Travels With Kitty

We’ve talked about traveling with dogs but not about traveling with cats. Most of the dogs we know like to go for rides so traveling, by car anyway, is fun for them. Cats, maybe not so much. We wanted to get a cat’s perspective on how to successfully travel with a cat so we called our friend and guest blogger, Foe.

Here are a few tips she passed along:

1. Cats are easily stressed so a visit to your Vet for something to help calm her might be a good idea. There are some excellent natural remedies available. A general check up to be sure your pet is healthy enough will also put your mind at ease.

2. Since cats don’t take car rides as much as dogs, take her for short rides so she can get used to being in the car. If you find she gets car sick, ask your Vet to recommend something,

3. Although some people let their cat roam around the inside of the car, Foe says she prefers a cat carrier. A cat carrier will keep your cat safe. You wouldn’t want her to dart out of the car when you open the door or jump out of the window, would you? You also don’t need your cat climbing all over you when you are trying to drive.

If your cat hasn’t been a carrier before, start getting her used to it before you start your trip. Put her bed or one of your old tee shirts in the carrier. Having something familiar with a comforting scent will help her relax.

4. Make sure your cat is wearing identification. A micro chip is also a good idea. If your cat should get away, having up to date information will help anyone who finds her locate you quickly.

5. Pack everything she will need. Food and water, litter and a litter box, and any medication she is taking.

6. Spending some time playing with her before you leave will help her relax. Plan on stopping every few hours to let her out of the carrier so she can stretch her legs and take a potty break.

7. The most important thing to remember is NEVER leave your cat alone in the car. It doesn’t take long for a car to get too hot or too cold. Don’t put your cat's life at risk even for a “few minutes”!

We are so glad to hear that more and more humans are taking their cats along with them when they go on trips. After all, time spent with a cat is never wasted.

Happy trails,

Zeva

P.S. Blatant self-promotion. For the bestest Cat gift basket in the universe are found at pawpalsboutique.com

Being Top Dog

I didn’t wake up one day and find myself as Chief Canine Officer of a pet gift basket company. It took years of hard work and lots of learning.

I started my life in a non-kill shelter in South Carolina. When I was just a baby, I was put in a van with my litter mates and other shelter dogs and driven to New England where my chances of being adopted were better.

My picture was put on petfinders.com along with thousands of other dogs looking for forever homes. I got lucky when my Mom saw my picture and called the rescue people. I was so little and kind of scared. Mom and Dad were really nice and before long we were a real family.

I had a big job to do. Being the dog of a family is a very responsible position, especially when you are adopted into a family where other dogs used to live until the crossed over to Rainbow Bridge.

I got to go to Mom’s Studio everyday with her. I watched how she worked at the gift basket business. Peoples seemed to like getting gift baskets and I knew that pets liked to get gifts too so why not start making gift baskets for pets.

Mom liked the idea and we made a special section in the Shoppe just for pet gift baskets. We would think about what kinds of things would be liked best. Toys are always fun and of course, treats,

My job can be challenging but it is also very rewarding. One of the percs is that I get to taste test the treats and play with the toys we consider using.

When DixieLee came to live with us I trained her good and now we are even more selective in what toys and treats we put in our gift baskets. Like, now we only buy treats that are made in the USA.

We have grown over the past six years and I am looking forward to helping more pets received high quality gift baskets from the peoples who love them.

To see our large selection of gift baskets for dogs and cats, just go to pawpalsboutique.com You’ll be glad you did.

Love,

Zeva, Chief Canine Officer

P.S. Blatant self-promotion. For the bestest pet gift baskets in the universe, check out pawpalsboutique.com

The Grass May Be Greener After All

A couple of months ago Zeva wrote a blog (Moo, I Mean Woof) pointing out some of the reason dogs eat grass. Most people think that dogs eat grass to make their tummies want to vomit but as Zeva so eloquently explained, vomiting is not the only reason and not even necessarily the primary reason.

The story is a little different for cats. We eat grass specifically to vomit.

You see, before cats found nice homes to live in where we get nice food served in pretty dishes, we had to go out and kill our dinner. We didn’t have the luxury of savoring every bite in a nice safe house. We needed to gulp down our dinner and get to safety before we became dinner for some other animal.

Instead of fancy feasts of pate liver or chicken or turkey, filet of beef or tuna, we ate birds or mice or other small animals that we were able to catch. Because we had to eat quickly, we ate fur, feathers and bones and, if our dinner contained any parasites, we ate them too. I know, that is really gross but, hey, some humans could brush up on their table manners. Just sayin’.

Grass doesn’t have much nutritional value but it does contain lots of fiber. Unlike dogs, cats don’t have the special enzymes that allow us to digest large amounts of grass. Without the special enzymes, when we eat lots of grass, the grass irritates our tummies and we throw up. I know, I know, throwing up is disgusting but it’s better than getting really sick from some of the stuff we ate.

I know, like me, most of you reading this blog live in nice homes where your humans feed you yummy food from a can or a bag. Personally I like canned food but I do occasionally have to settle for dry and (don’t tell my humans this) some of it is really delicious. Anyway, even though we don’t eat dinners filled with yucky stuff like fur and feathers, we do groom ourselves frequently. In the process of grooming, we ingest our own fur and like the fur we talked about earlier, it needs to get out of our systems.

So even cats who spend all of their lives inside, they need to eat grass some times. Since we live inside and don’t have access to real grass, we tend to munch on the plants we find around the house. Unfortunately, those pretty green things that sit in the window can be super dangerous to cats.

Because they are easy to grow, lots of houses have philodendron, pathos and jade plants. Aloe Vera plants are a staple in many kitchens because they are good for healing burns. The problem is that these plants are harmful to cats.

If you want your cat to be able to eat grasses to help their tummies that are actually good for them, there are lots to choose from. Personally, I LOVE catnip. It’s easy to grow and well, it’s cat nip. Then there are Bee Balm, Lavender, Thyme and Valerian. These plants that are pretty, smell really nice and are good for cats.

Now that you know why we eat grass and vomit on your carpet, keep the tuna and salmon pate coming and plant a little cat nip in the front window and I guarantee we will get along just fine.

Love

Fo

P.S.  While you're here, check out the largest selection of gift basket for CATS at pawpalsboutique.com

Declawing Cats

Hello Everyone.  Fo the Cat here.  Zeva asked me to write the Paw Pals Boutique blog this week.  She noticed that there has been a lot of discussion recently about banning the practice of declawing cats and wanted my opinion.

She didn’t see why people were so upset.  After all, dogs get their nails clipped all the time.  Some dogs even like to get their nails clipped because they get to wear nail polish.  After I explained to her what really happens to a cat when it gets declawed, she understood why people were so upset.

Cat’s claws are really sharp.  They are supposed to be.  The cat’s claws are its main defense tool.  Their claws help them run up trees when they are trying to escape a predator or, if cornered, used to slash and cut.

A cat’s scratch can be painful but for most people, if cleaned and treated with antiseptic right away, shouldn’t be a real problem.  For the elderly and people who have medical problems that are being treated with blood thinners, however, a cat scratch can be more serious and not treated so lightly.   The main reason people declaw their cats so they can’t scratch (slash and cut) them or climb (and ruin) their furniture and draperies.

What people (and I guess dogs) don’t understand is that a declawing a cat is not like clipping people’s or dog’s finger nails and toe nails.  A cat’s claw is part of the bone in its toe.  When a doctor declaws a cat, he or she is amputating the last joint on the cat’s toe. Cats are very graceful and agile creatures.  Declawing alters how a cat’s feet work. Imagine how difficult it would be to walk without toes.

Declawing is major surgery but a cat can’t rest in bed for very long.  Even with medication to ease the pain, the cat still needs to walk and needs to use the litter box.

Declawing also takes away one of the cat’s defenses.  They can no longer climb trees or fight off other animals so that’s why declawed cats are not allowed to go out of doors.

Scratching is just something cats do.  They scratch for a bunch of reasons like to shred the outer layer of their claws or to stretch their muscles.  It’s part of who they are.  It’s hard to stop them completely but there are ways to control scratching that don’t require amputating body parts.

There are tapes and sprays that make places they may want to scratch annoying or uninviting.  Used with a scratch tree or perch, the tapes and sprays can be quite effective.  Rubbing a little catnip on the perch helps with helping the cat to make the right decision on which object to choose for scratching.

Like dogs, cat’s nails can be clipped or you can get nail caps that fit over their claws.  I haven’t seen the nail caps but I understand you can get them in pretty colors too!

Some countries have banned declawing outright while others say it should only be done if a vet thinks it is medically necessary.  For anyone considering declawing their cat, please give it some thought, it’s not a simple decision to make.

Your friend,

Fo, the Cat

P.S.  Blatant self-promotion.  Zeva wanted me to remind you that Paw Pals Boutique has a huge selection of gift baskets especially designed for cats and the people who love them.

Here We Grow!

We're a small, family owned company. I had been doing lots and lots of different things in the company so when DixieLee came to live with us a couple of years ago she was able (after I trained her) to help me with product testing and help Dad with shipping and receiving.

When we decided to give the Pet Division its own website, we contacted my friends Bumo and Miu and asked them to help. Bumo and Miu are dogs who live with their graphic artist Mom. They helped me design our new website and are really helpful with market research. I love the logo they designed, don't you?

I think we make a good team but there was still something missing. Cats. Many of our clients are cats and we have lots of gift baskets designed specifically for cats but, if we are going to grow and give our clients what they want, we needed input from cats.

We were so lucky! Bumo and Miu have a cousin who is a cat and they told me about her. Her name is Fo and she is super special. You see, Fo was born blind.

I'm getting ahead of myself here. Fo was born in a litter of four kittens. A human girl named the kittens Fee, Fi, Fo and Fum, like in the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Anyway, when the human girl found that Fo was special, she asked her parents if she could keep her.

Fo loves her human girl so much. She spends all the time she can with her. She sits with her while she does her school work and listens really well when her human girl read stories. Fo started thinking about stories and how wonderful they are. Stories take you to places you physically can't go, especially if you are a blind cat.

Not long after Fo started thinking about telling stories, the human girl brought another cat home. A little kitten she named Alpha. Like most youngsters today, Alpha is very tech savvy. Even with paws, Alpha became really good at typing on the computer. So, while the human girl is at school, Alpha and Fo spend their time surfing the web.

Fo and Alpha have agreed to help us by being guest contributors to our blog. They are very excited and look forward to your comments. I hope you find their blogs interesting and informative and if you have any questions about cats, please, let them know.

As always,

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S. Blatant Self-promotion.  Check out our new website and tell us what you think.  PawPalsBoutique.comhttp://pawpalsboutique.com/