I have been in love with Bob ever since I read the British edition of A Street Cat Named Bob more than three years ago, and have followed the amazing journey of the pair since then. As far as life-changing cats go, Bob is in a league of his own.
When it comes to scratching posts, bigger is usually better. The SmartCat Ultimate Scratching Post is the tallest and sturdiest post we’ve come across, and Allegra and Ruby love it.Continue Reading
More and more people are understanding that well-being encompasses body, mind and spirit, and as a result, are turning to alternative healing modalties. And, as they are experiencing the benefits of alternative therapies for themselves, they also look for alternative ways of caring for their cats.
Illness and even the normal aging process can manifest in signs of pain and reduced energy in cats as well as in humans. Your personal stress can be reflected in your cats and create illness for them. Conventional medical treatments often cause side effects that can be alleviated by alternative therapies.
Many alternative therapies are energy based. Since cats are naturally sensitive to energy, they tend to respond well to these modalities.Continue Reading
There’s no question that cats make everything better, and that includes businesses. I love visiting stores or offices who have a resident cat. I think having a cat on the premises completely changes the energy of an establishment. In Cats on the Job: 50 Fabulous Felines Who Purr, Mouse, and Even Sing for Their Supper, Lisa Rogak shares the stories of 50 hardworking felines in all sorts of purrfessions.Continue Reading
Cats are masters at hiding signs of illness. By the time a cat shows symptoms, a disease may already be at an advanced stage, making treatment more difficult and also more costly. This is one of the reasons why regular veterinary exams are so important. But wouldn’t it be nice if you had a way to detect health problems even before your cat is due for her annual or bi-annual check up?
Home testing is not a new concept
Home testing for people has been around for decades, ranging from pregnancy tests to cholesterol checks and glucose monitoring. The technology is now also available for pets.
Urinary tract issues
Home testing can help detect urinary tract issues early. A urinary tract infection, if left undiagnosed and untreated, is not only painful, and, in male cats, potentially life-threatening, it can affect the cat’s kidneys and compromise kidney function. Once kidney function is lost, it cannot be regenerated.
Diabetes
When diabetes is diagnosed early, it is a manageable, and, depending on the type of diabetes, sometimes even reversible, condition.
Pawcheck and Petnostics: test your cat’s urine at home
There are several products with different technologies available to perform home testing for cats. Today I’d like to highlight PawCheck and Petnostics. These devices offer a simple, clean, and safe testing method, with no contact with the chemical reagents.
PawCheck provides innovative urinalysis strips for the screening of urinary tract infection, diabetes and kidney failure. Simply collect your cat’s urine using a special non-absorbent litter, which is provided with the test kit, and dip the strip directly into the sample. Results are read in 2 minutes. The non-absorbent litter can also be helpful if you have to bring a sample to your vet for further analysis.
Petnostics allows you to check your cat’s health by analyzing your cat’s urine with your smartphone. Petnostics relies on the same veterinary urine strips that vets use in their clinics. Simply collect your cat’s urine in the urine cup provided, and then use the free Petnostics mobile app to perform the analysis. Results can be easily shared with your veterinarian.
Home tests are intended to help you detect health conditions in your cat early, but are not a substitute for veterinary care. Tests are best evaluated in conjunction with your cat’s medical history, a physical exam, and possibly additional diagnostics.
FTC Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, which means that I was compensated to feature this content. Regardless of payment received, you will only see products or services featured on this site that I believe are of interest to our readers.
Cats, like humans, require both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids for optimal health. Both are considered essential fatty acids, meaning they cannot be manufactured in the body and therefore need to be obtained through diet.
Omega-3 fatty acids help reduce swelling, relax blood vessels and airways, improve circulation and reduce blood clotting. Omega-6 fatty acids help increase swelling, constrict blood vessels and airways, reduce circulation and increase blood clotting. This is important when the body is injured or develops an infection.Continue Reading
I think most of us would agree that cats are pretty darn smart. What, Allegra? Oh, you think that Ruby is too smart for her own good? I have to agree with you on that. Ruby, stop blowing raspberries at your sister!
Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled book review! How Smart Is Your Cat is a fun little book that allows you assess your feline family members’ intelligence with a series of intelligence tests and easy-to-teach tricks. Continue Reading
I have previously raved about the new Vesper-V line of cat furniture from Hagen – It’s quite possibly the most beautiful line of cat furniture I’ve seen, and I see a lot of cat furniture. We reviewed the V-Base back in April, and it gets used daily by Ruby or Allegra. We were thrilled when Hagen sent us the V-Lounge for review.
This beautifully designed elevated bed is made out of shaped poplar wood with a walnut stain.Continue Reading
Pretty Litter is a new low-cost, lightweight litter that can detect common feline health issues early. This scoopable and flushable litter is dust-free and eco-friendly.
Pretty Litter is currently in development. They are researching advanced features to provide the most comprehensive disease detection litter product on the market. Once the product is formulated, it should include detection of urinary anomalies, toxoplasma gondii, diabetes and more.Continue Reading
I was first introduced to Kathy Ireland’s Loved Ones line of pet products at the 2014 Global Pet Expo (where I also got to meet Kathy herself, which was an absolute thrill.) This line of pet products is not just another so so line with a celebrity name attached to it.Continue Reading
I can’t imagine anything more heartbreaking than a cat getting out of the house and going missing. I’m a firm proponent that all cats should be indoors, but I also realize that keeping cats indoors can be a controversial topic. But even with indoor only cats, accidents happen, and a cat may slip out and disappear.
With the advent of GPS tracking collars, finding a lost pet has become much more likely than it ever was before.Continue Reading
