Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:

I’vve got an old cat who just sleeps all the time. Recently it started peeing and pooping everywhere on the first floor. It’s never done this before; it always used the litterbox on the second floor. What, if anything, can be done about this?

~Cote

Siouxsie: Well, Cote, this is your lucky day: this is a pretty easy problem to solve. Read more »

It has come to our attention that our readers have a real need for a venue in which to talk about losing their feline friends. Our most-commented column was about the sudden death of a cat friend, and we’ve received a number of comments and e-mails from people who are really suffering as a result of their cats’ death.

We’d like some feedback from you, our readers, on what we can do to help those of you who are dealing with a cat friend’s death or facing that issue in the future due to a terminal illness or simply from old age.

What would you like to see in a venue such as this and how would you like us to execute it?

Would you like to have a forum in which you can post publicly about your situation and ask for support?

How about a LiveJournal community or other blog area where you can post about stuff like this?

Would you like a separate blog where we can discuss issues specific to pet loss and illness?

Is there some way we haven’t thought of that we can support you?

Are there readers out there who would be willing to contribute articles or posts, or serve as moderators?

We know there are a number of sites out there dealing with pet loss, but perhaps you, our readers, would prefer something more specifically geared to cat issues. We’re not professional counselors, of course, but we are laykitties and a layperson who know personally about the pain of losing a cat companion. We’d welcome assistance from veterinarians, counselors or other professionals who would like to contribute to such a forum. We can’t pay you, of course; we don’t even pay ourselves. But if this is something you’d like to help with on a volunteer basis, we’d be delighted.

Thank you. We’re looking forward to hearing from you with your ideas.

As we researched financial assistance resources for pet rescuers, we found out that the Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Program is out of funds.

Because the US economy is in such a shambles (regardless of what the politicians and talking heads tell us) and prices for even the most basic human needs have gotten so high, animal shelters all over the country are suffering terribly from a lack of donations. Not only that, but their populations are increasing steadily as people either give up or abandon their pets because they can no longer afford them. Animals they have at their shelters are not getting adopted for the same reasons, so no-kill shelters are literally overflowing with cats and kittens.

So, to all of our readers who have money to spare–and we know there are at least a few of you out there–PLEASE give as generously as you can to your local animal rescue or to organizations like the FVEAP. They need it now more than ever!

For those of you who can’t afford to donate, please do what you can to signal-boost our signal boost. The more we spread the word, the more likely it is that these animals can get the help they need.

Thank you so much.