Pet Goddess

Congratulations! Your new kitten or cat will be a fun addition to the family, and is a relatively low maintenance pet.

But toilet training your new pet, and getting it used to its new home, is a must.

You’ll want to make sure there is no nonsense when it comes to her litter box and adapting to you and your family’s routine.

When bringing kitty home for the first time, welcome her in ways that will make her feel comfortable. Consider these easy tips to keep her happy in her new home, and you’ll have an easier time with her care.

How to succeed with toilet training your new arrival

* Keep her in one room initially (with litter, food and water) before letting her roam the whole house.

* Create an easy bed by putting together some old clothing and a pet bed in a quiet location. They cat will start getting used to your scent from the clothes.

* Litter supplies are a must if you want a well trained cat. You will need a roomy litter pan they can turn around in easily, filled with about 3 to four inches of fresh litter, preferably unscented. Do not use clumping litter with kittens. They can eat it and get an intestinal blockage. You will also want a rug or tray for when they step outside the box, and a scooper, and a handy trash can with a plastic bag and spare bags close by.

* Some cats prefer a hooded litter box and others like a more open pan. Feel free to experiment with your cat. Be careful with the automatic scooper litter pans, as they can be scary, especially for your kittens, or seen as an object to be played with.

* Keep the litter box in a place that’s convenient, yet out of the way of your family’s line of traffic and quiet for kitty. Do not let other cats near kitty for the first few days.

* If it is a very young kitten, get an old sweatshirt and a hot water bottle and a clock that ticks. It will be warm, snuggly, and not feel so lonely without its mommy and litter mates.

Posted September 7, 2008 Comments(0)

After posting my vaccination articles and getting such positive feedback, I was looking at other topics to blog on, and came across my new cat edition of the Foster and Smith catalog.

Imagine my surprise when I saw that you can now buy vaccinations for your pet through the catalog.

Now, I am all for saving money, but injecting your cat yourself? I mean, really, we don’t do it to our own children for measles, now do we?

For one thing, the  vaccines should be kept fresh in an appropriate environment.

But the main objection is, a regular annual check-up is a must for most people, and so it should be for our companion animals as well.

The vet will be able to put his or her hands on  the animal, look at eyes, ears, teeth, coat, perform an abdominal exam, and generally get a base-line as to what the animal’s overall health is.

As I also discussed in this series, some vaccinations are not safe to give all on the same day, and should never be given to an animal that is already ill.

If the cost of shots is a hardship, why not discuss it with your vet? Many vets are willing to give  multipet discounts, and you can even show them the catalog and ask them to let your pet have the shots at near or close to wholesale price. Or even at cost price.

I remember once, my cat was given a fiber supplement, 30 pills,  $30, so I went to the healthfood store and bought 1000x more for $4.57. Vets DO mark up on shots and frontline and so forth.

By all means, get your frontline from a catalog, or comparison-shop on line. But don’t try to vaccinate your own cat, kittens, dog, or puppies.

Posted March 12, 2008 Comments(0)