Purrfect Pets

On Friday, I had to take my cat, Milita, to the vet. I decided to take her because she was shaking her head a lot, isolating herself and hiding in the bedroom, she wasn’t interested in playing with her favorite toys or even in eating all of her wet food, and she seemed to get upset when we touched or looked at her right ear.

The vet looked at her ears to make sure nothing was in there, and there wasn’t. She thinks Milita is having an allergic reaction that’s coming out in her ears. She gave us ear drops to put in Milita’s ears, once a day for a week.

Of course, Milita doesn’t like the ear drops. She would rather not have cold ointment going into her ears; she doesn’t understand it’s for her own good.

We’ve given her two doses of the drops and I can already see that she shakes her head less often than she did before. She is also interested in playing with her favorite toys again and she begs for food at dinnertime once more. I’m glad the ear drops seem to be helping her.

Do you celebrate your cat’s birthday? I haven’t always celebrated my cats’ birthdays in the past, but I’m making more of an effort to do so because I believe cat birthdays are as precious as human birthdays. It is, of course, the day when your beloved pet companion was born

Carmine’s birthday is on Thursday. He will be turning four years old. I cannot believe Carmine is almost four years old already! I adopted him when he was only a four-month-old kitten.

For his birthday, I got Carmine a new catnip toy, which I’m sure he’ll love. Of course, I can’t spoil Carmine on his birthday and leave Milita out, so I bought her a little toy, too. I’ll treat the cats to their favorite things on Carmine’s birthday, like that great cat milk I found.

Do you celebrate your cat’s birthday? If so, what do you do for it?

Milita is getting kind of chubby. So, yesterday, when I went to get some more medication for Milita’s herpes eye infection, I asked them if they had any suggestions what I could feed her so she could slim down some. We already give Milita exercise everyday with a laser pointer; she absolutely loves to chase it around.

You might be surprised what they told me to do. They told me to feed her wet food. Apparently, wet food has more protein and less carbohydrates that dry food does. Dry food is often helf together with crabohydrates, which can make your kitty gain weight.

At the store, we looked at dry foods to compare their protein content. Most of the dry foods in the grocery and department stores had 32-36% protein with a lot of carbohydrates and fat content. We did find one, however, that had 40% protein. It was Purina One Weight Control formula. When I got home, I did a little research on the Internet on some of the more expensive cat foods, like California Natural, Innova, and Evo. I was surprised and disappointed to see that Innova and California Natural didn’t have much more protein than the food I’m currently feeding my cats.

However, Evo contains 50% protein and little carbohydrate content. Evo is probably the dry food I’ll switch my cats to as well as feeding them more wet food and less dry food. In combination with the regular exercise, I hope these foods help Milita lose a little weight so that she doesn’t have as high a risk of developing diabetes in the future.

Carmine loves to drink milk. Every time I have a bowl of cereal, he crawls into my lap and tries to knock the bowl out of my hands so he can lap up the milk. Unfortunately, milk really upsets his stomach, as it does for many cats, and he throws up after he drinks it. I’ve always felt bad because I can’t give him milk when he obviously loves it so much.

I was aware of CatSip, cat milk that’s 98% lactose free, but it isn’t sold anywhere I shop.

The other day, I was in Wal-Mart looking at cat treats, and I ran across Whiskas Catmilk. I was excited because I thought Carmine would really like this milk. The catmilk is 98% lactose free and easy to digest.

I came home and gave some to Carmine and Milita. They both love it Milita finished her milk and tried to steal Carmine’s.

Afterwards, Carmine’s stomach wasn’t upset. He can digest this special milk just fine, and it makes me happy to know I can give him something he loves

You can get three juice-sized drink boxes of Whiskas Catmilk at Wal-Mart for $2.99. Each box contains 3-4 servings, and must be kept cold after you open it.

I’m not sure where else it is sold, but I imagine it’s available in other department stores as well.

I really enjoy reading stories about cats saving their owners from dangerous or potentially dangerous situations.

Tommy, an orange tabby, recently alerted his owner, Avrell Naunez, to the fact that a nylon jacket had fallen on the room heater. Naunez said that Tommy probably knocked the jacket onto the heater, but he redeemed himself by alerting her to what he had done.

Earlier that day, Naunez had done some cleaning and had put a nylon jacket and some papers onto a box. In the middle of the night, Tommy climbed into bed with Naunez and began swatting her head and face. Naunez told Tommy to stop several times and turned over to get him to stop swatting her, but he was persistent and continued swatting her until she finally gave up and got out of bed.

It was then that she saw what Tommy was trying to tell her. She found the nylon jacket melting on the heater. While the jacket was severely damaged and had to be thrown away, nothing else was ruined.

Naunez said, “Anything could have happened if he hadn’t woken me up.”

About Tommy

Tommy is approximately one year old Naunez estimates. He was a stray before he found a home with his current owner. Naunez and other seniors living in the senior center were feeding Tommy and several other stray cats when their landlord told them to stop feeding them.

Naunez asked if she could adopt Tommy, and the landlord agreed - with the condition that Tommy get vaccinated. Tommy now has a good home with Naunez. She says, “He found me. He’s a loving cat, very friendly.”

The residents of the senior center where Naunez lives helped her name Tommy.

Source:

Morning Sun: Cat Saves Woman After Jacket Falls Onto Heater

Do cats grieve when a loved one dies? Yes, they do. When our cat, Emma, had to be put down, Carmine and Milita grieved for several months afterward. Emma had to be put down because she was suffering from kidney failure and her quality of life became very ppor. It was tremendously sad.

After Emma’s death, Carmine became lethargic. He slept more often and played less. He walked around and stood in random parts of the house and meowed like crazy (which isn’t typical behavior for Carmine). Likewise, Milita seemed to be grieving as well; she was more lethargic and slept more than usual.

Your cats may grieve in different ways if they ever lose a companion - human or animal. Your cat might vocalize more, sleep more, eat less, be more lethargic, play less, or become very clingy. Your cat may also lose interest in his or her favorite activities. Because some of these behavioral changes ca also mean your kitty is sick, be sure to have him or her examined by a veterinarian before you seek help from a behavioral vet.

There are some things you can do to help your kitty through the grieving process, which may last from a couple of weeks to up to six months in duration. The most important thing you can do for your cat is to love him or her - show your kitty more affection, attention, and love while he or she grieves the loss of a companion.

You can also try engaging your kitty in more play activities with his or her favorite toys. Try hiding toys and treats in your cat’s favorite spots for him or her to discover while you are gone during the day.

Cats grieve in their own way. By giving them love, affection, and attention, you can help your kitty grieve the loss of a companion.

Please tell me what you think in the comments section below.

Source:

Pet Place: Do Cats Mourn the Loss of Another Cat?

I got a betta fish over the weekend, and one of my cats has figured out that it might make a good snack! Thankfully, a friend of mine gave me a great idea for keeping my cats out of the fish tank, and keeping my fish alive and in tact.

If you have fish, I suggest you keep your tank in a place your cats cannot access it, if at all possible. If this is not possible, try putting a book on top of the fish tank while you are gone and when you are asleep sot hat your cats cannot open the fish tank while they are unattended. Cats tend to be very clever about opening things when they want to.

I put a little book on top of my fish tank when I’m gone or asleep, and so far it has worked very nicely. My cats have not knocked the book down nor have they opened the fish tank.

I hope this is a helpful tip if you have both fish and cats.

Please tell me what you think in the comments section below!

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At the moment, half of my move is complete. I still have quite a bit of furniture and boxes to move yet, though.

I finished the first half of my move on Sunday. We brought the kitties over with the last load of the night, and let them out into their new home, in the bedroom. Milita went exploring right away! Carmine, on the other hand, hid between the mattress and wall and shook. He was so scared!!

I didn’t anticipate Carmine to have quite as strong of a reaction as he did. We all sat and talked to Carmine reassuringly and pet him, but it didn’t seem to help. So, we let him be for a while. After I went to bed, Carmine did come visit me in the night once or twice, but he didn’t sleep with me like he normally does.

On Monday, Carmine spent a lot of time under the couch during the day. I felt so bad for him. I was trying to give him extra love and attention, but he just seemed to want to be left alone instead. I went back over to my old apartment to pack some things up, and Carmine came out after I got home.

Carmine’s been exploring more today, though he did spend some time under the couch earlier as well.

He is eating more now at least though and spending less time under the couch as he gets used to the new place. Moves certainly are stressful on cats; I just wasn’t sure *how* stressful it’d be on Carmine because he’s never had to move before (as far as I know, anyway).

So, if you are moving and have a cat, gage his or her reaction to it and give him or her time alone to adjust or more love depending on what he or she seems to be telling you he or she wants.

Please tell me what you think in the comments section below!

The American Society for the Prevention fo Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is enocouraging individuals to write their local representatives to support a bill that would protect both large cats and humans by prohibiting direct contact between the two.

Haley’s Act is named in honor of Haley Hilderbrand, a 17-year-old girl who died in 2005 while she was having her picture taken with a Siberian tiger. The 550-pound tiger had been well-behaved. However, that fateful day, the tiger killed Haley. The tiger was also shot several times was killed as a result.

All facilities that house large cats must be licensed by the USDA, whether the large cat is being held captive in a backyard or zoo or otherwise. However, the USDA has no authority to protect large cats and the public at this time by prohibiting contact between the two at this time.

Haley’s Act would allow the USDA to consider both the large cats’ and public safety as they issues exhibitor licesnses. The Act would also prohibit direct contact between the public and large cats, protecting both the public and large cats.

Additionally, Haley’s Act will increase the civil penalty for violating the Animal Welfare Act from it’s current $2,500 violation fee to a $10,000 violation penalty.

If you are interested in supporting Haley’s Act, please visit the ASPCA and fill out this form. Your letter will be sent to your representative.

Source:

ASPCA: Lobby for Animals: Federal: Urge Your Representative to Protect Big Cats and the Public! Support Haley’s Act

Do your cats scratch your furniture? It probably bus you if they do, right? But scratching is *normal* for cats, and you cannot expect them not to scratch things. However, you *can* train your kitty to scratch things other than your furniture!

First of all, though, I want to explain why cats scratch things so that you can understand why your cats need things to scratch. Here are the reasons cats scratch objects, according to the Sacramento SPCA:

To burn off energy: If your cat is an indoors-only cat, he or she may have excess energy to burn off. Cats use scratching as a way to burn off some of their energy.

I’ve noticed that when Carmine chases Milita and Milita escapes him playfully, he will go over to my couch and start to scratch on it. I have to remind him to use the scratching posts I provide him instead of my couch when he has that much energy to burn off!

To remove the dead outer layer of the claes: Cats also scratch to remove the dead outer layer on their claws. If they didn’t scratch things, their claws would get extremely long, and probably painful.

To stretch their bodies: When cats scratch, they stretch their bodies. Next time, you’re cat is scratching, look at him or her, and you will notice how they elongate their bodies while they scratch. They also flex their feet and paws as they scratch things.

To mark their territory: Cats scratch in order to mark their territory with both a mark and their scent. Their paws carry scent on them, which is transferred to the object they are scratching as they scratch.

Like I said earlier, you cannot expect your cat not to scratch because it is a normal behavior for cats, but you can train your kitty not to ruin your furniture while they scratch. Tomorrow, I will talk about how you can train your kitty to scratch appropriate objects.

Please tell me what you think in the comments section below!

Source:

Sacramento SPCA: Destructive Scratching in Cats