Xmas miracle - dog saves cat, just in time for Caturday. Merry Christmas!

TROY, NY -- Troy police said a heroic dog rescued a trapped cat on Thursday. According to an official press release, a woman walking her dog heard a cat in a pile of trash. The trash had been set out for collection in the alley between 109th and 110th streets, and Third and Fourth avenues. Investigating sounds of distress, the dog sniffed out a baby kitten sealed inside a cardboard box (pictured above).

Troy Animal Control was contacted and the terrified kitten, which is 8 to 10 weeks old, was taken to the Troy Veterinary Hospital at 840 Hoosick Road. The kitten suffered from hunger and exposure, but is expected to fully recover and will be kept at the facility while the investigation continues.

Troy Police detectives are conducting a criminal investigation into this act of cruelty and ask anyone with information to call them. If you know anything, please help them out.

Big cats to soon understand celebrity paparazzi frustrations, just in time for Caturday

A big problem with protecting endangered great cats is keeping an eye on the naturally stealthy animals in the field. This is especially true of the endangered tiger, whose remaining numbers in the wild are quite scarce.  While camera traps are nothing new, they were mostly developed for game hunters and really aren't fast enough to catch fast-moving cats most of the time.  Not only that, monitoring a tiger population over a large area requires thousands of them and the coast can be prohibitive.

The good news is that the technology in cellphone cameras is making available a new kind of camera trap that is lightweight and much cheaper than the old models.  Not only that, the cameras photograph animals in three-tenths of a second, which was about as long as it took for the cats to enter the center of the frame.  Grateful for these new camera traps, researchers plan to deploy them across tiger territory in Russia, Malaysia and Indonesia. But cameras are also headed to Gabon and Uganda for the study of forest leopards and the rare African golden cat.

It will be a while before the results of the switch to the new technology are fully known. But test cameras have already produced great shots of everything from big cats to other wildlife and even the cats’ biggest enemies: poachers.

Five years after Hurricane Katrina, Scrub the cat returns just in time for Caturday

BILOXI, Miss. — Five years after becoming lost in Hurricane Katrina's horrible aftermath, a gray and white tomcat named Scrub has been reunited with his Mississippi family!  The Humane Society of South Mississippi says Scrub was identified by an implanted microchip. The now 7-year-old cat was brought to the shelter by a Gulfport woman who'd fed him as a stray over the past couple of months but worried about his safety during a cold snap.

Scrub's owner, Jennifer Noble, says that she was skeptical at first when she received a call from the shelter. But by the end of the first night back, Scrub had snuggled in bed with one of her boys.  He remembered them.  The woman who'd been feeding Scrub lives about 15 miles away, it turns out. Noble says Scrub is in excellent condition and is happy to be home.

Who says miracles can't happen?

Raw Cat Food - Why It's the Best Diet For Your Cat, and What Are the Trade-offs For You?

The biggest myth surrounding cat-ownership is that cats are worry free, self-contained and self-providing pets that require little or no maintenance. Cats are so good at giving people the impression of independence and self-reliance, that people believe they don't have to provide the highly-focused attention to cats that, say, dogs require. The fact of the matter is that cats do require the same attention to detail that any dog does, and maybe even a little more in some cases. This is especially true when it comes to probing the controversy regarding whether raw cat food is better that canned cat food or kibbles for your feline ward.

It's a sad thing to look around our country these days and see so many people who have allowed themselves to become overweight and then have to deal with the consequential suffering and ill-health effects of obesity. Diabetes, shortness of breath, constant exhaustion (and aching lower extremities) from lugging around so many extra pounds and lowered self-esteem. Of course, the garment industry is singing happy tunes with all the extra thread they have to put together. There's no shortage of explanations for why this situation has come about, but I think when it comes down to it, we can only blame ourselves at the individual level for allowing such a condition to take root. After all, how many pounds overweight does one have to get before they realize that something's not right and becoming a problem? 10, 20... 50 lbs? And how long does it take to realize that the magic pills, diets, elixirs and effortless, lose-weight-with-no-work-out machines are products being marketed to your ego, to separate you from your bank account, and not to solve your problem?

No... the only way to find an ideal normality is with thorough research, discovery and a lot of hard work... accompanied with a healthy life style change. But, enough sermonizing about us human. This is about cats, their eating habits and raw cat food!  One thing needs to come along with this discussion from the previous paragraph. Most people are not experts in animal nutrition and rely on others to lead them in the right direction. The source for most expert advice (available to a person for their daily decision making and selection of choices) usually comes to us through the traditional media of radio, newspapers, television and now, the Internet. Media offers two kinds of resources. Investigative reporting, which is presented in newscasts or opinion pieces, and secondly, the marketing hype that provides commercial broadcast funding. The former is reliable enough to believe in more often than not, and might call for further research on your part if it interests you. The latter really only wants you to spend your money with them. That's not necessarily bad.  It does ultimately put people to work and provides many with an adequate, and even comfortable living. Unfortunately, the bottom line is that corporations only have one objective in the end. That is to feed their bottom line. Now recent events have caused many to reconsider the morality behind a corporations goals. But, as long as this market structure is the paradigm for our economy, the ultimate goal for big business will always be to maximize their profit-loss statements towards the profit end of the spectrum, any way they can get away with, and at your expense... literally.

So, what does this rant have to do with cats and if raw cat food is what you should be feeding them? Simply put, most people rely on the marketing hype to base their decisions regarding the food they feed their pets. Which is exactly the wrong source for basing such a critical decision. Take the cat for example. It's not only a scientific fact, but a cultural one also, that the cat is described as an obligate carnivore. This defines cats as creatures who derive most of their food nutrients from the animals they hunt and consume (raw cat food). When a cat devours it's prey, she will eat everything - including not only muscle meat, but the brains, organ meat and the stomach and its contents (which may consist of grasses and grains). One thing she doesn't do is fire up a stove and saute or bake her dinner, or prepare a nice sauce to go with it. She eats it raw. Cultural purists use this description as an argument that feeding cats store-bought, mass produced canned or dry cat food is doing your cat a disservice by depriving her of the natural nutrients she would normally get in the raw cat food she captures in the wild, and for which she was biologically designed.  Little known fact:  Dogs can live without meat but cats can not!

Pottenger's cats...

Francis M. Pottenger, Jr. (1901 - 1967) was the son of Francis M. Pottenger, Sr., the physician who co-founded the Pottenger Sanatorium for treatment of tuberculosis in Monrovia, California. Between 1932 and 1942, he conducted what is know as the Pottenger Cat Study. One part of this study was what effect heat had on the nutrient value of raw food. In other words, what happens to food when you cook it.

"Pottenger used donated laboratory cats to test the potency of the adrenal extract hormones he was making. The adrenal glands of these cats were removed for the experiments and Pottenger noted that most of the cats died during or following the operation. He was feeding the cats a supposedly nutritive diet consisting of raw milk, cod liver oil and cooked meat scraps of liver, tripe, sweetbread, brains, heart and muscle.  When the number of donated cats exceeded the supply of food available, Pottenger began ordering raw meat scraps from a local meat packing plant, including organs, meat, and bone; and fed a separate group of cats from this supply. Within months, this separate group appeared in better health than the cooked meat group! Their kittens were more energetic and, most interestingly, their post-operative death rate was lower.

At a certain point, he decided to begin a controlled scientific exploration. Pottenger conducted studies involving approximately 900 cats over a period of ten years, with three generations of cats being studied.

Meat study:  In one study, one group of cats was fed a diet of: Two-thirds raw meat, one-third raw milk, and cod-liver oil and a second group was fed a diet of two-thirds cooked meat, one-third raw milk, and cod-liver oil.  The cats fed the all-raw diet were healthy, while the cats fed the cooked meat diet developed various health problems.  By the end of the first generation the cats started to develop degenerative diseases and became quite lazy.  By the end of the second generation, the cats had developed degenerative diseases by mid-life and started losing their coordination.  By the end of the third generation, the cats had developed degenerative diseases very early in life and some were born blind and weak and had a much shorter life span. Many of the third generation cats couldn't even produce offspring. There was an abundance of parasites and vermin, while skin diseases and allergies increased from an incidence of five percent (in normal cats) to over 90 percent in the third generation of deficient cats. Kittens of the third generation did not survive six months. Bones became soft and pliable and the cats suffered from adverse personality changes. Males became docile while females became more aggressive.
The cats suffered from most of the degenerative diseases encountered in human medicine and died out totally by the fourth generation.  At the time of Pottenger's Study. the amino acid 'taurine' had been discovered but had not yet been identified as an essential amino acid for cats. Today, many cats thrive on a cooked meat diet where taurine has been added after cooking. The deficient diets lacked sufficient taurine to allow the cats to properly form protein structures and resulted in the health effects observed. Pottenger himself concluded that there was likely an "as yet unknown" protein factor (taurine) that may have been heat sensitive.

Milk Study:  In another study, dubbed the "Milk Study,", the cats were fed 2/3 milk and 1/3 meat. All groups were fed raw meat with different groups getting raw, pasteurized, evaporated, sweetened condensed or raw metabolized vitamin D milk. The cats on raw milk were the healthiest, while the rest exhibited varying degrees of health problems similar to the previous cooked meat study.  This particular Pottenger cat study has been cited by advocates of raw milk as evidence that it is likely healthier for humans than pasteurized milk.  The same is said for butter, by the way.  Though Pottenger's experiments don't conclusively verify that raw cat food diets are better for sustaining a healthy support for the physiological needs of cats than cooked (canned) or dry kibbles, (because he didn't use canned cat food or kibbles in the experiments) certain conclusions can be drawn:

*Cooking meat can destroy certain food nutrients, namely amino acids (proteins)
*Cats thrive more healthily on raw meat rather than cooked meat with less degenerative results
*Cooking meat for your cat requires the replacement of the essential amino acid taurine, and possibly other nutrients destroyed in the cooking process

Pet food marketing-hype says that "XYZ" cat food products are healthy for your pet because it adds "ABC" nutrients, vitamins and minerals to their product, which safeguards your cat's health. Fortunately, marketing laws require that the ingredients in any given product be listed on the packaging of your cat's food.  Ultimately, it is left up to you to make the decision about which is the best shelf product for your cat.

Today's problem-plagued market place has left many in doubt as to whether the corporate entities that supply the bulk of our aggregate necessities can continue to be worthy of our trust. Arrogance and greed have always gone head-to-head with social morality and it's usually the end user that ends up paying with unnecessary suffering. Many pet owners have now taken matters into their own hands and are resorting to providing raw-ingredient meals (made with their own hands) for their pets. It's not a bad step but certain measures, which include a life-style change, need to be taken when preparing your pet's meals to keep her safe from bacterial infection and insure that her nutritional needs are met.

Here's an example of a raw cat food meal preparation from scratch:

2 kg [4.4 pounds] raw muscle meat with bones (chicken necks are mostly cartilage, are easy to chop and easy for the cat to digest) thighs and drumsticks or, better, a whole carcass of rabbit or chicken amounting to 2 kg; if you don't use a whole carcass, opt for dark meat like thighs and drumsticks from chicken or turkey)
400 grams [14 oz] raw heart, ideally from the same animal (if no heart is available, substitute with 4000 mg Taurine)
200 grams [7 oz] raw liver, ideally from the same animal (if you can't find appropriate liver, you can substitute 40,000 IU of Vitamin A and 1600 IU of Vitamin D--but try to use real liver instead of substitutes).

NOTE: If you cannot find the heart or liver and decide to substitute with the Taurine/Vitamin A and D, then remember to replace the missing amount of organ meat with the equivalent amount of muscle meat. In other words, if you cannot find heart, you add another 400 grams of the meat/bones. If you can't find the liver, add another 200 grams of meat/bones.
16 oz [2 cups] water
4 raw egg yolks (use eggs from free-range, antibiotic-free chickens if you can)4 capsules raw glandular supplement (such as, for example, "Raw Multiple Glandular" from Premier Labs)4000 mg salmon oil
200 mg Vitamin B complex
800 IU Vitamin E ("dry E" works well) Buy Vitamin E in dry powder form. It's much easier to deal with than those little oil-filled capsules.OPTIONAL: 1/4 teaspoon of kelp and 1/4 teaspoon of dulse (1/2 teaspoon total) Try and get dulse and kelp in powder form that you can easily measure with a teaspoon rather than in capsule form. Taking apart those capsules is time consuming. If you can only find kelp in caplet form, you'll need to spend time crushing the caplets with a mortar and pestle.OPTIONAL: 4 teaspoons psyllium husk powder (8 teaspoons if using whole psyllium husks) ?

It looks like this recipe will produce about 5- 6 lbs of finished raw cat food product which would feed a single cat for several weeks. That means most of it would have to be frozen in individual air tight containers and thawed as needed.  The digestive system of a cat is designed to handle things human systems can't. Their stomachs have a highly acidic environment, which is an excellent deterrent to ingested bacteria such as ecoli and salmonella. In the wild, cats sometimes eat some pretty 'iffy' stuff with no ill effects because they are natural scavengers. Wild cats die more often from infection due to injuries than from food poisoning.

However, there are steps you can take if you have concerns about raw cat food borne bacteria.

*Avoid packaged supermarket ground beef using whole chunks of meat instead
*Buy "free-range" meat and poultry as fresh as possible
*Add priobiotics (which help maintain intestinal health) to your raw food preparation

Proper handling of raw cat food is essential since some raw cat food may contain bacteria that could cause illness to you or your pets! Be sure to keep raw cat-food meat and poultry separate from other foods. Wash hands prior to, and after handling raw cat food. Wash working surfaces, bowls, and utensils that come in contact with raw meat with hot, soapy water. Always wash your hands after cleaning your cat's waste; this includes litter boxes.  Pick up and dispose of uneaten raw cat food within 30 minutes of feeding your cat.

Preparing raw cat food meals from scratch for your cat is a labor of love indulged in by purists. Most people don't have the time, and maybe lack the talent to take on such a task. If you count yourself among this latter group, rest easy. Ready-made products are finding their way to the market place. There are complete raw cat food meals which are shipped frozen and there are mixes which all you have to do is add the meat. Just remember that if you are going with the mix, be certain that the essential amino acids such as taurine are included. If not, then be sure to add the heart (a source for taurine) and other organ meat from the same animal if possible, with the raw cat food meal so that your cat won't be deprived of these critical ingredients.

So, what are the trade-offs, you ask?

Well, for one thing, you will have to forego the convenience of one-stop-shopping in the supermarket pet food aisles. Orders for raw cat food meals or mixes are mostly made on-line so you will have to deal with credit or debit cards. Pre-planning will have to be regular routine so that you don't run out of raw cat food before the next shipment arrives. If a shipment thaws, you will have to return it because you won't want to take any chances with bacterial infection. Most companies will honor returns due to thawing. And, if you prepare raw cat food meals completely from scratch, be prepared to spend a couple of hours in the kitchen with this task.

The real trade-off is with the quality of cat food you will be providing. The store bought, 'meal' based, cereal foods will be replaced with the high quality fresh foods that cat's were designed for. Some cats may balk at the transition at first because they weren't socialized with raw cat food as kittens. But, their health will show marked improvement, you will probably be surprised by the results which can be compared to how your cat behaved before being fed a fresh, high quality raw cat food diet that meets their needs nutritionally.  Plus, their immune systems will be stronger - giving your cat the best chance for a longer, healthier life.

Cats Are Very Lovable Creatures... but they need stuff!

"Who would believe such pleasure from a wee ball o' fur?"- An Irish saying about cats, perhaps best describes what pleasure-giving creatures cats can be.  Jean Burden beautifully defines the feline beauty. "A dog, I have always said, is prose; a cat is a poem." Cats for many people, are really very lovable - remember 'Snowbell' - the cat of "Stuart Little"?

But seriously...

Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to many ailments. Cat grooming is a very important part of keeping a cat as a healthy pet and 'cat supplies' can be defined as important things that can be purchased for cat grooming, and maintaining general good cat health.  In fact, 'cat supplies' is a pretty general term that covers a variety of important cat-care products.

Cat Grooming:  Cat grooming is, in fact, a part of cat health care that covers the entire life-span a cat. It includes feline care, feline health care, feline diabetes care, etc. It also includes practices like kitten care, giving a hygiene bath, general cleaning, combing, brushing, checking ears, paws, teeth and underside, nail trimming, removing cat fleas (and insects) and having regular meetings with a professional veterinary. Cat owners should follow a regular schedule of grooming sessions.

Like children, kittens require some extra special attention. A kitten is delicate and should be handled with care. It also needs to be groomed properly, fed carefully, and bedded properly.

Cat Grooming Supplies:

Cat grooming supplies play a key role in the process of maintaining a happy and healthy cat. Supplies for your pet may include a special cat home or house, cat doors, cat furniture, cat carrier, cat beds, heated cat beds (for older cats), cat toys, cat collars, designer cat collars, jeweled or jingling cat collars, cat odor removers, cat clothes, special cat jewelry, cat food, cat tonics & supplements and cat medication.

Cat Beds:

A cat bed is a bed specially designed for the sleeping comfort of a cat. It should be the most pleasurable place for a cat, where it retires to take sweet dreams. Good cat beds are actually quite important for maintaining good cat health. An improper sleep may very much affect the general health of your cat - thus the masters of cats should be very careful when buying cat beds. A cat bed and cat bedding should include a cat bed mattress, cat bed sheet, cat pillows, cat throw pillows, cat blankets and cat quilt or duvets.  Cat beds are available in numerous styles and include designer cat beds, heated cat beds, luxury cat beds, wicker cat beds, leather cat beds, etc.  There are number of designer cat pet beds available on the market for purchase, both in physical pet stores, and also online.

Message for the day:  Love your cat!

Cat trapped in Shopko garden center... bobcat, that is!

What was first reported to be a 'large' feral cat in a Shopko garden center ended up being a wild Montana bobcat instead!  Nobody's quite sure why the wayward bobcat made its way to the store Wednesday afternoon.  Maybe he smelled somebody's lunch.  Mike Maynard, an animal control officer with the city of Helena (Montana), said he was called to the store at about noon to collect the cat. But when he realized it was a wild bobcat, and not some regular stray, he called in game wardens as backup.

Dave Loewen and his partner hopped the store’s fence to gain access to the animal, which was not near any shoppers and really didn't want to be there anymore. The capture took less than five minutes, he said.  “We scooped him up (with a net), put him in the truck and took him out to the regulating reservoir off of York Road,” Loewen said. “He should be just fine out there.”  Loewen said it’s not the first time a bobcat has been seen in town, but it was the only time he has captured one within the city limits.  “He just got out of his element and didn’t know what to do next,” he said.

Choosing a Cat Tree, Playground or Kitty Condo - What's Best For You?

Buying cat furniture can be a confusing and perhaps exhausting experience. Nothing is more frustrating than setting up what you feel is a beautiful cat tree, only to have your cats completely ignore it! I've owned cats all my life, and I'll try to share some of my 'expertise' and insight with you in order to help make your decision a bit easier.

There are a number of factors to consider in choosing a cat tree, condo, tower, playground or gym. Here, in no particular order, are some things you'll want to keep in mind:

*Your cat's habits and preferences
*Placement and space requirements
*Materials and construction
*Expandability
*Price

What does your cat want?  Do you know?  CAN you know?

As a general rule, most cats share certain traits and habits, such as curiosity, a desire to hide out in a dark, enclosed spaces and a love of heights.  But as every cat owner knows, each kitty is different!  The first thing I'd suggest is to spend a few days paying close attention to your cat's habits. Where does he usually sleep, hang out or play? What kinds of things does she play with? When you pick her up, does she want to climb up on your shoulders? What kinds of places are you always battling to keep him out of? The answers to these questions should help you decide what kinds of features your cat will appreciate the most.

Features and the kitties who love them:

Kitty Condo: A cat who tends to choose a dark, quiet corner to sleep in will probably want a model with a kitty condo. The same could be said for cats who love to explore shopping bags, boxes, cupboards and other dark, secret places. If your household is one of those busy or hectic ones with kids playing and lots of folks coming and going, kitty might just love the peace and quiet (and privacy) that an enclosed cat condo brings.

Height: Some cats just need to be up high. Some kitties just like to be able to see everything, and some feel more secure up above the reach of the family dog or small children. If your cat is always trying to climb up on your shoulders when you pick her up, or likes to jump up on counters, you might consider getting the tallest cat tree, kitty gym or playground you can. A floor to ceiling tower can be a good solution, and they come in a variety of configurations - some are very simple and take up very little floor space, others can be quite elaborate. There are also a lot of free standing models over 6 feet tall that will satisfy your cat's need to look down on us poor humans!

Secure Sleeping Spot: Our cat always sleeps leaned up against something (me, a chair cushion, or the raised lip on her favorite cat perch) - she needs the security of feeling something against her back for her to truly relax. If your cat is like ours, you'll want to be sure that the cat tree or playground you choose has a place to sleep where she'll feel secure. You might want a sleep tray with raised sides, a curved half moon shaped shelf or a kitty hammock.

Not So Secure Sleeping Spot: Our other cat just sprawls out anywhere - if your cat is like him, he'll be perfectly happy with an open shelf to nap on.

Observation Post: Pretty much every cat likes to keep an eye on things, especially from above.  It's simply a survival instinct. Make sure the model you choose has a place where your cat will want to spend many hours of the day, whether it's a flat shelf, kitty hammock, curved shelf or tray. In addition to the style of the observation post, consider the height off the floor and ease of access - especially if your cat is elderly or doesn't get around as well as he used to.

Kitty Hammocks: We've found that most cats love a hammock, although timid cats may need some reassurance at first due to the extra 'give' they feel at first when they step on it. Once they get used to it, it may become a favorite 'hang out' (sorry - I couldn't resist!). If your cat is unsure about the hammock at first, put it close to the floor for added peace of mind. As your cat gets used to it, you can move it higher if you like.

Play Tubes: Playful cats like tubes or tunnels because they can charge right through them or lie in wait and pounce at unsuspecting passersby - animal or human!

Placement...

Even if the cat furniture you choose has all of the things your cat loves, if you put it in the wrong place he may completely ignore it! Think about where your cat spends time now - is she a 'people cat' who wants to be in the same room as the rest of the family? Is she more of a loner who seeks out quiet spots in unused parts of the house? Does he like to look out the window? (check for nose prints on the glass!)  Years ago we had a fabulous floor to ceiling cat tower with multiple shelves, a kitty condo - the works! The only trouble was that the one place in the house where we had space for it was a room that was hardly ever used. Since our cats like to be with us, they never used the tree and we ended up donating it to the local humane society. Now we have a smaller cat tree that we keep in the family room where we spend much of our time, and the cats use it every day.

If you can place the tree next to a window there is a much higher likelihood that your cats will use it. A window that opens is best, especially for indoor kitties. The smells and sounds from outdoors will keep them entertained and engaged in the world around them.

Space...

Here's where you start thinking about your needs. How much space are you willing and able to devote to cat furniture, whether it's a playground, kitty gym or cat tree? Be sure to look at all the dimensions - baseplate size, overall dimensions and height - and actually measure the space you have in mind to make sure it will fit. Many models are modular in design, so you don't have to put it together exactly as it is pictured. This can give you a bit of flexibility if space is an issue. Look for the phrase 'modular design' - not all cat trees have this feature!

Materials and Construction...

One of the main considerations here should be how stable and sturdy the cat furniture is. Cats will not use a wobbly or unstable tree! Look for broad bases and bottom heavy designs that will keep it from tipping when your cat jumps up on it.

Wood: Some cat furniture manufacturers use plywood, while others use particle board - and they will all swear that the wood they use is the absolute best! The truth is that each has advantages and disadvantages.
Plywood is quite strong because it is made from thin layers of wood, and each layer has the grain running in a different direction from the layer above and below. Since the visible surfaces are covered, the manufacturer can use a lower grade of plywood that will have knots showing and may be a bit rough to the touch. So you may have rough exposed wood on the inside roof of a condo or the underside of the baseplate - not really an issue for most folks, but a good thing to know ahead of time.

Particle board is made of small wood chips bonded together by a kind of glue. It is heavier than plywood, so it adds stability to a cat tree, and the surface is much smoother than plywood. But... it is more likely than plywood to break (sometimes corners will chip off ), but under normal use this shouldn't be a problem.

Coverings: Carpet or fake fur? The debate rages! One thing everyone agrees on is that (whatever covering you choose) make sure it is not a closed loop carpet or other covering that can catch a claw. I'm sure you've seen a cat stretch out and get a claw caught in a bedspread or sofa cushion.  In a relaxed setting, the cat is usually able to extricate himself, although he may leave a snag in the fabric! Imagine your cat at top speed romping up and down his kitty playground - if the playground is covered in non cut pile carpet (like Berber) and he catches a claw it can cause a serious injury.

Carpet is soft and inviting, but since one of the purposes of cat furniture is to give your kitties a place to sharpen their claws, some folks think carpeted cat furniture just encourages or even trains your cat to sharpen his claws on the carpet on your floor. Personally, I've never had that problem, but I know some folks have. If you do choose carpet, make sure it is cut-pile carpet to prevent possible injury from a caught claw. Carpet is secured with staples, which have the potential to stick up and scratch fingers or paws, but well made cat furniture does not usually have this problem.

Fake fur isn't quite as cushy as carpet, but as long as it is secured with non-toxic glue, there is no possibility of injury from an errant staple. Some manufacturers do staple the fake fur, however, and it is much harder to bury a staple in fake fur than in carpet - if you choose fake fur, make sure that it is glued, not stapled. Like the carpet vs fake fur debate, the staples vs nontoxic glue debate is a heated one. I am of the opinion that as long as the glue is nontoxic and the staples are applied properly, glue is best for fake fur and staples are best for carpet. It's a matter of personal preference as to whether you choose carpet or fur. One nice thing about fake fur is that it is washable.  Often times, models with hammocks are covered in fake fur.  Check to make sure that the hammock covers zip off, so you can throw them in the washing machine.

Sisal Rope: Most experts agree that sisal rope provides an ideal surface for your cat to sharpen her claws. It's durable, yet it doesn't 'catch' claws the way non-cut pile carpet can. Most cats love the feel of it under their paws and will instinctively start scratching when they feel it under foot.

Curved Features: Any curved surface on a cat tree is made of thick cardboard tubes - they are used in construction as molds for making round concrete pillars (among other things). They are quite sturdy and should last a long time, but be aware that they are cardboard and will be the weakest part of your kitty gym - especially if they ever get wet. Look for designs that offer extra support to a curved feature - two attachment points is better than one!

Expandability and Flexibility...

If you're anything like me, you get bored with your environment and need to rearrange the furniture now and then. Cats get bored too, and so many of the models you will find are of a modular design which allows you to put them together in more than one way and to add or swap out features later. If this is important to you, be sure to look for the phrase 'modular design' - not all models have this feature!

Price and Other Human Concerns...

Cat furniture can seem expensive, but it truly is an investment in your cat's health and happiness. A cat who has a place to burn off energy and take a safe nap is less likely to develop destructive habits like scratching your furniture or relieving himself outside the litterbox. Indoor cats especially need some extra stimulation to keep them from getting bored.

Of course, you are the one who has to decide how much to spend on your cats.  But, with cat furniture, you really do get what you pay for. If your budget is small, you are better off getting a smaller model than a large cheap model. Cheap cat furniture is likely to suffer from poor quality materials and workmanship, which will shorten its life. Also, it will probably be wobbly and therefore less appealing to your cats, so they may not use it at all. You may get lucky, but in my experience cheap cat furniture is a waste of money.

Aesthetically speaking, your cat couldn't care less what the cat tree looks like.  Cats are much more concerned with function, so please yourself in the aesthetics department! And as far as color is concerned, cats' eyes are optimized for hunting in low light - they don't really see color. So choose a color that works for you, one that matches your decor or a neutral color that will blend in even if you change your decorating scheme. Some cat owners choose colors to match their cat's fur, so the cat hair won't show as much.  Others like a very different color to inspire them to keep the cat tree vacuumed.  Color is purely a personal decision and will not affect your cat's enjoyment one way or the other!

I hope I've been able to help you sort out some of the maze of decisions that need to be made in choosing the right cat tree for your kitty and for you. Hopefully I haven't just added to the confusion!

Why Cats Flip For Catnip!

If you've ever watched as a cat "flipped" over fresh catnip, perhaps you've been struck with the question; "What causes catnip to affect cats that way?" Catnip is indeed an unusual phenomenon among cats, it has the ability to alter your cat's behavior like nothing else can. So what exactly is the reason for what scientists have coined as "the Catnip effect"?

Unfortunately for such inquisitive minds, the exact reason of why Catnip affects cats in such a manner remains mostly a mystery (just like the biological cause of purring). There is, however, much that we do know about Catnip and cats, even if we don't have the ultimate answer of exactly  "why?" yet answered.

The Science Stuff...

Catnip is scientifically classified as Nepeta cataria and is a perennial herb from the mint family and is in fact also referred to as "Catmint". It is a plant indigenous to Europe but has been exported and is now found all over including the United States and Canada.  The active ingredient in Catnip is an oil; Nepetalactone, which is found in the leaves of the plant. This is the reason you are able to find Catnip in a bottle or spray form in some pet stores.

Other Uses For Catnip...

Catnip is not only good to stimulate activity in cats, it can also be used by humans as an herb for a medicinal tea which may soothe toothaches, help against coughs, and may also perform as a sleep aid. Furthermore, Catnip can be used as an herb on salads or other foods (as has been the case for centuries in France). Lately, Catnip has also been garnering favor as a natural insect repellent rivaling the effectiveness of many store bought varieties of repellent.

Catnip and Kitty...

Catnip affects approximately half of all cats (rather than every cat, as most people imagine). What determines whether or not a cat will react to Catnip is a genome that is inherited (or not inherited as the case may be) at birth. Kittens, regardless of whether or not they carry this genome, do not react to Catnip until reaching about 3 or 4 months of age and becoming sexually mature. Older cats are also more likely to have a diminished or non-existing reaction to Catnip, which leads scientists to believe that the Catnip effect is based at least partially on sexuality and that the reaction may be something like an aphrodisiac. Further adding to this belief is the similarity of a sexual pheromone found in the urine of the male cat to nepetalactone (the active product in Catnip).  Cats that can be traced to regions where Catnip is not indigenous appear to be unaffected by Catnip. The domesticated house cat is not the only cat that may be affected by Catnip. Larger cats can also be affected by the Catnip effect, felines such as the bobcat, lynx, tiger and even lion are known to react much the same way the common house cat would! It is interesting to note that while Catnip can act as a stimulant when a cat sniffs it, it can conversely act as a relaxant if ingested.

Therefore, you may see a different, nearly opposite result depending on whether your cat chooses to eat the Catnip you provide for him/her or merely sniffs it (the latter being the more typical behavior).

How to Use Catnip With Your Cat...

Catnip can prove to be a very useful tool for a few common problems with your cat.  If you are lucky enough to have a cat that does react favorably to Catnip then here are a couple of ideas for you and your furry little friend.  Catnip and Lazy Cats:  Catnip can be used to get a lazy cat off his or her butt. Some cats are notoriously lazy - choosing to sleep much of their day away in a nice golden patch of sunlight on the living room carpet, only waking up to eat and gather some necessary attention from their indulgent owners. If this sounds like your cat, you may soon see (if you haven't already) that your cat is becoming more and more round... as in FAT. This is generally not a good thing. Catnip may be able to help. Presenting catnip to your cat encourages activity (of course provided the cat sniffs rather than eats the herb).Many adult cats will respond to Catnip in a manner that resembles their childlike kitten hyperactivity, jumping, playing and running around as if it was given an injection of kitty adrenaline, which in essence, is the case. The effect of Catnip on a cat can last somewhere between two and fifteen minutes. If the latter is the case, then this is a decent amount of exercise and will help keep your cat a little more svelte than without a Catnip treatment.

Furthermore, if you leave the Catnip out for a few hours then your cat may return to the herb later (an hour or two after the effect has worn off) and again react in an energetic fashion. So in this sense you may consider Catnip sort of like a kitty energy drink.  Catnip and Cats That Scratch Furniture: If you have a cat that seems bent on the destruction of your furniture then Catnip may again be able to come to the rescue. Cats can be frustratingly picky about just about anything under the sun including where they want to sharpen their furniture destroying claws. It is not uncommon for a cat to damage or destroy a piece of furniture just because the owners finally gave up on trying to redirect their cat to the unused cat scratching post that set them back anywhere up to a hundred dollars and more. A good way to attempt to change this frustrating and expensive behavior is to rub some Catnip or Catnip oil on a scratching post that you are attempting to get the cat to use. Introduce your cat to the newly "Catnipped" scratching post and see how he/she reacts. If all goes well, your cat will sniff and inspect the post and then begin clawing at it. After a few times (you may have to re-Catnip the post) hopefully kitty will be trained to use the post rather than the sofa.

Using Catnip with Multiple Cats...

If you've never used Catnip before and you have more than one cat it is advisable to try it out individually on each cat before introducing it to all of your cats at the same time. The reason is because Catnip affects some cats in a negative manner causing the cat in question to become aggressive rather than merely playful. Introducing it to your cats individually enables you to control the situation and keep a cat that may react aggressively isolated from your other cats. This of course means avoiding a possible cat fight that could result in broken furniture, hurt kitties (possibly requiring a vet visit), annoyed neighbors (and probably owners), or a combination of all of the above.

Growing and Keeping Catnip...

Growing your own Catnip can be rewarding as it can save you money, give you the satisfaction of doing something yourself and ensuring that you always get fresh, high-quality Catnip for your cat. A word of caution however; the exact kitty reaction you want to grow your own Catnip is something to be wary of. If you plan on growing your Catnip out of doors and other cats can access your Catnip garden then be prepared for unwelcome feline visitors. This may not be a problem for you personally, but cats are by nature territorial and if you have a cat that lives alone without the company of other cats this could prove to be an area of stress for your cat. Even if you keep your cat inside at all times, your cat may get agitated if he/she looks out the window to see another cat frolicking in territory your cat considers his or her own. If you choose to grow your Catnip indoors, be careful to keep it out of reach of kitty. Otherwise you'll likely have Fluffy jumping up on furniture even to the most out of the way place to get access to the tempting herb. Cats are great jumpers and not really known for respecting precious household knick-knacks. So if you do decide to grow it indoors for a cat that reacts to Catnip, be careful to grow it in a place that your cat won't be able to access it. A room that you always keep closed to the cat is probably the best solution for indoor grown Catnip.

If you do find that your cat reacts positively to Catnip you should be sure to use it sparingly so as not to dull the effect which can be the result of overexposure. A good rule of thumb is to not treat your kitty more than once a week on average to Catnip.  Given all the positive effects that Catnip may have on your cat you owe it to yourself (and naturally your fluffy little ball of affection) to see how he/she reacts to this strange and well known herb. It will provide enjoyment and exercise for your cat and most likely an entertaining show for yourself as well. It's a win win situation.

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Feral cats cost birdwatchers $17 billion a year. That's the asinine claim anyway.

LINCOLN, Neb. -- A new report that recommends killing feral cats as a way to control the animals, including a primer on how to shoot a cat, is stirring emotions among bird and cat lovers.  The University of Nebraska at Lincoln's 'study' found that neutering or spaying is ineffective at eliminating feral cat colonies, though useful in reducing colonies' expansion.  One satisfied official from the American Bird Conservancy calls the report "a must read" for communities with a feral cat problem.


But critics note the wild cats help control rodent populations, and say habitat destruction, herbicides, planes, building glass and other issues are a bigger threat to birds.  They also question the report's conclusion that feral cats' killing of birds 'costs the U.S.' $17 billion, when accounting for how much bird watchers, hunters and others spend on the hobbies.