Spotted Cat Designs

I had previously written about some videos that showed cats having asthma attacks. I have found some more useful videos that I thought important to share with you.

These How To Health Videos are from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine Feline Health Center web site. These videos are:

• Caring for your Diabetic Cat
• Giving Your Cat a Pill or Capsule
• Giving Your Cat Liquid Medication
• Trimming Your Cat’s Claws
• Taking Your Cat’s Temperature
• Brushing Your Cat’s Teeth

The trainer in these videos uses the well established technique of using clicker and food to teach kittens specific behaviors. The premise is also used in training dogs, zoo animals and more. Food — the great tamer of them all

From the You Tube description”
“Clicker training is not only enjoyable for cats, but it can be life-saving too. Suppose you had an extreme emergency and needed to get your cat out of the house immediately? A cat that is clicker trained will quickly jump into his carrier. Richard Norton clicker trains his Bengal cats, starting with very young kittens, as shown in this YouTube Video. Richard explains the click as a conditioned stimulus for operant behaviour. “This means that the click alone can elicit some of the same bodily responses and processes that food could elicit. This is achieved by presenting food and the click nearly simultaneously. Our experience is that 3 or 4, 5 minute sessions is more than adequate to fully establish the click as a conditioned stimulus for operant behaviour.“

Video explaining the clicker training process with a young kitten

Video of clicker training process to teach a Bengal cat to press a light switch

I tried out a few clickers at Petsmart (had to go to the dog training aids area), Then I found some healthy treats my cats might get excited about. While we have tried this technique before, I was unsure if my cats would really respond well. Having found these videos I am more determined to make it work this time.

If you have a cat behavior issue, you can visit Marilyn Krieger’s site The Cat Coach. She advises clients about modifying an unwanted behavior through clicker training and other techniques.

Some really good books about training cats from Amazon.com:

Cat Training in 10 Minutes
I just ordered this one. I will let you know how we are doing

Getting Started Clicker Training for Cats

How to Get Your Cat to do What You Want

Recently I acquired a female adult leucistic leopard gecko named Lucy. Her previous owner couldn’t keep her anymore. So I volunteered.

Yin (Yang’s brother) likes to watch our lizards as they eat or walk around their terrariums. So there he is up on the cabinet, watching Lucy. At the same time, Lucy is stalking the tip of Yin’s twitching tail. Hmmm, two predators following their instincts…Luckily for both her tank is locked!

Not in any particular order, these are some of the web sites that have helped us recognize, understand, and cope with a variety of medical situations and conditions. See also my blog entry on feline asthma, and my older article on cats with allergies. I also wrote a more exhaustive article covering online feline medical and health resources.

These are some of the first places we turn to:

The Pet Web Library by the Mar Vista Medical Center of Los Angeles offers a free alphabetical listing of many diseases and disorders with information to help you understand the condition and what can be done about it. It was one of the first places we found when our beloved Glory was diagnosed with pancreatitus.

American Veterinary Medical Assoc. and their Animal Health section for pet owners

NetVet and the Electronic Zoo Created by Dr. Ken Boschert DVM. While not recently updated, still a great place to browse for information

The British Small Animal Veterinary Assoc.

Canadian Veterinary Medical Assoc has Animal Health Care Information and Advice

Whenever I see or hear one of our cats having hairball coughing, I immediately get the Laxatone or Petromalt and give them about 1 inch (2.5 cm) every other day for a week and then weekly. Then I get my family to increase brushing and combing our cats. For more on this subject see Hairball Express or the Fur is Flying.

The problem is that not all coughing means a hairball. Sometimes it can be far more serious. Asthma attacks are an emergency. Asthma can kill. I recommend you watch these videos (links below) so you can recognize the symptoms, and can take appropriate emergency measures. Know where the nearest emergency vet clinic is located. If you think you have seen these symptoms in you cat, talk to your vet ASAP.

As someone who has asthma, I know how scary a sudden onset attack can be. Seeing it in a cat was heartrending. There are medications such as albuterol inhalers, Flovent and steroids to cut inflammation — how familiar I have used them, too… They even have the aerokat pet inhaler designed as a feline friendly device for using MDI’s (metered dose inhalers). This video shows it being used.

Each of the people who took these videos did so in order to educate others.

I found Dave’s Feline Asthma attack video while browsing. That is what got me started on this blog entry. The coughing is not like hairball coughs I have heard. Much more labored and tiring for the poor kitty.

This video gives a medical explanation of symptoms associated with feline asthma.

Another video of a cat with labored breathing. As the person who posted this wrote: “The purpose of this video is to give an example of what labored or abdominal breathing looks like. This video was made in order to show our vet what we were seeing. Needless to say, Stinky [their cat] was brought in to the emergency room after capturing this footage. Note: Normal respiration should be between 20-30 [per minute].“

Cats can also have food or environmental allergies, as we found out when Glory repeatedly started scratching the side of her neck until she was bloody. For a more detailed discussion of what we learned, see my article “When Cats Have Allergies“.

I had an earlier post on some Online Feline Medical and Health Resources to find reliable medical information regarding feline health issues. Looking it over, I think I will add others in a future blog entry when I can.

China and cats go back a long way. Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese cultural world view involving the flow of beneficial and harmful energies through the world, and how it affects all living creatures (that’s us humans, too!).

In the past 20 years, there has been a popularization of Feng Shui methods and philosophy in the West. Lots of books, articles, talk show segments, and of course, a proliferation of information on the web. You can find books telling you how to re-organize your home (room by room), and your business, garden, and landscaping in order to increase the flow of beneficial life force energies (Chi). This is believed to increase your family’s health, prosperity, and other aspects of personal and family life.

This article by Sharon Callahan, while a bit difficult to read due to the background, has some interesting information regarding cats and beneficial energy.

Carole J. Hyder’s article tells why she believes that cats are experienced practitioners of Feng Shui. Another article clearly explains some of her clients’ experiences and life improvements.

If you are interested in reading more about the basics, try this Feng Shui article. There are many, many articles on the Internet, some easier to follow than others.

A few humorous online articles:

Give Us A Home

Cats in Charge

Feng Shui for Cats

And books:

Feng Shui for Cats

Fang Shui: Feng Shui for Felines (Charming Petites)

Feng Shui for Cats: By Cats, For Cats

More on the serious side of practical Feng Shui:

The Western Guide to Feng Shui: Room by Room

Feng Shui for You and Your Cat

The Direct Path: Creating a Personal Journey to the Divine Using the World’s Spiritual Traditions (mixes many western and non-western traditions)

Not specifically cat-oriented, but easy to follow. One of my favorite writers on this subject:

Lillian Too’s Easy-to-Use Feng Shui: 168 Ways to Success

Lillian Too’s 168 Feng Shui Ways to a Calm and Happy Life

There are other books, too, but many regard cats in a negative light — more fools they!!!!

Meow Mix® cat food has come up with a brilliant idea. Even if you don’t buy their cat food. They have started an Acatemy with classes and seminars that have you not only make cats toys, but learn to scratch, sleep, stretch and exercise like your cat! Seminars include talking with veterinarians, act therapists, shelter volunteers and cooking with fresh foods (hopefully for both your cat and you!) Too bad this is only in New York City!!

They promise (and cat promises are kept!) that for every person who visits the Meow Mix Acatemy, Meow Mix® brand will donate one pound of food to less fortunate cats at a local animal shelter.

While browsing the Internet I came across some useful freebies and important safety and emergency information. While some focus on dogs, the basic information is applicable to all pets.

There is no substitute for being prepared for an emergency. A basic first aid kit for humans and pets seems a sensible thing to have. So does making sure that everyone old enough for the responsibility of caring for a pet, knows the basic signs of a medical problem, what to do and who to call. Talk with your vet, your family so you know what to do before something goes terribly wrong.

We have our veterinarian’s phone number in the kitchen and on all our cell phones.

Cornell University’s Feline Health Center “Max’s House” covers detailed instructions on what to do in a given medical emergency, including recommended components for a first aid kit, normal respiration counts, how to restrain a frightened cat, and immediate first aid for breathing difficulties, bleeding, bone or soft tissue injuries and shock.

The same site offers the most detailed list of cat-toxic plants that I have found (by Common Plant Name), including the ASPCA toxic plant list. Cornell also lists the plants by the Latin Genus/Species. This second listing provides poisoning symptoms and treatment.

The ASPCA has a number of useful articles:

Non-Toxic plants

What to do if your pet ate or drank something that may be poisonous

The phone number for Animal Poison Control Center of the for ASPCA is (888) 426-4435. FYI they state “There is a $55 consultation fee for this service“.

Be ready with the following information:
- the species, breed, age, sex, weight and number of animals involved
- the animal’s symptoms
- information regarding the exposure, including the agent (if known), the amount of the agent involved and the time elapsed since the time of exposure.

Have the product container/packaging available for reference.”

Pedigree has a free first aid guide for pet owners. Go to the page and click on “downloadable” by the upper right icon. Their disaster preparedness brochure has very useful tips for evacuting your pets — in part based on lessons learned from the Hurricane Katrina devastation.
Other canine related safety information can be found on their “First Aid and Safety” web page.

Other useful links:

Contents of a Feline first aid kit

Another list for a feline first aid kit If you scroll down, you will also find information on giving your cat pill or liquid medication, some poisonous houseplants, and some basic warning signs of illness.

Cat Channel discusses what to do for burns, broken bones, electric shock and insect stings. Good to know before anything goes wrong.

Last night, Jennifur slept right next to my leg, all stretched out and just high enough that I could put my arm next to her.

I stayed up as long as I could to treasure the feeling and finally fell asleep with a big smile on my face.

This morning Charger seemed out of sorts. He started wrestling with Yang, but Yang thought things were getting too rough, started fighting back in earnest, and finally jumped up and ran away. Next, Charger went over to look out the glass door, joining Jennifur and Yin (who were getting along for once). Suddenly there was a shriek from Yin, who took off like mad with Charger chasing him.

Charger doesn’t normally hurt anyone like that, so we became concerned and Susan said, “What’s the matter with Charger?”

Like I knew. So (not being the cat whisperer in the family) I said, “Why don’t you ask him?”

There was a long silence. Things were quiet…too quiet (insert your favorite similar cliche here). Finally Susan told me what Charger had to say.

It seems that Charger’s mother had “called” to say goodbye. She was sick and her human had decided not to spend the money to have her made well again, so they were euthanizing her. In fact, Charger was saying his last goodbyes to her at that moment, having shown her what his life was like here, surrounded by friendly humans and other cats.

That kind of put a serious damper on the morning, but we’ve taken extra time with Charger to comfort him today.