Feline Lifestyle

June 17, 2012

Happy Father’s Day: Meet Some Special Cat Daddies

Thankfully, the stereotype that men don’t love cats is rapidly disappearing. I know we have quite a few male cat lovers among our readers. We think the sign of a good man is that he loves cats!

Today, in honor of Father’s Day, we’re featuring a few of these cat daddies.

Peter Wolf, pictured above with his formerly feral cat Smudge, is a freelance writer based in Phoenix, AZ. He writes about a wide variety of topics, but one topic that is closest to his heart is cats. He advocates for feral cats through his blog, Vox Felina. Peter’s vision is of a society in which all cats are adequately cared for. In addition to Smudge, Peter is dad to six other cats, and he also cares for two colonies of community cats of 3-6 cats each.

Al Chernoff is a member of Rescue Ink, an animal-rescue group dedicated to battling animal abuse and neglect, and educating and informing children and families about the mistreatment of animals.This group of tough-talking, tattooed bikers with hearts of goldContinue Reading

June 13, 2012

Liberty and Justice: a tale of loss, faith, and kittens

Feline Lifestyle| 68 Comments

If you’ve read The Conscious Cat for a little while, you may remember reading about Steeler. Steeler was a tortie who belonged to my friend Bernie. Steeler had come into Bernie’s life during a time when she really needed a little angel. Her husband had become severely debilitated by Alzheimer’s, and after Bernie took in the the little stray cat sporting the colors of her favorite football team, she quickly won both of their hearts. Miraculously, Bernie’s husband, who didn’t respond to anyone else at that stage, not even to Bernie, still responded to Steeler’s presence.

After her husband was hospitalized, Steeler became a great comfort to Bernie. Sadly, fate wasn’t done providing challenges for Bernie. Bernie’s husband succumbed to his illness last December. A few weeks later, Bernie’s son Eric lost his battle with lung cancer. And four months after that, Steeler passed away after dealing with multiple health issues.

It takes a strong person to go on after so much loss in such a short period of time. Continue Reading

June 5, 2012

Maddie’s Fund helps San Francisco Bay area cats find homes this weekend

Feline Lifestyle| 6 Comments

Those of us who love cats dream of a world in which every cat has a forever home. Maddie’s Fund is trying to make that dream a reality for cats in the San Francisco Bay area this weekend.

Maddie’s Fund®, a foundation funded by the founder of Workday and PeopleSoft, Dave Duffield and his wife, Cheryl, whose mission is to help to create a no-kill nation where all healthy and treatable shelter pets are guaranteed a loving home, is hoping to find homes for all shelter cats (and dogs, too) in a massive adoptathon June 9 and 10. The event is being held at 80 locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, and more than 60 shelters, animal control agencies, and rescue groups are participating. All dog and cat adoptions will be free.

In addition to offering free adoptions, Maddie’s Fund is also donating between $500 to $2000Continue Reading

June 1, 2012

June is Adopt-A-Cat Month: here’s how you can help

Feline Lifestyle| 1 Comment

Each spring during kitten season, thousands of newborn kittens join the millions of cats already in shelters and foster homes across the country. The American Humane Association has designated June as Adopt-a-Cat Month® to help find these cats permanent homes.

This spring, the situation at shelters across the country is even more dire than usual. A mild winter across many parts of the US sparked more cats to go into heat, which resulted in additional pregnancies. One shelter in the Washington DC area, the Fairfax County Animal Shelter in Virginia, has no more room to take in additional cats. WUSA9 TV reports that the shelter has reached its capacity, and is reaching out to the community for help. The shelter is desperate for foster homes, and has no cage space for surrendered cats.

I doubt that they’re the only shelter in the country facing these problems. Continue Reading

May 31, 2012

Do cats have a sense of humor?

Feline Behavior, Feline Lifestyle| 47 Comments

My cats make me laugh all the time. Whether it’s Ruby’s funny growl when she has “caught” a toy, or whether it’s Allegra’s enthusiastic “brrpp” when she sees something that excites her, I can’t help but laugh at their adorable cuteness. Watching a playful cat is far more entertaining to me than watching a comedy show on television. But do cats have a sense of humor? Do they intentionally make us laugh? Do they, perhaps, even play pranks on their humans?

Science is slowly coming around to acknowledging that animals have emotions – something that none of us who share our lives with cats need to be convinced of. So it’s probably not a big leap to assume that they also have a sense of humor.

There’s no doubt in my mind that cats know how to amuse themselves. Continue Reading

May 30, 2012

Cats and Vacuum Cleaners

Feline Lifestyle| 39 Comments

When it comes to cats and vacuum cleaners, there seems to be no grey zone: cats either hate them, of, if a slew of videos on YouTube is to be believed, love them. I’ve never had a cat who loved the vacuum cleaner, and with the exception of Allegra, all my cats have always been afraid of “The Monster,” as we call it at our house.

It’s not surprising that most cats dislike vacuums. They’re loud – even to us. Imagine what they sound like to far more sensitive cat ears. They move at the cat’s level, and seem to be able to go anywhere. They eat everything in their path. What’s not to be afraid of?

Feebee was terrified of the vacuum cleaner and would hide under the bed until I was done. Amber’s hiding place was the shower stall in the downstairs bathroom. Buckley was neutral about the vacuum cleaner when she was my office cat at the animal hospital and would watch it go by while sitting on my desk. Continue Reading

May 21, 2012

Jackson Galaxy takes on problem cats in New York and LA in Season 3 of My Cat From Hell

Feline Lifestyle| 1 Comment

If you’ve been going into My Cat From Hell withdrawal, your wait is almost over: Jackson Galaxy returns to Animal Planet with ten new episodes of the hit show on June 30.In this new season, for the first time, Jackson is taking his skills and signature guitar case filled with cat toys on the road to New York City.

As we’ve seen in the two previous seasons, it’s often the humans in the household that need Jackson’s help far more than the cats. “Each cat has a distinct personality and temperament and the actions of humans can easily lead to a claw in the face,” says Galaxy. “Dealing with these out-of-control cats can be easier than dealing with out-of-touch owners, and fixing people first can often be the cure all for feline vexations.”

I can’t wait for the new season to start. In the meantime, if you need a “Jackson fix”Continue Reading

May 17, 2012

Use your arts and crafts talent to feed shelter cats and win a phonecall with Cat Daddy Jackson Galaxy

Feline Lifestyle| 3 Comments

Do you have a knack for arts and crafts? Do you enjoy making collages? For the months of May and June, your talent could not only help feed shelter cats, you could win a phonecall with Jackson Galaxy.

Jackson is spearheading a Pet Postcard Project campaign to benefit one of his favorite organizations, The Stray Cat Alliance in Los Angeles. Freekibble.com has agreed to donate up to 15,000 meals of Halo Spot’s Stew, based on how many postcards the public sends in. For every additional one thousand postcards, Freekibble.com will donate an additional one thousand meals. That’s a lot of food for shelter cats!Continue Reading

May 15, 2012

Pet Trusts: A Love Letter to Your Cat

Feline Lifestyle| 6 Comments

pet-trust

Nobody wants to think about the unthinkable: something happens to us, and our cat won’t be taken care of. As responsible cat parents, we owe it to our cats to think ahead and make arrangments for our cats care in case of an emergency or death.

I am currently going through the process of updating my will, which includes a pet trust. A pet trust allows you to control how your cat will be cared for in the event of your death. You can name a guardian for your cat so she won’t end up at a shelter, and leave money for her care. Laws for pet trusts vary from state to state. As of 2012, 46 states have enacted pet trust laws. Be sure to consult with an attorney in your state once you’ve finalized arrangements.Continue Reading

May 9, 2012

Tortoiseshell kitten rescued from game reserve inspires cat sanctuary

Feline Lifestyle| 17 Comments

You know how much I love stories of life changing cats. When Conscious Cat reader Chantell from Johannesburg, South Africa, told me about her tortie Pixie, I just had to share her story.

Chantell rescued Pixie a little over a year ago, when guests at the game reserve resort she worked at told her that they found a kitten. Chantell went to investigate and discovered the tortoiseshell kitten, who looked to be about three weeks old, all alone in a hole between rocks. The little kitten was terrified and hissed at Chantell. A huge thunderstorm had just come through, and water had already started to rise in the hole. Chantell knew that the kitten would drown if she left her there. She managed to get the frightened little thing out of the hole and took her home with her.

She got up several times throughout the night to bottle feed the kitten, and took her to work the next day so she could keep feeding her on a regular schedule. Continue Reading

May 3, 2012

How to pill a cat, take two

Feline Lifestyle| 16 Comments

Last month, I published a post on how to pill a cat, filled with tips and tricks to help even reluctant felines take their medications.

This week, I’m offering a humorous take on the subject. You’ve probably seen it before, but it makes me laugh every time I come across it, so I thought I’d share it with you. There are several versions of this floating around on the internet. This version is generally attributed to Peggy Althoff.

Grasp cat firmly in your arms. Cradle its head on your elbow, just as if you were giving baby a bottle. Coo confidently, “Thats a nice kitty.” Drop pill into its mouth.
Retrieve cat from top of lamp and pill from under sofa.
Follow same procedure as in 1, but hold cat’s front paws down with left hand and back paws down with elbow of right arm. Poke pill into its mouth with right forefinger.Continue Reading