Rivertown Pets Page

05/11/2025

05/05/2025

Spring is baby time and unfortunately orphan time. Wildlife and Kittens are being taken in by various rescue groups and shelters. It is very costly for these non profits especially for ones as specialized as Cottontail Cottage Wildlife Rehab

Donate if you can or even ask if they need volunteers. I think they also take supplies as donations, contact them for a wishlist!

I never imagined one of our next rescues would come from inside the gorilla enclosure at the Bronx Zoo. But that’s exactly where these seven newborn bunnies were found, tiny, vulnerable, and being gently watched over by a troop of curious gorillas.

One of the zookeepers had accidentally uncovered their nest while raking the enclosure. As soon as she realized what she’d found, she gently covered them back up, hoping their mom would return. But the gorillas were so curious.

They kept uncovering the nest, not to harm the babies, just to watch them. They’d sit around them quietly, like they were fascinated. It was honestly kind of beautiful… this peaceful, unspoken moment between species.

But with so much rain in the forecast, it became clear those babies weren’t going to make it out there. The gorillas kept unintentionally exposing the nest, and the little ones were getting cold. As much as we always try to leave nests undisturbed, especially when we know the mom is around, this was one of those rare situations where it felt like the kindest thing we could do was step in.

So now, those tiny gorilla-approved bunnies are here with me at Cottontail Cottage, safe and warm. I’ll never forget how they came into our care, and I’ll be rooting for them every step of the way until it’s time to go home to the wild.

If you want to follow their story, I’ll be sharing updates as they grow. And if their journey touched your heart, I hope you’ll consider supporting us. Donations are way down right now, and even small monthly gifts help us keep saying “yes” when animals need us most.

You can donate at https://linktr.ee/cottontailcottage, or even just share this post to help spread the word. It means the world to me.

04/20/2025

Did you know that April is National Pet First-Aid Awareness Month??? It's a month dedicated to educating pet owners and animal caregivers about how to respond to pet emergencies and provide basic first aid before professional veterinary help is available.🐾 🩺

Here is a great info graphic from the ASPCA for some essential items to always have on hand! ⭐️

04/11/2025

“Kitten season” is here and it’s not a good thing. An estimated 20 MILLION kittens will be born this spring! Rescue groups, shelters and humane societies nationwide will be overwhelmed with unwanted kittens arriving daily.

Less than 3% of the feral and stray cat population is spayed or neutered—and they are responsible for 80% of all the kittens born every year! Rescuers can scoop up stray kittens all day long but we will never get a handle on our cat overpopulation crisis until the adults are fixed. Yes, it is a crisis. Most people don't realize that every day 2,300 cats and kittens are euthanized in municipal shelters simply because of overpopulation.

If you are feeding outdoor cats, please do your part to help STOP THE CYCLE by having them spayed or neutered through a TNR (trap-neuter-return) program. TNR is safe, humane and the proven SOLUTION to cat overpopulation.




(Graphic by Cole & Marmalade)

04/08/2025

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04/06/2025

What if one day you needed a wildlife rehabber and there was no one left to answer the call?

Wildlife rehab isn’t dying from lack of need, it’s being quietly pushed out by people in power.

That’s what’s happening right now in states like Idaho and Alabama. They’ve decided to stop issuing new licenses to wildlife rehabilitators. That means no new rehabbers. No one to step in when an orphaned baby rabbit is found injured in someone’s backyard. No one to answer the phone when an animal is hit by a car. No one left to mend what we humans so often break.

And what hurts the most? It’s happening with barely a whisper. No headlines. No mass public outcry. Just silence and that’s exactly what they were counting on.

Wildlife rehabbers are not government funded. We don’t get paid to do this. We give up careers, income, weekends, sleep, normalcy, to do this work. I’ve given up all of that, gladly, because I believe these lives matter. Every single one. When an animal suffers because of something humans caused, someone should be there to make it right.

And yet, I’ve heard it with my own ears, people in power, saying they would shut us down if they could. Not behind closed doors. Not as a theory. As a threat. Said out loud when they thought no one else was listening.

Let’s be clear: the animals we care for aren’t dying from “natural causes.” They’re hit by cars. Caught in glue traps. Attacked by domestic pets. Poisoned by pesticides. Orphaned by deforestation. These are human-made problems. And rehabbers are just trying to clean up the fallout.

This work isn’t just about animals, it’s about people. It’s about the neighbor who finds a baby opossum alone and doesn’t know what to do. The child who cries for the squirrel hit by a car. The everyday person who calls us in a panic because they care and need someone to answer.

Don’t let your local wildlife rehab disappear in silence. When those in power threaten to shut our doors, please show up. Speak out. Share our work. Defend it.

Because we’re not just saving animals, we’re holding on to a part of our shared humanity.

Here’s how you can help:
✔️ If you live in Idaho or Alabama call or email your local and state reps. Tell them wildlife rehab matters.
✔️ Follow and share your local rehabbers posts. Awareness is power.
✔️ Donate, volunteer, or check out their wishlists.
✔️ Vote for leaders who value wildlife.

We can’t do this alone. And we shouldn’t have to. 🤍

03/27/2025

Feral Cats Aren't Homeless. Your Yard IS their home.

When I first heard about barn cat programs for feral cats, I thought it was a brilliant solution. Unadoptable shelter cats or unwanted community cats are relocated to barns to be working cats. Free food and shelter in exchange for mouse patrol certainly sounds like a win.

Molly was trapped and taken to a local shelter when a woman noticed a couple ear-tipped cats living under the deck of her newly purchased home. The homeowner liked cats but felt that it wasn't safe outside. There were raccoons and coyotes and cars, and the weather was so cold in the winter. She tried to trap them both but could only get Molly. She hoped the pretty tabby would find a great home.

Molly was quickly put into the shelter's barn cat program because she swatted at the workers when they reached in her cage to feed her or change her litter box. She was NOT a happy cat. Described as fractious, she was considered unadoptable.

Sheila was looking for a mouser for her small hobby farm and saw Molly posted as a barn cat on the shelter site. The shelter advised her to keep her contained for at least three to four weeks, so she wouldn't take off and try to find her way back home. A shed on the property was a perfect place for her to live while she got used to her new home. She had comfy sleeping spots, a litter box, food and water and a screened window to see her new home outside the shed. Sheila hoped she would settle in right away and want to stay when she was finally released.

A few days after releasing her, Molly disappeared. Sheila figured that she was out exploring her new territory, but when she checked her security cameras for clues, she saw a clip of a neighbor's cat behaving aggressively and chasing her out of the yard. She continued putting out food and monitoring the camera, but the only one eating the food was the darn neighbor cat.

A week after posting her as lost on her neighborhood's mailboxes, an older gentleman commented that he was seeing her in his yard. A bird lover, he wasn't crazy about cats, so he was happy to give Sheila access to his property to set a trap and take her away. It took a few days to get her to go in a trap, but when she finally got her and took her home, she promptly vanished again. Where did she go? Back to the bird-lovers yard. 😞. But this time she wouldn't go back in the trap.

Over time, our position on relocating feral cats has changed. A few relocations turned out well with happy updates from the owners even years later. But most of the cat check-ups six months to a year later were not as happy. Cats disappeared, were chased off by resident cats or taken by predators. Now, when answering emails from people asking us to trap some cats and take them to a "nice barn home", we try to educate them on the benefits of letting them stay where they are.

These requests to relocate feral cats often come from a place of caring. People are concerned about predators, cars and inclement weather, but those same risks exist everywhere. The image of a happy barn cat sleeping in the hay loft is appealing but doesn't represent the reality of many relocations. The reason is simple. Feral cats aren't homeless, they are just ownerless. When you take them away from their home territory, you are taking away everything they know about where to hide, how to avoid predators and where to find food. And you may also be taking them away from any cat companions.

Here are 5 reasons why relocating cats is risky and why it is usually more humane to let them stay in their home territory.

1- Unfamiliar Environment
Cats living in residential neighborhoods learn to be savvy about risks in their home territory. They may know to avoid cars, kids and that aggressive dog in the neighbor's back yard. But they are less likely to know about the predators and environmental risks in their new rural environment.

2 - Territorial Cats
People are often unaware of the feral cats already living in their area. Cats can have large territories and may not be visible during the day. They may consider your barn to be one of their homes and chase newcomers off.

3- Inadequate Acclimatization
It takes time to create a secure pen to hold cats for 3 to 6 weeks. Many of our volunteers choose to build or provide their own pens for relocation because the people taking them often underestimate the ability of cats to escape. Cats who escape before the holding period may take off and try to find their way back home.

4- Incompatible Cats
Like people, cats are picky about their friends. Relocations work best when the cats placed there are bonded to each other. Randomly placing cats together simply because they are feral or from the same colony is a recipe for disaster. Cats have killed or injured each other during the holding period. And if they don't get along, they are likely to MOVE along.

5- Lack of Assessment
Tame cats can appear feral or unadoptable in a shelter environment. So, it is common for people to take a barn cat from a shelter or rescue only to find that it is begging for attention and trying to get in their house a few weeks later. It is heartbreaking to see a former house cat who loves attention being forced to live in a barn.

This does NOT mean that all barn relocations are a bad idea, but it DOES mean that relocations should be a last-ditch effort when no other options exist. Most feral cats do best when allowed to remain in their home territory. Relocations should only be considered when you have the time and resources to make sure the barn homes and caretakers are pre-screened, the cats are carefully matched to the environment and a proper acclimatization is conducted. Often it is better to invest that time in keeping them in their home territory.

That feral cat in your yard isn't homeless. Your yard IS their home. Let them stay.

03/15/2025

Every spring, like clockwork, I find myself yelling the same thing: PUT. THE. BUNNY. DOWN.

It happens every year, well-meaning people scoop up wild baby rabbits, thinking they’ve been abandoned. But most of the time? They’re perfectly fine. And unfortunately, many of these “rescued” babies don’t survive because they were never meant to be taken in the first place.

So let’s clear this up: If a baby rabbit has its eyes open, looks healthy, and isn’t in distress, LEAVE IT ALONE. Mom only visits the nest twice a day (dawn & dusk) for just a few minutes. Baby bunnies explore, nibble on plants, and return to their nest on their own. Picking them up is not a rescue, it’s a tragedy waiting to happen.

If you truly want to help, please share the graphic I made! Educating others could literally save lives this season. Let’s keep wild bunnies wild where they belong. 🤍

01/31/2025

📚 Our BACK TO BASICS SERIES: FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus)

FIV is a virus specific to cats and is often erroneously referred to as "cat AIDS." It is similar to AIDS in that it attacks and weakens the immune system and there is no cure. Reliable information about FIV is plentiful on the internet. We encourage you to learn more about it!

Here are some quick facts:
➡FIV is transmitted through deep bite wounds.
➡FIV is NOT transmissible to humans or dogs.
➡Cats with FIV can live long, healthy, happy and normal lives!
➡Intact males with outdoor access are most likely to be infected.
➡Kittens may be infected before, during, or after birth (while nursing).
➡FIV is quickly diagnosed through a blood test.
➡If you have an indoor/outdoor cat, you risk its FIV status every time it goes outdoors.
➡FIV+ cats CAN live with non-infected cats as long as they can co-exist peacefully. (Remember, this virus is primarily transmitted through deep bite wounds. If the cats don't fight, there's little worry about transmission.)
➡In the U.S., approximately 2.5-5% percent of healthy cats are infected with FIV.

📢 EDUCATION IS KEY!!!!! FIV+ cats have a VERY difficult time getting adopted because of their status. In the past, they were immediately euthanized instead of put up for adoption. Help CHANGE THE PARADIGM! Educate others about the virus and how cats can live a long, healthy, normal life with FIV. Manage expectations. Let's get these cats in homes!

📢 If you're in rescue or doing TNR, please note:
➡Before you place a cat for adoption (or send it to foster in a home with other cats), it should be tested for FIV. Adopt that cat out with full disclosure about its FIV status.
➡Beware of false positives in kittens under 6 months of age!
➡You can place FIV+ cats in homes with other cats that are not FIV+. Educate the adopter and make sure the cats are not likely to fight with each other.
➡We don't FIV test the cats we TNR. Alley Cat Allies also holds this position.

Original content provided by Stray Cat Project.
Graphic of unknown origin.




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