July is anti boredom month.

See our July Newsletter “The Scoop” for more tips on how to relive boredom.

One thing I have personally found that works is the cat stroller! This is a safe alternative to letting your kitty go outside. It is a stroller made for pets; it has a screen you zip over the seat so the kitty cannot get out.

I never force my cats to get into the stroller to take walks. All I have to do I say is “Want to go for a walk? Get into your stroller” They jump in. I find them napping in the stroller inside the house when were not outside using it. So they like it. I did find out my two cats did not like to go in the stroller together, so I was taking one around the block, then switching cats. Until, I was given a double cat stroller.

You should see the looks and comments we get from people we pass on the sidewalks. I have taken Ute to the farmers market, to a local restaurant that has an outside patio. They allow dogs, so they said he could sit outside too. I will also take them out on my patio to sit with me while I am outside.

The cats sit up tall and proud as we walk the streets. It is fun for all of us to get out after dinner and take a stroll.

What to do with an unwanted cat

We have been on the subject of the overpopulation of stray cats and in the shelters. Almost daily some one calls asking where they can take a cat they no longer can keep. Or that they found as a stray in the yard.

Here is a list of things you can do, or sites you can visit or call if you find yourself in this position.

Finding a Home for Kitty

Where to go if you cannot care for your cat or have found a stray

Each year in the U.S., about 4 million homeless dogs, cats and other pets are euthanized in shelters. In Michigan alone, more than 60,000 cats and kittens are euthanized each year (only includes shelters reporting euthanasia rates to the State of Michigan). Some shelters euthanize 75% or more of the cats that are in their care.

The sad reality is, many animal shelters are overcrowded and have to make room for more animals to come in. This unfortunate pattern gets repeated over and over again.

If you have a cat that you can no longer care for – or if you have found a stray cat or kitten – you have a number of options before surrendering the pet to an animal shelter. Please consider:

1. Try every way possible to keep the cat.

Even though cats often live 20 years or more, many people favor younger cats or kittens. If your cat is more than 5-6 years old, his/her chances of getting adopted are not as good as for younger cats. Think about what you can do to keep your cat or give a home to a homeless stray. If you need assistance, there is help available for:

· Pet food -- Find pet food pantries around Michigan at http://www.petco.com/petco_Page_PC_foundationfoodbank.aspx

· Veterinary care – Many low-cost spay/neuter clinics not only offer sterilization, but often provide low-cost vaccines. For a list of Michigan clinics, go to http://www.nootersclub.org/lowcostspayneuter.htm

Also ask your veterinarian about payment plans such as those offered through Care Credit. Some veterinary practices also maintain special funds for pets in need.

· Pet peace at home -- Ask your veterinarian for advice in helping pets get along with each other. Or go to http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/introducing_new_cat.html

http://www.aspcabehavior.org/articles/26/Introducing-Your-Cat-to-a-New-Cat.aspx

· Socializing pets – If you have a stray cat that needs some TLC, get socializing tips at http://www.bestfriends.org/nomorehomelesspets/pdf/CatSocialization.pdf

2.

Get your cat spayed/neutered and health checked.

If you have made up your mind that you cannot keep your cat, make sure that your cat is spayed (female) or neutered (male) and has had a recent wellness exam. This will make it easier to find another home. See number 1 above for low-cost spay/neuter clinics if you need assistance.

3. Ask friends, family, neighbors and co-workers.

Your best option for finding a new home for your cat is among the people you know. But first, put together information that will show them how wonderful your cat is – include:

· Great photo – a must! Video - even better!

· Description – what they will love about your kitty: what makes kitty special, cute traits, playtime habits!

· Health/veterinary care.

Email this to everyone you can think of in your contact list – and ask them to forward it to others!

4. Contact local pet supplies stores.

Many of the large pet supplies chains have in-store pet adoption areas. Call or visit your local stores to see if they are willing to put your cat up for adoption. (Many of them work directly with outside rescue groups, so don’t be surprised if you are referred to one of them. ) NEVER show up and expect the store to take your pet; ALWAYS contact the manager beforehand.

5. Contact no-kill rescue groups.

There are numerous rescue groups that are run by volunteers usually operating foster care networks out of their homes. A great place to find the ones in your area is go to

www.petfinder.com and enter your zip code just like you are looking for a pet. The local groups will be listed along with their contact info. But be patient if you don’t get a call back right away; the volunteers are often busy caring for foster pets. You may have to contact multiple groups; also be willing to offer donations of pet food, money or supplies to help with the cat’s care.

6. A shelter should be your last choice.

As mentioned earlier, most shelters are already overcrowded. If that is your only option, research those with low animal kill rates. Find adoption and kill rates for the State of Michigan at http://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,1607,7-125-1569_16979_21260---,00.html

7. Finally . . . .

NEVER, EVER just leave your pet at any of the above places without going through the regular surrender process. Not only is it cruel and inhumane to abandon a pet. It is against the law.

Please help us find Marmalade a home.

She is a ton of fun; she loves to play with other cats, and toys. Is EXTREMLY good with children. Is very smart, and always wants to be in the same room with you, and watch what is going on. We just love having her here with us. But that is not fair to her; we want her to have a loving home, and person to snuggle up with at night, all the comforts of home.

We rescued her from the shelter months ago that was going to euthanize her. All because she had an Upper Respiratory infection, and that was contagious to other cats. We treated her, she became well very quickly. Then she started to pull out her fur. We ran all kinds of tests on her. We could not find a medical reason for her hair loss.

We placed her on allergy medicine. Which did not make much of a difference. Plus she did not like us giving her medication twice a day.

We figured out that she is very bright, (she is a tortie, so of course she is!) She needs a good amount of activity throughout the day and stimulation. She has become bored here, as well as a bit stressed with the other cats here. She does love to play with others, but some don’t want to play with her, and that causes her stress.

She is a great cat, just missing some hair. Again, she is very healthy.

We have been talking about stray cats, and their over population. I want to share with you my experience I had while in Turkey and Greece last fall.

I was shocked how many stray animals there were on the streets. From the ancient ruins of the Acropolis in Greece: to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

Being a technician I noticed that many of these cats had an ear clipped, which in the States means they have been spayed or neutered (part of a “trap & release program) Now I know it is recognized in other countries as well. The dogs appeared to have their ears tagged.

I asked the locals around, to try to get more information. “Who does this? The government? “This was harder to find out then you might think. I do not speak Turkish or Greek, and many locals did not understand what I was asking in English. The program to care for these animals is run purely by volunteers and donations to keep these animals altered so that the population can be controlled. Again take with a grain of salt, as the translation might be off. But the end result is: They are much loved and taken care of by the community as well as the tourists.

It was fun to see many of the businesses had one or two cats. They would not call them their own, but the shopkeepers would tell you the cats’ name and the cat would nap in the same store, on the same rug everyday! Even one of the hotels I stayed at had a mascot dog that slept by the bellhop.

The restaurants seamed to have families of cats. They owners did not seem to mind. Again not being able to speak Turkish or Greek it was hard to tell.

What I did get out of one waitress was:” just don’t put the meat on the ground, place it on a napkin, or the floor gets greasy.”

I wanted to find out more about these programs once I returned home. I only came across one article from a behaviorist who spoke at a conference in Turkey. They had more facts on the stray animals. It is more about the dogs, but I still found interesting.

http://animalbehaviorassociates.com/blog/401/turkish-cats-and-dogs/managing-street-dogs-cats-turkey/

July's Anni-FUR-Sary

Our 30^th Anni- FUR -Sary celebration for July:

Be one of the first 30 kitties to have a microchip placed in July, and get one of our Go Cat toys for free. These are fun interactive toys for your kitties, to help relive boredom.

Our belief is all pets should be microchipped; as a precautionary measure; if by chance an unforeseen event occurs. As you speak to people, they all have stories of their cats getting out. Movers, deliverymen, break-ins, children leaving doors open, window screens breaking, the list is endless.

It is simple to place the chip, and the chip is so small your kitty does not know it is in place. Plus you’ll have peace of mine knowing if somehow your beloved got out, once he was found he would be scanned and returned to you.

Why we are celebrating our kittens.

As we are celebrating the joyous occasion of the births of our kittens,

There is another fact we have not stated: The amount of homeless cats and dogs currently present.

The Oakland Pet Adoption Center in Auburn Hills, MI, takes in more then 5,000 homeless animals per year: more than 3,500 of these are cats. That is only Oakland County alone! There is an estimated 8 million unwanted animals in the country.

All animals should be spayed and neutered before they reach sexual maturity, or as soon as possible. There is not a sound medical reason for cats to have one litter. In fact the longer a cat goes into heat, their chances of mammary cancer increases.

We are posting the pictures of the birth of the kittens, and daily progress to share the miracle of birth, as many people do not get to witness this process. People want to see this, have their children experience babies. However there are not enough people to adopt all of these babies.

We rescued these two calicos from the shelter, as they were very sick. They were running fevers over 104! They could not breath well, as they were so congested. We were not aware they were pregnant when they 1^st arrived. The Calico’s did not mention this to us. (They were not very good at informing their Dr’s of their current situation). Once we found out, we knew we had to celebrate and share this experience with all.

For more information, and how you can help the overpopulation click on this link.

http://www.idausa.org/facts/overpopulation.html

Video of unborn babies heart

Our pregnant calico cats are getting really close to giving birth.

We are so excited; every morning when we come into work it is the first thing we look for. Many of our clients are calling, emailing, and checking for updates on Facebook. They have not given birth yet. “Jigsaw” when she first arrived was running a very high fever and lost one baby. We are still a bit concerned about the overall health of the babies. We ultra sounded the moms today.

Good news: The babies still have heartbeats! I videotaped the ultra sound. I know many of you cannot read ultrasounds, but what everyone can see is the movement on the top of the screen. That is the heart beating.

We have a started a list of people who are lining up to adopt these kittens. Also the Moms need homes after their maternal duties are over. If you’re interested please email us at meowmail@thecatpracticepc.com

We cannot guarantee how many they will have, but if you are interested we will call the people on the list.

Chief Is looking for a home

Our Chief is looking for a home.

Many of you already know our clinic cat “Chief” He is a large brown tabby who pretty much decides when he want to socialize or not. Chief has also decided that at his age (9 years) he would rather be in a home than in a veterinary hospital. He thinks there’s just too much going on with all the cats and people coming in everyday.

So Chief is looking for a new home. We will sadly miss him, but we want what’s best for Chief.

Chief is best with the same people in a predictable setting. He is unsure about strange people trying to touch him and gets nervous when he sees unfamiliar faces. But when he gets to know you and trust you he is willing to give so much love. When he loves you, he follows you around, he enjoys being petted, and gives you head butts to show you his affection. He likes to sit and cuddle. He always tries to lay next to the receptionists. He likes to help them type, block their view from the screens and has even hung up the phone accidentally. Chief is a very special cat who also likes other cats.

His favorite thing to do in the front area is to be lifted up while he looks outside the window at the birds. The whole time purring while being held. His second favorite past time is making sure all our kittens that are up for adoption are learning how to become cats. He watches out for them. He really enjoys playing “Dad” to them. His third favorite past time is rolling around in the cat nip left behind I the exam rooms.

Chief is a very sensitive cat who needs a stable home. He was abandoned at The Cat Practice years ago and this may be why he is in such need of security. Many of us have fallen in love with Chief, but are unable to adopt him since many of us have full houses already.

Chief needs a home where he can relax and just be a cat. If you would like to find out more about Chief, please email Margey at: meowmail@thecatpracticepc.com. or call 248-540-3390.

Nation Hug Your Cat Day

It Is National Hug your Cat Day.

I heard about “Hug your cat day” from a few people, all giving me a different date it is celebrated on.

I googled it to find out the correct date, and It turns out many sites claim it on different days from May 24^th to June 4^th.

It really does not matter, what matters the most is to hug you cat every day you can. Or what ever form of affection they prefer. A chin scratch, a pat on the head, a belly rub.

Think about how great that hug feels when you hold their face next to yours, so soft.

Is there anything better then a cat? I think not.

So go home and hug your loved ones, all of them, furry or not. I think more people should get more hugs.

Here is a link about the health benefits for people who get more hugs, and who own pets.

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2009/04/20/animal_attraction/

The Physical benefits are not the only things passed on in a hug. Hugs also help people to bond on an emotional level. Hugs increase feelings of safety, security, trust, strength, healing, self worth, belonging, happiness, and appreciation.

Do you think animals get the same benefits? Do you think if we hug them everyday we can help them live a longer / healthier life?

Do they like the way a hug feels? Some are probably like people, some like touching, some do not. As hard as I tried, I cannot find any studies on this. But we at The Cat Practice feel that cats that are loved live a longer, healthier life. Also they do produce endorphins like as, so they probably do also get health benefits from the hug like us humans do.

Loose Screen, now my kitty is gone

Please check your screens in your windows prior to opening up the windows.

Don’t put yourself in the position I am in now.

I have been a nervous wreck for the past 8 days. Last Tuesday I opened my windows to let in fresh air. The cats love this. I have moved into a new place and thought I tested the screens, and they seemed secure to me.

But I happened to look at the window at 11pm and saw Ari my cat in the window without a screen in it. I got up and shut the window.

Ari would not let me sleep he was crying, running from window to window. I had to get up as he was in such distress. I looked out a window and saw Ira my other cat outside. (I found him outside as a feral cat in my previous home. So he is a nervous cat, one who will not let me pick him up. But he is very loving and playful.)

I went outside to coax him in, but with his feral beginning, he ran. I live in a wooded area, and it is very dark. So I had to go to bed without finding him. You can imagine how horrible I felt. I think I have cried more tears then it has rained.

That night I locked the other cats up in a room and left the window open, so he could find his way back.

He has not been back. I had to shut the windows with all the rain, and how cold it has been. I have not been able to find him, I think I know where he is, but I just can’t see him.

My search has been difficult with all the rainstorms. I feel like I am always cold and wet. I have out live traps to hopefully catch him once he becomes hungry enough.

SO PLEASE, really check your screens to be sure they are very secure. I know he did not push out the screen, he just leaned on it & it fell out. He does not like it outside.

I want to share with you a blogg by a client who wants to celebrate the lives of our feline friends. We have been fortunate to have Marylynn allow us to help her care for her cats for many years. She first came to us with a cat named “Corrigan”, who was the sweetest, largest male cat you ever want to meet. He had the diagnosis of diabetes, one of few cats “back then” that was treated at home by the owners with insulin. Now it more common practice, as cats are living healthier, longer lives. Corrigan lived many wonderful years after his diagnosis, but his age caught up with him. After he passed she adopted two new kitties. That was 14 years ago! Now she wants you to help her share in memories, present or past.

Marylynn let me know how you can contribute to her blogg, and share your special kitty memories.

Leavingpawprints.com is a website for readers to share stories of pets who leave, or who have left, their paw prints on our hearts. Your story can be anything you want to tell about your pet, how you met, what makes him special or why you picked her. It’s your choice.

Send your story (less than 500 words) to mghewitt@leavingpawprints.com. Please send photos as an attachment. For publication, include either your first name or your full name. If you’d like your hometown published along with your name, please include it.

The site is in memory of MacKenzie, an always-purring muted calico, who was a client of our practice.

She recently lost MacKenzie, and just adopted a Torite from us. How exciting, I can not wait to read on her blogg about the new one.

Help Us Celebrate our 30th Anni-FUR-Sary

In May our way of saying thank you is:

Bring your senior cat in for an exam, and receive a 30-day supply of Coesquin.

What is Cosequin? It is a capsule of medication that is scientifically formulated to support and maintain the health of your pet’s joints and connective tissue. As cats age, it is common for their joints to become less flexible which impacts their mobility and quality of life. You may have noticed that your cat is less eager to jump to their favorite spot. While they used to prowl and chase "prey", now they are content to rest. Or seems a bit stiff after a nap? Cosequin may help decrease the breakdown of cartilage, making your kitty less prone to arthritis.

So bring your kitty in for their exam, and have the Doctors and technician evaluation your kitty for arthritis, and take home a sample.

For the complete brochure on Cosequin, clink on their link.

http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/Brochures/COSEQUIN CAT BROCHURE .pdf

National Hairball Awareness Day

Today we celebrate Hairballs!

Pictured is the largest hairball we have ever seen, we had to remove this surgically. At first we thought there was a mass in the stomach. The kitty could not keep food down. Turns out just an impacted hairball. Along with hairball is a picture of a hairball remedy.

It is normal for your cat to have hairballs occasionally.

Hairballs are caused due to the cats’ good grooming habits. They swallow their hair that has come loose while grooming. This is due to the tiny projections on the surface of the rough tongue. While most of this hair eventually passes through the animal's digestive tract and comes out in the stool, some of it remains in the stomach and gradually accumulates into a wet clump - the hairball. Causing the cat to vomit up the hair.

The Hairballs take on the shape of the esophagus, appearing like a sausage, many times people confuse them with bowel movements. As they have the same shape. They can vary in size.

It is normal for your cat to have hairballs occasionally. However, if your cat is lethargic and refuses to eat for more than a day or so, or has had repeated episodes of unproductive retching, you should consult The Cat Practice without delay. As it could be a sign of another condition, not hairballs.

How you can prevent hairballs:

Combing, it is amazing how much hair you can comb out of your kitty.

I love the FURminator. It works so well, especially on your short hair cats. I never realized how much hair a cat has until I started using this product.

Over the counter Hairballs remedy like cat lax a few times per week can help move the hair through the intestinal tract.

Also you can offer a hairball diet along with canned food.

Looking for a unique gift idea for Mom this Mothers Day? How about something new and fun for your yard or home? Laurie Eisenhardt will be having a spring studio Show Saturday April 30^th 10-5 and Sunday May 1^st 12-5.

Stop by and take a look.

Check out her website: laurieeisenhardt.com

For her art fair schedule.

Be aware of Easter Hazzards

Be aware of Easter hazards:

Easter is right around the corner. I know not everyone celebrates this holiday

But many people buy the items marketed for Easter.

Please keep your kitty safe.

1. Easter Lilies /all lilies are one of the most toxic plants out there. If your cat takes even a small bite, it is very toxic; it can cause kidney failure and even death.

2. The Easter grass in baskets, (especially the plastic kind.) Cats love to chew this grass. Many times they are lucky and it passes in their bowels. But sometimes the artificial grass gets stuck in the intestines, and can cause a blockage, which needs to be surgically removed.

3. The chocolate: Keep away from dogs and cats, as it is toxic to them.

Play it safe this Easter, if your kitty wants to help in the festivities let them enjoy a very small bite of ham, or a nibble of the Hard-boiled Easter egg, I know my cat comes running when he hears the crack of an egg shell, he loves to eat the cooked egg inside.

For details on each item I mentioned, see this link.

http://oregonvma.org/care-health/protect-your-pets-easter-hazards

Why cats should be in carriers

Why all cats should stay in their carriers:

Last Sunday we had a kitty come into board.

The owner let him out of his carrier, and had him on his shoulders. As I walked toward the waiting room to get him, a client walked in the front door. He bolted out of the door! This all took two-seconds. He ran behind the building and headed for Adams, a busy street. He was so quick no one could tell if he crossed the street, turned left or right. So we all divided up to look for him.

Luckily, he was found hiding in some bushes. He jumped as Tabitha tried to catch him. She caught him in mid air (this could have turned out poorly for him; if he dashed across the street, and also for Tabitha as he could have really bit and hurt Tab. She only suffered minor scratches.

We had this happen another time, a client insisted she could carry her cat to the car without it in a carrier, and the same thing happened. He got out of her arms.

That was a long time ago and did not end so well. A very important lesson, always use a cat carrier when transporting your kitty.

I want to share my story with you on how I came to The Cat Practice to be adopted.

I was brought in by an animal shelter that wanted to euthanize me. All because I was sick, and they do not treat sick animals.

The Doctor and technicians examined me, they touched me, opened my mouth, felt my abdomen. All three of them discussing my future. One asked "why is her mouth open & her tongue hanging out?" The Dr replied: "she has so many ulcers on her mouth she does not want to close it."

She was right, my tongue was a giant open sore. I could not eat. I was starving, but it hurt too much to eat. None of them wanted me to suffer anymore. They could not stand that I was in so much pain. I had a terrible cold, and my eyes were so goopy I could not see. It was hard for me to breath as I was so congested. They new I had to be saved, as I am a sweet soul. They loaded me up on all kinds of good pain medications, and started me on antibiotics, and other treatments, and waited to see how I did overnight. I heard them say "We have to give her a chance." I was not going to fail them.

It took two days for me to start eating, but I ate and ate and ate. The technician kept refilling my bowl, she was almost crying because she was so happy I was eating.

"She has turned the corner, she is going to make it" she said out loud to all who was there.

Everyday I improved, my eyes cleared up, I could breath, and thanks to that nebulizer they kept near me all day. It took a long time for mouth sores to go away. Maybe two weeks, but during it all they kept placing a drop on my tongue to numb it, so I did not feel the pain.

I am grateful I was given the chance at life. Now I need a chance at a home. I am all grey, medium length hair, and a lady of course. But I am spayed, up to date on vaccines. I am about 2 years old. I love to be held, but also active. I am young and have a lot to learn and see. Please stop by the office to see me. They treat me really well, but I need a home, like they say "There is no place like home"

Martha.

Sorry the pictures are not so good, I don't like to hold still

Our new Anni- FUR- sary Mugs

In celebration of our 30th year, we thought it would be nice to establish a charity for less fortunate cats. Those cats who people find on the street that are hit by a car, or the ones we save from the Oakland county shelter who are to be euthanized. There always seems to be a need. We are calling it the Feline Friendship Foundation. We are selling Thermal Mugs to help raise money for this foundation. Please come by and help us with our charity, as well as get a cool mug to drink your favorite hot drink. They are $10.00 each.

We have two different ones to choose from. But the back is the same on both, it has our Ann-fur-sary banner on as well as our new logo.

Traveling Cat-Owen

As part of our celebration of our Anni- FUR- sary

We wanted to tell stories of our clients who have been with us most of those years.

What to do when you are retired and spend the winter in Florida? You bring your kitty along. They are part of the family.

Meet Owen and Carol Petersen.

Owen is fairly new to Carol; he is only 2 years old, and a very handsome brown tabby cat.

He enjoys: long car rides, and sun bathing, as well as his trips to The Cat Practice.

Carol’s son in law has built Owen his own 4-story condo outside! It has 5-carpeted platforms, and real Earth on the bottom for him to dig in. He can get in and out of his condo through her bedroom window. They are so happy to be able to spend our cold Michigan winters in the Florida sunshine ( the condo faces south, so Owen gets plenty of it).

Carol enjoys this time with her daughter and son-in-law, as well as the sun.

Thank you for sharing Carol & Owen.

Dawn

.

March's Anniversary Promotion

Just a reminder, we are celebrating our 30th Anni fur sary this year.

Every month we are offering a special promotion.

For March we are giving away a 30 days supply of Greenies when you come in for a wellness exam. ( 1 bag)

Why we ask for Stool samples

What’s in the Poo? Erin Peterson, LVT

Do you wonder why we ask you to bring in a stool sample when you come in for a visit with your cat or new kitten? Well we want to make sure they are not carrying any type of intestinal parasites. Even though your cat may stay indoors all the time or is supervised outside, it is important to make sure they are not carrying any of these unwanted critters. If your cat goes out and hunts mice or small animals it is imperative that we check a fecal sample twice a year as they tend to be more prone to these parasites. Some of these parasites are found in small rodents and can also be transmitted by fleas.

Kittens especially need their stool checked as most of them are born with “worms”. They get these from their mother usually when they nurse and may need to be dewormed multiple times, and have at least 2-3 fecal samples checked on them. This is because sometimes the parasites are not producing eggs and we want to make sure we rid your little kitty of the adults and the eggs. Even if the fecal is negative or no worms are seen, we may choose to deworm your cat. Deworming is quite easy to do, depending on the type of parasite or as a general deworming. It may come in a liquid, topical application that goes on the back of the neck or in a pill form.

How do we check for parasites? Well we sometimes send the sample to the lab or if it is the weekend, we will run the sample in our in house lab. We take a small amount of stool from the sample you brought in (fresher the better within 12 hrs) and place it is a small cup and mix it with water to make a poo slurry. We then place that sample in a small tube and place it in a machine called a centrifuge which spins the sample down really fast and at a high rate of speed (just think of the amusement park and the ride the gravitron). It spins for 5 mins and then we drain the water and add a special fecal solution that will help draw any possible parasite eggs to the surface. We then spin it down again for 5 mins and then add more fecal solution and place a small glass piece or cover slip over the sample for 10 mins. We then place the cover slip on a glass microscope slide and look at the sample under the microscope. If the eggs are present we will see them.

Some of the most common parasites we see in these fecal samples are roundworms, coccidia (protozoa) and tapeworms. If your cat or kitten is heavily infested with roundworms sometimes they will vomit them up as long spaghetti shaped objects or you may see them in the stool. Other signs of infestation of intestinal worms include diarrhea, sometimes bloody or mucousy. If your cat has tapeworms you may see small rice like segments in the stool, around the rectum or dried up around the house. Tapeworms are passed by fleas and small rodents. For more information of intestinal parasites that may affect your kitty please check out our website at www.thecatpracticepc.com or you can always ask one of your technicians or doctors.

Dr. Callahan's Adventure

Recently I was blessed with the opportunity to talk to my son's preschool class about being a veterinarian. I've done it a few times before and I really treasure doing it. Especially when the kids are given the opportunity to "ask" questions. Usually the kids are eager to raise their hand and say random things like, "my dog died," or "my cat sometimes likes to scratch." It always cracks me up to hear them. It's so cute to see the excitement in their eyes, especially when I bring out the furry (or feathery!) creatures - usually kittens - that I've brought to show them and keep their attention. This year we were fresh out of kittens at The Cat Practice. The last one had just been adopted. (Yeah!) So as to not disappoint the kids, I took Angel, a one year old slightly chunky female spayed cat. She had recently come to TCP from the Oakland County Shelter because of down-sizing. And we were her best chance to stay alive. I had no idea how things would go with an adult cat that we didn't know very well. But as soon as I opened her carrier door, I knew it was going to go well! She came out on her own, eager to see all the kids that she had heard from her carrier. From that moment on I was amazed by her. She waited in my arms so patiently while 45 four year old kids came up to pet her. She was so sweet. She is the perfect family cat, even with small children. Now I can say that any family would be lucky to have her!

St. Patrick's Day

With St. Patrick’s Day coming up quickly I wanted to post this so you too might be able to enjoy these shirts. I was in Target the other day (the Bloomfield Hills store) and saw these shirts for animals. Can you believe they were in the dollar bin? They come in different sizes based on weight.

Mine needed the larger size. Hopefully your cats can be styling for St. Patrick’s Day as well. The shirts do say “pet me I am Irish” However my cat thought it said “kiss me” What can I say he is only two.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentines Day.

I Hope everyone will have a good day. But keep in mind sometimes on the holidays there can be hidden dangers for our cats. (Yes that includes Champagne)

Caren: of the Oakland Press writes a blogg called Cat Chat. This week she has a great guest blogg from our own Dr. Houlihan that covers many of these dangers in greater detail. Please visit her blogg at:

http://opcatchat.blogspot.com/

Enjoy Valentines day with all your loved ones, furry or not so furry