What Do You Feed Your Pets During the Holidays?

Thought it would be a good idea to brush up on some holiday foods that are definite NOs  for your pet. You may have seen these before, but there may be some new ones you haven't thought of. I'll be blogging a couple of times on this subject because Christmas is not that far away.

Fruitcake

 A holiday fruitcake is a long-standing (and often dreaded) holiday gift and treat. The ingredients in fruitcake, although delicious, are actually extremely dangerous to your pets. Grapes and raisins are associated with the development of kidney failure in some pets who have ingested them.

Turkey or Ham Skin

A turkey or ham is a staple at almost every holiday feast. But did you know that foods high in fat, like the turkey and ham skin, can actually be very harmful for your pet? The skin holds onto all of the butter, spices, marinades, and oils that were used to cook the meat. This makes it very hard to digest. Meat soaked strings leftover from a holiday ham or roast should be thrown away and taken out to the garbage immediately, as they are extremely tempting for a pet to ingest. These can get tangled inside the intestines and require surgery. Also a no-no are cooked bones which can become brittle causing them to splinter into sharp edges and are known to get stuck in the teeth, causing choking hazards when caught in the throat or cause a puncture of the stomach lining or intestinal tract.

Nuts 

These are especially risky for dogs. Macadamia nuts in particular can cause discomfort. Put the bowl in an unreachable place.

Baking Essentials: Chocolate, Dough, And Batter

Baking Christmas cookies is a beloved family tradition that many look forward to all year. Keeping your pet out of the kitchen while you prepare those delicious Christmas desserts is a smart idea. Even small amounts of chocolate can harm them, and dough can actually rise inside of their bellies, which causes stomach pain. Spare batter contains uncooked eggs, which are always a risk for Salmonella.

Of course, telling your pet no doesn't always mean that they agree! 

You may also get these reactions!

So, please watch that your pets don't get any of these foods. We don't want them to be sick for the holidays!

Another thing to remember:

We'll talk about four more foods next week.

Marion Lovato is the author of Sam, the Superkitty.  Her book describes an ordinary cat changing into a superhero to protect his family from things that go bump in the night.  Available on Amazon as a paperback or Kindle edition.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604588667

Election Day Kitty Cat Style

Yes, I know that the election is over with. However, did you know that cats had their own election in Anytown, USA? They believe in the democratic process too. (As long as they get their own way)

Jasper was elected President because he said so. No one objected.

Clover became the Vice President because he'd do what Jasper told him to do.

The first thing Jasper did was select Winnie as his Head of the Department of Agriculture because food is very important!

Next to be selected was Steve as the Head of the Department of Transportation.

Buff was named the Press Secretary.

Max was put in charge of the IRS.

Ralph was Head of the Department of Education

Sydney was in charge of the Housing Department.

Patrick and Poppy became the groundskeepers for the Cat Lodge.

Jasper was getting pretty tired, so he appointed just one more cat. Ricky was Head of the Department of Energy.

By this time Jasper was ready for a nap! Everyone agreed. Whether any other cat was appointed, we'll never know.

Thank goodness, this doesn't happen for another four years!

Marion Lovato is the author of Sam, the Superkitty.  Her book describes an ordinary cat changing into a superhero to protect his family from things that go bump in the night.  Available on Amazon as a paperback or Kindle edition.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604588667

What Do Cats Think About the World Series?

Several cats in the town of Mudville decided they should have a baseball team. They had watched their humans laughing, yelling, jumping up and down and doing all kind of crazy things when they watched the World Series. It looked like a lot of fun! They called themselves the Mudville Mousers. It was tough to get the right cats to play the different areas of the field, but they finally did it. Kirby was the pitcher because it looked like he was quite good with his paws on AND off the field.

Muffins was the catcher because that's what he could do!

Next to be chosen were the outfielders. Their names were Huey, Louie, and Dewey.

Muggles was chosen to be the shortstop because he was so talented.

Cleo was on first base, 

Cuddles played second base,

and Ginger was on third base because nobody wanted to mess with her.

The day and time for the game with the Farthington Felines was set, but the game was never played. The Felines never showed up because they were taking a nap. When the Mousers were interviewed about how they felt about their game and the World Series, these were the results.

Those who really didn't want to play and liked the Chicago Cubs:

Those who did want to play and liked the Cleveland Indians:

Well, so much for that. Maybe one of these days these cats will get their act together and play a game. In the meantime, I'm sure they're enjoying their naps!

Marion Lovato is the author of Sam, the Superkitty.  Her book describes an ordinary cat changing into a superhero to protect his family from things that go bump in the night.  Available on Amazon as a paperback or Kindle edition.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604588667

A Cat's View of Fall

Eyesight is getting better. Going to reblog a favorite from my friend, Colin. Enjoy, and please check out his other blogs also.  Mageowl's Blog

Cats have a different way of looking at the fall season than we humans do. Here’s a few examples of how a cat might view the changing seasons:

Summer’s over… the sun is dying… we’re all going to freeze to death! Oh! A leaf is falling, it’s a toy!

There’s not enough sun… we’re all going to freeze! We’re… we’re… is that a mouse I hear? It is! Let’s play!

Leaves falling from trees? Changing colors, drying up… Mouse time!

White powder falling from the sky? No sun? We’re all going to freeze! Where’s the blankets?

Snow! Snow? Nap time, wake me in the spring.

It’s fall! It’s getting colder! Time to run around and play until we all drop exhausted!

Summer’s over? It’s starting to get cooler… that mean blanket time! Where’s my soft blanket?

As you can see, cats have many different ideas on what the changing season means, some love it, others hate it.

How does your cat handle the changing seasons? How do you cheer them up? I’d enjoy reading your thoughts.

Thanks for reading.

Thanks, Colin, for helping me out!

Marion Lovato is the author of Sam, the Superkitty.  Her book describes an ordinary cat changing into a superhero to protect his family from things that go bump in the night.  Available on Amazon as a paperback or Kindle edition.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604588667

I Has A Confused!!

Sorry that I haven't posted anything the last two weeks, but I lost the vision in my right eye. I was rushed 150 miles to a specialist who is bringing my vision back. It's slow, but sure. Makes my eyes really tired if I spend too much time in front of a computer. Hopefully, I will be completely healed in the next few weeks. Thanks for understanding.

Marion Lovato is the author of Sam, the Superkitty.  Her book describes an ordinary cat changing into a superhero to protect his family from things that go bump in the night.  Available on Amazon as a paperback or Kindle edition.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604588667

Cats Are FALLing

It's official. Seasons have changed and it is now fall. Love this time of the year with the cooler temperatures and beaufiful colors. What does this have to do with cats? They notice the change of the seasons also. My friend, Colin, has some suggestions for keeping your cat happy during the fall season. Will share his ideas as well as my own. Here's Colin!

The most important thing to do is to keep your cat active, to the end I have the following suggestions:

1. Hide small piles of catnip behind fragile objects on high shelves, this has the added benefit of giving your cat a chance to watch you clean up the mess.

2. Buy a number of life like toy mice and hide them. Your cats will find them and leave them where you will trip over them in the middle of the night and think it is a real mouse, which will entertain your cat for hours.

3. Give your cat a bath, he will find it fascinating to watch you tend your wounds.

4. Leave a bag of dry food slightly open, your cat will find a way to get it open and help herself to a tasty snack.

5. Start playing a game with your cat with treats, try tossing the treats to your cat.

If everything else fails, give your cat a nice soft blanket to sleep on in his or her favorite window.

Thank you, Colin! Good ideas even though some may backfire on you. :) During this time of year, you may see cats FALLing asleep anywhere.

FALLing for a good sales pitch.

Afraid of FALLing!

Watching other people FALLing.

They may even FALL in love with a new friend.

If you have any different suggestions about keeping your cat happy during the fall, please let us know. You can find Colin Noel-Johnson's blogs at Mageowl's Blog. I love his sense of humor and I think you will too.

Marion Lovato is the author of Sam, the Superkitty.  Her book describes an ordinary cat changing into a superhero to protect his family from things that go bump in the night.  Available on Amazon as a paperback or Kindle edition.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604588667

NOBODY is Perfect!

Sylvester was a beautiful black and white cat. The family had loved him since he was born and took good care of him. However, his litter mates were jealous and tried to make him feel bad. They would tell him that he was nobody and that the family just felt sorry for him. He heard that so much that he started to believe it. He started telling himself that he WAS a nobody which made him feel very sad. He started sleeping more and eating less.

One night while the family was sitting at the table eating dinner, the conversation was about the fact that people make mistakes because nobody is perfect. One of the children had made a mistake and the parents were trying to encourage them to not feel so badly about it. Sylvester happened to be lying in the corner listening to this and suddenly started to feel better.

He kept hearing that "nobody is perfect" which started him thinking about his situation. He was a nobody!! So there is only one conclusion that he could reach. Life, all of a sudden, became good again!

Marion Lovato is the author of Sam, the Superkitty.  Her book describes an ordinary cat changing into a superhero to protect his family from things that go bump in the night.  Available on Amazon as a paperback or Kindle edition.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604588667