Category Archives: Cat Health

Tucker the Fearless

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tuckerthefearlessHello Friends, Furry and Otherwise,

Tucker here, Well, I spent an interesting weekend at the place with the white coats. Without going into all the details (as it’s a bit embarrassing) I was suffering from a severe and serious episode of constipation.

My purpose in writing this is not to tell you about my ailment but to brag about how fearless I was there.

Granted, I did sing the “song of my people” all the way to the place with the white coats but I noticed something immediately when I was inside. This was a new place and there was no bad, medicine smell.

I sat in my carrier quietly waiting for the next chapter of my indignity when I was taken into a room. This room had no scary smells, the man in the white coat was very kind and I wasn’t frightened, just nervous. I even felt comfortable enough to sit (albeit warily) and see what was going to happen.

Even when they took me for a blood test and to the machine that took a picture machine of my insides, I was fearless. (Not saying I liked it, but I was no scardey-cat!)

I had to stay overnight where I suffered some indignities (but the female human explained it was all to make me better) and I have to say, it was the best stay at the place of the white coats I’ve ever had.

And the most miraculous thing of all, not one of the other Tribe of Five hissed at me when I returned home! That has never happened.

The female human was talking to the lady in the white coat when she picked me up and it sounds like every animal that visits this place can be fearless. My female human is going to be writing more about this when she takes Alberto and Oliver in for their wellness exam (well Alberto and Oliver will dictate and our purrsonal assistant will type it up for us We’d do it ourselves but the lack of opposable thumbs puts a definite kink in our blogging!)

Stay tuned for more about being fearless.
Your friend,
Tucker
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Note from Tucker’s female human:
Our veterinary clinic Pend Oreille Veterinary Service has recently completed their new facility and it is an amazing place. Designed by a veterinary architect, this clinic is designed with one purpose, to offer the best care for our furry and feathered kids and to make them all fearless. Oliver and Alberto will be telling you more after their fearless visit.

 

Walk Through the Web, Wed. 1/11/17

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siamese cat in black and white with blue eyes, Alberto, Feline Opines

Hi Folks,
I’ve finally returned to my weekly Wednesday purrrrusings of the web for all things feline. I did enjoy my holiday hiatus but it’s good to get back to work. So without further ado, here are my picks for the week!
Your Friend,
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The Midwife Cat 

orange and white cat massages goat giving birthIf you read my mewsings, you know that I love to talk about cats with jobs, especially unusual jobs and this cat’s job is unusual, believe me.  Pretty Boy aka #979 Operation Fancy Free  cat rescue, out of Jackson County WV, TNR program) lives in Virginia  and can be seen in a video, massaging and comforting Copper, the goat who was giving birth.
I’m wondering if Copper the goat is going to name Pretty Boy as Godfather to the new arrivals.

Detective Cat is on the Job

cartoon police cat
My human is in the process of writing a mystery story that features two felines (one, I am proud to say is modeled after me). Needless to say, when I saw this article about a cat who got a suspect busted, I let my human know. This cat helped “rat out” a suspect. Way to go Officer Feline

 

A REAL Cat Burglar

orange cat gets locked in banik
While I’m talking about felines and the law, there’s an interesting story about a true cat burglar. Seems this feline got himself locked inside a British bank overnight. I must say, if I were gong to be a cat burglar, I’d get myself locked into a dairy or a tuna factory, I certainly wouldn’t sit at the door so everyone could make fun of me on Twitter!

 

 

 

TRAKZ – A Feline and Canine Version of Fitbit 

TRAKZ a fitbit gps for cats and dogsNow if you’re concerned that your feline may have criminal tendencies like the British cat burglar, you may want to check out this item that has GPS to track your furry friend and track their whereabouts and how much they are eating. Our 16-pound, food loving Alpha Tucker was horrified when he heard about the Trakz and threatened my with severe bodily harm if I let the humans know about it.

 

Cats Giving Blood

cat in a nurse costume next to a give blood sign
I have never heard of cats giving blood but they do. Evidently there is a high demand for feline transfusions in Western Australia and Murdoch University’s animal hospital has set up a community blood donor program where cats can donate between three to five times per year. While I admire this noble act on the part of Australian felines, I think I’ll take a pass…but then again if I could save another feline life by doing it, I would have to consider it.

 

 

Cats in Hats

a ginger cat wearing a hat made from his own hairAnd now for something a little silly…cats in hats.  Evidently some humans have waaaayyyy to much time on their hands and this seems to be the case for Japanese photographer Ryo Yamazaki, who makes hats ,,,,,from the hair his cats shed. I must say I am still trying to figure out if this is a legit feline fashion statement or a dismal failure, I’ll let you make up your own minds.

Tucker Opines on Healthy Eating

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Siamese cat at the kitchen counter talking about gaining weight

Hello All,
As the male Alpha of the Tribe of Five, I’ve had much experience in my 12 years as far as eating is concerned. And believe me, I love to eat. I like wet food in the morning, kibble during the day, wet food in the evening and a before bedtime snack. Some cats eat to live, I live to eat.

Despite my great enjoyment of food, I have many dietary restrictions. First there’s my age (I’m twelve) and the fact that I have numerous allergies. The humans are constantly looking for the healthiest options for me and the rest of the tribe and they were ecstatic to find an extensive and in-depth review of cat foods by Reviews.com.  The article was published in November 2016 and (as the female human says) is something every cat loving person should read.

It’s a long article and far too much reading for this feline but I had my purrrrsonal assistant give me the highlights, which I will share with you. I suggest you have your lackeys…..errrr…humans read the report in its entirety..

In-Depth Study

These folks at Reviews.com are no slouches. They stated;

 “We analyzed 1,759 cat food formulas and found only 152 that were produced by a trustworthy brand with high-quality, risk-free ingredients.” They also made some cool graphs to help you humans understand how to feed your fabulous felines the healthiest foods.”

They also understand how complicated the feline digestive system is;

“For cats, diets need to have a number of ingredients that only animal-based ingredients can supply, and not just meat; organs are often better in this respect (yes, by-product!). Also, cats need a certain supply of minerals to help them avoid urinary tract crystals and stones. Overall, you need to first think about what your dog/cat needs and then look for diets that help you meet that.”

In other words, you just can’t feed us any old thing and expect to keep us healthy.

The Importance of Digestibility

The folks at Review.com know that just because a feline likes the taste of something the digestibility factor is important. They even made a cool chart to explain this.

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Even Cats Have to Watch Out For Those Pesky Carbs

The female human is rabidly anti-carb when it comes to their food and she’s always wondered about cards and kitties. The study addresses this but I sure hope this doesn’t mean some of my tasty snacks will be cut out!

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Low-Quality Ingredients Lead to Health Problems

My humans subscribe to this theory and they want to keep us as healthy and happy as possible.  Kidney disease, dental disease and obesity are a problem for felines, especially as we get older, and the best way to mitigate these issues is to make sure we’re eating healthy.

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Don’t Delay, Read This Article Today

IMHO this is the definitive article on cat food and at twelve-years of age (and being a bit on the portly side); I am going to make sure that my humans have a discussion about how we’re being fed. They think they’re feeding us healthy but are they really?

Of course any changes in the feeding schedule cannot interrupt the wet, dry and snack schedule.

I urge all my feline friends to make sure their humans read this article (and if you are of the canine purrrrsuasion, Reviews.com did a similar article on dog food as well).

Your food loving friend,
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Jasmine Opines on Vaseline for Hairballs

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Hello All, Jasmine here,
Siamese cat dipping into Vaseline jarI want to talk about something the humans do that I find disgusting, frightening and horrible. It’s when they bring out a squeeze tube, squeeze some brown, sticky substance from it and then attempt to make us eat it.

None of the Tribe of Five can stand it and although we are not fond of hairballs, we’d rather hack up a hairball than go through this trauma. The female human insists that it says on the tube that all she has to do is stick the brown goop on our paws and we’ll lick it off. Well, file that under “F” for fat chance! We can’t stand the smell or the goo and we run downstairs and hide under the big sofa until the humans give up.

Fortunately, the female human is very big on the concept of keeping The Tribe of Five in an environment that is fear free. Take it from me, the torture of the dark sticky stuff is far from “fear free”.

This led the female human to do some research about Vaseline  (petroleum jelly). Evidently it’s okay for felines to take for hair balls and wonder of wonder,  I love it! I especially like the fact that I can dip my paw into the jar and administer it myself. You can watch my instructional video for felines and humans here.

The Tribe of Five gives the Vaseline method a two “paws up” and, if your human is torturing you with the dark, nasty sticky stuff. just wander over to the nearest open jar of petroleum jelly, dab your paw inside and let them know you can take care of your own hairball issues! Now the female human insists that I tell you she is not a veterinary professional, nor is Vaseline preferred over a hairball remedy but, when you have a feline like me with a complete aversion to the brown gooey stuff, it might be worth a try.
Your friend,

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