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Never encourage any play with human hands or feet as the targets! Cats do not understand that they cannot play with fingers and toes like they play with the catnip-filled mouse they just pounced on.
If teeth touch skin, play stops. When playing with another cat, rough play would end immediately with a hiss, a swat and walking away. The cat gets the message loud and clear that rough play ends the fun stuff.
Provide appropriate toys for play like fabric mice, food-dispensing toys, scratching areas, fishing pole-type toys. These kinds of toys, when used correctly can keep a cat busy playing appropriately instead of getting into mischief.
Miranda K. Workman owns Purrfect Paws Animal Behavior Center, LLC in Western New York. |
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The most eco-friendly scratching post is the one already inside your home. Why? If you were to replace it, you’d be adding to the landfill and also using resources for a new one. To extend the life of a scratching post, vacuum it and routinely trim off loose threads.
For a fun afternoon project, re-carpet the post. You’ll help save the environment and save money too. Carpet remnants can be purchased for a few dollars from a carpet store and you’ll only need some basic tools to remove the old carpet. Do a web search for “how to re-carpet a scratching post” to find instructions. If you’re not the handy type, an easy alternative would be to wrap the post with sisal rope.
Holly Tse is the author of Make Your Own Cat Toys. She also writes Green Little Cat, a blog dedicated to eco-friendly ideas for cats and cat lovers. |
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Many cat litters use strong chemicals to control odors. For sensitive kitties, there are greener alternatives. Simply sprinkle a thin layer of baking soda on top of the litter after each cleaning. For finicky cats, lightly mix the baking soda in with the litter. Odors can also be eliminated at the source. GoodBye Odor for Cats is a natural product that works with a cat’s digestive system to reduce litter box odors. Made with plant-based amino acids, this is added to a cat’s food or water once a day. Visit this page to learn more about how it works. Finally, the easiest way to stop the litter box stink is to open the window!
Holly Tse is the author of Make Your Own Cat Toys. She also writes Green Little Cat, a blog dedicated to eco-friendly ideas for cats and cat lovers. |
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Looking for a fun and inexpensive way to entertain your cat? Save a used toilet paper roll to make eco-friendly cat toys. You’ll need some scissors and 60 seconds of time to turn the roll into 12 toys.
Begin by lightly pressing the toilet paper roll flat so that you can easily cut it with the scissors. Cut a ring approximately 1/3 of an inch thick. Continue cutting rings until the roll is finished. To play with your cat, pop the rings back into shape and toss one in the air for your cat to catch. You can also vary the width of the rings to give your cat more variety. Thinner rings are more challenging to catch, while thicker rings have more heft when you toss them.
Holly Tse is the author of Make Your Own Cat Toys. She also writes Green Little Cat, a blog dedicated to eco-friendly ideas for cats and cat lovers. |
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Many people work at home without stopping to think of the jeopardy their space poses to a cat. Any of the small shiny objects on a desk are fair game to a cat and can harm him or her: paper clips, pens, rubber bands and staples. Paper shredders are a hazard people rarely consider – a cat can touch the “on” button and come into contact with the shredder opening. Many people keep a shredder on the “auto-feed” setting, which means it can be activated by anything that brushes near the opening, like a paw or tail. Make sure your shredder is always in the “off” position unless you are actively using it.
Radio show host and pet expert Tracie Hotchner is the author of The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible. Click here to follow her on Twitter and be sure to check out her website. |
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I often see ads for litter boxes designed to look like furniture. The problem with these is that they’re often too small to fit the average cat. Additionally, the enclosed box makes it less comfortable during elimination. The enclosed box can also get smelly since there’s limited air circulation. And, worst of all, if you have to open the back of the cabinet and slide the box out in order to scoop it, there’s a good chance you won’t do it often. The box should be open, convenient for kitty to get to and convenient for you to clean, and it needs to be the right size. If you have a cat, you can’t pretend you don’t have a litter box. It’s an important part of a cat’s life so make it easy to get to.
Pam Johnson-Bennett, CABC, is a certified cat behavior consultant and author of seven best-selling books on cat behavior. Her website is www.catbehaviorassociates.com. |
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You’ve just bought your Fluffy the best bed there is: orthopedic, soft, cushioning, with a self-regulating heating system. She takes one look and lies down on the paper bag it came in.
Cats like change in their resting abodes and many seem to prefer odd, simple solutions to fancy beds. If you’d like to offer your feline some choices, consider these: 1. An open suitcase – just make sure the top is securely up and leave some clothes or a blanket inside it. 2. An old, unwashed sweater – your scent will attract your cat. 3. Pieces of cardboard. This one is baffling but my Mr. Ed loves them! And 4. Strategically-placed winter hats and scarves, which are good for kneading and curling into a ball on top of.
Kelly is a pet writer. She lives in the Boston area with her three pit bulls and one neurotic cat. |
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The traditional clay cat litter is still the best seller at pet stores, but there are many natural alternatives available today that are better for the environment. They’re likely better for you and your cat overall, considering that the dust that comes off clay litter can be a bronchial irritant.
Natural litters are dust-free and there are even natural pellet litters, such as Green Tea Leaves litter, which clump. There are also organically-fragranced litters such as Feline Pine. But you might want to avoid cedar litter as the oils can get on your cat’s feet.
Kelly is a pet writer. She lives in the Boston area with her three pit bulls and one neurotic cat. |
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People often think of a hungry Labrador tipping over the kitchen garbage can to get at the contents, but cats can be just as interested. The things you throw into your kitchen can do not belong in your cat’s mouth, but unless you hide that can away or make it inaccessible, the contents are fair game for a curious cat.
Some of the dangerous enticements are meat and chicken bones or paper and foil with food clinging to it. You might want to take the smellier items to an outside garbage bin. In addition, either keep the kitchen garbage can under the sink with a childproof latch on the door or use a metal can with step-on lid.
Radio show host and pet expert Tracie Hotchner is the author of The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible. Click here to follow her on Twitter and be sure to check out her website. |
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When you introduce a new cat (or new furniture) make sure that you have many appropriate scratching areas in the same room and near your furniture. Also make sure you pick scratching areas and locations that are attractive to your cat. You also want to make sure that you supervise your feline and your furniture.
Start slowly by only allowing access to the room when you can supervise your cat. If you work hard to encourage scratching on what we determined to be the appropriate items in the room, your cat will use them instead of your new sofa! Slowly increase the amount of time your cat spends in the room while slowly decreasing your supervision of them. Eventually your furniture and your feline can safely live together undamaged!
Miranda K. Workman owns Purrfect Paws Animal Behavior Center, LLC in Western New York. |
and doesn’t stop. She starts meowing and then cuts it off xD