Not that I’m trying to bore anyone to death, but those kitty people out there should check out Dr. Elsey’s cat litter, now sold in Petsmart amongst other places. I’m using the Precious Cat Ultra, which is an excellent clumping litter that really clumps and doesn’t stink. There are litters for every occasion such as kitten training (that one makes me wonder- since when do they need training?) senior cat, long haired cat, etc. Check it out: Dr. Elsey’s Cat Litter Products Dr. Elsey’s also makes Cat Attract for cats that don’t want to use their litter box. Keep in mind litter box blues can be due to: a) cat is mad at you, b) litter box is dirty, in wrong spot, etc., and c) cat is sick, usually a bladder infection. If you cat isn’t going where he/she should, best thing to do is take him/her to the vet. A bladder infection is quite painful so you want to treat it quickly.
My friend and Indy Great Pyrenees Rescue co-director Jane recently gave me a lovely bathrobe with a Great Pyrenees embroidered on the front as a thank you gift for fostering a puppy for her over a weekend recently. Apparently it is not just any robe, as it has unique properties to my animals. Once again, it’s Mickey the Maine Coon. I wake up and it’s sooo cold. Isn’t this May? I reach for my trusty new robe. Mick spies this and does what any athletic cat boy would do. He leaps at it. I have one arm in the robe, the other half is held tightly in the grip of said Maine Coon. I was not thinking this funny and managed to disengage Mickey from the robe. I took a step and had both arms in it. Before I knew what happened he had spied the belt to the robe and was hanging from it as if his life depended up it. Believe me, it didn’t. A 21 lb cat doesn’t go too far while hanging from a belt. Mickey eventually gave me my robe back.
This morning I was wearing the robe as I prepared breakfast. A bit of a thunderstorm was starting up. Ivy (white standard poodle) looked vaguely alarmed. I’ve been noticing this in her recently even though in her 3+ years she hasn’t been afraid of storms. I didn’t want her to develop that fear now. I was stirring my oatmeal at the kitchen counter and felt something skinny slide between me and the counter. I looked down to find that it was Ivy- her interest wasn’t the counter, but she was apparently trying to get under my robe for “thunderstorm protection”. The most important thing in this situation is to NOT reinforce the fear by saying “it’s okay” or otherwise comfort the dog- if you do that you’re telling them there IS something to be afraid of. I gently released Ivy from under my robe without saying anything. A moment later I noticed her in the small enclosed hallway by my garage door. She was joined by Willow (Great Pyrenees) who was also a tiny bit worried about the thunder. Spice (Portuguese Water Dog) followed, not because she’s afraid, but she just loves company. Fearing principals of social psychology would mean that I’d wind up with three scared dogs I went to the cookie jar and urged them out of the hallway in an attempt to associate good things with thunder. It seemed to work. Since Ivy was clearly the most frightened I gave her an almost unlimited number of cookies. She was in heaven, despite the thunder.
You’ve probably seen commercials for Proactiv solution, it’s that acne treatment that is always being touted on TV. Having heard a good recommendation for the product I decided to give it a try. It came in a nice rectangular box which I dropped on my bed on my way to opening the package and seeing what was inside. Mickey, my Maine Coon boy immediately spied it and was on the box as quick as felinely possible. He placed his big orange feet on the edge of the box and dug in. What a nice little vertical scratching post! I had to laugh, Mick is the most curious of cats. He was even happier when I opened the box. There were three round plastic bottles in different sizes, each containing a different phase of the acne treatment program. Each bottle could be knocked over and rolled back and forth, first with one paw, then the other. A kind of a cat “hokey pokey” ensued as the bottles were rolled with the right foot, then left. Mick had a blast, that’s all that matters. Here’s a pic of the handsome guy.
Welcome to my blog- this is new for me so have patience and remember to check for updates daily. As many of you know, I’m a full time professional pet sitter in the Carmel, Indiana area. I hope that with this blog you can get to know me better and I can share (and you can too) some of my thoughts on pets, pet care, animal related legislation, etc. Thanks for reading this and again, welcome!
