Juno, a stunning calico residing in Seattle, loves Cat Faeries corn on the
cob catnip toys. Juno’s mother/maid/videographer wrote to tell us:

“My calico LOVES her corn cob and has destroyed her last two. Nothing else
(carrot, pepper, strawberry) gets her going like the corn cob. Something
about the shape, I think. Juno (the calico) would greatly appreciate it if you could
ship her 4 more right away! “

We shipped immediately! Juno is a very happy girl! See the video of Juno playing with her new corn cob on You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmcYIkK6M-k

No one expects to get sick or injured.  And when it happens often we cannot do more than stay in bed until it passes.  But we have our daily obligations, in particular we are obligated to care for our cats, and perhaps other animals.

But who will help you with your daily obligations, like feeding the cats and scooping litter boxes when you can barely get out of bed?  Who will help you get the medication for yourself from the drug store, or supplements from the health food store?  Who will cook for you?  Who will do those little things or errands while you are sick or recovering?
If there are no family members close by or you can’t ask or trust neighbors you need a “personal assistant” or a “personal concierge”

In the past few years people who are burnt out on soul sucking corporate America have gotten creative about making an income, and they have become personal assistants who you can call upon when you need help.

Generally they charge by the hour.  These resourceful folks will do the stuff you are not able to do.

Even if your not sick, but you are super swamped and crazy busy,  they can pitch in and run errands, tend to your animals, keep food in the fridge, and so much more.

Before you get sick, or before you need to leave for a trip, start looking for professional cat sitters or/and professional personal assistants.  Find out their rates.  Find out what they are willing to do, as well as what they are not willing to do.  You’ll find a person who’s just right for you and your needs.

Do the research now so that the next time you are sick in bed and cannot tend to your cats or yourself, help is just a phone call away.

Its easy !  With a bit of practice after a lesson with your vet or a tech at your vet’s office you’ll be a pro!

Number one reason to trim nails - so that they don’t grow uncontroled and curve under and into the cat’s foot.  OUCH!

Feliway spray can “somewhat” deter a cat from scratching at your furniture.  But its not perfect and you need to apply it daily.

But if you trim your cat’s nails every 10 or 12 days they will be short, and if your cat does scratch at a sofa not much damage, if any, will occur.

You can find nice clippers in shops or you can use a good quality human toe nail clipper.

We suggest you sit someplace comfortable for you with good lighting - that could be the bathroom, on the toilet seat which you put down.  Clip as many nails in one sitting as the cat will allow.

Some cats are comfortable if you softly drape a towel over their head. Other cats are comfortable if you wrap them like a “burrito”  And yet other cats are comfortable being held free on your lap, sort of like a baby, on their back.

A cat is never too old to learn to get used to twice a month nail trims.  Gentle handling, showering the cat with praise will really help.  And of course treat yourself to something special in honor of a job well done after!

Hey Jude and Eleanor Rigby!
If you have stubborn friends or family who just don’t get the importance of spay and neuter, here’s something that illustrates it in a fun and easy to grasp way.

We are in favor of anything that can enlighten with humor, creativity, and which does not smack people over the head in a way which puts them off. Enjoy this You Tube video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMzW3LIkNLA

yeah yeah yeah yeah!

A group of students of a Tibetan Buddhist Lama were walking through a forest with their teacher.

They came upon the body of a young man.  The students looked the man over, looking for marks, blood, any of the usual indicators to explain why a person might die.

They found nothing.  Puzzled they asked their teacher:

“Why did this young man die?”

The wise Lama said: “Because he was born.”

May this simple thought and perspective ease your pain.

As we all age bones creak and just don’t move like before.   Arthritis makes life difficult for all.   One of the reasons our older cats pee or poop outside of the litter box is that the sides are the box are now a bit too high to make climbing in and out easy.

Since this is the time of year when we are roasting turkeys, the grocery stores have lots of aluminum roasting pans for sale.  If you look you’ll probably find one the length of your current litter box, but the sides will be lower.  Try one!   See if your cat likes it.  See if its just as easy for you to clean and manage.

We have seen a few litter pans in the stores with lower sides, but they are not long enough for most cats to use comfortably.  Try the roasting pan idea - they come in several sizes, you’ll find one that’s right!   Its a pretty cheap experiement which could save you oodles of money in the long run,  and your sanity.   And the cat will be so much happier and in less pain.

Ho Ho Ho, its that time of year again. So many holidays to celebrate including Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule, Winter Solstice, Kwanza, and New Year’s. Did we forget a holiday or festival day? If so, tell us, we don’t want to miss out on anything FUN! This time of year there are oodles of chances for festivities and giving sweet little gifts to those you adore.

But all that paper gift wrap. What a waste of paper. This year Cat Faeries behaviorist dusted off her sewing machine and put her very limited sewing skills to good use by making up lots of re-usable gift bags which are super easy to cut out and sew. She’s using a mix of old sheets, a few old dresses, hubby’s old shirts, and some new fabric (particularly yummy Japanese cotton in bold prints, or organic untreated cotton).

The gift bags are in lots of sizes to accommodate a wide range of gifts. In fact an assortment of bags make a great gift themselves. Here are some bag size ideas for you:

* very small - ideal size for an engagement ring or pretty earrings, or one cat toy,

* rectangular - for a bottle of wine or olive oil,

* square - to hold a book or two,

* medium - to hold an a bunch of cat toys, a few jars of homemade jam, a big jar of homemade bath salts,

* really big - for a hemp bathrobe. This size is probably big enough to use later for grocery shopping,

* super big - for really big gifts like a new computer. This size would be wonderful for future shopping trips when big items are bought or for packing clothes for a weekday getaway.

One of the reasons we like re-usable cloth gift bags is that many of our feline friends are tempted to chew on ribbons and bows. If swallowed they usually get barfed up, but that makes a huge mess for you to clean, and can scare the cat. But if chewed ribbon or bits of a bow do not get thrown up by the cat and starts to be digested serious or life threaning health problems can arrise. There’s nothing festive about THAT!
So now we have two reasons to stop using all that paper, tape, and ribbon. You’ll cut down on waste and you’ll keep your cats healthy so that we all can enjoy another holiday season with fewer worries. Be happy knowing we have made one more step to green up our world and not be slaves to creeping consumerism. Ho Ho Ho - indeed!

Here are a handful of sudden behavior changes in multi cat households which could be a signal that one of your cats is in the early stages of a serious illness.

* sudden fighting

* one cat is singled out and picked on

* new alliances are formed, old alliances end

* change in hierarchy

* blood in the litter box (get to the vet - QUICK!)

* eating less or eating much more

* sudden dislike of a once favorite food or treat

* withdrawing from affection

* hiding in closets

* sleeping longer hours, sleeping deeper

Sometimes it seems hard to keep on top of everything we want to be observant of.  Its so important to slow down, do less, and spend more time with our furry loved ones.  Serious illness can sometimes come from nowhere.  But if you think back, there were probably signs, subtle for sure, but there were signs that something was going on.   A shift.  A change.  Behavior changes which have little to do with personalities but all to do with health should be carefully examined and acted upon with the help of your veterinarian.  If need be, consult with a veterinary internist.

In loving memory of Jacques Frost, September 18, 1994 - November 25, 2007.

As you know from reading the information on the Feliway page (its located in the green box, upper right corner) the presence of outdoor cats is what usually sets a cat off and causes the indoor cat to spray urine.  The indoor cats do this as their attempt to protect their home from the intruders.   Our indoor cats see, hear, and SMELL the urine of outdoor cats.

Let’s take this one step further - literally - we are going to talk about your shoes!

When we walk our city streets we step on all sort of gross things.  We’ll spare you the the tummy turning examples, but you can certainly imagine what you’ve walked on.  Ths would include cat urine or flakes of feces.  YUCK!

If you wear those same shoes in the house you are bringing the those threatening scents into the house, and spreading it everywhere you walk.

Here’s something you can do for the sanity of your cats, and to keep your home sparkling clean and free of disease - regularly clean the soles of your shoes.

Its easy!  A basin of soapy water and an old tooth brush, plus a towel for drying is all you need.  For really soiled shoes soak them in a 1/8 to 1/4 inch of soapy water to loosen the crud, then finish with your old toothbrush.

You might have all household members wear only slippers in the house, and keep shoes by the front door like the Japanese do.  Its sanitary, its rather elegant, and its possibly going to solve your cat’s spraying problem.

Here’s a bit of fun trivia  -  Diana Vreeland to legendary editor of Vogue magazine had her maid clean her shoes.  She was known to admonish Vogue staff members for wearing dirty shoes to the office!

Its absolutely mind blowing that most of the fires which destroyed entire communities were set by arsonists. Hateful and sick people who actually set fires deliberately, its hard to comprehend. And so many of them! How can so many people be like this? What is wrong with a society which has members who could do something like this?

Let’s put the rant aside for a bit and switch to ~ Good News! We learned that cigarette smokers love Anti Icky Poo because they can keep their cars smelling fresh and clean. Anti Icky Poo eats up the tar and nicotine residue on car windows, dashes, and seats.

This made us wonder what it could do for heavy duty smoke damage. We know that another nightmare is just beginning for the people who’s houses survived, this time it will be the horrifical damag caused by smoke.    We are happy to tell you that we learned Anti Icky Poo will also get rid of the smell of smoke from the fires.  You can use it on furniture, walls, etc. And it can get rid of that nasty sooty residue which coats everything.

Because we view Cat Faeries as doing our part to “save the world” we put together a special package for the victims of the October 2007 San Diego wildfires. Eligible customers will get 3 gallons, 1 quart, 1 carpet injector, and 1 bottle of Calm and Serene flower essence priced more than 50% below retail. Look for the red heart on our website and click on it to go to a special page. We also list the zip codes of the effected area.

This offer is ONLY for those effected. If someone outside of the area orders the package we will cancel the order and you’ll be hissed at - very loudly in fact. Let us change that, if you live outside of the area you may order it and have it shipped to a friend who is in the area.

Our website designer spent days at her computer constantly refreshing Google’s fire map, checking on her father’s home in Fallbrook. The fire was about 3 or 4 blocks from his house. If the wind had not unexpectedly changed its normal pattern the entire town would have been destroyed. This fire was set by an arsonist. To honor Susan and her father that we decided that this package was how Cat Faeries could help people get their houses back to being HOME again.

We each have our own views on crime and punishment and we will not use this as a forum to express our thoughts, but we would like to say that everybody needs to slow down and calm down. Its crucial that we all speak kindly, act graciously, think of our actions, and of course take very good care of the furry creatures who love us.