It’s three hours past dawn and the songbirds are strangely silent. The house is still, devoid of life save a lone Tabby sitting bold, solitary, and aloof in the window with a beam of sunshine spotlighting his silver and stripes. He is the keeper of his house, the king of his territory. Then he turns, looks. And then Weeoow! Weeeoooww! His wails grate the air like freshly manicured nails sliding down a squeaky clean chalkboard. Why the mournful meowing? This kitty wants his mommy and she’s just left for work. Tabby drops down from his pedestal and paces five steps

Everyone knows that if you have a dog you’ll take it on walks. But did you know you could also take your cat on walks? Taking a cat on walks works best if you’ve socialized the cat at a young age to new environments so he’s comfortable in the places you plan to take him. Of course, you’ll also want to train your cat or kitten to love wearing a harness.

Diseases of Aging Dogs and Cats A few years ago at a family gathering, my aunt, who had just finished telling one of her famous cat stories, proclaimed, “ All of my cats over the last 25 years have gotten kidney disease. There must be something in the water.” Now, a regular cat enthusiast off the street may have been swayed by her proof; however, as her relative and as a veterinarian, I knew she had left out a vital bit of information—that all of her cats had lived to at least 13 years of age. Realistically even if your

Anyone who owns a Bengal cat knows they can be Herculean meowers, and Sophia’s Bengal cat, Dante, was no exception. He could easily hold a meow for at least five minutes. When first adopted, Sophia ignored his meowing and pretended that he didn’t exist, only rewarding him with petting or treats when he was quiet (hint, this works way better if you’ve first spent a day or so rewarding them at least fifty times for sitting quietly first). Dante quickly learned to be quiet but since meowing incessantly is in his genes, a sudden change in environment would occasionally bring

At first we gave the insulin but then Mochi started hiding from us. We didn’t want to make her hate us, so we discountinued the treatment even though we knew that without she wouldn’t live long. How many times have you heard something like this where a client fails to carry through with treatment because the treatment ruins her bond with her pet? If the treatment is an injection of some sort, this type of situation should not happen because it’s easy to train cats to love getting injections and this comfort with injections can be taught in just a

So how do you quiet a cacophonous crier? You follow the golden rule of changing behavior—reward the behavior you want, such as sitting quietly, and remove the reward for unwanted behavior—your attention. But if you’re consistent and reward the quiet behavior with enough sequential treats for longer and longer silence, you can fix the meowing in just a few days.