Help Your Favorite Animal Charity While Shopping Online at No Cost to You
November and December are key shopping and giving months. With Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday just around the corner, Americans are gearing up for the Holidays. This month is also a key fund-raising time for animal welfare organizations. Animal lovers can Share The Love by starting their shopping online at AdoptAShelter.com, picking their favorite shelter or rescue, and then connecting to their favorite stores. It’s easy, fast and free… and all purchases earn a cash-donation.
Shopping online through AdoptAShelter.com puts money in the pocket of your favorite animal shelter without costing you a dime
“We are thrilled to have Lisa Vanderpump and Kathy Ireland headlining our Shop For A Pawsitive Cause campaign,” says Chris Ruben, founder of AdoptAShelter.com. “In addition to being very successful, these two wonderful ladies are deeply involved in charity work. We are also excited to have Pinups For Pitbulls and Internet-star and Spokes-Dog Preston of PrestonSpeaks.com on board. We want to reach shoppers during this key time of giving to let them know they can achieve both at the the same time… in their pajamas. And, shoppers can register to win fabulous gift packages from Vanderpump Pets®, Kathy Ireland®, Pinups For Pitbulls® and PrestonSpeaks®, all valued at $150+ simply by subscribing to our free monthly eNewsletter.”
About AdoptAShelter.com #AdoptAShelter
The average cash donation – Smile Bigger
Registered animal welfare organizations in all 50 states
700+ stores in the AdoptAShelter.com Online Mall donate to the charity of YOUR choice
Combined volunteer hours of AdoptAShelter.com Team Members (no payroll)
70,000+Cups of pet food saved by donating 42 prime booth spaces at Amazing Pet Expos
Donations paid out to animal welfare organizations across the country
Cans of FREE dog & cat food to organizations via Cans To The Rescue campaign
Don’t leave money on the table… put food in bowls!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Help your favorite animal charity by doing your holiday shopping online through AdoptAShelter.com
November 3 is Cliché Day. Yes, really. It doesn’t rise to the occasion as does Veterans Day, but let’s have some fun! Clichés are overused and tired platitudes that became overused because there’s usually a grain of truth in it. On the other hand, some are interesting, but just plain wrong.
Erroneous Clichés
“He was weak as a kitten.” What are they talking about? Obviously whoever came up with this one is either talking about person who is as weak as the Hulk, or he has never tried to give a pill to an unwilling kitten. There is nothing weak about a kitten who is being forced to do something he doesn’t want to do.
“Curiosity killed the cat.” When I first became a cat owner, I cross stitched a this phrase for a friend who loved cats, but I thought the saying was too negative and morbid to hang on a kitchen wall. I edited it to say, “Curiosity is a cat.” However after having and rescuing so many kitties, I found that in too many cases, this is true. Now I prefer the the revision below.
“Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.” Now were talking.However there is a third version that I find more applicable.
Not a cliche. This version is more accurate.
Accurate Clichés
“Ignorance killed the cat. Curiosity was framed.” ~C.J. Cherryh. Sadly this is so often true when cat owners fail to understand their cat’s unique physiology and behavior. (Apply canine flea products to the cat, giving Tylenol, bringing lilies into the house,)
“It’s raining cats and dogs.” Or should that be “the reigning cats and dogs?
“Herding cats.” As an official Cat Wrangler, I can assure you this is impossible. See my favorite commercial of all time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ0ur5GKC0w
“Look what the cat dragged in.” Okay. Me in the morning.
“Busier than a three legged cat in a dry sand box.” I have three three-legged kitties. Covering in the litter box isn’t a problem for them.
Untrue cliches. Some three-legged kitties have no problem in a sandy box.
“The cat’s out of the bag.” In Medieval times farmers sold piglets and turned them over to customers inside a bag. However, unscrupulous people would put a cat in the sack. When the bag was opened the cat would flee and the person would learn he’d been duped. Of course the real truth is: It’s nearly impossible to get a cat to vacate a sack.
“When the cat’s away, the mice will play.” Just ask any bodega owner in New York City.
Thank you Veterinary Techicians for being unsung heroes
Happy National Veterinary Technician Week
This week is National Veterinary Technician Week. It takes place in the third week of October each year, and provides an opportunity to veterinarians and their clinics to recognize the contributions of veterinary technicians. During this week, those of us who frequently haunt our veterinary clinics should take a moment honor vet techs’ commitment to compassionate and high-quality veterinary care for all animals, including those who don’t make it easy for them.
I personally want to take a moment to thank all vet techs, but especially those at The Animal Hospital on Teasley Lane (Denton, TX), All Cats Veterinary Hospital (Houston, TX) and All Care Veterinary Hospital (Coppell, TX) for their care and compassion.
Some clinics call them veterinary nurses. It doesn’t matter what you call them. As William Shakespeare so wisely penned many centuries ago, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
Admittedly, sometime they smell, but not so sweet. Like those times anal gland expressions go wrong, the sick kitty projectile vomited with William Tell precision. At times like that, I smile weakly and apologize to the tech dripping with runny poop. The response is usually something, “That’s okay. Now we have that fecal sample. I’ll just go run it and see what we can find.”
I asked my friend Cynthia Rigoni, DVM, All Cats Veterinary Hospital in Houston, to write something about her techs and she came through. “This is National Veterinary Technician Week. I am a little at a loss as to what to say. I simply cannot do what I do without the technicians here at All Cats. They are more than nurses. They are more than a cleaning crew. They are here 7 days a week. They come in whenever I call (like at 2 in the morning for a C-section). We play together. We occasionally have words. In short, they are like my family. We may be a little dysfunctional, but we try to put the fun into that word every day and treat your animals like they are our own, while we’re doing it.”
Thank you Vet Techs for your caring, compassion, your ability to communicate and the time you spend with me, my personal kitties and my fosters. You are heroes.
The ultimate source for resolving litter box problems
Cat Scene Investigator: Solve Your Cat’s Litter Box Mystery, my comprehensive guide to help you resolve your cat’s litter box issues is finally a reality. At least the Kindle version. The paperback will be available in about three weeks.
Inappropriate elimination is actually inappropriate communication. ~ Dusty Rainbolt
Inappropriate elimination is the most vexing problem cat owners face, but there’s good news. Dr. Carlo Siracusa, chief of the animal behavior service at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, says, “Among behavior problems, housesoiling is the problem with the best prognosis if the owner is educated.”
Enter Cat Scene Investigator: Solve Your Cat’s Litter Box Mystery, the consummate inappropriate elimination guide. CSI approaches kitty crime scenes through the eyes of a detective to help determine your cat’s motive and the remedy.
Award-winning behavior author Dusty Rainbolt uses humor and cutting-edge science-based research to bust feline myths and help you devise a practical strategy so you and Fluffy can live happily ever after.
This comprehensive handbook includes:
Veterinary and behavioral breakthroughs that will help you understand your cat’s litter box needs
Setting up a box your cat will want to pee in
Insight into illnesses that can cause or contribute to litter box mishaps
Finding the culprit in a multipet home
Determining whether your cat is peeing or marking
The effects of stress or fear on feline litter box behavior
How to stop urine marking
Techniques to remove odor from soiled flooring
What they’re saying about CSI
“I now have a comprehensive tool help to save cats’ lives: This superb, long-overdue book!” ~ Louise Holton, Alley Cat Rescue founder, community cat rescue pioneer
“This a must-read book for every cat owner. Read it to determine and correct the cause of housesoiling, or better still, to prevent the problem entirely.” ~ Dr. Marty Becker, America’s Veterinarian
I just spent five days in San Antonio at the American Veterinary Medicine Association conference. I was blessed to be surrounded by amazing animal-lovers, from the country’s top researchers to frontline veterinarians to veterinary journalists, feline behaviorists, vet techs and future vets. What an inspiring week! The one thing we all had in common was our passion for animal health.
There is a dark side to veterinary medicine. Veterinarians have the highest incidence of suicide of any occupation. In September 2014, my friend Sophia Yin, a gifted veterinarian and board certified veterinary behaviorist, took her own life. If one good thing came out of her death, it’s public awareness of our vets’ vulnerabilities.
Small animal veterinarian, Dr. Cassie Epstein, and friend. Dr. Epstein owns the Animal Hospital on Teasley Lane in Denton, TX.
Why, when vets have such a warm, fuzzy job, do they suffer from depression? There are a combination of issues. They have six-figure student loans before they graduate from vet school. They witness stupidity and thoughtless in pet owners. People often wait until the pet is critically ill before bringing it to the clinic. Veterinarians feel helpless when clients fail to follow instructions and the pets suffer. They cry in their office when they must put a patient to sleep. Vets suffer in silence, concentrating on your animal’s pain, not their own.
As clients, pet owners and animal rescuers, we need to show same care and concern for our vets as they give our pets. Maybe a card, a note, a simple thank you for your pet’s recovery or for releasing him from his pain. You never know what difference your kindness will make.
Here and now, I want to publicly thank Drs. Cassie Epstein and Cynthia Rigoni for everything they’ve done for my cats and me. Because of you, my cats have been made healthy and my foster kitties have gone on to happy forever homes.
It’s not unusual during a routine office visit for Dr. E to say, “Don’t you need a three-legged puppy who’s not house-trained?” The answer is usually no. However, sometimes I give in. On one visit she showed me an FIV-positIve Siamese-mix who had survived a gruesome coyote attack. Because of Dr. E, Braveheart recovered from his injuries and went to a loving forever home.
Cat veterinarian, Dr. Cynthia Rigoni, owns All Cats Veterinary Hospital in Houston, TX.
WHY I LOVE VETERINARIANS
Pondering this incredible profession and all its dedicated members, I came up with a list of reasons I love veterinarians. (Cassie Epstein and Cindy Rigoni, and all my vet friends, take note. This is for you.)
I love vets because:
They look good in scrubs.
I don’t have to personally empty my cats’ anal sacs. I can stand near the door while the vet works directly in the line of fire.
Vets save lives. Every day.
Vets have a lot of patience—not only with fractious pets but factious owners, too.
Vets are superheroes. When necessary, they run faster than a speeding kitten. They jump father than shooting anal glands. They have X-ray vision (or at least an X-ray machine.)
They are bilingual. They speak Vet-ese and English and translate the former into the latter.
They have the same education and skills as a human physician, but charge only a fraction for their services.
When a vet helps a pet, she/he also helps a person and the family.
When people leave healthy pets to be euthanized because they’re too much trouble or can’t deal with handicaps, vets often adopt the animal or finds it a home.
Veterinarians are never out of school. They must continue their education throughout their careers to keep up with innovations and technology.
Will Rogers said it all, “The best doctor in the world is the veterinarian. He can’t ask his patients what is the matter–he’s got to just know.”
So please, occasionally take a moment out of your day to thank you your veterinarian and tell her what you love about her. You’ll never know, but you, too, might save a life.
Name: Drymate® Litter Trapping Mat
Description: (My favorite) 28″ X 36″ (item number CLMRF2836C) and 20″ x 28″ (item number CLMRF2028C) ridged litter mats with bonded waterproof backing
Works best on: carpet or hard flooring / covered or open box
Effectiveness: Very effective. Low off-mat tracking
Available: Target.com
Suggested retail: small ($12.99) and large ($19.99.)
Observations:I’ve used the Drymate® Cat Litter Mat for years, so when a representative from Drymate asked if I wanted to try their new and improved Litter Trapping Mat, I jumped at the chance.
Before I talk about my experience with the Drymate® Litter Trapping Mat, I need to give you some info on feline preferences. A decade ago, Dr. Alice Moon-Fanelli said cat owners should keep their cat’s preferences in mind when buying litter mats (cat litter, or any product for that matter.) At the time, Dr. Moon-Fanelli was the clinical assistant professor and a certified applied animal behaviorist at the Animal Behavior Clinic at Tufts University of Veterinary Medicine. She’s now in private practice.
“Sensitive cats may not like the feel of some substrates,” she said. “Just as some cats balk when their owners use litter box liners, cats who don’t like the feel of a plastic floor runner will not the feel of plastic litter mats.”
Maybe you’ve never considered whether or not certain textures repel your cat. But if your kitty is even the slightest reluctant to walk on a certain surface like he may decide to seek out an alternative bathroom rather than tread across a mat that makes him uncomfortable.
Photo provided by Drymate.
I tested the textural comfort of the Drymate Litter Trapping Mat by pressing my forearm against it; the mat felt neutral against my skin. The cats obviously loved the feel of it. They immediately used it as a scratching pad and later napped on it.
Tracking occurs when litter becomes trapped inside the cat’s paws. When the kitty leaves the box, the pads spread and litter falls out on the floor. It’s been my experience that no mat eliminates tracking completely, but the Drymate Litter Trapping Mat greatly reduced off-mat tracking.
The 100% polyester mat features fine ridges that gently part a kitty’s paw pads to release litter as Fluffy walks away from the litter box. Litter becomes trapped within the ridges, which should reduce tracking.
Einstein reveals the waterproof underside that protect the floor from litter accidents.
When it comes to litter mats bigger IS better. The larger the mat, the more steps the cat must take before its feet reach the floor. That gives him more distance to drop the litter on the mat before littering the floor. This mat comes in two sizes: 20” x 28” ($12.99) and the 28” x 36” ($19.99.) Not unexpectedly, the larger mat did the best job at corralling litter.
Regardless of where I placed the mat, the Rainbolt Test Kitties continued to use their favorite litter box with the same enthusiasm and frequency as before.
The Drymate Litter Trapping Mat is environmentally responsible; it’s made from a polyester fiber manufactured in the USA from 100% recycled bottles. The non-skid waterproof backing keeps the mat in place while preventing accidents from soaking through to your floor. The fabric is so absorptive, if your cat misses or overshoots the box, there’s no pee runoff, and the backing prevents leak through. (BTW-If your cat suddenly starts going just outside the box, you need to take him to the vet.)
To remove litter trapped in the ridges, hold the mat over litter box, roll it lengthwise with the ridges facing outward and shake. Wash as needed. It’s machine washable in cool water and dryer safe at low heat. I’ve washed the Litter Trapping Mat several times and it held its own. (My older Drymate mats have been washed countless times and still perform well.)
The only downside I can find that it won’t win any decorating awards. It’s a neutral dark gray. Also, I wouldn’t mind if it came in a larger size.
Bottom line: To me, this is the only litter mat worth using. It’s comfortable for the cats, the large mat catches most of the litter, it doesn’t slip and it protects the floor from litter box mishaps.
Although more outlets are anticipated, currently Target.com is the only place to get it.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Drymate’s manufacturer, RPM, Inc. Dusty Rainbolt’s Universe is being compensated for spreading the word about the Drymate Litter Trapping Mat, but rest assured, I only write about products my cats love and use regularly. Paying me to write about this mat is like paying me to eat sushi. I’m going to do it anyway, but Einstein needs a new cat toy. RPM, Inc isn’t responsible for the content of this article.
Please pray for my Afghan Hound Monte Carlo who has a terminal illness. He was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in October and given less than 6 months.He was rescued with his sister from the humane society when they were 5 years old. They are 10 now. I pray it be your will to heal him. He is such a saintly dog.He also just developed Old Dogs Syndrome. Just don't know how much longer he can live as in days really but don't have the heart to put him down today on Christmas. 🎄 Pilar
Dallas cat cafe opens on Saturday at Vista Ridge Mall in Lewisville. Woohoo. signing book and of course drinking coffee and playing with kitties.
I was lucky to get a sneak peek at The Charming Cat on Thursday. Got to take a tour of the “meeting” rooms and meet all of the charming kitties. So much fun.
Walter Kroncat shows off the Victorian Room.
Each room has a different theme, so not only do you get to enjoy feline company, you get to drop yourself into a fantasy location. The Charming Cat can transport you to a Victorian room, a tropical room, a future room. Even the lobby and open areas have kitties sneaking a nap in the most fabulous truly arboreal cat trees. They really look like trees!
Cassidy takes a break in the Victorian Room.
The kitties are some of the most friendly felines I’ve ever met. They’re game for hugging, kissing, tummy rubs and lots of feather chasing. Best of all, if you fall in love, you can take your new heart cat home with you. All of these charming cats are available for adoption.
We all want The Charming Cat to big a big success so please join me there today.
December 2 is National Mutt Day. I don’t really like the term “mutt.” It sounds derogatory. I prefer “dog of all breeds.
Regardless, it’s all about embracing, saving and celebrating mixed breed dogs. So please visit your local shelter and find a new friend today! If you can’t adopt, consider fostering.
We lost our mutt Abby in May to a cardiac tumor. We hope to have a new mutt soon.
Are you making Fluffy a fat cat? I’ll go out on a limb and say, “Probably yes.”
How can you tell if your kitty isn’t just fluffy, but rather portly? Gently slide your fingers along his rib cage. You should be able to feel his rib through a thin layer of fat without having to press down. If he’s too skinny, you’ll instantly feel and see his ribs. If he’s too fat, you won’t be able to feel his ribs through all the fat.
What would he be eating if he had to hunt for his living?
Margie Scherk, DVM, ABVP, who conducted nutrition seminars at the Greenies Feline Influencer Summit in Franklin, Tennessee, said if you feed your kitty by only ten pieces of kibble per day more than his body needs, he can gain one pound of fat in a year! That’s 10% of a 10-pound kitty’s body weight. (Imagine a 150-pound human putting on 15 pounds. You do that for two or three years in a row and you’re in trouble.) For a cat to pork on one pound of fat a year for three years, and that’s bad news.
A cat living in the wild would hunt and eat up to ten mouse-sized meals a day. The average mouse contains between 30-35 calories. But Dr. Scherk adds only one out of 15 hunting expeditions results in a meal, so a natural cat spends most of his day running, jumping and climbing trees. All that activity burns a lot of calories.
“Regulating your cat’s diet and encouraging regular exercise are the best ways to maintain your cat’s body weight,” the late Dr. Lorie Huston told me.
Provide your inside cat with small, meals high in protein and fat eight to 10 times a day.
But, no crash diet for Fluffy. Work with your vet to design a gradual weight loss program. Rapid weight loss can cause potentially fatal fatty liver disease (hepatic lipidosis.)
