Posts in Category: Pet Rescue & Adoption

If you’re looking for a furry new feline baby to take home, there are plenty of options for adoption in our beautiful city of San Antonio. We have some tips on getting prepared to bring your new family member home and a few possible locations where your cat could possibly be at this very moment!

As a couple grows closer and makes plans for the future, the idea of expanding their love to include caring for a pet is often a natural choice. This is especially true for pet lovers. Adding a pawed friend to the mix is a common theme when two people commit to greater responsibility and the sharing of interests. If you and your sweetie are looking to add a new pet to your little family, that’s an exciting step! 

If you are about to embark on adopting a pet with your significant other, there are some things to consider before you take the plunge into mutual pet ownership. Leon Valley Veterinary Hospital wants to help you make an informed decision to create the best possible home life for your wonderful new pet.

What could be more fun than owning a cat? How about adding a new puppy to the mix? Chances are that if you are expanding your furry family, your original four-pawed residents may have something to say about it. 

Integrating your cat and a new puppy can have its challenges, but Leon Valley Veterinary Hospital knows how to help. 

Nice to Meet You

First impressions mean a lot, and it’s no different for your cat. When introducing a new puppy into your home it is important to make sure that things go smoothly.

If you’re an animal lover, it may be that you have introduced a new pet into your family a time or two. And sometimes those introductions can go amazingly smoothly! In those cases, the adjustment period goes by quickly and everyone gets along, making your menagerie the happy group you hoped for. 

Sometimes though, there is more involved with helping your current pet adjust to a new pet. If things aren’t going well, keep reading for some ideas from your friends at Leon Valley Veterinary Hospital. 

Feral cats live in colonies around the world, but when groups of homeless cats are perceived as infiltrating quiet neighborhoods they can pick up unfortunate reputations.

However, instead of seeing feral cats as unwanted interlopers, members of communities around the globe can save lives in some pretty simple, yet effective, ways. 

Not a Nuisance

Alleyways, country roads, city parks, and slow suburban streets are home to millions of feral cats. Whether they are perceived as low-level public nuisances or absolute menaces, the truth is they are at risk of infections, infestations, mistreatment, injury and more. Their populations grow quickly and without care these cats have shorter lifespans.

Leon Valley Veterinary Hospital loves our animals just as much as the next person. Pets are a huge part of what we do, and we can understand the impulse to allow your furry family to grow unbounded. 

Although the right number of pets can vary from person to person, there are some limits on how many animals you should bring into your home. How many is too many? Is there really such a thing?

The Right Number of Pets

If you own a pet, you are not alone. Current estimates show that about 84.6 million households in the United States include at least one pet. Over 60% of those homes house more than one. 

There are loads of reasons to adopt a kitten, but you’d be right to pump the brakes if you already have a cat at home. Given abundant time, space and encouragement adult cats or aging seniors can definitely adapt to a new addition. However, their acceptance and tolerance of an interloper/new pal typically do not develop sooner than a few months. 

The best ways to introduce a kitten to your resident cat will require preparation, steadfast dedication, and a few of our go-to tips.

There are many great reasons to adopt an older dog. Perhaps not surprisingly, the absence of housetraining ranks pretty high. Sure, there might be accidents in the very beginning of your new relationship, but once you train them to go at certain times (and only in designated areas!) a new-to-you adult or senior dog will find their way. 

But this brings up other questions about their behavior. What if you adopt an adult dog that is set in their ways; can you retrain or re-socialize them? Of course! Training an older dog is absolutely possible, and maybe even easier than with a much younger animal.

Every January, an official tally of our city’s homeless population is conducted which results in funding allocation of support services. Last year, the count was over 3,000 people in San Antonio and Bexar County alone, with concentrations downtown and in encampments throughout the city and distant neighborhoods. They live in shelters, cars, boxes, abandoned buildings, beneath bridges, and sometimes right out in the open. What’s more, they often keep or tend to homeless pets.

At Leon Valley Veterinary Hospital, we’re lucky enough to be around pets all day. They never fail to make us laugh, give tons of cuddles, and wow us with their funny personalities. But we wanted to dig in deeper, to some of the reasons why we feel owning a pet makes you a better person.

Most pet owners know instinctively that having your dog meet you at the door or your cat jump up on your lap makes you happier. Their unconditional love is a true gift, and one that most of us don’t take for granted.