Nylah takes fancy feast quite literally.
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Archive for the ‘cats’ Category
Kitty eats with fork
Wednesday, September 19th, 2012The Traveling Cat (part 2)
Monday, September 17th, 2012
To the world you are just one more rescue person.
To a rescued pet, you are the world.
“Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened.”
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Do you need some inspiration? I do!
Monday, September 3rd, 2012
It’s been a rough day….and I’m finally ready to call it a day. I’m exhausted, slightly grumpy and I want nothing more than to settle back in a comfy chair, kick my shoes off, close my eyes, relax and think of nothing at all.
I don’t like it when “things” get to me. You know how those “things” can be. Weather concerns (we’re near the area hurricane Isaac just visited), economy concerns, business concerns, pet health concerns, what to have for dinner.
Things.
I get grumpy where there are too many things. I feel sorry for myself and I don’t like to feel sorry for myself.
On my drive home, I pass the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, home to Winter the Dolphin, star of A Dolphin’s Tale. There are lines of people waiting to get in to see Winter and all her injured sea friends that call the Marine Aquarium home.
I think about Winter and how she has become a symbol of inspiration for so many.
You may know her story: A baby dolphin found injured, maimed by a crab trap line wrapped around and cutting into her tail, she was brought to the Marine Aquarium to be rehabilitated. Her tail had to be amputated but the plucky baby learned to compensate for her missing tail and was soon swimming with the other dolphins.
Her story, and the story of how a dedicated group of rescuers saved her and even restored her tail by inventing something that allowed her to swim normally was so inspirational, the movie A Dolphin’s Tale was made. She’s become a star and an inspiration to those who may feel that life has just too many challenges.
I’ve seen her affect on others. They are inspired after visiting, self pity gone. They come from the world-over to be inspired and they usually are.
I’m home now.
I park my car, walk into the house and I’m greeted by our office cat Q, who we brought home and she now lives with us here. 
We named her Kewpie Doll when we got her because she was the runt, a tiny black and white tuxedo kitty. She’s now know as Q, and the name suits her.
Kewpie was born with a system deficiency and has severe allergies that are controlled with special diet, vitamins and medication. We have to do a lot to keep Q symptom free, and sometimes even with all we do, we just can’t, and she suffers. She gets the equivalent of kitty hives – and they are rough on her. Her quality of life fluctuates wildly depending on her symptoms and I sometimes am concerned that the bad days outweigh the good……another big THING that gets to me.
She’s having it rough at the moment.
But then I look at Q as she races up to greet me, purring and joyous I’m back. I look at her and I’m inspired. Inspired by her will to live, to find pleasure in my company and her determination that she will coax me into a better mood whenever I’m around her.
She’s good at her job.
I smile, scoop her up and settle back in my chair, kick my shoes off, close my eyes, relax while I stroke Q, our small bundle of inspiration and think of just how I’m going to make tomorrow a truly wonderful day.
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Do you have a pet that inspires you? If you do, we want you to share your story with us! We have a new contest to celebrate the new slogan for Daily Paws. Inspired by Pets. Share your story about your inspirational pet and you could win $100. Feeling inspired to share? Click here for the details and how to enter.
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Kitten Nibbles Ears
Wednesday, August 29th, 2012Daily Paws for Ashburn Virginia
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Poll: Are cats better than dogs?
Friday, August 24th, 2012Daily Paws Picture of the Day: Sonic Fluff
Friday, August 24th, 2012Daily Paws for Ashburn Virginia
Pet’s & Technology…it’s over the top! [humor]
Wednesday, August 15th, 2012Yesterday while perusing news alerts for pets and vets, I came across a press release about a company that has just launched a new product. Headphones for cats. And these headphones for cats are soooo good, they will set you back $1000.
A thousand dollars!!!
If you are the teeniest bit interested, here’s a sales infomercial you have to see..
“We had to change the housing to accommodate the unique shape of cat ears and to reduce output for sensitivity,” inventor Combs says. “They also have a mic and remote, but I don’t envision many cats using that functionality.”
(And remember, they only have 10 sets so get yours today!)
Technology for pets, like technology for humans seems to be accelerating faster than dog years.
Who would have dreamed 5 years ago that stem cell treatment for pets would become a common occurrence with a high success in reversing limb and joint ailments in dogs and horses?
Medical technology I can understand. Headphones for cats…well, OK. I don’t really see a need but if you want to spend the money on your cat, OK.
Text From Dog
However, this next one is over the top. It’s about a texting dog and he has a new book coming out called “Text From Dog”
Now that’s ridiculous. A dog who texts? I have problems texting and a DOG is so good they are making a book out of his texts?????
Here’s a description and some sample text images (and, by the way these are fictitious text messages – I’m relieved to say – that are very funny. I’ve included a few below)
Tumblr blog Text From Dog, which publishes fictitious SMS conversations between a dog and its owner, is the latest web entity to land a book deal.
U.K. publisher Headline Publishing announced Monday it would release the book Oct. 25.
The blog launched in April with a brief description: “My dog sends me texts. I post them here. Yeah, it’s weird.”
Cat Training – Can You Do It In 10 Minutes?
Wednesday, July 11th, 2012
cat training (Photo credit: thera T)
Cat training in 10 minutes is it possible! I am very sceptical about myself. Because, although the relationship between cat and owner would be enhanced when the cat is trained, cats still have that independent streak. Therefore, to get the best out of cat training it is best begun when a cat is still a kitten. This will allow the cat training to ideally strengthen the bond between pet and owner during training sessions from the outset of ownership.
Training a cat can be a fun and an exciting way to interact with your pet and teach it the right things to do. You must ensure that cat training is not too rigorous, and it should be a fun and exciting interaction process which will help turn your cat into a well-behaved pet that is loved by all the family, friends and other animals.
Cat training is a bit more unique, but it can be possible. It is well worth training your cat because it will do good for the health and safety of both cat and owner.
Although cats are not noted for their obedience, they can be trained with a little bribery. Therefore, you must set up a training routine that sets your cat up to succeed. I believe there is no standard procedure to follow for cat training but there are a few cardinal rules in doing so. The most important is that before you start to train your cat, it is advisable that a bond be established with the cat.
Cats, just like us humans, use body language to communicate and broadcast information about their feelings and moods, desires, likes and dislikes. Cats value and look forward to attention and affection that can be gained from training. So give them the affection they deserve and your attempts at training they will be made a lot easier.
Training your cat is a fantastic way to enrich your cat’s life: It builds a strong rapport between you and your cat because training underlines your authority (your cat has to do what you want to get what she wants), it helps to curb dominant behavior.
Cats are often underestimated when it comes to the training process, simply because the average owner has very little need to attempt any sort of training at all. Training your cat will keep your cat’s mind active and stimulated because anxious and highly-strung cats are reassured and soothed by the repetition and routine of training.
Training your cat for proper toilet and litter box manners and patterns require a good amount of time and patience. Although cats are wonderful pets but cleaning their litter box can be a real drag. Because in general, cats are very shy when they want to go to the toilet, they will often only do it in their litter box if it is placed in a quiet, secluded area, and away members of the family and other animals.
One of many reasons to ensure that your cat is properly trained is because of this type of situation. Okay, let’s say you want to have friends over to visit, but you can’t, why not, because you’re embarrassed your house smells like a cat pee, your rugs and curtains have rips and tears from your kitty’s “romps through the jungle,” and your acrobatic feline is likely to vault onto the kitchen table and nibble on your dinner when you’re not looking. That type of situation makes it paramount that you ensure that your cat is properly trained. Why, because many feline behavior problems, especially in cats kept indoors, are caused by boredom.
Personally, I would just love to see my gorgeous and perfectly behave around the house so that I can alleviate this type of scenario.
Any cat owner who opts for cat training must keep their expectations realistic to avoid working under false pretenses while going through the training sessions.
The great part is that we have just scratched the surface of what you’ll uncover about training your cat. You need to have patience, praise and helpful cat training techniques; it is possible to keep your cat from engaging inappropriate behavior. Ideally, training your cat will strengthen the human-feline relationship.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Moore
Cat Food Facts You Should Be Aware Of
Wednesday, June 27th, 2012
- (Photo credit: Taekwonweirdo)
There are many competing cat food products on the supermarket shelf vying for your attention and asking you to buy them. I’m sure you know what I mean, they have their full-color pictures of happy looking satisfied cats that are in peak health condition because they eat the XYZ brand of cat food. But are you getting the best cat food for your pet?
What none of those pretty packets tell you is that cats are obligate carnivores, which means they must have the nutrients that are found in animal protein just to survive. By protein, I mean meat, chicken and fish, the flesh of these meats, not the by-products. In the wild cats eat the meat of their prey, just as they do when they find a mouse around the house.
Good quality cat food should list the actual meat such as beef, lamb, tuna, turkey, salmon, chicken, etc. that is in the tin or packet you buy. Chicken meal is actually considered to be the single best source of protein in commercial pet foods. If you only see the words ‘meat and/or meat bone meal’ on the packet, be aware that this can legally include animals that are road kill, have been euthanized by vets and ground and rendered in factories. Some rendering factories also use diseased, dying and decayed animals to supply to pet food companies.
Dry Cat Food
Cats don’t have the teeth to chew their food like we do. Their teeth are designed to bite and swallow so a diet of dry biscuits is going to be a problem for them. Not only can they not chew the biscuits; their bodies lack specific enzymes for carbohydrate digestion and metabolism. Cats lack a salivary enzyme called amylase, which are used to digest carbohydrates. And almost all cat food biscuits are primarily carbohydrates. Cats can utilize the carbohydrates, but their body and digestive tract are suited for protein and fat.
Cats who are fed dog, rabbit or other types of food are at high risk for blindness and heart disease due to insufficient amounts of taurine in their diet. Taurine is a very important amino acid and will be found in commercial cat foods. Other diseases such as obesity, food allergies, diabetes, and heart disease are just some of the diet-related diseases that appear to become an epidemic in our cats all over the world due to poor nutrition.
Are You Saving Money By Feeding Cheap Food?
If you are feeding your cat on a cheap food with low quality ingredients, it will need more of this food to get the nutrients required. As a result, you will end up buying more food, which will either end up costing you the same amount as better quality food, or in many cases, more than if you were feeding your cat a diet with healthy, high-quality ingredients.
Another thought to keep in mind is that a cat who eats more food will produce more waste, which means more work for you to clean the litter tray and therefore, more money spent on cat litter.
A cheaper but fewer healthy diets can also contribute to serious health problems that will end up costing you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in veterinary bills and prescription drugs for your cat.
Remember your cat is a part of your family and is dependent on you for its life. Investing in the best-quality cat food you can afford is a better alternative than the heartache and shortened life span that comes with taking shortcuts or buying inferior food. A cat is for life and the joy and love it brings to you, and your family should not be underestimated.
Choosing the right vet and forming a partnership for life – your pet’s life
Thursday, May 31st, 2012
We all have problems. The economy, who to vote for in the upcoming election, whether it’s going to rain and should you take an umbrella with you when you go out.
Problems. Yeah. They’re a part of life and we all have them.
Most people who have pets also have some sort of pet problems. For us its the cats we have. They are finicky. One of them was the runt of the litter and she arrived with some serious immune and digestive issues. Whenever I look at her it is with anxious eyes. Is she thinner? What’s she doing as far as twitching and licking. Those are the tell-tale signs of a systemic problem that may need my attention very soon.
But for all that, she’s wonderful. She’s loving. She’s a mean hunter that keeps the pests and rodents away from her home. She’s ours and we are very glad she and her brother are sharing our offices.
I’ve gotten to know her veterinarian very well and I adore him.
Finding him, however, was not an easy task. You’d think that in the business we have it would be easy to find a vet. We know hundreds, and in our local area we have dozens to choose from within a 5 minute drive of our front door. I almost feel like the Hairclub for men man when I say “Not only do we own VetLocator, but we use it too (as a reminder – and for those of you not familiar – the Hairclub for men man said “not only am I the owner but I’m a customer too” as he dramatically shows his partially bald head.
In my case I interviewed 3 or 4 veterinarians, went to one, then to another and then to a third vet. Each was OK but I did not feel what I wanted to feel. I didn’t feel a partnership with the vet or the office or something.
So I kept looking.
And my looking paid off.
I found a wonderful veterinarian that treated our little girl and changed her condition and symptoms so they were under control. Finally. I found a veterinarian who is great and his office and staff are equally wonderful. He’s a keeper and we’ve formed a good partnership on keeping Kewpie healthy.
Today our cats are mostly very healthy and it is rare I need to contact our veterinarian. Besides regular checkups I can control things pretty well from home.
But if I ever need something, have a question or an emergency I know my partner is there and the problems I am facing at the moment will be addressed and we’ll handle it together.
As I said, we all have problems. Finding the right vet and forming a pet health partnership for your pets gives you one less problem to try and solve.
And that makes things just a little, or a lot, better.
Isn’t that a nice thing?
If you are looking for a pet health partner, do what I did. Use our directory to locate the nearest ones to where you are, then interview them and the staff and office too, to find the one that is the best fit for you and your pets. It is so worth the effort.
And if you need help, you can always contact our customer care. We’re here for you too.
Linda
Daily Paws
