Cat Views

With over 63% U.S. households having pets, it’s not surprising that a new trend has recently emerged, pet sitting. I don’t know about you, but I’ve started traveling less since I was adopted by my cat, Doofie. At first, it wasn’t too much trouble because my neighbor and I were “co-owners.” So when she left, I took over and vise-a-versa; a nice arrangement. But she moved away, and as #1 human in Doofie’s life, I took over sole responsibility. Then, I tried paying an acquaintance – a complete disaster! I learned when I got home from a 10-day trip he never came over. My cat broke out of our house in desperation for food and water. Thankfully, she survived albeit a with some weight loss over stress and worry. She’s a good hunter and very adaptable, but it took her three days to stop sleeping with a paw on my shoulder to assure I was handy. Then, I got her a nanny….yes, my cat had a nanny! Her nanny was an elderly friend, much more reliable than the first choice. But that too, had its pitfalls. So today, I just came across a website dedicated to home pet care, certification and all! They refer to their trade as animal guardians – I like that! I live a relatively small town, and was pleasantly surprised to see a company registered with their site. They have handy suggestions for pet owners to locate an ideal sitter. Now, Doofie can stay camped out in her own home, snuggled in her favorite cat bed.

A few years back, I took Doofie to the vet for her annual check-up. Odd, now that I think about it, I don’t have an annual physical, but my cat does! Anyway, the vet said she needed to have her teeth cleaned. I must have laughed because the vet made a point of insisting it was necessary. We returned a couple of weeks later for her dental appointment. The vet-tech indicated that Doofie was going to be “put under” for the procedure. Yikes! Of course that makes sense as I can barely keep her quiet enough to brush her coat. I was asked if wanted to be present during the surgery – absolutely! They warned me about putting her under. Admittedly it was just awful, but I was confident that they knew what they were doing. Sure enough, she had several teeth removed. $150 or so later and a little unsteady, we both survived her ordeal. No high-rise cat perch sitting for Doofie for at least a couple of hours. Here’s a terrific article on the importance of your maintaining your cat’s health through proper feline dental care.

Recently, my cat Doofie began an agonizing afternoon of intense pain. After racing her to the vet for an emergency, I discovered her suffering caused by deteriorating spine near her tail. The vet treated her with a mild pain killer just to calm her down a little (probably me too!!) and sent us home with a box Cosequin for Cats; a powder mixture of Glucosamine, Chondroitin & Manganese. She’s only about 8 so I was surprised with the diagnosis, but believed when I saw her x-rays. She’s been a very active outside/inside kitty so perhaps an injury occurred during one of her excursions. While researching further, I found some very good reviews on Amazon. Since taking it for about a month, I have seen considerable improvement in her quality-of-life, although still a little cautious using her hind legs to reach her top perch. Read the rest of this entry »

She doesn’t ever quit! Just new to our family, Zuli never stops eating. Granted, we believe she had some tough days in her life so perhaps she’s expecting her new life in paradise to end soon so she needs to “stock up.” However, we have watched her blossom from a frail, skinny cat. She has very rapidly expanded into a rather robust chunky female. Now in her defense, she’s a long-hair of some type (who knows??), and healthy hair certainly makes a difference in a girl’s appearance – just ask Cher!

So how much is too much food? We’re feeding her Nutro MAX CAT, a weight-control cat food with natural ingredients. “Helps maintain healthy weight.” I sure hope so, because she’s getting to be quite a tubo. It also contains L-Carnitine which is suppose to burn body fat.  I wonder if that works for people too?! It’s also high-protein, packed with real chicken meal

Here’s Nutro’s recommended weight-reduction & maintenance feeding program:

No, not according to the experts. There’s clumping, scooping, clay, organic and crystals. Premium & cheap. Scented & unscented. Some comes in a box, bag or plastic can. Ah… but there’s the red herring. I love the Fresh Step white plastic 28LBS pail! I absolutely love ‘em and they’re everywhere in my house; closet, garage and outside storage shed. I never throw one of those things away. I use them for cleaning supplies, hauling dirt and sand for the garden. I store stuff in them, oh and yes some still have litter sitting in them. Read the rest of this entry »

OK, I know it’s not one of those fancy Drinkwell pet drinking fountains, but boy is it convenient! No electric cord needed and it’s already color-coordinated with the bathroom, too! The only caveat is that Zuli’s clue when to drink is when we’re headed into the bathroom for our own needs! Not a lot of privacy! She’ll practically run us over if we’re heading towards the door! She’s a real clown, skidding around the corner, leaping onto the bathroom counter and bellying up to the faucet, front paws positioned in the sink. They say cat’s don’t like water…. Wrong! Look at her left paw, already soaked and more to follow all over her muzzle as she licks-in as much water as we allow. Now, if we could just figure out an automatic feeder.

When Zuli joined our family last month she wasn’t in the best of health. Rescued from a park in Tucson, pregnant, injured, very thin and skittish, her appearance spoke volumes about just how difficult her life had been recently. Poor, pitiful little thing!

Worrying about her health condition, we immediately made a special trip to our local feed store. No, not a typical well-known pet store, but a “real” pet-supply business. Like hardware stores, there are the big chain stores which have a lot of stuff and usually employees that have no clue what you need. Ace Hardware, which though small is size by comparison, stocks a ton of stuff and very knowledgeable staff. Read the rest of this entry »

No, that’s gum! Double-John, Double-Toilet, Double-Litterbox – nope too long! Regardless, I’m pretty sure I’ve figured out the culprit to our Mystery Pee question. I’m fairly certain it’s likely to be Zuli. This has to be about “territory.” She’s uses her electric litter box most of the time, except about once a day we run into trouble. I’m guessing it’s after Doofie decides to use the box, even though Doofie has one of her own in another area.

Hum… maybe we need to try some Feliway for this situation, too. Until then, I’ve added another litter pan in the problem area; wall-to-wall litter! Hope this works because I’m getting tired of cleaning up cat urine. One good thing has come of this though, I really appreciate the effectiveness of our Fresh Step litter. Without it, the odor is really pungent! Double-Trouble; the perfect description to our conundrum!

The Winn Feline Foundation announced today that the HomeAgain Proactive Pet Recovery Network has pledged to donate $1 toward feline health research for every new cat microchipped and enrolled in HomeAgain during the months of June, July and August 2008. According to the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP), less than 5 percent of lost cats are reunited with their owners once they are taken into a shelter.

“No question, microchipping saves lives, ensuring far more lost cats are reunited with their families,” says Dr. Susan Little, president of the Winn Feline Foundation.

Most cats don’t wear collars, and even for those that do, collars and ID tags may fall off or be removed. Microchipping, plus enrolling in the data base, is the only permanent form of identification.

“HomeAgain knows that, in our database, cats are underrepresented in comparison to the number of lost and found cat reports we receive,”says Steve Shell, vice-president and general manager ofHomeAgain. “Twenty-two percent of pets in the HomeAgain database are cats, but we actually keep more cats than dogs as companion pets in the US. Cats are not as well identified as dogs, with collars and tags, or with microchips and registration, putting them at great risk of never getting reunited with their owners if ever lost. It is our mission at HomeAgain to save pet’s lives. That’s why we are pleased to partner with Winn to help spread the word about the importance of permanent identification for all cats while supporting important veterinary research to enhance the health and longevity of our feline friends.”

Little adds, “When cats become separated from their people in an emergency, such as a tornado, hurricane, wildfires or flood – a microchip may be your only chance of getting your cat back. I also believe that people with indoor-only cats think their cats will never get out. Unfortunately, that’s just not true.” Click here to read more.

Here’s a wonderful touching story about an abandonded cat, Dewey Readmore Books:

“Dewey Readmore Books was the resident cat at Spencer Public Library. He was put in the book return one cold January night in 1988. When the staff found him the next morning, they decided to adopt him. After the library’s board of trustees and the city council approved, the kitten was declawed (we don’t recommend declawing), neutered, and given the proper vaccinations. A contest was held to pick a name, and Dewey Readmore Books was officially added to the staff. The staff cared for Dewey and donated their pop cans to feed the kitty. Patrons and friends from as far away as New York have donated money for Dewey’s food.”

DEWEY’S JOB DESCRIPTION

1. Reducing stress for all humans who pay attention to him.
2. Sitting by the front door every morning at 9am to greet the public as they enter the library.
3. Sampling all boxes that enter the library for security problems and comfort level.
4. Attending all meetings in the Round Room as official library ambassador.
5. Providing comic relief for staff and visitors whenever possible.
6. Climbing in book bags and briefcases while patrons are studying or trying to retrieve needed papers underneath him.
7. Generating free national & world-wide publicity for Spencer Library. (This entails sitting still for photographs, smiling for the camera and generally being cute.)
8. Working toward status as world’s most finicky cat by refusing all but the most expensive, delectable foods—and even turning up his nose at those most of the time.