10162795087?profile=RESIZE_710xCats have delicate systems and can become ill if their diets change abruptly. This is an issue because of pandemic-related shortages, rising prices and shipping delays. Photo provided

By Arden Moore

Since the pandemic began two-plus years ago, grocery shopping has never been the same. It has turned into a treasure hunt of hope as you push your cart up and down the aisles in search of fresh eggs, your favorite brand of toilet paper or even pizza dough.
Or, you find yourself reading signs that limit how many paper napkins, sports drinks or pounds of bacon you can buy.
We aren’t the only ones feeling the impact of product shortages, rising prices and shipping delays. So are thousands of cats in Palm Beach County who depend every day on the generosity of volunteers to feed them in community cat colonies, small shelters and foster homes.
Before the coronavirus hit, Susan Carmichael, founder of Florida’s Forgotten Felines, never had an issue fulfilling her standing order of 100 cases of canned cat food with a PetSmart store in Boynton Beach to feed more than 400 community cats.
John Wood of Adopt a Cat Foundation Inc. could count on buying plenty of canned cat food at bargain prices at Pet Supplies Plus for his group’s kittens and cats up for adoption.
Dawn Herrmann of Truly All Cats Trapping and Rescue used to breeze into Publix any time to pick up ample amounts of Friskies canned food for her group’s cats in foster homes and in cat colonies. The shelves were always well stocked.

10162798056?profile=RESIZE_710xEmpty shelves like these at a Boynton Beach Publix are a common sight. Coastal Star staff

Today, they and other cat rescue groups are traveling farther, paying more and seeking food alternatives for their dependent felines.
“Friskies pate is a favorite canned food for many of the cats, but now, it is the hardest to find,” says Herrmann, a registered nurse from Lantana who co-founded the group with Kara Sullivan. “The shelves are empty at Walmart and Publix. We pay about 50 to 60 cents a can for Friskies, but sometimes have to buy more expensive brands that cost up to $2 a can.
“Making matters worse, some of our cats only eat pate or they will lap up the gravy and leave the rest of the food. It is easier to mix medications in pate than gravy-based cat food.”
Carmichael has been feeding cats in need since 2002. She is 76 years old and is doing her best to locate affordable canned food in chicken flavor, a protein favorite for her felines.
“Not all cats like fish and will not eat say, a tuna-flavored can of food,” she says. “It’s very challenging now, but my biggest reward is when a sweet feral cat I feed finally lets me pet her.”
Wood is the president of Adopt A Cat Foundation, committed to finding permanent homes for rescued cats and kittens. The game plan for his team of volunteers is to communicate and be creative in searching for affordable canned cat food.
“When any of us are able to buy 24 or 36 cans at a time, we consider it a major score,” says Wood, a property management administrative assistant from West Palm Beach. “It is not good for a cat’s digestive system to suddenly switch diets, so we work together and do the best we can to find the canned food.”
If you abruptly switch a cat’s diet, it may cause vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain. Feline tummies can be sensitive, especially if changes in food flavors and forms happen suddenly.
Veterinary nutritionists recommend the 3-3-3 rule, in which you give a cat two-thirds of his current food mixed in with one-third of the new food for the first three days. Then during the next three days, switch the amounts to one-third of the current food with two-thirds of the new food.
Within seven to 10 days, most feline digestive systems are able to tolerate the new food without digestive upset.
Fortunately, large shelters in the area, such as Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League based in West Palm Beach, are not experiencing cat food shortages.
“Large brick-and-mortar places like ours and Tri-County Animal Rescue in Boca Raton have contracts with major pet food manufacturers who supply us with food to feed our animals at the shelter at deeply discounted prices in exchange for promoting their brand of food at our shelters,” says Paul Bates, communications manager who oversees the trap-neuter-vaccinate-release program at Peggy Adams.
Bates works with several TNVR groups in the county that feed cat colonies. He has been suggesting that they expand their searches by looking for canned cat food at major wholesale stores like Sam’s and Costco or going online at Chewy.com.
“These big-box stores and online places like Chewy have large warehouse space to house the cat food. Supermarkets don’t have that kind of storage space or the money to place large-quantity orders,” Bates says.
Herrmann hopes that the supply of preferred canned cat food will catch up with demand soon.
“This canned cat food shortage is not just affecting us, but everybody, so any donation of wet food is much appreciated,” she says.

Arden Moore, founder of FourLeggedLife.com, is an animal behavior consultant, author, professional speaker and master certified pet first-aid instructor. She hosts Oh Behave! weekly on PetLifeRadio.com. Learn more by visiting www.ardenmoore.com.


How to Help
All three of these are designated 501(c)3 nonprofits and accept donations of food, money and volunteer time:

Adopt a Cat Foundation: http://adoptacatfoundation.org, 561-848-4911. Its shelter is at 3110 45th Street, Suite E in West Palm Beach and its thrift shop is at 889 Donald Ross Road in Juno Beach.
Florida’s Forgotten Felines: https://floridasforgottenfelines.org, 561-252-2545. Founder Susan Carmichael prefers phone calls over email.
Truly All Cats Trapping and Rescue: https://trulyallcats.org, 561-801-8228, rescueme@trulyallcats.org.

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