Oh the horror!

The dreaded litter box. It's gross. It smells. It must be cleaned. Daily. You have to muster the strength to face the beast. Cleaning the litter daily does three things:

1. It keeps you in touch with your cat's health. Cats are very cool characters. Even when they are sick, they hide it well under their icy exterior. Cleaning the box daily alerts you to changes in their health. Look for blood in the urine and stool. Look for diarrhea, constipation, and worms. You'll get a valuable, albeit gross, picture of kitty's inner workings. You'll know her regular schedule and you'll know if something's amiss.

2. It keeps you healthier. Just think of kitty stepping in her dirty litter box and then walking around the house. She is tracking bacteria everywhere as well as onto you. (Try not to think about this one too long as it may cause a serious case of the heebie-jeebies.) Also, cat feces can sometimes contain the parasite that causes Toxoplasmosis. This is extremely dangerous to pregnant women and those with HIV or other immune diseases. People with such conditions should not be changing the litter box!

3. It encourages kitty to go! When the litter box is really dirty, your cat will hold it. The less they go, the more likely they will develop bladder and intestinal problems. You know how prissy they are. They know this is the designated area and you simply aren't doing your job. If they could report you to a higher authority, they would.

It's also important to have a litter box for each cat in your household. This way you'll know which one is sick as well as greatly lessen the chance that certain diseases will be spread from cat to cat. Also, it cuts down on territorial marking.

Whenever I change Claudia's litter, she always sits next to me and watches. I imagine she's thinking "They worship me. I know they do. Look at they way they mine my poop as if it were precious gold."

*photo by Dan Queiroz

Punkin'

No, it's not even remotely close to Halloween but as I was feeding the ever-so-feisty, Ms. Claudia, Queen of Kitties, this morning I thought about how healthy she's been over the past few years. (By the way, that is her full name. Just ask her and she'll let you know by an intensely haughty stare.) Three years ago, the aforementioned queen got a severe bladder infection. My vet gave me a rundown of the usual things: make sure she is drinking enough water, give her wet food, clean the litter box daily, etc. Then she mentioned that Claudia was also constipated. She said this can contribute to bladder infections because the intestines press on the bladder and as cats age their systems start to slow down. She told me to buy some canned pumpkin and add a teaspoon to her wet food every morning for the next month or so. Well, it became kind of a habit and Claudia, who is very finicky, liked it so much that I just kept giving it to her. I've seen lots of cats get repeated bladder infections as they get older but I'm happy to report that she hasn't had one since. When I took her in three years ago, my vet gave me the speech that starts with "This is not surprising for a cat of her age...". When I took her back for her yearly check-up last fall, the vet said "She may be 14 but she looks and acts like a 9 year old. " Needless to say, I was ecstatic. Of course, I won't tell The Queen that. Her head is big enough as it is.

*photo by AliciaV via Flickr

Dog Days of Summer

After some pointed nudging from friends and clients, I thought it was about time that I dip a quivering toe into the blogosphere. Now seems like the perfect moment as we are gliding into summer. This season is a great opportunity to spend lots of time with our pets. We take them to the dog park, the beach, and for midnight strolls. Sitting at the traffic light today, I was surrounded on all sides by cars with furry snouts poking out of the window. This got me thinking about summer tips for dogs. One thing that many people forget about is just how hot the pavement can be for paws. Dogs can actually get their feet scorched on really hot days. When I'm walking, I try to keep them on the grass as much as possible and don't let them linger too long on the concrete. It's also not uncommon for dogs to get overheated. Breeds with short snouts (Bulldogs, Boston Terriers, etc) are the most prone. To cool these pups off, bring a bottle of water and pour it over his chest and neck after about 20 minutes out in the heat. These guys shouldn't really be out more than half an hour in triple digit weather. If you are going out for 45 minutes or more (with your long-snouted dog) and the weather is what you would consider hot, bring a collapsable water dish with you and make sure your little friend gets a drink as well. You can find these at most pet stores. Remember, if you are getting thirsty then your furry companion is too.

*photo by istolethetv via Flickr