizes the necessity of humane euthanasia as a last-step option to spare animals further suffering,” says Debora Bresch, Esq., ASPCA Legislative Liaison to New York State. “We thank the bill’s sponsors, Assemblywoman Paulin and Senator Oppenheimer, for their tireless efforts to assure that animals receive humane treatment at the end of their lives, and look forward to the day when euthanasia of unwanted animals is an infrequent occurrence.”

*Never miss an advocacy alert again—sign up for the ASPCA Advocacy Brigade to receive free legislative emails.

[LINK: ASPCA.org]

Anyone who’s had the courage and determination to try to pose cats for holiday photos know that it’s a little like playing whack-a-mole. Cat Guy Paul Klusman just made a video of his Halloween attempt, and I’ve gotta hand it to him: he is a gifted cat wrangler. AND HIS CATS ARE SO CUTE!!!

Recent reports that a 16-lb orange tabby in Iowa caught Swine Flu from ill family members has surprised many vets, and suggests that precautions should be taken if you or your cat become sick with the H1N1 virus.

In this instance, it appears that the humans transmitted the disease to the cat. Even though the odds are remote that you can infect your cat if you become sick, be aware that your pets could be vulnerable — so resist the temptation to cuddle up with them if you catch H1N1.

If you get sick:

• Sequester your pets in an area away from the sick room.
• If you have to handle your pets while sick, use a hand sanitizer and put on a face mask before doing so.
• Don’t kiss your cat on the lips.
• Seek veterinary attention for your cat if she becomes sick.
• If your cat begins sneezing, isolate her from your other cats until you can take her to the vet.

In short, take the same precautions with your pets as you would to avoid transmission of the disease to other people.

Here’s the full story from the Chicago Tribune:

Cat swine flu: H1N1 latest illness shared by owner, pet

Cat with H1N1 was nothing to sneeze at

By William Mullen
Tribune reporter

A 16-pound orange cat in Ames, Iowa, did something last month that will now and forevermore have a lot of cat lovers taking care to sneeze into their sleeves.

The 13-year-old tabby came down with H1N1 swine flu, proving that humans ill with the flu virus should take pains not to spread it to cats as well as humans.

The case surprised human and animal health authorities, who hadn’t seen a human flu virus passed to a cat before, though passionate cat lovers were shaking their heads when it was reported last week.

“The guy talking on the television news acted so surprised by the story,” said Judy Coffey, who runs Catworld, a Berwyn business that sells carpeted “cat trees” for felines to climb on, “but I think knowledgeable cat owners are well aware that our cats catch things from owners all the time.

“If we come down with a cold, pretty soon we see our cats sneezing,” she said.Though that association could be a bit of a stretch, veterinary medical experts and zookeepers say there are a number of diseases that humans can share with the rest of the animal world, and the list seems to get a little longer every year.

The study of zoonotic diseases — diseases transmissible between people and animals — has become an important research area in recent decades with the appearance of deadly new emergent diseases like Ebola, HIV/AIDS and West Nile virus.

But finding a cat sick with H1N1 flu — as that disease spreads to pandemic proportions — surprised health experts.

“This cat is a new development in the H1N1 panic,” said Kimberly May, a veterinary doctor and assistant director of professional services at the American Veterinary Medical Association.

“In general, cats are not considered susceptible to human flu viruses, but this cat got H1N1 flu from his owners. There seems to be no doubt about that, and from our understanding, it seems to be the first time a cat caught flu from a human.”

But experts say there is no evidence as of now that cats or other pets can pass the flu virus onto humans.

The Iowa tabby is an indoor cat never allowed outside, said a report from the Illinois Department of Public Health. It had not been around any humans other than its owners, and in the last week of October, the owners came down with the flu, assumed to be H1N1.

On Oct. 27, the cat fell ill too. The owners called friends who are veterinary researchers at Iowa State University in Ames. The researchers brought in the cat to be studied, and it tested positive for H1N1. It has since recovered and is back home.

Cats now join a small list of other animals known to be susceptible to H1N1, including ferrets, domestic turkeys and pigs. Though sometimes called swine flu, the current strain does not come from swine.

No dogs are known to have caught H1N1, but that possibility can no longer be ruled out, said May.

“Cats and dogs and people all are prone to respiratory diseases,” she said. “Obviously if H1N1 went into a cat, it is not impossible that it could go into a dog,” though she cautioned that it is not likely that H1N1 will become very common in pets like cats and dogs.

“If a cat gets a runny nose, people should not jump to the conclusion that it is H1N1. It probably is not. Cats and dogs have their own little bugs running around, and if they get sick, almost all the time it is due to those bugs, not things passed on by humans,” she said.

In 2004, a new illness showed up in dogs, canine influenza, thought to be a virus that jumped from horses to dogs. Humans and other animals do not get it, but it spread so rapidly in the canine world that last May virologists introduced a vaccine to protect dogs.

At zoos, keepers maintain distance and barriers between humans and animals as much to stop germs from spreading between the two as to protect against any physical dangers.

“While the protection goes both ways, most of our biosecurity protocols are there to keep animals from catching bugs from humans, both from keepers and the public,” said Dominic Travis, a veterinary epidemiologist who is Lincoln Park Zoo’s vice president for conservation and science.

Primates especially are susceptible to human respiratory diseases like flu, so in flu season, keepers wash their hands every time they leave an animal’s station.

As for protecting pets from catching flu from infected humans, animal health authorities recommend humans take the same steps they would to protect family and friends. That includes sneezing into the sleeve of your crooked arm to avoid spreading the flu virus.

“You should wash your hands frequently, cover your coughs and sneezes and don’t let the cat or dog lick your face, which of course isn’t recommended at any time, though hard to avoid,” said May.

For cats, Coffey jokingly offers another possible protection. “I have a cat that likes to sit on a high perch and greet people coming in. Some just go nose-to-nose nuzzling him,” she said. “I have been thinking I should make him one of those little hospital masks you see doctors and nurses wearing around patients in hospitals.”

Here are just a few of the freebies, deals, sales, coupons, contests and giveaways this week over at the Pet Coupons & Deals site.

Click here for the dog deals.

Don’t miss a deal! Click here to have all the cat freebies, coupons, deals and giveaways sent straight to your email.

• SALE: 25% Off Deluxe Cat Tower
• PRINTABLE COUPON: Save $1 on Two Purina Cat Treats
• SALE: Fancy Feast: 47¢/can in 24-can case.
• SALE: $10 Off Orders over $30 at Shutterfly
• SALE:20% Off Cards, Photo Books & Calendars
• GIVEAWAY: November moderncat Giveaway: ModCat Litter Box
• SALE: 39% Off Friskies Natural Sensations Crunchy Cat Treats
• COUPON:$5 Printable Coupon for Halo cat food

In a reader? Click here for video.

53 days after escaping at a Cheyenne, WY truck stop, Millie the Cat has been reunited with her family, thanks to her ID tags.

In September, the Schnieber family lost Millie at the Flying J truck stop when she leaped from the back window. After an extensive search, the family returned to their home in New Mexico.

The Schneibers had given up hope, but two months later, they got the phone call. Millie had been found, buried in the snowbank on the side of a highway. Her rescuer, Scott Alexander, saw her back paw move slightly. He and his family dug her out.

“At that time, we saw just her back paw move just a little bit, and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s alive,’” Alexander said. “Her body felt like an ice cube. Nothing worked … I didn’t think she would make it.”

Alexander adds that when she woke up, Millie was blind and would run into things. “She was very uncoordinated. But as you can see, she’s back!”

[LINK: FoxDC.com]

We’ll conclude National Shelter Appreciation Week with a mythbusting post, covering common misconceptions about animal shelters:

Myth: Shelters can raise the money they need to humanely care for homeless pets through the fees they charge for adoption.

Fact: On average, it costs more to provide shelter, food, and necessary medical care for an animal than a shelter can recover through adoption fees. If adoption prices are too high, fewer pets will get adopted, so shelters usually cannot raise adoption prices to cover their overall cost. Shelters depend on donations and fundraising to make up the difference.

Myth: Only “No Kill” shelters deserve support.

Fact: According to the Humane Society of the United States, there are up to 8 million dogs and cats entering shelters in the U.S. every year, but only about 4 million are adopted. Many of the others will ultimately be euthanized as animal shelters do not have the capacity or means to humanely care for them.

A shelter basically has two options in dealing with this reality. The first option is the approach of many “no kill” shelters. Many of these shelters take in only the number of animals that they can care for–limiting the ones they accept to those they believe are most readily adoptable, leaving the others to be cared for by other organizations. Other shelters accept all animals, no matter how many animals they already have or whether or not the animal seems likely to be adopted.

Shelters often work together to transfer animals between shelters to make sure all available space across shelters is used. The unfortunate reality is that euthanasia will not be eliminated until there are enough homes to take in the number of homeless animals entering shelters each year.

Myth: Euthanasia is the animal sheltering community’s responsibility to eliminate.

Fact: Euthanasia is not a problem that the animal sheltering community can solve on its own. Euthanasia will be a heartbreaking reality as long as there are more homeless pets than there are adopters or capacity in animal shelters to humanely care for them.

As a current or prospective pet owner, you can help eliminate euthanasia a few ways: be responsible– spay or neuter your pets so they do not contribute to pet overpopulation. Microchip and ID tag your pets so they will not use valuable space in a shelter if they get lost. The next time you are looking for a new pet, adopt one from your local shelter.

Myth: If my pet gets lost and ends up in an animal shelter, it could be euthanized immediately.

Fact: For any shelter that takes in stray animals (animals brought in by someone other than their owner, including by members of the public or animal control) there is an established “hold time” before the animal may be adopted by a new owner or euthanized. The period, which is set by local law, allows the animal’s owner a chance to find him.

In some communities, strays with a microchip have longer required hold times.

(NOTE: With widespread budget cuts, holding times are being cut in many locales. The best way to prevent your pets from being euthanized when brought to a shelter is to tag and microchip them. Find out more in The Cat’s Meow’s Guide to Pet Recovery.)

Myth: Most of the animals in shelters are “undesirables” with behavioral or medical issues. Buying a puppy and starting “fresh” is the safest route to go when choosing a new pet.

Fact: It is not in the shelter’s best interest to adopt out pets that will be returned to them. Most shelters incorporate behavioral testing / assessments in determining which pets are adoptable, and to what type of family. Medical attention is also given, and any known conditions are disclosed to prospective adopters.

If you haven’t already done so, check out 10 Ways You Can Support National Shelter Appreciation Week.

[LINK: BringPetsHome.org]

Thanks to Cats by the Sea Ray and Busby for sending this cartoon.

[LINK: Bizarro.com]

Unfortunately, Paul’s daytime job as a rocket scientist is really eating into the time he has available to make cat movies, so he is sending out a request that everyone send a letter to his employer, requesting that Paul be laid off (making him eligibile for unemployment) so that he can make more cat movies. Details are in the video.