Cat Carriers for Fun or Fashion

Cat carriers are an essential supply for any pet owner.
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Wether it's simple trips to the vet or traveling, you want to make sure you get a carrier that is safe, easy to use and functional. We'll point you in the right direction whether you want a basic kennel cab, or a designer carry bag that is functional and looks great!
Make sure you purchase a cat carrier that is comfortable for your cat. It should be about 1 ½ times the size of the cat and he should be able to lie flat and turn around inside the carrier. If you are traveling on a plane with your cat, you'll want to check with the airline to make sure your carrier is accepted. Generally, most hard sided carriers are OK for pet travel.
Having tried to shove our cats into front loading kennel cabs many a time, we recommend a top loading carrier like the soft sided Cozy Carrier.
The top loading carriers are much easier, you just scoop up your cat and plop him in before he knows what's happened!
Soft sided carriers can be more comfortable and are accepted by some airlines for traveling with pets under the seat in the passenger cabin. Some soft sided carriers have optional travel tray and travel kits while others have wheels like the Sherpa-On-Wheels. And don't forget a front carrier for taking your pet anywhere and still having your hands free.
You can have your cat carriers and look great too! Check out these designer carriers - how about this great faux animal skin tote or this 1940's style bag, or my favorite, this zebra lined tote that looks like a pair of jeans on the front! Or slip your friend into the faux mink or faux crocodile carrier.

The Perfect Cat Foods

Depending on a cat's age and activity level, they will require different types of foods.
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A kitten needs 3-4 times the fat, protein, vitamins and minerals for proper growth, and should eat special kitten food. Adults may require different foods depending on activity level and health needs. Seniors have special nutritional needs too due to their age and level of activity. Luckily, All foods do state which stage of a cats life they are intended for so it is easy to determine which is the right one just by looking at the package.
Adult cats have different activity levels and should eat cat foods designed for those needs. Housebound or sedentary cats can be fed a light food, while cats with hairball problems or urinary tract problems can be fed foods that cater to those conditions.
Please check with your vet to determine if your cat can benefit from one of these types of foods.
Senior cats are less active and do not need as many calories so light foods may be good for your senior. Starting around 7 years of age, you may want to switch your cat from an adult food to a specially formulated senior food. Makes sure you switch gradually, mixing in the foods in graduating amounts over a 2 week time span so that your cat's digestive system can adjust.
There's even special cat foods for overweight cats! If your cat is overweight, try a light food, it has less calories and fat than a reduced calorie food. If your cat is merely slowing down and needs to cut calories but doesn't have a big weight problem, reduced calorie cat may be the way to go.
Dry or canned?
Your cat will probably like canned food better but dry cat foods may be better for him. Dry food is better for teeth and gums and much less messy especially if you tend to leave food out all day. Also canned food has more water in it, thus you are paying more for less actual food. Semi-moist foods are convenient but tend to have more additives and preservatives.

Wool Sucking Cats

Sucking on wool or other fuzzy fabrics seem to be a common occurrence among cats. This can be merely an annoying habit, potential health issue or an indicator of a physical or emotional problem. Wool sucking can be a life-long habit but, in many cats, it begins in mid-life. The exact cause(s) of this behavior have not been fully studied but, many theories abound:

1. Early Weaning - Most domestic cats are weaned at 6-7 weeks but, sometimes early weaning occurs, due the death of the queen or someone adopting out the kittens before they are fully weaned. The instinct to suckle is very strong in young kittens and they may continue to try to suckle anything soft, warm and fuzzy that resembles a mother cat. This may be a blanket, a toy or your favorite cashmere sweater.

2. Stress - If a cat is stressed, it may exhibit obsessive-compulsive behaviors, of which wool-sucking is one. Others include fur-pulling, paw-sucking, tail-chewing or flank-licking.

3. Genetics - Oriental breeds, such as Siamese, Balinese, Tonkinese and their crosses seem to be more prone to wool-sucking than European or North American breeds.

4. Diet - The wool-sucking cat may be lacking fiber in its diet and cats cannot distinguish dietary from non-dietary fiber. If the cat confines its sucking to wool only, it may be attracted to the taste of lanolin (this may also be the reason cats like to lick human skin after lotion has been applied).

5. PICA - This is the abnormal compulsion to eat non-food substances, such as clothing, plastic, wood, etc. It is most often associated with pregnant women but is also seen in non-pregnant women and animals.

In addition to being hard on your wardrobe, wool-sucking can lead to health problems for the cat. Just like hairballs, ingested fibers can impact in a cat's digestive tract, causing obstructions requiring veterinary care, up to and including surgery or (in extreme cases) euthanasia. If the cat becomes lethargic, constipated and/or begins vomiting excessively, have it checked by a vet for a vitamin/mineral deficiency or gastrointestinal obstruction.

If your cat has a wool sucking problem, the right course of action would be to consult your veterinarian first and a cat behaviorist next. Here is a quick review of here are several methods to prevent or discourage wool-sucking, but please note that different cases may require different action plans. An experienced Cat Behavior Consultant can help you determine which is best for your cat.

1. Avoiding Early Weaning – One of the best ways to prevent a wool-sucking problem is by making sure that kittens are never separated from the mother cat before the age of 12 weeks. Professional ethical cat breeders would never part with a kitten before it is 12 weeks old and sometimes even 16 weeks old, for that reason.

2. Diet - Feeding the cat a high-fiber diet of dry cat food sometimes eliminates or decreases wool sucking, as does feeding lanolin. The lanolin has the added benefit of easing the passage of hairballs.

3. Aversion - If the cat has one favorite object and it won't harm the fabric, pet deterrent sprays may sometimes help. This, and other deterrence techniques, should be used with caution, as they do not address the cause of the problem. Read here more about the concept of preventing your cat from behaving in undesirable ways.

4. Diversion - When the cat is observed suckling, replace the item with a fuzzy toy, an old sock, rawhide chew or a beef bone. There is also a product called The Catsifer. This is a cat-shaped pillow, covered in faux fur on one side and has four latex nipples on the other. The manufacturer claims that this allows the cat to safely satisfy the need to suck.

5. Isolation - Keep all blankets, sweaters, etc. safely put away. If the cat's desired object is a piece of furniture, isolate the cat from that room. The latter could be a problem, if the object of desire is the blanket on YOUR bed.

6. Medication - If the wool-sucking is caused by stress, antidepressants, such as clomipramine (Clomicalm), fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil) and sertraline (Zoloft) have proven effective. These drugs may take four to six weeks to start working and peak effects may not be seen for up to three or four months. When antidepressants don't work, anti-anxiety medications, such as buspirone (BuSpar) may sometimes do the trick. In some cases, 0.5 mg of thyroid hormone has been effective. Care must be taken, when administering these drugs, as they can interact with other medications the cat may be on. As always, your Veterinarian is the only person qualified to determine if a course of drugs should be used and how.