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!
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:
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.
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 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
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
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
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!
Ooh.
I walked carefully into the bedroom late last night to avoid waking Susan and there was Charger nestled on her legs, and Nightstar curled up right below my pillow.
So I crawled even more carefully into bed to avoid waking any of them and tucked myself in next to Nightstar.
She soon got up, stretched, and settled down on the outside edge of my pillow. So I put my arm up around her to prevent her falling off the bed.
And we all stayed that way for hours. I know because I lay there smiling in the dark, listening to Nightstar purr until I finally fell asleep.
Two nicely written articles.
News for cats and dogs – Rochester on Aging: Confessions of a Senior Cat
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:
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
Bad Behavior has blocked 186 access attempts in the last 7 days.
