Amy Shojai's Blog, page 139

Monday Mentions: Teach Writing, Brushing Pet Teeth & Dog Show Fun!

Monday Mentions is the mash-up-day of all the neato-torpedo links and videos, pet schtuff and bling and writer-icity crappiocca collected over the past week. I'm sure you'll find something to bring a smile, a puzzled look, or a "who'd-a-thunk-it?" Enjoy!

Here's a reason to celebrate, though. My good friend Priscilla Maltbie has a new book out! If you have children or just enjoy a lovely story with glorious illustrations, check out BAMBINO AND MR. TWAIN (yep, it's true, Mark Twain/Samuel Clements loved cats!).  "Grieving the death of his wife, America's favorite author and humorist shuts himself up in his Fifth Avenue house and abandons his writing. Only his daughter's cantankerous cat, Bambino, seems to understand Samuel Clemens and his moods. When the feisty cat disappears, Sam is determined to find him, and along the way, he also finds the will to live again." Congrats Priscilla! You can find the book here.

Technology has it 'in' for me lately. Last week our TV went kerflooey (that's a techie word, meaning, the dang thing quit!). I punched every button the furshluggener remote and nothing happened. This was truly angst-elevating because my hubby cannot live without the TV. It–must–be–on, never mind that he's snoozing, his unconscious hand stays clenched around that remote like a mongoose on a snake. (aside: can a hand be unconscious? never mind…)

Then the phone went kerflooey. That's right, my landline office number went out probably sometime Friday afternoon. So much of my work is done via email that I didn't notice until Sunday night when my husband was aggravated upon his return home that I'd not answered my cell phone or the house line despite multiple calls. Heck, I turned off the cell because I was HOME! But sure enough, no dial tone. The fine folks at Verizon have me scheduled for a fix-the-phone on February 8. THAT'S RIGHT, ELEVEN FRICKIN' DAYS FROM NOW! Ahem. They dang well better pro-rate the bill.

Maybe they techie fairies had pity because about that same time we discovered the phone was AWOL, the right TV remote button got pushed and the television resurrected. Whew. I'd already prepped for reasons why a flat screen tv does not look good poised in front of cherry wood cabinetry or mounted over the fireplace. *shudder*

Perhaps I'm a bit hissy because we're moving to the RIALTO tonight for KURVES rehearsal–and I've nearly lost my voice. That's right, it's a music rehearsal and I can't sing. Oh well. It's always something.

WRITING SCHTUFF

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to distribute Amazon books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's brand new New Harvest imprint will now publish "all of Amazon Publishing's New York-based imprint's adult titles in print and distribute them in North America outside of the Amazon.com platform."

How To Teach Someone to Write Well  Is it a gift or learned skill? What do you think?

Alexandra Sokoloff's Class Schedule  If you want tips on writing, she's the go-to-gal for fiction, thrillers, screenplays.

Tips for Pricing Your Work

Pinterest Tips for Writers Wow, yet another place to become "social." Nope, haven't tried it. Yet. Already doing too much, I think.

What are the most popular #Hastags for twitter? Check it out.

Facebook "Timeline" to Become Mandatory  I'll admit, I know nothing about this. Will this be good, bad or indifferent for us? Hmnnn.

CAT SCTUFF

Mainstreaming A Feral Cat from the awesome blog by Deb Barnes (you MUST watch the video, some kewl info about cat care for low income folks, too).

Along those same lines here's a great blog from a Cat Guy on TNR.

Cat Escapes into Plane "Innards"  don't let this happen to YOUR cat! A delayed flight was the least of kitty's problems

In response to my puppy article on how to brush puppy teeth, my colleague Ingrid King pointed out an awesome link from Cornell with a video on how to teach cats to accept teeth brushing. Check it out here!

DOG SCHTUFF

All about the joys of fostering pets, a lovely article!

In celebration of dogs in art, the American Kennel Club® (AKC®) and Bonhams Auction House are hosting their annual charity brunch, Barkfest at Bonhams, on Sunday, February 12, 2012 from 10 a.m. to noon, benefiting the AKC Humane Fund, Inc. 

Don't miss the AKC Eukanuba National Championship.  This year's show will air on ABC on Saturday, February 4that 2:00 pm EST (check local listings). Watch as the country's premier dogs vie for $225,000 in prizes. Additional footage, including the full coverage of groups, the Eukanuba World Challenge and the Eukanuba Breeder's Stakes, will be available at www.eukanuba.com. Bred-By-Exhibitor group videos are available on the AKC website.  Visit www.akc.org/aenc for more information about the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship.

Diabetes In Dogs a nice overview that I found because (wow!) they quoted my book Pet Care in the New Century!

HILARIOUS SCHTUFF!

A Funny Funeral? Seriously? YES!  We need to laugh during sad times most of all and my friend Jenny Hansen's blog today is one you'll want to save. Awesome! (had to come in and add it to the list, it's THAT GOOD!).

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you'd like answered? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, "like" me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter with pet book give-aways!

Filed under: Cat Behavior & Care, Dog Training & Care, Writing Advice & More Tagged: Amy Shojai, cats, dog shows, dogs, pet books, pets, writing advice, www.amyshojai.com

Feline Friday: Celebrating Old Cats

Seren has ALWAYS talked but she's more vocally demanding these days.

Seren had a birthday this week. She's now 15 years YOUNG, as she frequently reminds me. For an old fogey kitty, Serendipity is remarkably well preserved. I keep telling myself that Siamese as a breed tend to be longer lived, and it's not unusual for healthy cats to live into their late teens or even early twenties. She's a healthy one, all right–teeth clean, good appetite, normal litter-ary habits, sound heart and no lumps or bumps. Her vet check happens in March and (paws crossed) she'll let the doctor actually get his hands on her again!

Anyway, I thought this was a good time to share a bit from the book COMPLETE CARE FOR YOUR AGING CAT, especially since the last few Feline Fridays focused on youngsters.

WHAT IS OLD?

What is considered "old" for a cat? The question of what is old is complicated by the impact of genetics, environment, and individual characteristics. Consider human beings: one person may act, look and feel "old" at 65 while another 65-year-old remains an active athlete with a youthful attitude and appearance. The same is true for our cats.

"I think that actually varies a lot, and it's getting older every year," says Rhonda Schulman, DVM, an internist at the University of Illinois. "It used to be that eight was the major cutoff for the cat that was geriatric. Now we're moving to the point that's a prolonged middle age." According to Guinness World Records, the oldest cat on record was Creme Puff owned by Jake Perry of Austin, Texas. Cream Puff was born August 3, 1967 and still living at the age of 37 in 2004.

A good definition of old age for an animal is the last 25 percent of their lifespan, says Sarah K. Abood, DVM a clinical nutritionist at Michigan State University. However, since we can't predict what an individual cat's lifespan will be, the beginning of old age is a bit arbitrary. Certain families of cats may be longer lived than others, in the same way that some human families enjoy a much greater longevity than others. The lifespan of your cat's parents and grandparents is a good predictor of how long you can expect your cat to live. People who share their lives with pedigreed cats may be able to access this information through the cat's breeder.

She's not a pedigreed Siamese--only a wannabe--so really there's no way to predict longevity. A friend's cat (we think a littermate) died over a year ago . . .

PREDICTING LONGEVITY

Longevity of unknown heritage cats are much more difficult to predict. Even when felines are "part" Siamese or Persian, for example, these felines may inherit the very worst, or the very best, from the parents. The majority of pet cats are domestic shorthair or domestic longhair kitties of mixed ancestry, and the products of unplanned breeding. That by itself points to a poorer-than-average level of health for the parents, which in turn would be passed on to the kittens. Siblings within the same litter may have different fathers, and can vary greatly in looks, behavior, and health. When all is said and done, one should expect the random-bred cat-next-door kitty to be neither more nor less healthy than their pedigreed ancestors—as long as they all receive the same level of care and attention.

"If you get a kitten, it is very likely you will have this cat for the next 15 to 20 years," says Dr. Abood. That means the last 25 percent would be 12 to 15 years. To simplify matters, most veterinarians consider cats to be "senior citizens" starting at about seven to eight years old, and geriatric at 14 to 15.

Catnip and a sun bath can be great fun for old kitties.

Here's some perspective comparing cat age to human age. "The World Health Organization says that middle-aged folks are 45 to 59 years of age and elderly is 60 to 74. They considered aged as being over 75," says Debbie Davenport, DVM, an internist with Hill's Pet Foods. "If you look at cats of seven years of age as being senior, a parallel in human years would be about 51 years," she says. A geriatric cat at 10 to 12 years of age would be equivalent to a 70-year-old human.

CHERISHING OLD KITTIES

Veterinarians used to concentrate their efforts on caring for young animals. When pets began to develop age-related problems, the tendency among American owners was to just get another pet. That has changed, and today people cherish their aged furry companions and want to help them live as long as possible.

Modern cats age seven and older can still live full, happy and healthy lives. Age is not a disease. Age is just age, says Sheila McCullough, DVM, an internist at University of Illinois. "There are a lot of things that come with age that can be managed successfully, or the progression delayed. Renal failure cats are classic examples." It's not unusual for cats suffering kidney failure to be diagnosed in their late teens or even early twenties.

"I had a woman with a 23-year-old cat who asked should she change the diet. I said, don't mess with success!" says Dr. McCullough. These days veterinarians often see still-healthy and vital cats of a great age. "I think if the cat lives to 25 years, I shouldn't be doing anything but saying hello," says Steven L. Marks, BVSc, an internist and surgeon at Louisiana State University (now at North Carolina State University). "If you've ever had a pet live that long, you want them all to live that long."

 Excerpt from COMPLETE CARE FOR YOUR AGING CAT, revised and updated Kindle Edition by Amy D. Shojai, CABC. 

So do you have an "old" cat? Does he or she act like a senior? What age did you notice a change, if any? Seren now has a few white hairs surrounding her eyelids, made visible by the dark mask. And she's got some arthritis so she doesn't leap as high any more. A couple of her claws have thickened and require more frequent trims since she has trouble pulling them in (she "clicks" when she walks on hard surfaces). But keeping the dog in line seems to keep her very happy and engaged in life! What about yours? Please share!

love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you'd like answered? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, "like" me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter with pet book give-aways!

Filed under: Cat Behavior & Care Tagged: Amy Shojai, cat advice, cat behavior, cat books, cat care, complete care for your aging cat, old cats, pet books, www.amyshojai.com, www.shojai.com

Woof Wednesday: Puppy Training Tips–Sit, Wait, Come!

"Teach me, please!" Copr. Summer Hughs.

Everyone wants a polite puppy. But how does it happen? Polite behavior doesn't develop overnight and what's cute in Junior-Dawg can become a problem when that 10-pound baby turns into a 60+ pound dynamo.

Many folks delay training until it becomes a problem. But actually, puppies are little sponges that soak up lessons with little effort. You can train the little guys and turn it into a game! My Magical-Dawg was doing "puppy push-ups" (sit-down-sit-down) on TV at age 10 weeks. Here's how you can turn your puppy into a genius–or at least he can play one on TV!

Note, these tips work for adult dogs, too–and also for cats. :O

TEACHING "SIT"

This can be the canine "open sesame" to all good things. You teach kids to say the magic words, right? Well just as please-and-thank-you work for human kids, a "sit" can work for the dog. You can do this using lure training or my favorite, clicker training. I used the clicker training techniques with Magic. It lets the pet puzzle out how to please YOU instead of you trying to out-think the dog. Learn the step-by-step tips here.

TEACHING "WAIT"

These techniques also work for train the "come" command. I like using "wait" with puppies, though, because they rarely have the patience to hold still long enough to win a reward for a "stay." The "wait" command simply means don't move forward–but they can get up from a sit or down or whatever. Wait works really well to keep pups from dashing through a door and knocking you off your feet. Here's how to do it.

"Come? I'd rather play keep-away!" Copr. Paige Nelson

TEACHING "COME"

This one is a HUGE DEAL when you've got a puppy on the loose. After all, the little guy learns very quickly that you can't catch him and then–wow, watch the fun HE has while you tear your hair and pray he won't dash into traffic! Of course a safe area to train or confine is best to prevent such awful potential accidents. But it's also a great idea to teach your baby dog (or your adults!) to come when called. These tips work really well for puppies.  For my Magical-Dawg, his fail-safe recall command has become, "CAR RIDE!"  That really brings him running!

Are your puppies–and adult dogs–well trained? What are some must-knows for your furry crew? How did you train them? Are there any behaviors you wish pup-o-matic would do but don't know where to begin? Please share!

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you'd like answered? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, "like" me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter with pet book give-aways!

Filed under: Dog Training & Care Tagged: Amy Shojai, cute puppy pictures, dog training, how to train come, how to train sit, how to train wait, puppies.About.com, puppy training, www.amyshojai.com

Tuesday Tips: Nonfiction Proposal–The Format

My furry muse--he's in the Aging Dog book (yes he was almost 13 in this picture).

Today I continue my series on nonfiction book proposals. Over the next several Tuesday Tips I'll continue to cover some of the meat-and-potatoes of choosing topics, researching ideas, and putting together a winning nonfiction book proposal. While I write primarily about pets, the same ingredients for your nonfiction book stew are the same–it's just the seasoning and presentation that may vary.

The first week discussed the IDEA TREE followed by topic choice including where to find ideas and decide if they're viable. The third covered passionate picks and bio building–and then the holidays happened, so I took a week off. The next installment covered to query or not, what goes in a query or cover letter and how to approach an editor/agent. We've dissected the nonfiction proposal to find out the components and got up-close-and-personal with the nonfiction proposal OVERVIEW and the COMPETITION/MARKET SURVEY. Today the discussion is short and sweet, and focuses on the format.

FORMAT, HUH?

What do I mean by format? Doesn't the publisher decide how the finished book looks? Well . . . yes. But some of y'all will be your own publisher.   And those who submit to the traditional venues will do yourself a big favor and win furry points by already having a vision.

This is for the PROPOSAL, though, so remember don't get too attached. Publishers and editors always like to put their own spin on things. But it will be helpful to your writing process, too, to have an idea about organization and the finished book. It's enough to list what you intend to do, and offer examples in your samples. These are the three things you MUST include:

BOOK LENGTH

Yes, that's sort of a "duh" suggestion. But it is important if only to show your editor/agent that you know what the market will bear. For nonfiction books, the average word count ranges from 65-90,000. It can go WAY MORE for reference books (how many words in the dictionary, I wonder). It can go much shorter for kids nonfiction. Know your market. If you propose to write a nonfiction book for middle school students and already have 80,000 words, that will tell the editor to send a not-so-gentle "No thanks."

Thankfully, it's easier to organize a book than cats. (Copr. Sanskrtlady)

ORGANIZATION

If you're already writing the work, you should have an idea about the organization of your proposed book. There are some standards, of course, and it's pretty easy to use a fall back position. For instance, you could simply say,

"My proposed book will be organized into 24 chapters, and include an index with a further reading list."

But why not get creative? You can organize the book any way you wish–yes, it needs to make sense. But why not think a bit outside the box? Take a look at what's already out there and has been successful. Perhaps you can combine two or three approaches.

For example, my Aging Cat and " target="_blank">Aging Dog books combine several organization techniques from some of my other successful books. They are organized in Part I that contains 6 overview chapters, Part II has an A-to-Z list of conditions and symptoms, and Part III contains several appendices with sources, further reading, etc. This same format was used in my Pet First Aid and Pet Natural Healing books (I stole it from them!) but then added some extra spice . . . read on.

The style says something about your personality, too! (Copr. RickieBPhoto)

STYLE

This is where you get to explain a bit about your author voice and how you'll present the information. That will depend a great deal on your audience. For children's books or for inspirational works a dry technical approach probably won't work. But a narrative conversational style might be perfect. I've also seen very successful nonfiction works use a Q&A style with either real–or created–questions that the author then answers.

Nonfiction lends itself to bulleted lists and charts that make the information more accessible. Will you use these? What about pictures or illustrations? Will you have breakout boxes with special features? Again, in my "aging pet"  books I used several running "theme" boxes throughout the book with small snippets of information. For example, "Comfort Zone" boxes discussed appropriate products for specific issues–like doggy diapers for incontinence. "Feeding For Health" listed therapeutic diets available for different illnesses. There's also Senior Symptoms, Nurse Alert! and my favorite–Golden Moments, which are Chicken-soupy true stories of dogs/cats that experienced and happily lived with diabetes, for example.

You can become creative with how you plan your book. Keep in mind that photos and illustrations raise the cost of publication if you're targeting traditional markets. Publishers often require you to fund/acquire photos yourself.

Next week the topic will be more on author promotion and the author bio. Do you have any questions that I've not yet covered? Fire away! We've only a couple more installments to go, and I want you to have that proposal shiny-ready to go!

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you'd like answered? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, "like" me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter with pet book give-aways!

Filed under: Writing Advice & More Tagged: Amy Shojai, cat books, dog books, how to write a nonfiction proposal, pet books, writers conference, writing, writing advice, www.amyshojai.com

Monday Mentions: Better Late Than Never Edition

Monday Mentions is the mash-up-day of all the neato-torpedo links and videos, pet schtuff and bling and writer-icity crappiocca collected over the past week. And I've got a BOATLOAD of links today, so take your time, bookmark the entry for later if you like, and share with your friends.

Sorry this is a day late, but I've been head-down busy with the KURVES orchestration. Today is a catch-up day, and the Tuesday Tips next installment will be posted this afternoon.

WRITING SCHTUFF

Kindle Format 8 Launches in KDP    Kindle Format 8 (KF8), the new format for Kindle, allows you to take advantage of highlighting, colored text, text wrapped around images, bulleted lists, tables, and more! I understand the formatting guide has been simplified, and they also have conversion resources available.

Beware iBooks Author Contract!  Read this to learn what's in the contract before you sign up (you give 'em the rights before you read the contract, yikes!)

Interview With Mark Coker of SMASHWORDS  Have you considered self publishing? SMASHWORDS allows you to create 9 different formats, from Ebooks to print-on-demand (POD). Here's an awesome Power Point presentation from the man presented at California State Writers conference. Thanks to cat book author (Cat Mulan's Mindful Musings) Margie Yee Webb for posting to Facebook!

Thrillers vs Mysteries, what's the diff?

Writer Beware Blog on Copyright Infringement  Be careful you've got your OWN RIGHTS BACK when you self publish–some authors are getting sued. (HarperCollins vs Open Road)

Self-Pub'd Author Beware from the brilliant blog by JA Konrath (you MUST read this!)

"RESCUE" YOUR GOODREADS BOOKS! "At Goodreads, we make it a priority to use book information from the most reliable and open data sources, because it helps us build the best experience for our members. To that end, we're making a major change. On January 30, Goodreads will no longer display book information that comes from Amazon. This includes data such as titles, author names, page counts…"

Authors, To keep your books I'm told you need to "rescue" your book. Click on the OTHER EDITIONS of your book listing and follow the steps.

Confessions Of A Publisher "We're In Amazon's sights and they're going to kill us. . . "

DOG SCHTUFF

Is Your Dog A Zen Master? Kewl study…includes why some German Shepherds may have a problem with impulse control (that explains Magical-Dawg's ADD…)

Art and Science of Animal Training Conference in Denton, Texas has been extended to close February 1st due to technical difficulties with our website.

The schedule of events for the weekend is now available.

Dr. Ian Dunbar (he's DA MAN!)  celebrates SIRIUS® Puppy Training's 30th birthday with the launched of a new Puppy Raising Initiative at www.DogStarDaily.com in an attempt to coordinate all dog professionals — breeders, veterinarians, retailers, trainers, and shelters/rescues — to support and promote an educational program for prospective and new puppy owners.

Golden Collar Awards Nominations Announced This is for canine stars who appear in theatrical releases (movies, TV, stage). Fun stuff!

Stop Canine Flu in Shelters from the great folks at Morris Animal Foundation

CAT SCHTUFF

Oxygen Masks for Pets to save a life in case of fire. Do your fire fighters have these? Great blog from Chris Davis's blog.

Feline-Alinity 101 from the ASPCA helps shelters evaluate kitty personality to provide the purrr-fect adoption match.

Reducing Kitty Colds in Shelter Cats  from the awesome Morris Animal Foundation

The Cat Coach has a shiny new website! Congrats to my writing/consultant colleague Marilyn Krieger (Note: she has an AWESOME book called Naughty No More).

JUST ONE DAY when euthanasia technicians put down their lethal syringes and instead pick up a camera to post pictures–and get those pets adopted! What are YOU doing on June 11, 2012? Spread the word–see who in your community will "take the pledge" for just one day of no-kill.

A friend shared this video and it made me giggle–DON'T TRY THIS WITH YOUR BIRDY FRIENDS without extreme caution.

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you'd like answered? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, "like" me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter with pet book give-aways!

Filed under: Cat Behavior & Care, Dog Training & Care, Writing Advice & More Tagged: Amy Shojai, cat behavior, cat care, dog behavior, dog care, dog training, publishing, self publishing, writing advice, www.amyshojai.com

Feline Friday: Cat-to-Cat Introductions

New kitten? Awww...but what will the cats at home think?

You have GOT to check out the new Simon's Cat video, below. He nails the behavior, and could be "channeling" most feline's opinion of that (HISS! SPIT!) interloper. Cat lovers often decide to adopt a new pet without consulting the old-fogey feline. Seren would NOT be amused!

Here's the deal–would you want to have a funny-smelling stranger come into your home, sleep in your bed, eat from your place, poop in your toilet (without flushing!) and go cheek-to-cheek with your beloved? Proper intros work wonders to smooth the hissy fits. With the holidays fast approaching and new kittens possibly on Santa's list, here are some tips for proper kitty intros.

YOU SMELL FUNNY!

Getting hissy with strange cats is a NORMAL cat behavior. In the wild, the feline that's too friendly with a weird interloper risks getting eaten. Cats identify safe people (or other pets) by their familiar smell. A fresh-from-the-shelter a new pet that hasn't been kitty-groomed by the group with licks and cheek rubs might as well be Frankenstein-Cat.

The sight, sound, and smell of a strange cat pushes kitty buttons to extreme. But blocking one sense (sight of each other for example) reduces arousal. That helps enormously during cat-to-cat intros, which is one reason my must-do list includes initially separating the cats. That also allows your older cat to maintain run of the house and ownership of all the prime kitty real estate.

A ROOM OF HER OWN

Confine the new kitten in a single "safe room" so the resident cat understands only part of his territory has been invaded. Young kittens that haven't a clue anyway won't care. But if they're the least shy, being sequestered offers a safe, soothing retreat with a litter box, food and water bowls, toys, scratch post and other kitty paraphernalia. Being the "new kid" can be stressful for shrinking violet kittens so build the baby's confidence with a room of his or her own before the whisker-to-whisker meeting.

Keep the solid door closed for at least a week before risking a face-to-face. Watch for your resident cat's reaction. Hisses are normal. Trust me on this! It may take more than three weeks before those growly-sounds fade.

See, if you try to intro them too soon and the fur flies, the cats will remember that AWFUL-NASTY-TURRIBLE-DEVIL and bring a bad c'attitude to future meetings. It's better to take it slow and avoid having the kitties practice bad behavior. They'll have a lifetime together so what's a delay of a few days or weeks?

Sniffing and paw pats underneath the door are positive signs. The cats should "know" each other by scent before they ever set eyes on each other. Expect normal posturing, fluffed fur and hissing and when that begins to fade, you're ready for the next step.

THE NEXT STEP

Swap out the cats after a few days. That gives the old cat a chance to get up close and personal sniffing where the devil new cat has been. And it allows the newly adopted baby to scope out the environment. Kitties have no interest in meeting new people or pets unless they feel comfortable with their environment.

Reduce any potential kitty controversy by creating a house of plenty. Your home should have so much good-kitty-stuff like lots of toys, litter boxes and scratch trees that there's no need for the kitten and old cat to argue over it.

With time, the cats can become BFF!

LOW-KEY IS BEST

Once the BIG DAY arrives, just open the "safe room" door, stand back, and let the cat's meet. Supervise, of course, but don't force interaction. You can feed them on opposite sides of the room or play interactive games at a distance to smooth this first meeting. The cats may ignore each other for hours or days and that's fine, too.

A bit of posturing with hisses, cautionary swats and other snark-icity is to be expected. Do stop the interactions if growls start rumbling. You may want to replace the closed door with a baby gate so the cats can sniff and meet through the safety of a barrier but still be segregated. Until you're sure the old cat won't mangle the baby, or the baby won't terrorize the oldster, supervise or keep the new kitten segregated when you can't. It can be love at first sight, or may take weeks or months to accept somebody new into the family.

Do your cats get along? What do they think of the new kittens? What has been your experience? Please share! And I hope you'll share this blog with other cat lovers debating about adopting another kitty. You can find many more cat introduction tips and tricks in the book Complete Kitten Care.

#AskAmy

Folks who "follow" me on Twitter @amyshojai and @About_Puppies are the most awesome Sweet Tweets around–they love #cats and #dogs and #pets, many #amwriting.  Just follow and include the #AskAmy in your tweets if'n you're interested in pithy links to articles, books, blogs, experts, fictioning and sparkle-icity!

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you'd like answered? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, "like" me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter with pet book give-aways!

Filed under: Cat Behavior & Care Tagged: Amy Shojai, cat behavior, cat books, cat care, cat introductions, Complete Kitten Care, http://www.amyshojai.com, http://www.shojai.com, kitten behavior, Simons Cat

Woof Wednesday: Stop Dog & Puppy Jumping Up!

Hey, it's cute, right? When you bring that new bundle-'o-puppy joy home, when that little guy dances on his hind legs and scrabbles at your knees, you reward him with kisses and snuggles. Weekend jumping up can be fun, too, when you play outside with the new pup. What about Monday morning when those puppy claws snag good clothes before you leave for work? If you're like me, you wear dog hair for a living and a few snags won't matter. Some bosses, however, frown on the dog-eared look.

What's the deal with puppy jumping up, anyway? Do your dogs leap high, especially when you return home? See, a face lick is a canine howdy. It's also a sign of deference. So it's a normal puppy behavior to lick and try to aim kisses at your face. Here's an article about why puppies jump up and 7 steps how to manage the little guys.

GROUNDING JUMPING-JACK DELINQUENTS

Even if you don't mind the doggy pirouette and hops-along pooch, visitors to the house might object. And once the pooch grows out of the cute-icity stage and becomes an adolescent maniac, all the smiles go away. Big dogs can hurt you–or your guests–and bowl you over with their exuberance.

Hey, voice of experience here. The Magical-Dawg was AWFUL! He leaped, he grabbed, he clawed, he tore my clothes and made me question why I loved him so much. Honestly, I might have given him back if we hadn't already bonded. I think that's why they make puppies so cute–so you won't kill them when they turn into juvenile delinquent dogs!

This isn't uncommon. Pups that know their manners often begin to test boundaries as they mature. It's almost a kind of "I DARE YOU TO MAKE ME!" attitude. And when the adolescent has big teeth and outweighs your toddler or Grandma–or shreds your clothes–it's enough to pull out your hair.

So what do you do? All that advice in the article link (above) probably won't work at this age. Oh, he knows what you mean but you'll need to show the dog that you can enforce what you mean. *s* Tough love. And no, you do not need a bull-whip and chair to do this. I called on several of my savvy and incredibly knowledgeable colleagues for tips how they managed hard-headed jump-bean dogs. I added what worked for me with Magic (actually we agreed on several suggestions!) and the results is 10 tips for dealing with adolescent jumping and mouthing.

Have you ever had a jumping maniac? How did you manage the situation? Fortunately, many of these dogs grow out of the insistence on nose boinking and leaping about.

#AskAmy Sweet Tweets

Folks who "follow" me on Twitter @amyshojai and @About_Puppies are the most awesome Sweet Tweets around–they love #cats and #dogs and #pets, many #amwriting.  Just follow and include the #AskAmy in your tweets if'n you're interested in pithy links to articles, books, blogs, experts, fictioning and sparkle-icity!

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you'd like answered? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, "like" me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter with pet book give-aways!

Filed under: Dog Training & Care Tagged: Amy Shojai, http://www.amyshojai.com, http://www.shojai.com, pet books, puppies.About.com, puppy jumping up

Tuesday Tips: Nonfiction Proposal–Overview & Competition

Who's "over-viewing" you?

Today I continue my series on nonfiction book proposals. Over the next several Tuesday Tips I'll continue to cover some of the meat-and-potatoes of choosing topics, researching ideas, and putting together a winning nonfiction book proposal. While I write primarily about pets, the same ingredients for your nonfiction book stew are the same–it's just the seasoning and presentation that may vary.

The first week discussed the IDEA TREE followed by topic choice including where to find ideas and decide if they're viable. The third covered passionate picks and bio building–and then the holidays happened, so I took a week off. The next installment covered to query or not, what goes in a query or cover letter and how to approach an editor/agent. And last week we dissected the nonfiction proposal to find out the components. Today we dig deeper into one of those components and get up-close-and-personal with the nonfiction proposal OVERVIEW and the COMPETITION/MARKET SURVEY.

The proposal details can be cleaned up later--you just want the editor to taste--and ask for more!

A PROPOSAL "PROPOSES"

This is as good a time as any to remind y'all that you should always consider nonfiction proposals to be written in sand–or in my case, kitty litter. In almost every case, before I got an offer on one of my pet books, my agent put me in touch with the interested editor and we chatted about the book contents, format, and his/her ideas. (whispering VERY VERY SOFTLY…) Always ALWAYS "like" your potential editor's stupid clueless ideas, they are ALWAYS brilliant! However, this also is the time to try to gauge how easy (or not) they may be to work with.

Once you have the contract signed is the time to gently suggest that cats don't enjoy wearing clothes so that chapter probably will be very short. Also remember that as the author, you are the "expert" in the subject so back up any objections with professional reasons why the editor's idea won't work and will negatively affect sales.

Here's an example. One of my editors (awesome editor in every way) had never had pets. I had to explain to her that referring to a cat or dog as an "it" rather than he/she would hiss-off readers, and negatively affect sales. Remember those words–that's the magic wand that will help persuade the editor that your way is the right way. Just use the power for good, gentle writer, and never for evil.

Oh what the heck, you can do a LITTLE evil, just don't blame the fallout on me!

THE OVERVIEW

The overview is the "pitch" for the book. Everything else that follows is supporting evidence to bolster your case. Depending on the topic, your overview can be short and to the point or more detailed. As a rule of thumb, aim for about 5 to 10 pages. Think of the overview as an expanded query letter that piques the editor/agent's interest to read further in your proposal. It opens the door so you can stick your toe in the crack. The rest of the proposal either swings the gate wide open or gets your foot slammed in the door.

Here's what you need:

State the book's premise
Describe the need for the book:  Use general to specific examples. This is where you can note the presence of other SUCCESSFUL books on the subject that in some way, shape or form, FAIL to complete meet the need–which your book will fulfill.
Tell how the author will deliver the book's promise: Interview experts, is an expert his/herself, etc. Think of the 25 (or more) objections any editor or agent might have to publishing your book–and make sure you answer each one!
Name the target audience:  Include stats/numbers. Be specific. Beware of saying "all" of a certain demographic will buy your book–just because more than 60% of U.S. households have pet cats doesn't mean all will buy a cat book.

COMPETITION or MARKET SURVEY

Don't stint on this portion of the proposal. The editor/agent must be convinced not only that you have the credentials and can write the proposed book, but that the market will smile favorably on another title in your topic. Because if there are NONE out there, they won't be interested. Competition and especially popular titles demonstrate people already have an interest in the topic and buy books in your genre. "No books before" suggests there's a reason for that–maybe there's no market. Publishers and agents are all about the bottom line.

Take a big breath, I know this can be a scary prospect. Won't talking about the competition kill your chances of selling the book? Not if you do it right. And here's what you need to include:

What existing books fill this need?

Nope, you don't need 1,000 even if there are that many out there. Simply choose the BEST THREE and the WORST THREE and compare your proposed book to the existing titles. Be sure to highlight what's good about the books, too. A critical but fair comparison benefits you more than slamming the competition. Research at amazon.com, other online stores, libraries (the library market is ENORMOUS for reference works).

Be specific. Editors and agents always want numbers–book sales figures of existing titles, though, is proprietary and you won't get this. Even the shout-outs on the covers ("One Million Sold!") may be inflated. But you can list "sales rank" as stated on Amazon.com for a comparison.

What's positive about the books?
Where do the existing titles fall short?
How does yours stand out and offer what others lack?

What burning questions do y'all have about nonfiction proposals? Anything I've missed? Please share what's worked for YOUR nonfiction book sales, too.

#AskAmy Sweet Tweets

Folks who "follow" me on Twitter @amyshojai and @About_Puppies are the most awesome Sweet Tweets around–they love #cats and #dogs and #pets, many #amwriting.  Just follow and include the #AskAmy in your tweets if'n you're interested in pithy links to articles, books, blogs, experts, fictioning and sparkle-icity!

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you'd like answered? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, "like" me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter with pet book give-aways!

Filed under: Writing Advice & More Tagged: Amy Shojai, cute dog pictures, cute kitten pictures, how to write, http://www.amyshojai.com, http://www.shojai.com, nonfiction proposal, publishing, writers conference, writing, writing advice

Monday Mentions: Angry Cupid, Writer-icity & Pet Schtuff

Angry cupid says "Suck it up, sweetheart!"

Tonight we begin our third week of rehearsals for KURVES, THE MUSICAL which will premier at the renovated Rialto Theater in Denison, Texas on March 1, 2, and 3. Woot! So besides the regular writing to-do list, I've added learning lines, lyrics, and completing the orchestration for this week. If you're in the neighborhood I hope you'll check us out, we're having a ball (and hope all the actors can keep straight faces, cuz there's some seriously funny SCHTUFF in this show)!

Monday Mentions is the mash-up-day of all the neato-torpedo links and videos, pet schtuff and bling and writer-icity crappiocca collected over the past week. And I've got a BOATLOAD of links today, so take your time, bookmark the entry for later if you like, and share with your friends. I'll catch you later–after the orchestration-line-learning-theater-icity!

WRITERICITY SCHTUFF

Highlights for Children Publishing Job Opening and also for Art Director

Writerly Self Doubt SPEAR THE MONSTER from Alison Brennan

JA Konrath's 'REALITY CHECK' on his Indy Pub success, a MUST READ for modern writers!

Bubble-Cow Editing Offers Query Letter Template

Super E-Reads changes name to Super E-Books and the new Twitter handle is @Super_EBooks and here's the Facebook Page. Just goes to show you that you GOTTA check those pesky Trademarks. All the other links stay the same, and they've added a new feature for Super E-Books authors called "Friday Freebies" as a showcase for your free Super E-Books.

Do you write romance–or want to? Check out these online classes from Savvy Authors, Some Like It Hot: – Writing the Erotic Romance - Jan 30 – Feb 26 and The Sensual Novella- Feb 20 – Mar 18

Thoughty Book Review of Stephen Kings "On Writing" from Gene Lempp's blog.

B&N May Spin Off Nook Business

Clean Reading? Yes, a book has been 'published' on a shower curtain.

Footprint Give-Aways from Doug Lyle's awesome forensics blog, how a footprint might identify a killer

Man-Speak Defined from the seriously wise-ass (and fun!) Jenny Hansen. WARNING: Set your beverage aside before viewing the "brain" video. Oh, and here's Man-Speak Part Two

10 Mis-Pronounced Words that make you sound like an idiot. NOTE: This is a companion piece to the dog-centric list of misspelled breed names, below.

A side note–this might explain a bit about (ahem) my own sense of humor to share the following from my musician/artist father. No, he didn't create them but this is the type of "family game" we used to share around the dinner table, each trying to top the previous offering. So without further adieu:

FAMILY TREE OF VINCENT VAN GOGH

His dizzy aunt ———————————————– Verti Gogh

The brother who ate prunes——————————- Gotta Gogh

The brother who worked at a convenience store —— Stop N Gogh

The grandfather from Yugoslavia —————————– U Gogh

His magician uncle ——————————– Where-diddy Gogh

His Mexican cousin —————————————- A Mee Gogh

The Mexican cousin's American half-brother ———— Gring Gogh

The nephew who drove a stage coach ————— Wells-far Gogh

The constipated uncle ————————————- Can't Gogh

The ballroom dancing aunt ——————————– Tang Gogh

The bird lover uncle ————————————– Flamin Gogh

An aunt who taught positive thinking —————— Way-to-Gogh

The little bouncy nephew ———————————– Poe Gogh

A sister who loved disco ————————————– Go Gogh

And his niece who travels the country in an RV — Winnie Bay Gogh

Managing Ferals Is A GOOD Thing!

CAT SCHTUFF

Loews Hotel Universal Florida & Feral Cats had a managed feral cat colony but has apparently decided to get rid of the cats–some have been trapped and taken to a local shelter to be killed. Click the link to learn more and sign a petition to urge the company to re-think this step.

Tips for Housing Feral Cats (positive info this time!) from the awesome Dr Deb Eldredge

CFA Foundation & Feline Historical Museum

DOG SCHTUFF

Professional Animal Behavior Associates (Canada) Offers Awesome "A SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION AND STUDY OF WORKING DOGS 3-day seminar.  These are some of the best of the best in dog behavior and training, if you have interest and get the chance, go! (I've a conflict with a writer conference booooooo!)

Lovely article about DOGS IN CHURCH

Dog's Microchip Returns Lost Child

"Branding" Breeds? Tasteeeeeeeeeeee!

Everyone wants their pet to be "special" but has branding gone to the dogs? These are 'real' breeds of dog, as collected from license applications and want forms at a USA dog shelter:

Westminster Terrier
Rhode Island Ridgeback
Palmeranian
Copper Spaniel
Cocker Spaniard
Black Labrador (from a license app, dog's color was yellow)
Shit Sue
Dorky Terrier
Lopso Apso
El Paso (attempt at Lhasa Apso)
Highland Heeler
Alaskan Malibu
Belgian Manawa
Belgium Malenoise
Basket Hound
Bagle
Welch Corgi
Wild Haired Terrier
Carrion Terrier
Wineamimer
Rockwelders
Rottenwiler
Great Pekingese (supposed to be Pyrenees)
Great Pyramid
Miniature Datsun
Irish Settler
Jack Daniels Terrier
German Police Man
Chesapeake A Retriever
Borderline Collie
Chevy King Charles (Cavalier)
Goverment Pinscher

Novartis Temporarily Suspends Production of Interceptor & Sentinel

Serena Dracis Blog has a spot-on entry on communicating with your dog for training

K9 Mobile Grooming has a great post on dog grooming basics (I think they're in the UK or I'd be tempted to ring 'em up for a home visit!)

ODD SCHTUFF

Colin Falconer explains all about FRIGGATRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA HINT: it happened last Friday.

Climbing Baby Mountain from Jenny Hansen's Risky Baby Business blog–great info for expectant (or wannabe) parents.

#AskAmy Sweet Tweets

Folks who "follow" me on Twitter @amyshojai and @About_Puppies are the most awesome Sweet Tweets around–they love #cats and #dogs and #pets, many #amwriting.  Just follow and include the #AskAmy in your tweets if'n you're interested in pithy links to articles, books, blogs, experts, fictioning and sparkle-icity!

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you'd like answered? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, "like" me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter with pet book give-aways!

Filed under: Cat Behavior & Care, Dog Training & Care, Theater & Performance, Writing Advice & More Tagged: Amy Shojai, cat behavior, cfa, dog behavior, feral cats, funny dog breeds, http://www.amyshojai.com, http://www.shojai.com, Kurves, publishing, puns, theater, writing

Feline Friday: Scratching the Surface–DON'T DeClaw!

Seren can scratch the carpet or wood, vertically or horizontally on this cat tree. Notice it's placed in front of windows for ideal kitty viewing.

If you got a new kitten over the holidays, chances are you're dealing with those needle-sharp claws. One of the top reasons a cat loses his home is destructive scratching when the importance of pristine furniture trumps the cat-owner bond. People already bonded with a cat tend to put up with more household damage before resorting to ditching the kitty–but it can still happen.

Declaw surgery sounds like the perfect solution. Think again!

WHAT IS DECLAW SURGERY?

Feline claws correspond to the last joint of a human's fingers and toes, but extend and retract courtesy of two small "hinged" bones that rest nearly on top of each other. A relaxed paw sheaths the claw inside a soft, smooth furry skin fold. Flexing the tendon straightens the folded bones and pushes claws forward and down.

Declaw surgery cuts off the last joint of each kitty toe. The cat is sedated, the paws scrubbed, and the joint amputated. This is commonly done using a scalpel blade or a guillotine-type nail trimmer (yes, the same ones you use on your pets!). State of the art declaw surgery uses a laser which arguably is the most humane.

Declaw surgery most commonly is performed on kittens. That's right, the cute little guy snuggling in your lap gets taken to the vet, snuggled on and played with, goes to sleep and wakes up without part of her paws. Often the declaw gets scheduled at the same time as spay/neuter to save cost since only one anesthesia is needed.

With the cutting technique, the paws must be bandaged tightly for a period of time to stop the bleeding. Pain medication is also necessary afterwards because as you can imagine, walking on the stubs is excruciatingly painful.

Laser surgery prevents bleeding and is less painful for the cat but the toes take longer to heal from burns. In most cases, only the front paws are declawed and no cat without claws should be allowed outside since her defenses have been removed.

PROS & CONS

Cats without claws won't claw–damage furniture, but they WILL still try to scratch. Some cats do FINE and go on to be wonderful pets. But unlike neutering, this surgery has no real health benefits for the kitten or cat (only for the owner's house) and in fact can cause physical and emotional fall-out.

Now, the AVMA questions anecdotal reports of adverse consequences to declaw surgery, its position statement says, "Declawing of domestic cats should be considered only after attempts have been made to prevent the cat from using its claws destructively…(read the whole statement here)."

Choose your battles. This old chair now "belongs" to Seren and is in my office for her scratching/lounging pleasure.

Declawing should never be considered routine. It has been made illegal in some countries, as well as a few American cities due to concerns of humane issues. Some declawed cats develop other behavior problems, such as biting to defend themselves, or snubbing the litter box when sore paws make them reluctant to dig in the litter. So even though the kitten stops claw-damage, the litter-ary mishaps or biting often causes them to lose their homes anyway. Some detractors also argue that walking without that last digit throws off kitty balance and predisposes to arthritis later in life.

WHY CATS CLAW

Instead of trying to stop clawing, cat owners (and the cats they love) are best served by giving the pet a legal opportunity to claw and teaching the cat what's acceptable. Understanding why a cat scratches–and how easy it is to prevent damage to furniture–helps motivate us to train Kitty to properly use a legal target.

Clawing feels good, and provides great aerobic exercise to stretch the shoulder and foreleg muscles, and keeps nails healthy. Scent pads in kitty paws leave invisible smell-cues of ownership. The marks also serve as feline Post-It Notes to warn away other cats from prime feline real estate. That's why singleton cat households may have less claw-trauma than the multi-pet homes, where each cat vies for territory and attention. Cats also claw to comfort themselves during times of stress.

HOW TO TRAIN PROPER CLAW ETIQUETTE

For successful scratch training, give the cat an irresistible target, while making forbidden objects undesirable. Kitty wants the world to see his scratch-graffiti, so don't hide posts in back rooms. Place them in high traffic areas or near important cat territory— windows, lookouts, nap places, and food stations.

The scratch surface—wood, sisal, carpet—and its shape—vertical or horizontal—are very important. Observe your cat to figure out what he likes. Spiking the new object with catnip helps promote feline allegiance.

Make illegal targets unattractive to the cat, until he learns to use the right object. Sticky Paws double-sided tape, endorsed by the ASPCA, works great on upholstery—cats dislike touching surfaces that stick to paw fur. Strong scents such as citrus deodorants or Vicks Vapo-Rub repel many cats. Cinnamon peppered on dark upholstery, or baby powder on light fabric, prompts a poof of dust into the cat's face when he assaults with feline claws. You can even temporarily wrap chair arms with bubble wrap. These pet-safe "booby-traps" are effective when you're not around.

Meanwhile, position the legal object next to the illegal target so you can redirect your cat's claws when necessary. Interrupt forbidden scratching with a loud sudden noise. Slap a newspaper against your thigh, clap hands, or shake an empty soda can full of pennies. A long-distance squirt gun aimed at a furry tail can startle some cats out of the behavior, but this won't work for all cats. Once kitty stops, direct claws to the legal target perhaps with a laser pointer or dragging a feather lure over the surface, and praise when he does the right thing.

For hard-case cats, Soft Paws reduce the potential for scratch damage. The vinyl claw covers glue over the top of each nail, and come in a variety of fashion colors. They are available from pet supply stores and some veterinary offices.

After the cat switches to scratching the correct object, move it to a better location, a few inches at a time. The bubble wrap comes off as well. A little bit of human inconvenience translates into a well-trained kitty and a lifetime of love. And that's the purr-fect outcome for everyone.

Do your cats and kittens claw? How do you manage claw-maniacs? Have you adopted a declawed cat or had the surgery done on your kitty? What has been your experience? Please share! And I hope you'll share this blog with other cat lovers debating about claw issues.

Last November I posted an Ask Amy on dealing with screen-scratching kitties.  And one of the tips came from Gretie'sMom who said they bought a roll of the Pet Resistant Screen from Orchard Supply Hardware that is not invincible, but it works pretty well.

You can find many more training how-to's in the book Complete Kitten Care.

#AskAmy

Folks who "follow" me on Twitter @amyshojai and @About_Puppies are the most awesome Sweet Tweets around–they love #cats and #dogs and #pets, many #amwriting.  Just follow and include the #AskAmy in your tweets if'n you're interested in pithy links to articles, books, blogs, experts, fictioning and sparkle-icity!

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you'd like answered? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, "like" me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter with pet book give-aways!

Filed under: Cat Behavior & Care Tagged: Amy Shojai, AVMA, cat advice, cat behavior, declaw surgery, how to claw training, http://www.amyshojai.com