Kozy Kritters Inn & Doggie Day Care

10/10/2026

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Fall Special! For the rest of October, we are offering $50 spay and neuter appointments for dogs on select dates! This includes vaccines (Bordatella, Rabies, DHPP, Microchip). Drop-off is Wednesday Morning at 8am, and pick-up is Thursday at 8:40am in Asheville. One dog will be selected each week to receive free surgery! To sign-up, complete the form at the link, and check your email to select your date. FORM: https://forms.gle/Q6nETL5ukoqQ8yDv9

10/04/2026

Mercy Fund Animal Rescue,Inc has a booth at Mountain Glory Festival.

Does anyone have any items they'd to donate to sell.

Proceeds go to rescue initiatives.

You can contact me.

10/04/2026

September is baby turtle season. Eggs laid back in June are hatching now, and those tiny turtles crossing your yard aren't lost. They know exactly where they're going.

A hatchling digs out of its nest chamber and walks—sometimes hundreds of yards—toward water or cover. Box turtles, snappers, painted turtles. Mom left months ago and never came back. This first journey is the most important trip of its young life.

Very few make it. Raccoons, skunks, crows, herons, bass, and cars all take their share. Most don't survive the first year, which is why an adult turtle matters so much. It took decades of mostly failed clutches to produce her.

The default is to leave it alone. The only reason to pick one up is if it's genuinely in trouble. If you do, carry it to the far shoulder in the direction it was already headed. Don't turn it around—that just sends it across the road a second time.

And don't relocate it somewhere you think is nicer. This is how well-meaning people k*ll them. A turtle spends its whole life in one small area—box turtles live fifty years or more within a space about the size of a football field. Relocated adults wander, cross roads, and d*e trying to get home. Drop it at the nearest natural cover and walk away. Don't put it in a pond, don't take it home, don't drive it anywhere.

10/04/2026

A nest of baby rabbits in the middle of the lawn with no mother in sight at noon is a nest that's doing fine. If the mower uncovered it, put the grass and fur back over the top, mow around the spot for three weeks, and leave the rest to her 🐇

The mother cottontail nurses her kits once or twice a day, for a few minutes at dawn and dusk, and spends the rest of the day well away from them on purpose. She has no scent to speak of at the nest; they do, and her sitting there would draw the foxes, hawks and cats of the neighborhood. Her absence is the protection. And no, she won't reject them because a person touched them. That story has cost a lot of healthy bunnies a trip to a rehab center they didn't need.

The nest surprises people. Cottontails don't dig burrows. The doe scrapes a shallow bowl a few inches deep, often right out in the open, lines it with dry grass and fur pulled from her own belly, and after each visit caps it with more grass and fur so it looks like a bare patch in the lawn. That's why they turn up under the mower, the dog's nose and the kids' feet.

When you're not sure she's coming back, skip the guessing and run the string test: lay a few twigs or lengths of yarn in a tic-tac-toe over the covered nest in the evening, and look in the morning. Moved, with the cover pulled open and tucked back, means she came in the night. Untouched after a full 24 hours, or kits that are cold, injured, covered in flies, or found beside a dead adult, means it's time to call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator; your state wildlife agency keeps the list. Don't feed them anything in the meantime; cow's milk and pet formula do real harm 📞

Two more things. If there's a dog, an upside-down laundry basket weighted with a brick keeps the nest safe by day; take it off at dusk so she can get in. And a bunny the size of a tennis ball, with open eyes, upright ears and a quick hop, is not lost. At three to four weeks a cottontail is on its own, and that's the plan, not a problem 🌿

Cottontails nest from March into September, sometimes October, so a fresh nest this week is still normal. A quiet corner of the lawn for three weeks is all they ask 🍂

09/27/2026

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kitty. Last seen at 600 Arrowhead Trail week of Sept 20l. Had a blue collar but might not have it anymore. Kitty has been fixed, has an ear tip and is UTD on shots.

He is friendly to a degree. Does not like to be picked up though.

He came to us right before Helene and is oart of our family. We miss him.

Please let us know if you have seen / see him or know what happened to him.

Please reply directly to this post. Thank you.

09/24/2026

NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT - Winter-Preparedness Alert

The first hard freeze gives no warning; it comes suddenly during the night and it is the cats that live outside who suffer the most. Act now while the weather is still mild so that the cats can get used to their winter arrangements before it reaches a life-or-death situation outside.

Begin with straw and start now. After Halloween has ended, the bales which had decorated each porch and every pumpkin patch will vanish and searching for one then becomes like a scavenger hunt. Straw is the appropriate choice since hay looks similar but it absorbs moisture and freezes into a stiff mass, whereas straw sheds water and remains springy enough to retain a cat's body heat.

The shelter itself is almost entirely free. Find a thick-walled styrofoam shipping cooler since pet stores and those at fresh seafood counters use them all the time and then get rid of them, so you should ask nicely or look in their back disposal areas. For the outer layer you'll need black plastic. EPDM pond liner is the best choice if you care about durability and want something that can absorb sunlight, but heavy black contractor bags do a nearly identical job for a small amount of money. Apart from this, you'll also need a few lengths of 2x4 timber or some bricks, along with a few landscaping pavers or heavy bricks for weight, and a roll of duct tape.

Start by placing the boards or bricks flat and level in the area where the shelter will be. It's more important than most people realize to lift the shelter off the ground since the frozen soil removes heat from inside. Then, cut a six-inch doorway into one of the cooler's long sides and position it towards a corner rather than the middle so that the wind can't blow straight through to the bedding. Tape the edge of the opening to prevent the foam from breaking down or scraping the cat as it moves through. Fill the bottom with straw that is loose and fluffy since it's the trapped air that retains the heat. Secure the lid tightly and apply duct tape all the way around the joint to stop any drafts from getting in.

Cover the top and the three sides with your black plastic or liner, leaving the front open. The black color serves two purposes: it keeps the rain out and also absorbs the daytime sun. Place a heavy paver on the roof so as to secure everything in place and prevent the wind from blowing the entire shelter away. Allow the plastic flaps to drape to the ground on both sides and weigh them down with additional bricks or pavers. Whenever possible, position the completed shelter in a place where it is protected from the wind.

If the winters really are severe, then make a plastic flap for the door and cover all four sides with plastic.

There's a link to free DIY sheltered feeding station plans mentioned in the comments. If you build one, the cats outside your door will have a dry and warm place in which to eat and drink during the winter. Please share this post so that someone else can get ahead of the freeze as well. ❄️🐈