by Margejane | Cat Food & Treats, Featured
Hello cat lovers! I’m writing this today to share both my experience and also to introduce you to a line of natural cat health products that I sincerely believe can be life-changing for your precious felines.
I have five cats – Buddy, Tapas, Tanner, Tamale, and Yogurt. Yogurt is my senior cat, 17 years old. I adopted her when she was seven years old, and up until a year ago, she was in excellent health. Then she stopped eating – nothing I gave her to eat tempted her; I was at my wit’s end. I started searching online and came across a line of holistic products for cats. One of their products was for cats with kidney disease.
I ordered the Kitty Kidney Kit. It arrived quickly. To my astonishment, by the next day, Yogurt started eating again! She has had a good appetite ever since. Her recent checkup was good, and she’s maintaining her weight. She does get infusions every few days at home as well, but she had been getting them when she lost her appetite. I’ve read so many posts about cats with kidney disease, and I’m hoping those of you with cats experiencing this problem will try the Kitty Kidney Kit.
There are products for virtually all of the most common cat conditions. If you have an aggressive and/or anxious cat, then Cat Calm works wonders.
If your cat suffers from allergies, it’s important to determine the culprit by elimination, and that may solve the problem. Oxy-Cat and Catalyst can help boost your cat’s immune system conquer allergies head-on!
Now here’s one that most people laugh about when I talk about it…acne? On a cat? Well, I might not have believed it myself had it not been for a cat I had years ago, Boots. Boots developed what I thought was a nasty rash. My vet told me it was acne! So now you know. I had been feeding him out of plastic dishes — that is a no-no! Always use ceramic or stainless steel bowls and treat the acne both topically and internally with Oxy-Cat.
Is your kitty anxious or stressed? Cat Calm is a wonderful stress reliever without chemical-based anxiety medications. It also helps with stress-induced conditions such as Feline Idiopathic cystitis and more.
One of the biggest health issues I hear about is feline diabetes. While there is no cure for diabetes, CatAlyst Antioxidant Formula does wonders for diabetic cats!
One of the most common problems cats experience is hairballs. The enzymes in CatAlyst help by breaking down ingested hairs and also strengthening your cat’s coat and reducing excess shedding. All I know is, my cats rarely have hairballs.
Feline diarrhea – I think It’s safe to say anyone who’s ever had a cat has experienced this problem with their kitty. Of course, if something serious is suspected, take the kitty to the vet, but CatALyst can help ease the discomfort by helping your cat to better digest and utilize the nutrients within the food. Another great product, Oxy-Cat helps with stomach acid as well as fight any possible bacterial or viral gut issues.
Feline Immunodeficiency (FIV) – One of the most well-known cat ailments. FIV is the same retrovirus as feline leukemia. Cats with FIV can live long, healthy lives with proper care, and the FeLeuk Kit can help them stay healthy. It builds the immune system and prevents intestinal viruses.
These are just a few of the conditions that the Two Crazy Cat Ladies line of health products help. Here is a list of other cat conditions these wonderful products can help:
- Aggression
- Arthritis
- Autoimmune disease
- Coccidia
- Conjunctivitis
- Cuts, sores, abrasions
- Digestive problems
- Ear mites
- Feline herpes
- Feline hyperesthesia
- Feline leukemia virus
- Fleas, ticks, mosquitoes
- Giardia
- Hookworms
- Hyperthyroidism
- Inflammation
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Liver disease
- Pancreatitis
- Ringworm
- Roundworm
- Feline shedding
- Tapeworms
- Upper respiratory infections
- Urinary crystals
- Urinary tract infections
- Urinary inflammation
- Vomiting
And remember, all TwoCrazyCatLadies products are 100% guaranteed!
by Margejane | Cat Health, Featured
Catnip, scientifically known as nepeta cataria, is a perennial herb that is a member of the mint family. The plants can grow up to 3 feet tall. Cats are attracted to a chemical compound that is called nepetalactone; this is found in the leaves and stems. This is a stimulant that causes a cat to experience a “high” when it is sniffed. The cat will remain on this “high” for about ten minutes.
From personal experience with my own five cats, I must say that their individual reactions after sniffing the leaves vary quite a bit. Several of my cats actually enjoy eating it, while one of my cats loves to roll in the dried leaves sprinkled on newspaper until she is virtually covered in it!
When a cat eats catnip, it has a sedative effect, but it doesn’t affect a feline until a kitten is several months old. Only about 50% seem to be affected by it – it’s believed that their sensitivity is an inherited trait. Although it’s safe for cats, they may vomit and have diarrhea if they eat too much of it. It’s recommended that cats can have a little every day, up to a tablespoon.
It’s great for indoor kitties because they get to enjoy the health benefits of a small number of greens that outdoor cats get to enjoy during their escapades (although I always strongly recommend that cats be kept safely indoors). Keep in mind that too frequent feedings of the herb may desensitize kitty and he’ll no longer respond to it.
If you’ve decided that you’d like to treat your cat occasionally, you can buy it at the store or you can grow it yourself. The seeds are tiny and black and grow well in a small pot of soil with light watering and some sunshine. Make sure the pot you use has good drainage. Your plant should show some growth within five to ten days after planting the seeds.
Planting outdoors – The seeds can be sown outdoors only during the spring. If you are planting the seeds directly outdoors you need to sow them as soon as you’re sure any threat of frost has passed. Bury seeds 1/8” deep and 15” apart. The plants will take 5-10 days to start growing under ideal circumstances and up to 20 days in colder soil. Start harvesting leaves in 12-15 weeks. Of course, you’ll need to cover them with protective netting, because cats will be attracted to the plants.
If you have the plants and want to root them in water, remove the lower leaves and then stand them up in the water. Change the water on a regular basis and you should see roots beginning to grow in a few days. Once there are strong roots, transplant each plant into a small pot of sterile potting soil. Water twice a week.
Helpful hints: if you are trying to train your cat to use a scratching post, sprinkle a few spoonsful of catnip on the post. You can also purchase the herb in liquid form and spray the post. It’s a good idea to have flat scratching pads in addition to a scratching post and put the leaves or spray on it. The cats should hopefully be attracted to it and start using the scratching post and pads. From my personal experience, I can tell you this can really work. My cats all started scratching where they should using this technique and my furniture is all fine.
MAKE TOYS – I’ve written about this, but here goes again…cut off the tips of old socks and fill them with catnip, then sew shut. Your cat will love them!
I hope this information helps you, my wonderful cat lovers. Have fun with your kitties!
by Margejane | Cat Food & Treats, Featured
CATS WITH DIARRHEA
Cats with diarrhea isn’t a pleasant topic but it must be addressed. There are many different causes of diarrhea in cats, so the treatment varies. In simple cases of adult cat diarrhea, withholding food for 12-24 hours and providing water frequently, then feeding bland food like boiled fat-free chicken or boiled hamburger and boiled rice or plain mashed potatoes given in small amounts to start may resolve the problem.
Does your cat have smelly poop? If so, there are a number of reasons this could be happening, such as intestinal parasites such as Giardia. Giardia can cause foul-smelling feces with or without diarrhea. Other parasites such as Coccidia and trichomonas are parasites that can cause intestinal inflammation, odor, and diarrhea.
Signs of possible parasitic infection are chronic vomiting and loss of appetite, weight loss, and malnutrition. Some cats show no signs of disease.
GETTING RID OF PARASITES
De-worming can be done by either oral or injectable medication. Hookworms are blood-sucking intestinal parasites and can cause anemia and possibly death. Hookworms are intestinal parasites that live in the digestive system of your cat (or dog). They attach to the intestinal wall and feed on your cat or dog’s blood.
The eggs get ejected into the digestive tract and pass into the feces.
TAPEWORMS IN CATS
These are long, flat white worms with hook-like mouths that anchor onto the wall of your cat‘s small intestine. Cats can get infected if they digest an infected flea while grooming, and then the flea can transmit a tiny tapeworm into the cat and grow into a full-sized adult worm. If treated promptly tapeworms shouldn’t prove dangerous.
With the proper medication, the tapeworms can be killed within 24 hours, and on occasion, a second dose is required 3-4 weeks later.
HOW TO GET RID OF FLEAS ON CATS
Years ago I fell in love with a beautiful Torti cat I saw on Petfinder and decided to adopt her. To my horror, it turned out my beautiful new cat had fleas! I had never had this problem before.
I had two other cats in my apartment and I was panicking. In my case, I took the cats to the vet for flea baths and fumigated the place with Cedarcide, an all-natural non-toxic product that suffocates the fleas rather than poison them. One treatment and my home were once again free of fleas.
Cedarcide can rid your home and garden of all sorts of pests. It’s available on their website. You can also safely treat your cat’s flea problem with Flea-Ex, an all-natural, highly effective product.
You can find this and many other all-natural cat products where I shop for mine. My 17-year-old cat, who has chronic kidney disease, was not eating, but after using these all-natural products for cats with kidney disease, she started eating well the very next day, much to my amazement, has continued doing so and got a very good bill of health from a recent veterinarian visit.
If you don’t or can’t fumigate your home:
- Vacuum floors (I put a flea collar inside my vacuum which was recommended)
as well as upholstery and mattresses (I sprayed my mattress with Cedarcide, and never got another flea bite after that one treatment) and you can also spray Cedarcide on your furniture.
- Wash all of your bedding and your cat’s bedding in hot water.
NOTE: The above-recommended product, Cedarcide, is not only excellent to kill fleas, but works great on all kinds of pests, both indoors and out, and is safe around animals and humans.
UPPER RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS (URI)
The upper respiratory tract includes the mouth, nose, sinus, throat, larynx (voice box) and trachea (windpipe.) Bronchitis and pneumonia are infections of the lower respiratory tract.
DO CATS GET “COLDS?”
Cats do get upper respiratory infections (URI’s.) What is the cause of URI’s in cats?
There are two viruses that are the most common causes. They are the feline herpes virus and the feline calicivirus. These two viruses make up almost 90% of colds (URI’s) in cats. There are a few other causes, such as feline chlamydiosis, Bordetella, and mycoplasma. Cats with severe URI’s may be tested for these pathogens, as well as if large groups of cats have been exposed.
SYMPTOMS YOUR CAT MAY HAVE AN UPPER RESPIRATORY INFECTION (URI)
Symptoms may include cat’s eyes watering, wheezing, sneezing in cats, runny nose, sniffling, fever (often evident by loss of appetite, oral or nasal ulcers, raspy voice or loss of voice).
WHEN TO SEND YOUR CAT TO THE CAT CLINIC (OR DOG & CAT HOSPITAL)
If your cat is eating and drinking normally, is active and acting per usual, then most likely your cat will recover on its own. I personally highly recommend the all-natural cat product on (put TwoCrazyCatLadies link here). This is not to replace veterinary care, but the products for URI work well to boost kitty’s immune system. Fortunately, most URI’s are relatively mild. A little extra care should take care of kitty for a full recovery.
Although most URI’s are viral in nature, there are times when antibiotics are required to prevent a secondary bacterial infection such as Bordetella and feline chlamydiosis. Your veterinarian can determine if this is needed.
If your kitty has stopped eating, and the cat’s eyes are watering, wheezing and/or sneezing a lot, not eating, congested so that kitty must keep its mouth open in order to breathe, please take your cat to your vet as soon as possible.
MY STORY
Many years ago I had put my two cats, Sam and Pinky, into boarding at a brand new veterinary clinic. I hadn’t wanted to do this but my then-boyfriend didn’t want anyone he didn’t know coming into our apartment while we were out of town.
We were only gone for one week. When I returned, my little cat, Pinky, had a slightly running nose and watery eyes, but she was eating and behaving fine. My large male cat, Sam, was so sick it was frightening. He stopped eating and drinking, stopped grooming himself, and worst of all stopped urinating and defecating.
He would just lie on his back with his mouth open and his tongue hanging out. I rushed him to the vet I had boarded him at, and was told that, unbeknownst to them, a woman had boarded four cats, one of whom had an upper respiratory infection. Of course, the vet treated Sam free of charge.
I had to take Sam to the vet every day, and force-feed Sam with a syringe every day. My other cat, Pinky, recovered quickly and even groomed poor Sam.
Sam eventually recovered. I bring this true story up as an example of how different the severity of UTI’s can be. I must tell you that after this experience I refused to ever board my cats again.
To this day whenever my husband and I go out of town, I have a great cat sitter care for our five cats in our home.
by Margejane | Cat Health, Featured
by Margejane | Cat Health, Featured
FELINE URINARY TRACT DISEASES
This is a group of feline diseases with multiple causes. These can occur in unfit or overweight cats or cats who eat dry cat food. Stress and sudden changes can also raise a cat’s risk.
Symptoms include:
- Bloody urine,
- Urinating in odd places,
- Straining to urinate,
- Crying in pain when urinating and licking the urinary area due to the pain,
- Cat acting depressed,
- Dehydration,
- Loss of appetite,
- Vomiting.
URINARY TRACT PROBLEMS IN CATS
In female cats – Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) can have a number of different causes. This affects the structures that make up the lower portion of the urinary tract, which includes the bladder and urethra (the urethra is a tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body.)
Urinary tract disease can cause cats to urinate outside the litter box. Many cats end up in shelters because of this problem and end up being euthanized.
There are several potential causes of lower urinary tract disease:
- Bladder infection
- Obstruction of the urethra
- Bladder stones
- Interstitial cystitis (which is bladder inflammation) which is believed to be caused by stress.
Bladder obstructions almost always occur in males. If there is an obstruction the cat is unable to urinate. The cat will become toxic very quickly and the waste products will build up in the bloodstream. It’s crucial that you take your cat to the vet immediately if you suspect it’s not able to urinate.
Urinary tract disease symptoms are:
- Painful urination
- Loss of Appetite
- Urinating outside the litter box
- Straining to urinate (dysuria)
- Frequent attempts to urinate
- Bloody urination (hematuria)
If your cat has a urethral obstruction your vet needs to relieve the obstruction by passing a catheter through the urethra and into the bladder. Intravenous fluids may also be given as well as monitoring kidney function and blood electrolyte levels. For bladder infections, cats are given antibiotics and maybe given therapeutic diets.
You’ll need to encourage your cat to drink plenty of water. Canned food can be helpful because of their moisture content. Adding some water to it is also helpful.
Litter boxes need to be kept very clean and ideally kept in a private area where your cat won’t be disturbed. It’s also important to keep your cat’s stress level as low as possible. Keeping your cat’s favorite toys, scratching post, cat bed and available hiding places can contribute to keeping cat’s stress levels at a minimum.
In summation, encouraging water drinking, keeping your cat’s stress level low and his litter box clean can help in the prevention of urinary tract disease.
by Margejane | Cat Health, Featured
I’ve always said that the only people who don’t care for cats never really got close to one, but for someone who is not a cat person, keeping a cat as a pet may seem like an impossible task. It really isn’t so. When you are armed with the right information and skills, keeping a cat would not only be a wonderful experience but a beneficial one.
Cats are fun, independent, smart, curious, and very entertaining. Their sense of independence makes them quite easy to care for and relatively low-maintenance. As a new cat owner all you need to do is familiarize yourself with the basics of feeding, grooming, safety, general health, and of course, learn to love and enjoy your cats. Below are some of the essential tips any non-cat person can adapt to be a better cat keeper.
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Know how busy you are:
Cats may be independent by nature but they still need your help for a couple of things. Before you go ahead to adopt a cat(and always remember, ADOPT, DON’T SHOP) you need to check if your lifestyle can make room for a feline. Cats behave differently from each other, some need a lot of attention and grooming while others can manage well on their own most of the time. The level of spare time you have will go a long way to determine the type of cat you should get. Carry out proper research before you go ahead to adopt.
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Choose a good veterinarian and cat sitter:
Another very important thing to do is to choose a good vet for your cat, preferably someone nearby. You can ask your cat-owning friends for recommendations on local vets or you could visit websites such as BrinFido. Ensure to ask the vet on the first checkup if there is anything that you need to be aware of.
If you work long hours outside the home then it is a good idea to adopt two cats or kittens who can keep each other company while you are away. If you’re going away for vacation, find someone you trust to come to your home to cat sit. I personally don’t recommend boarding your cat as even at the best places they may be exposed to illness and also being out of their environment is very stressful.
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Be sure you don’t have cat allergies.
It is very sad if a cat gets cozy in your home and then has to be returned to a shelter. You can always ask your doctor about allergy testing first if necessary.
4 Checkup and immunizations:
One of the major differences between a healthy, happy cat and a miserable one misbehaving around the house is regular medical checkups and immunizations. The shelter you adopt from will give you the cat’s medical and immunization records so you know when to return to your own veterinarian.
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Get a good litter box and quality cat litter:
A good enclosed litter box will offer you and your cat the needed privacy. Also, it is important you keep the box clean, both for the comfort of the cat and that of your nose. A cloud of low dust, clumping cat litter is highly recommended. Feeding is equally important, ensure to feed your cat with well-balanced age-appropriate food. This would help them grow properly as well as keep them healthy. If you are not sure about what to give your cat you can ask your vet or inquire from the representatives at your local pet store.
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Get your cat some fun toys:
Cats can be quite playful. Therefore to keep them happy you need to have a couple of playthings lying around, this could be toy mice filled with catnip, empty boxes, or feathers. It really doesn’t have to be too expensive, they can even be homemade. Basically, you just need playthings to keep your cat active, happy, and mentally occupied.
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Don’t be mad or worried if your cat hides from you, it is quite normal:
If this happens, all you need do is wait for him to approach you. If he doesn’t, you can try again at a later date. Leave food and water for your cat, but if he doesn’t eat for days then you may need to contact your vet for advice.
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Socialize with your cat often:
A notion held by some people is that cats are antisocial. This is not true, some cats may not like guests in your home and may hide, while they will be very friendly with you. Be sure to hang out with your cat every day; over time he will get used to his environment. The best thing to do is to keep a new cat in one room for a while so it feels secure and has time to adjust to his new home before exploring the rest of the house. This article is assuming that this is your very first cat and it doesn’t have to be introduced to another cat or cats. For a new kitten, it is vital that the kitten is socialized; it is extremely important in the first few months of life as this is regarded as the prime socialization period. We’ll write more on the subject of introducing your cat to other pets in another article.
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Invest in a scratching post:
Cats naturally have scratching urges, so it is smart to get them a scratching post. This will save you the expense and frustration of your cat damaging your furniture. A scratching post is an excellent way via which cats can exercise and get their daily scratching needs met. A helpful way to attract cats to the scratching post is to spray it with liquid catnip spray, available at pet stores. Don’t punish your cat if they scratch in the wrong place; praise them when they do it correctly, just take them over to the scratching post if necessary and show them what to do by placing their paws on the post and doing a scratching motion. NEVER declaw your cat. It is extremely cruel. Imagine getting the first part of each of your fingers cut off. That’s how it is for a cat. Plus, if your cat ever escapes, it is totally defenseless. I have five cats and they always use the scratching posts. Cats can definitely be trained.
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Remember, you can actually train your cat:
Positive reinforcement is the best way to train a cat. Cats can be quite smart and are very capable of learning a lot if you reward them for behavior that you want to encourage.
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