July 27, 2006
What's in This Issue:
This month, there were several things done to the website in preparation for the second year, I put up a new email address in case the website goes down for any reason. I've included this month's training technique and your free stuff page:- Major Overhaul
- New E-mail Address
- Training Technique: Redirection
- Free Stuff Page and Contest
Major Overhaul
OK, I've done a MAJOR overhaul on the website. It's been "live" for 11 months and hit the top 1% overall on the world wide web. I believe that it can do much better financially, so I've taken off a page and re-focused others.This work is an effort to make the website more financialy feasible, directed and helpful. I know it seems counterintuitive to remove links and expect you to find your way around better, but it actually works!
Also, there are fewer links to product pages. The text links now direct you mostly to specific products instead. In some cases, there are just too many choices, so you may still find yourself landing on a product page.
New E-mail Address
I want my readers to help me keep this project alive, but this latest re-do may be "too little, too late." In case that happens, there is a new email address you can use to contact me. It now goes out at the bottom of each email I send out from the website addresses.I really believe in the concept of this website. I don't want to ask for donations any more than I already do. I want people to buy stuff from my vendors, so that the website pays it's renewal fees every year. That's the "right" way to do things.
However, because I give cat advice, I need to be accessible to my clients, customers and friends in rescue. Putting all the email in one account is just too overwhelming, so I've set up an account just for my cat people. Please feel free to pass it around to your friends, relations and acquaintances who need help with cats. I'll be glad to help.
OK, ready? The email address is: catadvice@hotmail.com
You and your friends can type it in the address field of your email programs. I figured that by doing a simple address like this, it would be easy to remember and easy to get around the world on the internet.
There is NO CHARGE for this service. I will be using the standard SPAM filters in the MSN/Hotmail programs. "Real" people will get added to the safe list. The rest of the stuff will get ignored. No jokes, forwarded chain letters or junk will get through. If I have to block someone who sends me junk mail, their questions will no longer be answered.
Training Technique: Redirecting Behaviors
Redirection is the best tool in the cat trainers' kit. Cats have long attention spans, but if we can redirect the cat to something positive long enough, the cat will only partially engage in his or her original behaviors at a later time. This breaks the hold of the old behavior and intensifies the hold of the new behavior. The more we do this, the weaker the "bad" behaviors' hold will become and the less the cat will engage in it. But, having said this, cats are not like dogs. Dogs will try to please their people, but cats need another reason to engage in a behavior that we want it to.Cats think and reason in their own way and will need more than treats and praise. They want attention, but not to be stared at. They want cuddles and play. They like treats. They like praise and to be talked to like the intelligent creatures they are. They need to find pleasure in the new behavior for it's own sake. Cats need a reason, in other words. Punishment doesn't work. Praise and cuddles on their own don't work. Treats on their own don't work. But praise, attention, cuddles and treats together can work wonders when coupled with redirection.
Free Stuff Page and Contest
This month's free stuff page is: http://www.for-the-love-of-cats.com/goodbuysJulyYou will have until August 15th to access the page. After that it will be cleared.
Your contest this month. If you remember last month I told you I was going to run a contest this month. Well, here it is: Contest. Click on the link and enter the contest for your own website! You can also buy 2 websites for a substantial discount. That's up to you. If you want to see my placement on the world wide web, see the Results for yourself.
Folks, I want to answer your questions in this Newsletter! Please write with your questions or suggestions for topics.
Spread the word about For the Love of Cats dot com, forward this link to your friends. Your best bet is to copy and paste this paragraph in an email to your friends. If the site goes down, I'll transfer my current subscribers to a new service. I will email everyone and let you know.
Morgen Alternate email: catadvice@hotmail.com