Month: September 2017

Your cat wants a clean place to do the necessary business of a great supper. The litter box should be big enough to allow your cat to fit in without hanging over the edge. I use big boxes and now that the cats are one year old and older  I use boxes with tall sides to prevent spreading of the cat litter.  We have been using the Purina Tidy Cats product as pictured above with good results. It is relatively dust free and easy to scoop. I used wood chips for a while but the chips all over the house turned into a cleaning problem. Wood chips are a nice healthy choice for your cat and it prevents odor well, however the cleanup was extensive. People don’t like the dust of some cat litters so chose wisely. Its just not good to breathe in clay dust from some products. Once a week we empty the boxes and wash them out with hot water and then spread baking soda in the bottom. We reuse the sifted litter and add product so the cats have lots to cover with. I have thought about a self cleaning box however that is going to need cleaning to so I think an open box and a scoop is just as easy. We scoop out the litter boxes two to three times a day or when ever we see something.

What is Going On In The Litter Box ?

When you scoop your litter box out it is a great time to check on the health of your cat. Diarrhea happens to every one, so an isolated incident is not an issue but if there is a continuing problem it might be time to go to the vet. Other things to watch for is blood in the stool or watching if there is some discomfort in the bowl movement. Yes I mean you should watch your cat use the box occasionally. Crying while peeing may mean a urinary infection. Blood on the stool might mean a change of cat food might be necessary. Any of these things should discussed with your vet. Since I have upgraded our dry cat food we are currently throwing out two less litres a day of cat litter from seven cats.

In Closing

What goes on in the litter box is important. Have a look and question anything that looks unusual. If kitty is not using the box maybe its not clean enough. A clean litter box is a comfort to everyone involved.

Have a great day and hug a kitty.

Trevor

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This wonderful little kitten was just rescued from a cold winter. How do we look after a new feral kitten? Its easy. This little kitty is being fed kitten formula. Purina makes a prepackaged item. Never give cows milk. This will give the cat diarrhea. The night I picked up Roxanne she was given cows milk and that night she sprayed the litter box. This kitty is old enough to eat solid food. A good quality soft food is good. When the kitten is strong enough a visit to the vet is required. Needles and deworming is necessary and must be done. Ask your vet for a time to spay or neuter, usually around six months of age. If by chance the kitten appears to be not healthy don’t be afraid to go to the vet immediately.

Next it is necessary to prepare your house. A litter box is mandatory. Litter box training is as easy as just putting the baby in the box once and that should be it. Its worked for all my kittens. A cat tree and some toys would be nice. The tree will give the kitten a place to scratch and some balls or soft mice and you should be set. Don’t forget a nice cat bed. A box with a blanket in it works.

If you have older cats or dogs in the house it might be necessary to isolate the kitten when no one is around to prevent an accident. The only thing left is to enjoy.

All the best.

Trevor

 

As of September 22, 2017 Raymond’s mum Janet saved 3 feral kittens from a up and coming cold winter. Way to go Janet! These babies will be well looked after with proper veterinarian attention and lots of love. Have a nice weekend everyone and hug a kitty.

Trevor

Ariel is one year old as of September 22, 2017. Found as a stray kitten Ariel has grown into a handsome boy. He loves getting brushed and running around. He is one great cat.

Hello everyone. I took Tenzin to the groomer to get some mats removed. How do you get a big cat into the carrier that does not like going into the carrier? You take a nice big towel and place it over his head and front feet, wrap him up a little bit and just slide him into the carrier. Getting him out was harder. A person just has to watch that his feet don’t get hooked in the door. The groomer put a mask on him and he was a good boy for the whole session. We got his nails done and his ears cleaned and a good grooming.

There is a noticeable personality change among all the cats recently. Tenzin wants to play more now and he is sitting for brushing. I hope we can keep the mats down now. His hair is so fine it will mat in two days. Ariel is the same way, but he always loved getting brushed.

Have a great day and do something green for the planet.

Trevor

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This is a picture of Raymond before he was captured and taken to the vet. He was getting sick as a feral cat  and needed help. Your vet should be a trusted individual in the process of diagnosis and application of medicine. When things happen late at night or on holidays there is a desire to help somehow. If there is an after hours phone number use it. That number is there for a reason and do not feel that you are inconveniencing someone. Do not give people medicine thinking it can help. Most people medicine is toxic to animals. Some human medicine is used however it must be prescribed by a vet. When you have medicine to take home be sure to review the dosage and application instructions. Do not panic call the vet. It is better to take your kitty to the vet in a carrier. The carrier will give you peace of mind . It will capture a mess and you don’t have to fight a stressed cat in your car. All the best. That kitty in the picture is doing just fine now and is living a comfortable indoor life. See Raymond in meet the kitties page.

Trevor

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Here is a picture of Esther dining on dry cat food. After reading the link on the 13 best cat foods as shown in the Maintaining Your Cat page I read the labels of our current cat food. I thought I was feeding everybody properly, however much to my surprise this dry food was not that good. We have since purchased a dry food with better ingredients listed first. and no grains such as wheat and corn. We are giving our cats two feeding a day of wet food and a supplement of dry food. The cats really dug into the new food. The interesting thing is that they are producing two litres less cat litter per day now. The seven cats made six litres a day now we are down to four. When their bellies are processing the food they must be retaining more nutrients and not passing out all the filler. Read the link, learn to read labels. I really believe that the more money you spend on food the less you will spend on vet bills.

All the best,Trevor

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/acrocats-cat-circus-rescue-foster_us_59b17d72e4b0354e44102b42

This news article caught my eye. The key to training your cat is time, patience, practice and consistency. With leash training this is something that should start slow, probably the younger the better. Start with just putting the harness on in the house. Then quiet places out side with the leash.  Moving with longer outing as everybody becomes comfortable. Always be ready for the surprise noise or something that will spook your cat. A scared cat is fast and can really scratch you. When my cats get scared I pick them up and go in. With exposure comes tolerance. Be gentle, don’t drag the kitty. Maybe they want to be carried home? All the best. Please leave a reply. Trevor

I have had three of my cats sterilized. Soxs was neutered at six months. It was a typical surgery with no complications. There was some swelling which is natural. Soxs did not lick his surgery so he did not have to wear a cone around his neck. After a week or so everything was healed and we carried on. Ariel was the same story. He never licked and it did not slow him down a bit. On the way home from the vet he talked to me like he never talked before. He was probably giving me heck for leaving him somewhere for the day. When he came home he went to the cat tree and just relaxed.

When Roxanne came to live with us she was intact and soon after she went into heat. There was some night time howling and Tenzin developed feelings for her. She went to the vet and got spayed. This procedure is invasive and in effect is a hysterectomy. If you go to Wikipedia the are good explanations and pictures. Everything was generally going well. She ate well and good energy, however after a week the surgery was still weeping and there was swelling. I went back to the vet for an examination where she was given an  antibiotic and a cleaning of the surgery by squeezing some fluid out of the stitched area.

This picture shows her shaved belly and the swelling. After the antibiotic she healed quickly with no further problems. Why she got infected is difficult to explain for a layman. For me it means a person has to monitor all surgeries and go back to the vet if necessary. Roxanne is an active cat and was  hard to keep quiet and relaxed after the surgery. A spaying procedure should be healed up in about a week. My vet keeps a cat in the office for the day to monitor for complications both male and females.

That’s my story for today. Hug a kitty and leave a comment for me.

Thanks Trevor

 

 

I was going through Kijiji and I was looking at the available cats. What I saw was a vast array of free cats that need homes. The hard part for me was the cats that were being given away because they couldn’t move with the family for various reasons. Especially the older cats. When Lacy moved in with us she cried for a long time because of her new home and people. She also hid in the closet for weeks until she became comfortable with us. Alexis did her share of hiding too. If that cat is living a happy home and get displaced because of a move or new furniture I think its totally unfair. What happens if they don’t get adopted, do they end up at the shelter, or dumped.  In my opinion when a cat, dog or parrot comes into your home it should be forever.