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Activities & Enrichment Cats Life at Home

Cat Play the Right Way: 7 Mistakes to Avoid

Article

Reading Time: 5 minutes Nature designed cats to be efficient little predators and to hunt even when they’re not hungry (because who knows when the next meal will scamper by?). Play is the indoor cat’s version of hunting. It’s an expression of a host of hardwired feline behaviors. Cats who do not use their minds and bodies in natural […]

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Cats Dogs Life at Home New Pets Other Shelters & Fostering

Save a Life at any Cost? When Rescue Isn’t

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes At what cost do you save a life? Or is that not even the right question to ask? What motivates this story is local dog trainer, near where I live, who was recently “outed” for alleged use of aversive methods to save lives. That in itself sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it? When animal control […]

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Activities & Enrichment Cats Life at Home New Pets Shelters & Fostering

Remedial Kitty Socialization: Smoothing Rough Edges

Article

Reading Time: 4 minutes If kittens don’t receive appropriate handling and socialization early in life, they can develop undesirable habits. Here’s how to help tame their behavior. Mollie was turned in to the shelter when she was approximately 4 weeks old, a singleton with no mom in sight. She languished in a cage until we saw her photo posted, […]

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Cats Life at Home Veterinary Care

Keep those claws! Why cats need them

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes Recent studies show that declawing can significantly increase the risk of long-term adverse effects on feline physical and emotional health, including chronic neuropathic pain, biting, and an increased likelihood of house-soiling. Here’s what you should know if you’re considering this procedure for your cat. Declawing is an emotional, controversial, and divisive topic. Some people consider […]

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Activities & Enrichment Cats Life at Home

To Make Cats Happy, Offer Choices, Enrichment

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes Cats can make great pets when we learn what each one needs to thrive, and then meet these needs. When we do, we have cats who are friendly, active, and safe. That makes them the great “low maintenance” companions we enjoy. But when things go wrong, fear, anxiety, and stress can be the result in […]

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Cats Fears & Anxieties Life at Home

Cat-cophony? Take The Fear Out Of Loud Noises

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes Do cats develop fears of loud noises such as fireworks? You bet! Cats have keen hearing that is as sensitive as that of dogs. We don’t always recognize that a cat may be fearful of loud noises because unlike dogs, who may engage in destructive behavior in an attempt to escape, the typical feline response […]