The Itch Clinic

08/22/2025

😂 no judgement!

I guess that is why they call it a cat flap hehe!

08/22/2025

Your "Trash" Can Be a Shelter Pet's Treasure!

Before you toss it, think of us! We're always in need of items you might typically discard, and a quick donation can make a world of difference for a shelter pet.

We are currently accepting:
Cardboard tubes (paper towel rolls, etc.)
Shallow cardboard trays (like from cases of cans or water bottles)
Empty pill bottles
Used towels and blankets
Open bags of dog food

These items help us provide comfort, enrichment, and care for the many animals at our center. Thank you for helping us turn everyday items into extraordinary support!

Donations can be taken to either location!

08/22/2025

📢📢🚨🚨New team member alert! 🚨🚨📢📢

Welcome Drew, our new desk goose!

08/22/2025

Maggie came to us for a cytopoint today. Look how regal she looks 💚

08/19/2025

Melissa Timm Designs has outdone themselves with this arrangement! Hydrangea as big as your head! We're in love 💚

08/19/2025

Why Dogs Are Probably Buddhists
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If Buddhism is, at heart, a training in presence, compassion, and non-attachment, dogs may be the best students in the room. Watch a dog on a walk: nose open to the world, ears tuned to now. They are not replaying last week’s slight at the dog park or doom-scrolling the future. Behavioral research backs this up in practical ways—dogs are exquisitely attuned to immediate human cues and emotions, using our gaze, tone, and posture to guide their choices. That present-moment synchrony is the essence of mindfulness.

Compassion? Dogs practice a furry version of loving-kindness. Studies show they read our affect and often move toward distressed humans, offering contact and closeness. In turn, our bodies respond: gentle petting and mutual gaze elevate oxytocin for both species, ease anxious arousal, and help regulate heart rate and blood pressure. People with dogs walk more, go outside more, and report lower loneliness. In plain terms: fewer spirals, more real-world contact, steadier physiology.

Even non-attachment shows up in dog life—not as indifference, but as quick emotional recovery. A dropped ball, a foiled squirrel chase, a rain-soaked plan: shake it off, wag again. Dogs also demonstrate fairness sensitivity and prosocial choices in lab settings, hinting at an ethical core that Buddhism calls right action. And their love of routine—sleep, walk, eat, rest—mirrors the stabilizing cadence of a daily meditation practice.

For humans, living beside a “Buddhist” dog is not just cute philosophy; it’s medicine. The daily rituals—morning leash, sun on skin, the tactile reality of warm fur—pull us off our phones and back into our bodies. Anxiety softens. Blood pressure dips. Sleep improves. Over time, those tiny recalibrations compound into healthier brains and longer lives.

Maybe dogs aren’t chanting sutras. But they model the practice: return to now, meet the world with soft eyes, move with kindness, let the moment go. Sit. Breathe. Wag. Repeat.

08/16/2025

08/16/2025

The Science of Touch: What Happens When You Pet a Dog
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Touching or petting a dog is more than a heartwarming gesture—it activates a profound cascade of psychological, metabolic, and neuroelectric effects that improve human health and wellbeing. Research from neuroscience, psychology, and electrophysiology confirms that this simple interaction is deeply therapeutic.

When a person strokes a dog’s fur, several biological systems shift toward calm. The human brain increases oxytocin production—known as the “bonding hormone”—which lowers cortisol, the primary stress hormone. A 2022 study published in PLOS ONE showed that just 10 minutes of petting a dog can significantly lower salivary cortisol levels in stressed adults. Simultaneously, levels of dopamine and serotonin, neurotransmitters associated with pleasure and mood regulation, also rise.

Electrophysiologically, the act of petting a dog shifts brainwave patterns. EEG studies reveal increased alpha wave activity, associated with relaxed, alert states and reduced anxiety. Touch also calms the autonomic nervous system, reducing heart rate and promoting parasympathetic dominance, a biological state linked to healing, digestion, and restoration.

Metabolically, the calming signal cascades into the body. Blood pressure drops. Breathing slows. Blood glucose stabilizes. Petting a dog engages the vagus nerve, which regulates inflammation and communicates directly with the gut-brain axis. This may help explain why frequent pet contact correlates with reduced rates of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and mood disorders.

In one compelling study from the University of Missouri, participants experienced increased levels of beta-endorphins and prolactin—hormones tied to pain relief and emotional balance—after just a few minutes of dog interaction. The sensory feedback from a warm, responsive living creature grounds the mind in the physical world, anchoring individuals out of ruminative thought spirals and digital disconnection… Read more at https://docitchy.com/blog/the-science-of-touch-what-happens-when-you-pet-a-dog

08/16/2025

Gracie graced us with her regal presence this morning for her recheck. What a beautiful, regal lady!

08/16/2025

Want to support FFF for FREE? Make us your organization of choice when using your Kroger Plus Card! It’s easy!

1. If you haven’t already, create a digital account at https://www.kroger.com/account/create.
2. Chose Feral Feline Friends of East Tennessee from the list of organizations involved in Community Rewards at https://www.kroger.com/account/communityrewards.
3. Earn money for FFF for FREE!

Be sure to sign up today and help us continue our mission of helping the felines of East Tennessee!
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Feral Feline Friends of East Tennessee is a 501(c)3 founded in 2004 to help end the overpopulation of cats in the Knoxville, TN area and surrounding counties through Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR), public education, and empowering the community to care for outside cats. FFF is funded solely from donations, adoption fees, and grants. 100% off those monies goes to helping felines in TN. Adoption fees are $125 for kittens, $100 for cats over a year old, and two felines for $200 which includes spay/neuter, vaccinations, deworming, microchip, and FIV/FeLV testing. Find links to our website, available felines, adoption application, donation sites, wishlists, and social media sites at https://linktr.ee/feralfelinefriends.

08/16/2025

Today is National Check the Chip Day. It is a reminder to check and update your pet’s microchip information. In conjunction with the day Young-Williams has installed a chip scanning station outside of our shelter for public use. We’re excited to share other stations in Knoxville are coming as well!

o If you’re unsure if your pet has a microchip or if the information is current, take your pet to a veterinarian or shelter to have it scanned.
o A microchip is only helpful if your contact information is current.
o 1 in 3 pets goes missing — chipped pets are far more likely to be reunited.
o Visit petmicrochiplookup.org to check your information.

Petco Love Lost
o Register your pet on Petco Love Lost!
o Petco Love Lost is a free and easy way to search for lost and found pets to help them return home.
o Upload a photo of a lost or found pet to petcolovelost.org.
o The system’s facial recognition technology searches a database of lost and found pets

08/15/2025

Its hot out here y'all 🥵