Does Your Cat Drink Enough Water? (Cat Dehydration Symptoms)

July is National Pet Hydration Awareness Month, which was started by the folks over at Pet Safe to get the word out to pet owners everywhere to be aware of their pet’s water in-take. I'm sharing some important information for cat owners to understand why keeping your cats properly hydrated is so important. 

If you’re a Harry Potter fan you’ve probably heard of the Elixir of Life (a potion made from the Philosopher’s Stone that extends the life of the drinker.)  In our universe we don’t have a Philosopher’s Stone, but we do have our own, easily accessible elixir – water. 

Water is essential for all beings because it assists in lubricating joints, transporting nutrients through the bloodstream, regulating body temperature through respiration, flushing waste materials out of the body by way of urine, and cushioning the brain and spinal cord, and the list goes on. For all of these reasons and more, it’s important we make sure our cats (and all pets!) have access to plenty of fresh, clean water. 

Cat Sitter Selfies for Sunday

Lola: Hello and Happy Sunday!  Today we present you with selfies from our cat sitters! 

Lexy: Our cat sitters are Dawn and Deb, and they always take a photo to text to Mother. Even I posed for one, which doesn't happen all that often. 

Lola: Mommy went away twice in the past few months.  One time Dawn came, and another Deb.  So we've got four selfies for you! 

Lola: This is me with Dawn.  I just love snuggles! 

Clear The Shelters Day 2016 #ClearTheShelters

Hello and happy Saturday Caturday! I’m so happy to be spreading the word about the third annual Clear The Shelters event again this year! Lexy and I just love this day because it’s our wish for all shelters to be empty and for all animals to be with their forever families.  *sigh*… maybe someday the world will be that way. 

Until then I’ll spread the word about #ClearTheShelters! Clear the Shelters is a ground-breaking, community-driven initiative which matches deserving animals with loving, permanent homes.  The first Clear The Shelters event was launched in Texas in 2014 through a partnership between NBC in Dallas-Fort Worth and Telemundo.  Over 2,200 animals were adopted in one day through dozens of participating shelters.  How cool is that? Since that event was such a success, Clear The Shelters went nationwide last year. 

Rescue Stories: Marcy - After Being Abandoned She Found Her New Best Friend

When I was at the BlogPaws conference last month in Phoenix, I was chatting with the owners of Savage Cat Food. This company was so familiar to me, and I didn’t know why (especially since Lola and Lexy do not eat raw food.)  After thinking more about it that night I was pretty sure I was able to explain the mystery.  The next day when I went to the booth I held up my phone showing the Instagram account of Meow Marcie and said “is this your cat?” When I got a laugh I knew my puzzle was solved.  Joseph and I had started to connect on Instagram because I was interested in hearing Marcie’s rescue story, but then lost touch. I was pleased to reconnect with him at BlogPaws, and delighted when he agreed to share Marcie’s story for my Rescue Story series on my blog. (You all know how much I enjoy a good rescue story!) Read on to see how a beautiful little calico kitten changed his life, and how Marcie went from eating trash to being a food tester for high quality cat food. 
Dawn

Marcie's pretty profile

As I reflect on life’s blessings these last few years, none of them compare to the surprise kitten I adopted who became my best friend.

Four Summer Safety Tips for Feral Cats

Hello everyone.  This is Lexy checking in with another important PSA. 

We had a heatwave here in New York last week, and Mother was concerned about our well-being during the day when she went to work.  Whenever it's over 90 degrees or very humid, she leaves the air conditioner in the bedroom on a timer.  She also leaves an extra water bowl out in addition to our fountain.  The blinds are not open all the way to avoid the blaring sun from warming up the apartment too much.  Lola and I are lucky, lucky cats because we live indoors and have a good pet parent to take care of us.  But what about the ferals that live outside and have no family? We all worry about them, so I thought it would be a good idea to give you four tips for their summer safety. 

A Hawk Lands in Brooklyn - And a Selfie for Sunday

Many people know I live and work in New York City. I live in the borough of Queens and my office is in the borough of Brooklyn (but I work in the field in Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island.) My office is in an area that is referred to as "downtown Brooklyn", which is very populated, busy and fast moving. This past Thursday as I was walking to my office from the parking lot I saw a group of people gathered taking photos of something.  My interest was piqued and as I followed their gazes upwards I saw this: 

Mr. Hawk on top of the light fixture

Blog the Change for Animals - Laura Zaccardi and the Squeedunk Gang - #BtC4A

Not long after I started blogging I came across Squeedunk, Whiskers and Warehouses and I immediately added it to my list of favorite blogs.  Last fall when I had dinner with some fellow bloggers who were in town for the Purina summit, I was very happy to find out that the woman I didn't know sitting at the end of the table was Laura Zaccardi, the person behind Squeedunk. We made a connection that night and got to spend some more time together at BlogPaws last month.  I'm happy to feature Laura, her rescue organization PAD PAWS (and of course her cats!) for my Blog the Change for Animals post. Read on for Laura's story...