Ingrid King's Blog: The Conscious Cat, page 450

PawNatural Shopping At Only Natural Pet: Cat Products You Can Trust

I’ve been a customer of Only Natural Pet for the last ten years. Few online retailers provide such a large variety of products that don’t just feature a “natural” label, but actually live up to the claim.

Only Natural Pet was founded in 2004, when CEO Marty Grosjean realized that if he thrived on a natural life, why wouldn’t pets thrive, too? Since then, the natural pet product sector has been growing exponentially, and more companies are jumping on the bandwagon. Unfortunately, “natural” is f...

How to Keep Wild Birds Safe from Your Cat

Guest post by Stephen Pritchard

Cats have been domesticated for more than 10,000 years, but domesticated cats still share many attributes with wild cats. The desire to hunt is one of them. Many cat lovers are also big bird fans, which means cats’ remarkable hunting skills can often be cause for concern.

Indoor cats live longer and healthier lives, but some cat guardians just can’t or won’t confine their cats to live indoors. The following will help you make your garden safer for birds if your c...

How Lawn Chemicals Affect Your Cats – Even Indoor Cats

When I go for my daily walks in my suburban neighborhood this time of year, not a day goes by that someone hasn’t just fertilized their lawn. I can see the granules on the sidewalk, and sometimes, I can even smell the chemicals. I am strongly opposed to the use of chemical fertilizers, and I don’t understand the obsession with flawless green lawns. But mostly, I worry about the effect lawn chemicals have on the cats who come in contact with them – and that can happen even if your cats never l...

Allegra’s World: 4th Adoption Anniversary

Today is a very special day for me: four years ago today, Mom brought me home! It’s been an amazing three years, and it seems like every day, life gets better. I hope you enjoy the collage of baby pictures Mom put together in honor of my anniversary.

I can’t wait to see what Mom and Ruby have planned for me today!

Conscious Cat Sunday will return next week.

The post Allegra’s World: 4th Adoption Anniversary appeared first on The Conscious Cat.

Mews and Nips: The Truth About Cats and Water

Conventional wisdom states that cats don’t like water, but many of our house cats disprove that statement. There are cats who love to play with water, whether it’s in a sink, shower, or their water bowl. When Allegra was a kitten, she would join me in the shower after I turned off the water. Ruby once had a somewhat unfortunate encounter with our shower that ended her fascination with water: she came flying through the crack between the shower curtain and the wall, right into the tub, while I...

Review and Giveaway: Panthers Play for Keeps by Clea Simon

Pru Marlowe is back, and she’s better than ever! In Panthers Play for Keeps, the fourth book in Clea Simon’s Pet Noir series featuring pet behaviorist and psychic Pru Marlow, Pru has to solve her most challenging case yet: while taking a dog for a walk, she finds the body of a young woman, who seems to have been mauled by a wild cat. Pru knows there have been no cougars in the Berkshires for years, and not much about this death makes sense. As Pru starts looking into the murder, a cougar of a...

Giveaway: Neko Pet Napper Pet House

We reviewed the Neko Pet Napper House back in December, and it has remained a favorite at our house, especially with Ruby.

This adorable little hideaway is made from supersoft, plush, curdoroy covered cushions. The house comes in three easily assembled pieces (the roof attaches to the base of the house with zippers and velcro,) making it easy to fold away for storage or travel. The sleeping pad is machine washable. At 16.5” x 18” x 16.5,” this house is a nice size even for larger cats.

And now...

Life Imitates Art: Cougar Sighting in Suburban Boston

Guest post by Clea Simon

The dodo is extinct. The passenger pigeon as well, although some intriguing backward-engineering of DNA may soon change that. The Eastern cougar? That’s another matter. Last month, amid growing community concern, repeated sightings of a large, tawny cat just outside of Boston have made what was once a closed issue open to debate.

According to most wildlife experts, the Eastern cougar – also known as a mountain lion or a puma – is gone. Hunted by humans as its woodland t...

Review: Litterbiotic Cat Litter Deodorizer

They say cleanliness is next to godliness, and that is never more true than when it comes to your cat’s litter box. A dirty litter box is a common reason why cats will eliminate outside the box – and can you blame them? How would you like to use a toilet that hasn’t been flushed in days?

I am meticulous about scooping our litter boxes. Since I work from home, I usually scoop as soon as Ruby or Allegra have deposited something in the box, so litter box odors aren’t much of an issue at our house...

Easter Lilies and Cats: A Potentially Deadly Combination

Easter lilies are highly toxic to cats. Just one small bite of a flower, leaf, stem or even the pollen of this plant can cause gastric distress, and, more importantly, if left untreated, can lead to fatal kidney failure.

Symptoms of lily toxicity

Symptoms usually develop 6-12 hours after ingestion, and can include:

vomiting
lethargy
lack of appetite.

Within 24-72 hours, signs of kidney failure will develop:

increased thirst
increased urination, followed by decreased and eventually no urination
dehydra...