All About Cats |

June 7, 2012

What Do Your Cat Names Say About YOU?

How did you come up with cat names for your feline family members? Did you name your cats after particular physical characteristics or behaviors? Or because of how they found you? Did you pick a name because it was cute, or name your cat after another you’ve known?

I have a friend who believes in reincarnation. She has one cat at a time, and all of her cats are named Mittou. She is absolutely certain that every one is the reincarnation of the cat she had before. It’s a karmic thing. Every one of them is a me-too.

My friend and Mittou have been together for lifetimes. Mittou is now in her seventh incarnation this human lifetime. They say cats have nine lives. Will she get more than nine? She may. My friend is only 52.

Another woman I know, a linguist, named her cat ‘Parenthesis.’ Why? Because she came to her at a time when she was between marriages. A parenthetical time, between two main clauses.

Think back to the cat names you’ve handed out over the years. Or think back to the names that others you’ve known have given their cats. Do they tend to reflect the character of the cat, or of the person who named it?

The cat that lives in the house behind me is named Gitsum. What the heck is that about? Well, Gitsum gets everyone in the neighborhood to feed him tidbits. He’s always got his paw in one honey jar or another, metaphorically speaking. He never fails to get some. And his human’s sort of the same way. Which one learned it from the other? I wonder.

One man I know has three cats, all with rhyming names. There’s Chitty Kitty, Furr Purr, and Smokey Dokey. Does that tell you he’s a bit of a poet unrefined? He’s always spouting doggerel.

Skitters and Jitters are twins. Total misnomers. They’re both really calm cats. But Mr. Brown, their human, is on edge most of the time.

These are mostly silly stories. I hope they made you smile. Cat stories have a way of doing that. Unless, of course, they make you cry. One thing’s sure: a good cat story will evoke emotion of some sort. And that, my friends, is the essence of every good story, cat or otherwise.

Think of the cat stories you could tell. Whether they’re stories of cat antics, cat heroism or kitty love, there are thousands of readers who would adore them. CLICK HERE to become a Pet Writes Member and discover new ways of sharing your stories.

Who Knows? What if your stories of how you chose you cat names turn out to be your ticket to fame and fortune? It has happened.

Pawsitively,
Chiwah Carol Slater
The Pet Story Passionista
Word Weaver Chiwah
Founder, PetWrites.com, WordWeaver4U.com

All About Cats |

May 28, 2012

| by Chiwah Slater

Who Could Have Imagined Such a Result from Feeding Orphaned Kittens?

Feeding orphaned kittens can mean opening the door to … who knows what? Many a life, both feline and human, has been forever altered because of someone’s kindness.

Sometimes it happens that an animal taken in as a stray becomes a saving grace. That’s what happened in this story, passed along to me from the newsletter Pet Thoughts, News & Notes from Rebecca Blackbyrd. (Rebecca offers animal communication and energy healing at http://www.RebeccaBlackbyrd.com.)

A Tale of Two Service Cats

Did you know that there are service cats who alert their people to impending medical problems like seizures, low blood sugar, and other medical issues? These cats enable their people to live a more normal life, knowing that they will be alerted when a medical event is about to happen. Some of these cats are certified through the Service Animal Registry of America (SARA).

In March 2010, KVOA News 4 in Arizona featured a story on the service cats of a woman named Marty. Marty has a very rare seizure disorder called “absent seizures,” which cause her to freeze up and be unable to do anything during the course of the seizure. Her longest seizure lasted 30 hours. Unable to tell when her seizures would occur, Marty was confined to her house.

About the same time that Marty was diagnosed, she rescued a little black male cat whom she named Dale. She became concerned about Dale, who would seemingly go crazy at certain times, racing around the house and then back to Marty. Marty took Dale to the vet thinking that the behavior might be the result of a food allergy.

The vet found nothing wrong with Dale and suggested that Marty start logging Dale’s activity for a few weeks to see if they could determine what was causing the uncharacteristic behavior. It soon became clear what was triggering the behavior. Exactly three hours before Marty’s seizures, Dale would become a crazed cat. He was trying to alert Marty that one of her seizures was coming.

Now that Marty knew exactly when her seizures would occur, she could prepare herself in time for them. She said she felt like she had her life back. Dale went everywhere with Marty, giving her enough time to return home before the onset of a seizure.

Unfortunately, Dale got sick and died. Marty was heartbroken and also fearful that her life would return to one of isolation. But Marty had another cat named Lil Bit. Lil Bit had never acted in the same way as Dale, but after Dale’s passing, something very interesting happened.

Lil Bit started to alert Marty in exactly the same way that Dale used to alert her. Lil Bit also reacted precisely three hours before a seizure, so Marty was again able to leave her home. Lil Bit is now a registered service animal through SARA. These cats both enabled Marty to live a more normal life. No matter the species, service animals provide an incredible gift to their people by allowing them to be more independent.

Thanks to Rebecca Blackbyrd for giving permission to excerpt this wonderful story from her newsletter, Pet Thoughts, News & Notes from Rebecca Blackbyrd.

If you have stories of animals you’ve rescued that others would love to read, becoming a Pet Writes Member will give you opportunities to do that. You’ll get all the assistance you need to become a better storyteller and to get your stories written. We are here to help pet lovers get your stories out to the world, whether online, in magazines and books, or at special events.

Your pet stories could make someone’s day, heal old heart wounds, and even save a life. You never know. What animal lover can resist picking up a wounded bird or other little one? Or feeding orphaned kittens? CLICK HERE to become a Pet Writes Member and begin sharing your stories in fun new ways. Membership is FREE. My gift to you.

Pawsitively,
Chiwah Carol Slater
The Pet Story Passionista
Word Weaver Chiwah
Founder, PetWrites.com, WordWeaver4U.com

All About Cats |

May 13, 2012

| by Chiwah Slater

What Lifestyle Changes Can Feeding Orphaned Kittens Lead To?

When Cynthia started feeding orphaned kittens she found, she never expected she’d be hand-feeding them the rest of their lives!

She loves cats, and they love her. Adore her. Would do anything to get close to her. So when she discovered two orphaned kittens mewing under the apple tree in her back yard, what could she do?

She picked them up and brought them in, of course.

These were baby kits, probably less than two weeks old. They hadn’t even opened their eyes! So tiny, so sweet. So helpless. They needed a mom.

These were baby kits, probably less than two weeks old. They hadn’t even opened their eyes yet. So tiny, so sweet. So helpless. They needed a mom, and Cynthia rose to the occasion. She checked them for fleas. Finding none, she nestled them snug in a cardboard shoe box, padded with soft white cloth.

When she noticed the kittens shivering, she placed a heating pad under the cloth and turned it to its lowest setting. Not sure how hot it would get, she kept checking on it. When she decided it was overly warm, she placed a towel over it for insulation.

When it came time to feed the kittens, she knew what to do because she had done this before. She had some KMR (kitten milk replacer) powder on hand, and mixed a small amount with two parts boiled water to feed in a sterilized doll-size baby bottle.

Then she started feeding. Holding each kitten on its back, she gently pried their mouths open and squeezed the bottle to release one drop of milk at a time. It didn’t take much coaxing to get the kittens to relax their jaws and allow the formula in. They were hungry!

Within a day their eyes opened, and soon they were putting on weight. Cynthia fed therm every couple of hours at first, then every three hours, spacing the feedings out more as they grew.

After a couple of weeks, she decided to introduce solid food. They didn’t know what to do with it. So she held up a piece of the food to their mouths, petting them all the while and talking gently to them to encourage them to taste the food.

Though most kittens will take well to the transition to solid food, the grey kitten did not. She smeared a taste of chicken cat food on his palate, and he seemed to like it, but she had to sit there and pet and cajole him to get him to take a bite himself.

As the week wore on, his sister was weaned successfully, but little Smokey refused to eat unless he was being petted and whispered to! Or sung to—he would eat a bellyful at a single sitting if she sang softly to him.

What would you have done at this point?

Here are some of the things Cynthia tried:

She experimented with feeding him other flavors, but that didn’t seem to make any difference.
She tried staying out of the room at feeding time to encourage him to eat on his own, but that didn’t work either.
She went back to feeding him the formula for another week and then re-introduced the solid food, but he would still only eat it while she petted him and talked or sang to him.

This was last year—last June, to be exact. Grey and his sister are cat-sized felines not, full of the vigor of youth. They have the run of the house, and have proven themselves expert at finding new things to play with. In the cuteness department, they could win an Oscar.

And Grey still wants to be petted when he eats. He will come in and nuzzle Cynthia’s leg and lead her to his bowl, and wait for her to start petting him before he eats. This cat is a master trainer!

Will this happen to you if you start feeding orphaned kittens? Who knows? I guess it could happen feeding any kitten, but I suspect it happened with Grey because he needs that extra show of love he never got from his mom.

What do you think? Leave us a comment with your thoughts in the space below this article!

How has your cat trained you? Think about the routine behaviors your pet has conditioned you into. Some of them can be hilarious! Like the fellow who told me his cat had trained him to pick his slippers up off the floor so she wouldn’t curl up in them. Or the couple whose cats trained them to flash laser beams on the walls …. I wish I’d been there to see that one.

To open the door to exploring how you can start sharing your pet pictures and stories about feeding orphaned kittens or other pet topics, CLICK HERE to become a Pet Writes Member. It’s FREE, my gift to you … so that you can give YOUR gift to the world.

Pawsitively,
Chiwah Carol Slater
The Pet Story Passionista
Word Weaver Chiwah
Founder, PetWrites.com, WordWeaver4U.com

All About Cats |

April 17, 2012

| by Chiwah Slater

Are Cat Allergies Putting a Damper on Your Life?

Are Cat Allergies Putting a Damper on Your Love Life?

Allergic reaction to cats is a problem for ten to fifteen percent of Americans. If you’re one of them, you know how miserable it can be to be in the vicinity of a feline!

Things are worse, of course, if the cat belongs to the person you’re sweet on!

Denise (not her real name) had that problem. She didn’t have a cat of her own – she had learned that that didn’t work for her – but her boyfriend, Larry, had a Persian, and her allergy meant she couldn’t spend time at her house. Worse yet, she could hardly spend time with Larry! He would have to shower before coming over, and change into fresh clothes free of cat dander.

Endangered love!

Having never had cat allergies, Larry had a hard time relating to Denise’s sensitivities. At first he teased her about it, but when her nose wouldn’t stop running and she couldn’t stop sneezing, he agreed to take the time to clean up before coming over. But he wasn’t too happy about it.

What would you do if you were Denise?

I asked one person that question and she said she’d look for a new boyfriend. But let’s say Denise didn’t want to go that route. What other options might she have?

Here are some ideas that have worked for other people:

Anahistamines. You can buy them over the counter as Claritin, Benadryl, or Allegra. Or, if those aren’t strong enough, perhaps you can get your doctor to write a prescription for Zyrtec.
Steroids. A lot of doctors prescribe Nasonex spray for cat allergies.
Natural Allergy Therapy. Eucalyptus oil is known to soothe coughs and alleviate nasal congestion. And Vitamin C, fish oil, flax seed, evening primrose oil, oatmeal-based soaps and shampoos, witch hazel and aloe vera gel can be helpful. Some people have found acupuncture effective. I have a friend who got rid of her cat allergies with a combination of homeopatics acupressure treatments.

Denise didn’t want to go the drug route, so she went online and researched the alternatives.

Using the trial and error method, she has found that adding fish oil to her diet and increasing her intake of vitamin C have well enough that Larry no longer has to change clothes before coming over to visit. And if he remembers to turn on his air purifier and keep the cat off the furniture, she’s okay with short visits to his place, too.

To open the door to exploring how you can start sharing your pet pictures and stories about dealing with cat allergies or other pet topics – and receive your valuable FREE gift – CLICK HERE to become a Pet Writes Member. It’s FREE, my gift to you … so that you can give YOUR gift to the world.

Pawsitively,
Chiwah Carol Slater
The Pet Story Passionista
Word Weaver Chiwah
Founder, PetWrites.com, WordWeaver4U.com

All About Cats |

November 1, 2011

| by Chiwah Slater

Do You Need to Ask a Vet Before Giving Your Cat Over-the-Counter Drugs?

Should you bother to ask a vet before dishing out Ibuprofen to your pets or buying drugs on the Internet?

The short answer, of course, is YES.

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Why?

The short answer to that is that even the most mundane-appearing medications can affect animals in ways you wouldn’t expect. (For that matter, they can have unpredictable effects on humans, too.)

Do you really want just the short answer? I hope not. Because I like stories, and I have one for you.

I know a man I’ll call Marty (not his real name) whose cat, Soupy, was feeling mopey the other day. Just not herself. Marty picked her up and held her, and she sat there unmoving. Not like her. Soupy is a spunky cat.

Marty loves his cat. She’s been with him through thick and thin. Soupy is always there, rubbing against his leg while he works. If he’s feeling bad, she senses it and climbs up into his lap to comfort him.

When Soupy starts feeling bad, Marty gets nervous. He can’t stand to watch her suffer.

So what did he do? He did what he does for himself when he’s not feeling so hot. He gave his cat a half-tablet of Aspirin, hoping it would ease whatever was bothering her. Did she have a headache? He couldn’t tell. But it was just aspirin, right? So at least it would do no harm.

An hour later, Soupy vomited. She hadn’t eaten much at her morning feeding, but what she had eaten spilled out onto the rug.

Now Marty had a bigger problem. Not only was his cat sick, and getting sicker; his wife was upset at the new spot on the rug, too.

When it happened again after she ate a little something at noon, Marty’s wife insisted that he call a vet. The vet told him to bring Soupy in, and a sample of her stool. So he did.

After running a few basic tests, the vet announced she’d found blood in Soupy’s urine. When she asked a few questions and learned that he had administered aspirin, she congratulated him for bringing her in and explained that aspirin can cause severe seizures in a cat, and even death.

Marty was horrified. He watched as she induced vomiting and administered activated charcoal to absorb whatever acetylsalic acid might remain in her system. She kept the cat for a couple of days to administer IV fluids to balance out Soupy’s electrolytes, and gave her a little sodium bicarb to alkalize her urine.

Today Marty picked Soupy up at the vet, a few hundred dollars poorer but a happy man. Soupy is her old self again.

It might not have turned out that way, the vet told him, had he waited any longer to bring her in. (Marty’s taking his wife to dinner tonight to show his appreciation for making him take the cat to the vet.)

So… the question remains: What would YOU have done if your beloved pet was moping around, depleted of energy? Here are some simple suggestions:

1) Watch and wait. It might just pass.
2) If it doesn’t, ask a vet what you should do.
3) Refrain from administering any medications, even aspirin, on your own.

To learn more about when you need to call a vet, and how to buy drugs for your pet online, I suggest reading a bulletin put out by the FDA: Purchasing Pet Drugs Online: Buyer Beware.

When you become a PetWrites Member, you will receive informative articles regularly on this and a wide variety of other topics, including updates on natural and homeopathic pet aids, which are often as effective as drugs (and sometimes more effective), and free of side effects. And … it’s generally a good idea to play it safe and ask a vet.

To open the door to exploring how you can start sharing your pet pictures and stories – and receive your valuable FREE gift – join the Pet Writes community. It’s FREE, my gift to you … so that you can give YOUR gift to the world.

Pawsitively,
Chiwah Carol Slater
The Pet Story Passionista
Word Weaver Chiwah
Writer, Editor, Writing Coach, Book Shepherd since 1984
Founder, PetWrites.com, WordWeaver4U.com