HEALTH FOR CATS

Thursday, 15 May 2014

About Cats: 14 Ways Cats Show Love

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From Franny Syufy, your Guide to Cats

I celebrated Mothers Day this year as I have in previous years, by donating to a animal shelter or foster group. This year my donation went to ARK (Angels Rescuing Kritters), the foster group/shelter that entrusted me with the care and love of my Sage and Gaither. These volunteers are my heroes with hearts of gold.

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14 Ways How Cats Show Love

It may be puzzling to learn that some of the ways cats show their love might cause us to think just the opposite. For instance a cat may shred your favorite chair with his claws to show his love (possession) of you, according to Amy Shojai, former Contributing Writer .

Photo of Kittens Nursing and Kneading
photo © Getty Images/John P Kelly

There's no doubt at all, though that these nursing kittens are all purring and kneading to show how happy they are, and how much they love their mom cat. No doubt, some of them will grow up to demonstrate their love for their human moms and dads in much the same way, as Amy described.

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Why do cats suck wool?

While human kids may suck their thumbs while clutching a security blanket, wool-sucking cats find their security in sucking wool blankets, sweaters, or anything they can find that brings back... Read more

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Cat Therapy for Autistic Children

Over six years ago, J. Manerling, the father of an autistic son, wrote a Guest Article, A True Story of the Miracle a Cat Brought to an Autistic Boy The father... Read more

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Cat Behavior 101

Figuring out cat behavior can be a real puzzle, sometimes. Cat Behavior 101 was created to help cat caregivers understand why cats do not always behave the way we expect them to, and to help them change those practices to more acceptable behavior.

Photo of cat Bubba scratching back of chair Behavioral problems in cats, such as avoiding the litterbox, excessive meowing and other attention-seeking behavior, biting and painful or destructive scratching can be corrected by first eliminating physical causes, then initiating a program of gradual retraining, with the help of these resources. Remember that there are no bad cats, only uninformed cat caregivers.

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Thursday, 8 May 2014

About Cats: Bites and Abscesses, National Asthma Month, More

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From Franny Syufy, your Guide to Cats

I've had a busy week between nursing a sick computer and a very sick little cat. But both are mostly better, which is encouraging. Jenny will be wearing a patch of honor until her coat grows back in.

This week is Be Kind to Animals Week and HSUS has created a list of ways to celebrate it. The last four items on the list are things I consider vital tor all cat caregivers year-round.

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Cat Bites and Abscesses

The past week has been a stressful one for my whole household, especially for poor Jennifur, who had to have emergency surgery on April 30th. She had been bitten severely, and a large abscess had developed.

Photo of cat Jenny With Large Abscess
photo © Franny Syufy

We suspect the culprit to be Jaspurr, who has had his own share of medical problems lately. Jaspurr and Jenny have had an ongoing personality clash ever since we adopted her several years ago. He has attacked her several times, and this is the third time he has severely injured her. However I don't...Read more

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Cat Care For the Physically Challenged

In many cases, being physically challenged should not prevent one from having a cat as a companion, nor from being able to provide at least some of the care for the cat(s) For example, Mario is completely blind, and has been for many years. His sight started deteriorating when he was 16, and at that time he set in place a system of organization which serves him and his cats today.

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May is National Asthma Month

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) has declared May to be "National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month" for several years. This makes sense, as May traditionally is the month when all the allergen-inducing pollens are floating in the air outdoors.

For cat aficianados, asthma can be a two-fold health issue. First, some of our caregivers may be allergic to cats. And second...learn more

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Cat Picture of the Week: Cami

The story of Cammi's adoption touched me so much that I had to select her as my first Cat Picture of the Week for May, 2014

Cat Picture of the Week: Cammi
photo © About.com Member Caligirl9

Caligirl9 lost her beloved Tuxedo Elliot in March of 2007, and she missed him so much that she adopted Cammi on Christmas Eve that year as a gift to herself. She still swears that Elliot sent her to that Petco Adoption Day event. Although I would normally advise folks against giving cats as Christmas gifts, this is one exception I'm glad to make.

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Thursday, 1 May 2014

About Cats: Happy May Day!

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From Franny Syufy, your Guide to Cats

May is a great month for cat lovers.

We honor Tuxedo Cats in our Cat Pictures of the Week features.
May 4th is the first day of Be Kind to Animals Week
Sunday, May 11th is Mothers' Day, and since my own Mom is long since passed, I have my own way of celebrating.
And of course, today is May Day. As a child I celebrated it by picking wild flowers putting them in a small basket made with craft paper, then taking it to an elderly widow to brighten her day. Perhaps I'll do the same thing today with a bouquet of my beautiful roses. I know the perfect lady to receive them.

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Review: Innova Nature's Table Grain Free Dry Cat Food

I recently was given the opportunity to test for review a new dry cat food by Innova: Innova Nature's Table Grain Free Farm-Raised Chicken & Tender Turkey Recipe Adult Cat Food

This dry food with the lengthy name has an equally lengthy list of pretty impressive ingredients. However, the carbohydrate value was higher than I'd prefer, especially for my diabetic cat, Billy. Still, I'll put it into my rotation of dry cat foods fed as snacks. It certainly beats a lot of other dry cat foods I've reviewed, in terms of nutritional value.Read my review for the details.

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May Honors Tuxedo Cats

I can't believe that May is here, and I'm looking forward to featuring Tuxedo Cats. Tuxedo Cats' striking colors: all black, with a white bib and sometimes... Read more

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How Many Times Could a Cat Become Pregnant in a Year?

A reader asked: "I have a question on cat pregnancy. I was wondering if I don't neuter my female and have another cat of the opposite gender in the house... Read more

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Cat Picture of the Week: Quirky

Our fourth Cat Picture of the Week for April features Quirky, a blind kitten who already has some degree of fame on the Internet.

Vicky adopted Quirky after having volunteered at a local shelter, caring for feral kittens. According to his Facebook page, Quirky will celebrate his ten month "birthday" on May 23rd. A little bird told me he hopes to have 10,000 followers by then. Perhaps my readers can help him out. Read more for the details.