So you have decided to add another furry friend to your family – congratulations! The first few days with your new cat can be a little stressful, but it is always worth it in the end. There are steps you can take to make those first few days easier on you and your new adopted cat – the better prepared you are, the smoother the transition will be.  This post will guide you through how to prepare your home for your new adopted cat, so that you are ready when the time comes to bring them home. Continue reading

Vicky is currently MS SPAN's most active volunteer- she works at our Big Thrift store and the Big Fix Clinic weekly.  We sat down with Vicky for a Q and A to learn more about her and the making of a rock star volunteer. Continue reading

What pet owner hasn’t imagined what their dog or cat was doing while they were away at work?What were they thinking about? Were they thinking of us? This question has inspired a greatdeal of storytelling and even scientific research. Recently, an animated film pondered thisquestion and new results from fMRI studies, previously thought impossible to do on living dogs,opened up extraordinary insights into our dog’s inner lives. And while scientists have not yetfigured out how to get cats scanned by MRIs, new research into their thoughts and feelingsreveals significant recognition of and attachment to their human companions as well.   Continue reading

Adding another pet into your home can be a lot of fun, but the way you introduce your new addition to other animals at home is important to their success in becoming a part of the family. Like people, pets can become shy or aggressive when a new animal is treading on their territory. So, while things may start off awkward, following these steps may help ease the tension and introduce your new pet to a loving home. Continue reading

Our organization has fixed more than 80,000 dogs and cats to date--50,000 of those surgeries have been completed at our Big Fix Clinic. We are proud to share that our clinic has helped the Mississippi Animal Rescue League (MARL) achieve a 40% reduction in the number of animals that enter their shelter every year! As the largest shelter in the state, that is a huge advance in our mission to reduce the number of unwanted pets and euthanasia in our Mississippi.Although our current facility has served us well up to this point, the consistent demand placed upon us by the community is well beyond our physical capacity. We maintain a one-month surgery wait list that continues to grow every day. Unfortunately, that means that many of the animals have already had puppies and kittens by the time we are able to sterilize them. We must increase our surgical capacity if we truly want to end the overpopulation crisis in our area. Continue reading

Absolutely! How else do you expect your kitty to stay healthy? One might argue that diet is the best way to keep a cat healthy. But it should not be the only way. Even with proper diet but without physical exercise, cats may be at risk to develop several illnesses. Any cat owner or anyone who has been with cats for too long knows that there is one thing that they love the most and they are good at – sleep! They need to offset the time they spent lounging around with physical exertion to stay healthy. Here are several reasons why cats need to exercise. Continue reading

While anyone who's been around cats knows how much fun and joy they can bring to our lives, more and more research now indicates they also make us much more healthy than we ever thought possible. With scientists working everyday to make one discovery after another, cat owners can now use science to prove what they knew all along - that their furry feline friends can help them feel better physically, emotionally, and even spiritually.   Continue reading

        Thanks to a commercial loan from our friends at Community Bank, we will be closing on a new facility in Richland at the end of this month and will begin renovations in January as funding allows. This new location will allow us to perform twice as many spay/neuter surgeries- more than 10,000 each year! If you would like to learn more about our campaign, please click here. If you are interested in a tour of our new space, please let me know!  We are so thankful for your support and partnership as we continue our journey to end the homelessness and euthanasia of dogs and cats in our community.