Turkey

If you decide to feed your pet a little nibble of turkey, make sure it’s boneless and well-cooked. Don’t offer her raw or undercooked turkey, which may contain salmonella bacteria.

Sage

Sage can make your Thanksgiving stuffing taste delish, but it and many other herbs contain essential oils and resins that can cause gastrointestinal upset and central nervous system depression to pets if eaten in large quantities. Cats are especially sensitive to the effects of certain essential oils.

Bread Dough

Don’t spoil your pet’s holiday by giving him raw bread dough. According to ASPCA experts, when raw bread dough is ingested, an animal’s body heat causes the dough to rise in his stomach. As it expands, the pet may experience vomiting, severe abdominal pain and bloating, which could become a life-threatening emergency, requiring surgery.

Pie Filling and Cake Batter

If you’re baking Thanksgiving pies and cakes, be sure your pets keep their noses out of the batter, especially if it includes raw eggs—they could contain salmonella bacteria that may lead to food poisoning.

Other forbidden foods:

• Macadamia nuts (can cause weakness and tremors)
  
• Raisins and grapes (can cause kidney failure)
  
• Onions and garlic (can cause anemia)
  
• Chocolate (contains caffeine and theobromine, two different types of stimulants that affect the central nervous system and the heart muscle, as well as increasing the frequency of urination)

Of course, the safest route is to avoid feeding Fluffy table scraps entirely. For the ASPCA’s safe Thanksgiving guidelines, go to ASPCA.org.

More Safety Tips

• Make sure that if you truss your turkey, the string is disposed of where your cat can’t find it. Turkey-flavored string is appealing to cats. If ingested, it may need to be removed via surgery.

• Having holiday guests? Keep your cats sequestered in a quiet room so that they don’t escape to the outdoors when Uncle Fred leaves the door open for the eightieth time (despite being told eighty times to keep in closed).

• If young children are visiting you, spend a few minutes educating them about proper cat-handling (No tail-pulling. No loud noises. No sudden movements. Let the cat come to you.) If your cats are not accustomed to having children around, supervise the interactions until you’re comfortable that neither the kids nor the kits will harm one another. A good experience could turn the child into a lifelong cat lover.

The ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center

The ASPCA is an excellent resource for any animal poison-related emergency, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you think that your pet may have ingested a potentially poisonous substance, call (888) 426-4435. A $60 consultation fee may be applied to your credit card.

[PHOTOS: 1) Mercedes (Mercy), 2) SkeezixTheCat; 3) nirvanapeace]

Recent reports that a 16-lb orange tabby in Iowa caught Swine Flu from ill family members has surprised many vets, and suggests that precautions should be taken if you or your cat become sick with the H1N1 virus.

In this instance, it appears that the humans transmitted the disease to the cat. Even though the odds are remote that you can infect your cat if you become sick, be aware that your pets could be vulnerable — so resist the temptation to cuddle up with them if you catch H1N1.

If you get sick:

• Sequester your pets in an area away from the sick room.
• If you have to handle your pets while sick, use a hand sanitizer and put on a face mask before doing so.
• Don’t kiss your cat on the lips.
• Seek veterinary attention for your cat if she becomes sick.
• If your cat begins sneezing, isolate her from your other cats until you can take her to the vet.

In short, take the same precautions with your pets as you would to avoid transmission of the disease to other people.

Here’s the full story from the Chicago Tribune:

Cat swine flu: H1N1 latest illness shared by owner, pet

Cat with H1N1 was nothing to sneeze at

By William Mullen
Tribune reporter

A 16-pound orange cat in Ames, Iowa, did something last month that will now and forevermore have a lot of cat lovers taking care to sneeze into their sleeves.

The 13-year-old tabby came down with H1N1 swine flu, proving that humans ill with the flu virus should take pains not to spread it to cats as well as humans.

The case surprised human and animal health authorities, who hadn’t seen a human flu virus passed to a cat before, though passionate cat lovers were shaking their heads when it was reported last week.

“The guy talking on the television news acted so surprised by the story,” said Judy Coffey, who runs Catworld, a Berwyn business that sells carpeted “cat trees” for felines to climb on, “but I think knowledgeable cat owners are well aware that our cats catch things from owners all the time.

“If we come down with a cold, pretty soon we see our cats sneezing,” she said.Though that association could be a bit of a stretch, veterinary medical experts and zookeepers say there are a number of diseases that humans can share with the rest of the animal world, and the list seems to get a little longer every year.

The study of zoonotic diseases — diseases transmissible between people and animals — has become an important research area in recent decades with the appearance of deadly new emergent diseases like Ebola, HIV/AIDS and West Nile virus.

But finding a cat sick with H1N1 flu — as that disease spreads to pandemic proportions — surprised health experts.

“This cat is a new development in the H1N1 panic,” said Kimberly May, a veterinary doctor and assistant director of professional services at the American Veterinary Medical Association.

“In general, cats are not considered susceptible to human flu viruses, but this cat got H1N1 flu from his owners. There seems to be no doubt about that, and from our understanding, it seems to be the first time a cat caught flu from a human.”

But experts say there is no evidence as of now that cats or other pets can pass the flu virus onto humans.

The Iowa tabby is an indoor cat never allowed outside, said a report from the Illinois Department of Public Health. It had not been around any humans other than its owners, and in the last week of October, the owners came down with the flu, assumed to be H1N1.

On Oct. 27, the cat fell ill too. The owners called friends who are veterinary researchers at Iowa State University in Ames. The researchers brought in the cat to be studied, and it tested positive for H1N1. It has since recovered and is back home.

Cats now join a small list of other animals known to be susceptible to H1N1, including ferrets, domestic turkeys and pigs. Though sometimes called swine flu, the current strain does not come from swine.

No dogs are known to have caught H1N1, but that possibility can no longer be ruled out, said May.

“Cats and dogs and people all are prone to respiratory diseases,” she said. “Obviously if H1N1 went into a cat, it is not impossible that it could go into a dog,” though she cautioned that it is not likely that H1N1 will become very common in pets like cats and dogs.

“If a cat gets a runny nose, people should not jump to the conclusion that it is H1N1. It probably is not. Cats and dogs have their own little bugs running around, and if they get sick, almost all the time it is due to those bugs, not things passed on by humans,” she said.

In 2004, a new illness showed up in dogs, canine influenza, thought to be a virus that jumped from horses to dogs. Humans and other animals do not get it, but it spread so rapidly in the canine world that last May virologists introduced a vaccine to protect dogs.

At zoos, keepers maintain distance and barriers between humans and animals as much to stop germs from spreading between the two as to protect against any physical dangers.

“While the protection goes both ways, most of our biosecurity protocols are there to keep animals from catching bugs from humans, both from keepers and the public,” said Dominic Travis, a veterinary epidemiologist who is Lincoln Park Zoo’s vice president for conservation and science.

Primates especially are susceptible to human respiratory diseases like flu, so in flu season, keepers wash their hands every time they leave an animal’s station.

As for protecting pets from catching flu from infected humans, animal health authorities recommend humans take the same steps they would to protect family and friends. That includes sneezing into the sleeve of your crooked arm to avoid spreading the flu virus.

“You should wash your hands frequently, cover your coughs and sneezes and don’t let the cat or dog lick your face, which of course isn’t recommended at any time, though hard to avoid,” said May.

For cats, Coffey jokingly offers another possible protection. “I have a cat that likes to sit on a high perch and greet people coming in. Some just go nose-to-nose nuzzling him,” she said. “I have been thinking I should make him one of those little hospital masks you see doctors and nurses wearing around patients in hospitals.”

FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine Alerts Veterinarians About Problems with Vetsulin® to Treat Diabetes in Dogs and Cats

November 2, 2009

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) and Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health are alerting veterinarians and pet owners that Vetsulin®, a porcine insulin zinc suspension used to treat diabetes in animals, may have varying amounts of crystalline zinc insulin in the formulation. Because this Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health product is out of specification it could cause a delay in insulin action and an overall longer duration of insulin activity. Products having significant problems with stability can affect the management of chronic diseases. Unstable insulin products can result in unpredictable fluctuations in the glucose levels of diabetic patients. Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health is unable to assure FDA that each batch of their product is stable.

FDA and Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health request that veterinarians closely monitor their patients receiving Vetsulin® for any changes in onset or duration of activity, or for any signs of hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia. The classic signs of hyperglycemia include increased thirst, increased urination, weight loss and lethargy. The classic signs of hypoglycemia would include disorientation, unsteadiness, weakness, lethargy, and seizures.

While Intervet/Schering-Plough is working with FDA on resolving this issue, supplies may be limited. Therefore, veterinarians should consider transitioning their diabetic patients to other insulin products. In addition, FDA encourages veterinarians to report any adverse events with the Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health product to the company through the Technical Services Department at 1-800-224-5318.

So here are ten random acts of kindness you can do for your cat(s) today:

1) Heavy Petting
Who doesn’t love a little heavy petting? Most cats love the attention, and it might help decrease your blood pressure if done regularly.

2) Spa Session
Grooming: Groom your cat to remove loose hair. This helps reduce hairballs, and makes your cat feel better. Older cats have extra grooming needs because they can’t groom themselves as thoroughly as youngsters. It also gives you the opportunity to feel for lumps, hot spots, ticks, and tender spots.

Pawdicure: Give your cat a nail trim. Not trimming your cat’s nails can result in damage to you and your cat. If the nails rival Howard Hughes’ in length, they can get stuck in carpeting or other material, and your cat could pull out the nail to extricate herself. If left long for too long, you can run the risk of the nail curling around and growing into the paw pad.

3) Tell Her You Love Her
Cats have a limited ability to understand language, and I have no doubt that they have emotions as well. When my Siamese, Mao, is cuddled next to me and I say, “I love you, Mao”, he begins purring. If I say it again, he’ll rev up the purrer even more. He does not react to random phrases like “broccoli books and funny hats”

But that’s just my unscientific observation. What if, twenty years from now, it is proved that cats understand every single word we say? Wouldn’t you then like to go back and say “I love you” to every cat you ever had? You can start today.

4) Buy a Pet First Aid Book and Kit

You can buy a pre-made kit, or put together your own.

PetFinder recommends that a basic Pet First Aid Kit contain the following:

• Sterile gauze pads (3″ x 3″ and 2″ X 2″) and gauze bandage rolls (1″ and 2″)
  
• First-aid adhesive tape, 1″ roll
  
• Cotton swabs (Q-tips®)
  
• Tweezers
  
• Scissors
  
• Plastic freezer/sandwich bags
  
• Small bottle of 3% hydrogen peroxide
  
• Styptic pencil or cornstarch (stems blood flow from minor cuts)
  
• Antibacterial ointment
  
• Antiseptic cleansing wipes
  
• Kaopectate® or Pepto-Bismol®
  
• A current pet first-aid book
  
• Eyewash
  
• Eyedropper
  
• Mineral oil (a lubricant and laxative when given by mouth)
  
• Digital or rectal thermometer in a plastic case
  
• Leather work gloves (to protect you from being bitten)
  
• Latex gloves
  
• Leash
  
• Thin rope
  
• Splint materials (tongue depressor, 12-inch wooden ruler or thick magazine)

Click here for Pet First Aid books.

5) Tag and Microchip Your Cat
If she’s already microchipped, take a few minutes to ensure that your contact info is accurate.

When buying tags, we recommend a pet recovery service like Together Tag which allows the finder of your pet to go online and find out who your pet’s vet is, any meds your pet takes, and out-of-area contacts (good in the case of emergencies like wildfires, earthquakes and flooding.)

Both tag and microchip work together to ensure that your cat can be returned to you. For more information, check out The Cat’s Meow’s Guide to Pet Recovery.

6) Play with your Cat
Cats rarely get enough playtime, especially if they’re under five years old. Spend some quality time with your cat and play her favorite game. Then resolve to spend 15 minutes (or more) each day in playtime.

7) Volunteer at an Animals-as-Therapy Group
If your cat has a mellow disposition and is a good traveler, consider volunteering for a therapy animal program. It will give you a chance to spend quality time with your cat, and help out your community.

8] Buy your cat a water fountain.
One of the best pet inventions ever. Provides your cat with pure filtered running water 24 hours a day. Most cats LOVE them. Drinkwell has an extensive line, with a model to suit every need.

9) Channel Mr Clean
Wash your cat’s bedding (use fragrance-free laundry soap) and empty and scour her litter box. Both off these tasks should be done weekly, but time often slips away from us and before you know it, neither bedding nor litter box has been cleaned for a month. Do both today, and set a weekly reminder.

10) Adopt a Cat
If you have the time and resources to do so (and not many cats to begin with), adopt one of the 4 million cats in local shelters and save her life. Is there anything better you could do for a cat than that?

About National Cat Day

National Cat Day was founded by Pet Lifestyle Expert & Animal Behaviorist, Colleen Paige to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of cats that need to be rescued each year and also to encourage cat lovers to celebrate the cat(s) in their life for the unconditional love and companionship they bestow upon us.

Estimates reveal that there are approximately 4 million cats entering shelters every year with 1-2 million being euthanized. Often cats are overlooked and under-appreciated because they don’t usually have jobs like dogs. But cats still lower blood pressure, offer unconditional love and companionship and alert their owner of danger.

Cats have so many puuuurrrrsonalities and there is so much to love about them! Even if you can’t adopt a cat, offer to volunteer to clean a cage or sit and play with a cat for a while. Who knows? You may just fall in love!

Click here to follow National Cat Day on Facebook.

The Associated Press and Petside.com recently polled 1,166 pet owners about their pet safety habits. While it showed that many pet owners would go to extraordinary measures to save their pets, most are unprepared for pet emergencies.

The one question that struck me funny was “Would you perform CPR on your pet?” The answer was surprising.

Among my cat-loving friends, I’d guess the percentage who’d be willing to give CPR to their cats would be above 90%. But the poll results were much lower. 63% of dog owners and 53% of cat owners would be at least somewhat likely to perform CPR on their pets.

It’s the guys who are dragging down the average: 65% of women vs. 50% of men say they’d be more likely to perform CPR.

Some findings on pet owners:

• 54% don’t have a fire evacuation plan.
  
• 41% have had at least one incident requiring an emergency trip to the vet.
  
• 30% of dog owners and 22% of cat owners at least sometimes give them bones from table scraps.
  
• 20% have a pet first aid kit at home.
  
• 16% have pets who’ve had allergic reactions.
  
• 7% have pets that have eaten something poisonous.

Having emergency and disaster plans so that you can properly care for — and evacuate with — your pet can mean the difference between life or death for them. If you don’t have a pet emergency kit, you should assemble one – it’s easy to put one together on your own. Click here for instructions.

Many shelters provide CPR and pet safety training. If you don’t know how to administer CPR to your pet, here’s a video:

The better prepared you are, the more likely your pet is to survive an emergency.

[LINK: Petside.com Poll]

1. To ensure that your cat isn’t part of any Halloween mischief or pranks, don’t let her outside unattended, especially at night. Even if your cat does normally go outside, remember that on Halloween, she could get spooked by the loud noises and costumes, wander off and become disoriented.

2. Your cat should wear a collar and name tag with your phone number and address on it all times — if she does get out of the house, at least you can be contacted. Microchipping ensures that if the collar is lost, you and your cat can be reunited.

3. Candy is a hazard:
   * Never leave candy or candy wrappers lying around or put it where your cat can get them. Small candy and errant candy wrappers are choking hazards and can cause intestinal blockage.

   * Chocolate can be toxic to cats, and especially dogs. Symptoms of significant chocolate ingestion may include vomiting, diarrhea, hyperactivity, increased thirst, urination and heart rate—and even seizures.

   * Candies containing the artificial sweetener xylitol can be poisonous to pets. Even small amounts of xylitol sweetener can cause a sudden drop in blood sugar, which leads to depression, lack of coordination and seizures. In cases of significantly low blood sugar, liver failure has been known to occur.

4. Confine your cat to one room in your house during parties or high-traffic trick-or-treating times. This way, you’ll be at ease when opening and shutting the door. And, if trick-or-treaters enter your home, your cat will be protected from pokes, prods and loud noises.

   

5. Lit pumpkins and candles can easily be knocked over and burn your cat. Curious kittens are especially at risk for getting hurt. Use a special battery-powered Jack-o-Lantern light or an electric candle.

6. Keep wires and cords from electric lights and other decorations out of reach of your pets. If chewed, your pet could damage her mouth from shards of glass or plastic, or receive a possibly life-threatening electrical shock.

7. Instead of sharing any of your trick-or-treating loot, celebrate Halloween with your cat by giving him goodies made especially for her. You could even find a cat-specific recipe for making homemade treats. Another way to get in the spirit is to switch out regular toys with some Halloween-themed toys.

8. If you plan to put a costume on your cat, try it on her well in advance of Halloween to see how she reacts to it. If she tolerates it without fuss, make sure that it fits well enough to allow her to see, breathe, hear and move around unencumbered.

9. Most Halloween costumes for cats are best used for photographing the cat, then removing. NEVER leave a costume on a cat unattended.

10. Resist the temptation to take your cat to a Halloween Pet Parade, unless she is extremely comfortable around barking dogs, shrieking kids and other noise. For most cats, it’s a little slice of hell. It’s much more humane to leave her at home and enter her in one of the many online Halloween photo contests — the PetSmart Howl-O-Ween photo contest, for example.

11. If your cat is mellow enough to attend a Halloween Pet Parade, keep her in a harness and on a leash at all times.

12. Resist the urge to take your pets trick-or-treating with you. Dogs especially are prone to picking up and eating candy or wrappers that have fallen to the ground, and in the dark, you’re unlikely to see it happen. Cats can be easily spooked by the noise and chaos and escape.

13. Because most cats dislike loud noises and shrieking, keep a television or radio on for your cats throughout the evening on Halloween to drown out the neighborhood sounds.
    

The AVMA celebrates Senior Healthy Pet Month in September, which is a good time to reflect on whether you’re doing everything you can to keep your senior cat healthy and happy.

Cats are considered “seniors” after age 10, and “geriatric” after the age of 13. The AVMA recommends twice-yearly checkups for geriatric cats. That might sound like overkill, but early detection of common senior afflictions (thyroid problems, diabetes, chronic renal failure, cancer, heart problems and the like) can mean the difference between effectively managing the disease long-term and having to euthanize your beloved pet.

10 Tips to keep your senior cat healthy and happy:

1) Take her in for regular dental checkups.
Cats mask discomfort and pain, and it’s often hard to tell if your cat has dental problems unless her breath is horrific, or her face swells from an abscessed tooth. Regular dental checkups and treatment can save her months of discomfort, and keep her from losing weight – weight that, for a senior cat, might difficult to regain.

2) Groom her often
The benefits of grooming extend beyond keeping her coat tidy. Senior cats are far less aggressive groomers than their younger counterparts, and usually end up with a lot more loose hair … leaving them especially vulnerable to hairballs. Grooming your cat daily will help you learn your cat’s body to such a degree that you’ll be able to recognize tender spots or lumps early on. You’ll be able to spot skin flakes and a dull coat that might be symptomatic of thyroid disease or a poor diet. And it will give you invaluable bonding time — time you won’t have together once she’s gone.

3) Encourage play
It’s easy to forget to interact with older cats, since they sleep most of their days away and don’t seem like they want to play. But it’s worth trying to engage them in play — try their favorite toy and some catnip, and see what happens.

In addition to the quality time you’ll spend together, activity will help keep the cat in better physical shape, and you’ll be in a better position to tell when the cat is lethargic, which could be a clue to a health problem. Be sure to play in a private area, where a younger cat won’t encroach upon the game, which will sometimes cause older cats to back off.

4) Buy bed steps
Older cats often have difficulty jumping up on the bed. If she’s accustomed to sleeping with you, and no longer can get up on the bed to do so, she might feel depressed and alienated.

So, if your senior cat likes sleeping on your bed, consider buying a set of steps for the bottom or side of your bed.

5) Provide a heated cat cup or heated pad
Geezer cats feel the cold more, and appreciate a warm place to sleep.

6) Evaluate accessibility and make changes, if necessary
Consider providing a litter box with lower walls, and raising the height of her food and water bowls.

7) Create a stable environment
Change is difficult for a lot of cats, especially as they get older. For example, adding a kitten to the household may be difficult on an older cat, especially if she’s long been an only cat.

8] Consult with your vet about food supplements
Supplements or special formulations of food can provide additional Omega3 fatty acids, glucosamine with chondroitin, immune system boosters, probiotics, or other supplements that may offer benefits to your cat’s health. Discuss the options with your vet. (Never give your cat supplements designed for humans)

9) Switch to a senior formula cat food
Talk to your vet to determine if your cat might benefit from one of the many senior formula cat foods on the market. These foods typically provide an optimal balance of appropriate protein, fat, calories, vitamins and minerals for older cats.

10) Provide a fresh, appealing source of water
Cat fountains are very popular with cats, and may encourage your senior cat to drink more. Keeping your cat well-hydrated is especially important for proper kidney function and overall health.

And 2 bonus tips from our readers:

11) LOLA SEZ: Get a good pet or baby scale.

Good scales that weigh accurately in ounces may cost $80 to $100. Weight loss is often the first signal of disease or dental problems (as in your #1 tip) but can slip by undetected until it’s significant. Get a scale, use it regularly — for all your cats, not just seniors — and catch problems early. You can use a people scale, but it may be hard to detect a few ounces lost, which can be a significant loss for us small cats.

12) FRECKLES SEZ: Once you are ten years old, join the Olde Furts Group on Catster.
It’s a good place to meet other geezers and get good health advice and support.

Thanks Lola and Freckles for making it an even dozen tips!

Last week, Skeezix and I visited Iams/Eukanuba’s facilities in Dayton, Ohio. This is one in a series of posts on what I learned.

Every discussion of corn in the cat’s diet starts out something like this: “You have corn on the cob for dinner, and the next morning, if you care to peek, you’ll note it has been expelled from your digestive tract wholly intact. Thus, it’s only a cheap nutrition-free filler in pet food.”

When it came to discussing the nutritional value and makeup of Iams and Eukanuba foods last week, the word on the tip of everyone’s tongue was CORN, spoken with the same derision as one might say “cyanide” or “rat poison.”

At the earliest opportunity, I asked Dr Maury Docton, DVM (right), the Technical Services Vet at Iams/Eukanuba, what role corn plays in the composition of their foods, and whether the new grain-free diets are a better bet for our pets.

We were in for an episode of Mythbusters.

There’s been a lot of recent press about grain-free diets, with corn, wheat and rice portrayed in a negative light.

According to Dr Maury the most common myths include:

• Corn is not digestible
• Corn causes allergies
• Cats don’t have the ability to digest grains

Dr Maury explained that corn is a nutritionally superior grain because it provides a highly available source of complex carbohydrates and substantial amounts of essential amino acids and fatty acids, providing more of the nutritional building blocks the pet needs for repair and maintenance of its body. And, corn minimizes blood glucose response to help maintain a healthy weight and blood sugar level.

To access the nutritional part of corn, you have to remove its outer hull and produce ground corn meal which is highly digestible. Although there are individual variations, once the hull is removed, ground corn is less than 2% fiber; therefore 98% digestible by your cat. Being 98% digestible means that more of the nutrition stays inside your cat, and less ends up in the litter box.

The only part of an ingredient that can trigger an allergy is the protein portion of that ingredient. Unless corn is used as a protein, in its gluten form, it is very unlikely to trigger an allergic reaction — corn meal contains less than 8% protein. Beef, dairy and fish account for most reported food related allergies in cats. Of food ingredients reported in veterinary medical literature to cause adverse reactions in cats, corn was at the bottom of the list, just above egg*.

The trend to replace grains with fruit and vegetables for the same carbohydrate function is well-meaning, but as yet there is little research documentation to prove how they will affect the energy level and glycemic response of the cat. Although you won’t see cats in the wild chowing down corn on the cob, they do consume a diet of up to 10% carbohydrates, which they get from the stomach contents of their prey.

Bottom line: When processed correctly, corn is an excellent source of complex carbohydrates, as proven by data that Iams has collected during 50 years of research. Although cats are obligate carnivores, most do need a small percentage of complex carbohydrates in their diets for energy, and they will get that from a correctly balanced diet.

In rare cases, corn may cause an allergic response, but if your cat eats a food that contains corn and develops an allergic reaction, it’s far more likely due to beef, dairy or fish.

Like humans, some cats may need to be on low-carb diets, in which case your vet can recommend the best food for your cat’s needs.

In the interest of full disclosure, this trip was fully paid for by Iams/Eukanuba. I’ve fed my cats Eukanuba for nearly 20 years, and the only cat of mine with digestive issues is the one who won’t eat the Eukanuba, but sticks to an all-meat Catkins diet.

____________________________________
* source: Advances in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, Vol 5, Issue 9, 2002.

Hydrate

If you have activities planned, it’s easy to forget to take care of Fluffy’s needs. Make sure she has plenty of fresh, cool, clean water, especially if she’s a senior cat. Older cats tend to sleep for long periods during the day and forget to wake up and drink, so wake her up periodically, and encourage her to sip.

Keep Matches and Lighter Fluid out of Her Reach

Certain types of matches contain chlorates, which could potentially damage blood cells and result in difficulty breathing—or even kidney disease in severe cases. Lighter fluid can be irritating to skin, and if ingested, can produce gastrointestinal irritation and central nervous system depression. If lighter fluid is inhaled, pneumonia and breathing problems could develop.

Don’t Deviate from Her Normal Diet

Keep your cat on her normal diet. Any change, even for one meal, can give her severe indigestion and diarrhea. This is particularly true for older animals who have more delicate digestive systems and nutritional requirements. And keep in mind that people foods such as onions, chocolate, coffee, avocado, salt, yeast dough, grapes and raisins can all be potentially toxic to companion animals.

No Citronella!

Keep citronella candles, insect coils and oil products out of reach. Ingesting any of these items can produce stomach irritation and possibly even central nervous system depression in your pets, and if inhaled, the oils could cause aspiration pneumonia.

Never Leave a Pet Alone in the Car

Traveling with your cat? Never leave her alone in the car, and always keep a harness on her in the car so it’s easy to secure here when you stop for breaks.

Apply Sunscreen

If your cat enjoys outdoor barbecues with your family, don’t forget to apply a PET FORMULATED sunscreen to her nose and ears, especially during the midday hours. As with people, the light-skinned cats are the most vulnerable, especially if they don’t have much fur on their ears.

Indoor Cat and Visitors? Lock her up!

If you have house guests this weekend, sequester Fluffy in a spare room so that she won’t escape as strangers enter and exit the house.

[LINK: ASPCA]

Don’t forget! You can leave a comment on this post for an entry in The Cat’s Meow’s giveaway of a custom oil painting of your cat by Linden Alley.

Help Your Cat Get Fit With Kitty Calisthenics

By: Pets.com

Is your tabby getting thick in the midsection? Are chewing and swallowing her only exercises?

A cat’s sedentary lifestyle can often result in obesity, a condition which can lead to hip, back, shoulder or knee injuries, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and heat stroke.

Apart from limiting your cat’s food intake, what else can you do to combat this problem? The answer is a simple one: kick your cat’s activity level up a notch by having her exercise on a daily basis.

Exercise? A cat? Sure. But not in the same way you might a dog. Your cat is a more independent creature, and must be motivated in different ways if she is to raise her level of activity.

Food is an effective motivator for teaching new behavior to a cat. Small treats can be used to get her moving. To raise your cat’s food drive, put her on a regular feeding schedule instead of free feeding or leaving food down all day. Doing so will program your cat to be hungry at specific times, a key in teaching her any new behavior.

So you’ve put your cat on a regular feeding schedule, and she’s famished at dinner time. What next? Put her hunger to work. The following are ways to get your cat moving prior to dinner time:

Stair Climbing

Get your cat to climb a flight or more of stairs several times each week by sporadically relocating her food dish. Place her meal at the top or bottom of a flight of stairs, depending on your home’s layout. To get to it, she must climb or descend. If she has trouble locating her dish, try moving it up just a few steps at first, eventually placing it as far away as possible.

Random Placement of Treats

Leave small treats in various locations around the home to condition her to explore more. Put one atop the fridge, one beneath the sofa and another beside your television. Eventually, searching will become a regular calorie-burning activity for her.

The Recall or ”Come”

Have you ever owned a cat who would rush to the kitchen upon hearing the whir of an electric can opener? Without knowing it, your cat had learned to come on cue. To teach your cat to ”Come,” try this:

Buy a child’s “clicker” toy or a clicker pet training tool. Next, with her close by, place her dinner down immediately after clicking the toy several times. Do this at each meal for two weeks. Then, with the cat in another room, try clicking the toy several times. The cat, now conditioned to think food is coming, should come running. When she does, reward her with a treat. Having her come on command will get her running whenever you want, in hopes of getting food. This of course burns calories.

These next activities use motivators other than food to get your cat moving:

Playing With Toys

Cats love to chase moving objects. You can get your cat moving by enticing her with various toys, including:

• Teaser wands
• Mouse toys
• Balled-up newspaper
• Wind-up toys
• Toys suspended from a string
• Balls
• Feathers

The object is to keep your cat moving for at least 10 minutes. Have these sessions several times each day for best results.

Companionship

A great way to keep a cat active during the day is to provide her with company – like another cat. A willing feline partner will encourage play and stimulate her mind. They will romp and chase each other, keeping activity levels high.

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[PHOTO CREDIT: Kaze of The Cats P]

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