Hey Jude and Eleanor Rigby!
If you have stubborn friends or family who just don’t get the importance of spay and neuter, here’s something that illustrates it in a fun and easy to grasp way.
We are in favor of anything that can enlighten with humor, creativity, and which does not smack people over the head in a way which puts them off. Enjoy this You Tube video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMzW3LIkNLA
yeah yeah yeah yeah!
A group of students of a Tibetan Buddhist Lama were walking through a forest with their teacher.
They came upon the body of a young man. The students looked the man over, looking for marks, blood, any of the usual indicators to explain why a person might die.
They found nothing. Puzzled they asked their teacher:
“Why did this young man die?â€
The wise Lama said: “Because he was born.â€
May this simple thought and perspective ease your pain.
As we all age bones creak and just don’t move like before. Arthritis makes life difficult for all. One of the reasons our older cats pee or poop outside of the litter box is that the sides are the box are now a bit too high to make climbing in and out easy.
Since this is the time of year when we are roasting turkeys, the grocery stores have lots of aluminum roasting pans for sale. If you look you’ll probably find one the length of your current litter box, but the sides will be lower. Try one! See if your cat likes it. See if its just as easy for you to clean and manage.
We have seen a few litter pans in the stores with lower sides, but they are not long enough for most cats to use comfortably. Try the roasting pan idea - they come in several sizes, you’ll find one that’s right! Its a pretty cheap experiment which could save you oodles of money in the long run, and your sanity. And the cat will be so much happier and in less pain.
Ho Ho Ho, its that time of year again. So many holidays to celebrate including Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule, Winter Solstice, Kwanza, and New Year’s. Did we forget a holiday or festival day? If so, tell us, we don’t want to miss out on anything FUN! This time of year there are oodles of chances for festivities and giving sweet little gifts to those you adore.
But all that paper gift wrap. What a waste of paper. This year Cat Faeries behaviorist dusted off her sewing machine and put her very limited sewing skills to good use by making up lots of re-usable gift bags which are super easy to cut out and sew. She’s using a mix of old sheets, a few old dresses, hubby’s old shirts, and some new fabric (particularly yummy Japanese cotton in bold prints, or organic untreated cotton).
The gift bags are in lots of sizes to accommodate a wide range of gifts. In fact an assortment of bags make a great gift themselves. Here are some bag size ideas for you:
* very small - ideal size for an engagement ring or pretty earrings, or one cat toy,
* rectangular - for a bottle of wine or olive oil,
* square - to hold a book or two,
* medium - to hold an a bunch of cat toys, a few jars of homemade jam, a big jar of homemade bath salts,
* really big - for a hemp bathrobe. This size is probably big enough to use later for grocery shopping,
* super big - for really big gifts like a new computer. This size would be wonderful for future shopping trips when big items are bought or for packing clothes for a weekday getaway.
One of the reasons we like re-usable cloth gift bags is that many of our feline friends are tempted to chew on ribbons and bows. If swallowed they usually get barfed up, but that makes a huge mess for you to clean, and can scare the cat. But if chewed ribbon or bits of a bow do not get thrown up by the cat and starts to be digested serious or life threatening health problems can arise. There’s nothing festive about THAT!
So now we have two reasons to stop using all that paper, tape, and ribbon. You’ll cut down on waste and you’ll keep your cats healthy so that we all can enjoy another holiday season with fewer worries. Be happy knowing we have made one more step to green up our world and not be slaves to creeping consumerism. Ho Ho Ho - indeed!
Here are a handful of sudden behavior changes in multi cat households which could be a signal that one of your cats is in the early stages of a serious illness.
* sudden fighting
* one cat is singled out and picked on
* new alliances are formed, old alliances end
* change in hierarchy
* blood in the litter box (get to the vet - QUICK!)
* eating less or eating much more
* sudden dislike of a once favorite food or treat
* withdrawing from affection
* hiding in closets
* sleeping longer hours, sleeping deeper
Sometimes it seems hard to keep on top of everything we want to be observant of. Its so important to slow down, do less, and spend more time with our furry loved ones. Serious illness can sometimes come from nowhere. But if you think back, there were probably signs, subtle for sure, but there were signs that something was going on.  A shift. A change. Behavior changes which have little to do with personalities but all to do with health should be carefully examined and acted upon with the help of your veterinarian. If need be, consult with a veterinary internist.
In loving memory of Jacques Frost, September 18, 1994 - November 25, 2007.