Monthly Archives: April 2014

Orphan Kittens, Rescue, Uncategorized

Tips for Rescuing Orphan Kittens

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOMG! Is it kitten season again already, when people happen upon abandoned kittens.  Most people don’t have a clue what to do for an orphan. Doing the right thing when you first find a kitten can make the difference between  whether the kitten makes it or not. Here’s quick reference list to help out first time kitten rescuers. My book Kittens  for Dummies (John Wiley & Sons, 2003) contains a complete guide to caring for abandoned kittens.

Caring for Bottle Babies

OrphanKitten990900_10small Brutus1. Keep the kitten warm. Wrap her up in a towel or tee shirt to place her under your shirt to warm her when you first find her. A week old  kitten needs to be kept at 90°.

2. Feed him a replacement milk formulated especially for kittens. Don’t use human milk or puppy formula.

3. Never hold a kitten on her back to nurse her; she could choke on the  formula. Rest her on her tummy and hold the bottle from above.

4. Kittens under three weeks can’t go to the bathroom on their own.  Moisten a cotton ball with warm water and massage the kitten’s private  parts. Soft, gentle circles mimics the mother’s tongue and stimulates  the kitten to potty. Don’t use any pressure; it’s the stroking motion  that gets the job done.

5. Most stray or feral kittens will come to you infected with worms or  parasites. Diarrhea is one of the most common symptoms. But the kitten  could also have a potbelly, little appetite bloody poop, weight loss and  just look unhealthy.

6. If she has the runs or pees on herself, you’ll need to give your kitten a butt bath so she doesn’t suffer from ammonia burns. Keep the room warm, make sure the water is comfortable to your touch and use a  baby shampoo. Dry the kitten with a blow dryer set on low heat. Don’t  let her get chilled.

Bookend bottle baby OrphanKittens990900_12copyright7. Check your orphan for fleas. Remove them with an extra fine flea comb  with metal teeth. Never use flea treatments on a kitten under six weeks  unless your vet says it’s okay.

8. Any time you notice your kitten just isn’t right, take her to the  vet. She’s much more susceptible to disease than kittens with real  mothers. Keep an eye out for diarrhea, congestion, not eating, constant  crying.

9. When you start to find a stool or notice the linens are damp, it’s  time to teach him to use the litter box. Just put him in the litter box  after he eats, when he wakes up and after he’s been playing. Don’t use  clumping litter until he’s four months old.

10. The best way to keep your orphan from becoming possessive and domineering is to introduce him to other healthy cats. Hopefully, you have a friendly adult cat that he can hang out with. The older kitty, while not mom, can show him what’s acceptable in the social world of  cats. If that’s not possible, introduce him to interactive toys that can discharge some of that predatory energy. You can use stuffed animals to wrestle with the kitten. Never let your orphan play with your bare  hand.

11. When it comes time to wean him, don’t forget to put a shallow pan of water so he can get a drink.

A more complete article about Raising Orphan Kittens to follow.

Litter Box, Review, Uncategorized

#PreciousCat Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract Litter Giveaway & Review

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CatLitter 120

Cats avoid the litter box for any number of reasons not their fault, from an illness to a box that in some way doesn’t meet their standards. Their fault or not, cats who miss the box are at risk of being surrendered to an animal shelter. And since families aren’t standing in line to adopt inappropriate eliminators, litter box avoidance can be a death sentence.

Dr. Elsey Cat Litter

Now that I’ve got you totally depressed, here’s the good news: Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract™ actually encourages kitties, even those with wandering bladders (and bowels), to return to the box. I’ve been a fan of Cat Attract™ for over a decade. (Keep reading to learn how you can win a bag of Cat Attract™.)

There are aisles of litters on store shelves with a variety of characteristics. Unfortunately felines and humans don’t always agree on which qualities are important.

People want a low-tracking, low-dust, yet affordable, litter that controls odors, has a pleasant fragrance, and produces hard clumps. Cats, true to their nature, are more comfort-oriented. They want a fine-textured litter that feels good against their paws, but with without an overpowering fragrance. Cats don’t give a rat’s rear about perfumes and tracking.

Dr ElseysEnter Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract™ Cat Litter. I discovered this litter when the product was first introduced to north Texas. In 2003 I was the product editor for the Tufts University publication, Catnip. I was in the midst of a cystitis-inspired outbreak of inappropriate elimination that I called The Great Litter Box Rebellion. There are few things more frustrating than my cats not using the litter box.

I conducted the side-by-side preference test of popular cat litters including the newly-introduced Cat Attract™. During that week-long evaluation, the little product testers showed a (pardon the pun) marked preference for Dr. Elsey’s. The Rainbolt Test Kitties love, love, love this litter.  Since that review, my cats have had at least one litter box filled with Cat Attract™. Today, five out of seven litter boxes in my house contain a Precious Cat® litter.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERADr. Elsey’s Cat Attract™ is a therapeutic clay clumping litter with a moderately fine, sandy texture that contains a proprietary herbal cat attractant undetectable to the human nose. It has all of the attributes cats find desirable in addition to my wish list.

As soon as I poured out the Cat Attract™ the cats jump into the box and begin to dig and use the litter. They actually appeared to be having fun.  Cat Attract™ even coaxed my Siamese-mix Cosmo, who suffered from two urinary tract blockages, back to the pan.  It’s ideal for multicat homes, where litter box issues are more likely.

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Cats are very sensitive to texture and scent.

 

Now for the human perspective. Cat Attract™ is a low-dust litter. It forms very firm clumps that don’t break when you scoop. Neatness aside, broken clumps leave behind little crumbs that cause the litter to smell. It clumps so hard and so quickly, it works in electronic litter boxes.  It even comes with a booklet filled with suggestions to help your cat make friends with his box again.

The downside is that it has a moderate level of tracking, and well, that’s all I can find. Hmm. Sweeping up tracked litter versus soiled carpets. You do the math.

Yes, it’s more expensive than bargain brands, but it’s worth it; it’s certainly cheaper than a carpet cleaning service or buying new flooring. Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract Cat Litter can be purchased online and at most pet retailers. It comes in 20 and 40-pound bags.

Do You Feel Lucky?

Enter the Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract™ Cat Litter Giveaway. For a chance to win a 20-pound bag of Cat Attract™ simply leave a comment on this blog before 11:59 CST April 10, 2014. Don’t forget to include your email address. The Cat Attract™ Giveaway, across all participating blogs, is limited to one winner per household.  For additional chances to win, share this post on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest using the hashtag #PreciousCat. Don’t forget to tell me in a separate comment where you share it. Sorry kiddos, you have to be 18 years old and live in the U.S. to enter.  Winners will receive an email with instructions.  Prize delivery can take up to eight weeks.

It’s time for full disclosure: Precious Cat®, who makes Cat Attract™, sponsored this review on behalf of the BlogPaws Blogger Network. Yes, Dusty Rainbolt’s Universe is being compensated for spreading the word about Precious Cat’s Cat Attract formula, but as I’ve said before, I only write about products my cats love and I use regularly. Precious Cat isn’t responsible for the content of this article.

Rescue, Uncategorized

One Taco to Go

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Taco at Irving AC Taco2-2014-Mar-15
This is the plea the Irving shelter volunteers sent out. Could you resist that face?

Nobody knows exactly what happened to Taco. This adorable little brown tabby and white stray was found in an auto repair garage with a burn that extended from the base of his skull to the bottom of his shoulder blades. Maybe he arched up against a hot muffler or rubbed against something coated with a caustic chemical. Those noble volunteers at Irving animal control put out a call for a foster home. I saw the photos. Poor little guy. The burn looked so painful. Surely someone will take him, I thought. But almost a week passed and no one came forward. Volunteers begging for his rescue described him as, “a very nice guy”, a “purr machine” and “sweet as sugar” “ a mere baby.”

Taco at Irving AC DSC_6674
One the less gruesome photos of Taco’s burn.

Finally, Kim Innes, Animal Allies of Texas cat chair emailed me his photo. “You want to take him?” Kim knows I find the trauma cases especially rewarding (mostly because most people shy away from them.) Six days after the first plea, I surrendered and pulled Taco from the shelter.

Immediately we trekked to the Animal Hospital on Teasley Lane in Denton, where the amazing staff worked me in. Taco waited patiently for his appointment. What a suck up. Despite the fact we’d met only 45 minutes earlier, the little cutie passed the time by weaving in and out of my legs, head butting me and filling the room with purrs, oblivious to the enormous burn on the back of his neck.

Taco at vet1
Only minutes after leaving the shelter, Taco waits patiently to see the vet.

In minutes we were on our way home. The treatment regimen includes oral antibiotics, hydrotherapy for 10 minutes twice a day, ointment and dressing the wound. I figured I should have a tourniquet handy when Taco sliced and diced my veins after I unleashed the water on his wound. It took almost as to regulate the water temperature and pressure and it did to irrigate the wound. But instead of slash claws and canines, Taco looked up at me with his big yellow eyes as if to say, “Why are you tormenting me?”

Taco burn water temperature test IMG_3090
Believe it or not, three hours after pulling him from the shelter, he stood calmly allowing me to give him hydrotherapy. I did not lose one drop of blood.

After 10 minutes of aquatic vexation, instead of hiding behind the toilet he once again began head bumping me with a soggy forehead. Oh no. I’m falling in love.

Look at this face. How can anyone turn away? Okay. I admit it I did. For six days week I looked at that picture and thought someone else will take him. Day after day they didn’t.

Nobody knows exactly what happened to Taco. This adorable little brown tabby and white stray was found in an auto repair garage with a burn that extended from the base of his skull to the bottom of his shoulder blades. Maybe he arched up against a hot muffler or rubbed against something coated with a caustic chemical. Those noble volunteers at Irving animal control put out a call for a foster home. I saw the photos. Poor little guy. The burn looked so painful. Surely someone will take him, I thought. But almost a week passed and no one came forward. Volunteers begging for his rescue described him as, “a very nice guy”, a “purr machine” and “sweet as sugar” “ a mere baby.”

Finally, Kim Innes, Animal Allies of Texas cat chair emailed me his photo. “You want to take him?” Kim knows I find the trauma cases especially rewarding (mostly because most people shy away from them.) Six days after the first plea, I surrendered and pulled Taco from the shelter.

Immediately we trekked to the Animal Hospital on Teasley Lane in Denton, where the amazing staff worked me in. Taco waited patiently for his appointment. What a suck up. Despite the fact we’d met only 45 minutes earlier, the little cutie passed the time by weaving in and out of my legs, head butting me and filling the room with purrs, oblivious to the enormous burn on the back of his neck.

In minutes we were on our way home. The treatment regimen includes oral antibiotics, hydrotherapy for 10 minutes twice a day, ointment and dressing the wound. I figured I should have a tourniquet handy when Taco sliced and diced my veins after I unleashed the water on his wound. It took almost as to regulate the water temperature and pressure and it did to irrigate the wound. But instead of slash claws and canines, Taco looked up at me with his big yellow eyes as if to say, “Why are you tormenting me?”

After 10 minutes of aquatic vexation, instead of hiding behind the toilet he once again began head bumping me with a soggy forehead. Oh no. I’m falling in love.