Category Archives: All Things Cats

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Hard To Say Goodbye!

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Before you panic, I am not going anywhere !

As the title suggests, saying goodbye to your pets (temporarily of course!) is hard!

Every morning, when I leave for work, a little part of my heart breaks to see the sad look on Kitty’s face. As I put on my jacket and grab my keys, she runs up to the door and sits there with a look that says ‘Do you REALLY have to leave me?’

So I dug around online and found this really interesting article on separation anxiety among cats. It gives some really good points on how to help your fur babies (and you!) cope with it. Enjoy!

(Article from www.catbehaviorassociates.com)

Many people have an inaccurate image of cats being solitary creatures who don’t need companionship but they actually are social and do form very strong bonds to their human family members and animal companions.

Cats who were orphaned may be more prone to separation anxiety. Too-early weaning may also be a factor. Also how you’ve set up your cat’s environment plays a role as well. If your cat has no other activities and ways to build confidence without being attached to you at the hip, then that increases the chance of separation anxiety.

Your cat may go along just fine and have no problem with you coming and going on a daily basis but then something, such as a change in work schedule, a vacation, a divorce, etc, could trigger separation anxiety.

When the cat parent leaves, the cat may exhibit excessive meowing. Elimination outside of the litter box may also occur. The cat may urinate or defecate on the cat parent’s bed or on clothing belonging to that human family member. It’s easy to misread this behavior as one of spite but it’s really a way for kitty to self-soothe by mixing his scent with yours. It’s also a way that the cat attempts to help you “find” your way home. Think of it as the feline version of dropping bread crumbs along the path.

Other signs may include excessive self-grooming, eating too fast or not eating at all when the cat parent isn’t present.

Before labeling your cat as having separation anxiety, it’s important he be examined by the veterinarian. The behavior being displayed may have an underlying medical cause. For example, elimination outside of the litter box may be due to lower urinary tract disease or have some other medical cause. Excessive grooming may be the result of external parasites, skin allergies, irritation, etc. Eating too fast or a lack of appetite may also be caused by an underlying medical condition. Don’t skip this very important step of visiting your veterinarian.

Once your cat is diagnosed with separation anxiety, behavior modification techniques can be used to reduce his stress and increase stimulation in your absence.

  • Increase the environmental enrichment. If you want your cat to feel satisfied, entertained and secure when you aren’t around then the environment in which he lives has to inspire that. Incorporate puzzle feeders, playtime, elevated areas, hideaways and more to encourage him to find ways to trigger and satisfy his prey-drive. The more enriched and secure the environment is, the better your cat will feel when he’s by himself.
  • Inspire confidence when you interact with your cat. Don’t reward your cat with attention when he’s meowing and being insistent. Instead, reward him with petting, treats, praise and attention when he’s acting the way you WANT him to act. Reward him when he’s quiet. Reward him when he does something to entertain himself. Reward the behavior you want to see again and don’t reinforce the unwanted behavior.
  • Engage your cat in interactive play sessions on a daily basis. Twice a day would actually be even better. Interactive playtime allows your cat to simply enjoy being the mighty hunter. For a cat, being able to engage the prey drive and enjoy a successful capture is the ultimate in joy and satisfaction.
  • Don’t make a big production about leaving. If you anticipate your cat is going to suffer from separation anxiety, you’ll just make it worse if you overdo the goodbye process. Your cat will think you’re leaving for a month instead of just 8 hours. Make your goodbyes very casual. Cats easily pick up on the emotions of their human family members. If you’re upset then your cat may get upset
  • Practice coming and going. If your cat starts to get tense whenever he hears you pick up your keys or if he sees you reach for your purse or coat, then practice doing those things several times a day without actually leaving.

There are some cases where anti-anxiety medication may also be needed in conjunction with behavior modification. Your veterinarian or a veterinary behaviorist will advise the client based on the specifics of the cat’s case. If medication is prescribed, it MUST be used alongside appropriate behavior modification and is not to be viewed as a substitute for doing the behavior work needed to relieve the cat’s anxiety.

If you’ve noticed a change in your cat’s behavior or you think he may be experiencing separation anxiety, contact your veterinarian so a thorough examination can be done. If your veterinarian does diagnose separation anxiety, you may be referred to a certified behavior professional.

 

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Happy, Happy, Kitty Day!

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Today I spent some time reading about stories about the yays and nays of having a cat….Some were very touching and some were hilarious… ! As I read, I began to think how life has changed since Kitty came into our home.

People say life will never be the same when you have a child….

And while it may not be the same, I say life will never be the same when you have a pet! Once you get a pet, you are making a promise to provide a safe and quality life for that living creature!!  Yes it is a living, breathing, FEELING creature!

You would not believe how angry it makes me when I see or hear about people treating pets like they are some disposable object, like it is a fashion trend, to try it and then move on if it doesn’t work…. STOP!!!!!

If you do not have the TIME, MONEY or PATIENCE to take care of any pet, be it a cat, dog, fish, gerbil etc etc DO NOT GET ONE!! And if it is being mistreated, your pet’s life is more valuable to me that yours! There, I said it!

Ok! Deep Breath!!!

Back to the story…….

Let me walk you through a typical day with Kitty…

My husband and I usually wake up between 4.30am -5am to get ready for work. Kitty is so used to us being up at this time that if the alarm doesn’t go off for some reason, she jumps on the bed and meows until we wake up….. The down side to this is that she does this on weekends too ! lol

Once we are up, she follows one of us into the bathroom (usually me!).. While I brush my teeth, she drinks water out of the faucet and hangs out there while I get ready. Once I leave the bedroom, she dashes into the kitchen and waits for her wet food. It’s now 5.15am and as I get my lunch packed up, she rubs up against my leg and purrs up a storm until I pick her up and give her hugs. Hubby has already left by now.

Wet food out…. she is excited to try out a new flavor! She gets to try a new can every few days… Yes, she is spoilt! She will only start eating it when I start eating breakfast … Once we are both done and before I hear out the door, she stands in front the cupboard with a paw on the handle. Time for a treat before Mommy leaves for the day….Two treats are thrown in two directions and she chases them down ….. !

Fast Forward several hours …. I head back home after work and as soon as I walk up to the door, I hear her running. She greets me with loud meows and waits for hugs. She follows me while I freshen up and get things ready for dinner. She sits on the counter while I do the prep work and then the cooking. Once dinner is ready, she sits by the window waiting for Daddy to come home. Suddenly,her ears perk up, she bounces off the window ledge and dashes to the front door. She had seen Daddy outside! We all eat dinner at the same time. She is usually done first.. Then she sits next to us, hoping we will share some roast chicken or fish with her. We usually do…

She is now a bit hyper….She runs around, jumps on the cupboards, on the couch… off the couch, back and forth…. She is happy we are here:)

Night time… we settle in to watch some TV before bed. She hangs out with us, sitting up on her cat tree. Occasionally, she will jump down and sit on our laps and cuddle…  Her night time ritual is being brushed for about 5 mins. She loves it!!

It’s time for bed…. When the lights are all turned off, she follows us into the bedroom and does a small song and dance.. LOL… It consists of some loud meowing, loud rustling behind the blinds and then walking all over the bed in an attempt to see if we would wake up and pay attention to her. If there is no movement, she either goes back to her cat tree or sleeps between the two of us… And we repeat tomorrow!

That is a typical day with my sweet Kitty:)

 

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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!