Category: Making a Difference for Pets

Unleash Your Indoor Cat’s “inner kitten” With These Easy Tips

Cats are intelligent, active creatures that need daily stimulation just as we do. Helping your cats tackle boredom can keep unwelcome behaviors to a minimum.

Constant, compelling meows, scratching furniture, and urinating outside the litter box may be symptoms of medical issues that should be treated by a veterinarian. In healthy cats, those behaviors can be avoided by keeping your feline companions entertained throughout the day.

Try these solutions:

  • Here’s a simple way to entertain your cats for hours at a time.  Place a sturdy,  multiple-tiered cat tree with a good scratching surface such as sisal next to a window with an exciting view! They’ll ogle at birds, passing cars, and anyone walking by.
  • Before you leave your cat home alone, turn on calming music or nature sounds to soothe and comfort him. Go a step further to delight your furbaby by finding a compelling video for him to watch on “Cat TV”, a television channel created specifically for cats.
  • If you have empty wall space, quench your cat’s need to climb by installing perch wall units which create safe pathways for him to launch to tops of bookshelves and other high places.
  • Indulge the natural hunting instincts in your cat by hiding treats or dry kibble in your home. Use a kitty food puzzle that will provide your cats with a stimulating activity. The challenging activity appeals to the natural love of hunting and will stimulate them both mentally and physically.  Change the locations frequently to keep things interesting and encourage your kitty to embrace his inner stalker!
  • Shake things up by surprising your cat with new toys to sniff, play with, and explore. Catnip toys, puzzle toys, teaser toys and tunnels all make wise investments that will go a long way toward keeping your cat healthy and happy.
  • Introduce your indoor cats to one of many attractive models of secure cat enclosures for the yard. They allow your kitties to enjoy some of the perks of being outdoors without any of the risks! Enclosures that can be folded up for easy travel are a bonus!
  • Treat your cats to quality one-on-one playtime and cuddle time as often as possible. It is as good for you as it is for them!

Since your cats have a distinct personality just like you do, experiment with several of these entertainment options,  then pick and stick to the ones they like best! You’re sure to find just the right options for your cat at MyThreeCats.com.

 

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5 Tips for Keeping Your Cat-Occupied Home Smelling Fresh

Sharing your home with cats has many benefits but one of the downsides is that owning cats also means owning the odors that come along with them.

The irony of course is that cats themselves don’t smell! In fact, they are fastidious about cleanliness. The “smell” people associate with cats is usually because the humans aren’t doing their part to keep things clean.

Bacteria are usually the source of smells, so focus on areas where these bacteria breed and grow and you can catch odor early before it gets bad.

Here are 5 ways to keep your home fresh, whether you have one cat or a whole gang of them.

  1. Start With The Litter Box

Not surprisingly, litter box smell can be overpowering and permeate your entire home if left unattended. Make sure you are scooping litter boxes at least once a day and more often if you can. Then, get that waste out of the house quickly!

Consider sprinkling a bit of baking soda in the bags you use to collect the litter box contents. This might help keep the odors in check in your outdoor garbage until garbage day. Another great use for baking soda is to sprinkle some at the bottom of the litter box to help absorb odors.

Even if you’re scooping regularly, make sure to change the litter completely a couple of times a month because bacteria remain in the box even after you scoop. Wash out the box with unscented soap and water each time you change the litter and remember to replace the entire box once or twice a year.

Finally, consider investing in a smart, stylish litter box that contains the odor and blends in with any décor.  

  1. Investigate the Entire House For Smells

If you can’t easily determine the source of an odor in your home, do some detective work to find out if your cat’s doing his business outside the box. Check corners, behind furniture and in closets to find out if your cat’s been peeing or pooping where he shouldn’t.

Also check along walls and the walls themselves to determine if you have a spraying cat. If your cat has been using a spot in your home as his alternative potty spot, use an enzymatic cleaner to clean the area or items or, ideally, throw them away.

Also, it’s important to remember that if your cat is peeing or pooping in strange places, please schedule a vet visit. Sometimes this type of behavior is a symptom of a medical issue.

  1. Get the Vacuum Out

If you have cats or any type of pet, be diligent about vacuuming. And don’t stop with the carpet. Make sure you regularly vacuum rugs, couches, chairs and even draperies to capture fur, dander and, yes, odors. Again, sprinkling baking soda on carpets or furniture and then vacuuming it up can help keep things fresh.

  1. Wash Cat Beds and Blankets

Don’t forget to clean your cat’s favorite blankets or cat bed on a regular basis.  Choose beds that can be cleaned and easily maintained.  Remember, your cat’s paws dig in the litter box several times a day. There’s bound to be some transfer of germs and odor-causing bacteria. Keep those snuggle spots clean!

  1. Keep Food and Water Area Clean

Your cat’s food and water areas are another prime breeding ground for bacteria. Sitting water, like the water in your cat’s bowl, can quickly grow bacteria, eventually leading to an unpleasant smell. And, you certainly don’t want your cat drinking out of it! Wash the water bowls and replace with clean water at least once a day. Choose non-porous bowls that can easily be cleaned and maintained.

Food that sits out can also lead to a smelly mess. Make sure to clean up spilled kibble and especially chunks of uneaten canned food that your cat may have missed.

Just because you have cats in your home doesn’t mean it has to smell like you have cats in your home! Keep on top of regular cleaning and be aware of stinky trouble zones, and you’ll have a fresh clean house for everyone in your family to enjoy!

Do you have a tip to share us with us? How do you keep your cat-occupied home smelling fresh? Let’s chat about it in comments below!

 

 

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I Want to Celebrate Cats!

I have loved cats since infancy.  Or so my Mom used to say.  My first cat was a jet black, sleek looking cat named Ebony.  There’s a faded picture of my Mom lowering Ebony into the cradle to take a better look at me.  I don’t know if Ebony was that impressed, but I’m sure that I was!

Since then, after years of living with Ebonys, Taffys, Lilys, Bogeys and Chesters, with countless moments of joy and of sadness (at their eventual loss), I am still crazy about cats.  I was crazy about cats long before the internet’s love affair with them.  In fact, I even opened a cat shop in 1998 and appointed a newly adopted tuxedo boy named Bogey as our official shop cat. (now, you can shop at my website, MyThreeCats.com)

My heart has expanded with each cat experience.  So much so, that I couldn’t help sharing the passion.  Today, I serve on the Board at FosterCat, Inc., a Pittsburgh based network of foster homes and volunteers who rescue and save cats’ lives every day.

Cats are so tuned into us that they know when we are energetic, happy, stressed, sick, exhausted or grieving.  How many of you have experienced the comforting feeling of a cat tending to you while you lay in bed, sick or hurting?  It’s pretty special, whether they decide to catnap beside you, or tap your face with their little paw to say, OK, I’m here.  (Of course, LOL, they also use techniques to wake you up.)

The daily care giving time I have invested in my cats has been rewarded many times over with their unconditional companionship and affection.  Only those who have owned cats (or should I say, have experienced being owned by them) will understand this.

Anatole France made this observation:  “Until one has loved an animal a part of one’s soul remained unawakened.”  I wholeheartedly agree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Best Pet Friendly Cities – do you and your cat live in one?

We thought you might be interested in seeing how your city stacks up to the top 100 pet friendly cities.  WalletHub (August 8, 2017) provides this useful data.

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“Since we live in a pet friendly city, does that mean we need to be friendly with one another?”

Years ago, pet owners had access to only a handful of businesses offering animal services and supplies.  But new pet businesses are cropping up every day to fill the demand of this growing breed of consumers. Today, we spoil our pets with all kinds of luxuries, such as gourmet pet cuisine, upscale hotel accommodations and even pet “dating” services.

With pet parents in mind, the 100 largest U.S. cities were analyzed across 21 key metrics. The data set ranges from minimum pet-care provider rate per visit to pet businesses per capita to walkability.

Here they are:

Overall Rank* City Total Score ‘Pet Budget’ Rank ‘Pet Health & Wellness’
Rank		 ‘Outdoor Pet-Friendliness’ Rank
1 Scottsdale, AZ 65.93 80 1 2
2 Phoenix, AZ 63.54 12 6 10
3 Tampa, FL 61.48 10 9 19
4 San Diego, CA 60.56 85 2 6
5 Orlando, FL 59.81 27 4 47
6 Birmingham, AL 59.37 3 21 50
7 Austin, TX 58.26 43 3 54
8 Cincinnati, OH 57.19 13 27 28
9 Atlanta, GA 56.73 24 5 75
10 Las Vegas, NV 56.73 63 15 9
11 Oklahoma City, OK 56.13 1 33 77
12 Plano, TX 56.09 58 8 27
13 St. Petersburg, FL 55.91 21 34 23
14 Colorado Springs, CO 55.51 56 19 21
15 Sacramento, CA 54.95 66 20 18
16 Tucson, AZ 54.47 16 31 42
17 St. Louis, MO 54.37 18 36 36
18 Gilbert, AZ 54.22 41 11 65
19 San Antonio, TX 53.74 8 38 64
20 Miami, FL 53.65 33 12 72
21 Seattle, WA 53.28 88 14 17
22 Denver, CO 53.25 77 7 53
23 Albuquerque, NM 53.04 14 86 13
24 Bakersfield, CA 52.80 22 57 32
25 Henderson, NV 52.80 34 77 5
26 Portland, OR 52.78 94 10 7
27 Los Angeles, CA 52.65 96 13 4
28 North Las Vegas, NV 52.52 31 66 22
29 Columbus, OH 52.26 4 64 57
30 Tulsa, OK 51.36 15 42 74
31 San Francisco, CA 50.97 99 16 1
32 Fremont, CA 50.90 82 45 12
33 Glendale, AZ 50.87 53 26 56
34 Omaha, NE 50.47 17 54 66
35 Dallas, TX 50.44 84 18 41
36 Fort Worth, TX 50.43 50 28 69
37 Long Beach, CA 50.41 86 43 11
38 Irvine, CA 50.31 97 29 3
39 Houston, TX 50.03 52 25 71
40 Chicago, IL 49.97 83 17 52
41 Greensboro, NC 49.91 5 48 73
42 Chandler, AZ 49.83 64 24 63
43 Corpus Christi, TX 49.78 9 72 85
44 Arlington, TX 49.76 38 52 59
45 Garland, TX 49.26 47 51 60
46 St. Paul, MN 49.05 40 75 35
47 Pittsburgh, PA 48.97 45 82 26
48 San Jose, CA 48.94 44 70 25
49 Lexington-Fayette, KY 48.93 32 41 93
50 Raleigh, NC 48.92 42 30 84
51 Boise, ID 48.75 49 78 31
52 Nashville, TN 48.59 70 23 79
53 Indianapolis, IN 48.31 20 35 96
54 Mesa, AZ 48.30 69 37 70
55 Chesapeake, VA 48.28 72 67 24
56 Jacksonville, FL 48.21 55 32 86
57 Madison, WI 48.11 67 73 30
58 Memphis, TN 47.97 25 40 98
59 Kansas City, MO 47.71 19 80 62
60 Minneapolis, MN 47.65 74 55 44
61 Virginia Beach, VA 47.65 57 47 83
62 Riverside, CA 47.61 75 63 29
63 Stockton, CA 47.49 39 87 38
64 Fresno, CA 47.46 28 69 48
65 Lincoln, NE 47.44 23 81 61
66 Anaheim, CA 47.40 93 22 39
67 Chula Vista, CA 47.23 81 56 40
68 Oakland, CA 46.85 89 53 33
69 Irving, TX 46.57 47 60 89
70 Winston-Salem, NC 46.51 30 71 91
71 Durham, NC 46.26 29 65 90
72 Aurora, CO 46.25 62 49 82
73 Wichita, KS 46.02 36 50 99
74 New Orleans, LA 45.96 68 74 51
75 Hialeah, FL 45.62 71 61 68
76 Toledo, OH 45.55 6 91 58
77 Louisville, KY 45.47 35 58 94
78 Fort Wayne, IN 45.45 2 83 100
79 El Paso, TX 45.28 37 94 43
80 Washington, DC 45.20 95 59 16
81 Baton Rouge, LA 45.12 51 44 95
82 Lubbock, TX 45.04 26 89 87
83 San Bernardino, CA 44.77 61 93 15
84 Laredo, TX 44.66 6 95 67
85 Cleveland, OH 44.56 46 79 78
86 Reno, NV 43.99 79 68 76
87 Jersey City, NJ 43.73 92 85 14
88 Detroit, MI 43.44 54 84 80
89 Norfolk, VA 43.43 72 88 46
90 Milwaukee, WI 43.20 11 97 81
91 Charlotte, NC 42.86 78 46 97
92 Anchorage, AK 42.21 87 96 20
93 Philadelphia, PA 41.58 90 90 37
94 Buffalo, NY 41.36 60 92 88
95 Santa Ana, CA 41.34 91 76 55
96 Boston, MA 41.29 59 98 45
97 New York, NY 41.29 100 62 8
98 Honolulu, HI 39.69 76 100 34
99 Baltimore, MD 39.40 65 99 49
100 Newark, NJ 38.89 98 39 92

*No. 1 = Most Pet-Friendly

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Shop at MyThreeCats.com and help support Alley Cat Allies

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To Our Cat Loving Readers,
MyThreeCats.com goes beyond being an on line specialty cat boutique.  Over the years, since the beginning of our business in 1998, we’ve helped advance the initiatives of numerous cat shelters and cat rescue organizations, as our resources permit.
You can help us continue the effort.  We invite you to post your favorite cat rescue story (perhaps your own personal cat rescue story?) on our Facebook site, now through Friday, August 11th.  Then shop now through August 11th at MyThreeCats.com and we’ll donate 5% of sales proceeds to Alley Cat Allies.  Alley Cat Allies is a non-profit organization advocating the humane treatment of all cats.

A sincere thank you from us and of course, the cats. 

P.S.  The best compliment we could receive is a referral.  Kindly pass this offer to your
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