Spotted Cat Designs

When I went to the Animal Rescue Site to do my daily “click to donate”, and check the sales I noticed AnimalWork.org. I’ve written about the Animal Rescue site in Good Places to Shop While Helping Others, Too.

I already have a great (most of the time) job working with animals and helping people take the best care of their pets as possible. But for others who are job hunting — AnimalWork.org lists job openings for positions in the U.S. at zoos, grooming establishments, veterinary practices, retail, pet training, pet caretakers, service related organizations, and welfare and protection (i.e. what most of us would call shelters and animal control).

Know anyone who doesn’t like to save money? On CentralPets.com the alphabetical listing of companies with current coupons, discounts, free with purchase, etc. offers is quite extensive. URL links to the seller’s site are included. The only catch is, you have to know which companies you want to check up on, or else scroll through the long list. Clicking on the box labeled “Pet Categories” doesn’t help — it just distracts by redirecting you to other parts of the site.

When we are paying almost $30.00 for insulin hypodermics and about $90.00 for a bottle of Lantus/Glargine insulin for Panther, I thought it best to comparison shop. So after searching for over an hour I realized that no on-line places sold Lantus, but lots of places sold the syringe sets. Strangely enough, our local Safeway pharmacy had the best prices! And no shipping fees!

While wading through the possible places to buy from I found VetAmerica
We bought a few none prescription items. Found some things I did not know existed for cats. Accurate descriptions, great service and reasonable prices. Check it out!

Found this not long ago — an online “gallery” with brief commentary about cats in art from antiquity to the present. I didn’t realize Rembrandt sketched cats. One image shows the more horrific side of human treatment of cats, other incorporate undressed humans, so parental guidance is suggested!

http://www.delmars.com/kitcats/catsart.htm

We have two Bengal cats, Charger and Aurum. All of our cats have distinctive voices, yet we have noticed that our Bengals tend to “sing” more often and with a wider range of notes.

Bengals were bred in part from the Asian Leopard Cat (ALC). So I was amazed to find this
1.4 Mb QuickTime movie of an ALC sounding off. Here’s the link from The International Bengal Society:

http://www.bengalcat.com/aboutbengals/animatedalc.aspx

Funny thing is, neither of our Bengals respond much to hearing this recording, but our mixed breed cats do look up and around to see who is making that noise.

At about 5 A.M. Panther started softly crooning. It was pre-dawn, and the moon had set. Panther, like some of our other cats sings in the morning, and all of them are indoors only — unless we take them out on harness and leash. (see walking your cat) This particular time, I heard him sing about some of his favorite outdoor activities.

After the Moon
The sky slowly darkens
Grass smells fresh

Good to Roll in
Pleasant to eat
Fresh grass and warm soil
Glorious!

Last year our beloved first cat, Panther developed diabetes. So we learned about injecting insulin and glucose curves. Last fall, he vomited violently 3 times, and we rushed him to the pet emergency clinic on a Saturday night. We learned about pancreatitus (again) and giving subcutaneous fluids.

Panther has had several more episodes of pancreatitus. So we keep an I/V unit with a pouch of Ringers Lactate ready in the closet. We already had one cat chew through the tubing, so the closed closet is safest. When his fur looks bad and I tent his scruff which doesn’t go down quickly — with Steven’s help I give him subQ fluids from 50 to 150ccs at a time. Sometimes once a week, sometimes twice a day.

When Panther meows and makes me follow him, then jumps on the “insulin perch” I know to give him his 1/4 unit of Lantus/Glargine. But only after he eats!

We learned that Panther has a “sensitive” pancreas. That’s the organ that produces insulin and various digestive enzymes. So he eats prescription Hills Science Diet I/D and canned Purina Proplan salmon/fish or turkey and giblets. The canned food is amongst those recommended for diabetic cats.

During this time Panther has willfully downgraded himself socially from top male cat to the bottom of the social scale. So no more energy expended in boxing matches with Charger.

Panther is wise enough to direct us in what he needs and when. And we have become wise enough to listen. That is why he is still alive and experiencing a decent quality of life.

Last night our two year old cat, Nightstar — yes she is black all over — began to sing softly. At about 4 A.M. These words popped into my head, and luckily I was able to remember them:

Light increases slowly
Grows longer each day
My fur will be warmed

This reminds me of when Glory (our first Bengal — who died a bit over 2 years ago) used to sing on many mornings just before dawn.

I am glad we have another poetic cat. Yawn!

Not for the squeamish, this video was taken of a somewhat difficult birthing process. From the You Tube description:

“One of the common excuses for allowing a pet cat to give birth is “I want my children to experience the miracle of birth.” This woman has done exactly that, and videotaped the occasion for the world to see. In all fairness, she may be a foster to this cat, or it could have shown up at her door, as pregnant strays often do.

If you want your own children to witness the miracle of birth, please get your female cat spayed, and have your children watch this video instead. It would be best to preview it first, though. I found myself holding my breath for fear the last kitten wasn’t going to make it.“

Much of these two lists I adapted from several adoption center and humane society web sites.

The Low Cost Spay and Neuter web site allows you to search their database for places in the US, Canada and Europe that provide this important service.

Ten important reasons you ought not to breed your cat (or dog)

1. This is not a good way to teach your children about life. If you want them to see live births, try fish such as guppies, mollies or platys. Cat births usually occur at night and in secluded places and the mother will be hostile to intruders (this means YOU!) If you still want them to see mammalian birth, the video above, or others sponsored by National Geographic or Animal Planet should suffice.
2. Females in estrus (heat) are noisy, irritable and her cries and pheromone scent will attract males from all over to your home, where they will give chorus and may even fight. We got Glory shortly after she had been neutered. Upon arrival in our home, she began to sing her songs and soon after we had the local feral toms crooning noisily outside our home at all hours. When we bought her great granddaughter (a newly retired queen), Aurum, she went into heat before we could get her spayed and the tension around here from all our neutered males was amazing and annoying, too. One neutered male cat even started spraying urine which he had never done before!
3. Pregnancy is much like that for humans: balanced diet, vitamins, mood swings, potential dangers, expenses and all.
4. Not all females make good mothers. Ask any cat shelter volunteer.
5. You will be bottle feeding every two hours 24/7, and massaging their stomachs and wiping their rear ends to make them urinate and defaecate after every feeding for weeks if the mom rejects them — just like a human baby, they will be totally helpless and dependent on you.
6. You will be potty training them, too.
7. Unneutered males are more likely to spray urine around your home.
8. Cats (and dogs) are more likely to develop a host of medical conditions if they are not spayed or neutered– see #3 and #4 below.
9. Keeping a cat intact will not make him or her more kitten-like. So you don’t need kittens to have playful cats. I have seen incredibly playful 14 year old cats!
10. You may not be able to find good homes for the kittens or puppies — that is why so many get dropped off in boxes at shelters and pet stores, or abandoned in empty lots, or chained to a post in the rain, or thrown in bag and tossed off a walkway bridge, or a hundred other worse stories I could tell you.

Six excellent reasons why you should spay or neuter your cat (or dog)

1. It’s a lot cheaper than pregnancy and the 4 months of care after birth — there are many low cost clinics offered by shelters, vets and adoption groups We paid only $60 for Agile to be neutered, and this also included 3 nights at the shelter, his first vaccinations, rabies shot and deworming.
2. Spaying or neutering will teach your children that each life is precious — a very important lesson in this day and age.
3. Spaying before a female’s first heat (estrus) will prevent uterine or ovarian cancer and greatly reduce the possibility of breast cancer. She doesn’t need an estrus cycle to become full grown either!
4. Neutered males will not develop testicular cancer and the chances of prostate disease is decreased.
5. Fat cats happen because of too much food and not enough exercise, not from being neutered or spayed.
6. Spaying or neutering will make your cat (or dog) less likely to run away or get into fights with other cats that require trips to your vet for stitches and antibiotics.

Since my last post about going somewhere with your cat, I’ve found another good information site. PetTravel.com has US and International travel information by plane, train, car, and ship. Every factor that you have to research before taking a pet traveling is touched on at this site, including quarantine rules, immigration rules and forms, pet carriers, and health issues. They also have a store from which you can buy not only carriers, but EU-required microchips, pet immigration forms and other necessities.