November 02, 2009
What's in This Issue:
 Pet Supplies - Cat Supplies - Pet Meds |
THANK YOU!
All of you, for making my house-building experience great, and letting me do what I needed to do during the move. Thank you for your patience while I was offline or had sporadic access to the internet.
Thank you for telling your friends about For-the-Love-of-Cats.com, and putting us back at the top 1% of sites worldwide! We love our readers and visitors, and want only to do the best for cats, and keep them in your homes.
Updates to the site
An article by ASPCA about the flea drops we use on our cats. It's so important to read the directions! And NEVER use dog products on cats!
I put some new manuals on the First Aid page for you.
I've added a page on FLUTD, and Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease, Disorders for you. This page gives a general overview and some concrete steps you can take to protect your cat against the disorder and to treat the disorder. This is first in a series of pages on cat health issues that I'm adding to the site. It is culled from other online sources, including Wikipedia. The references for the material will be on the finished pages.
Holistic FLUTD Care is a quick-and-dirty page with some prevention and home remedies you can do.
Articles
Protect Your Pet in Cold Winter Weather
Special Needs of Older Felines
Vet School Feature
November Offers
Don't forget the interactive pages...
Bragging Rights For Readers
Bad Cat Behaviors From Readers
Submit Your Story or Tribute
These pages are all user-generated! That means you can write about your cat, your favorite cat story, or get help from other visitors (sometimes even me!) if you have a serious problem with a cat. Please include a photo of your cat, if you can.
Use the Cat Whisperer Contact form if you or a friend has a problem that is involved or delicate.
Protect Your Pet in Cold Winter Weather - Tips By Norma Crozier
The cold weather seems to be upon most of Canada and the United States in the month of January. Your pets should be taken into consideration when the cold weather hits your area There are some guidelines to keep in mind for the winter months in protecting your pets.Dogs should never be let off the lease in the snow or ice because they often lose their scent in this type of weather, may get away from the pet owner and be hard to find in this cold weather. They can become disoriented in the cold weather and therefore be lost to you being out too long in the cold.
People are warned to stay bundled up and inside in below temperatures this also applies to your pets. You must keep pets indoors as much as possible when temperatures are in the low freezing times when wind chill warnings are out. The effect on a person does not take long in the wind chill or pets.
You should never leave your pets- dogs, cats etc.outside in the cold weather unsupervised because you cannot tell unless you are with them how the cold is really affecting them. If there is some reason that you cannot bring your pet inside then try to make a place that is warm and away from drafts for them to sleep. Ensuring that they will be safe away from the winter chill. Provide some form of bedding which will give some insulation and help keep them warm. Straw for example will help protect them from the cold floor and provide some insulation.
Cold weather can affect a person's hands, face exposed places so you should take precautions with your pets as well. Clean your pet's paw's off before they come inside. The salt and ice-melting chemicals used on most streets during the winter months can burn dogs' paws. There are many new styles of winter boots or overshoes available now for dogs as well as the new pet-friendly ice melts now being carried in many pet stores. There is more and more new items available for protection of your pet in the winter. Also many stores now carry clothing in the forms of coats and sweaters for many pets. We must dress warmer in the winter for those temperatures so it is therefore necessary to prepare your pet as well.
We have all experienced strange noises at one time from out car start up. Be sure to knock on your car hoods before starting the engines because it is found that warm car engines provide an inviting place for cats and small animals to cozy up to for warmth not realizing the risks involved.
Antifreeze is another well known threat to pets and taken in large amounts can be harmful. . It is a sweet tasting treat which seem to attract animals and found more at this time of year on the ground. A precaution is to keep this poisonous substance from pets by wiping up any spills that may occur and by storing containers where they are not easy assessable by anyone except yourself. Antifreeze will not harm pets if taken swallowed in small amounts, but reactions can happen, because it is made from propylene glycol but can be poisonous if digested in large quantities. Any kind of alien chemical should not be of access to pets or anyone.
The winter is hard on everyone and people tend to take vitamins, apply more creams and lotions to keep their skin moist in the cold dry air. Pets also need supplements such as fatty-acid and skin conditioners for protection of their skin and coats through the winter months. Pets with short hair will be affected more with the cold.
Pets should not be left in a vehicle for a long period of time during the winter any more than in the summer months. The summer the vehicle can become a furnace well it is opposite for the winter and pets can pick up chills in a cold vehicle for long periods of time.
Heaven Pet Urns cares about your pets and the pet owners. We hope you will keep these guidelines in mind through the winter months when temperatures drop. Protect yourself and your pet because we care and it shows in our pet urn products and our thoughts.
Author: N.Crozier owner of http://www.heavenpeturns.com I have always love animals and pets with a connection to them. I love people, socializing, community events. Visit us and find a quality pet cremation memorial urn, granite laser pet garden grave markers, granite laser memorial pet plaques, pet cremation jewelry keepsakes, memorial poem pet urns, Rainbow Bridge Pet Urns, Rock Memorial urns and markers, pet memorial trees and many more customized pet urns as dog urns, cat urns, family pet urns. Free engraving, shipping and more. Our pet urns not only show your love and respect for your pet dog, cat, bird, rabbit any family pet you may have but what they deserve.
Special Needs of Older Felines by Michael D. Rosenthal
As your cat ages, they will encounter numerous changes over time that will eventually lead to a failure of their organs and internal systems - this is a fact of life. However, it is possible to prolong their longevity by paying attention to the special needs that of older felines and by providing your cat with those elements that they will benefit from as they grow older.Recent studies have proven that imbalances in feline potassium levels are directly related to certain health conditions and issues that older cats are prone to. Fortunately, the condition is treatable, and cats are not only healthier now, but they have longer life expectancies today than ever before. So let's take a look at the potassium issue from the perspective of what it is and what it does, as well as why it is so important to the life of an older cat.
What is Potassium and What Does It Do?
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center's website, Potassium is defined as "a mineral that helps the kidneys function normally. It also plays a key role in cardiac, skeletal, and smooth muscle contraction, making it an important nutrient for normal heart, digestive, and muscular function." Potassium is also found in felines - specifically, in their blood and within all their body cells.
Clinical studies have proven that it is an essential component for proper cell function in felines and is of utmost importance to the cells that cardiac and skeletal muscles are comprised of. With felines, just as is the case with humans, depleted potassium levels oftentimes result in severe weakening in all aspects of the muscular system.
Why is Potassium So Important to Older Felines?
Clinical studies recently revealed a dual avenue of importance in the relationship of older felines and proper potassium levels. Hypokalemia, which is an insufficient level of blood potassium, has been found to be common in mild form in older felines. It is most commonly associated with inactivity, lack of exercise, and lethargic behavior in these older cats. Additionally, it is also associated with poor appetite, bad conditions or the coat and skin, and the occurrence of anemia.
It was originally hypothesized that these conditions were the result of the aging process, but these clinical studies have proven this to be incorrect. It is unfortunate, however, that there is currently no test that is conclusive enough to prove the conditions are truly correlated with insufficient potassium levels since the blood potassium screenings are not a true reflection of the entire body's potassium levels. What is certain is that the reversal of the process is effected with dietary potassium supplementation.
Secondly, there is a correlation between sufficient potassium levels (or an increase of these levels) and the longevity of kidney function. In most cases, the kidneys are the first of the major organs to fail in older cats. As the cat ages, its kidneys begin to fail in the removal of toxins in there systems. As a natural reaction, the cat consumes more water to elevate the frequency of urination in order to flush these toxins from their systems. The unfortunate side effect is that increased urination depletes the cat's potassium levels. The result is the onset of Hypokalemia (see above).
Further Considerations
Fortunately, the discovery of the above two conditions (relative to potassium levels) has provided us with the knowledge of interrupting these vicious cycles by virtue of dietary potassium supplementation. Not only does this supplementation prolong the longevity of kidney function, it supports those functions as well. Additionally, felines will act, eat, and feel better in the long run.
For more easy, practical tips on taking great care of your cat be sure to visit the author's feline health site now.
Vet School Feature
Start by making sure your academic resume' is in order. Then, read this report to be prepared for the time frame and process of getting admitted to Veterinary College.Be sure you do your own research to find the right school for you, using this information in mind.
Read through these myths so that you don't get distracted in your search for the school you want to attend.
If you want to look at ethics in Veterinary Medicine, this paper on Holistic Veterinary Ethics is a great place to start.
November Offers
Advantage for Cats |  NEEM Spray for Fleas |
 Defeat Da Fleas Natural Flea repellent. |  Flea Kits for Cats and Dogs |
 Color Atlas of Small Animal Anatomy: The Essentials |  Textbook of Veterinary Anatomy |
 Clinical Textbook for Veterinary Technicians |  Veterinary Dentistry for the Nurse and Technician |
 Cat Cottage Triplex for outdoor cats, with FREE SHOPPING! |  Igloo Style Dog House for outdoor cats. |
 Odor Control Packs for the Litter Box area. |  SCOE-10x, the best deodorizer I've ever found. Make your home smell fresh for the holidays! |
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