Month: April 2014

Cats and Road Trips: 7 Steps to Keep Your Cat Safe and Comfortable

Feline Lifestyle| 11 Comments

cats-road-trips

Guest post by Kim Salerno

When it comes to pets, dogs travel with their humans the most often. In fact, they account for over 85% of pet travelers. This makes sense; most dogs are happy to go on adventures. They love car rides and can’t wait to hop in and head out anywhere, whether it’s down the street to the park or halfway across the country on an extended road trip.

Cats, on the other hand, are not so keen on traveling by car. One reason is a difference in temperament – they’re just not as adaptable and adventurous as dogs. Another is the fact that the bulk of their travel experience tends to involve going back and forth to the vet.Continue Reading

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Review: Only Natural Pet EasyRaw Turkey and All Meat Freeze Dried Chicken Treats

Products| 6 Comments

Only_Natural_Pet_review

Three weeks ago, I introduced you to Only Natural Pet, a Colorado-based online retailer of natural pet products. While I’ve been a customer of ONP pretty much since its inception in 2004, I never actually tried any of their own products. I had a chance to select a few products for review, and today, I’d like to share my, and Allegra and Ruby’s opinion, of two of them with you.Continue Reading

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FIV Infection on the Rise: Know the Facts

Feline Health| 19 Comments

FIV_infection

The Banfield Pet Hospital annual State of Pet Health Report for 2014 revealed a sharp increase in infectious diseases among cats. The reports analyzed data from the nearly 470,000 cats cared for in Banfield’s 850 hospitals across the nation.

The report showed a 48 percent increase in the prevalence of the feline immune deficiency virus (FIV). According to the report,Continue Reading

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Exclusive Interview with Lil BUB’s “Dude” – Part One: How It All Began

Feline Lifestyle| 18 Comments

Lil_Bub_and_her_Dude

I never met Lil BUB in person, but I, like hundreds of thousands of others (BUB currently has more than 650,000 Facebook fans), fell in love with this amazing little cat via photos and videos. I hope to some day meet Lil BUB in person. She conveys a level of charisma on the printed page and in photos and videos unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I can’t even imagine what it must be like to meet this special little cat in real life.

Since an in-person meeting is not in the cards right now, I had an opportunity to do the next best thing: I got to ask Lil BUB’s “dude,” Mike Bridavsky, some questions.Continue Reading

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Hairballs Are Not Normal

Feline Health| 66 Comments

hairballs_in_cats

Today is National Hairball Awareness Day. The fact that someone decided it was a good idea to have a “holiday” named after hairballs is probably more of a marketing ploy to sell ineffective remedies and diets than anything else, but it’s also testament to the fact that hairballs are far too common in cats. And contrary to some of the information you may see around the web today, they are not a normal part of a cat’s digestive process.

What is a hairball?

Traditionally it has been thought that hairballs develop because of how cats groom themselves. As cats lick their fur, the tongue’s tiny barbs pull off excess hair. Inevitably, some hair gets swallowed in the process. Ideally, it passes through the body and ends up in stools, but hairballs form when hair wads up in the stomach instead.Continue Reading

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Scratch Lounge Review: A Unique Cardboard Scratcher

Products| 12 Comments

Scratch_Lounge

One of my favorite products at Global Pet Expo was the Scratch Lounge. I was delighted when the company sent us one to review – and so were Allegra and Ruby!

The Scratch Lounge is a good size, sturdy cardboard scratcher. The unique, patented three-sided design lets cats scratch to their hearts’ content, but it also gives them an alternative place to nap.

It didn’t take my two little product testers long to decide that the Scratch Lounge was a welcome new addition to our home. Continue Reading

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Polycystic Kidney Disease in Cats

Feline Health| 2 Comments

persian_tortoiseshell_cat

Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is an inherited condition in which small, liquid-filled cysts develop on the kidneys. These cysts multiply in number and grow in size over time. The increasing size eventually takes over healthy kidney tissue and can lead to potentially fatal kidney failure.

Genetic predisposition for some breeds

Even though this disease has been reported for decades, there is no explanation for why these cysts develop, except for a genetic anomaly that is seen primarily in Persians, or in breeds that have Persian genetics in their line, such as Himalayans.Continue Reading

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Review and Giveaway: Grey Howl by Clea Simon

Books| 33 Comments

Grey_Howl

Clea Simon’s Dulcie Schwartz mystery series, featuring the Harvard graduate student, along with her kitten Esme and the spirit of her departed cat, Mr. Grey, has become one of my favorite cat mysteries. In Grey Howl, the seventh installment of the series, we find Dulcie helping with preparations for a prestigious literature conference. Dulcie is in the final stages of her doctoral thesis about an obscure gothic novel by a mysterious author, and she is excited about presenting her paper at the conference. But as the visiting scholars arrive, things begin to go wrong, and Dulcie finds herself in the middle of a tangled web of academic rivalries. A presentation is sabotaged, a scholar disappears, and another is murdered. And to top it all off, Dulcie’s boyfriend Chris is acting strangely.Continue Reading

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Going Green With Your Cat

Feline Lifestyle| 4 Comments

going_green_with_cat

We’re all about conscious living here at The Conscious Cat, and green living is a big part of living a conscious life. Recycling, buying organic, and using eco-friendly products just makes sense – and not just for you, but also for your cats.

Here are some ways you can help the planet by going green with your cat:Continue Reading

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MeowSpace Solves Feeding and Litter Box Problems in Multiple Pet Households

Products| 15 Comments

MeowSpace

Do you have a bully cat who won’t let your other cats eat in peace? Does one of your cats need a special diet?  Does your dog eat your cat’s litter box deposits? If you’re dealing with these issues, you’ve probably wondered why nobody has invented something to solve the problem. Well, now somebody has.

Casey and Berdell Moffett-Chaney and their son Corey Bruesch invented MeowSpace® after getting frustrated with their two family cats, Mitchell and Flopsey. Flopsey was becoming overweight because she would bully Mitchell away from his food. Mitchell, who is a grazer, was losing weight. They came up with the ideaContinue Reading

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Stem Cell Therapy Helps Cat with Stomatitis

Feline Health| 6 Comments

Bob_the_cat

Stomatitis is is one of the most painful conditions cats can develop. Buckley suffered from this condition; a severe inflammation of the oral cavity in which the affected cat essentially becomes allergic to her own teeth. The outward signs of this condition are red, inflamed, often ulcerated gums. This can be extremely painful for cats. Treatment of this condition can be very frustrating. The goal is to control the inflammatory response. In many cases, a complete resolution of the problem may never be achieved.

Current treatment of stomatitis

To date, treatment usually involves a complete removal of all teeth. This approach Continue Reading

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