HouseOfPurrfection

I mentioned last December that my one resolution for 2010 was to begin brushing my cats’ teeth to help ensure their oral health. Trying to ward off routine cleanings and dental surgery has become one of my priorities in caring for my cats. It’s not the expense of the procedures; it’s the stress my cats go through having to be at the vet clinic, as well as going through surgery. I’d much rather ward off any visits to the vet’s office if at all possible.

Trying to get a cat to do anything it hasn’t thought of doing itself isn’t easy. While brushing a cat’s teeth isn’t impossible, it’s not something a cat will take to easily or willingly. Therefore, the process of establishing a brushing routine is going to take time and patience on my part, and a lot of humoring on the part of my cats.

This past weekend I offered the cats, those that were interested or not sleeping, the feline tooth paste to smell and taste, if they wanted. Mostly the cats sniffed at it, not quite sure if they wanted a taste. A few of them, Pixie and Muli, did taste the tooth paste, with only Pixie seeming to actually enjoy the taste, following me around as I offered it to the others. There wasn’t much interest on the whole, so I’ll offer it again and again, but if they don’t enjoy this first tooth paste, I’ll try another. It’s malt flavored, so maybe they don’t really like that flavor.

This first feline tooth paste I got from a local pet supply store. Our vet sells a brand of tooth paste, so perhaps I’ll try the one he sells. I believe it’s either chicken or shrimp flavored. That’ll probably go over much better.

Today is Juga’s 14th birthday! My beloved Juju Bee is incredibly dear to my heart as she was the very first kitten I ever rescued. I cherish the special bond we have, and I am so grateful that she’s one of my wonderful cats. She just gets more beautiful every day.

It’s the old adage, “Live and Learn”, that pertains to me sometimes as a cat owner, even though I’ve owned cats most of my life. And, perhaps that’s their allure; they are mysterious creatures that have won my admiration. My cats continue to surprise, amaze, and entertain on a daily basis, and yes, even worry me on occasion.

Over the years several of my cats have routinely vomited up dry cat food. I’ve chalked this down to one reason: Gorging. Since they usually vomit soon after eating, I believe that they are eating too much at one time. This behavior could be caused by the conditions of living in a multi-cat household.

For example, during Sunday mornings when the cats are eating their canned food treat, I have to keep a close eye on Mars. If I don’t stop him after a few bites, he will vomit up the cat food. He is trying to get as much food as possible before the other cats, feeling as if won’t get enough. My cats want for nothing, and this phenomenon bothers me deeply.

However, when I was talking with a friend the other day, mentioning this fact, she told me that if the dry cat food contains wheat, it could be a possible cause for the vomiting. An allergic reaction to wheat is quite common in cats. So, of course, when I got home, I immediately got on my computer and searched for the information.

Interestingly, there are several ingredients in dry cat food that can cause an allergic reaction in cats. The main ingredient in the dry cat food that we were feeding our cats lists ‘wheat’ as the main ingredient. So, I started thinking of performing an experiment to see if wheat could be the cause of the vomiting for my cats.

Last week I began feeding my cats an exclusive dry cat food that is formulated for urinary health. Juga has been on this food for several years, and since Tiny Pea’s possible diagnosis of Interstitial Cystitis, I’ve been giving her some of the food as well. Slowly, I mixed in the new food with the old, and they’re now eating the new food as their regular diet.

There have been a few incidents of vomiting, but not nearly as much as before and not associated with the dry cat food. The new food does contain a few ingredients that are known to cause allergic reactions, such as corn, but hopefully they won’t have a similar affect in my cats. Another effect of eating this new cat food is visiting the litter box more often. We are cleaning the litter boxes twice as often!

Desert, my brother’s cat, had a horrible habit of vomiting daily without any apparent cause. She’s done this for years, and there’s been no medical reason for it. Since feeding her this new food, she hasn’t vomited once. In her case, I believe that it was the wheat to which she was allergic, causing her to vomit.

Not only have I possibly ruled out the cause for the vomiting, but hopefully I’ve also provided better urinary care for my cats. Ingredients such as wheat are used as fillers, which can cause harm is some cats, leading to allergic reactions and, it is believed, Feline Diabetes.

So far my cats are doing well on this food, and I hope that it proves to be a good choice for their main diet. With so many cats in the house, it can be difficult meeting each one’s specific dietary needs, but I continually strive to do the best I can for my cats.

We got a surprise bit of snowfall this March morning at about 7 a.m. As approximately 1 inch of snow fell the cats seemed vaguely aware of it, watching with mild interest. Anything floating through the air gets their attention, but if there aren’t any aerial acrobatics, then they loose all interest.

The few, brave cats that still wanted out in the enclosure didn’t stay long, and Brava was the only one investigating the cold stuff. As with anything that mildly upsets their routine, the cats disdainfully ignored it, not giving it the least appreciative audience that Mom and I thought it so rightly deserved.

1.    Among home amusements the best is the good old pastime of sitting with a purring cat on your lap.

2.    One step after another, perseveringly continued, enables the cat to arrive at its journey’s end, however long it may be. It is only that the cat never truly believes the aggregate number of steps will not make it sink under a feeling of despair.

3.    The Cat is rarely distracted from its concentrations, whether it be hunting or sleeping.

4.    The Cat seizes the moment, and makes the thought start into instant action; it at once plans and performs, resolves and executes.

5.     Of all intellectual gifts bestowed upon the cat there is nothing more intoxicating than readiness - the power of calling all the resources of the mind into simultaneous action at a moment’s notice.

I’ve been finding Omar at the feeding stations more often, and he hasn’t been eating as much of the canned food during the week. Yes, I’m still giving him a bit of the canned cat food every day, so it’s been very slow getting him back to eating exclusively dry cat food. But, it’s progress.

And, since he’s been eating more of the dry food, he’s been putting on more weight very slowly. Worrying and fretting over one of my cats takes so much out of me emotionally that I’m literally exhausted when a cat is recovered from a medical condition. At one time, Omar weighed 12 pounds. For the past two years approximately he’s weighed just over 10 pounds. Other than his bad teeth, I don’t know what could have accounted for his weight loss.

However, he’s healthy, eating well, and happy, so the change in his weight perhaps has nothing to do with a current health issue, and I should quit obsessing. Yeah, right! When it comes to my cats, that’s not gonna happen. Caring for 18 cats, I’ve got to be extra vigilant of each cat’s health and question every anomaly in their behavior.

My constant vigil can be stressful, but of course, I love it. My cats are awesome, and I want the best for them.

Today’s Pictures of Cats is short. I shot the cats at different angels than I usually do, and got some interesting pictures. I especially like close-ups of cat’s faces; the detail of their eyes and noses is so cute. They’re just so beautiful, and I try and get as close as they’ll allow me for as long as they’ll sit there staring at the camera lens.

Since Tiny Pea has been taking the medicine, Dasuquin, for a possible Interstitial Cystitis condition, she’s been feeling great. How can I tell? She’s more social. She isn’t hiding up on her kitchen cabinet shelf, spending time by herself. Second, I’ve noticed that she isn’t quite as nasty towards the other cats. Of course, she still strikes as quick as a cobra if one of them walks by her, but she’s been waiting until the cats come to her rather than her intentionally going and bullying them. And, third, I haven’t seen any blood in her urine for nearly two weeks.

She’s her old self once again, and I couldn’t be happier. However, our vet still suggests that she needs to get x-rayed to confirm that she doesn’t have kidney stones, which could have caused the bloody urine. And, this is a good idea. Since she’s reacted so well to the Dasuquin treatment, I’m hesitant to take her in though.

With all of the signs falling into place indicating that she’s feeling well, I’m confident that the Dasuquin is helping control the Interstitial Cystitis. Juga, who also has the condition, has been doing well for several years on the Dasuquin.

But, of course, I can’t rest until I’m 100% sure my cats are perfectly healthy. So, regardless of Pea’s recovery, I’m still saving for the x-rays.

How can such a hugely naughty and mischievous cat come wrapped in such an adorable little cat? I’m not sure how Mother Nature works that out, but it’s certainly happened in Preacher’s case. It’s very easy getting lulled into a false sense of adoration for this miniature hellion with his sleek gorgeousness and unique gray-green eyes. But all too often, he goes from adorable to monster brat in exactly 2.5 seconds without the least provocation.

Preacher’s definitely cute, and that’s dangerously deceptive. The eruption of a big cat from that little cat body is a phenomenon that I’ve struggled with lately. Preacher’s been bullying Toby, which has contributed to the recent hierarchical changes, so I’ve had to step in with some authoritative discipline like I do with Pooka. However, the same results with Pooka are proving elusive with Preacher.

Preacher doesn’t easily submit like Pooka, and he’ll fight me once I get a hold of him. When I first had to step in and control Pooka’s aggression, he wasn’t as receptive either. But now Pooka is relinquishing more and more to my control. Hopefully Preacher will calm down a bit in the future and stop harassing the other cats with his menacing outbursts.

His domination is quite annoying, as well as impressive. He isn’t intimidated by very much; Pasha’s size and Tiny Pea’s tough presence don’t make him think twice about pouncing on either one of them. Nope, he’s learned that a blood-curdling, rebel yell more than makes up for his pint size, garnering him bragging rights as one of the toughest cats in the house.

On the other hand, any caterwauling easily upsets the cats on the whole, so that offense, plus a cocky attitude, wins him almost every confrontation. It amazes me that this little, skinny cat can intimidate every other cat in the HOP so easily. Their constant submission to his dominance has helped create this adorable monster, so I don’t expect any of the other cats will take him down a few notches.

The past couple of days have been beautiful, so Mom and I took advantage of the great weather, cleaning and sprucing up the outdoor enclosure for the cats. This is a must every now and then due to Bruce’s enthusiastic marking. And, of course, like the Pied Piper leading the way, a couple of the other boys follow right behind him.

As well as cleaning the enclosure, we also did some much needed yard work. We piled up several fallen branches and raked up most of the vast, never-ending amount of fallen leaves that littered the yard during the past storms. We found one small tree that we’d taken down and cleaned of all small branches that was too big to put into our brown waste receptacle. We thought that it’d be a perfect new toy for the cats to enjoy inside the enclosure.

And, enjoy they did. Anything new gets a thorough going over. This creates mental stimulation and physical exercise, which is extremely healthy for indoor cats. Cats get bored very easily, so introducing new elements into their territory for them to explore gives them what they would have outdoors.

Plus, it gives Mom and me a break from having to constantly entertain them.