August 24, 2006
What's in This Issue:
There are more updates to the website, including:- NEW! Blog
- New and Updated Pages
- Abused Cats Article
- New Pages on Rescue
- Training Abused and Feral Cats
- Donations now accepted for rescue efforts
- Submit your cat for Calendar Contest!
- Featured Product of the Month
- Coupons and Free Stuff
NEW! Blog
I've started Blogging! Yes, everybody is doing it, and it's a great way to build traffic to the website and share my life as a Cat Whisperer. It still feels a little strange, to talk about what I do in a Blog. I talk about my kitties a lot, of course. I talk about the website, too.I'm not so sure I like the publicity, and I'm not sure how much I'm willing to share about my personal life. I'm feeling my way. Right now, I try to add to it every day. Comments are welcome!
You can read and comment on my Blog at: Diary of a Cat Whisperer.
New and Updated Pages
I've been working on the Product Pages to update the items, give a clearer indication of what is good and a good deal both, and tell you something about the items. My most recent efforts include:Cat Furniture
Odor Control Products
Allergy Helping Products
I hope to get to Feeding Supplies and Litter Boxes before this automatically goes out on August 24th. These changes don't go to the RSS feed, so you won't find out about the new format unless you stumble across the pages yourself or get the newsletter. So far, the only new offerings are items that have been replaced by something else (usually an improvement to an existing product).
I found some cute stuff that you might enjoy with your kids! Origami Cats! There are five designs available, and all are really cute! Just click on any of the photos to get to the downloadable instructions.
Abused Cats Article
I've written an article about Abused Cats. It's about how cats can be abused, how to identify them and help them.There are specific training issues - things that work and things that don't - with abused cats. I outline them and help you to help the cats.
You can find the full text of the article here:
Training Abused and Feral Cats
While I touch a little on the training issues of Abused cats in my latest article, and address training Feral Cats on the website, I thought you might like a little more in-depth information about the process.These cats are usually very distrustful. They believe that anything you offer is suspect - even food! So, slow and steady is the way with them. Consistency is very important. If you change your schedule, the cat will notice and it will take a little while to begin to trust that schedule.
Once the cat trusts your schedule, trusts that the food you give it will be good and tasty, fresh and wholesome, the cat will begin to get curious about you. It will come to smell you.
This is not the time to start handling the cat, as that will upset the cat and possibly cause you injury. Instead, offer play with a tickler wand. Roll a ball across the floor. Offer a furry mouse. The tickler wand will build the bond with you, and the other toys are great to get the cat moving and get some of it's anger and aggression out.
As you play with the cat, the bonding will begin. When the cat gets tired, put the toy up. If the cat is looking for the toy instead of the food, you have it's attention and it's trust.
How does one use the tickler wand? Well, offer the wand, wiggling it a little bit so that the end makes movement. Allow the cat to smell it, and possibly even stroke the cat with it. Just offer it to begin with. When the cat attacks it, allow the cat to gloat over the "kill" for a few moments and when it lets go of the toy, start wiggling it again. The cat will get the idea that it is a toy very quickly, and play actively for up to 45 minutes in a session.
Do this repeatedly every visit with your cat, and the it will come to expect the toy. Once you have the cat tamed, the cat will be looking for the toy when you sit down. Keep it near you, but out of the cat's reach so that the cat has to play with YOU, not just the toy.
After you have built up trust by play, you can offer your hand. Back side up, so that the cat can smell you. Don't wiggle your hand like a toy. This is teaching the cat that hands are not toys, so don't wiggle. Move slowly, and try to touch the cat behind or under the ears or under the chin. The cat will pull away the first few times. That's fine.
Eventually, as long as you move slowly, you will be able to touch the cat. It may then present it's broadside, and ask for a stroke down the back. Give freely. At the base of the tail, slow down and scratch a little bit. You may find your cat lowers it's chest and chin to the floor, and leaves the hind end up. This is an expression of pleasure. Stop after a few scratches, stroke the back and go back to the base of the tail.
Once you get to this point, allow the cat out of the enclosed area and give it freedom of the house. Put out extra litter boxes - at least one for each floor of your home.
If you surprise your cat in the litter box, it may jump and run. Allow the cat to pass. Don't try to back up and leave the cat alone, it's already been disturbed and doesn't care. It will run for cover. It may find one of the other litter boxes and use that one instead.
Donations for Rescue
There are new picture pages for rescued kitties on the website! You can donate for their care or adopt directly from the website.There are several ways you can donate to Cat Rescue Organizations. Please, always ask to see their tax-exempt certificate to be sure the donation is legitimate. When I ask for a donation, I do not have a tax exempt certificate, and am willing to pay the taxes due on any donations I receive so that I can care for the cats. Donations come to me through PayPal, so you get an automatic receipt in your confirmation email from them.
You can check with the Humane Society in your community, and any of the rescue groups I have listed, if you prefer to donate to someone local or international instead of supporting my fosters and chosen breed rescue organization. Donations of any amount are always welcomed!
My immediate need for donations comes from having more cats than I can financially care for. I rescued 4 cats, and only found 1 home so far. I have 2 that need to be spayed of the 3 I have left. The organization I helped on this rescue is so overwhelmed that they cannot support these cats. That was unexpected. I had no intention of having these cats for more than 2 weeks.
I have an adoption process I use through the Maine Coon Animal Rescue Network (MCARN), and there is a small charge involved. The cat is spayed, shots are up to date and the cat is in good health or it will not be released for adoption. Transportation is arranged to get the cat to her furrever home, and that is where the bulk of the money goes. Not to the people who actually drive the cat where it is going, but to keep the network online. The drivers do this out their love for the cats. Most foster homes get a pittance for caring for the cats, if anything at all.
So, I need a little help. $5 will cover dry or wet food for a week, and $10 will pay for litter for a month. Queenie and Pretty Girl both eat wet food along with the dry. Bugs only eats dry at this time. She's too distracted right now, I guess. Veterinary costs are substantially more than this, but the costs are paid up at the moment. I just need the time to get the girls to the vet. Grooming is at no charge because I do it myself. I will charge you for the carrier the cat arrives in as part of your adoption fee.
If you would like to adopt one of my fosters, you can contact me for the adoption forms. I can be reached at catadvice@hotmail.com to adopt one of my fosters. If you would like to arrange your own transportation, that's fine too.
Submit your Photos for the Calendar Contest
The deadline (November 5th) for the 2007 Calendar Contest is fast approaching! Please be sure you get your photos in so that the judges can pick the top 24 photos.You can send photos to "calendar@for-the-love-of-cats.com" or "catadvice@hotmail.com" if you want to send them over the internet. Payment of $15 for entries is required at time of entry submission, but you can purchase through the last calendar available. Please send your credit card information or include an email address for paypal billing. You can also use the calendar form and mail your payment with the entry.
No charges will be made until I have at least 12 photos for the calendar, and all records (except photos, which will be put on the website) will be destroyed if that number is not met.
Featured product of the month:
This Month's Featured Product is Relaxi-Herb Herbal Calming Preparation. This is the only product I've ever found that helps with male cat aggression. If your cat is nursing the blanket with his back legs, marking when there is no territorial threat or acting aggressively toward you in a "male cat" sort of way, try this product. You will be very happy with it.
Coupons and Free Stuff
Well, I messed up again and didn't give you the correct link to the free page in last month's issue. So, here are doubles - stuff you can use now and stuff you can use for a while. I'm really sorry!If you can remember that it's "freestuff(yyyymm)" for the coupon and freestuff page and you can always find it. Just go to the site, highlight the address bar, press the "right" or "end" key and put this in after the first "/" (no parentheses) so you can find the page. This one is a little different because I was a dolt last month, but here it is, at least.
Free page for August and Septemter
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