Purrfect Pets

Easter is this Sunday, and as with all holidays, Easter brings its own set of risks and dangers to your cat.

Chocolate: Chocolate is toxic to your cat. Keep all chocolate away from your cat at all times. Put your Easter baskets up high or in another safe place where your cat cannot access it. If you start a piece of chocolate candy, be sure to wrap it up again if you want to save the rest for later.

Symptoms that can occur as a result of chocolate poisoning in cats include: hyperactivity, muscle tremors, coma, restelessness, diarrhea, frequent urination, seizures, vomiting, and death. If you suspect or know your cat has ingested chocolate, call your veterinarian or a local veterinary hospital for assistance.

Easter Grass: Easter grass poses a danger to your cat as well. Cats seem to love to play with plastic Easter grass. If your cat eats Easter grass, it could cause intestinal blockage or other problems. If you see your cat eating Easter grass and it is already halfway down his or her throat, DO NOT try to pull it out. Pulling on the Easter grass could cut the intestines. Instead, call your veterinarian for assistance.

Small Candy: Small candy, such as jellybeans can also be dangerous to your cat. If your cat attempts to swallow small pieces of candy, the candy could get lodged in your cat’s throat causing him or her to choke. Keep all candies up high or in another place your cat cannot easily access.

Lillies: Lillies are flowers that are toxic to cats. Lillies can begin to cause kidney failure 24-72 hours after ingestion. Symptoms of kidney failure may include increased thirst, lethargy, loss of appetite/not eating, increased urination, dehydration, and vomiting. If you like flowers at Easter time, get flowers that are not poisonous to cats.

I hope you and your furry friend enjoy a safe and happy Easter.

Source:

Cat’s Meow: Top 5 Easter Dangers

Pet Sitters International, an educational organization for professional pet sitters, is encouraging dog and cat owners to alert emergency teams that you have a pet at home who needs care in the event that you are in a serious car accident.

The organization has recently unveiled the new vehicle window clings, which are similar to the window stickers you put in your home windows to alert fire fighters that there are pets in the home needing rescued.

The red and white vehicle window clings provide a space for you to put the name and number of an emergency contact who can be reached in case of a serious vehicle accident, so that your pets may receive the care they need at home until you return. The clings are 3 inches square, vinyl, and can be easily removed and reused.

You can get a vehicle window cling by sending $1 and a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Pet Sitters International, 201 E. King St., King, NC, 27021.

Source:

Cat Channel: Car Sticker Lets Cat Parents Plan Ahead

The Veterinary Pet Insurance company, based in California, has recently analyzed more than 400 pet poisoning claims they received last year to identify the most commonly ingested plants and plant products that made pets sick in 2008. At the top of the list were grapes and raisins. Grapes can cause kidney failure in cats who ingest them. Other signs your pet has ingested grapes include diarrhea, lethargy, loss of appetitie, abdominal pain, and vomiting.

The top 10 plants that caused pets to get sick in 2008 were:
1. Grapes and raisins
2. Mushrooms
3. Marajuana
4. Lily
5. Walnuts
6. Onions
7. Sago palm
8. Macadamia nuts
9. Azalea
10. Hydrangea

The Veterinary Pet Insurance also processed poison claims from: dandelions, tea tree oil, oleander, poison ivy, delphinium, crocus bulbs, almonds, scarlet pimpernel, gladiolus, hemlock, brunfelsia, potpouri, hibiscus, rhododendrons, tabacco, nightshade, pointsettia, and kalanchoe.

Dr. Carol McConnell, vice president and chief veterinary medical officer for Veterinary Pet Insurance asserts most pet plant poisonings can be avoided by keeping poisonous plants out of your pet’s environment. For instance, if you see mushrooms growing in your backyard, pick them so that your pet doesn’t eat them.

You can read more about poisonous plants for pets here.

Source:

Cat Channel: Top 10 Poisoning Claims of 2008 Revealed

If there is a fire in your home or apartment building, will the firemen know that you have a cat or two or three? Unfortunately, they won’t know that you have pets unless you have a window decal showing that pets are trapped inside the home. This is especially the case if you are not home when the fire occurs.

You can get a free window decal as part of the ASPCA’s Free Pet Safety Pack. The safety pack also includes a free magnet containing the number for the ASPCA Poison Control Center in case your cat ingests something he or she shouldn’t.

You can get your free safety packet by visiting the ASPCA website here.

Once you get your free window decal, mark the number and type of pets you have and securely fasten it in your front window where firemen can see it if they need to put out a fire in your home or apartment.

The holidays often mean Christmas or other holiday decorations, family gatherings, and gifts. When planning your Christmas activities and decorating your home, please keep your kitty in mind. Here are some useful holiday tips for caring for your cat.

Holiday Decorations: When decorating for the holidays, remember to keep glass figurines and other breakable decorations where your kitty cannot knock them down. Not only will your glass decorations break if your cat knocks them down, your kitty can get seriously injured if he or she steps on broken glass.

Candles: A lot of people like to use candles for holiday decorations. You can place your candles almost anywhere - if they are not lit. However, once you light your candle, ensure it is somewhere kitty will not knock it over. Cats are curious and can be intrigued by flames. Not only is there a chance that your kitty will knock over the candle, but your kitty might also try to reach up and touch or lick the flame, which can obviously result in disaster and injury for your cat.

Holiday Food: A lot of foods meant for humans are poisonous to cats. Some examples include chocolate, grapes, tomatoes, almonds, cherries, and peach pits.

To learn more about which foods are toxic to cats, please visit this post.

Holiday Plants: Mistletoe, poinsettias, and holly are common holiday plants, but they are poisonous to cats, so it is advisable to refrain from decorating your home with these plants.

You can read more about these and other poisonous plants for cats here.

I hope you and your cat/s enjoy your holiday season. I also hope these tips are helpful to you in caring for your cat during this time of year.

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Source:

Cats Site: Cats and Christmas Decorations

When Carmine was a kitten, he loved chewing on electrical cords. This scared me a lot because I know how dangerous chewing on electrical cords can be for cats. If you cat chews on electrical cords, he or she can receive severe electrical burns in and/or around his or her mouth. Additionally, your cat can get electricuted if he or she chews on electrical cords. Fortunately, there are plenty of things you can do to protect your cats against electrical cords.

1. Spray your cords with Bitter Apple. Cats hate the taste of Bitter Apple, so spraying your cords with it will discourage your cat not to eat them anymore. This is ultimately how I got Carmine to stop chewing on cords. He figured out that cords taste bad, so he stopped chewing on them.

You can buy Bitter Apple at pet stores, such as PetSmart and PetCo.

2. Protect your cords with cord covers. You can buy cord covers from office supply stores that will allow you to run several cords through it. Cord covers are little plastic tubes that prevent your kitty from chewing on them.

3. Cover your cords with double-sided tape. Kitties generally do not like the feel of tape, so covering the cords with tape should discourage your kitty from chewing on the cords.

4. Give your kitty another toy to play with. Make sure you have appropriate toys around the house for your cat to play with instead of chewing on the cords.

Electrical cords can be dangerous for cats, but taking these steps should help you break your kitty of the habit of chewing on cords.

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Christmas, like Thanksgiving, brings with it its own hazards to cats. One of these hazards is poisonous plants. Some of the plants listed below are specific to the holidays, while others are commonly found in homes all year long. Please make sure your cat stays away from these plants. If you think your cat has ingested a poisonous plant, please call your veterinarian, local veterinary hospital, or the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center at:
1-900-443-0000 - $45.00 charge per case discussed, which is charged to your monthly phone bill
1-800-426-4435 - $45.00 charge per case discussed, which is billed to your credit card

Pointsettia: If your cat ingests the plant Pointsettia, he or she may experience diarrhea, vomiting, breathing difficulties, and blistering in the mouth.

Mistletoe: Mistletoe is another popular holiday plant. If your cat ingests the berries on mistletoe, he or she may experience breathing difficulties, blistering inside the mouth, diarrhea, and/or vomiting.

Ivy: A cat who ingests Ivy may experience vomiting, excitable behavior, and diarrhea.

Amaryllis: The ingestion of Amaryllis can lead to vomiting and diarrhea.

Creeping Charlie: Creeping Charlie may cause stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps if ingested by your cat.

Philodendron and Caladium: The plants Philodendron and Caladium can cause vomiting, nausea, your cat to shake his or her head, diarrhea, and breathing difficulties.

Easter Lily: Easter Lily can cause liver failure in cats if any part of the plant is ingested.

Cactus: If your cat attempts to or does ingest cactus, the plant can puncture the skin and/or cause infections.

Diaffenbachia: This plant can affect the functioning of the central nervous system in cats.

Azalea: Azelea can lead to a cat becoming uncoordinated, collapsing, or trembling.

Please do not consider this a full list of poisonous plants to cats. Please keep these plants away from your cats this holiday season, and take action if you suspect your cat has ingested a poisonous plant.

Source:

About: Plants Poisonous to Cats

So far, I have been extremely lucky and I have not had to face the challenge of natural or man-made disasters with my cats. However, in the case of emergencies, it is important for all pet owners to be prepared to not only protect themselves, but their furry friends as well.

The National Association of Professional Pet Sitters has created a guide for preparing yourself and your pets for natural or man-made disasters. Best of all, this guide is free for you to download!

The disaster preparedness guide was created by the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ Disaster Prepareeness Committee. Not only does the guide include instructions on how to prepare your pets for tonadoes, thunderstorms, winter storms, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, extreme heat, wildfires, earthquakes, and volcanoes, but it also provides instructions on creating a disaster supply kit and a form for pet identification.

This guide is not only for dog and cat owners, the guide will also help bird, reptile, and other small animal owners.

A few suggestions the guide offers include:

-Keeping your pet’s vaccinations up-to-date
-Creating a disaster preparedness kit including your pet’s pet identification forms, three week supply of food, familiar toys and blankets, and vaccination records
-Reviewing your disaster plan with your family, friends, neighbors, and pet sitter

Much more information can be found in the disaster preparedness guide! Please download your free copy by visiting the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters. You will find the link to download the free guide under the heading, “NAPPS Disaster Preparedness Guide for Pet Owners.”

Please let me know what you think in the comments section below!