Fear Free Happy Homes
Reading Time: 4 minutesEnriching the environment means providing suitable outlets to meet the needs of a species. One example: Cats have a hard-wired need to hunt and pounce. It’s great that cats are increasingly being kept indoors (they do live longer when indoors only), but we rarely meet their innate needs. Many zoos have a full-time employee whose […]
Reading Time: 4 minutesThe holiday season reminds us that home is where the pet is. Just ask the homeless huddled in highway underpasses in Los Angeles, women fleeing domestic violence in New York City, families in Minnesota too poor to pay for veterinary care, and homebound seniors in San Diego who must depend on others to bring them […]
Reading Time: 3 minutesYour child has been begging for a kitten for Christmas. It’s on her Christmas list – at the top – and you heard her tell Santa that she wanted one at the outdoor holiday event you attended. There are pictures and drawings of cats on her bedroom wall and fridge. Without a doubt, kittens become […]
Reading Time: 3 minutesMost cat owners know that cats need to eat more protein than many other animals do. Cats break dietary protein down into amino acids, which they burn for energy or use to make new proteins. Cats cannot make all 22 amino acids they need; they need to get eleven of these (the essential amino acids) […]
Reading Time: 4 minutesA cat, when startled by the sound of a backfiring car, dashes toward a hiding spot, running as fast as she can. A small dog, backed into a corner, snarls, showing his teeth and his willingness to protect himself. A kitten, hearing a vacuum cleaner for the first time, freezes in place. A cat or […]
Reading Time: 3 minutesCreating a Fear Free environment for your cat at the veterinary clinic, groomer’s salon, or even at home begins with finding the right motivator (or two or three). Where one cat might cooperate with many indignities if she can have some chicken baby food, another will ignore the noise of a groomer’s salon if she […]
Reading Time: 3 minutesThanksgiving is supposed to be a happy time of year: all about friends, family and food. But for some, Thanksgiving can be a trying holiday. The stereotypical image of the jovial family gathered around a handsomely dressed holiday bird isn’t reality for many. Grief One of the toughest emotions to deal with at Thanksgiving is […]
Reading Time: 3 minutesWho doesn’t love a kitten? Kittens are cute, cuddly and funny. Most people who are thinking of adopting a cat usually have a kitten in mind, but we at Fear Free have a proposition for you to consider: An adult cat can be a better bet. When you bring home an adult cat, the acronym […]
Reading Time: 3 minutesMy dynamic feline duo express their personalities in everything they do, including litter box practices. Ivan hums while he fervently excavates the depths of the box. Natasha “aims high,” plus she engages in bouts of what I call “litter boxing”— she scratches the sides of the litter box, wall, mat, floor and occasionally the mirrored […]
Reading Time: 2 minutesYoung kittens are so adorable that it’s hard to imagine they are the animals at greatest risk in shelters. Kittens found outdoors and relinquished to shelters often face a bleak, short future. In fact, they’re usually considered unadoptable. That’s because it takes 24/7 hands-on care to help these tiny, fragile fuzzballs to survive until they […]