Today we’ve got a special treat for you! Our kitty friend Asti Spumanti is celebrating her 20th birthday today. She’s the oldest and most well-traveled cat we’ve ever known, and we want to share some of her wisdom and tales of her amazing life, so we interviewed Asti and her person, KK. We hope you enjoy reading this as much as we enjoyed talking to them.
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:
My 8-month-old cat has eaten polymer clay a whole half including plastic! Is polymer clay toxic to a cat? How can I keep her from eating clay and all kinds of other non-food stuff including wires, shoe laces, plastic, paint brush tips, junk on the floor, bird food, fish food, paper, potato chips, and crackers? Help!
~ Christina Continue reading »
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:
I adopted an adorable tabby from the shelter 3 months ago. She is afraid of everything and spends much of her time in hiding. I can pet her but I can’t hold her. She won’t trust me. Here’s the problem. Her claws are getting very long and they must get trimmed. I can’t do this , if I try to hold her she gets mad and wants to claw me. I can’t get her to the vet because I can’t get her in a box to take her out of the house. What to do? Help?
~Adele
Siouxsie: Well, it seems like you’ve got two problems here, Adele. First, you’ve got a cat that’s scared of everything. Second, this scaredy cat needs to have her claws trimmed. The order in which you deal with these issues is crucial to your relationship with your kitty. Continue reading »
Jul 152010
Today is Blog the Change for Animals Day, a chance for all of us animal bloggers (and bloggers who are animals) to help our furry, feathered and finned friends in need. Here are some things you can do to Be The Change:
- Help our friends at PurrEver Ranch, a “pawspice for senior cats and wayward kittizens” find a Furever Home. Spread the word, make a donation, or even send good thoughts and prayers. Find out more here, visit PurrEver’s website, or fan them on Facebook. If you want to tweet it, use this text: PurrEver Ranch needs a “furever home!” Every dollar & every signal boost helps! FMI: http://bit.ly/QUQ5Y #BTC4Pets
- We’re still raising money for our friends at Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary, the only rescue in the US dedicated solely to blind cats. We need your help to reach our ridiculously ambitious goal of $5,000–which will provide food, housing and vet care for all the cats at BCR for six months! Either use the widget in the right column of our website or donate through our FirstGiving page.
- Participate in the Be The Change Dog Days of Summer Challenge: Buy cat and dog food, print a poster (available at the site), and donate it to local shelters.
- Go to FreeKibble and FreeKibbleKat and answer a daily trivia question to donate kibble to shelters in need. Whether you’re right or wrong, the kibble gets donated. You can sign up to get daily reminders by e-mail.
- Go to The Animal Rescue Site and click the big purple button. Every click means a donation of food and money for the care of shelter animals.
- Donate to or help raise awareness about American Humane’s PAWS (Pets And Women’s Shelters) program. Many victims of family violence stay with their abusers because they’re (rightly) afraid of what might happen to their pets if they leave. PAWS is a national program to guide domestic and family violence emergency housing shelters toward permitting residents to bring their pets with them.
- Volunteer at your local animal shelter. You don’t have to work directly with animals if that’s too heart-wrenching for you. Serve on the Board; volunteer your web design, marketing, or other skills; offer to transport animals for vet care; repost, Facebook or Tweet about shelter fund-raisers — or come up with some other cool creative ideas!
- Support the Shelter Pet Project through your blog or website.
There are lots of other wonderful ways you can Be The Change for pets and non-domestic animals. Check out the Be The Change BlogHop by visiting one or more of the sites below and find out what kind of creative things our friends are doing:
