Chattapets: Tips to help keep cats and dogs at ease while spending time alone By: Karen Nazor Hill

Bronson offered the following tips to help keep cats and dogs at ease while spending time alone:

* Let your cat-sitter know where your cat hides. Cats will tend to stay hidden or run, especially when their owners are out of town.

* Leave detailed instructions regarding feeding, medication and walks. Have your pet-sitter keep the same routine you follow.

* Cats are very sensitive to their surroundings, so if you have to travel out of town try to get a cat-sitter rather than boarding your cat.

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Protecting Pets From Winter Chill

The sun is setting earlier and the overnight temperatures are also dropping. Now, officials are urging pet owners to take extra precautions and make sure pets are warm overnight.

Officials at the Humane Society of Parkersburg say animals that are kept outdoors need to have adequate water, shelter and warmth as the temperatures continue to drop.

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6 Things Every Cat Owner Needs

Yoga meditation music 'helps cats relax'

A study shows that when they are unwell, cats became less stressed when they listen to relaxing music. Student veterinary nurse Sian Barr carried out the research on cats being treated at a vet's surgery. She found that those who were played yoga meditation music and Om Shanti tunes calmed down and began to breathe more slowly while in cages at the practice in Powys, Wales.

Miss Barr, who has just graduated from veterinary school with a first class honours degree thanks to her research, said: "Stress in small doses can be a good thing, such as if a cat is under stress to eat, then it can perform better. 

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Cat-proofing Your House : The Humane Society of the United States

Cat-proofing Your House : The Humane Society of the United States

Cat Chat: Understanding Feline Language by the Humane Society of the United States

Body language, behavior, and vocalizations are keys to understanding the feline mind.

You and your cat might speak different languages, but you can still communicate with each other.

Indicators such as the look in your cat's eyes, the tone of her voice, the position of her ears, and the motion of her tail can provide important clues that reveal her feelings and intentions. You can learn to "read" these signals so you’ll get a good idea of what's on your cat's mind.

You'll learn a lot from your cat's wide vocabulary of chirps and meows. You'll know when it's time to get up (at least in your cat's opinion), when your cat's feeling affectionate, or when your cat's feeling threatened or is in pain.

Meow is an all-purpose word. This can be a greeting ("Hey, how ya doin'?), a command ("I want up, I want down, More food now"), an objection ("Touch me at your own risk"), an announcement ("Here's your mouse"). Some cats even walk around the house meowing to themselves.

Chirps and trills are how a mother cat tells her kittens to follow her. Kitty wants you to follow him, usually to his food bowl. If you have more than one cat, they will often converse with each other this way.

The purr is a sign of contentment. Cats purr whenever they're happy, even while they’re eating. Sometimes, however, a cat may purr when he's anxious or sick, using the purr as a way to comfort himself, like a child sucking his thumb.

Growling, hissing, and spitting indicates a cat who is annoyed, frightened, angry or aggressive. Leave this cat alone.

The yowl or howl is a loud, drawn-out meow. Your cat is in some kind of distress—stuck in a closet, looking for you, in pain. In unneutered and unspayed cats, it's part of the mating behavior (and very annoying). Elderly cats sometimes suffer from cognitive disorder (dementia) and may howl because they're disoriented. Screaming means your cat is in terrible pain.

Chattering, chittering, twittering is the strange noise your cat makes when he's sitting in the window watching birds or squirrels. Some experts think that this is an exaggeration of the "killing bite," when a cat grabs his prey by the neck and works his teeth through the bones to snap them.

Ears

• Forward: alert, interested, happy
• Backward, sideways, flat ("airplane ears"): irritable, angry, frightened
• Swiveling: attentive, listening to every little sound

Eyes

• Pupils constricted: offensively aggressive; content
• Pupils dilated: nervous, submissive (somewhat dilated); defensively aggressive (fully dilated); playful

Tail

• Erect, fur flat: alert, inquisitive, happy
• Fur standing on end: angry, frightened
• Held very low or tucked between legs: insecure, anxious
• Thrashing back and forth: agitated. The faster the tail, the madder the cat
• Straight up, quivering: excited, really happy. If your cat is not neutered, he or she could be getting ready to spray something!

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Alternative to Declawing

Soft Paws®  are an excellent alternative to declawing. They are easy to apply at home and cats and their owners love them. They are completely safe and humane and can be used on cats of all ages. Soft Paws®  are vinyl nail caps that are glued on to your cat's existing nails. They look like a cat's nail, only hollow. They are easy to apply and cats tolerate them extremely well.

http://www.softpaws.com/

Cat Toys

Play is a vital activity, not only for kittens, but for adult cats, too.

Cats are athletic creatures with amazing strength and agility. Nature made them into perfect machines for leaping, jumping, and dashing. Just because your house kitty doesn't have real prey to chase doesn't mean she can't act out her inner predator.

Why play?

Toys and regular playtime are part of providing your cat with a stimulating environment, which makes for a happy and healthy cat. Play gives them an outlet for their energy, mental and physical stimulation, the opportunity to satisfy their instinctual huntingdrive, and a chance to bond with you.

What to play with?

Cats are experts at amusing themselves. It takes very little—a crumpled ball of paper, a pen left on a desktop, a newspaper spread open on the floor—to engage your kitty in what, to her, is the most fascinating of games.
Your cat's imagination can turn almost anything into a wonderful toy that she'll bat around or chase to her heart's content. Typically, cats most enjoy playing with small, light objects that are "flickable," such as a cork or a Ping-Pong ball, which they can swat and then chase.

Cats also love empty paper bagsto investigate and "hide" in. Remove the handles so your cat doesn't get caught in them. He could be terrified if he's chased by a big paper bag. Empty cardboard boxes are also popular with cats.

Interactive play

Playtime isn't just for cats—it's for their people, too. Your cat's speed and grace will amaze you as she dashes about, trying to catch her "prey."

Toss a crumpled ball of paper for her to chase—she may even bring it back to you. Some cats love to "fetch" so much that they will actually initiate the game by dropping a toy in your lap for you to throw.

Some cats go wild for the little red light of a laser toy, chasing it around the floor and up the wall. The cat gets a good workout, and you don't even have to get off the couch. Just be sure never to shine the light in your cat's eyes, as it could damage them. When the game ends, offer your cat a toy to finally grab.

Do-it-yourself toys

You don't need to spend a bundle on fancy toys for your cat.  In fact, many owners say that their cats ignore the store-bought toys and play instead with a plastic ring from a milk container, a strip of paper, or a gift bow.
Here are some household items that make great cat toys:

• Round plastic shower curtain rings
• Ping-Pong balls and plastic practice golf balls with holes. Try putting one in a dry bathtub, as the captive ball is much more fun than one that escapes under the sofa.
• Paper bags with any handles removed. Paper bags are good for pouncing, hiding and interactive play. Plastic bags are not a good idea; many cats like to chew and swallow the plastic.
• Empty cardboard tubes from toilet paper and paper towels, made even more fun if you "unwind" a little cardboard to get them started.
• Cardboard boxes.  Fasten some together and cut out doors and windows to make a fun cat condo.
• You (or your kids) may even enjoy making your own toys, such as sachets, or felt mice stuffed with catnip.

The kitty boutique

There's really no need to buy toys, but there are so many cute ones out there that it can be really hard to resist. Cats really enjoy toys like plastic balls, with or without bells inside, sisal-wrapped toys, which they can dig their claws into. or "fishing pole" toys consisting of a long rod with a length of cord attached that has an enticing lure at the end.

If you're going to buy any cat toys, you might need to cat-proof them, too. Remove ribbons, feathers, strings, tinsel, eyes or other small decorations that your cat could chew off and swallow. Also, keep any toys that could be harmful to your cat out of reach when you can't supervise her play.


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"Better than Grass" Salad for Cats : The Humane Society of the United States

"Better than Grass" Salad for Cats : The Humane Society of the United States

Fearful Cats | The Humane Society of the United States

Fight, flee, or freeze. No, it isn't the latest game show sweeping the nation. Instead, these three "F"s describe the ways that cats usually respond to objects, persons, or situations they perceive as a threat. Each cat has his preferred way of dealing with a crisis. You'll notice that your cat probably tends to try one option first, and if that doesn't work, she's forced to try a different option. For instance, if your cat is afraid of dogs and a friend brings his dog to your home to visit, your cat puffs out her fur to make herself look big, then hisses and spits at the dog. If the dog doesn't retreat, your cat may flee the situation, find a hiding spot, and freeze until she deems the situation safe. Although some fearful behaviors are acceptable, overly anxious or fearful cats may need a little help from you in the form of training, patience, and love. Here's some guidance on how to handle these situations

What You Can Do

Take the following steps to reduce your cat's anxiety and help her become more confident:

*First, schedule an appointment with your veterinarian for a thorough physical examination to rule out any medical reasons for your cat's fearful behavior. Cats don't always act sick, even when they are. Any sudden behavior change could mean that your cat is ill. Some common symptoms that suggest your cat may be sick are sudden aggressiveness, hiding, and eliminating outside the litter box.
*If your cat is healthy, but hiding, leave her alone. She'll come out when she's ready. To force her out of her hiding spot will only make her more fearful. Make sure she has easy access to food, water, and her litter box. Clean the litter box and change the food and water every day so you know whether she is eating and drinking.
*Keep any contact with the fear stimulus to a minimum.
*Keep your cat's routine as consistent as possible. Cats feel more confident if they know when to expect daily feeding, playing, cuddling, and grooming.



Read the Full Article Here | Fearful Cats | The Humane Society of the United States

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