CAT OWNERSHIP

October 2014 - Full Issue PDF

Living in a new town has brought me around plenty of new people and a couple of old friends. One of these old friends is a woman who owns a local horse farm. Its been fun for me to stop by and do some chores, enjoy a little horse time and catch up on shared acquaintances and a little gossip here and there.

Whether youre taking your cat to the veterinarian for a routine check-up or for treatment of a chronic health problem, you want to get the most from your visit. To accomplish this goal, owners should begin by considering whats normal for their cat.

November 2014 - Full Issue PDF

The two cats and I arrived in our new house in the Hudson Valley last weekend, and after a relatively uneventful four-hour car ride (if you can dismiss the nearly constant unhappy vocalization of Puja from within her cat box in the back seat of my car), I remembered some key things about moving into a new home.

At the beginning of each year, most of us write a list of New Years resolutions that we intend to keep - some with more success than others! But do you factor in some goals for your pets, as well?

If you are planning to fly with your cat - either for an extended vacation or a permanent long-distance relocation -there are two ways you can travel on a commercial airline: in the cabin with your pet, or with the animal as checked baggage in the cargo hold.

Transporting a cat as checked baggage is not recommended unless there is absolutely no other alternative. In addition to the frightening loud noises and unfamiliar odors, there is also the potentially fatal risk of the cat escaping from the carrier and getting lost.

If you are waiting to close on a new house after selling the old, or if a natural disaster or other emergency arises, or if your home should become uninhabitable for an extended period of time - one of the first concerns that you will have is finding a safe place to live that will also permit pets.

Just the thought of having to move into a temporary housing situation with three cats gave me the jitters. Several years ago, my husband and I purchased a new home, and we were relocating from New York to Central Florida. But once all my ducks were in a row - much to my surprise - I found living with my husband and our cats in a pet-friendly motel room to be quite pleasant.

QMy five-year-old male, neutered indoor-only cat is very timid and shy. We adopted him when he was about seven weeks old. Two years ago, we rescued a stray - a spayed female who is three.

From when I was a very little girl, I was lucky to always have cats in my life. But I was a city kid, and growing up in an apartment meant that my family didnt have a big house on sprawling property, complete with numerous critters and barn cats.