tåkë cárê õf mÿ cât

There are cats really love to talk and seemingly with some cats, you can never win an argument with them. They always wanted to have the last word! My tabby girl is a talker and I have a lot of fun talking to her about almost everything. I am so guilty of using baby talk too. Do you baby talk with your cats as well? LOL ...

Do you come home to a wrecked house? Do you find your valuables hidden away? Or, do you find your cat at the exact same position as when you leave the house? =^..^=

I am very perplexed by some of the questions that came up here in YA. Many mentioned that they brought their dog to the vet but the vet have no idea what's going on. From my dog is vomiting blood and vet told me they don't know why, my dog's leg is broken and my vet doesn't know how to fix it, my dog has discharge and my vet said it's not infection but don't know what to do. Some even go as far as saying *I don't trust my vet so I am not bringing my sick dog to see him!*

So, do you think the quality of the vet in this country or on the whole is declining? Are vets so incompetent nowadays that we, the YA answerer can basically take over their job?

/sarcasm

I am very perplexed by some of the questions that came up here in YA. Many mentioned that they brought their cat to the vet but the vet have no idea what's going on. From my cat is vomiting blood and vet told me they don't know why, my cat's leg is broken and my vet doesn't know how to fix it, my cat has discharge and my vet said it's not infection but don't know what to do. Some even go as far as saying *I don't trust my vet so I am not bringing my sick cat to see him!*

So, do you think the quality of the vet in this country or on the whole is declining? Are vets so incompetent nowadays that we, the YA answerer can basically take over their job?

/sarcasm

There have been a drastic change in the way we feed our cats now compared to the days when dry food is the mainstream diet of our cats. With the emergence and expansion of the field in feline nutrition, more people are now aware of the benefits of feeding a wet/raw diet and are drawn to it.

So, have you changed the way you feed your cat and what prompted you to do so? Did you see a difference in your cat's overall well being after the switch? If you have not, why so? Is it cost related or because feeding wet/raw is inconvenient?

Many people belief that cats are solitary and that they rarely show great emotions. However, judging from how my cats greet me when I come home after a long day at work, I would say that cats are very expressive creatures! The display of their affections plus eagerness to welcome you home always manage to bring out a huge smile and no matter how difficult a day I had at work, being welcomed by such affectionate cats makes me forget everything!

I would like to share this fun quiz with everyone. Find out if you are the Ultimate Cat Addict. Can you answer these questions truthfully? =^.^=

From : http://maxellah.tripod.com/cataddict.htm

1. Do you, or have you ever owned a cat(s)?

2. Have you felt like you are the pet?

3. Do you spend more time playing/cuddling with your cat(s) than reading a book or watching TV?

4. Does your cat(s) eat better than you?

5. Does your cat(s) furniture look nicer than the people furniture?

6. Does your cat have more toys than you do?

7. Do you spend more on the cat toys and food than you do on treats for yourself?

8. Are your cat(s) considered family members with complete voting rights?

9. Do you move over at night so the cat(s) have more room in bed?

10. Have you bought/considered buying a bigger bed so the cat(s) have more room?

11. Are nose prints on windows a permanent fixture?

12. Do you/have you ever gotten down on all fours and batted a cat toy to entice your cat(s) to play?

13. Do you mimic the meows and purrs of a cat?

14. Can you purr while inhaling and exhaling?

15. Do you refer to yourself/spouse/partner as Mommy/Meowmie or Daddy?

16. Do you refer to your cat(s) as "furbaby" or "furkid"?

17. Have you ever moved for the comfort of your cat(s)?

18. Have you chosen a spouse/partner based on your cat(s) recommendation?

19. Have you ever just watched a sleeping cat(s)?

20. Have you ever gone to the store to buy a necessary item such as TP, shampoo, etc., only to find yourself driving away with cat toys, having completely forgotten why you went in the first place?

21. Have you ever changed your sleeping habits or positions for the comfort of your cat(s)?

22. Have you ever found yourself sleeping in the exact same position as your cat(s)?

23. Have you ever rearranged the furniture so that your cat(s) have better access to windows?

24. Does your collection of cat-related books, magazines, or videos takeup an entire bookshelf/case?

25. Is the cat theme a primary decorating technique?

26. Have you ever caught yourself bird-watching with your cat(s)?

27. Is cat hair a major food group?

28. Have you ever opened a can of cat food and thought "that smells kinda good"?

29. Do you like cats better than most people?

30. Do you feel guilty if you go out to eat and not bring back something for your cat(s)?

31. Do you spend more on your cat(s) than on yourself?

32. Have you turned the TV to an animal show so your cats can watch?

33. Do you spend more time on cat-related chat boards and pages than anywhere else?

34. Do you read snippets of cat magazines or books to your cat(s)?

35. Are cats the most fascinating creatures on earth?

Add up all your YES answers to get your cat-itis score:-

8 or less: You have caught the bug, but are still relatively sane. Just give it time.

9-16: You have a mild case of cat-itis. Seek no medical treatment; there is no cure. Now is the time to begin playing with cat toys and seeking new toys around the house. Work on that meow, the tone is slightly off.

17-26: Your condition is severe. Cats have a firm hold on your life. This is the point where anything cat is more interesting than people. Your purr may still need work though.

27+: You are now an honorary cat, you may groom yourself when and where you please. You have the purr and meow down pat. It is not unusual to find yourself thinking as a cat.

I think this question is directed towards die hard cat lovers because I don't see anyone who doesn't slave themselves to cats would feel the same way. LOL..

In my care now is a 3 year old male neutered cat. He has been battling with IBD and I have been caring for him for about 2 weeks now. As with any IBD sufferers, he vomits and has diarrhea which I have to clean up on my hands and knees. But his condition has been improving.

Well, just today, he went to the litter box to poop. Promptly, I put on my gloves and a face mask, because poop from an IBD sufferer can be a nose/smell challenge. To my surprise, he eliminated two solid brown poop. I have never seen his poop looking so majestic and pretty. (See what I meant two paragrahps up? .. LOL). I am so happy that I almost had tears in my eyes.

Well, my question is, has anyone of you been so overcome by emotions by the sight of your cat's poop? =^^=

I recently came across a few websites that features the answers from this site as part of their own Q&A.

Example:-

http://dogclipperstoys.com/organic-cat-food.html

This website uses the Q&A from YA as their FAQ and it makes it appear as if the people who answered the question are visitors to their site. Is this appropriate or in violation of YA's TOS? I realized my answer were being used and I do not think this should be allowed at all.

Please do share any stories/experience that you have. I believe each animal, no matter how small, do change our life in their own ways. I am eager to hear from you! I am sure everyone will have a story or two to tell.

I always advocate early neuter and spay as I believe this is the kindest thing to do help the overpopulation problem. I have read a lot of research papers as well as spoken to vets who do rescue work and have never think twice about this procedure.

However, I just re read a book *Natural Cat : The Comprehensive Guide to Optimum Care by Anita Frazier* and she wrote that early spay/neuter is detrimental to the health of your cat. Some interesting points she mentioned which got my brain in a twitch:-

Female Cats should be allowed to have at least one heat cycle before spaying.

Male Cats on the other hand should be allowed to mature sexually, meaning only after his urine turned pungent.

Spaying and neutering kittens are unacceptable because they need sex hormones to be fully grown and when altered too early, this will cause various health issues in the future.

This prompted me to research further into this practice and I came about this article from WINN Feline Foundation which caution against early spay and neuter.

http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/Pages/Early_Age_Al...

The precaution mentioned mirrors those of Ms. Frazier:-

Health Issues

Objections to EAA have included concerns about:

• Effect on growth

• Long bone fracture risk

• Obesity

• Behavioral changes

• Increased risk of disease

• Safety of surgery and anesthesia in pediatric patients

I would love to hear what others have to say about this so I can properly utilize this knowledge for good. If indeed this practice is unsafe, I would definitely not recommend it. However, in light of the overpopulation problems and millions of kittens born each year, it is a very difficult decision to make. Perhaps, there is a middle ground in which all strays/ferals can be altered at an earlier age, where as those who are already adopted and have a good home can have this surgery upon sexual maturity?

If you switch on the tv, you see an array of advertisements promoting Purina, Meow Mix, Friskies, 9 Lives, and other supermarket brands. At the vets office, you see shelves upon shelves of Science Diet, Iams, Royal Canin, and Eukaneba. But what about excellent food like Natural Balance, Wellness, California Natural, Wysong, Evo etc? Why the lack of marketing and advertising campaign?

Most of these brands thrive on word of mouth and recommendations through friends. I think that if they were to spend a considerable amount of their budget of marketing and advertising, more pet owners will know about it and thus, be interested in giving them a try? I once recommended Wellness to a pet parent and to my surprise she blurted .. I have never seen in on tv before, so what's so great about it?

As we all know, a lot of our buying decisions are determined by advertisement. So it is really strange that these companies did not use the mass media to sell their product.

I just finished reading Peter Gethers' books (all three volumes!) on his amazing cat Norton in two days and am looking forward to read something similar. I just ordered Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World and can't wait for it to arrive. In the meantime, I am now starting to read A Cat called Squeeky by Vic Reskovic.

So, any other must read books for a cat lover?

I just finished reading Peter Gethers' books (all three volumes!) on his amazing cat Norton in two days and am looking forward to read something similar. I just ordered Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World and can't wait for it to arrive. In the meantime, I am now starting to read A Cat called Squeeky by Vic Reskovic.

So, any other must read books for a cat lover?

Where do people get these information from?

It continues to amaze me where some people obtain their information regarding wet/can food. A sample of this "brilliant' info:-

Wet food does not have nutrients

A dog who only eat wet food will be fat

Wet food always cause loose stool and diarrhea

Wet food should only be use as treats and fed occasionally

If you feed your dog can food, it will cause bad breath

Wet food will rot teeth

I just gag whenever I see someone use the excuses above and tell people not to feed wet. So, where's all the information coming from?

From experience? From your vet? From your friends and family? From the internet?

It continues to amaze me where some people obtain their information regarding wet/can food. A sample of this "brilliant' info:-

Wet food does not have nutrients

A cat who only eat wet food will be fat

Wet food always cause loose stool and diarrhea

Wet food should only be use as treats and fed occasionally

If you feed your cat can food, it will cause bad breath

Wet food will rot teeth

I just gag whenever I see someone use the excuses above and tell people not to feed wet. So, where's all the information coming from?

From experience? From your vet? From your friends and family? From the internet?

Some parents feel that giving a child a pet is a good way to teach responsibility. Unfortunately, many of these pets end up in shelter when things go wrong or if the pet is not up to certain expectations. Should a child be given a pet as a gift?

Some parents feel that giving a child a pet is a good way to teach responsibility. Unfortunately, many of these pets end up in shelter when things go wrong or if the pet is not up to certain expectations. Should a child be given a pet as a gift?

Some parents feel that giving a child a pet is a good way to teach responsibility. Unfortunately, many of these pets end up in shelter when things go wrong or if the pet is not up to certain expectations. Should a child be given a pet as a gift?

I've been reading up on his dog trainning technique and it seems that there are some who thinks that he is the best thing since slice bread and some who think that he is just a spotlight hogger. I am not a dog person and knows very little about dog trainning and obedience school. I am just wondering what the general YA population thinks of him.