The stray cats project

28/06/2024

Our sweet girl Annika who's currently in foster care lovvveesss Friday Night Footy!
She's turned into a real football fanatic!!
Shes such a character.....
She has to have her toast in the morning with her foster Mum and her footy at night and shes a happy girl!!
Wouldnt you love Annie as your mate to watch the footy with?!
Half time entertainment provided free lol.......
And you dont even have to share your beers with this little mate.....just your lounge!

27/06/2024

Are you the angel we are looking for? Passionate about the well being of our precious colony cats? Do you have a spare hour a week where you can assist as a "colony monitor" ? We are not just looking for a feeder but a dedicated kind hearted soul who wants to help make a difference for our beautiful Jesmond cat colony. You are the person they wait for in order to eat. You are the person that looks out for their well being. Injuries or illness? You will be their voice, so we can assist in their medical care. You help to keep count of this family and to keep track of who is there at dinner and who might not be. You are the person that will help socialise so that we can eventually rehome them . You are their human for hope. When I first started with this group nearly two years ago, I was overwhelmed with sadness for this cat colony (and for all homeless cats). But as time goes by I feel I am helping to make a difference and the sadness subsided because I see they are healthy and fed - thanks to the teams of people who assist every single week. It is a very rewarding experience. There are so so many people who make sure that the TSCP runs smoothly. Beautiful humans that I am so proud to be associated with. So please join our team. Cat food supplied and I am always a phone call away to answer any questions and show you the way. I look forward to welcoming you into our little family. Thanks x Maria

26/06/2024

Sadly, even though fb may be great for some things ie sharing adoption or educational posts so 1000s more eyes see them, it can also be a huge spreader of wrong information and myths.
Just remember in this social media age we live in......there are a lot of myths spread around about lots of different things.
All you need is one person to say something and before you know it - it's not just that one persons opinion anymore - its being spread around as a fact.
Wrong FIV information is just one of those myths.
FIV cats can actually lead long healthy lives.
And all the fiv test does is measure antibodies and they can be there for a number of reasons, including the cat once had an fiv vax.
Please feel free to post your fiv cats here and tell their stories!!
Remember it's not their fault they have this - its usually spread by undes*xed males fighting and if someome had just des*xed them - they wouldnt have caught it to begin with.
Here are a few FIV myths debunked......and sorry its small writing but if you click on the photo youll be able to enlarge the writing and read it.
Thanks everyone xo

24/06/2024

Heres another good news story.

I think we all need one atm!

So about 7-8 yrs ago i trapped and des*xed a male black cat in my back yard that actually lived in Kloster Fords caryards that are straight opp my house.

Needless to say i called him Kloster.

Every night since then, ive fed him.

Most nights i feed him just before i go to bed, so around 2 - 3 a.m.

Hes usually under one of the parked cars and doesnt even run to the food bowl til Im at least halfway back across the road.

About 3 mths ago another male black cat turned up there but he was huge compared to Kloster..... double his size almost i reckon.....and he had a reflective type collar on so i knew he mustve been a pet most likely and presumed he lived nearby and just wanted food.

Then two months went by and not only was poor Kloster not getting much food because even if i put out double - this new cat would eat it all and stand over Kloster and growl til he ran away....

But this new cat always seemed starving, but also looked in good condition coat wise as he has long hair....so i was a bit stumped.

And he was really unsure about approaching anyone, but once he did, he was a full on smoocher!

And i ONLY saw him after midnight and before dawn, never during the day.....

Then last week i decided to scan him and "ping" - he was microchipped.

When i spoke to his owner he said he only lived 3 streets away, but theyd des*xed him abt 3 mths ago and just after it - he disappeared.

So of course the next two nights when i went to try and catch him, he wasnt there for the first-time in months.

So today i finally got time to go out into my backyard and clean all of my birds enclosures this afternoon and here he was asleep in the garden bless him.

Id say hes just wandered too far and then not been able to find his way home.

His owner collected him this arvo and said he had two little girls and the cats sister and mum were all pining for his return - so im glad hes on his way home and safe again.

And Kloster will be stoked he doesnt have to share his food tonight or get stood over!!

Happy days!!

Please keep your kitties inside it is soooo much safer for them and for the wildlife.

And always microchip your animals.....it can mean the difference between them coming home again or not!!

23/06/2024

I really didnt want to have to do a post about this but i dont really have a choice because our supporters are confused and reaching out to us asking about it and have a right to know where their money is going.

Firstly, the Stray Cats Project is not linked to or affiliated with any other group.

We are a registered charity with tax deductable donations over $2 and our ONLY bank account is the one listed on this fb page.

We are the ONLY registered TNR charity in Newcastle.

Some of you may of seen one of our foster cats posted recently by MCC as one of their cats.

This is was apparently a pure accident on their part.
Yes i dont know how one of our cats ended up on their fb page as one of their cats either, but as i said, it was apparently just a mistake on their admins part.

Fine if it's a TSCP shared post, but it was a Mcc post saying our cat was theirs and it needed a home which is confusing for people.

I can assure you the cat was des*xed and chipped by TSCP and is in our care.
We just rehomed her three kittens so im definite its one of our cats lol.

MCC is not related to our group.

All of our colonies fall under the banner of the Stray Cats Project.....we dont have a colony in Mayfield run by MCC.

What they do, and what we do, are completely unrelated besides the fact we both rescue and rehome cats and do tnr.

Yes we support their work and des*xing, but we are not connected.

In regards to people asking about Di and her page where she raises money for her own cats.....these are not Stray Cats Project cats.
They are owned by Di and her partner David. (not to be confused with our treasurer David Horkan)

Yes some came from the breakwall, (they had 10 already when they started with TSCP) but we cant stop people from taking cats off the Breakwall, its a public place.

Originally they were fostering the cats under TSCP and they were to be rehomed once tame enough.

But we cannot stop people from keeping their foster cats (well we couldnt back then - if a carer wants to keep their foster cat now they have to go through the same checks and pay the same adoption fee as everyone else. That way, if someone has to pay for the 20 cats weve paid to des*x and chip, they can, but i think if they have to pay for them theyll think twice about whether they can afford those cats or not.)

I think what has confused some people reaching out to us and why they think Di's cats are TSCP cats, is their page says the cats are "in care" - so it sounds like theyre being fostered.....

No they arent - they are owned by Di and are her pets and have nothing to do with the Stray Cats Project other than they were all des*xed and chipped by us.

They are owned by Di and have been for 3+ yrs.

And we love Di and were sad when she left but i suppose with a new fulltime job and also 30 cats to look after she had no time left in the day to do so!

We didnt really want any cats to come off the wall after the cull unless they were friendly enough to be rehomed because we wanted to stand our ground not just for the Stockton cats but for every single other colony cat in Australia this could happen too if we didnt fight the Port of Newcastle.

But the cull made everyone have lots of different opinions and ideas and discord about what was best for the cats.

Lastly.....there is a Go Fund Me page that has been started by two ex feeders of Stockton cats.

They are not TSCP members any more.

The breakwall fb page they are using to spread their go fund me page was actually stolen from us by them.

The page originally was started by the group who were catching kittens at the breakwall before we took over in 2018 when we could see that if the adults werent des*xed, nothing would change there.

After the cull when that page wasnt used eventually, they handed it to us.

But trustingly, Di made Nadine an admin who then deleted her and took control of the page even though it was given to TSCP as we were the group des*xing and feeding there.

We just wanted the page shut down because all its ever done is confused people and told people the location of the cats.

(Weve des*xed over 100 cats there and if you add the kittens into that number its around 80 approx and thats a conservative estimate without actually counting them on our records.)

Now theres 7 cats left there and the Stray Cats Project currently have 8 from Stockton in our care, they want to take over??

Why now that all the hard works been done?

They were asked if they wanted to join our team that for mths has been putting a plan in place to trap the last trap shy breeding females, but no they refused too.

Believe me when I say all their actions will do, is stuff up the plans we already had in place.

If everyone worked together and spent as half as much time rescuing The cats as they do sitting around bitching abt each other, the cats wouldve been caught by now.

Strangley they still want us to feed the cats everyday and provide the food, and feeders - but then want to ask people for money to des*x cats when the two they say they have in care and caught were actually caught by our feeder Elaine a month ago, not by them as their stolen page says.

All they did were set two traps then go home.....then when they called and asked when the cats can be des*xed once Elaine had found them in The traps and took them home, when they know very well a vet appt has to be made the day before.... They then Get the sh*ts....So we still had those two cats booked in to be des*xed last Wednesday but they cancelled the appts and took the cats to their own vet.

So my main point here is, the Stray Cats Project will continue doing what theyve been doing at Stockton, and all we can do is pray these two peoples actions in working against us instead of with us, dont damage the last cats chances of being caught.

Because this is exactly why we are at this point now, because people have their own agendas and wont work as a team and do things like feed and set traps when we could be planning too as well and anyone who knows anything abt trapping will tell you this is just ridiculous. We now not only have members of the public working against us, but ex feeders who should know better.

My last words - please be careful where you donate money to.

Charities have to account for every dollar and where it has gone, Face book pages do not.

Enjoy your evening everyone 💟

23/06/2024

Beautiful Turtle is looking for her forever home.

She is around 2 and a half and is a real sweetheart.

She originally came from a hoarding situation and was born into that craziness, in her mummas second litter.

So shes fine around other cats.

She very occasionally has a cough.

The vet has done xrays and said her airways have some thickening in parts but he has ok'd her for adoption as it is nothing contagious or thats likely to bother her he said.

On saying that, a couple of months ago she had a steroid injection for it, to see if it would stop the cough altogether, and it did completely stop it.

In regards to ongoing costs, this would be around $50 every 4 mths or so.....and thats if she needs it at all because she may not.

Since the injection though, she has been a much more playful happy cat so it must help her feel better.

If youd like more info on Turtle, or our adoption process or want to meet her - please message us!!

Shes being fostered in the Gateshead area.

She is des*xed, microchipped, vet checked, flead and wormed.

Please share for Turtle and lets find this girl a wonderful home!!

Thanks everyone!! 💙💙💙

22/06/2024

I promised you all a good news story - so here we go!!

Back in June 2021, was when we first became aware of Mumma.

One of our feeders Rachel, who lived opp there, noticed her living in an abandoned Block in King St, Newcastle (this whole area was demolished in Jan 2024 so thank goodness she was not there still)!!

She had 4 adorable kittens and the whole family was living in the bushes fending for themselves.

Rachel started feeding them twice daily and struck up the trust of Mumma who was soon running to Rachel when she called out her name, babies in line behind her!!

We were able to rehome the kittens and on June 21 (exactly three yrs ago yesterday) Mumma was trapped with the plan that Rachel would foster her to see if she was rehomeable or a tnr.

The vet estimated her to be 4-5 yrs old back then and said she had given birth to multiple litters.

Rachel had owned many cats over the years, but had never had the experience of taking on a stray that was also unhandleable......but by that point Mumma had well and truly taken over Rachels heart.

Rachels words - "Shes the most beautiful friendly kindhearted girl.
From the moment she stepped inside shes never wanted to go back outside.
I have let her explore at her own pace and on her own terms. ....and its taken almost 3 yrs but she will now eat from my hand, and lets me pat and brush her :))
We have many daily chats and shes always up for showing me her belly!! When i come home she runs to me to make sure shes first in line for pats!!
Ive affectionately nicknamed her my Feral Floofster and wish others would give stray cats more of a chance."

After all, if Rachel hadn't given Mumma a chance, she would still be on the streets.

Thank you Rachel for your patience, love and commitment to Mumma.

Her before and after pics are just mind blowing!! Before pic on the left and after pics on the right!!

Who knew she had that beautiful coat under there when she was on the streets !!

Youve done an amazing job with her Rachel you should be so proud!!! 💟💟💟

20/06/2024

Poppy and Skittles 10 weeks old and from the Stockton Breakwall originally....need to find their forever homes! Could that lucky person be you?? Please message us if interested !!

18/06/2024

Morning everyone sorry for late update but Fleur is now safe and has been taken home by one of the vet nurses at Adamstown vet (Brunker road vet hosp) who originally couldnt take her, on a trial basis.
One of our lovely supporters Catherine has also offered to adopt her should that trial fail, along with some other people.
Thank you to everyone who liked, shared or commented on our post in suppport of Fleur.
What couldve been the last days of her life - have now turned out to be the best days of her life as shes now off the street and on her way to being in a furever home. 💗💗💗

Good afternoon! This beautiful girl who we think is only around 2 at the most, was handed into Adamstown vets for euthanasia a few days ago.

She turned up at a member of publics house a few weeks ago, and they were feeding her outside but their kid has an allergy so they brought her into the clinic to be euthanased.

(As someone who worked in a vet clinic for many years people dont realise how often this happens.....the dog growled at my grandson please euthanase it, the cat peed where it shouldnt please euthanase, the bird is too noisy please euthanase.....)

These are what i refer to as lazy pet owners......yes theyll take their pet to the vet, care for it well and be responsible by des*xing and chipping it ......but as soon as that animal is no longer "the perfect pet" and they have to work at solving the problem it has.....they take the easy way out and euthanase the animal.

I mean seriously, des*x and chip her and let her live in your yard thats better than killing her!!

But this little girl is ssssooooo friendly theres no need for her to be tnr'd!!! She just needs a home!!

She has been named "Fleur" by the vet nurses there. Which i believe means flower in French. Really suits her as she is just so pretty!! Like a flower!!

Her coat colours and markings are just so unique!!

Shes still currently at the vet and will be des*xed and chipped by the vet should anyone be interested in adopting her!!

Fleur has been vet checked and found to be around 2 with no health issues.

Please message us and i can pass your details onto the person at the vet handling her case. She is such a sweet pretty little girl can anyone help her please??

Please share for her!!

18/06/2024

Kevins petition against the RSPCA NSW is now up!! Please sign and share the petition. Help us make sure the RSPCA is held accountable and that they recognise strays and T.N.R and start helping animals instead of killing them!!!!

23 signatures are still needed! Demand Justice for Kevin: Investigate RSPCA NSW’s Disregard for Stray Cats Like Kevin

17/06/2024

Please consider adopting the old neglected cats no one ever wants.....remember all cats were kittens once - some just werent as lucky as others. I always take the old sick cats no one wants and i can tell you they love and appreciate their new lives sssoooo much. Look at this gorgeous old boy enjoying his last few mths after being rescued finally after a life of neglect. Rip beautiful old boy. His video brought me to tears. Please consider the adult cats as well as the cute kittens......after all, a kitten will eventually be an adult for the rest of its life. xox

16/06/2024

Little Kevins video is in the comments. Rest in peace sweet boy.
This isnt unusual by any means. Just normal RSPCA behaviour.
They refuse to recognise Strays or TNR in any way shape or form.
And they just keep doing what they do best......killing animals.
They need to drop their "All Creatures Great And Small" logo to something more suitable.
How about "all creatures great and small but only if its a well behaved owned pet cat or pet dog.".....
The Rspca lost their way a looonnngggg time ago.
The moment they started putting their logo on dead animals in supermarkets were the day they sold out in my opinion.
Strange that any other of the Sydney or Newcastle cat rescue groups could've helped this cat and found the money, but Rspca Nsw who has $136 million in cash and assets, couldnt afford Kevin the time or money.
His life wasnt worth that apparently. Rspca kill rates for 22-23 in Nsw were every 1 in 3 cats were killed and 1 in every 5 dogs were killed.
This is NOT good enough from a group with this much money.
Please stop donating to them......your money is basically going to their CEO's yearly wage which was around $1.69 million a year in 2017 so its probably a lot more now 7 yrs later ....
They also broke protocol by not keeping him alive for a lousy 7 whole days.
Not good enough rspca.
Change your logo or start helping ALL animals.
Please call them on 0297707555. Please tell them a stray cats life means as much as a pet cats and they need to get with the times and support Tnr over euthanasia.
Petition to come in next few days.
Please share for Kevin.

15/06/2024

Id like to say a huge thank you to a few people who without their help i think id still be unpacking boxes!!

Firstly to Kylie Wells who got us a truck for a very reasonable price and then drove to us all the way from Cessnock, then back again!!! You are an angel Kylie!!! Thank you Thank you Thank you!!

I had thought we would be there a couple of hours max with lots of helpers and i had an adoption appt at noon as i thought we would be well and truly done unpacking by then. How wrong was I !!! It took a whole 4 hours so i didnt make the adoption appt!!! (sorry Ash and Steph!! and Gypsy)

Thankfully Michelle also came and when we realised it was ridiculous with three people and the amount of stuff we had, Michelle also called her partner Chris when no one responded to our post or turned up.

So a huge thankyou to Kylie, Michelle and Chris as even with the 4 of us it took us 4 solid hours of back breaking work. And we were going at lightning speed!!

Thank you Chris for your amazing expertise in stacking and arranging everything so that we could squeeze it all in to such a small space. And dont worry I'm a feminist at heart but having Chris's strength and height amongst 3 women, meant things moved a lot faster!! Thanks Chris!!

Big thank you also to Rod who organised for us to be able to have it delivered to NHS, where we were able to take it off the initial delivery truck with a forklift.....something we had to have or the delivery couldn't come.

And thank you NHS for allowing us to do that!!!

Thanks to All Purpose Self Storage and Janelle who gave us a 30% discount for being a charity.

Also a huge thanks to Dawn one of our amazing supporters who offered to pay for the truck!!

And of course thanks to Mars who gave us all the food.

We feed 135+ cats a night so its a lot of food we need to do this. This delivery will help us do that.

Have a lovely weekend!! Xox

14/06/2024

Hi guys we are at N.H.S - 30 Wyong Rd, Lambton loading the food into the truck and have a few more pallets to unload if one or two people could possibly help us. Then we are going to Islington all purpose self storage to unload it. Theres only three of us ladies here atm so another pair of hands would be so appreciated. Thank you!!

13/06/2024

People often ask us why we eartip our colony cats.......because when you start trapping at a colony and the cats look like the photo below - it helps you know what cats you've des*xed, and who still needs to be done.

Yes years down the track of course we know their names and who is who.....but when you first start trapping at a colony and are confronted with cats who all look the same, ear tipping really helps the trapper.

Its also the universal sign to say the cat has been des*xed.

The very tip of the left ear only is removed while the cat is being des*xed and is asleep so therefore feels nothing.

It also shows the community - "leave that cat alone because it is a well loved, des*xed and looked after colony cat" (or sometimes called community cats or semi owned cats).

When a cat is flipping around in a trap in the dark, seeing an ear tattoo is near impossible....Wheras an ear tip immediately tells the trapper that this cat has already been des*xed so it can be let go.

Please leave ear tipped cats alone as they are a part of a well managed colony and have already been des*xed and chipped to the rescue that manages their care.

Taking them to any type of pound or Rspca will just mean the rescue has to pay to get them back out.

13/06/2024

UPDATE: A lovely lady Kylie Wells, is helping us tomorrow with a truck so thank you Kylie and thank you to everyone who offered to help us. We could still definitely do with some hands unloading it all from the truck into the storage space so anyone wanting to help, please meet us at All Purpose Self Storage at Islington at around 11a.m. Thank You!!! Best to message me though so i know, as we only need another 2 or 3 people id say....that should be plenty. Thanks everyone xox

Is there anyone out there that would have access to a SMALL TRUCK to help us move 15 pallets of donated food from Broadmeadow to a Newcastle West storage unit tomorrow Friday at around 10.30 a.m ish please?

We are more than happy to pay for the petrol and truck hire, we just cant get anyone that can do it tomorrow on such short notice!! Ive rang about ten places so far!!

We only found out 2 hrs ago it was coming!

I really dont want to have to refuse this food as its taken us 3 months to organise it !!

Please message us if you can help in anyway.

Thank you!!

Cheers from Rochelle xo

11/06/2024

We are extremely grateful to ARC (Companion Animal Rescuer ) for their most recent donation of wet food, dry food, a quantity of damp wipes and some covers.

We were able to collect it just in time as our food stocks were running very low.

We also thank those who donated food to help keep us going until ARC came to the rescue or made a financial contribution for that specific purpose.

Plus David from the Central Coast who collected the supplies from Sydney, drove them to Newcastle, and and then drove for another hour to get home. He did mention that he is a sucker for cats. We wouldn’t have guessed.

Without such donations it would be impossible for us to continue our work. So many mouths to feed, big and small.

Thank you again ARC.
We also wish to recognise and thank the businesses who donate food, etc, to ARC for them to distribute.

10/06/2024

One of our lovely feeders Emily contacted me yesterday afternoon about a dead cat floating in Newcastle Harbour.

Because the last two cats ive pulled out of there were cruelty cases i was determined to get this cat out of the water.

It was a calico cat and right near Rydges Hotel.

It took Meg, (another of our feeders and supporters) and i ages to get it out due to the angle it was positioned on the oysters and the rising tide.

Eventually we got her out using two extension poles and two nets. She was microchipped.

After contacting the owner we are positive this isnt a cruelty case and the kitty ended up in the harbour because she lived at Cooks Hill and most probably floated into the harbour from the storm water system.

She was 18 so id say she just went away and died in the drain.

At least we were able to give the owners some closure as they had searched everywhere for her.

After talking to the owner he told me she had come into his life 18 yrs ago as a scared stray who had kittens on their front porch.

Once she reared her kittens and was des*xed and chipped, they opened the crate to let her go and she walked out of the crate but never left and stayed there for the next 18 yrs!!

Thank you so much Meg for helping me at the harbour. That was definitely a two person rescue and i couldnt have done that without you, so thanks very much!!!

Please remember to always microchip your pets. Regardless of their age, s*x, if they are indoor or outdoor, microchipping is the best $50 investment you can make for your cat (or dog or rabbit or horse or guinea pig or bird!).
It could reunite you with your pet.
It could help you get closure if your animal disappears.
And if your pet is taken to a vet because its injured, knowing who to call could save its life!!
Ditto if it ends up ay a pound or rspca......its microchip could save its life and stop it from being euthanased!
Please microchip your pets!!!

And if you ever find a dead animal, please take it to a vet to be scanned, or go onto your local lost and found fb pages where theres usually someone happy to come and scan it. You can buy scanners online for as cheap as 50$ for any animal lovers out there who just want to get their own scanner!! Just beware the cheaper ones work but arent very sensitive i.e you may have to rub the scanner over the spot a few times for it to work wheras the better ones beep without even touching the animals skin and are really sensitive.

And thanks Emily and your partner for letting us know about it.

Rest in peace Tara xox

Instead of showing Tara as that would be a bit upsetting, here is a picture of how beautiful the sky colours were yesterday at the harbour at dusk when we were there pulling her out.
Maybe that was her spirit in the sky making those gorgeous colours!!

09/06/2024

Well you've all seen Poppys video the other day......now meet her brother Skittles! Both of these kittens are looking for their forever homes and have been des*xed, microchipped, wormed, flead and vet checked. They are both around 10 weeks old! Please message us if you're interested in adopting either of them or would like to meet them!! Enjoy your Sunday! Xoxo

Send a message to learn more

08/06/2024

CAT DESEXING FACTS:

Female kittens can breed from the age of 4 mths old and male kittens will become s*xually active anywhere from 5 to 12 mths of age.

A female can have 3 litters a year with anywhere from 3 to 7 kittens on average per litter!!!

An undes*xed male adult cat can father up to 1500 kittens in one single year.

So not des*xing your male cat and letting it outside and saying "it doesnt matter its not des*xed, it wont get pregnant".....
No, but it will impregnate any females it smells on heat and could father up to 1500 kittens in one year!!

So regardless of s*x - please des*x your cats.

Des*xed cats are healthier, happier, and will have less behavioural problems and will also live longer.

Des*xing females reduces their risks of mammary and other cancers and of course stops them giving birth and putting more pressure on their bodies and our rescues.
It stops behaviours linked to them going on heat like spraying and toileting where they shouldnt, and of course bleeding (white couches or carpet, and blood not a good mix).
It will also stop them trying to escape because they are on heat.

With males, when you des*x them, they stop spraying and urinating on everything.....and believe me if youve ever smelt tom cats urine??!!
It is SO strong!!
If i trap a tom i know its a tom before i even check their back end, by the strength of their urine and the size of their jowls on their face.
Again, des*xing early stops the males face from becoming really wide like a moon face.
Des*xing makes any aggression cease and any bad habits like biting or scratching go away.
Toms will cross roads and dangerous dog filled yards, rail tracks, what ever they have to do to get to the female they can smell from up to a kilometre away. Des*xed males will not fight other males for females rights and territory, thus reducing their risk of getting blood borne diseases like fiv and feline leukaemia to name a couple....

Theres not one single good reason to not des*x them i can think of.

Please please please des*x your cats (and dogs) and dont think you're getting a bargain getting a free undes*xed pet on gumtree - you will end up with 20 cats if its not des*xed.
And please, if you are going to feed stray cats, then get them des*xed. Feeding stray females will make them actually breed more and their kittens will have more chance of survival therefore the numbers will spiral up even quicker.

Be responsible and des*x your pets!!!