How To Keep Your Pets Cool

My cat Sugar loves to go outside. in the summer time, we try to keep him in so that he doesn't get too hot but he still escapes a few times. as a result, he comes back almost panting because of the heat. so, we've figured out some ways to keep him cool. i decided i should share these tips on my blog since alot of pets ( and people! ) are feeling the heat this summer. so, here are my top tips for keeping your kitties ( and canines ) cool:

• Drop a couple of ice cubes in your pet's water bowl
• make tuna popsicles for your cat ( check my blog archives for the post on that recipe )
• refill your pet's water bowl as often as possible. it's important that your pet doesn't get dehydrated during this hot summer.
• if you have a dog, fill up a kitty pool with water and let your dog cool his/her paws in it
• use a "Furminator" brush to remove extra fur. that way, your pets won't have as much of that warm fur on while they're trying to stay cool.

So, those are my tips for keeping your pets cool this summer. have a great summer vacation and stay out of the heat!

Can Of Fun Kitty Craft

Cats love things that make noise. so, i created this. which i have named: The Can Of Fun! it's basically a can with beads inside to make noise.kittens especially love it because of the noise it makes. and it's fun to roll around on the floor and watch them run after it. it's a pretty easy craft to make, and provides lots of fun for the cats. so, here's how you make it:

What You Will Need:

• An empty cardboard can ( by cardboard i mean like the cans they use for "Slim Jims" )
• some fabric
• a few beads

Instructions:

Wrap the fabric around the can and trim as needed. then, attach the fabric to the can. put a few beads in the can. five or six is a good amount. put the top on the can. tape or glue it down so it does not fall off. roll it on the floor with your cat and watch your kitty run after it!

if you'd like, you can also fill one with treats and not tape the top down. then when your cats done playing, you can open it up and give your cat a treat! have fun playing!

How Boxes and Bags can be Toys for Your Cat

You don't have to go out and buy expensive toys for your cat.i love making homamade toys, but you can also get ready-to-play with toys from around your house! boxes make great hideaways for older cats and paper bags make crinkly noises that kittens love.   i will be posting  crafts to make, but you can use ordinary things as toys too. just make sure you don't use anything unsafe. you can get cardboard boxes by saving them instead of throwing them away anytime you get a package. big paper bags you can get as a takeout container. so if you aren't crafty and don't want to pay for toys, just get out a box. you can decorate it some too and put some catnip inside to tempt your kitty in. cats love places to hide so make sure the box or bag is large enough for your cat to fit in.and if you don't want to use the opening at the top, you can cut a new opening. you can also get creative by putting boxes together to make a tunnel. i'll be posting some more crafts soon!

Catnip Tea

Catnip is an herb and can therefore be used to make tea. and, since it is made out of just catnip and water, cats can drink it too! you might not think you'd want  to eat catnip yourself but it has been used in calming teas and isn't unhealthy for people. i know what your thinking, "calming? doesn't it make cats crazy?" well, it's different with people. cats may react to catnip by rolling on the floor, but for people it's actually quite relaxing. i found this recipe in the book "You Bake 'Em Cat Treats" by Gabrielle Tolliver, which you can get in the kit "You Bake 'Em Cat Treats". as you can see, my cat sugar will lick his lips even at the mention of catnip, so this is a great recipe for cats and their owners. so, before i start going on and on about it, here's the recipe:

You will need:

• 1 tablespoon of dried catnip
• 1 cup of hot water

Instructions:

Steep catnip in hot ( not quite boiling ) water for about 6 minutes. strain and cool and your ready to serve! you and your cat can drink catnip tea, so grab two cups ( or a cup and a bowl, if your cat prefers drinking from a bowl. ) to serve. you can add sweetener to your cup if you'd like, but no sweetener for your kitty. it isn't good for them. :)

If you like making home made treats for your cat, i recommend getting the kit i mentioned above for more ideas. Enjoy your tea!

Play with Real Kitties Through A Web Cam!

AAWL ( Arizona Animal Welfare League ) now has a web cam and robotic cat toys that you can move through your computer! they do it through Kong's iPet companion. you can find the official website for Kong here: http://www.kongcompany.com/ and AAWL's web cam site here: http://www.ipetcompanion.net/client/arizona-animal-welfare-league there are other shelters hooked up with web cams and robotics too! and they have an iPet companion home system so that you can play with your kitties while your away! i absolutely love this and hope to get a home system one day. just make sure you don't bother the kitties when they're sleeping!

Popsicles for Cats

It's summer time! and everyone wants a frozen treat when it's so hot outside. even cats! luckily, i have a recipe for Popsicles that isn't unhealthy for your feline friend. unlike the Popsicles we eat, which aren't good for cats, these are completely cat friendly. as you can see from the pic to the left, my cat sugar loves the tuna flavor of these. so, here's the recipe: PS: credit goes to AAWL ( Arizona Animal Welfare League ) for giving me the recipe. :)


What you will need:

• 1 can of tuna
• 32 ounces of plain yogurt ( vanilla works fine too )
• a blender
• Dixie cups ( or any small, paper cups )

Instructions:

blend all ingredients, including the water from the can of tuna, in a blender ( or food processor ) until creamy and smooth. pour the blended ingredients into Dixie cups and freeze over night or until solid. when they are ready to serve, cut the paper of one of the Dixie cups and pop the Popsicle out onto a paper plate and watch your feline friend lick away. remember, only serve one at a time. too much of a good thing isn't such a good thing!

i hope you enjoy making tuna Popsicles for your kitty! have fun this summer!

Welcome!

Hi! this is a brand new blog about cats. i will soon be posting about things i have made for my cats, but right now I'm working on how the blog looks. anyways, you can check out my profile if you want but right now i might not be posting for a while. so, as i said in my profile, i have two cats named sugar and mouse. sugar is a boy and mouse is a girl. sugar was born in our backyard. we brought him and his litter to a shelter where they gave us supplies and we bottle fed him and his siblings. when they were old enough to be adopted, we adopted sugar and the rest of his litter mates soon got adopted at the shelter. mouse, we adopted recently. we got a litter of kittens to foster along with their mom and mouse was the only gray one in a litter of siamese. she should be 4 pounds now but she's only 2 so she's probably going to be a small cat. we adopted her when she was finally big enough ( 2 pounds ) and she and sugar are trying to get used to each other. we have fostered 25 or 30 kittens and two litters had their moms. so, as you can see, i really am crazy for cats!