August 22-28, 20011 is National Take Your Cat to the Vet Week. According to a
2011-2012 National Pet Owners Survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association the number of cats in a home far out weighs the number of dogs in a home. There are approximately 86.4 million owned cats in the United States, as compared to 78.2 million owned dogs. Even though there are more cats in homes than there are dogs, it seems dog guardians are more likely to pay regular visits to the vets than cat guardians.
There are a variety of reasons why cat guardians are not taking their cat to the vets. Some of those reasons are:
- the cat has an immense dislike for the cat carrier,
- the cat is not showing any visible signs of illness,
- cats can take care of themselves, right?
Let’s take a closer look at these reasons.
The cat has an immense dislike for the cat carrier. There are a variety of reasons the cat might dislike the carrier. For example, it may have never experienced being in one before. New experiences can be frightening to cats. It may have also had previous experiences with a carrier that you’re unaware of that were not pleasant for him. It’s also possible that the only time the cat was ever in the carrier was to go someplace he didn’t like. All of these things are valid reasons to a cat, but you can desensitize him from that fear and train him to think of the carrier as a safe haven. You should check out the Petfinder.com website for tips on how to train your cat to like the carrier.
The cat is not showing any visible signs of illness. Cats are masters of hiding their illness. By the time they are showing visible signs of being sick, chances are good that their illness is in an advanced state. By taking your cat to the vet on a regular basis you will be able to screen for diseases before they become a problem. Check out the video below for helpful information about taking your cat to the vet for a wellness exam.
Cats can take care of themselves, right? While cats are an independent species and are really good at keeping themselves clean, no…they can’t take care of themselves. They also need vet care for vaccinations that will prevent them from getting diseases like Feline Leukemia, Feline Distemper or Rabies. They need regular blood work done to monitor the health of their kidneys and thyroid as well as check for diabetes. All of this holds true for indoor or outdoor cats.
As it happens my Franklin is due for his annual vaccinations and I’ll be taking him to the vet this week. He’ll also be getting a microchip as he’s a sneaky little guy. I fear one day he’ll sneak right out the back door without me ever knowing it. He’s the first pet I’ve ever microchipped, so stay tuned. I will let you know how that whole process goes in a future post.
Meet Seaerra! She’s a seven year old Ragdoll mix cat. She’s a resident (cage B-58) at the
Friendship APL in Elyria, Ohio, and has been there for quite some time. She arrived at the shelter severly matted and had to be shaved down. Her coat is growing back in beautifully! She does okay with kids and dogs, but does not get along with other cats. She is also front declawed.
Mother actually got to spend some time with her back in early December. Seaerra is almost identical in looks to my sister Sunshine that past away a few years ago. Mother says that Seaerra has the same sweet and affectionate temperment that Sunny had! Mother had a very hard time resisting taking Seaerra home, but the fact that she doesn’t like cats would have posed a problem in our household. But she will still make a great companion for someone that is looking for an affectionate cat. She purred the entire time Mother held her, and never once struggled to break free. She also licked Mother’s fingers. Don’t let that 7 year old thing scare you away either. Seven is still young for a cat and she has a lot of life left in her.
If you would like more information on Seaerra, please contact the Friendship APL directly. Their phone number is (440)322-4321 or visit their website at www.friendshipapl.org.
We’re excited to participate in this week’s Pet Blogger Hop! Thanks to our hosts, Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers, and Confessions of the Plume. Happy hopping, and happy weekend too!
The dogs got themselves into trouble, and Mother managed to catch the whole thing via a webcam. Over the course of several weeks she would come home to find things destroyed. Things the dogs would ordinarily never touch, all of a sudden were on the floor and chewed up (books, papers, boxes, etc). She knew Charm (the foster dog) wasn’t the culprit because he is crated during the day, but she wasn’t sure if she should blame Duke or Daisy for the mess. She decided to implement operation “Catch a Bad Dog”. She set up her webcam and hit record, and this video is the result. She was quite surprised on the guilty party (be sure to watch through to the end). Enjoy!
It occurred to me after writing my post
about Simon that this is the month you humans celebrate Halloween. Are you aware of what can happen to unsuspecting cats, especially black ones, at this time of year? This is the time of year where some people find entertainment in burning, torturing, hanging or abusing cats.
The folklore revolving around black cats dates back to the middle ages when they were believed to be associated with witches and witchcraft, and therefore evil. Back then the witches were rounded up, tried and burned, or killed by other violent methods. Often times their cats were killed along with them. Why on earth would anyone find this to be appropriate behavior back then much less now? You humans perplex me.
In this day and age it is doubtful that the torturing/killing of cats has anything to do with witches, and is more likely to be the result of someone that is mentally unstable or just plain evil. Please be on the lookout this Halloween for any suspicious behavior. If you have a cat, or a dog for that matter, please keep them inside during the Halloween season, especially at night. The nighttime is when most of the trouble seems to happen. If you see something suspicious, please contact your local authorities.
A quick note to Simon: If you are out roaming the streets do one of two things: hide really, really good or come find Mother. She’ll take you inside. Everyone please have a safe and happy Halloween!
Mother says she witnessed the cutest thing yesterday. She was pulling into our driveway and saw a gentleman walking down the sidewalk with a cat following him. The cat was a beautiful medium coat black cat with sparkling emerald eyes. I’m going to refer to the cat as Simon just because it’s nicer than referring to him as “the cat” for the entire story.
Anyway, the gentleman crossed the street and Simon initally hesitated. At this point Mother wasn’t sure if Simon belonged to him or if Simon was a stray. Simon crossed the street and as he did, Mother called to him. Simon sat there a second or two to consider her offer when the gentleman also called out to Simon. That was all Simon needed to hear and he went bounding off after the gentleman.
Mother thought that was so cute, and called out to the gentleman asking if Simon was his or a stray. The gentleman didn’t answer and kept walking. Simon continued to follow him. If Simon is a stray, let’s just hope the gentleman is smart enough to to realize he’s just been adopted and takes Simon inside. Just like Mother took me inside that one cold day in December when I decided to adopt her.
