We Heart Cats

fleas are SUCH A CHORE.  I hate ‘em.  If you get them in your house and on your kitty, get some advantage or revolution - DO NOT … PLEASE!  DO NOT use over the counter flea treatments!  I almost lost a cat because of a nasty side effect… so please please don’t ever use them. 

also, this stuff:

http://www.fleabusters.com/

is amazing!  I had a SERIOUS flea problem in my house.  I put advantage on everyone and then used this stuff.  It’s been TWO YEARS and I haven’t yet seen another flea.  And I only used HALF the jug for the entire house! 

Also, as an aside, I have one cat who is allergic to fleas.  ONE BITE from ONE FLEA will make him groom too much, loose hair, and get sores on his legs.  If you see this happening, even if you DON’T see a flea, have him checked out.  Could be what’s going on.   

Ok, I’m not a small woman.  My cats like this.  I’m soft and fluffy and they love to knead me and snuggle me and all that delightful stuff.  BUT….

I made the mistake of moving my bed under my large window.  NOW they have a new game!  I swear they line up to do this, they love it so much.  They’ll get in the window sill and then leap from the window sill onto mom’s tummy and BOUNCE off … if it didn’t make me sit up and go “WHOOOOF” it would be hilarious! 

I mean, think about it, most of my cats are on average about 10-11 pounds.  Think of that as a bowling ball coming down on you from a height of about 2 feet. 

SPECIAL!  Word to the wise… if you haven’t already done this, don’t put your bed under the window sill.  Once they figure out what fun it is, you’ll never have a moment’s peace!  :-D 

Does your cat have a problem throwing up hairballs?  Well, hairballs are a natural thing for cats… they ‘yark’ because they clean themselves so much that the hair gets in there and if it’s not sent out the other end, up it comes.  You don’t need to worry about these things unless it happens more than once or twice a week. 

 What can be of help in moving these things along is ‘hairball remedy’ that you can buy at any petstore or store such as walmart.  it’s a tasty paste and the instructions will give you the right amount to give your cat. 

However, if you see that your cat is yarking up food that looks like it hasn’t even been digested, there could be a problem.  A hairball can sometimes get ’stuck’ and then the food you feed the cat can’t be absorbed and digested.  If this happens more than once or twice, a trip to the vet is recommended in case this IS a hairball that’s stuck. 

A cat who throws up white foamy yark… a trip to the vet is in order.  This could be a symptom of many different issues and is something that a vet should diagnose. 

I’ve read a few posts about folks’ cats acting like heathen devils… and although mine act like that most all the time… the full moon DOES affect them.  My mom has cats, my aunt does as well… and everytime the full moon starts up … a few days before and after the actual event… we get drama. 

 We get more yarking (hairballs), we get more fighting, we get more drama from the little nutballs flying around and acting like fools … it’s really quite amazing! 

So… if your cats start acting like the devil incarnate at certain times of the month… try and notice if it’s the full moon coming on.  :-D 

Sometimes it’s hard to tell if your cat might just have a little cold, allergy, or if it’s moved on to a more serious problem.   If your cat has runny eyes or is sneezing, this could be a sign of impending problems.  Most of the time, in my experience, a cold will almost always head into the more serious upper respiratory issues.  And also, sometimes untreated allergies can go into this problem as well.  Now, cats can and do have allergies.  I want to explain the difference and the signs you can look for with these issues.  I have several cats with allergies!  Allergies are not serious in and of themselves, unless your cat sneezes ALOT and seems miserable.  With allergies, the eye excretions are clear and if they sneeze, it’s clear.  If your cat really seems miserable or sneezes more than a few times, your best bet is to get an appointment with a vet and get some medication for it.  He’ll be happier and you won’t get sneezed on when he’s snuggled up to your head in bed!  :-D  If the excretions from eye or nose become thick or greenish in nature, then a trip to the vet is definitely in order.  Colds are a different story… and even in the middle of summer, you will find colds can be a problem, ESPECIALLY in kittens.  And as often as colds turn into upper respiratory, you have to be very vigilent in keeping an eye on this problem.  If the cat or kittens eyes are glued shut, if there is pus behind the eye lid when you clean it, if you have one with a snotty nose or they’re breathing through their mouths, then you’re looking at something more than a simple cold.  At present, I am fostering 7 kittens and each one of them has this problem.  I took one to the vet and I have them all on eye drops and an antibiotic.  Kittens with this problem can die very quickly if not treated.  It’s a simple fix and not too costly.   I welcome any questions or further inquiries about this medical condition! 

 OH!!  ONE MORE THING AND I’M PUTTING THIS IN CAPS BECAUSE IT’S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!  About a year ago, I had this problem come up with a kitten.  I had some eye salve that I was given for a previous issue and decided to use it.  Well, that was a HUGE MISTAKE!  The stuff I used had steroids in it, which was what was called for for that particular cat.  HOWEVER, in regular eye issues… if you use eye salve with steroids in them… the steroids in that salve CAN AND WILL make the cornea simply… explode… and due to my error, we almost lost the eye!  We gave the baby regular antibiotic eye salve religiously and thankfully, all you can see now is a slight shadow on the eye itself.  Please don’t ever make the mistake I did and try to self-medicate your cat or kitten!