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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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. 

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Evolution of Top Cat Names: Today versus 2007

Judging from the top cat names posted here, cat lovers are still using traditional names (like Tiger; Simba and Felix) as well as contemporary names (such as Chewie; Luna and Bacon) to christen their newly adopted cats.  Check out the 2017 Top Cat Name chart, then check out the information below it to see how cat names have changed over the past ten years! (Reference to 2017 chart:  findcatnames.com)  (Reference to 2007 list:  Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI)) 2017-top-cat-names

Now, check out these top names given to the Nation’s kitties in 2007:

Top 2007 10 Male Cat Names

  1. Max
  2. Tigger
  3. Tiger
  4. Smokey
  5. Oliver
  6. Simba
  7. Shadow
  8. Buddy
  9. Sam
  10. Sammy

Top 2007 Female Cat Names

  1. Chloe
  2. Lucy
  3. Cleo
  4. Princess
  5. Angel
  6. Molly
  7. Kitty
  8. Samantha
  9. Misty
  10. Missy
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It’s all about Me-owww! Techniques Cats Use To Win Our Attention

It’s 11:00PM.  You’re up against a deadline to finish a report for work.   You’ve just belted down a strong cup of coffee and you’re on the home stretch.   One more section to go and you’re done!  Hmmm, you think to yourself, the cats have been amazingly quiet.

Just as you touch your keypad, something distracts you out of the corner of your eye.  You glance over your shoulder.  There they are – both of them – perched atop your side desk, staring at you.  Their stare isn’t just any casual gaze.  Their eyes are large, round, intense and compelling, their stare unwavering.  You know what they want – your undivided attention!

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What is it about cats that drive you to stop whatever you’re doing, and attend to their every whim?

Cats are intelligent creatures.   Once they figure you out (which doesn’t take very long), you’re putty in their little paws.  They know exactly what to do and they do it.  If you make the fatal mistake of catering to them the first time, they will repeat the process again and again, and you’re hooked.

Here are just a few of the many techniques employed by the cats in my household (or, should I say, theirs).

  • The Stare Down. It works every time.  It elicits a response something like, “Hey cutie, what is it?  What do you want?”  Bingo!
  • The Wait. They wait patiently in the kitchen until they see a human approach.  From that point forward, it’s a steady litany of me-owwws, some extremely lengthy and desperate.  They don’t let up until you put the food bowls down, with their dinner just the way they like it.  Success!
  • The Hit and Run. You’re reading a magazine on the couch, your collection of magazines neatly stacked in front of you on the coffee table.  Out of the blue streaks a wild cat, leaping onto the stack, scattering them halfway across the room.   You slap down the magazine and get up to fix the mess.  The me-owwws start, with longing looks towards the kitchen. Mission accomplished!
  • The Toy Closet Vigil. My cats know where I stash their wand and laser toys.  If I am within an ear shot of “the” closet, they assemble like soldiers in front of it.  If I start to walk past them, they begin lightly scratching on the closet door, elevating to full, obnoxious scratching, however long it takes.  Fifteen minutes later, after a decent play session, they nonchalantly saunter away while I’m still waving the toy, collapse on the floor, and casually survey the room as if to say, “You can put that thing away now…I’ll let you know when I’m ready to play again.”
  • The Heart Stopper. This works something like the Hit and Run, only you’re lucky to survive.  In the middle of the night, you’re experiencing a deep REM sleep.   Your feline 757 lands with a thundering thud on the bed, skipping to the end of the runway, heading directly into your face.   Not only do you wake up with heart palpitations, you wake up to a set of wild, black pupils staring into yours.   After convincing yourself it’s not a nightmare, you desperately try to fall back asleep.  That’s when they repeat.  You get up.  They me-owww, you follow them, tripping down the stairs into the kitchen.  This is a win-win (for the cat, not for the two of you)!

If you haven’t yet experienced any of the above, it’s probably because you have cats that have employed other techniques that have proven successful, or else you’ve just adopted a cat today who hasn’t yet figured you out.  Don’t worry – he’ll have you “trained” by the end of the week, and you won’t even know it!

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