conscious living, health and happiness for cats and their humans
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Did you know that many commercial cleaning products can be extremely toxic, and even deadly, to your pets? Cats are especially susceptible since they groom themselves by licking and as a result ingest anything that comes in contact with their feet or fur.Continue Reading
Guest post by Ingrid R. Niesman, MS PhD
As COVID-19 continues to spread globally among humans, veterinarians are starting to track COVID in animals as well.Continue Reading
Guest post by Ingrid R. Niesman, MS PhD
Unprecedented circumstances provide opportunities when you least expect them. In our current crisis, cats may hold the key to beating back the SARS-CoV-2 virus.Continue Reading
Another slightly more wordy than usual Sunday post, but I felt that it’s an important topic right now that deserves more than just a quote.
In these challenging times, taking care of yourself has become more important than ever, both in terms of your physical as well as your mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Remember that the old adage of putting your own oxygen mask on first is true for a reason: you can’t help others unless you’re in good enough shape to do so.Continue Reading
Guest post by Ingrid R. Niesman, MS PhD
Yesterday we ran ran my piece titled One Cat Out of Million is Not a Trend: A Science-Based Look at the Unlikely Risk of COVID-19 Infection in Cats, which explained my analysis on ACE2 and cats, which supported the current belief that it is highly unlikely that cats could get infected by the novel coronavirus. The same day, Biorxiv, an open source platform for researchers to put up early and tentative results, published a paper by researchers in China that claimed that cats and ferrets can be infected. Papers published on Biorxiv are not peer-reviewed and represent data that might never eventually become published works. “Junk science” was a common response I received as I reached out to colleagues.Continue Reading
Finally some good news for all of us who have been worried about whether cats can get or transmit the new coronavirus. Iddexx, a global leader in veterinary diagnostics and software, announced today that the company has seen no positive results in pets to date of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus strain responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) respiratory outbreak in humans. Thousands of canine and feline specimens tested surfaced no positive results to date.Continue Reading
Guest post by Ingrid R. Niesman, MS PhD
Recent headlines have many pet owners spooked, including myself. If there is one sure bet about viruses, they mutate and mutate rapidly. This epidemic is spreading extremely quickly and it was only a matter of time before a pet tested positive.Continue Reading
Last updated March 6, 2020
Recent headlines have many pet owners spooked. This epidemic is spreading extremely quickly. Ingrid R. Niesman, MS, PhD, takes a look at what we know as of right now about how the coronavirus may or may not impact cats.
The novel coronavirus, now known as COVID-19 or 2019n-COV, has caused great concern around the world. Depending on which news outlet you follow, your reaction may range from normal awareness to outright alarm. For cat parents, a big worry is whether the virus could affect cats.
Both WHO (World Health Organization) and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) have stated that at present, there is no evidence that any pets have been infected or spread the virus, although both acknowledge that this is a developing situation. We simply don’t know enough about this virus yet.Continue Reading
We all know how wonderful it is to be around a purring cat. If there’s anything more soothing than to be lulled to sleep or woken up by the sound of purring, I don’ t know what it is. But a cat’s purr is not only calming and relaxing: research shows that the cat’s purr has healing properties and can actually heal bones, muscles and tendons.Continue Reading
Conscious living means making conscious choices about all aspects of our lives, including the cosmetics we use on ourselves. Using chemical free cosmetics is not just better for you, it’s also better for your cats, because not only does your skin come in contact with those products, but so do your cat’s fur, paws, and mouth – and some of the chemicals used in conventional cosmetics can be harmful to both humans and cats.Continue Reading
After years of misinformation spread in the mainstream press and prior research suggesting that people infected with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii are at an increased risk of developing schizophrenia, a new study finally confirms that cats do not pose a risk to anyone’s mental health.
Of course, we’ve known all along that not only do cats not pose a threat to our mental health, they actually help improve it. After all, that’s what our Sunday columns, Conscious Cat Sunday and Sunday Purrs of Wisdom, are all about! But it’s still nice to see that there’s finally research that debunks all the ridiculous and plain wrong information that’s been circulating.Continue Reading