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

If you have problems imagining that your kitty’s suddenly become super-clean or really just likes his new comfy toilet spot on the carpet better, you may be right. There are some medical reasons for a cat’s poor potty behavior, too. Here’s one example. “I’ve found that many cats who start pooping (but not urinating) outside the box have impacted anal sacs,” said veterinarian Dr. Melanie Thompson. “They return happily to their boxes after treatment,” she said. Unlike dogs with anal glands that fail to empty — they sit straight-legged and scooch their itchy bottoms along the carpet — in cats

What do you do when your kitty is leaving little landmines around the house—a.k.a. pooping outside the box? Follow these tips to a T and your cat will once again poop in his litter box regularly.

Brrr. With temperature in some parts of the country hitting 20° or below, it’s pretty cold even for your household pets. Here are some tips for cold weather safety for dogs and cats. Tip 1: In cold weather most dogs and cats should be kept inside. Some long-haired double-coated dogs such as Alaskan Huskies can do well in freezing temperature if they have a well-enclosed dog house filled with clean insulating straw, are used to the cold weather, are not too young or too old, get a special high-calorie diet and are closely monitored while others with a more meager coat, inadequate shelter, inadequate diet or an

If you have cats, especially if you have more than one, chances are that sometime within your lifetime you’ll have to deal with urine-spraying outside the box. Here are some facts you should know: Over 80% of cats that spray urine can be treated successfully.    90% of intact males spray, so if you have an intact male and he’s spraying, the solution is to neuter him.   10% of neutered or spayed cats spray during sometime of their life.    Cats normally spray to identify their territory, but they also spray to just identify that they were in a specific