Amy Shojai's Blog, page 112

Always Remember, Never Forget ALL the Heroes

See slide show from the book (above).

Canine Health Center monitored health of the 911 dogs. It’s the least we can do for our canine heroes.

Pictures of the 911 canine heroes.

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered–post in the comments. Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my  THRILLERS WITH BITE!

 

Monday Mentions: Conferences, Cat Games & Doggie Boo-Boos

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Amy at 2010 CWA Book signing–with a little “bling!”

We’re gearing up for the 19th Annual Cat Writers’ Association Conference in Dallas. That’s me (above) at a past CWA conference book signing–yep, there’ll be one again this year, right in time for holiday shopping. For those who write about pets…or write about anything (or want to find out more!) this is the conference for you. See details, below.

And if you’re unable to travel for whatever reason, you can now attend a VIRTUAL conference hosted by WANA INTERNATIONAL (see below). I’m speaking at both events, but even if I wasn’t, I’d want to attend. You can’t beat the price!

Magical-Dawg is a sensitive guy!

For those who read last Friday’s post about Seren-kitty’s snozzle-attacks, you know it’s been a challenging week for the fur-kids. I mentioned what happened with Magic–and promised an explanation. Each morning, my husband takes Magic for a ramble around the property (13+ acres) and then we all gather in the kitchen for breakfast together. The dog usually has a good appetite, although he often wants a taste of our breakfast, too. Last Wednesday, after an uneventful morning run-and-sniff-a-thon (per usual), he had no interest in food and in fact started looking poorly. He couldn’t get comfy, he stood up shivering, and held his left foreleg off the ground, limping and barely keeping his balance.

After checking the leg and paw for injuries, thorns, burrs et al, I couldn’t find anything–but Magic did seem to flinch when I touched his shoulder. We thought perhaps he’d strained himself (he’s now 7 years old!) but seemed in such discomfort he needed some pain relief. So I quick-like-a-bunny pulled out my pet first aid book to look up the proper dose and gave Magic some buffered aspirin. Within about 20 minutes he acted like he felt much more comfortable and settled on the floor. After I worked for an hour or so, and stopped o check on Magic about 9:00 a.m.,  while he seemed more comfortable, he still limped and his left front paw had swollen to double in size. Yikes! So I called for a vet visit, and scheduled a 2:30 appointment.

I had a TV appearance at noon, and when I got back Magic met me at the door with full weight on all his paws, and the affected paw swelling had gone down, yay! But we still kept the appointment. The verdict–probably an allergic reaction to a bug bite or sting. (head-desk) He’s had this happen three times before, but the signs on those occasions were face swelling and/or hives (have you ever seen a checkerboard dog?). The vet recommended Benadryl, which I already had on hand because of the aforementioned cases. We kept Magical-Dawg quiet (tried to, anyway) the rest of the day and the Benadryl helps with that because of the handy side-effect of making pets drowsy. The next morning, his “ramble” was on leash…but he appeared fully recovered.

The other part of the story–Magic had a GREAT TIME at the vet! He got to face-wash the veterinarian, got treats from the staff, pets from other clients in the waiting room, AND he got to sniff the clinic’s cat. Hmnnn…maybe he got stung on purpose.

Monday Mentions is the mash-up-day of all the neato-torpedo writer links and videos, pet schtuff and bling and writer-icity crappiocca collected over the past week. Check out the THRILLERFEST video at the bottom, too.  For new followers to the blog, welcome! and you can expect more cat and dog specific schtuff later in the week on Wednesday and Friday.

WRITER-ICITY SCHTUFF

WANAcon Oct. 3-5, a “virtual” online conference with best selling authors and experts you can attend in your pajamas…and yes, I’ll be presenting a how-to NONFICTION BOOK PROPOSALS. $119 if purchased before September 15, then $150!

Cat Writers’ Association 19th Annual Conference, Dallas, TX–Oct. 31-Nov. 2 I’ll be presenting E-BOOKS FOR WRITERS and also (with colleagues) song samples from STRAYS, THE MUSICAL. Want to offer your pro-services? Attend the SPEED-DATING EVENT! Here’s a promo video for the conference.

10 Ways to Fake A Pro Edit

Facebook Penalizes “Low Quality”  really???

Beware Balboa!!!

PET-CENTRIC SCHTUFF

A 112-pound Bernese mountain dog recently visited the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital because of a breathing problem. The veterinarians ultimately had to use horse equipment to save the dog. CLICK THE IMAGE for he full story! Image Courtesy of UC Davis.

Knittin’ Kittens iPhone Game…CLICK HERE for the Kickstarter project to bring this game to life, looks like great fun! Image Copr Knittin’ Kittens aka by John Sutherland

 Kittens Shut Down Subway

2012 Thrillerfest Panel

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered–post in the comments. Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my  THRILLERS WITH BITE!

Kitty Shnorkles, Gimpy Dogs & Resorptive Lesions

This past month seems to have been a bad one for human sneeze attacks, and pets are not immune. Neither the Magical-Dawg or Seren-Kitty have ever had problems before, until Seren began sneezing in mid-August.

What I thought must be a transient allergic reaction in Seren turned into a summer “kitty cold” that had her waaaay under the weather. She’s sixteen, so she had me very worried since those old-lady-cats tend to get sick quicker and take longer to recover. Cat colds not only make pets feel miserable, they can be a sign of a wide range of health problems.

What Are Kitty Colds?

Upper respiratory infection, caused by several different “bugs,” often affects cats. Some of these are related to the common human cold virus (a herpes virus), but people don’t catch colds from their pets (or vice versa). Cats catch URI from other infected cats, and the agents that cause kitty congestion usually aren’t lethal in adult cats. They can be caused by viruses or bacteria and rarely fungus, leave the cat with crusty nose and eyes and even painful mouth and eye ulcers. Yuck! Another problem is if the nose gets stopped up, kitties won’t eat unless she can smell her food, so sick felines potentially can starve if they get a stopped up nose.

Seren’s Sneezles

Seren’s sneezles started out with bursts of three or four at a time over a period of two or three days–and then seemed to go away. But over a period of five or so days, I noticed one eye seemed to water a little with a bit of clear drainage on that side of her nose—and then THAT seemed to go away.

But the next weekend, bam! The eye still watered clear tears, but her nose (on just that side) clogged with cloudy “schtuff” that choked her when she tried to eat or drink. Of course, she came down with the “shnorkles” over the weekend when my regular vet was closed, but first thing Monday morning, we visited the veterinarian.

Kittens that become infected with URI often have recurrences throughout their life during times of stress. Proper vaccinations can prevent infection altogether, or (depending on the causative agent) reduce the signs of illness if the kitty does get sick. Seren had all of her vaccinations as a kitten, and yearly thereafter received the standard “boosters” up until she was about eight years old. At that point, I followed the advice of feline vaccine experts Dr. Ron Schultz and Dr. Richard Ford (gathered from personal interviews for some of my books), who stated by age four after regular boosters the healthy cat without exposure to other cats usually should have virtually life-long protection.

So since she’d never had issues, was an “only cat” and indoors exclusively without exposure, I continued her “wellness exam” vet visits (VERY IMPORTANT!) but I stopped vaccinating her except for rabies (required by law). Did this put her at risk for infection? Have these experts changed their opinions? Do I need to re-think this? Perhaps.

Seren’s Treatment

So what was Seren’s treatment? She doesn’t interact with other kitties, so how did she catch cold? Be aware that “bugs” can be carried to your pet on your hands or clothes (or from the dog!) from contact with viral or bacterial agents. Did Magic make her sick by roaming our property and tracking in something from the environment?

The veterinarian suspected a couple of things that in combination seemed to have conspired to make Seren sick. First, the eye/nasal discharge was only on one side so it might be an infected tooth. Sure enough, the affected side of Seren’s gum was quite inflamed.Oh no! Maybe she’d developed a resorptive lesion, described in my Aging Cat book and in the great video, below.

But she didn’t have a temperature (thank goodness!), so the vet thought it might also be a nasal infection that started from an allergic reaction. The doctor explained that the nose is the perfect “petri dish” for infections to brew, being moist and warm, with ample opportunity to sniff in foreign material. A conservative treatment was recommended, and Seren given an injectable long-lasting antibiotic and a steroid-type drug (that lasts 4-6 weeks) to counter the inflammation, while we monitored how she reacted. Thankfully, Seren responded very quickly and within five days was back to her loving, dog-pestering self!

Relapse?

Well, not really, but kinda-sorta-in-a-way. Over the past weekend Seren sneezed again. A couple of times. And then on Wednesday (yesterday), she did a repeat of that 4-5 “achoos” in a row. OH NO, that’s the way it all started. The Covenia injection must have worn off (it lasts about two weeks). So day before yesterday (Wednesday) I planned to call the veterinarian.

Before I got the chance, Magical-Dawg got sick. Hoo-boy, what the heck is going on? Magic does his “patrol” around the property with my hubby every morning, and upon their return, we all have our breakfast together. This time, the dawgie had no interest in food–seemed fine on his ramble, but once inside suddenly felt bad, had the trembles, wouldn’t put weight on his left foreleg. When I checked, his shoulder seemed tender, so I gave him a small amount of buffered aspirin for the pain. But an hour later…that paw had swelled to double normal size. Off to the vet we went…(stay tuned for details about Magical-Dawg next week! yes, I’m a tease…and he’s fine now…)

While there, I talked to the doctor about Seren. Based on the signs I described, he believed it likely is a URI, and that kitties often harbor the virus all their life with no signs–until something stresses the immune system. He didn’t believe it was her teeth based on most recent exams. She’s old. Maybe allergies started it off, and the virus flared. Anyway, he prescribed another injection of Convenia to ward off possible secondary infections, and I gave her the shot when I got home. So for now, it’s still a wait-and see.

What You Should Do

Only your veterinarian can diagnose the cause of your pet’s discomfort, and prescribe the best treatment. Preventive vaccinations can help protect cats from these common illnesses. If you share your life with more than one cat, or interact with other cats outside the home, show cats, or otherwise there are exposure opportunities, re-vaccination as advised by your vet is vital. Today the recommended interval for boosters is every three years, although Drs. Ford and Schultz have stated that immunity may last 5 to 8 years–but you don’t know which pets have longer or shorter duration of immunity.

How often do you have your cats vaccinated? Do you use titer tests to measure the kitty’s immune status before vaccinating? There’s a great new product called VacciCheck for Dogs that can measure your pet’s immune status but it’s not yet available for cats. We don’t know for certain what caused Seren’s problems–there’s a reason they call it the “practice” of medicine, LOL!

What would you do in Seren’s case?

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered–post in the comments. Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my  THRILLERS WITH BITE!

Panting For Poochie Prizes

Is your pooch a show-stopper? Compete and win prizes locally at a fun Bark and Paws Dog Show in Denison this Saturday, Sept 7th from 9-3:00 at Heritage Park.

Last year I got to judge some of the fun contests–the pictures in today’s blog are from that event. Sadly, this year my schedule doesn’t allow me to participate other than long distance but if you live in the area, your pooches should have a wonderful time!

You can tell dogs enjoy the event–or not! Be sure your pooch has fun or leave him home. Image Copr. Amy Shojai, CABC

Dog registration in the park is free and begins at 8 a.m. (every dog must abide by leash laws and have proof of current rabies vaccinations). Vendors will set up on Burnett next to the park. Those already signed up include chair massage, pet massage, veterinarian, groomers, trainers, pet adoption, and more.

Winners of the 2012 Weinie Dog Race. Image Copr. Amy Shojai, CABC

Contest fees are $1 per event for the chance to win door prizes and drawings throughout the day. Events include Wienie Dog Races at 9 a.m., and an obstacle course and retriever competition also return. Other contests feature obedience tricks, the biggest, littlest, ugliest, oldest, and one that traveled farthest.

The pet parade offers ample opportunity to “put on the dawg” with costumes and more! Image Copr. Amy Shojai, CABC

The pet parade will begin at Heritage Park at 10:00, with dogs of all shapes and sizes encouraged to dress like a favorite movie star. Have your dog channel her “inner Lassie” and dress up to match your furry star. The best dressed dog will win an award based on their red carpet or movie star outfit.

A live auction presented at 10:30 offers many prizes including dog houses, dog training, gifts, and other dog related merchandise. I’ve donated a PAW-tographed copy of my debut thriller LOST AND FOUND which features doggy viewpoint. The proceeds will go towards future events and making Denison dog friendly. At 10:45, a Blessing of the Pets will occur.

If your dog is ready for his close up, visit Bark & Paws Dog Show this Saturday September 7th in Denison where any dog that’s worth his bark will be strutting his/her stuff. The event is organized by the City of Denison’s Main Street Department and led by volunteers who love their dogs. For specific event times, contest rules, more information or volunteer forms, visit www.downtowndenison.com and see current events or call 903-464-4452.

Remember that all dogs are winners when they have someone to love them. Be sure your dog enjoys events where other dogs and people are present, because some pooches prefer to be home-bodies. Please be especially mindful of the weather and keep your hot dogs safe as cool companions. Check out the ASK AMY below to learn more about when panting is normal or a sign of problems. If your dog loves the spotlight, you’ll all have a howling good time.

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered–post in the comments. Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my  THRILLERS WITH BITE!

Monday Mentions: Scat-Man, Scams, Pirates & Goldens Rule!

Pooh Bear in his tux at age six weeks…and passed away August 8, 2013 at the age of 13. Image Copr. Stephanie Collins/Flickr

Enroll your Golden in the Morris Animal Foundation program (listed below) and give hope to all the Goldens who have come before like Pooh Bear…and all the wonderful doggies of our future.

I’ve recently received several emails from WhiteHall Publishing urging me to sign up for a $175 (or more) listing in their online catalog that purports to get your book noticed by readers. Uhm…well, I don’t think so.

The company is a publishing service, something they define as a “brokered book” which basically means for a fee they will publish your title. The principles of this group may well offer terrific one-on-one coaching and advice, but posting a digital online catalog of X-numbers of books IMO is not a smart move for individual authors. They’ve advertised such things for actors forever–pay yer $$ to get a headshot/name listed–and that was the days of PRINT doorstop-size tomes no agent or casting director had the time or inclination to read.

Think about it–you’re also a reader. Will you go Internet surfing to find an online “catalog” of books for your next reading purchase? Let’s get real here. This offer basically “publishes” a digital book of author’s books (no rhyme or reason to the choices, just whoever has the funds to pay), and then the AUTHOR gets to “share” it with his audience/readers…and that’s supposed to increase the likelihood someone will buy your book. Oh, and the promo says it gets “shared” with 5000 others…who are those others? Whitehall mostly publishes horse and pet books–is your book a horse or pet book? Does the 5000 refer to other authors now in their database? Are authors your target audience? How many copies of your book will you need to sell to pay for that $175?

Hey, maybe you believe this is a great option–then go for it. But I would urge anyone to think critically about such offers, and make sure what you get for your $$ is the value you need.

Monday Mentions is the mash-up-day of all the neato-torpedo writer links and videos, pet schtuff and bling and writer-icity crappiocca collected over the past week. Check out the SQUEEE! cute pet-astic videos at the bottom, too. It’s fascinating to think how dolphins communicate–and compare it to they parakeet chatter. I’ve also included another Thrillerfest video from the awesome MEDICAL THRILLER panel. For new followers to the blog, welcome! and you can expect more cat and dog specific schtuff later in the week on Wednesday and Friday.

WRITER-ICITY SCHTUFF

 Know What Your Rights Are Worth

Win A Custom Book Cover! Deadline Sept 6, thanks to Karen Dionne for sharing this (btw, it’s her daughter!)

Writer Beware: Jonquil Press & Red Lizard Press

Author Solutions (Scam?) at Miami Book Fair from David Gaughran…come on David, don’t hold back, tell us what you REALLY think!

I Love Scribd! I’ve posted excerpts from my books there before…but when someone uploaded the ENTIRE “AGING CAT” book without permission, that hissed me off (it had been downloaded several thousand times). Check for your titles. Scribd makes it easy to get ‘em removed, though.

Albee Agency Now Sandpiper Publicity BEWARE!!!

 Choosing Distributors Carefully if you’re self pub’ing here’s a note of caution: Smashwords vs Draft2Digital

PET-CENTRIC SCHTUFF

 Calling All Goldens! Retrievers, that is…Morris Animal Foundation needs YOUR dog (under two years old) for a study that can help stamp out canine cancer! Will you help?

Feline Vaccine Advisory Panel Report thanks to my colleagues at GoodNewsforPets

Thanks to my cat-writing colleague Barbara Stein for pointing me to the cat-egorical video, below.

From the 2012 Thrillerfest Panels

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered–post in the comments. Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my  THRILLERS WITH BITE!

How Can I Stop Cat Spraying Behavior?

Image Copr. Amy Shojai, CABC

We lived for 9 years in the same apartment complex, along with our first German Shepherd. A neighbor one summer adopted a pair of kittens–a solid black longhair and this striking gray and white (named Basil). Although we lived along a busy highway, both kittens were allowed outside, because “they spray.”

Cats spray for all kinds of reasons. Urine marking is a normal behavior of intact cats so simply getting the kittens “fixed” goes a long way toward nipping the behavior in the bud. But stress also can lead to marking behavior–as discussed below in the Ask Amy video.

Have you ever had issues with spraying behavior? How did you manage it? I’m a fan of Feliway but not all cats seem to be positively affected by it. ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems In Your Multi-Cat Household has a host of suggestions and tips to solve many cat issues. What are some other options that worked for you?

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered–post in the comments. Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my  THRILLERS WITH BITE!

Stop Jumping Jack Dogs

Image Copr. Singulartalent/Flickr

Dogs jumping up is one of the least understood and most common complaints of dog owners. We don’t seem to mind so much when they’re puppies. It’s cute. That lil’ furry guy dancing around on his hind legs like an inept ballerina makes us smile.

But the sharp nails snag clothing, and when he gets big, a rambunctious dog can take you out at the knees and knock small kids or frail adults to the ground. Yet the more you yell and try to make him stop, the more he jumps. What’s up with that?

Here’s the deal. Dogs aim face licks at other dogs (and people), leaping to reach the face and eyes. It’s a sign of deference and constitutes a polite doggy greetings to those your dog feels are in charge.You can learn more about dog-to-dog communication in ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems In Your Multi-Dog Household

So the more you yell, the greater becomes the dog’s determination to show even MORE deference and the jumping-jacks continue. I’ve covered a bit more in this video, below. But even more details can be found in two articles. The first one here helps with young pups to keep them “grounded.” And the second article–with input from several of my savvy colleagues–are tips for dealing with hard-headed adolescent and older dogs that just don’t get it.

There also are some “no jump” harnesses that can help with training, like the one listed to the left. Let me know if this works well for you. What other tips have worked for your jumping-jack dogs?

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered–post in the comments. Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my  THRILLERS WITH BITE!

Monday Mentions: Aging Pets, Sorkisms & Indie CrowdFunding

BlogPaws.com is a community of bloggers with a special interest in pets–and August has been named Senior Pet Month. Isn’t that a PAW-some infographic? Those who read this blog know that my Seren-Kitty is a senior citizen at 16-years-young, and Magical-Dawg on the cusp at age 7. Do you have a senior pet? I’ll confess, I don’t know what age is considered “senior” for other critters–ferrets and suchlike–although when I was a kid my most ancient hamster lived to about age 3.

For those needing additional help for your aging dogs and cats, I hope you’ll check out one of my books. I spent lots of time updating them, and they’re available in print, Ebook and audio now. Here’s the amazon links for Complete Care for Your Aging Dog  and Complete Care for Your Aging Cat.

Monday Mentions is the mash-up-day of all the neato-torpedo writer links and videos, pet schtuff and bling and writer-icity crappiocca collected over the past week. Check out the SQUEEE! cute pet-astic videos at the bottom, too. It’s fascinating to think how dolphins communicate–and compare it to they parakeet chatter. I’ve also included another Thrillerfest video from the past–and a fun video that may get authors re-thinking the latest catch-phrases. For new followers to the blog, welcome! and you can expect more cat and dog specific schtuff later in the week on Wednesday and Friday.

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WRITER-ICITY SCHTUFF

Internet Techno-Crats Helping Print Media? what do you think?

Crowd-Sourcing to Fund Indie Bookstores

27 Reasons Books Make No $$$

WattPad Launches Crowdfunding for Authors

Using Google+ in Book Promos

How Back-Of-Book-Covers Promote Ebooks, Too

 5 GoodReads Must-Do’s for Authors

Eureka Springs “Writing From The Soul” Workshop September 7 with the awesome Linda Apple

 A Dozen+ Reasons Books Are Rejected

Innovations in Publishing Conference Sept 13-14 in Amarillo

PET-CENTRIC SCHTUFF

 Field Sport for the Family Dog seminar with CEUs schedule Sept 14 & 15

Pet Health Insurance Survey (you don’t have to have a policy to offer your insight)

Cat DNA Catches Criminals (I’ll be using this in the next thriller!)

Amazon Parrot Blog awesome photos and fun videos

Could Your Cat Be A Therapy Cat?  Seren couldn’t…she doesn’t like handling or strangers, but YOURS could be a wonder-cat!

Join Pup-Scouts, Earn Badges a fun feature from Fidose of Reality (you HAVE to at lease see the cute uniforms!)

From the 2012 Thrillerfest Panels

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered–post in the comments. Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my  THRILLERS WITH BITE!

Safe Hot Weather Games for Family Fun Month

Image Copr. Trubl/Flickr

My blog has been chosen to be one of the sixteen Pet360 Ambassadors, ain’t it PAW-some?! The content is still completely up to me, but y’all will get EXTRA pet-astic info on all-things-pets, direct from this terrific resource, at least once a month. I’m excited because BLING, BITCHES & BLOOD may get some shout-outs on the Pet360 site as well.

Did you know that August is FAMILY FUN MONTH? Whether you call ‘em pets, or fur-kids, our cats and dogs are part of the family. Sometimes it’s easier to engage dogs in group activities, but cats often enjoy the interaction just as much–and need it just like the rest of the family. What do you do to keep your cats engaged? Post your comments–and suggestions–here on the Pet360 site.

Image Copr. Karla Spence/Flickr

Is it still hot where you are? How do you keep the dogs (and cats) chillin’ and safe? Seren-kitty likes to chase the Ping Pong ball in the (empty and dry!) bathtub…that keeps me from having to fish it out from under the furniture. I suspect she’d also enjoy some bubble-chasing time, like the dogs in the picture below. While dogs may dive into the pool, cats like to turn throw rugs into dry land slip-and-slides. What kind of cat toys float your kitty’s boat?  Do your pets enjoy water fountains? Would your hot dog relish a cooling bed?

I offer some more family fun hot weather tips in the new ASK AMY video, below. Please share your tips here, too!

Image Copr. MelissaMethamphetamine/Flickr

Disclosure: I’m not paid for this post, and the content is solely my opinion. This post is part of a monthly contest prize of a $100 gift card for the blog that sends the most visitors to Pet360. If you liked this post, please visit Pet360 and share the blog with your pet-astic friends!

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered–post in the comments. Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my  THRILLERS WITH BITE!

TRADE THE DAY! Debut Author Gives Back to Leukemia Lymphoma Society

Colby Marshall is a fellow ITW Debut Author, and has created an incredible event going on today to benefit the Leukemia Lymphoma Society and help a little girl named Alaina. I’m one of nearly two-dozen authors donating books to the event (yes, you can win a PAW-tographed copy of LOST AND FOUND and help the cause at the same time!). Here’s a note from Colby herself:

TRADE THE DAY is a one day event on August 23 where you can donate to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society simply by purchasing a book!

Join us from the moment the stroke of midnight rings in Friday until Saturday on Colby’s Blog for guest posts and interviews with some of your favorite authors, your chances to win signed copies of their books and author swag, and more!

But most importantly, know that all sales of THE TRADE by Colby Marshall made on StairwayPress.com on this day will go to benefit the Leukemia Lymphoma Society!  For more information, visit http://www.colbymarshall.com/trade-the-day !

Hashtag is #TradetheDay
Facebook Event is at: https://www.facebook.com/events/180159315492128/