Expert Advice on Cat Health, Nutrition and Lifestyle.
Thursday is Thanksgiving in the United States and it’s time for my annual tradition of making a “Thanksgiving ABC’s” list. I maintain a gratitude practice every day, but I still love doing this list every year. Some of the items repeat year after year, others are new. Here’s this year’s list:Continue Reading
This post contains affiliate links*
Katzenzungen is the German word for cats’ tongues. I hadn’t thought about this candy in decades. When I recently received a newsletter from one of the German online stores I occasionally order from that featured Katzenzungen, I was instantly transported back to my childhood in Germany.Continue Reading
It’s hard to believe that we’re coming up on three years since Ruby has been gone, after being diagnosed with advanced kidney disease. I miss her every day, and with the holidays coming up, missing her is starting to feel like a physical ache again sometimes. I’m grateful I have eight years of Ruby’s Reflections on this site to comfort me and remind me of some of the cute things she did, and I love sharing the memories with you.Continue Reading
Weighing your cat on a regular basis is one of the easiest ways to monitor her health. Gradual weight loss or gain is often not noticeable in cats until it has become quite dramatic. Consider that the average cat weighs 10 pounds. Weight loss of only 6% of a cat’s body weight is considered a clinical sign – that’s less than ten ounces. Depending on the size of your cat, visible changes to her weight may be too subtle to notice without actually weighing her.Continue Reading
Guest post by Rita Atkins
On a cold November day, 2001, in a parking garage in Oklahoma City, my husband and I became the forever family of a pint-sized Maine Coon mix with a jumbo-sized anger management problem.Continue Reading
Recognizing pain in cats can be challenging for even the most dedicated cat parent, especially when it comes to chronic pain caused by arthritis. Even veterinarians often overlook signs of pain in cats, partly because some cats won’t show pain in a stressful situation such as being at the vet’s. Cats’ ability to hide pain goes back to their wild origins. In the wild, a sick animal becomes prey, so not showing weakness is crucial for survival.Continue Reading
Congratulations, Crystal! You’re the winner of our Darwin’s raw cat food giveaway. You will get 20 pounds of food for your cats, and 20 pounds will be sent to your chosen shelter, Middleburg Humane Foundation.
Look for an email from Ingrid.*Continue Reading
If you’ve followed me for a while, you know how much I love the maple tree outside my bedroom window. We planted it when we first moved into this house, more than 38 years ago now. I’ve watched it grow into a beautiful, mature tree. This tree has been with me through a lot of life – through both joyful and challenging times. Each fall, it’s one of the last trees to turn, and once it turns, the beauty only lasts for a few days before the leaves fall.Continue Reading
This post contains affiliate links*
This is an excerpt from my book Adventures in Veterinary Medicine: What Working in Veterinary Hospitals Taught Me About Life, Love and Myself. It features Virginia, the cat who started my love affair with torties all these years ago. It was first published in 2010.
As those of you who read Buckley’s Story know, Buckley was my office cat at the animal hospital I managed for eight years before she came to live with Amber and I. She wasn’t the first one, though. Not the first tortie, and not the first office cat. Before Buckley, and even before Amber, there was Virginia.Continue Reading
In The Other Family Doctor: A Veterinarian Explores What Animals Can Teach Us About Love, Life and Mortality, Karen Fine shares stories from her veterinary career, but this is no ordinary memoir. Dr. Fine is one of those truly gifted veterinarians that don’t just treat the pet, but also know how to take care of the human attached to each pet, especially during times of illness and loss.Continue Reading