Too many, too young – ARF is inundated with puppies that need a lot of care.
ARF is inundated with puppies that need a lot of care.
The spring and summer months are commonly known as “kitten and puppy season” among Floyd County’s animal control professionals, but this year the number of animals who are too young to be adopted has been exceptional.
“The number of kittens and puppies has not been unusual, but we had two litters of eleven puppies come in who were under five weeks old, and that number is high,” said April Smith, the office manager at the Public Animal Welfare Shelter. “There were also litters of kittens ranging anywhere from two to eleven days. Eight weeks old is the ideal age for animals to be adoptable.”
The Rome-Floyd Animal Rescue Foundation currently has 37 puppies that are too young for adoption that will go to rescue groups on Monday and Tuesday.
“People don’t realize when they take puppies to animal control, the puppies only get fed once a day,” said co-president of ARF Greta Willoughby. “People are taking ten and eleven puppies in at once to animal control without the mom. You don’t see the mother, so we can’t even be sure that she is being taken care of properly. This has been an issue every year, but this year seems to be so much worse for premature puppies. We have 37 puppies in foster care that we had to remove from the shelter. We’ve never had 37 puppies at one time.”
According to Smith, the kittens that were too young to be adopted were taken in by the nonprofit rescue group Floyd Felines.
Both puppies and kittens are not old enough to undergo separation from their mothers until after six weeks, but eight weeks is preferable. Premature separation may result in health problems including hypoglycemia as nursing animals receive 100 percent of their nutrients through their mother’s milk. Willoughby said that when a puppy comes to ARF at such a young age, they have to be started on a diet of gruel in bottles before moving to solid food. Nursing animals need to be fed regularly throughout the day to ensure that they have a chance for healthy development. Additionally, young puppies and kittens are susceptible to anemia from flea and tick bites. After eight weeks, puppies and kittens are able to receive preventative shots that increase their chances for healthy development.
Early separation can cause health problems for the mother, as well. Willoughby pointed out that excess milk is a risk and that the best solution is to wait at least six weeks before separation. Excess milk can cause painful gorging of the mother’s mammary glands and gradual weaning of the puppies is necessary to naturally halt milk production.
“The best thing people can do to help is to have their pets spayed and neutered,” said Willoughby.
The public can also help with the current crisis in abundant pet population by contacting ARF at www. arfromefloyd.com or by calling 706-622-1098. PAWS, 99 North Ave., is open MondayFriday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. for adoptions and from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. for surrenders. On Saturdays surrenders are accepted from 10 a.m.-noon and adoptions are available from 1-5 p.m. PAWS is closed on Sundays. Floyd Felines is online at floydfelines.org.