Pet Sitting for Cats

I just finished reading another great article by one of my favorite holistic veterinarians Dr. Karen Becker called Why Cats Really Shouldn't Be Left Alone at Home. This article, of which I totally agree with, struck a nerve with me. She stated there was a survey that said over half of all U.S. cat owners choose a cat as a companion because they believe cats can be left alone for long periods of time. As a professional pet sitter, over the years I have noticed this trend as well. I often get asked to visit cats every other day or even less often. 

Many people believe that because cats are more independent creatures and because they don't need to be let outside to go to the bathroom like dogs, they can go for longer periods of time left alone. Especially if they are given a big bowl full of dry kibble and a big bowl or two of water and perhaps they even have electric litter boxes, so for the most part, the boxes scoop themselves and that problem is taken care of as well. There are also automatic feeders available.

I've also noticed that cats sometimes tend to get treated as second-class citizens, especially if they share their home with dogs. A perfect example of this is I once had a client tell me (during the interview) when asked what veterinarian they used for their cats: "They're just cats -- they don't go to the vet." This is really sad. Cats need veterinary care just like dogs and they need daily visits when they are home alone. 

Cats may be more independent than dogs but they get lonely and bored just like dogs do. Even the shy ones that may never even make an appearance when I'm pet sitting, like to know that there is a human coming to check on them and give them fresh food and fresh water (and maybe some treats or catnip). I had one shy cat that I took care of that wouldn't come out from under the bed. I tried all kinds of things to make friends. It took a lot of patience and finally after four years she finally gave in and came to me for pets and after that, I couldn't get rid of her! She followed me around talking up a storm. 

Not to mention there are cats who are very people-oriented. They are the ones who talk my head off every time I show up because they have been left alone and they do not appreciate that! They are the ones who stay glued to your lap or are climbing all over you and just want to be smothered in love and affection.

But whether it's a shy or a highly affectionate, very out-going cat or anything in between--they deserve to be cared for like the sentient beings they are. They are not less than dogs, they are just different. Just as dogs teach us a lot not only about them, but about ourselves as well; the same goes with cats. 

Another thing is that just as we are becoming more conscious about our own health and well-being and making new discoveries every day (although slow to change), so are we in regards to the health and well-being of our beloved pets. For example, we now know that giving felines a highly processed dry kibble is a far cry from a healthy, species appropriate diet that promotes well-being. I'm not saying cats can't survive on dry foods. They can and they have. Before I learned otherwise, I fed my cats dry food. But there is a big difference between surviving and thriving. So for cats to thrive they need to be eating either raw, home cooked (you have to know what you're doing here!), dehydrated, frozen or high quality can food, which doesn't allow for leaving cats alone for long periods.

Even if you are feeding dry food, it gets stale and sometimes they throw up in their food. (Cats on dry food tend to throw up more often.) Sometimes ants get in the food. Not to mention they really should be getting a measured amount of food to prevent obesity. And clean, fresh water daily is just basic care. Some cats like to play in the water and spill it. Some cats turn on water faucets! There has been more than one occasion when I arrived at a client's house and there was a sink or bath tub faucet that was going full blast.

Cats prefer clean litter boxes and will resort to going else where if it doesn't meet their standards. Some cats are pickier than others. (Remember the rule of thumb: one box per cat plus an extra. Although they are making boxes larger now (yay!), some are the size of two boxes!) The boxes need scooped daily. Even electric litter boxes get jammed up and stop working.

Last but not least, anything can happen in just a short time when it comes to animals home alone. A cat can suddenly become ill or pass away. There has been more than one occasion where I had to rush a cat to the vet or emergency clinic. This is one of the many reasons why I do not accept clients that want anything less than one visit per day for cats. Though I have done every other day visits for cats in the past and still have a couple of clients that ask for every other day visits, of which I will still honor (but am not crazy about), I do not accept such assignments any longer.

"Not to hurt our humble brethren (the animals) is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission--to be of service to them whenever they require it... If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow man."  ~Saint Francis of Assisi

Holistic Veterinary Care Discussion With Dr. Mercola, Dr. Becker and Dr....

In this video, Dr. Mercola talks with Dr. Becker and Dr. Barbara Royal, incoming President of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association (AHVMA), about the role of the organization in promoting holistic and integrative veterinary medicine, as well as a wide range of natural pet health care topics. Throughout this wide-ranging discussion, viewers will discover little pearls of wonderful advice and guidance on how to improve the health of the animals in their life.

I highly recommend watching it. It's well worth it. They are discussing all the things I have been advocating for and discovering in my own research over the years.

To find a holistic veterinarian in your area, click here.

In Loving Memory of Einstein

It seems like all I have been writing about in the last year are tributes to our pets. Here I am again, this makes the fourth one. This one being the hardest of all to write. I loved them all -- both cats and dogs -- and they were all so special and each such a unique bundle of furry unconditional love. This one however, was that one-in-a-million dog. 

We had been dog-less for about a year or so after the last of the previous generation of dogs passed away when we decided we were ready to adopt again. We found Einstein through our veterinarian clinic. One of the veterinarians had a friend who was looking for a new home for their four year old Australian cattle dog. We immediately fell in love with Einstein and three days before Christmas in 2000, took him home with us. What a great Christmas gift!

Although we were excited to have a new family member, I know giving him away was a difficult

thing for his previous family to do and it was hard on Einstein for the first day or so too. He didn't understand why this was happening. He didn't really want anything to do with us once we got him home and took him out in the backyard. He didn't want us to touch him. He barked out the gate to go back home. Finally, with patience and persistence, my husband was able to get the first pet in, and once that happened and Einstein saw we were only there to love him, he was okay. He was our dog now.

What a great dog. He was already well trained and had great manners.He always waited for my permission before he did anything. It became quickly apparent why his name was Einstein. The name fit. He was the smartest dog I have ever met. Not long after bringing him home I began taking him to work with me. (This was before I started pet sitting.) I worked in an office and he would stay by my side at my desk, content to just be wherever I was. It was after this, my husband states, that Einstein became my dog. From then on, Einstein felt his purpose was to watch over me and protect me. 

If I was around, he knew where I was at all times, no exceptions. Where ever I was, there he was. He was my body guard and he took it seriously. When I would leave the house, he would wait for me by the front door. Closed doors were not allowed in our house. If they weren't completely shut, he would shove them open forcefully. He also kept tabs on where anyone else was that might be in our house. Our bathroom door doesn't always shut completely because of settling so when someone uses the bathroom and closes the door as far as it will go, well you guessed it -- Einstein would forcefully shove it open with his muzzle. No privacy allowed here!

He loved our cats and was intrigued by one in particular. He could sit and watch her for hours. She was the best entertainment for him. Likewise, I'm sure. Being the herding dog he was, he was content to herd smaller animals like cats, dogs or humans. He left the herding of larger animals like horses and cows up to our Australian Shepherd, Ellie (who we adopted six months later). We will never forget one time when we were on our ranch in the country, with all four of our dogs. They were all off together, close to the parameter of our property where it was heavily wooded, when they suddenly heard the loud thunder of cattle coming  their direction from the adjoining property. The two female dogs, Ellie and Cali started barking and running toward it, while the two boys, Einstein and Duke started running as fast as they could back to the house, all the while looking over their shoulder. They knew whatever was headed their direction was big and they didn't want any part of it. We still laugh about that.

Einstein loved going to our ranch of course. It was a new experience for him as he had previously lived on a golf course. His feet were so soft. After the first time tippy-toeing around the property, his feet got broken in and became rough. He loved swimming in the pond, fetching a toy and bringing it back over and over. He would never go off any where without me though. One of the first times he went with us he saw a rabbit and began chasing it at full speed. I called him and was amazed that he stopped immediately and came back. He wouldn't even go for a walk with my husband and the other dogs around the property if I wasn't going. He wanted to be with me, always. No matter what. Now that is loyal. I felt honored.

His vocabulary grew to be huge. I taught him the words and names for different types of

animals, the people we regularly saw, and any and everything else. He listened intently to everything I said. Even when I wasn't talking to him. He would let me know whenever there was some critter around. At our ranch, he would sniff into holes in the ground and if he whined that meant there was a critter of some sort in there. If he didn't whine, it was empty. When opossums would get into our garage and hide on occasion , he would whine with his nose pointed in the direction to let me know one was in there. I could always count on him to let me know who or what might be near.

We tried playing with our cats with a laser light once. It doesn't work well when you have dogs in the room. The other dogs would try to get the light (cats didn't have a chance) but Einstein would get irritated at the other dogs for trying to get the light. It was as if he was saying "you dummies -- Mom and Dad are making the light move!" If they didn't stop chasing the light he would nip at the hand that was holding the laser light  -- telling us to "stop that!". He was too smart to chase a laser light and thought the other dogs were ridiculous for doing so! We still laugh about that one too.

He loved tennis balls and was so enthusiastic about catching them he would do a flip in the process if needed. He was an excellent ball catcher. As a matter of fact, to show you just how great a dog's sense of smell is; just a short time after we adopted him, he was in the backyard and started digging close to the patio. After looking to see why he was digging there, I was amazed to see he had dug down at least six inches or so to uncover an old tennis ball! It had gotten buried years ago from our previous dogs. Amazing. He smelled it under several inches of dirt and it was only half of an old, worn out tennis ball. 

He also loved to tear the squeaker out of every stuffed toy and "kill it" so it couldn't squeak any more. He didn't like those squeakers! It would take him less than a minute to get them out.

Another funny story comes to mind. He was never afraid of our two horses. He was rather relaxed around them compared to the cows. He liked to eat their sweet feed and their carrots and would help himself to a bite or two. One day, he was standing just in front of our Quarter horse Tosha, while she was eating out of her bucket, with his butt to her and I guess she didn't want him so close to her food so she nipped him on the butt! He yelped and jumped at the same time and then came over to me pointing with his head and snout that his butt hurt. Naturally, I rubbed it and kissed it to make it feel better. He was the best communicator. He always let me know if something hurt and where.

He had such a calm and wise demeanor. People noticed it but other animals especially noticed it. No matter where we went and whether it was a dog or cat, they all gravitated toward him and showed particular interest in him. Even when we had all four dogs with us other people's pets would favor him. They found his calm and wise energy comforting. Our other pets were no different. Our cats adored him. He was in kitty herding heaven!  A veterinarian once remarked what a calm dog he was as we were waiting in the clinic. 

He was not a real friendly dog with other people. He only liked to receive pets if he asked for them and then he wanted the pets on his chest, please. He would shove your hand down to his chest if you went for the head. He had to know you to want a pet from you. He didn't allow just anyone to pet him. He was a one-person-dog as they say. He was totally dedicated to one person and that was me. I was the luckiest person in the world.

I have a magnet on my refrigerator with a picture of an Australian Cattle Dog - Blue Heeler on it and it has a description of them that says; robust, athletic, clever, versatile and talented. Watchful with strangers.  Hard-Headed (In bold). He was hard-headed indeed. He could also be very intense.

Other than a couple of bouts with Vestibular Disease when he was fifteen, he was healthy his whole life. He developed high blood pressure around the same time. We also discovered that he had a benign brain tumor and he had had several mini strokes. He didn't show any outward symptoms of either and never did. Though he lost his hearing, he was bright-eyed until the very end. He began getting weaker. He was very independent and wasn't happy about accepting help in the beginning, when he needed it but he quickly resolved to having to be taken care of. He had taken care of me for the last thirteen years and now it was my turn. He continued to communicate his needs in whatever ways he could. He was so good at that. I always knew what he wanted. He always knew what I wanted (though he may not have always listened). He was determined to stay with me for as long as he could. His body gave out long before he did but he finally let go two months after his seventeenth birthday, on October 29th. He had a good, long life filled with lots of love and fun.

Einstein (like the rest of our pets) taught me so much about myself and about them. He was a great teacher. They give us so much but most of all they give us unconditional love. They help us to grow and expand. We have only just begun to understand them. They have so much to teach us. They are magnificent creatures. They are sentient beings -- gifts from God. That's why it hurts so much when they leave. 

Einstein: The most amazing dog I have ever met. I am so grateful to have had him in my life. I will never be the same.

Healthy Pet Products for Less

Did you know that Swanson Vitamins carries pet products for less? I order our human supplements from them and after discovering they sell some of the healthier pet treats and the line of supplements for pets called Pet Naturals, I got excited! 

Their line of pet products has expanded and their prices can't be beat! As a matter of fact, "Swanson Health Products goes another step beyond its competitors by offering powerful guarantees. All products are backed by a 100% Satisfaction, Money-Back Guarantee and our Price Matching. If you are not satisfied with your purchase for any reason, simply return the unused portion for a full refund of the purchase price. If you find a product priced lower from a qualifying competitor, let us know and we'll match that price. As a leading supplement brand, Swanson Health Products is Good Manufacturing Practices certified and also voluntarily participates in third party supplement testing by independent organizations including ConsumerLab.com."

Click on this link here to get $5 off your first order! For every friend I refer that places an order through this link, I receive a $10 reward coupon. This way we both save! And yes, I would still highly recommend Swanson Vitamins even if I didn't receive a $10 reward coupon! You can't beat them -- great products, great prices and great customer service. And they have pet products! Check it out!  :)

We Broke Another Record

Wow! Thank you! to our wonderful clients for making 2013 such a great year for Cozy Critters! This July we broke last year's record (also July) for most visits ever done in a month in our eleven year history. We also had the best March and August we have ever had. Now we are gearing up for the holidays so don't wait until it's too late! Make your holiday pet sitting reservations in advance to guarantee availability.

Cozy Critters Daily Dog Walks Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly photo books offer a variety of layouts and cover options to choose from.

The book fanatic that I am, I had to create a book full of pictures I have taken of the dogs we have walked on a daily basis over the last 11 years. It also includes many of my favorite quotes about dogs and animals. (Unfortunately, a few of the photos I had got lost during the change over to a new computer and all I had was a printed copy of which I scanned. These photos came out very grainy.) Now this gives me an idea about a cat book....

And Then a Miracle Happened

The week of my birthday was a memorable week. First, starting with my birthday (May 13th), our dog Ellie passed away. Then five days later on the 18th, my father-in-law passed away. Then the next day (19th) a miracle happened.

We were pet sitting a long-time client's Boston Terrier, Lou (pictured above), who will be 13 this year. Though we had been sharing the visits, my husband Clifton happened to be doing that particular visit. He had just given Lou his breakfast which was (chopped up) prescription can food. Lou began eating and Clifton stepped away from the kitchen for 60 - 70 seconds. When he returned Lou was laid out flat on his side. Calling his name, he checked for breathing and heart beat. There was neither. He opened his mouth and reached down his throat and pulled out a piece of can food. Then he gave Lou CPR. Then the miracle happened. Clifton felt Lou's heart start beating again. Lou started coughing and catching his breath. He was back! He was gone but now he was back! Clifton said it all happened so fast yet it was going in slow motion. He instinctively and intuitively knew what to do and just did it. All this took another 60 - 80 seconds. Lou sat up and wanted to get up and walk but Clifton made him stay still with a blanket wrapped around him. Clifton called me and I went over there and we kept Lou in the blanket, holding him, giving thanks to God. This story could have ended differently. We are so grateful it didn't. What a miracle! Lou was fine. He was still hungry and ready to finish eating! Though I don't know for sure if he knew what just happened to him exactly, he knew that Clifton saved him. That was incredibly obvious to us. He would not take his eyes off of Clifton. With his eyes, he was saying "thank you" for saving me.

What a nice gift...especially considering that that day, the 19th -- was the anniversary of Clifton's mother's death. What a week.....

Who would think a dog could choke on can food otherwise known as "wet" food? How many times have we stepped away for a moment to do something else after giving pets their food? How many pets "free-feed" on food? We have been pet sitting for over eleven years and we both have had multiple animals our whole lives. We've fed hundreds, possibly thousands of pets. (I have fed close to 100 animals in a single day before.) We have never had any animal choke on their food....before.

A lot of the prescription can foods are so hard and dry. They are the driest can foods I've ever seen. We started totally mashing Lou's food (which primarily consists of potato with venison) totally and adding enough water to make the consistency of oatmeal or even a little more soupy than that. He seemed to like that better too. (You just have to keep scraping it off the bottom of the bowl into a heap for them so they can get it all.) We noticed that even after adding all that water, when Lou was halfway though eating it, it had soaked up all the water and was becoming dry again. Incredible. So if your dog eats prescription can food, take note!

Those that know me well and all the research I've done....know that this leads me into a topic of which I am passionate about: pet foods. But that's another article for another day. Until then, check my blog (use the search button) for previous articles and videos on pet foods. You can also find a list of helpful website links related to pet foods and nutrition on my website. Just click on the "Links" button.

And remember......EXPECT miracles!   :)