EVERYDAY CAT CARE

For most of us, the spring and summer months usher in long holiday weekends filled with family, friends, barbeque and celebration.

Would you enjoy going to work a lot more if you could bring your cat with you? Well, some employees in a Japanese office are doing just that. Nine cats live, eat, sleep and roam around the IT firm Ferray in Tokyo.

As a recent gift from my family, they surprised me by planting a number of beautiful perennials - flowers and shrubs - while I was away on vacation. While I am very touched by their thoughtfulness, I do feed a number of stray/feral cats in my neighborhood. I did research and some of these plants are toxic to cats!

These days, many cat owners are giving considerable thought to investing in a pet health insurance policy. But is pet health insurance for your cat actually a good idea financially? To help you make that decision, lets examine what a few of the more popular pet health insurance companies have to offer.

As a feline-only practitioner, I look forward to kitten season every year. Nothing brightens my day more than examining a kitten and seeing all of the joy and amusement it brings to the family. I do not, however, look forward to peering inside a kittens ear - especially a kitten thats been aggressively scratching at her ears with a hind paw and shaking her head afterward. This behavior is usually the telltale sign of ear mites.

Felinophiles receive enormous pleasure from their cats. Domestic cats are frequently exotic in appearance and their behavior is often quite mysterious, making it nearly impossible for us not to be fascinated by them.

Two of my cats cant seem to get enough of my attention while Im working at my computer. As I type this, Rocky is sitting squarely on a small, tidy pile of papers at my left elbow.

I have a five-year-old female longhaired cat who I adopted from the local humane society a couple of years ago. Recently, she has been having hairballs almost on a daily basis.

For those cats who live an indoor-outdoor existence - or even an exclusive outdoor life, despite its many dangers - there are extra hazards to keep in mind during the warm weather months. There is an increase in cat fights, dog bites and road traffic accidents.

Trap Neuter Return (TNR) is a non-lethal method of controlling community cat populations that has been practiced in the United States since the early 1990s. Using this technique, all the feral (wild) cats in a colony (group) are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated for rabies, treated for any injuries, ear tipped for identification and then returned to their home territory where they are fed, sheltered and monitored by a caregiver. Whenever possible, kittens and friendly adults are removed from the colony and offered for adoption.

Before Andrew Davidson embarked on a major home renovation project two years ago, the Long Island resident sat down and planned every step of the process - including a discussion on how to make life as stress-free as possible for his two cats, Blaze and Sadie.

When you think of Hawaii, you probably picture cerulean blue oceans, wafting palm trees, towering volcanoes and picturesque beaches (and maybe even Elvis!). What you may not imagine are feral cats - and lots of them! With a temperate climate, no natural predators and, until recently, not enough affordable spay/neuter options, free-roaming cats have taken root in the Hawaiian Islands in a significant way.