Spotted Cat Designs

Some random useful information:

Perdue Veterinary School lists plants that are toxic to animals, and especially pets. Click on each link for the plant photo, description, symptoms, first aid and more.

See my basic article called How NOT to Poison Your Cat for some general ideas on cat proofing — hint: it is a a lot like toddler-proofing your home — and for the same reasons!

One of our cats was chewing on an electrical cord. Not good. It turns out her gums were bothering her. Nipped in the bud so to speak. More intensive at home dental care was begun.

With the holidays coming:

Keep wrapping paper, ribbon, scissors and tape away from cats. Clean up any bits leftover from wrapping gifts. Your cat may try to eat some of it!

No traditional holiday plants are safe for cats!!!
If you can reach the plant, so can your cat.

If you use a wood or pellet stove as many of our neighbors do, protect your cats from getting burned paws or singed fur.

Some Possibilities:

• Keep your cats out of the room the stove is in
• Don’t use your the stove
• Clicker train your cats to avoid the area
• Buy tall fireplace safe un-tippable three wall barriers to keep your cats at least 2 feet from the stove

None of these is actually foolproof, except not using the stove. Jennifur was taught to avoid the wood stove. Two winters ago, after one of her more exuberant mad dashes around the family room, we smelled singed fur. Haven’t used our wood stove since.

At their annual checkup we found that both Charger and Agile are overweight. We take them in to our vet at the same time, as this saves us one office visit basic fee. When you have as many cats as we do, saving money in this way can be a Good Thing.

We are giving them high protein canned food to replace some of the kibble they eat (similar to what Panther is getting). Charger is a large male Bengal at 19 lb 12 oz. Agile is a broad chested formerly feral feline at 15 lbs. Our goal for the next two years is to get them down to about 18 lbs and 13 lbs respectively. So, much more exercise, combined with having to jump up to platforms for smaller quantities of food is in store for both cats.

For some reason, a lot of our friends like cats, too. So I was recently browsing for gift ideas and thought I would share a few of the more unusual cat-related books I found.

The Sneeze-Free Cat Owner: Allergy Management & Breed Selection for the Allergic Cat Lover

100 Cats Who Changed Civilization: History’s Most Influential Felines

101 Best Businesses for Pet Lovers

Angel Cats: Divine Messengers of Comfort

The Feline Mystique: On the Mysterious Connection Between Women and Cats

For travel by car, RV, motor home or plane in the U.S. with your dog or cat:

Traveling With Your Pet, 9th Edition: The AAA Pet Book

The Pet Travel and Fun Authority of Best-of-State Places to Play, Stay & Have Fun Along the Way: 35,000+ Accommodations, Pet Sitters, Kennels, Dog Parks … Tons-of-Pet Fun & More Guide! 12th Edition

The Portable petswelcome.com: The Complete Guide to Traveling with Your Pet

10-Minute Tech, Volume 3: Over 600 All New Time and Money Saving Ideas from Fellow RVers has a number of handy pet specific tips in their “In Camp” section

For Boaters:
Cruising With Your Four-Footed Friends: The Basics of Travel with Your Cat or Dog

First Aid at Home or on the Road:
Pet First Aid: Cats and Dogs by the American Red Cross

The First Aid Companion for Dogs & Cats (Prevention Pets) Rodale Press

There are numerous advantages to having an automatic feeder

• less anxious or annoyed cats (and dogs)
• regulated portioned feeding can help prevent or reverse obesity (versus free feeding out of a bowl)
• feeding times can be specified with some models
• your cat can be fed without you being there — good for short trips away from home or long days at work

A few disadvantages:

• you have to keep it very clean
• prevent ants or other insects from inhabiting the feeder
• set the times correctly
• with most models it dispenses only enough to be feeding one or two pets
• each model presents varying degrees of difficulty being programmed — some are less intuitive than others

Notable for techies in Korea and Japan: Korean mobile operator SK Telecom has created a way to feed your pet using their cell phone feature. I wonder when someone will bring capability to the US…

Then there is the futuristic looking coffee maker sized automated and programmable Perfect PetFeeder is available in the US — for about $499.00US

Or the gravity fed elevated wheeled food or watering stations by Critter Cooler. For about $95.00US.

Having said all that, here are a few less costly models I have seen that you might want to consider:

Petmate’s Bistro Electronic Portion Control automatic feeder

Synchronic’s Lentek PD06G 6 Day Automatic Feeder

Radio Systems’ Petsafe PF5-11 5-Meal Electronic Pet Feeder

Blitz’ 11899 25lb Automatic Feeder

Plus there are a large number of gravity fed kibble feeders by Petmate that you can find in almost any pet store.

For any of these feeders look at:

• the sturdiness of the construction
• warranty
• ease of cleaning
• ease of emptying and refilling
• food capacity
• will it hold and dispense the type of food your cat likes to eat
• anticipate a trial period for any new feeder
• be sure the construction does not allow an industrious cat from pawing out additional kibble, or breaking the mechanism!
• if you return the feeder, let the seller (and manufacturer!) know what went wrong — the pet food industry is a billion dollar market — the best way to bring about change is to provide consumer feedback!

Go to BeyondFleas.com!

They cover everything you could possible want to know including:

• Identifying if your cat or dog actually has fleas
• How to use each of the over the counter or prescription medications
• How to control and exterminate fleas inside and outside your home — using professionals or as a DIYer
• Life cycle of the flea
• How to treat flea bites
• Natural remedies for controlling fleas
• “Bombing” (fumigating) your home for insects and spiders

So stop scratching — and visit BeyondFleas.com!

I found the No Kill Advocacy Center as I usually find such things, by browsing the Internet. OK, I feel a visit to my soap box coming up….

Their online “tour” of shelters is a chilling reminder of how publicly funded shelters can be deceiving us into thinking they are killing adoptable pets to make room for others. Yes, irresponsible members of the public who do not spay/neuter are part of the problem. But so is the attitude of county officials, jaded shelter workers, and the unwillingness of the many to change the rules for the few.

The challenge as the No Kill Advocacy sees it:

“…From entrenched bureaucrats who are content with the status quo, to uncaring shelter directors hostile to calls for reform; from agencies mired in the failed philosophies of the past to those who have internalized a culture of defeatism—the roadblocks to No Kill are substantial, but not insurmountable. We have a choice. We can fully, completely and without reservation embrace No Kill as our future. Or we can continue to legitimize the two-prong strategy of failure: adopt a few and kill the rest. It is a choice which history has thrown upon us. And a challenge that the No Kill Advocacy Center is ready to take on. The No Kill Advocacy Center is the nation’s first organization dedicated solely to the promotion of a No Kill nation. And it is the only national animal welfare agency that is staffed by people who have actually worked in and created a No Kill community.
The power to change the status quo is in our hands.“
If you want to become proactive in your community they offer numerous free .pdf files detailing every step to take to help change the status quo. They have a free enewsletter and listserv signup. They accept donations and offer a paying membership which includes a magazine.
Just to show you how detailed and well thought out their program is, with the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society, they created a “matrix” of injuries, illnesses and other conditions (like being an adult cat or dog versus a kitten or puppy, or having fleas) for shelters to use in order to determine adoptability of the pet. The ultimate goal being to stop the killing.

They have information for educators, students, shelter advocates, dog owners whose dog faces a “dangerous dog” hearing, grants, and how to start your own no kill shelter.

Go forth, learn and become proactive!

I was in the family room to see what my younger son was watching on TV this Saturday morning. The usual run of commercials showed up. One was pleasantly surprising: a veterinary hospital play set! I remember the LEGO zoo and farm play sets we bought when the boys were younger. Not much else was available, except for stuffed animals of varying quality.

I was intrigued. We like toys that stimulate the imagination and allow for role playing, while teaching our children to think. So I went on a short hunt for other pet-related play sets and toys. These toys can also be used to stimulate family discussions about nurturing, being responsible for a pet’s life, etc. Or just for fun.

Fisher Price has Sonya Lee and Her Pet Salon and Chutes and Ladders with a pet twist: Rescue Hero’s Pet Rescue

FurReal Friends: Jungle Cat (Leopard Cub) or the tamer Calico or Marmalade

Gund My Little Kitty Playset

A few of Hasbro’s Pet Shop play set and add-ons:
Littlest Pet Shop Little Lovin’ Pet Playhouse
Cat & Dog
Persian Cat with Carrier

Even the venerable toy icon Barbie has Barbie Pet Doctor Kit with Cat

Then there are these imagination prompting play sets, too:
Deluxe Complete Little Kitten Care Set for Children

Learning Resources: Pretend and Play Animal Hospital

Parents’ Animal Hospital
Step2′s Village Veterinarian Accessory Set

Our cats are indoors only. We have outside bird feeders and bird baths to stimulate their hunting instinct. The scampering lizards, flying moths and frogs that stick to the glass doors at night also keep our cats happily “chattering”. And there are cat toys everywhere.

For those that let their cats outside there are hazards. Just a few: lethal plants they might eat, pesticides or rat poison applied by neighbors, fights with other cats (during which certain diseases can be transmitted) resulting in injuries, ticks, fleas, wildlife including cat-eating coyotes and mountain lions, vehicles, dogs and evil people.

If you have a secure patio, that they cannot fall or jump from, that might be a safer option.

There are more permanent structures such as a type of bay window box you install in a regular window for your cat to sit in and safely sunbathe while watching the outdoors. Another company came up with a variety of outdoor enclosures that attach to your home allowing your cat access through a cat flap or other device.

Other options that keep your cat in one location include enclosed kitty playgrounds, curved tunnels, straight tunnels, instant set up tunnels, “cabanas“, and even a cage-like playpen for kittens.

If you want to take your cat for a walk you can use one of many cat-safe strollers. Or with time and patience, and a willing cat you can teach Kitty to walk on a harness and leash. This article gives step-by-step instructions. We prefer the nylon figure 8 or H harnesses, as they are easier to configure to a cat’s girth. They are made in several colors to coordinate with your cat’s fur. There are even harness/leash sets with reflective strips woven into the nylon.

While not the easiest to navigate, Pets Welcome.com is a great place to visit. They present detailed information on pet friendly Hotels and Motels in the U.S. and Canada, describing their site as having over 25,000 pet friendly hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, ski resorts, campgrounds, and beaches listed.

Search under Country, then by state or province, then by city. Many hotels/motels charge fees for pets ranging from $10 to $100 (not exactly pet-friendly). Some say dogs only, or that no pet must be left alone, or crated only. Once you find a hotel you like, you can click through for more information. Pets Welcome says they even have negotiated rates with some of these places.

I am amazed at how many hotel/motel chains accept pets these days!

They also list pet sitters and lots of other useful information for those who won’t leave home without their furry friends.

Enjoy exploring…and vacationing!