Archive for June, 2006
Well, our cat crazy month is winding down… but I just found out something cool!
I have been familiar with Dogster.com for a long time, we even have some very cute clients who have pages on Dogster, like Jimi the Deuce! but did you know there is also a Catster.com ?!!
And it’s more than just pages and pages of pictures of cats, some who have diaries (aka blogs) and some who have some big personalities..
They also offer a big section of kitties who are in need of adoption (hint, hint) like little Princess Leia!
And since it is still “Adopt a shelter cat month” for a few more days, you should check it out now!
They also provide useful information for cat guardians like an Ask The Vet section! So if you have a web savvy cat, you can create a Catster page of your own. Or if you’re a cat lover, you can just have fun looking at all the crazy cats, and you’ll be amazed at how many of them are patriotic (I was)!
While we’re on the topic of cool cat stuff… Did you know that we have gift shops that include some really cute cat merchandise? 
So, if you’ve got cat lovers on your gift list be sure and bookmark our cat shops at Pop Pet Gifts!
Or shop right now and get $5 off an order of $20 or more! Just use the coupon code “MOTIFSENSES” when you check out.
We were proud to be involved in Denver’s Dumb Friends League’s 3rd Annual Kitty Karnival this weekend!
They had demonstrations and education about cat care, games & food & fun for the whole family!
The kittens sure seemed to be having a good time!
They really do provide a wonderful facility, and during the Summer months they take in nearly 600 homeless cats, which is absolutely astounding! 
Fortunately, lots of people lined up to take a new companion home!
Remember that June is “Adopt a shelter cat month,” and a great time to add a feline member to your family. Please visit a shelter near you today!
Did you know that tomorrow, Friday June 23rd is a national holiday? It’s “Take Your Dog To Work Day!”
According to its organizers, several thousand companies are expected to participate, up from a few hundred when the event began eight years ago. Workplace policies allowing dogs on the job are becoming more popular as some surveys have shown that it lowers absenteeism, improves morale, and helps build bonds among workers and even with clients.
Pet-friendly environments can apparently pay off in a competitive job market, as more than 400 of America’s most successful companies, including Google Inc., have taken this step. Also, a survey by Simply Hired and Dogster, found a third of dog-owners would take a 5 percent pay cut to take their pets to work, two-thirds would work longer hours and half would switch jobs. So, if your company isn’t participating this year in Take Your Dog To Work Day, maybe you need to educate your boss!
Pet Sitters International is the organization who started TYDTWD, with the intention of raising awareness of animals in need of homes – a cause we certainly share. All the positive side-effects have really just been a happy accident. Now maybe they can help dogs on the job form a union and get a 401K plan!
We’ve been covering lots of feline features this month, but today we found a canine making headlines… for saving a life!
Meet Belle, the heroic Beagle who is credited with dialing 911 when her person collapsed from a diabetic seizure.
Kevin Weaver, Belle’s guardian, said “there is no doubt in my mind that I’d be dead if I didn’t have Belle.” Belle is a specially trained companion animal who uses her keen sense of smell to detect abnormalities in a person’s blood-sugar levels. She periodically licks Weaver’s nose to take her own “reading” and if his level seems off to her she paws and whines signaling him to test himself with his meter. Kevin says she has never been wrong. She is also trained to summon help in emergency situations, but she is now the first canine recipient to win the VITA Wireless Samaritan Award, which is given when someone uses a cell phone to save a life, help in an emergency, or prevent a crime.
Belle was presented her award on Monday in Washington, DC, she appeared underwhelmed.
The judge in the case of Lewis the Attack Cat, a.k.a. “Terrorist of Sunset Circle,” that we told you about earlier this week, reached his decision on Tuesday.
To the delight of animal lovers who traveled to the Bridgeport, Conn. Superior Court from as far away as Utah and Florida, Judge Patrick Carroll III declined to order Lewis, the serial-scratching cat, euthanized.
Instead, he placed owner Ruth Cisero in a program that will erase a reckless endangerment charge if she completes two years probation and 50 hours of community service.
Under the terms of that probation, Lewis must abide by a previous restraining order that prevents him from leaving Cisero’s home. If he does, the charge against Cisero will be reinstated. She could face up to six months in prison, and Lewis could again face death.
Congratulations, Lewis! Now you’ll just need to make the adjustment to house cat, and your mother will need to make the adjustment to responsible cat guardian, for your sake, and the neighbors’, and the Avon lady’s!
One of our very favorite websites is Cute Overload.. If you’re not familiar you really must check it out, you’re bound to bookmark it!
Hostess and founder of Cute Overload, Meg, is the collector of cute, the queen of cute, the cute overlord, the cute-meister! I don’t know how she does it but you can visit her site several times a day, and rarely do you load the page without letting out a big sigh.. awhhhh!
So to give you some incentive and continue with our cat craze, here are some of Cute Overload‘s cutest cats!
While you’re there we encourage you to help Meg out by visiting her sponsors’ websites too! …Enjoy!
ps: all kittens aside, this is my personal, all-time favorite cute overload critter. he was actually dubbed the World Peace Hamster. don’t you just want to squeeze his puffy little cheeks?!
In our continuing cat coverage in support of “Adopt A Shelter Cat Month,” in addition to the Feline Reality TV Stars we told you about currently in residence in the “Meow Mix House“, we have found cats making more serious headlines.
Jack the cat chases bear up tree
According to neighbors, Jack, a fifteen pound orange and white cat, is constantly on guard and frequently chases small animals off his property.
They were all surprised however at his recent conquest.
Jack treed a bear! Bears are not at all uncommon in northern New Jersey, but to see one frightened by a cat is quite uncommon; and this bear was clearly frightened according to neighbors. After fifteen minutes or so, the bear got brave enough to climb down to attempt an escape but Jack just chased him up another tree!
Jack’s mom, Donna Dickey, concerned for his safety finally managed to call him away and the bear headed back to the woods in a hurry. Dickey’s comment on the events, “He doesn’t want anybody in his yard.”
A ferocious, five year old, feline named Lewis, has terrorized a Fairfield, Connecticut neighborhood to the point that residents had to have a restraining order issued against the so-called “Terrorist of Sunset Circle.” (Who knew you could get a restraining order against a cat?!)
Lewis, 
a black-and-white long haired cat, with six toes on each foot, attacked at least a half-dozen people on the cul-de-sac and even took on the local Avon lady, neighbors say. Animal control officers who have been called to the scene of the crimes have said they don’t think Lewis can cause serious injury but he does go after legs, and bites, and scratches and has caused more than one person to seek medical attention.
One judge ordered the cat be given prozac, but according to his owner, Ruth Cisero, Lewis refused to take them. Lewis was also sentenced to “house arrest,” and when Cisero failed to uphold the terms she herself was arrested for failing to comply with the restraining order and for reckless endangerment. The courts offered Cisero probation, but only if she consented to have Lewis put to sleep but she refused and hired a lawyer. So the saga of Lewis the attack cat continues…
While the community campaigns to get Lewis evicted (or worse), Lewis is getting a lot of support from animal loving supporters who have sold more than 500 “Save Lewis” T-shirts to raise money for his legal defense.
This is the true story of ten cats picked to live in a store window and have their lives taped, to see what happens when cats stop being polite and start getting real!
This is not a joke! “The Meow Mix House,” sponsored by Meow Mix (obviously) features 10 cats in need of homes selected from shelters across the country. The cats are living in quite a “pawsh” cat house for ten days with cameras broadcasting live on the internet 24 hours a day. Seriously! I’m watching them right now! But it’s not all for show, so to speak, the cats are competing (though I doubt they are aware of it) for titles like, Loudest Purr, Most Prolific Sleeper, and Best Mouser (we are not at all happy about this one, we like mice)!
This is all taking place in a storefront on Madison Avenue in midtown Manhattan, proving that New Yorkers themselves are quite unpredictable creatures! [Hmm.. I wonder if they are using the old signs from "Cats" on Broadway?] Passersby can watch the cats enjoy their fifteen minutes of fame in the luxuriously furnished cat-house with scaled-down sassy sofas and beds and even a fish tank with fake fish (unfortunately the mice are real). It was actually put together by an interior designer!
Meow Mix is hoping to promote cat adoption (and of course their products), and find a home for the ten new celebrities as well as thousands of other homeless cats during this, “Adopt a Shelter Cat Month.”
In true reality show fashion the company will hire the top cat from the show, determined by viewer votes, as “Feline VP of Research and Development,” responsible for taste testing and product feedback.
Good Luck Kitties! Try to keep the cat fights to a minimum.
You really have to check it out! [And notice on the website, when you go to "Meow Theater" the image of the Andy Warhol-style cat portrait. How appropriate!]
This is the coolest thing we’ve seen in awhile… Global Pet Finder! This slightly bulky, attachment for your pet’s collar has a built in GPS transmitter – it’s like a Lojack for your pet!
Once you purchase the device you also sign up for service that allows you to create a virtual fence, or boundaries in which your pet normally roams. Anytime your pet wanders outside that area you are sent a notification on your computer or cell phone. Then you receive the continuously updated location of your pet in text or map format. This is a big, non-invasive, step beyond the micro chip that you implant in case your lost pet is found. This will help you find your dog who may have dug under the fence, or chased a squirrel too far, or was abducted and held for ransom (hey, it could happen)!
The device has practical, daily applications as well. It can even monitor the temperature and alert you when it becomes dangerously hot or cold for your pet to be outside.
At $300, plus the cost of the monitoring service, it may not be in everybody’s price range, but the peace of mind it could provide is priceless. If you are interested, you should visit their site now - the Global Pet Finder is currently on sale for less than $250, it’s practically a bargain!
According to the calendar it’s not quite summer yet, but here in Denver we have already had temperatures in the mid 90′s which means it’s a long hot season ahead. As unpleasant as it can be for us to endure the heat, imagine how our four-legged friends with their built in fur coats feel!? Pets can suffer from the same heat-related problems as people and they can happen even faster, so here are some tips to help you help your pet avoid such problems as overheating, dehydration, and even sunburn.
1. Visit your vet at the beginning of the season, have a heartworm test and stock up on your preventative medication as well as the flea & tick control program your vet thinks is best for your pet.
2. Do not leave your pet alone in a vehicle because hyperthermia can be fatal. Even with the windows down your car can become unbelievably hot in a very short time.
3. Always carry a gallon of fresh, cool water when traveling with your pet.
4. The right time for playtime is morning or evening when it’s cooler, but never after a meal and never when it’s extremely humid.
5. Use street smarts - Do not let your dog or cat stand on hot asphalt! Sensitive paw pads can burn.
6. A day at the beach is no day at the beach for your dog unless you can guarantee a shady spot and provide plenty of fresh water. And after a dip in the ocean immediately rinse off your salty dog!
7. Do not leave your pets outside during mid-day heat, even if they have shade and shelter. Find a place inside where they can rest and be cool.
8. Be especially considerate to older and overweight animals, as well as those with heart or lung conditions, and even dogs with snub noses like Bulldogs, Pugs, Shih tzus, etc; they are all more susceptible to heat-related problems.
9. Avoid areas outdoors that may have been sprayed with insecticides or chemical fertilizers.
10. A sassy summer hairdo can help dogs with long hair beat the heat – but don’t shave it shorter than one inch to maintain protection from sunburn. Good grooming, keeps cats cool too; brush them often to help them keep that coat to a minimum.
Hope this helps you and your pets Be Cooool!
