We Heart Cats

With Halloween soon upon us, I thought it would be fun to find some cute photos of cats in costume! You can check out some adorable photos HERE. Have a safe and happy Halloween everyone!

First off, I’d like to congratulate reader Jean B. for winning the logo contest, and thanks to all who participated!

Now, onto my topic for the day. I have three cats, two of which are much older than my youngest. The youngest is, surprisingly, the best behaved, but the other two (who are 17 and 15) are running all over the place because of hyperthyroidsm. The veterinarian is still in the process of balancing their medication.

So, aside from the hyperness, the two older ones have also decided to boycott the litterbox. Specifically, my female cat poops in corners, and my male cat seems to take a fancy to peeing in front of the fireplace. How lovely. I decided to get some Urine Gone, and it really does help. I suggest that if you try it too, make sure that you use it with the blacklight that often comes in the package.

Another things that really works wonders? After you’ve located the areas that the cats most frequently go at, cover those areas with tinfoil. Yes, it all looks rather odd, but it certainly does wonders. When you have guests over, you can simply take the tinfoil away!

Talk to your veterinarian about the urination/defecation problem too, because this behavior might be indicative of a medical problem like a urinary tract infection. Whatever you do, please don’t get angry at your cat.

The CFA-Iams Cat Championship will be held from October 18th-19th at Madison Square Garden in New York City. You’ll have the chance to see the best of more than 40 breeds of cats, along with events like:

Feline Agility Competition
Adopt-A-Cat: Dozens of homeless cats from the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC animals will be available for adoption
Iams Trained Cats: The finest felines from Hollywood will be performing onstage!
New York’s Largest Feline Shopping Mall
The Breed Showcase

Click HERE to visit the official website for the Cat Championship

ALL OF THIS HAVING BEEN SAID…

I’m on the lookout for the perfect logo for We Heart Cats, and I know lots of you out there are creative! So, I’m pleased to announce my first contest for We Heart Cats! Here are the rules:

Please include the phrase “weheartcats.com” in your design.
Designs must be high-res, and a JPEG. Other than that, there are no design restrictions!

All entries are due by 12:00 noon EST on Saturday, October 18th.

An e-mail will be sent to the winner on Wednesday, October 22nd.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are the winner, you agree to give up all ownership rights to your logo, and thereby give me permission to use the logo wherever and however I choose.

So, what does the winner get? I’m glad you asked, because the winner gets a fabulous prize package. The Sophisticated Cat in the City Package (worth $250.00) includes:

Cattitude Mug
Purrfect Grooming Brush
The Purrfect Satin Close-up Cat Toy
Cat Charmer Cat Toy
16 lbs. of Iams Pro-Active Health Original Formula cat food with Lamb & Rice (Orange Bag)
2 Premium Cat Food Bowls
Organic Cotton Cat Collar
Faux Suede Cat Bed with Eco-Friendly 100% Recycled Fiber Fill

The contest is short and sweet. I look forward to seeing everyone’s designs!

My grandmother recently got two kitties from PetSmart’s animal rescue program. If you have a PetSmart near you, you’ve no doubt seen the cats that are available. What isn’t commonly known is that in many stores, the cats are first fostered by people. The ones that are not purchased directly through them end up at the store. My grandmother got her two before they had actually gotten to the store.

Everything seemed to be going along fine, until she noticed an increase in the scratching the two were doing. Yes, they had definitely gotten fleas. The problem is, no one could exactly figure out how, since they’re indoor cats and always have been. Three months and two doses of flea medicine later, the fleas have left for the most part. However, here are some tips I’ve learned from helping my grandmother through the experience:

1. When you see the flea, don’t freak out that they’ll infest you. Fleas don’t like humans, they like animals. Sure, they might jump on you for a second, but once they notice you don’t have fur they’ll jump off.

2. The average flea lays something like 20,000 eggs in a lifetime. So, you should definitely keep an eye out for the eggs. Part the fur of your kitty (they usually congegate on the stomach or neck area) and if you see things that look like little specks of dirt, that’s the eggs. TO be sure, wet to edge of your finger and rub the speck. If it dissolves into blood (which is the blood of your kitty that the flea lives on) that’s a definite indicator.

3. Don’t use a flea collar and the flea drop medication together. Use just one or the other. It is too powerful for your cat, especially if it is still a kitten.

4. The fleas will spread around your home, so it is very important that you sprinkle flea powder on your carpets. Leave it on for a little while, and then vaccum it up.

5. There are various natural remedies to get rid of fleas too. I found an interesting website called Earth Clinic that lists some interesting things you might want to try. Check it out HERE.

Kitty parents know that cats with claws love to sharpen them. You can get as many scratching posts as you want, but a kitty will still find ways to sometimes sharpen his or her claws on something else! So, if you’re finding that your furniture looks a bit ragged because of a claw-sharpening excursion, check out this article about ways to protect your furniture and keep your kitty happy at the same time.

I personally don’t think so, but many cat owners do like to take their cats out on the occasional stroll on a leash. I actually have never seen a person walk a cat in my area, so I don’t really have a point of reference as to how popular it might be. I could definitely see someone walking a Savannah, since that particular breed of domesticated cat is as large as a medium-sized dog! If you’re interested in more information regarding the topic of leashing cats, there’s an article here that provides the story of how one kitty parent started using one.

I admit it: I’ve never given my cats a bath. While daily brushing is an absolute necessity, the amount of grooming they do keeps them very clean. However, all three of my cats are short-haired. Had they been long-haired, I would probably give them a monthy bath. If you’re a kitty parent with cats that you give a bath too, here’s an article that will help you to do so without getting scratched.

Some relatives of mine recently got new kittens with double paws. One kitten has paws that are even bigger than the other double-pawed cat, in fact, because of his paws he’s named Mittens! I was curious as to how double-pawed cats (also referred to as Polydactyl cats) become that way in the first place. I ended up finding a very interesting article about the subject HERE.

For years I’ve been using Scoop Away, and haven’t been pleased with it. While it says it’s non-tracking, my cats still track it all over the place. However, I’ve found a natural alternative that actually smells decent! It’s called Shweat Scoops, and, as its name implies, it’s made mainly out of wheat. For more information, check out the Shweat Scoops website

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I hope everyone has a fun holiday!

Source: http://snapshot.parade.com/mainemb.php?g2_itemId=821874