January 30, 2009
What's in This Issue:
Updates to the site
Guest Article by Laura Ramirez, UTI and Cat Foods
Guest Article by Kate Reiger, UTI and Commercial Cat Foods
Review the Bad Cat Behaviors From Readers page and see the new submissions. Comment and assist other readers as you can.
Summer Cool Cats (2008) Submit your cat's photo. Great cats need great praise!
Check out the new Only Natural Pets Community!
My hosting company did an update and I heard about some possible problems. The end result was that I went through my site - every page - and removed all the dead links and fixed other breaks. There are some blank pages, but I'm looking for new stuff. I've put a note on each. So, if you saw a lot of stuff on the RSS feed (I tried not to hit it) it's because of that. I almost gave up about 2/3 through - I had no idea this site was so large! Wow! Thanks to you for your input!
A BRAND NEW section - not linked in yet, 'cause I'll wait till I have some entries - Bragging Rights For Readers. This is a brand new segment, and boy, was it overdue! Put in any story, picture, testimonial or tribute to any cat or human who's got cats here... Hey, even Hemingway had cats... ;-)
The ASPCA Annual Photo Contest - Spay Day! Enter your pet here...
Articles
Love Your Cat!Training Tip - Scoop-n-Smooch Review
Some Fun Cat Body Language - Fearful
This Month's Specials
Love Your Cat!
Loving your cat is all about giving them things to make them happy. You can love on them, but providing the things they need is very important, too.Food is probably the most important thing you can provide outside of the litter box. Most folks don't think much about it. But the right food will make your cat healthy, while the wrong food can make your cat sick or worse!
Cats are carnivores - they like meat. Cats can't taste sweet, so fruit and sugars - carbohydrates - are not that attractive to them. The Cat Food Manufacturers add meat flavorings to cereals so that our cats will eat it. Many cats develop a desire for the flavorings, but the grains and cereals are not good for cats. Cats do need fresh greens. Providing some rye-grass in a little container for your indoor cat is a great way to provide this.
The recent cat food scare, the continuing issues with melamine in foods to pump up the protein content, worry me. I don't want you to lose your cat to this horrible additive. It causes kidney failure, liver damage and worse. When you feed your cat cereals, your cat will gain weight, but be unhealthy.
Feed your cat a quality diet. As little grain as you can get. A raw diet is best, but needs to be supplemented with Taurine for your cat's nervous system. Taurine actually supports and feeds the nerve fibers so that they fire correctly in the brain. Very important for a cat with such fast reflexes! If a raw diet seems too much trouble or is too strange for you, then at least remove as much grain as you can from the diet. Many commercial makers exist that provide quality foods in both dry and wet varieties. My favorites include Wysong and Innova Evo Dry Cat Food. If your cat likes the wet, canned foods, try a different flavor to entice her to eat, such as Venison and Green Peas or Duck and Lamb.
Eating better will make your cat healthier. It can stop a tendency to recurring UTIs, as our guest article this month explains. It might save her life!
Scoop-n-Smooch Technique
The "Scoop-n-Smooch" technique is easy to do for most cats - if you can catch them when you walk in the door. It lets your cat know that he is your favorite if you have many cats - and it quickly stops all separation anxiety.When ever you come in, no matter how long you've been gone, you scoop up your cat in your arms. Slip it into the baby position, feet up. Smooch your cat around the head and neck. Place the cat on it's feet on the floor. All done!
This is fast and easy. The cat doesn't have time to get upset by it, but it will quickly get very pouty if you don't do it after you've begun the technique. Never forget!
Even a cat that doesn't like being held will tolerate this. Most of the struggling is for dignity's sake, not because you are hurting it.
A cat who gets very upset when confined or held, should not be treated this way. All other cats are fine. My Princess can't take this treatment, but I can scratch her head as I pass. Beasley pouts if he doesn't get Scoop-n-Smooch. The ladies will try to get a scratch first, but Beasley needs his Scoop-n-Smooch before anything else.
Following up with food is always a good idea in training the cat.
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- dilated pupils
- whiskers pulled back along face
- tail may lash or be tucked close to body
- hair coat may be raised along back and tail
- hissing, growling, or spitting
- flattened ears pointing down and back
- crouched body, often facing sideways to opponent
February Offers
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