Pet Of The Week

Itsy and Nutmeg

Calls from anxious parents shopping for a single kitten surprise for their children younger than 5 continued throughout the holidays. Even last weekend, the most popular kittens were the buff orange, “Itsy and Nutmeg,” because they are the youngest and smallest in our Network.

Our experience can help you make a better choice when adopting. For most families, the perfect age for a child to have a pet is older than 7. Seniors should be especially careful in pet selection and avoid active dogs and kittens as they could trip and break a hip.

But, why do the people coming to adoption events desire single tiny kittens? Well, we all know that they are very cute, but what about the animal’s well-being? Did you know that kittens and puppies that remain with their litter mates longer learn important social skills that develop through play? And that single kittens get lonely and want to get outdoors and often get lost?

When a human becomes the only playmate, fingers and toes become the toys, which encourages biting. Stalking people is fun, but as the kitten gets bigger they bite harder and it hurts! That’s why Community Animal Network suggests pairs of kittens being adopted, or give a calm adult cat a much needed fresh start.

Meet the animals at the Fashion Island pet adoption event sponsored by Russo’s Pet Experience weekends from noon to 4 p.m. Call (949) 759-3646 to apply to adopt, or view our website https://www.animalnetwork.org to see photos of available animals.

We received $1,700 for the last minute 2010 tax credit, which totals our donations at $6,222 for our 2010 fundraising campaign.

Please consider helping! Rescuing animals is costly. Mail your contributions to Community Animal Network, P.O. Box 8662, Newport Beach, CA, 92658 and memo your check “Help Local Animals” non-profit tax ID 33-0971560.