Kitty Cat Corner

The jig is up. Your Loyal Calvin and Susie Blogger is a Cat Person. Fear not! I LOVE dogs too! I’ve had dogs my entire life, and this is the first time I’ve found myself sans canine.

But it’s true. I’d currently call myself a (deep breath) CAT PERSON. I am the proud servant to a cranky old calico girl cat, and I’d sell my fiance up the river for her.

At the store, I tend to get a lot of cat questions. These are my three favorite Frequently Asked Questions:

Hello Helpful Calvin & Susie worker! Can I walk my cat on a leash?

So, before I worked here I said a resounding, “NO”, actually it was more like a resounding, “No! That will never work! Why do you want to do that?”.

O! How wrong I was! The answer is YES…sort of.

We do sell harness and leash sets for cats, and I can think of 3 very successful customers who now happily walk their cats! Outdoors! In the world!

However, it takes a very specific cat. These cats have been raised and cared for by their very calm and patient owners for several years now. The cats are confident and inquisitive, and tend to not “spook” easily. Not all cats are like this. If your cat is nervous, has just recently entered your life as an adult and/or is generally a “Scaredy Cat”, walking may not be for you. I think the best advice I can give is not to force it.

Make sure your harness (I prefer a harness to a collar, since cats have such little, delicate necks) fits snugly and securely. Start by calmly walking your cat around your home, then calmly walking around your yard, then MAYBE calmly walking out into the big, bold world. Did I mention to do all of this calmly? How does your kitty do? Do they move forward curiously? Stay with you? Bolt every which way trying to get off the leash? Attack the leash? Try to chew through it? USE YOUR BETTER JUDGMENT! The last thing you want is your kitty getting away from you and running away. It’s not the end of the world if your cat won’t go for a walk around the neighborhood with you.

Oh hey there, Calvin & Susie worker! Can my cat eat my dog’s food? Cuz Fluffy the Cat, REALLY likes it.

Fluffy! You cannot eat your doggie brethren’s food!

Cats and dogs, while both carnivores have different nutritional needs. Dogs can extract and synthesize nutrients from food that cats cannot. Therefore, if you feed your cat exclusively dog food for an extended amount of time, your kitty will have some major health issues to contend with that may be life threatening. So feed your cat, cat food!

Cats need different levels of calcium, phosphorus, vitamins A, B-Complex, C, D and E, iodine, fish oil and the big one, Taurine, than dogs.

Say it with me: MY CAT MUST HAVE TAURINE.

Cats cannot synthesize and store Taurine in their bodies the way dogs can. It is one of the main differences between dog and cat food. If your cat does not get enough Taurine, he or she is in very real danger of blindness, dilated cardiomyopathy, compromised immune health and sterility.

Animal protein contains some Taurine naturally, but it is usually not enough for your kitty to survive on. If you are cooking or making raw food for your cat, or cat and dogs, I’d recommend supplementing kitty’s food with high quality (no fillers!) supplements which include Taurine.

Here’s a helpful website to aid in your supplementing –> MEOW.

Aloha Calvin & Susie Worker! I hate hairballs. And my cat barfs them up! Can I stop my cat from coughing up hairballs?

Whoa whoa whoa. You hate hairballs? Really? I save my cat’s and string them up as Christmas ornaments so as I gaze lovingly at my tree, I see the season’s change with my kitty’s up-chuck.

I’m kidding.

Vomiting up hairballs is very normal, even healthy. You don’t want kitty’s licked up hair to accumulate, get compacted and block up kitty’s insides. A barfed up hairball once or twice every month, to month and a half is normal. You can help your kitty move things along, even pass them in the litter box sometimes, by giving them fish oil, plain (no sugar, salt, preservatives) steamed pumpkin, or virgin coconut oil. All of these can be a part of a healthy diet anyway.

There are also products out there that are hairball treatments. Most are petroleum jelly based. I personally do not recommend this as a long term treatment as there is proof that petroleum jelly can interfere with your cat’s absorption of fat soluble vitamins. Just read your labels (Remember? we learned that when talking about shampoo? Still applies here.) and know what you are feeding your kitty.

However, if your kitty is vomiting several times a day for a few days or a week, go see your vet. Don’t just assume it’s an annoying thing your cat is doing to you, it may be indicative of a larger problem.

Vomiting excessively is never good. Who knows, it may be nothing, but peace of mind is worth its weight in hairballs.

This point brings me to…

When in doubt ask your vet. The information in this blog has been carefully culled and researched by the Calvin & Susie Blogger, but we are NOT vets. This blog is not meant to replace veterinary care. When starting any new program or regimen for your pet, please check with your vet.

Thanks for reading! May your paws be swift! May your tails wag merrily! May the kibble be plentiful!

~Your Loyal Calvin & Susie Blogger