Category: Cats

We love cats, and we have lot of useful and fun stuff.

05/03/2013

Help, My Kitty Destroying the Furnitures

Cats are funny, curious and playful. But every cat owner had the “pleasure” of catching his cat scratching his nice and sometimes expensive furniture and carpets. In fact, the main reason for not adopting or surrounding cats back to shelters is just that.

The declawing debate

Declawing, is not allowed anymore in many states and countries. The reason against are that it is cruel and inhuman. That starching and scratching (usually done together) is enjoyable to cats and declawing eliminates this instinct. To my humble opinion it is totally not true. We declawed my 20 years old cat when she was a tiny kitty. She never stopped starching and scratching as if she had her claws. The recovery took only two days. BUT, she could never go out. Declawed cats can not be safe outside, can not climb a tree if they are afraid, and can not fend if needed. Maybe I don’t know all the facts to object this surgery. If we need a law against pet cruelty I would suggest not allowing to cut the vocal cord to dogs who participate in contests, or removing tails and cutting ears because it looks nicer.

Why do cats scratch
Scratching is an instinctive need. It sharpen the nails. It feels good. It loosen the muscles as they starch while scratching.

Stop kitty from scratching

Impossible!!! As i mentioned above, it is natural and normal behavior for cats to scratch. But you can teach her to use alternative objects for her pleasure.

First – cut your cats nails regularly to reduce damage from scratching. Be-careful not to cut to deep, you can read on how to clip cats nails here

Second - Provide your cat an alternative he’ll like and so do you. There is a big variety of cheap or more expansive scratching surfaces, with deferent shapes, materials and colors, depends on your space and budget. You may choose the one that blends with the home décor or a cats tree to combine playing, napping and scratching. Usually they are covered with carpet or sisal that are attractive to cats.

Make her love the new scratcher

If she has a favorite place to scratch, cover it (if possible) with double-sided carpet tape or thick plastic and place the new post near that place in the room where she spends most time. The best way to attract her is to rub catnip on the post. Sometime the catnip come with the scratcher or you cab buy the organic catnip separately and use it on toys and her bed too. Cats just LOVE it.

Each time I saw my cats using my carpet, I would bring them to the pod and gently rub their paws against it. It Worked for me!

Have more suggestions, let me know.

05/01/2013

Fighting Flea and Tick Without Chemicals

Fleas and ticks are on my top list of “Why they’ve been created” They blood sucking

and disease transmitting, so why? Well, I don’t know.

Treating tick on your dog (or on your body) is not as treating fleas.

Ticks

There are few tick types but the biggest concern is the deer tick that is responsible for transmitting Lyme disease to people. There are few tick types but the biggest concern is the deer tick that is responsible for transmitting Lyme disease to people.

Removing tick

In order to remove a tick you’ll need fine-tipped tweezers so you can remove it without squeezing and letting the bacteria he carries to leave the tick and enter your pet’s bloodstream. Grab it in his head and pull outward with steady hand (do not twist). Kill it with alcohol!! Wash your hands thoroughly to prevent any possible infection.

Preventing ticks

To keep ticks away from your dog starts with keeping him (your pooch) groomed. Long hair or fur makes it hard to observe them. Brush him everyday while checking especially near the eyes, nose or (inside and outside the ears). But remember that they can be found just about anywhere on your dog’s body.

Fleas

The fleas prefer temperatures of 65-80 degrees and humidity levels of 75-85 percent, But in some areas fleas have a perfect temp. all year round. The female lives few weeks, while on a pet with warm blood, she’ll suck blood few times and lay several hundred eggs on the pet. The eggs, some will fall in the surrounding inside the house (everywhere) and outside the house. When the time arrives they’ll be grown fleas ready to suck blood too.

The flea’s bites cause itching. For sensitive and allergic animal, it can be quite severe and leads to hair-loss, inflammation and skin infections. Dogs who are hypersensitive to the flea’s saliva may have itch all over even from a single flea bite.

Prevention

Flea infestation occurs through contact with other animals or contact with fleas in the outside.

The outside – Since they love dense and tall grass keep it grass short and create a barrier between the lawn and the surrounding vegetation.

The inside – Because the life cycle of the flea and the amount of eggs she leaves behind her, cleaning the house is not enough, only preventing is the answer.

Pets – Keep them groomed and bath. Check daily for fleas. Use flea and tick products as a prevention.

Remember – In order to get good results, if you have more than one pet then you’ll need to treat all your pets at the same Time.

Natural flea and tick care

The flea and tick products on the market approved to be harmful to big number of dogs and cats because the chemicals. The natural remedies have proven to be safe and gentle on the body without the harsh side effects of the strong and toxic chemicals. Usually they contain Garlic, Peppermint Oil and Clove extract, Citrus with other beneficial oils for the coat and skin.

The line of the natural products include today shampoos, spray for the kennel and the outside, and itch relief spray from bites. They are great for any pet and especially for sensitive and allergic pets.

11/16/2012

Thanksgiving Dinner – Not For Your Pet

I am sure you are already thinking about the foods on the Thanksgiving dinner table. I am sure most dogs would love to join the dinner table too, but you have to keep in mind that the human food is bad for the pets. Really bad. In general food and scraps may cause diarrhea, and allergy symptoms. Some pets, when owner replaces their food with new food get the same reaction. It is recommended to give a pet (dog or cat) at first just a pinch, and slowly replacing the old food with the new one. That way the chances are better that he would not have side effects from the food he is not used to.

Sharp bones may get stuck in your pet’s throat or pierce the gastric intestinal or stomach

Fatty food affects – bloody stool, and vomiting

The best way preventing from pets eating the food is keeping them in a separate area. You know how people like to sneak under the table some “good food” for the “poor doogie”. Most likely someone will do that even if you ask not to.
Also, the overflowed garbage can will be left alone, without a dog or cat sniffing and testing the content.

A veterinary pet insurance company found that In 2011, out of the 267,915 claims processed during the holiday months (November through January), 17,421 claims were associated with vomiting and diarrhea resulting from human food.

Any dog or cat owner should always avoid giving these foods as they are toxic to animals, may cause potentially life-threatening cardiac and even death. Chocolate, onion, garlic, fatty foods, such as roasts, gravy, nuts, egg nog. Your garbage contain some or most of these foods.

Have a tasty and a wonderful Thanksgiving.

10/08/2012

Safe And Happy Halloween For Your 4-Legged

Although Halloween is fun for humans, it can be scary and even deadly for your cat and dog. But with few simple steps you’ll keep them healthy and happy this night.

Sweets and chocolate in particular are harmful for pets. Especially dark or baking chocolate is toxic for pets. Keep them in your bucket and not in your pet bowl.

Keep sweets wrappers away.Chewing them and ingesting may choke the furry baby.

Bell ringing and lot of strangers with scary clothing at the entrance can be frightening for dogs and cats. Also, open doors are tempting for a pet to take a long walk around the neighborhood. It’s best to keep them behind a door in another room with ID tag and on leash. You can never know when Fido decides to use his genius to open the door. Don’t forget to leave water and maybe some treats and a toy.

Pay attention the light wires are not with pets’ reach. Chewing it may cause electrical shock and burns.

Going out with your pet in costume…make sure he likes and feels good in it , that it’s not too small, too big, too heavy or burly, and he can breath and move freely. Some dogs don’t like the clothing idea. Do not force them just because you are enjoying it. In general, use a simple costume as possible. You don’t have one yet? Check out our Halloween dog costumes, shirts and accessories

Happy Halloween … BOO

09/16/2012

The Less Adoptable Pets Need You

September 17-23 is dedicated to all “less adoptable” pets on petfinder.com

A survey made by PetFinder shows that these pets stay in a shelter nearly four times longer than all other pets, before they find a forever home. Sometimes more than two years!

What makes them unwelcome?

Color – because of color superstitious or other beliefs, people don’t like the color Black. If you visited the shelter on any day, you may see that the numbers of Black dogs and cats is incomparable to other colors. From my experience Black cats are cute, funny, loving, purring and playing just like any other White or Orange cat. Oh, and Black dogs, well they are loving and loyal and sweet and clever like any Brown dog. Believe me, I know and i miss my Black FIGARO so much.

Age – older and senior pets have very hard time finding a home. According to PetFinder older and senior pets are 24%
I fostered a senior cat 12 years young. After a short time we decided that we are keeping him. He is the most adorable and loving cat. He plays like he is less than One year, he is very relaxed and he is just a sweet furball. In addition for loving and enjoying my cats i feel so good for having the opportunity to give a senior pet a chance to have a loving home.

I adopted both my dogs from the shelter. Libby was 2 years old and Tong 6 years. Libby was on a death list. Tong – they didn’t even check his health. He was so depressed lying in the corner of the cage. In addition there was a list of bad qualities his owner listed as a reason for leaving him in the shelter which NONE is true.

Behavioral needs – pet with hard history – 16%

Breed prejudice – like Pit Bull Terriers – 14%

Fearful or shy pets – most of that pets came from an abusive home or a puppy mill – 13%

Medical needs – blind, deaf, FIV positive – 12%

Pets that need to be the only pet at home – 12%

To learn more about pit bulls, older pets and pets with health issues and to find a “less adoptable” pet to adopt please go the the PetFinder site here

09/01/2012

JetBlue Giving Pets Fly Passes

JetBlue welcoming your furry friend on their flights in cabin. Pets up to 20lbs (with the carrier weight) in a carrier that does not exceed 17″L x 12.5″W x 8.5″H. Your pet must be able to stand up and move around in the carrier with ease. The usual pet fee of $100 each way.The company does not ship live animals as cargo or in the bellies of any aircraft.

If you have to travel during the holidays, you should check the new and limited time JetBlue offer frequent flier program for dogs and cats “All your pet can jet”

The offer is unlimited flights for cats and dogs accompanied by their owners for $299. The offer is for one pet on flights between Sept. 7 to Dec. 31, without paying the JetBlue standard pet fee. Limited passes available and must be purchase until Sept. 5th

You can use the pass on all flights but to Jamaica, St. Lucia and Barbados. Only 4 pets allowed on a flight, so you are not guarantee your pet be on the flight with you.

As with all flights you’ll have to provide proof of vaccinations and vet documentation.

For more information : http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2012/08/30/jetblue-offers-unlimited-flights-for-pets/

http://help.jetblue.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/webisapi.dll?New,Kb=askBlue,case=obj%282032%29

07/25/2012

New Safety and Fun Pet Items You And Your Pet Will Enjoy

The 4-legged boutique is busy looking for new and innovative pet products. Lately we came across some interesting dog items that for our opinion worth check.

1. Keeping lawn healthy without those burned patches.
We have Libbi, a cute female dog who loves the backyard. The problem is that the lawn doesn’t love her back. We have all around burned patches. I was trying all those crazy suggestions i found over the internet like “pour lots of sugar on that are” or clean the area of the dead lawn and just water it for so and so. Well, nothing worked and i did not want to give her those PHP pills.
Now help is here and it’s called the Dog Rocks. Natural rocks found in Australia. All you have to do is place them in your dog’s water bowl with the drinking water, and they will remove nitrates and other unwanted ingredients found naturally in water. The water will be a cleaner, healthier and a happy good looking lawn. Price is reasonable and each pack lasts about two months.

100% Natural Dog Rocks Stop Lawn Burn Patches

2. Giving pills to the dog and he’s asking for more.
I am sure most of pet owner had to struggle, open his mouth and pushing your fingers deep in your dog’s mouth just to give a small pill. How many times he laughed at you and and spit it out??
Now help is here and it’s called Pill Pocket. Small chicken or duck treat that had a pocket in it. All you need to do is push the pill in it and Voila, give it to Fido and he’ll ask for more.

Natural Pocket For Dogs Pill - Chicken or Duck — Natural Pocket For Dogs Pill – Chicken or Duck

3. High-tech goes to pet id tags non- invasive, no monthly fee.
Yes, i know, Microchiping our pets is important and i did it with my dogs in case they’ll decide to go on a vacation without me. BUT, and for me it’s a big but. From statistic done by the ASPCA only very low percents of lost pets find their way to a near shelter or a vet. As far as i know they are the only who have the microchip reader. That is why you must have an ID tag with your info on it. BUT, yes i have another but. Let say your dog ran away, people who don’t know him may be afraid to touch his collar or even come too close, and here is the solution. It’s the QR ID Tag. QR stands for “Quick Response” it’s a unique code you create in a minute, with any information you like to put in and it can be read with any Smartphones using a Barcode reader app that can be downloaded for free. No need to touch the pet, just open the app and scan the QR and all info will pop-up. Available for cats and small dogs and for medium and large dogs.

4. Rain bandana, fun solution for unexpected rain.
This one is genius in its simplicity. The cute rain bandana on dogs neck is converted to a water-resistant raincoat when needed. When the rain ended, just roll it back. That’s it!!

For more innovative pet products see our 4-legged pet boutique

07/12/2012

Statistics On Lost Pets and How To Find Them

The ASPCA published new national study of lost pets. The target where over 1000 pet guardians their that were chosen randomly and contacted by phone. The objective was to find how many pets have been lost, how many ultimately made it home, and how their guardians found them.

The results are quite surprising:

1. Only 15 % had lost a dog or a cat in the past five years

2. 85% of those lost pets were recovered

3. The percentage of dogs and cats lost is almost the same. 14% dogs and 15% cats.

4. Only 74% of lost cats were recovered, while 93 % of lost dogs were recovered.

How were the lost dogs and cats were recovered:

1. 49% of dogs were found in the near area. 15 percent of the dogs were recovered because they were wearing an ID tag or had a micro-chip

2. 59% of cats returned home on their on. 30% found in the neighborhood.

3. Only 6 percent of dog guardians and 2 percent of cat guardians found their lost pets at a shelter

What we can learn from the results:

1. How important it is to have your pet micro-chip, and with my pets i also have an ID tag with the home phone on it. Since most pets do not arrive at the shelter or vet, the micro-chip cannot be read. The new ID tag is available with QR -a code that can be scanned with any scanner reader on any Smartphone (free app is available for all Smartphones). You enter the information you think is important over the internet. It’s a free service and your pet has his own page that can be seen after scanning his tag code. Available in house shape for cats and Small dogs, and in a bone shape for medium to large dogs

2. The earlier you find your pet is missing and you start looking for him, including asking the neighbors and hanging posters, the chances you’ll find him in the neighborhood are bigger.

Lets keep our pets safe at home, but, we never know when they decide to go out to check the world. So add ID tag to the collar. You’ll be happy you did it…..

07/09/2012

Reminder To Pet Owners To Keep Pets Cool And Safe At Summer

With record high hot temperature outside all pet owners need to take extra steps in order to keep our pets safe (and alive). We need to be responsible with our dogs, cats and all other small creatures we have at home. If you see on your way pet trapped in a car or suffer in a backyard say something or notify the animal control.

1. NEVER , never, never leave a pet (or a child) in your car. Five minutes in 85 degrees outside will climb to around 102 degrees in the car. Don’t think that if you parked the car in the shadow it stays cool.

2. NEVER, never leave your dog outside, in the yard, when you go for a long time. Dogs should be in the house when it is so hot outside. If you must leave them out, don’t leave him tied. They need to have a shady area and fresh clean water at all times.

3. At home, adjust the AC and fan to continue working even if you are not at home. Fresh water is a must for cats and dogs all year round, and especially in hot weather.

4. If you have a long or thick hair dog, consider a cooling pad. They are not expensive and they don’t use electricity, but they activated with the pet weight.

5. Most dogs love ice. Put in their water ice cubes and give your dog one as a treat.

6. Groom your dog to prevent excessive hair.

Remember – all we need is just common-sens, treating our pets as we treat our children or our selves.

07/03/2012

How To Clip Kiity Nails

If you’ll ask your cat what is the one thing they most hate, most likely it will be the nail clipping. Some cats don’t like you even touching their claws while others don’t care until you try trimming. You want him to be relaxed as much as possible. I use to play with him have some treats and have some help me while i start clipping. Also, be ready with the tools you need. One is holding the kitty lightly in his back neck area and petting him while the second person starts working on the first paw.

The nail is hidden and you’ll have to hold the paw and (the foot pad and the upper side) push lightly on the bottom of the nail and will appear.

Now, trim the nail tip. Be-careful not to clip too deep not to reach the blood vessels which are in the Pink area – the Quick.
Keep the same way on all 4 paws. Do as many as he lets you. You can continue clipping tomorrow the rest.
If you are not sure how deep to go, it’s better first asking your vet to show or even clip them for a small charge. You can also visit a groomer who’ll do it for you.