Kittens 'n Things

Monday, I started a “three part” blog post series on the “water drinking habits of cats,” otherwise known as the “Cat Water Hog.”

Because my original article was somewhat lengthy, I divided it into three parts and have posted each part on three separate days.

Here then is Part 2:

If your kitty or cat drinks excessively, perhaps it might be:

• Age related
Kitty may have some benign ailment associated with advancing age. Of course, if your kitty is still a “kitty,” an age-related issue could be ruled out quickly by your vet.

Or because of:

• Medication
At the off-chance kitty is taking medication for some reason, he may just be experiencing “dry mouth” caused by the medication. Which in turn may cause him to be more inclined with the need to slobber around in his water.

Or maybe, kitty has:

• Diabetes
Has kitty lost weight in a short amount of time? A cat that spends his days in front of the water dish drinking water may subtly be giving you the message he could have the beginnings of, or a full-blown case of, diabetes.

So, tomorrow, I’ll post the third and final part of this series, on the possible causes of the “water drinking habits of cats.”

Yours in monitoring your kitty’s drinks,

P.S. Perhaps Cat Hairballs: The Dirty Little Secret. might also interest you.

Video source: YouTube

In another life, you may call him a “camel!”

Instead, he’s sitting there looking like a kitty–in front of his water dish–when you walk past the room where you keep the dish of water.

Staring the water in the eye!

So you fill up his dish with fresh water, and he watches you walk away.

You go back later and there he is again! And again and again!

Still!

And each time, you load up the dish with water!

Sooner or later, it’s time to have a serious discussion with kitty about his “drinking habits.”

In fact, better yet, it may be time to consult with the vet–via telephone, or perhaps more appropriately, through a cat physical examination.

It’s not normal for kitty to have a never-ending thirst; so, this means much like you, kitty could be experiencing some health issues.

But first, rule out such things as:

• Dry air
Though dry air is not exactly a malady to threaten kitty’s health, it could cause kitty to have to drink more water than usual. With furnaces running, houses are often drier inside, and kitty might experience the need to drink more. This can also hold true in summer when the outside air is dry.

• Food related
Although not a usual ailment, your kitty may be drinking more water than usual because you’ve changed his food. Perhaps there’s more salt or sodium in the food. And if you’ve been feeding kitty with your food, he may be extra thirsty because of food choices of your food for him.

Since this article in its entirety is a bit lengthy, it will be continued over the next two days.

Yours in taking care of your kitty,

P.S. In the meantime, though, catch up on another of our kitty health blog posts like “Hairball S-O-S.”

Video source: Bellagattacat @ YouTube

With four kitties in our fur family, we learned early on they all have different meows and quirks and sounds to communicate and interact with us.

So it’s fairly easy for us to tell when one of ours is “under the weather!” The challenge, though, is trying to figure out “how much under the weather,” he actually is!

If your kitty’s noise or sound or meow makes an abrupt change, it may signal something is amiss. For instance, if your cat makes too much noise, whether she’s meowing, or maybe moaning or groaning, it’s important to quickly examine your kitty, like so:

How is her walk? Is there a limp?

You might run your hands along her body and study how she reacts; look for particular discomfort when you touch any areas. And investigate fully if your cat shows any sign of pain.

Also, check your kitty’s eyes, ears and teeth for any problems like infections. Are her claws trimmed and healthy-looking.

If you find anything at all that seems out of the ordinary, get kitty to your veterinarian as quickly as possible!

Yours in listening to the meows,

P.S. On the other hand, your kitty may just have a bit “too much time” on her paws, and needs your attention. So show her a bit of the fun in our Romper Room.

When we got Snowflake (who was in our “first kitty family”), she came to us from a barn on a farm–so she brought fleas and a few other critters with her that we needed to rid her of.

So we learned early-on that bath-times may be a bit challenging!

Since cats are not big fans of water, they might display ungrateful, to your way of thinking, behavior, such as fighting, clawing, scratching, hissing, and a strong will to hang on for dear life when you’re trying to lower kitty to the water.

In fact, some kitties will make an almighty noise as they struggle to get away. Just the right activity designed to keep you from adding shampoo or from rinsing out what’s already there.
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“The Boys” and I had a bit of trouble with our computer yesterday.

We discovered we were losing GigaBytes like mad. In fact, we went from 24 free GB to 7 free GB overnight!

So what were we to do!

Ended up spending three hours with online tech support. Who cleaned up some files, and deleted others.

I knew I should have paid more attention to what “The Boys” were doing when they were around my computer. In fact, a cat and a computer gives a whole new meaning to kitten on the keys.

I have a 21″ monitor and when I leave the room and then come back in, I often catch one or another sitting on my desk looking at the screen.

Not saying one or the other of them did anything, though. But Billy had on his “looking guilty face!”

Yours in saving your computer from your kitty,

P.S. Thank you to all the new readers these last few days. And if you’re a returnee, thank you for coming back.

Photo source: ICanHasCheezburger

In case you didn’t get our last week’s issue of “The Cat’s Meow,” I’m repeating some news about a fun new product we thought you’d might like…

“The Boys,” our “Cat ‘Seen’ Investigators” (CSI), like to nose around the Internet for really cool toys or new kitty litter, and other stuff of interest to all their kitty friends.

And if you’re reading this, you are a “kitty friend!”

Here’s what found us when we opened our email box; an email from Molly Meow. They make Molly Meow eco-friendly cat duvets and beds!

According to their marketing campaign, “Molly Meow is a line of durable yet easy to wash cat bed duvets and kits that just launched – a new approach to keeping textiles out of our landfills.

Molly Meow’s revolutionary duvet and “stuff sack” make creating and maintaining a stylish, comfortable and clean pet bed easier – and much more environmentally-friendly and less costly – than ever before.
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I found a cute article online by Beth Adelman New York Post, about “Lovin’ Kitty Kisses.” It reminded me of the many “kitty kisses” I’ve received over the years.

And perhaps it will remind you, too…

“Neither Mei Mei nor Cannoli sleeps with me all night, but they both manage to wake me up at least once for kisses and cuddles.

I love how at some time during the night, when they’re busy doing their own cat things, they somehow decide, “I need a kiss and a cuddle right now and I’m going to wake up Mommy and get it.”

Who says cats are aloof?

Their little routines fascinate me because their nightly rituals are each so unique. Mei Mei purrs loudly into my left ear, then walks across my head and settles down on the right side, next to my pillow.
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We know that it’s not crucial that we entertain our kitties. However, we also know it’s a good idea to keep some fun ideas at hand to keep kitty out of mischief!

Radio show host and pet expert Tracie Hotchner, author of The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible suggests:

“One of the easiest and cheapest ways to amuse your pussycat and give yourself a good laugh at the same time is to get a jar of bubbles.

Blow some bubbles and discover whether your cat likes to chase them, pop them or both!”

To support Tracie’s comments, we found the above ^^^ fun video by RedDwagg at YouTube

Yours in playing “bubbles” with your kitty,

The Daily Cat Tip Health and Care Tips from Catster.com

Video source: RedDwagg at YouTube

We just learned that one of our new found furriends, Calle, was featured yesterday at I Can Has Cheezburger.

Calle’s momma posted Calle’s picture on the ‘net in January on one of those “wordless Wednesday” days!

In case you missed it, I’ve posted it here now so you can see it. ^^^

And, on another matter; see our “medal” over there >>>> ? We won that for our “Freestyle Competition” in last week’s Cat-O-Lympics. Amy awarded it to all kitties that came up with events that no one else was hosting.

So we think our “Whack-A-Cat” with Snowflake and Jonny surely fits that bill.

No one else was hosting; and actually no one else was playing either! We just got the bright idea the day the Cat-O-Lympics started, and didn’t pass our idea on to anyone!

It was a bit of short notice for us to get organized and all.

We’re really all winners, though; and so is Amy! So thank you, Amy. And a really big kitty muah!

“The Boys” and Karen, and Snowflake and Jonny,

P.S. If you haven’t yet signed up for our “Cat’s Meow” ezine, it’s not too late to start getting your very own copy. You’ll also get a complimentary copy of our ebook, “Caring for Your Cat Naturally.”

I was looking around at I Can Has Cheezburger last night, and this caught my eye!

This ^^^ might have been one crazy entry for the “Cat-O-Lympics” had we seen it in time.

Yours in hanging out at I Can Has Cheezburger,

P.S. Three guesses where kitty is going to land when he does finally jump! Our “Romper Room” in our little shoppe, might offer some clues…or may not!