Category Archives: All Things Cats

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Keeping It Fresh!

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Today I thought I would write about keeping your pet’s food clean and fresh….

There are so many articles online about using special types of food containers to store different types of food. Some say store it in the bag, some say use this type of box, that type of can……so many contradictory statements and advice.

So I thought to myself, how would I want my food to be stored? Do I want to eat food stored in a smelly plastic container? Do I want new food to be dumped over the old stuff without washing out my dish? NO! Therefore, I treat Kitty’s food like I would my own.

I have tried many different cans, jars and containers to store pet food. In my personal experience, I found that if I left it in the bag, especially if the bag is not re-sealable, it causes the food to become stale very quickly.

Plastic containers are disliked very much in my household so that was not even an option for me. I have used them in the past and I must say if you can avoid storing ANYTHING in plastic, do it!

After many trials and errors, I found that mason jars work best to keep the dry food fresh for longer. If I do end up buying a larger bag of dry food, I split them up between a few mason jars and make sure the lids are secured tightly. They are stored in the pantry, away from heat and light. The same goes for treats as well.

Once opened, wet food cans are stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. I use a really good airtight lid for these cans. Kitty usually eats about a tablespoon of wet food twice a day and has access to dry food all day along with a fountain of fresh water. Of course, she gets treats and sometimes sits down to share some roast chicken or shrimp at dinner with us:)

When you store your pet food in a container, you should still keep the batch information, bar code and expiration date from the bag of food.  You can simply tear or cut this off the bag, and keep it inside the container.  If there is a pet-food recall, you will be able to easily determine if your pet’s food is affected.

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Kitty’s food station

  • Stainless steel water fountain, cleaned out daily
  • Red  dry food dish with her kibbles – she munches on it whenever she gets hungry
  • Green wet food dish where she gets a little bit of wet food twice a day

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Keeping Cats Safe In Winter

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As the snow piles up and the temperature drops, health and safety risks increase for cats.

Here are five tips that will help keep all kitties safe and happy over the winter

  1. Keep cats inside

If a quick jaunt outdoors leaves you shivering and shaking, it’s too cold for your cat as well. You may think that they are accustomed to spending time outside but for their own health and safety, it’s worth keeping them indoors during the winter months.

  1. Create warm spaces indoors

Even indoors, it can get pretty chilly during the winter – make sure they have plenty of warm spaces to curl up inside the house. I have blankets and fluffy crate mats in several places around my apartment so Kitty has a warm, cuddly seat anywhere she goes.

  1. Before you start your car, bang on the hood

When the temperature drops, outdoor cats may seek shelter from the cold under the hood of your car. Give the hood a quick rap or honk your horn to scare away any hiding cats before you start your car.

  1. Be careful with chemicals

Antifreeze is highly poisonous to both cats and dogs. If you put antifreeze in your car this winter, make sure to thoroughly clean up any spills, securely replace the cap, and carefully wipe the sides of the container after use. You may also consider purchasing antifreeze made with propylene glycol rather than ethylene glycol – it’s safer (though still dangerous) if ingested.

While antifreeze may be the biggest concern because its sweetness makes it taste good to animals, make sure you also clean up any other chemical spills this winter and try to limit your use of rock salt, which can make a cat sick if she eats it.

5.     Keep your neighborhood cats safe by building an outdoor cat shelter

Stray cats in your neighborhood may struggle to keep warm and find food in the wintertime. By making and maintaining an outdoor cat shelter, you can help keep your neighborhood’s strays warm and protected from the elements.

 

(Source: http://www.vetfolio.com)

 

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Loves to play in the snow!

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Adorable paw prints!

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Kitty’s first snowfall! The look on her face is just hilarious!

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Enjoying her walk in the snow!

 

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Some Funky Art!

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I wanted to share some artwork I did which will be donated towards the Berkeley’s Place Online Auction.

Proceeds raised from this auction will be used for the Earth Angel Helpersack Initiative which is a community outreach project to help homeless people living on the streets with companion animals.

I am hoping to do a few more similar ones on a smaller scale towards my own fundraiser in the next few months.

Let me know what you think of these 🙂

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Care For Some Grass Anyone?

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Kitty is a little obsessed with eating plants……

Last year, my mother in law bought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and the minute I set it down on the table, Kitty pounced on it… Even thought I tried to keep her away from it, she managed to chow down some flowers. Needless to say, all this happy eating ended up in a pile of puke on the carpet a few hours later.

Since then, I have never brought fresh flowers indoors.

When we go out for a walk, she happily grabs mouthfuls of whatever it is that is growing out there. So no surprise,we don’t go on walks out to the garden too often now.

So I had to figure out a safe way to give her an opportunity to dig around in the dirt and eat some grass…

Voila!

Cat Grass!

According to the many articles online, Cat Grass is a name used to describe different types of grass which are popular with cats. The most popular type of cat grass is Avena sativa, or the Common Oat.

Unlike catnip, cat grass doesn’t induce a high in cats. There is no definitive answer as to why cats eat grass but some theories out there suggest that they act as a laxative and helps with the passage of hairballs through the system. The research also suggests that it might provide certain vitamins and nutrients your cat is lacking and sometimes eating grass can induce vomiting, which helps the cat bring up hairballs(source: www.cat-world.com.au)

After having done some reading on this, I purchased a grow-it-yourself kit from the store. Unfortunately this didn’t work out so well. The plant wouldn’t grow even though I followed the instructions and eventually Kitty ended up pulling out all the roots and playing with the dirt.

My next option was to try to grow this from scratch. So I purchased some good quality soil, a bag of seeds and a large container in order to get this done. A week or so later, I could see the bright green grass beginning to sprout and soon, they were long enough for Kitty to enjoy them.

Every morning she goes out on to the balcony to enjoy her yummy treat. She slowly learnt not to pull them out by the root and now she just takes a bite off the top.

Look at her enjoying this bountiful harvest !:)

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Pawlicious Food!

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We are on the constant lookout for fresh, healthy food… Then why do we not think twice about giving our pets the best? Do they not deserve fresh food without chemicals and fillers?

I am constantly researching the safest and healthiest cat foods to feed Kitty and have tried many different varieties so far.

I started with Blue Buffalo, Organix, Merrick, Wellness… anything that was advertised as the next best thing.

Eventually I stumbled upon Orijen. It was locally made, with real ingredients and no fillers. Kitty loved it as her dry food.

For wet food, I found nothing better than the Weruva BFF and TruLuxe line. Not only was in grain free, it was also free of carrageenan which is a thickener added to most human and pet foods.Some studies show that this could be a possible carcinogen.

The best thing about this line is that when you open the can, you can actually recognize the food that is in it. There are chunks of meat, salmon, duck and lamb, shredded chicken and flakes of tuna and some vegetables as well. Kitty only eats the gravy kind and not the pate.

I think it’s so important to take time to read the list of ingredients on each item of food you buy for yourself as well as your furbabies. After all, we are what we eat

What do you feed your precious furbabies? Leave a comment and let me know.

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The Inspiration behind the Blog

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As I work my way through getting this project in order, I thought I would introduce you all to the inspiration behind the creation of this blog.

She joined our little family almost 3 years ago and have been the love of our lives ever since!

Please say hello to Kitty Mojito Burton

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Isn’t she just the cutest thing you have ever seen? 🙂

My husband and I absolutely adore her and we spoil her rotten. She is definitely the queen of our household and as most cat owners know, we adjust our life around her.

I will be featuring some of her favourite things in many of the upcoming posts so keep an eye out for that!

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Welcome to CCLC!

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Hello World!

Thank you for visiting the Crazy Cat Lady Corner!

This will be my platform to share thoughts, ideas, helpful hints and advice about anything cat related.

I didn’t start out as a cat person until about 3 years ago when my beloved Kitty joined our little family. In fact, in most people’s eyes I wouldn’t technically be classified as a cat lady since I only have one cat (so far!)

However, I think it opened up a new world for me.. a world of appreciation for all animals … I wanted to do what I could to make sure that every little fur baby out there had an opportunity to find a loving home like the way Kitty found with us….

This blog is about  my love for cats and I hope to use it as a method to share stories and advice with all cat lovers out there.

I am also hoping to use this platform to feature animals rescues, especially those who focus on cats. Watch for our Feature Rescue of the Month.

So I open the door to all of you……. let’s do this!