Ingrid King's Blog: The Conscious Cat, page 467

How to Keep Cats Off Counters

Cats love to be up high. Whether it’s the top of the cat tree or the top of the refrigerator, cats like to survey their territory from elevated vantage points. This is normal behavior for cats and goes back to their wild origins. Cats are hunters and climbing trees allowed them to lie in wait for prey as well as to escape for safety.

I’ll confess: at our house, counters and table tops are not off limits to Allegra and Ruby. However, I do realize that not all cat parents want their feline famil...

Review: Litter Lifter Litter Scoops

Like most cat parents, cleaning the litter box is one of my least favorite chores. Don’t get me wrong, I do it diligently. Keeping the litter box clean is very important. Many inappropriate elimination problems are caused by a box that isn’t kept clean enough, at least, not from the cat’s point of view.

Since I work from home, I pretty much scoop as soon as Allegra or Ruby deposit something in one of our two boxes (especially if it’s in the one right outside my office). And you better believe...

Benefits of Digestive Enzymes for Cats

Enzymes are tiny protein molecules that are found in every living cell. They are responsible for vital chemical reactions in your cat’s body, including proper digestion and absorption of nutrients. A lack of enzymes in your cat’s system will result in digestive upsets and a less than optimal immune system.

Benefits of Enzymes

Aid in the digestion and absorption of the vitamins and minerals in the cat’s diet
Promote normal body weight
Support healthy cell growth
Reduce bloating and constipation
Incr...

Conscious Cat Sunday: A Cat Lady Follows Her Bliss

I’ve previously written about following my bliss from corporate America to becoming a cat writer via working in veterinary hospitals and starting my own Reiki business. You can find out more about my path in my latest book, Adventures in Veterinary Medicine.

I never forget how fortunate I am that I found the courage to take the risks that were necessary along my journey. It wasn’t always easy, there were (and still are) moments of worry and doubt along the way, but I wouldn’t want my life to b...

Mews and Nips: Cats Who Live at Libraries

If there’s a better combination than cats and books, I don’t know what that would be. According to Wikipedia, the relationship between cats and libraries is centuries old. Dating as far back as ancient Egypt and the Middle Ages, it is most likely that cats were utilized to prevent rodents from eating expensive manuscripts. Modern day library cats probably spend less time hunting mice and more time entertaining library patrons and staff. Ernie, the cat shown in the picture above, is the manage...

Love Saves the Day by Gwen Cooper Now Available in Paperback

Gwen Cooper’s Love Saves the Day is one of the most touching cat books I’ve ever come across. This hauntingly beautiful story about how one small cat can change multiple lives is narrated primarily by Prudence, a brown tabby rescued from a deserted construction site on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Prudence is a keen observer of humans and knowsthem better than they know themselves at times.

This sweeping novel, with Prudence at the center, covers the music scene of the 1970s in Lower Manhattan...

Giveaway: Win a $50 Whole Foods Gift Card and Try Whole Paws Cat Food

I do most of my food shopping at Whole Foods, so when I started to see some of their advertising for their Whole Paws line of pet food, I was very curious. I particularly enjoyed their “Love is a Four-Legged Word” teaser campaign at the cash registers. But of course, cute marketing does not tell you anything about the food being advertised. I was very interested to see whether Whole Paws would meet my requirements for what constitutes species appropriate nutrition for cats.

Thankfully, Whole F...

Allegra and Ruby Discuss Sleeping Arrangements

To me, sleeping with my cats is one of the joys of sharing my life with them. Every cat I’ve ever had has slept on the bed with me. In fact, the few nights one of them didn’t, it was usually because something was wrong.

I’m always amazed at how much room two small cats can take up in a queen size bed. Some nights, I feel like a contortionist, trying to get comfortable againwithout waking Allegra and Ruby. Middle of the night gymnastics are not conducive to getting a good night’s sleep. But wha...

CritterZone Air Purifier Now Available as a Travel Pack

I’m a big fan of the CritterZone Air Purifier. This small, efficient unit really gets the job done, even on tough urine odors. And I speak from personal experience: Ruby, who is a vertical pee-er, managed to get some urine even over the very high edge of our litter box one time. The carpet around the box was soaked in urine. After blotting up the stain, I put the CritterZone on top of the stain upside down, as recommended on the CritterZone website. About an hour later, there was not a trace...

Feline Blood Bank Saves Lives

Cats may need blood transfusions for a variety of reasons, such as trauma, surgery, cancer or infectious diseases. There are currently several animal blood banks in the United States, but due to the unique nature of cats, feline blood products are much harder to come by than their canine counterparts.

In order to be a blood donor, a cat needs to meet several criteria: they must be indoor only, between 1 and 8 years of age, weigh at least 10 pounds, not be on any medication and pass a number of...