Spotted Cat Designs » helping pets

Household Hazards and Your Feline Friends

Susan Fiedler — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:54:00 +0000

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.

Year Round Gift Donations that Help Cats and Make Humans Feel Good, Too

Susan Fiedler — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 14:41:00 +0000

Not sure what to get? You need a gift for “someone who has everything”? Your friend said no gift this year? How about donating in their honor to one of these worthy causes.

Petfinder.com you can donate in Honor of or in Memory of someone (human or feline), or sponsor an unadopted pet waiting for a home. They also accept donations for their Disaster Relief Fund and the Animal Shelter Fund (Purina is the corporate co-sponsor).

Purebred Cat Breed Rescue not all abandoned cats are mixed breeds.

Operation Nobel Foster every time reservists and others in the armed forces are called upon to serve overseas, the drop off rate at shelters sky rockets. This group was formed to help prevent such heart wrenching events. Volunteers foster the cats of military personnel so that when they come home, their cats are waiting for them. No matter what your political leanings may be, please consider helping this worthy cause.

Consider your Local Shelter or volunteer adoption groups. Not sure how to find them? See my blog entry on how to find them in your area. They can always use: money, cat food, litter, beds, blankets, paper towels, coupons to pet stores, pet food coupons. Call and ask what they need. then make a donation in someone’s honor. A gift that serves more than one!

Holidays Coming? Gifts For Cat Lovers!

Susan Fiedler — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 17:39:00 +0000

Places to shop for for Cat Lovers:

Drs Foster and Smith all manner of fun and useful gifts.

Felinerina has kitsch black cat oriented gifts.

Moggies: Home of the Online Cat Guide in the U.K. for those who don’t know, Moggies is a term that means mixed breed cat. Notepads, calendars, cards, jewelry, soft toys and more.

When I went to Pricegrabber.com I typed in “Cat Lovers” and found over 70 books, and some other things. I go there to find the lowest prices on various items, especially expensive ones. Searching under “cats” gave me over 8000 results Cat furniture, Feline Pharmaceuticals, gifts etc. Keep in mind that not all of products suppliers are listed by them.

Teezz sells beautifully embroidered cats images on shirts, caps, bags, etc. (U.K.)

Gifts that Keep on Giving — For buying human gifts that help cats:

The Animal Rescue Site has lots of clothing, jewelry, household goods many cat themed. Supports many shelters in the U.S. Great service, I have bought lots of gifts and things for myself from here.

Best Friends Gifts of Life and Love you can sponsor a cat, make a donation, or buy a gift membership in this animal rescue group.

Endangered Species Chocolate supports wild cats through donations

The Mountain Lion Foundation supports intelligent conservation and public education for those of us who live in mountain lion territory.

Purina’s Pet Hug Fund when you order a plush cat or dog toy, Purina donates $1.00 to the Pet Hug Fund which gives money to many animal therapy organizations. These groups help people (and pets) by bringing them together for the emotional and physical therapy they provide.

Teaching Aids: Spread the word about Humane and Compassionate Treatment of Pets

Susan Fiedler — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 13:38:00 +0000

The Guardian Campaign addresses topics including how to start a humane education program in your community (i.e. a grassroots effort to raise public awareness, a club, etc.) Towards this end they offer free downloads of lesson plans and materials for educators, homeschoolers, and others who want to teach anyone from grades 2 through college age and beyond.

Their philosophy:

“I promise to:

Make a lifetime commitment to my animal companion
Adopt animals only through responsible rescues and ethical breeders
Spay or neuter my animal companion for their health and to prevent overpopulation
Provide nutritious food, fresh water and daily exercise for my animal companion
Care for the emotional needs of my animal companion
Understand and work through my animal companion’s behavioral issues
Treat my animal companion with compassion and gentleness
Report suspected animal abuse or neglect
Call myself and others “guardians” rather than “owner”
Encourage others to embrace guardianship

The Guardian Campaign

The Guardian Campaign promotes the usage of the term guardian instead of owner when referring to our animal companions. More than an exercise in semantics, this shift promotes a more compassionate relationship between person and animal. Although the term does not change any legal standing, guardian connotes the responsibility we have for the care, welfare, treatment, and quality of life of an animal in our charge.”

Some of their first suggestions:

“Know your community. Each community has different animal-related problems. Talk to community leaders to get a grasp of issues and priorities and possibilities. Meet with members of the Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club, the Junior League, and other influential organizations to set goals and plan programs that have their support.

Assess your resources. Determine the cost of offering a humane education program. Consider time, transportation, and materials, among other expenses. Will you depend on volunteers, paid staff, or both? Can you secure donated materials? How will you publicize the program? How much time will be involved in selling the program to your audience? The answers to these questions will help you fashion a program that’s achievable within your budget.

Determine your audience. Humane educators bring their message to everyone from pre-schoolers to retirees in continuing education classes. You need to decide whom you want to reach and how often. Knowing your audience will help focus your outreach and maximize your resources.”

Feline Veterinary Practioners

Susan Fiedler — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 18:46:00 +0000

The web site of the American Association of Feline Practitioners is primarily for veterinarians. If you use their “find a practitioner” it will only show you member veterinarians, not all veterinarians that care for cats.

If you go to their Practice Guidelines page, you will find a few really large .pdf files detailing their suggestions to all veterinarians on many subjects including feline pain management, zoonoses and assisting aging cats. This group and the European Society of Feline Medicine which is linked with the Feline Advisory Bureau(UK), publish the bimonthly Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. While a large part of the site focuses on technical matters, the Feline Advisory Bureau web site also has practical information about catteries, boarding facilities, and useful information for those who are owned by their cats.

Morris the Cat, 9Lives Icon and Spokescat

Susan Fiedler — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 19:45:00 +0000

We have seen the commercials and ads for years…but did you know Del Monte 9Lives company was helping abandoned cats, too?

From their Business Wire Press Release:

Celebrate the 500,000 Adoptions Milestone for Morris’ Million Cat Rescue campaign

A shocking 3 out of every 4 cats that enter shelters do not leave alive. The reality is that 5.5 million cats are euthanized each year, representing 71% of all cats that enter animal shelters. Many don’t know that there are tremendous advantages for the entire family in owning a pet — for adults, pet ownership can decrease the risk of having a heart attack by up to 6%. Pet ownership can teach children about responsibility, compassion and loyalty — in addition, positive self-esteem is enhanced in children with pets. And pet ownership has been shown anecdotally to help children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to focus and concentrate.

About Morristhe Cat

In 1968, a street-wise orange tabby from a Hinsdale, Illinois shelter was languishing for a loving home after being abandoned by his owner when the shelter staff noticed something special about the cat – a certain star quality. They quickly contacted Bob Martwick, a professional animal handler who quickly adopted him on the spot, and — 20 minutes from death — Morris the Cat got a second chance. Recognizing his charisma, 9Lives cat food quickly signed him up, and the entire nation took notice of this new star of their television commercials.“

“Morris’ Million Cat Rescue mobile adoption bus will visit Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade between Santa Monica Boulevard and Arizona Street from 12:00 p.m. – 5 p.m. PDT to mark the momentous occasion and to promote pet adoption. The 500,000^th cat will be officially adopted by Audrina Patridge of MTV’s “The Hills,” who will also participate in an exclusive check-donation ceremony. A grand total of $10,000 will be donated in her name to a local area shelter, Feline and Friends, to help them continue in their mission of finding loving homes for homeless cats.

According to Thomas, the Morris’ Million Cat Rescue tour will be making additional stops this year in San Francisco (9/27), Sacramento (10/03), Portland (10/11), Seattle (10/18), and Denver (10/27) before going on winter hiatus. For more information about Morris’ Million Cat Rescue Campaign, bus or van stops, visit www.9Lives.com.”

Free Cat Health Brochures and Information

Susan Fiedler — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 12:06:00 +0000

I can cruise the net with the best of them Anecdotal stories are often interesting. However, when it comes to caring for our precious family members — that includes my sons as well as our cats I prefer to get my medical advice and information from those whose jobs involve staying at the forefront of medical knowledge.

Cornell University Veterinary School’s Feline Health Center has quite a few free online brochures related to various health and behavioral concerns. You can read them as an article or download as a .pdf file. Where appropriate they cross reference their own videos. From the link above, you can also access a glossary of feline medical terms, articles from their newsletter CatWatch.

At this writing there are 8 articles about general health issues ranging from what to do if your cat is “going outside the box” to dealing with aggression. There are four brochures about feline infectious diseases including zoonotic (transferable to humans) disease. And there are six about specific feline health diseases.

The American Veterinary Medical Association has lots of feline health brochures in English and Spanish; printable .pdf files and online readable files. Veterinary clinics can order mix and match packages of 50 brochures to give to clients. They also have a huge number of .pdf files concerned with disaster preparedness, mostly for veterinary practices and state organizations, however there are a few that are of use to pet owners such as Saving the Family (including pets!).

Go and see for yourself!

Help fund veterinary clinical studies — NOT using experimental animals)

Susan Fiedler — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 09:45:00 +0000

Petsavers is a charity that funds vital veterinary studies into the diagnosis and treatment of sick pets. It is a division of The British Small Animal Veterinary Assoc.

“Petsavers is dedicated to improving the health of the nation’s pets. We do this by funding clinical studies and clinical training programmes. * Petsavers clinical studies give us a better understanding of pets’ illnesses. This leads to improved diagnosis and treatment so that pets can have longer and healthier lives. * Petsavers training programmes develop the skills of vets so that they can apply the results of the clinical studies and their expertise to pets as soon as possible. These vets are referred to as Petsavers Scholars. No experimental animals are used in Petsavers studies. In the last 30 years Petsavers has given over £1.7 million towards these goals. Over this time the need for this funding has become even greater as other sources have dried up. We rely on the support of veterinarians, nurses and pet owners.“

Please help research groups such as this. It may save your cat’s life one day. Thank you.

And They Say Cats Can’t be Trained :-)

Susan Fiedler — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:58:00 +0000

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