Deadline Tonight at Midnight E.T. for RCA Nominations
Tonight at midnight E.T. is the deadline for nominating your favorites in seven cat categories of Readers' Choice Awards. Remember that the more nominations, the better the chance of making it to the finals for voting. Check out the list of cat categories, submit your nominations, then campaign for your favorites. For more information, see About.com Readers' Choice Awards 2012.
Valentine Cat Mimi
Photo Credit: © Guest, Mitch Mason
Mitch rescued Mimi from the house across the street where the neighbors had abandoned her. While she was two years old then, she only weighted five pounds and was in a deplorable condition when Mitch took her to the veterinarian for an exam. Of the dozen or more new entries to the Valentine Cats Show and Tell feature, Mimi's was the only one with any Valentine decorations at all. These are beautiful and tastefully done. Congratulations, and thank you, Mitch, for keeping to the spirit of this Show and Tell feature!
Read Mimi's story and see a full-sized version of this picture.
Understanding Anesthesia for Cats
I wrote earlier that my 9 year-old Billy will be undergoing dental cleaning this month. He will have to be under anesthesia for this procedure, which causes me some concerns, as it does for other cat parents. The blood tests recommended by veterinarians can help to ameliorate certain worries, and should not be skipped in the interests of saving money. Pictured here is a cat under anesthesia for spaying.
Photo Credit: © iStock Photo/Mark Coffey
A better understanding of some of the commonly-used types of anesthetics and analgesics (pain relievers), how they work, and their potential drawbacks, will help us make the best decisions when it comes to sedating our cats. Read more for a better understanding about anesthesia for cats.
More on Pets' Dental Care:
Cat Picture of the Week: Skittle
Skittle looks pretty big in this photo, but when you see her next to her co-shelter-adoptee, Tonto, she looks half his size. Skittle is 11 years young and she and Tonto were adopted at the same time four years go from the SPCA. Like many cats, she naps during the day, and delights in keeping the humans awake at night with her noisy play.
Photo Credit: © About.com Member DSSKTO
Skittle is featured in the Life With a White Cat Show and Tell gallery, as will be all the Cats of the Week in February. (We celebrate white cats this month, because they remind us of the pristine snow in Winter.) Read more of her story and find out how you can submit your own white cat to that gallery.
7 Ways We Bond With Our Cats
One immutable link among people who love cats is our lifelong bond with cats. In fact, that bond is so strong that it lasts beyond life itself. One of the strongest ways this bond presents itself is that our cats provide us with therapy when we need it most. Even the smallest thing, such as the way feel of a purring, vibrating warm body under a hand at night can bring on sleep, is therapy in only the way cats can give. In fact, cats are being used more and more lately as therapy animals in hospital settings, such as nursing homes.
Photo Credit: © i-Stock Photos
Let's examine the 7 ways we bond with our cats in more detail. I suspect many readers will be murmuring "yes!" as the story unfolds.
More About Our Bond With Cats
Start a Dental Care Program for Your Cat Today
While February is Pets Dental Health Month, we owe it to our cats to care for their teeth on a regular basis, with both veterinary dental checkups at least annually (more frequently for older cats), and a consistent home dental care plan, which includes regular brushing, mouth examination, rinsing, and flossing (no kidding).
Photo Credit: © GalensGranny
Oral disease is not only painful and debillating, it can affect other organs of the body. You can help prevent it by following this home dental care plan. Your cat depends on you to care for his dental needs, because cats don't wear dentures.
More on Dental Care for Your Cat:
- Cats Dental Care 101
- Video: Dental Examination
- Dental Care for Pets (Vet Medicine)
Pet Airways in Trouble
Pet Airways, deemed the purrfect solution for transporting cats by air within its flight areas, is reported to be in big trouble, according to a news report by Susanne Craig, writing for the New York Times. According to the report, cancelled flights, stranded pets, combined with the alleged failure to refund fees does not bode well for Pet Airways, nor for the pet owners who saw this special airline as the boon we needed for safely flying pets for long-distance moves, or in the case of breeders, to shows.
The co-founder of Pet Airways, Alysa Binder acknowledged in an email that there had been some problems with leasing from a new company. However, she went on to say, ""We are a very new company that is pioneering, just as FedEx pioneered the overnight packaging business," said Ms. Binder. "We have ups and downs, but we are keeping our eyes on the long-term goal of providing a safe and comfortable transportation option for the pets." Read more of the story in the NYT article.
More on Travel for Cats
Valentine Cats Gallery
Valentine's Day is less than a week away, and it's not too early nor too late to submit your cat(s)' Valentine Photos for publishing. The photo shown here appears in the Valentine Cats Picture Gallery, and depicts Romeo and Henry, best friends for life.
Photo Credit: © Lisa
You may submit your own Valentine Cat Photo by using the form in the Valentine Cat Photos Show and Tell Gallery.
If you need ideas for decorating your Valentine Cats Photo, check out the Valentine's Day Clip Art created by Dixie Allen, About.com's Guide to Web Clipart. Dixie has recently added several great new pieces to this collection.
Cool Cat Photo of the Week: Kitty Pretzel
Photo Credit: © Guest, Syed M. Jala
Nothing is so sweet as a cat asleep, and nothing quite as funny as a kitty pretzel in a sink. Kitty, pictured here, is a Persian-American Curl mix, bought from a breeder. Syed wrote that Kitty's favorite spot to sleep when her tummy is full is in the washroom sink. See Kitty's full story and full-sized photo in the Funniest Cat Pictures Show and Tell.
Previous Cool Cat Photos of the Week:
11 Things You Need to Know About Cat Sex
Cat Sex 101 will bring even the novice cat lover up to speed on the reproductive system of cats, from how cats mate, to finding homes for the subsequent kittens. There are healthy doses of advice in-between about spaying and neutering, as cats don't practice birth control voluntarily. Some of the content featured includes:
Photo Credit: © iStockPhoto/manuel velasco