MSI Press Blog

  This resource fell under my hand recently. I am passing it along in case it could help others.  Happy Caturday! Search for free or low cost pet support services like veterinary care, pet food pantries, temporary pet care and more. ZIP  Search If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the  Suicide and Crisis Lifeline , chat with them online via their website, or text HOME to 741741 (multiple languages available). If this is an emergency, call 911. This curated database of resources is provided by Human Animal Support Services and its partners to keep people and pets together. For more Caturday posts, click HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing...

  This is just a plea, on Caturday, for pet owners who are in smoky areas caused by the recent Canadian firestorms to remember that pets, too, need protection from smoke. So, keep them inside and breathing easy with the air that you have managed to arrange for yourself to breathe safely. Here is a fact sheet that explains the effects of smoky air on your cats and dogs. It only takes a minute or two to read. Check it out HERE . See more Caturday posts   HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com. Want an  author-signed copy  of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) an...

  War and natural disasters create atrocious living circumstances not only for the people caught in the vortex but also for their pets, who are not used to foraging for themselves, have not built up the skills for survival, and are met with austere conditions too frequently too overwhelming to support their efforts to stay alive. Ukrainians are devoted to their pets; having to leave them behind may look like desertion but in a blitzkrieg style war can be the only option to helping ensure a fleeing family itself survives -- and is likely gut-wrenching. Many families are scooping up their pets. Some cannot, and their pets are now on the streets. Network for Animals is stepping in and doing the best it can to take care of animals left behind. It needs help. Help = money. Any amount; US dollars stretch farther there than here. Network for Animals is registered in a number of countries, including Brazil, the USA, and UK, as a reputable charity, and contributions are considered tax deduc...

  When my beloved Murjan was dying from cancer , I was desperate for information, but my husband was dying from cancer at the same time, which gave me very little time for seeking out answers. Murjan was almost 19 years old and had been on chemotherapy for three years. His vet did not know how to help him further, but she apparently did not want to admit that -- and subconsciously I did not want to admit that she did not know what to do and had essentially given up on him. I was unable to get timely appointments, or any appointments at all, even in the emergency room. We do not have any vets in town. I have to travel no matter what. Murjan's vet was located an hour north of us. To get help, I contacted other vets. A vet to the west of us recommended hydration, and so we stated hydrating Murjan every other day. His vet to the north allowed as to how that might help. But Murjan kept losing weight. He was down to 5 pounds (from 16 pounds) when he died.  Finally, a vet to the sou...

The cats in the window, Intrepid (tabby-mau mix) and Murjan (red & white Turkish van), were the best of friends. Murjan "raised" Intrepid after he was found as a small kitten crying in the grass after his mother died. Both were born in Jordan and were brought to the USA when we moved back home to California. Both were diagnosed at the same time with lymphoma though the vet said that it was pure coincidence. Intrepid was the younger by four years, but he had the worst case: his kidneys and liver were already damaged when we found out he was sick. Both began chemotherapy in summer of 2018.  Intrepid In October 2018, Intrepid , named for his daredevil approach to life, died. He was only 11 years old. As the days went by and the chemo did little more than make him loopy--actually, it was difficult to know whether the progressing disease was causing him to walk drunkenly or the chemotherapy side effect or both--he ended up on IV at home at times and IV in the pet hospital at t...

  Our beloved cat, Murjan, died three months ago tomorrow.  We still miss him! The emergency room vet who received him in his last few minutes of life kindly made a contribution to the  Birchbark Foundation  in his name. That was comforting -- as is the grief counseling that the BBF conducts.  Click on the link to learn more about the BBF and its great work.

  A walk down memory lane is always fun, and here are some fun posts we have written that feature cats: Read posts about Sula the Parish Cat . Read posts about Shelly and author Jeremy Feig's Book of the Year finalist book about her. Read posts about Elly and her travels. Read posts about Noah and his puppy. Read about Intrepid and his adventures (a cat memorial, with lots of pictures).

  This is a special, short but important post, especially for Caturday. Our friends who rescue cats have reported something that I do not think many owners think about. What will happen to my pets when I die? Our pet-rescue friends have ended up with a number of an animals in situations where the owner died and the pet left with no clear instructions as to "what next" should be done. Often they are older pets and hard to adopt out. One hopes that a shelter will take them, but not all shelters are no-kill, and sometimes neighbors just open the door and let the pets out onto the street--and, having been cared for all their lives, they have no idea how to fend for themselves and end up sick (or, if they are lucky, trapped and with our friends who will work hard to find a home for them). Owners probably do not think about these things, especially if they are not yet facing end-of-life conditions. However, any of us can die at any time, and our pets deserve to be in our will, just...