A reader once asked me, “My cat is an avid hunter, and in our area there appears to be a plentiful supply of rats and mice. He was bringing me samples on a daily basis and I had to export the live ones and bury the dead ones. I now partially closed the cat door so that he could get out but not in. However, this leaves him out at night and there seems to be creatures out there that could hunt him. Do you have any suggestions for what I should do? Can I program him to leave his

Even with the most recent advances in veterinary medicine, your beloved cat won’t live forever, but is the next best thing just around the corner? Will it someday be possible to resurrect your cat with cloning? Nearly a decade ago, on December 22, 2001, scientists at Texas A&M University announced the birth of CC, the world’s first cloned cat. CC, as in Copy Cat, has the same DNA blueprint as her genetic mother, Rainbow. So, like identical twins they share the same genetic code. That means everything’s the same—their looks, their mannerisms, their…. But wait. rainbowandcc Although Rainbow and her

It’s wonderful to come home after a long day of work to relax and spend quality time with your pet. But when quality time includes the following pet owner’s predicament, relaxation is far from the picture. “My Springer Spaniel barks constantly at the table when we eat dinner and it’s annoying,” says one perplexed pooch owner. “He gets table scraps occasionally but he always has dog food available. Any ideas or thoughts?” At this point, cat owners are gloating over their choice of a more peaceful pet, but before you feline fanciers let it go to you head, listen to

June is Adopt-a-Cat Month which means it’s a great time to adopt a kitten or a cat.  In honor of this month, I’ll be running a series of articles that will help you understand your cat and set up his environment for success. You’ll also learn to train your cat and modify his behavior so that you actually want to keep him beyond the first weeks. Let’s face it, a huge segment of the population will get rid of their cats as soon as having a cat is no longer convenient. For instance, if the cat potties outside the litter

How did this foster kitten learn to be so tolerant? She doesn’t mind being held in this awkward manner. She went through kitty socialization class. Every year, thousands of stray kittens are fostered and adopted out. The foster caretakers do their best to address the kittens’ medical health, but did you know that perhaps the most important action a caretaker can take that will help kittens find a permanent home is to actually socialize them. That is, give the kittens positive experiences around many different people, animals, unfamiliar kittens, environments, and for many handling procedures too. The resulting kitten is

Easter always makes me think of rabbits, which make me think of carrots and other vegetables, which then reminds me of nutrition question about cats. Several owners have asked me a question that goes something like this: “I’m a vegetarian and a cat lover. Are there any vegetarian diets that I can buy or make for my cat?” The question is  sometimes one of moral values for the human, but for animals, it’s one of nature. Herbivores such as rabbits and horses eat plants and cannot digest meat well. Omnivores such as humans and dogs can eat both meat and