Posts Tagged ‘cats’
Photo Hunt Saturday: Open
This is how the back door looks every morning after Noah leaves for work:
"Open the door mommy, NOW MEOW MEOW MEOW GRRR
They all know they’re not allowed outside until after he leaves, so sometimes it gets a little crowded…and noisy…
“OPEN THE DOOR” in various tones of MEOW.
And this is how it looks until 7 PM on most days…well days that are warm enough to leave the door open:
"Thank-you"
Yes, it’s not particularly safe to let the cats outside, but I’ve given up fighting it. They were all born in the great outdoors and they insist on being let out and they will find a way. They are incredibly persistent. And fast, devious, sly, and smarter than the average bear. So it’s an “open-door” policy now. Yay. The flies love it too.
Aloe Vera Plants Are Toxic To Cats
Well, this is something I never knew: The saponins in Aloe Vera are toxic to cats AND dogs.
The clinical signs are:vomiting, depression, diarrhea, anorexia, tremors, change in urine color.
Before I moved, I always had quite a few aloe plants. Guess I was lucky that the cats and dog never chewed on them.
Keep Cats, Dogs And Horses Away From Apple Trees!
Or at least the leaves, stems and seeds of apples because they contain cyanide. Make sure your kids never eat apple seeds! The leaves are particularly toxic when in the process of wilting. Cats love to munch on greenery, but I’m not sure how attracted they are to apple leaves.
Clinical signs in cats, dogs and horses are: brick red mucous membranes, dilated pupils, difficulty breathing, panting, shock.
Crab apples are just as toxic. 
What Is Causing The Increase In Chronic Disease In Cats?
According to Will Falconer, DVM, the diseases that are quite common in cats now were virtually unknown in the late 70’s.
Cats didn’t have thyroid problems, and hyperthyroidism was not in the books or the exam rooms.
Chronic diseases such as heartworm (a dog disease originally), asthma, kidney failure, inflammatory bowel disease, dental calculus and decay, heart disease, and cancer are fairly commonplace now in the feline population.
Wild cats like the lynx and bobcat are not experiencing these chronic degenerative diseases. Wolves don’t die of heartworm disease or have dirty teeth.
We are actually causing these chronic diseases to become more prevalent by administering annual vaccines, feeding toxic food, and using topical flea poisons that warn us not to get them on our skin. You can read the full story by clicking on the following link:
The Cats are Talking… About Chronic Disease
Pottenger’s Cats: A Study in Nutrition
First of all, I am NOT a fan of Dr. Pottenger, 
who apparently had no qualms about using cats in experimentation and watching them die. However, his studies on cat nutrition are quite valuable.
Back in the 1930’s, there were no chemical procedures to measure the strength of adrenal extract. So, scientists used cats. Cats die without their adrenal glands. So, the amount of extract the cats needed to keep them alive allowed the manufacturers to calibrate the strength of their product. 
Dr. Pottenger noticed that the laboratory cats showed a decrease in their reproductive capacity and many of the kittens born in the laboratory had skeletal deformities and organ malfunctions, despite the fact that he was feeding them a relatively nutritious diet of raw milk, cod liver oil and cooked meat scraps, which included liver, tripe, sweetbreads, brains, heart and muscle.
He received so many donated cats that he was having a hard time keeping up with the food supply, so he ordered raw meat scraps from a local meat packing plant, including the viscera, muscle and bone. Being a scientist, he separated the cats so that the ones being fed the all raw diet could be studied.
Within a few months, the cats fed the raw meat appeared healthier, their kittens more vigorous, and they had a higher survival rate after their operations. The contrast between the two sets of cats was so startling, Dr. Pottenger decided to perform a controlled experiment to scientifically prove his new hypothesis that cats fed a raw diet are healthier than cats fed a processed cooked meat diet.
The experiment included 900 cats over four generations and was well documented by Dr. Pottenger.
All four generations of the raw meat and raw milk groups remained healthy throughout their normal lifespans! 
This is important to note: cats eating their true diet of raw meats not only had no illness, they thrived generation after generation! On the other hand:
The first generation of all three processed food groups developed diseases and illnesses near the end of their lives.
The second generation of all three processed food groups developed diseases and illnesses in the middle of their lives.
The third generation of all three processed food groups developed diseases and illnesses in the beginning of their lives and many died before six months of age.
There was no fourth generation in any of the three processed food groups.
You might want to read that again! Either the third generation parents were sterile or the fourth generation cats died before birth.
Remember, all four generations of the raw food groups were healthy throughout their normal lifespans.
It’s something to think about. Perhaps we would be healthier also if we ate our optimal diet of mostly raw, unprocessed, chemical-free foods too!
How Cigarette Smoke Affects Your Cat And Other Pets
I don’t smoke, in fact nobody is allowed to smoke in or near my house, or car. I guess I’m a bit obsessive about it, but then I’ve learned long ago that it’s way more fun being healthy than being sick. Still, a lot of people smoke, some of my friends also, and I’ve found that often the biggest incentive to quitting is to protect those we love. Here is another reason: your love for your pet!
A 2007 University of Minnesota study showed that cats who live with smokers have nicotine and other toxins in their urine.
A 2002 Tufts University study linked second-hand smoke to cancer in cats. The study found that cats living with smokers are twice as likely to develop malignant lymphoma—the most common feline cancer–as those in non-smoking households. Lymphoma kills 3 out of 4 afflicted cats within 12 months.
A 2007 Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine study linked second-hand smoke to oral cancer in cats (squamous cell carcinoma.) Cats living with more than one smoker and cats exposed to environmental tobacco smoke for longer than five years had even higher rates of this cancer.
The ASPCA, one of the largest animal rights groups in the U.S., lists tobacco smoke as a toxin that is dangerous to pets. Dr. Sharon Gwaltney-Brant, medical director of the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center says:
“Nicotine from secondhand smoke can have effects to the nervous systems of cats and dogs. Environmental tobacco smoke has been shown to contain numerous cancer-causing compounds, making it hazardous for animals as well as humans.”
A recent study from Harvard Medical School, published in the January 2009 Journal of Pediatrics, found additional health risks associated with what they termed “third-hand smoke,” describing the invisible yet toxic gases and particles clinging to smokers’ hair and clothing, cars, and carpeting that lingers long after the second-hand smoke has cleared the room.
One reason cats are so vulnerable to the carcinogens in tobacco smoke is they are meticulous groomers. Daily grooming over a long period of time can expose their delicate oral tissues to hazardous amounts of carcinogens.
Birds who sit on a smoker’s nicotine-coated hand often develop dermatitis and end up pulling out their own feathers.
Another study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that dogs in smoking households have a 60 percent greater risk of lung cancer.
The Best Blog Award!
WOW, I am honored!! Thanks so much FISHER, for this awesome award
Isn’t Fisher just beautiful? She is a self-employed advice columnist, so if any critters or humans have an issue they would like advice about, pop on over there.
Of course this award comes with a few simple rules:
1. Post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his/her blog link.
2. Pass the award to other blogs that you think are great!
So many of the blogs I read are unique, interesting and informative, so this is the hard part! Since I have already given awards to many of my favorite blogs, I’m going to pick some recently discovered blogs that have caught my interest.
What Really Goes On In The Pet Food Industry
Dr. Lisa Newman is a pet nutrition expert who is also the owner of Azmira Holistic Animal Care. She has an insider’s view of what really goes on in the pet food industry, and she understands why pets are more diseased than ever.
Degenerative disease has skyrocketed in pets. But it’s no coincidence: We’re feeding our pets many of the same disease-causing ingredients that are used in the junk foods people eat. 
d
When you start to really research how commercial pet foods are made, the ingredient list becomes truly horrifying. Did you know that recycled shoe leather is an acceptable ingredient? Even euthanized dogs and cats are “acceptable” ingredients in pet food.
Dr. Newman explains how to protect your pet with quality products and natural therapies in an amazing interview available at Natural News, you can CLICK HERE to download the pdf. 
Manikins Or Live Cats?
If you were in the medical profession and learning how to intubate babies, which would you prefer: learning on humanlike manikins (which I might point out would not be suffering at your hands),
or using live cats, repeatedly pushing a hard plastic tube down their throats until they are bleeding, swelling and scarred to the point where they are no longer useful and need to be killed? 
I myself would choose the manikin, mostly because I don’t like to cause suffering to other living beings. The manikins maybe don’t squirm, but they are very lifelike and the exact dimensions of a real baby, unlike a cat which admittedly is configured a bit differently.
On a positive note, Heartland Regional Medical Center (HRMC) has finally stopped torturing using live cats in these medical training exercises. Finally. On a less positive note, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) still uses cats purchased from an animal shelter for the intubation procedure as well as a second procedure in which cats are stabbed in the chest with needles. The cats at TTUHSC are always killed at the end of these training sessions because the procedures leave them so badly mutilated.
You can sign a petition right here to help stop this atrocity.
Completely Non-Toxic Flea and Tic Control Lasts Two Years!
This is amazing! The Anibio Tic-Clip offers a revolutionary approach to protecting your pet from ticks and fleas, without pesticides, squeeze-ons, sprays, or topical application of any kind! 
The Tic-Clip uses the power of the bioenergetic field around your pet to create an energy barrier that repels insect pests for two years. Tic-Clip tag is imprinted with an electromagnetic charge bearing a polarized energy signature. This energetic charge adapts to your companion’s unique bioenergy frequency and produces a vibrational field around the animal that repels ticks and fleas. Ticks and fleas simply do not react to the pet anymore. 
This insect repellent collar tag was created in Germany and has been a huge success with pets throughout Europe.
Please Help Stop The Suffering Of Cats and Kittens
Intubation is a procedure that is used extensively in the medical field, especially for babies and small children. It involves inserting a plastic tube into the windpipe. 
Both the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) exclusively endorse the use of humanlike manikins for training in their neonatal and pediatric life support courses, however some institutions continue to use cats and kittens in their training. 
This cruel practice can cause bleeding, swelling, scarring, collapsed lungs, and even death. And these initially healthy cats are killed at the end of the training session or used in other painful experiments until they are finally put out of their misery.
You can sign petitions to end this suffering at the following three medical schools:
St. Louis Children’s Hospital
Texas Tech
Heartland Regional Medical Center
PLEASE HELP! There is no need to use live cats and kittens when alternate and BETTER training methods are available and endorsed by medical associations. STOP THE CRUELTY
Dr. Anne Scholl-Mealey: Helping the Homeless and Their Pets
The National Alliance to End Homelessness estimates Florida’s homeless population is about 25,000 to 65,000. 
About half of the nation’s homeless are unsheltered, and Feeding Pets of the Homeless estimates up to 24 percent of homeless people keep pets. That means as many as 162,000 pets are on the streets with their owners — about 68,000 of which are unsheltered. 
These homeless people are not only trying to take care of themselves, they are also trying to provide for the pets they love.
Dr. Anne Scholl-Mealey, a companion-animal practice owner and mother of two, has been volunteering her time and skills to care for pets of the homeless around greater Orlando for the last five years. 
According to Dr. Scholl-Mealey: “When you go out and you meet these people, they really are so grateful. I wish all my paying clients would show a little bit of thankfulness,” she says. “They really are grateful someone is coming out and helping them. They almost take better care of their pets than they do themselves.”
Maybe those of us who have so much to be thankful for could offer a simple prayer of gratitude and love to this wonderful woman.
Is Flouride Safe For Cats?
Ninety percent of the fluoride added to our drinking water is hydrofluoric acid, a compound of fluorine that is a chemical byproduct of aluminum, steel, cement, phosphate, and nuclear weapons manufacturing. (Surprise!!)
Fluoride is also the active toxin in rat poisons and cockroach powder. Still thinking about giving you cat (or YOU) flouridated tap water? The National Research Council reported 84 percent of the population had dental fluorosis in areas where fluoride in the water exceeded 3.7 parts per million (ppm).
Flourosis is a systemic change, where excessive fluoride is incorporated into the structure of the teeth AND bones so it stimulates bone growth, but not NORMAL growth. Instead, it’s growth that damages cells at the ends of bones and causes osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer.
Fluoride is known to cause human cells to mutate. You can read The Fluoride Deception: An Interview with Christopher Bryson
The safest water for you and you cat is pure spring water bottled in glass, which is nearly impossible to find. The next best is water that is filtered with a high quality filter, such as the Berkey Light without LED w/ 2 Black Berkeys
Best Guide Ever For Pet Health
For around $10, the Real Safety Guide to Pet Health gives you the strategies you need to help your pet live a long and happy life.
“Ninety percent of all pet health problems are caused by pet food and preventable health hazards”
Nutro Cat Food Contains Lethal Amounts of Zinc
According to the National Research Council an adult cat needs 4.6 mg of zinc a day for optimal health.
A daily dose of Nutro cat food contains approximately 179 mg, depending on the particular batch of food that is tested. Nutro cat food tested at the Washington Diagnostic and Disease Lab show two of three Nutro samples contained zinc at levels that would be illegal for sale in the European Union, at 270 ppm and 380 ppm. The third Nutro sample came in at 230 ppm. 
From the Pet Foods Products Safety Alliance:
“Using this food by Nutro recommended feeding guidelines, a pet eating this food would receive over 38 times the amount of zinc recommended by the National Research Council, or 175 mg. zinc a day. Using the most frequently cited median lethal dose for zinc of 100 mg. per kilogram of body weight, a 4 kilogram cat (9 pounds) would be exposed to the median lethal dose of zinc in slightly over 2 days. It is highly unlikely a pet exposed to this food would survive after being exposed to it for more than a few days to a week. Clinical symptoms consistent with pancreatitis would be the most likely outward signs of exposure to this food, with possible liver and kidney damage.”
What do you think they’ll come up with if they test other brands of cat food?
Clinical signs of zinc toxicity are vomiting, diarrhea, red urine, icterus (yellow mucous membranes) liver failure, kidney failure, and anemia. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=565&S=2
CLICK HERE: Natural Organic Raw Pet Food for Dogs & Cats at Only Natural Pet Store
Acupuncture For Cats
Although acupuncture has been used on hundreds of millions of people for thousands of years, it has only been used on domestic pets in the USA since the 1970’s
When a patient receives acupuncture treatments, the needles are inserted at specific longitudinal points on the patient’s body. Four-legged patients, such as cats, have such points, or meridians, at approximately the same locations as the corresponding points on the human body. According to acupuncture theory, each point controls a specific region of the body. 
The aim of acupuncture is to treat the root of the illness, not just the symptoms. A short list of the conditions and illnesses in cats that respond well to acupuncture include kidney failure, liver problems, arthritis, musculoskeletal problems, vomiting, asthma, and a multitude of geriatric problems.
Generally, acupuncture is really not painful, except for a patient who is extremely underweight. The needles used are many times smaller than a normal hypodermic needle, generally only 0.02mm wide
For cats who are truly intolerant of needles, there are modern methods of needleless acupuncture.
Because acupuncture stimulates the body to heal itself, it doesn’t work overnight. A course of treatment usually requires six to eight visits to an acupuncturist. 
To find a qualified veterinary acupuncturist in your area, visit the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society’s web site or its American affiliate, the American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture.
