EVERYDAY CAT CARE

You want to do right by your cat, so you pull string toys for him, leave a scratching post in the living room, and...

Not all cats want to go outside on a leash. But for those who do, harnesses provide a great opportunity for an indoor feline...

Strictly speaking, the words “stray” and “feral” have different meanings. A stray cat, while currently homeless, has at some point lived with people, has...

If you see more cat hair around than usual and you’ve been vacuuming and dusting as frequently as always — or if you’re seeing...

Whether it’s the luxurious locks of your Himalayan or your tabby’s more strictly functional striped coat, a thorough brushing will do more than make...

Boxes, paper grocery bags, a shelf in a linen closet…you name it, a cat likes to squeeze herself into it. Some of the reason for...

Most shelters are happy to have volunteers come and give resident cats attention by playing with them and grooming them. Cats warehoused in shelters need extra attention and socializing so that they will look good to potential adopters and also will adapt better to life with people once they make it to a loving home. But theres more to helping shelter cats than interacting with them directly, and you may have just the talent required. Consider asking a local shelter if it needs help in any of these areas.

Understandably, people looking to adopt a cat often want a younger one. They hope to have their pet for as many years as possible, and they want to be able to form a special bond. That leaves many older cats in shelters, and from there they often get sent to be euthanized because the shelters just dont have enough room.

Regularly trimming your cats nails isnt just important for your furniture, or for you when the cat comes to knead on your lap. It also reduces the chance of a broken claw and ensuing pain if the cats nail gets caught in something like plush carpet or a soft piece of wood.

Mother Theresa once famously said that she would happily participate in a peace rally but would not attend an anti-war rally. Why not? She no doubt understood intuitively that youre much more likely to effect the change you seek by promoting what you want than by railing against what you dont want.

You sit anxiously in the waiting room while your cat undergoes surgery to remove a cancerous mass. Finally, the doctor comes out in his scrubs and tells you he was able to excise the malignant tumor and that he believes he got it all. Relieved but not yet out of the woods, you wait for the pathology report. Sure enough, it confirms the surgeons belief that he excised the cancer in its entirety. There are clean margins. Why, then, does the tumor grow back in the exact same spot some months later?

It was the very first state in the U.S., and now its the first state in the country to become a no-kill state for shelter animals. Its not a law but, rather, a designation bestowed by the Best Friends Animal Society, a nonprofit animal welfare organization that works to help put an end to the euthanasia of unwanted pets in animal shelters across the country.