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Sorry About the Delay!
We sincerely apologize for taking so long to get this issue out!
We got caught up in building an online store (see
bulletin below) and other exciting endeavors, which we'll share
with you as they unfold. We promise to send out future editions of the
Mewsletter much more frequently!
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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Our big
project lately has been our new online store: www.superhappypets.com,
which features a variety of products for cats (and dogs and people),
along with informative articles to help you better understand and care
for your beloved furry family members. Everything on the site is selected,
researched, and approved by Dr. Schelling and her staff — which includes
cats and dogs who review potential items for sale!
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The Super Happy Pets web site is still brand-new and undergoing some
revisions, so we hope you'll pardon the dust (and the odd furball) on
the floor. We'll have it ship-shape before the next issue of the Mewsletter!
But we're building up our inventory daily, the human staff is ready
to answer any questions you might have, and the virtual doors are open.
So come on in!
BONUS! Mewsletter readers can get 10%
off their entire Super
Happy Pets order by entering this super-secret coupon code during
the checkout process: superhappymews
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Halloween and Cats: Dangers and Solutions
Before you know it, children's voices excitedly shouting "trick or
treat!" will fill
streets across the country. Parties with ghosts and goblins and costumes
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for all age groups - are already happening. While this is a fun release
for
both kids and adults, Halloween also has a dark side for cats.
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The holiday and the days leading up to it inspire some maladjusted
people to be mean and cruel to cats. In addition, the commotion, candy,
and costume materials of Halloween pose dangers to cats. For all these
reasons, it is essential to protect kitty during Halloween season.
Our new article, "How
to Keep Your Cat Safe and Happy on Halloween," shows you how
to take precautions before and during Halloween festivities so that
both humans and cats will have a pleasant, not scary time. The article
also looks at the sometimes-sordid history of human-cat relations, and
the anti-cat attitudes that have unfortunately persisted despite cats'
ever-growing popularity. Finally, the article presents ways to take
advantage of some Halloween-inspired safety measures all year long.
CLICK
HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE >>
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Boo-nus: Featured Halloween Products.
Halloween is a great time for kiddies, but don't forget about your kitties!
Here are some cat-friendly toys for your feline trickster.
Kitty
Bat: Made from durable Berber fabric and filled with frighteningly
fresh catnip. Kitty will enjoy batting at Kitty Bat!
Spooky
Doo: Ultra-soft shaggy fleece fabric and organic catnip filling
makes for playful fun at Halloween and any time of year.
Plunky:
Can a toy be so cute it's scary? Yes!
Yeoww!Loween!
Pumpkin Catnip Toy: Get your cat into the Halloween
spirit with this fun, spooooky jack-o-lantern catnip toy.
Have a safe and happy Meow-loween!
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Responses to "Do You Sing to Your Cats?"
Just as we thought — no one is singing "Bohemian Rhapsody"
by the rock group Queen to their cats.
However, based on the diverse responses we received after our article on singing to our cats,
it's clear that Mewsletter readers have an impressive repertoire of selections with which they entertain, comfort, or
amuse their kitties (and themselves) — and most of the songs are originals, inspired by the special
cats in their lives.
Many are appropriately silly, such as the "Honey Bunch Song" — one of our
favorites— written especially for a lucky (and perhaps tolerant) kitty named Jasmine:
"Jasmine....You're my honey bunch,
sugar plum... pumbie-umbie-umpkin
You're my sweetie pie... You're my cuppie cake,
gum drop, snookum-ookums,
Jazz... the apple of my eye!"
Other entries are more serious, and some song-related stories are quite moving.
Prepare to laugh and cry: Responses to "Do You Sing to Your Cats?"
If you make up songs or sing renditions of classics for your cat, tell us about
them at comments@mewsletter.com
click
here for full article >>
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We all want to feed our cats healthy, good-tasting food – in the right
amounts – but that's easier said than done. Between kitty's finicky
tastes (or ambitious appetite), a confusing barrage of claims by pet
food manufacturers, and the difficulty of balancing cost, convenience,
and nutrition, choosing cat foods and implementing a feeding schedule
that works for everyone can be quite a challenge.
In the first of a multi-part series about cats' diets, we look at wild
cats' basic food needs and how they relate to the tame tabby doing figure-eights
through your legs, demanding another helping of her favorite food (because
second-favorite won't do). We're fortunate in this series to have the
participation of veterinarian Dr. Marcus Brown, who will be sharing
his expertise in feline dietary requirements and issues with us.
Food, Glorious Food
What should I feed my cat? What kind of food? Which
brands? How much? How often? Wet or dry? Or both? Scheduled or free-feeding?
What about all these special diets – senior cats, indoor cats, hairball
management, urinary tract management, "light" formulas – do
they really work, or are they mostly hype, to get us to get us to spend
more money? What about raw and homemade diets? Can I feed kitty milk?
Human food? Are there any human foods that are dangerous to cats?
Questions about what, how, and when to feed kitty are pervasive and
seemingly never-ending. This is not surprising when you think about
it:
- Cats' nutritional needs are quite different than those of humans.
- It's practically impossible to fully simulate cats' natural diet – the diet eaten
by wild cats for the last 25 millions years or so – when feeding the cats who
share our homes.
- There are a myriad of cat food brands and varieties, and they are changing
all the time.
We had a chance to talk with Dr. Marcus
Brown, co-founder of the Capital
Cat Clinic in Arlington, Virginia, and scientific advisor to Alley
Cat Allies, about cats and their food. We will feature Dr. Brown's
wisdom, observations, and general advice over the next few Mewsletters.
Food is a huge topic, and breaking it up into a number of shorter articles
will hopefully make this challenging subject easier to "digest."
Which is a perfect segue into discussing how cats eat in the wild.
CLICK
HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE >>
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Ask Dr. Schelling:
I love when my cat kneads in response to my gently
stroking her, but when
she's on top of me or digging into my arm, those claws hurt!
What are my options?
A cat's rhythmical kneading shows contentment and affection. Cats begin
kneading their mother when they're tiny kittens, so by the time they get
to you,
they're pretty good at it! The kneading is often accompanied by a steady
purring.
The combination can be quite restful for both kitty and human, except
for the little spears constantly jabbing your skin. So how can you enjoy
these lovey sessions without the pain? The simplest solution may be to
put something between kitty's claws and you — a piece of clothing, a bedspread,
even a baby blanket. Usually you can deftly accomplish this without disturbing
the flow too much. If you have favorite spots in which you and kitty relax,
you may want to keep some designated "claw protector" materials
near those locations.
You can also clip kitty's front claws, using nail clippers specifically
designed for cats' nails. Simply removing the hooked point
at the end of the claw will ease the sharpness and significantly reduce
the "ouch" factor. Another alternative is to outfit your cat
with Soft
Paws.
If kitty is positioned just right, you may get a free "catupuncture"
session, as kitty stimulates your body's healing points and energy paths.
Ok, not really. But the purring...that does have impressive therapeutic
qualities, which we'll discuss in a future Mewsletter article.
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Tiny Cat Tip
(For Cats of All Sizes)
Showing physical affection to your cat, for example through petting,
gentle combing, or snoozing together, is vitally important on a daily
basis. It will soothe both you and your cat. Evidence has shown that
contact with our furry friends lowers blood pressure and may reduce
the risk of a heart attack by as much as 30 percent.
Kitty greatly enjoys the caring attention as well. In fact, it may be
the mutual expression of appreciation between cat and human that produces
so many health benefits. And of course, the healing power of the mighty
purr is sublime.
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Kitty Votes That You Buy More Cat Toys
With elections around the corner, let your cat put the
"party" back in "political party" with these fun
catnip toys from SuperHappyPets.com.
We've got options for:
• DemoCats
• RepubliCats
• GrrreenCats
If your cat is non-pawtisan or an independent (and really, what cat
doesn't lean that way from time to time?), buy one of each so kitty
can make an informed choice!
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Talk Back to Us! Anything. Preferably
cat-related. Our email is comments@mewsletter.com.
Planned For Next Issue:
* More on food
* Holiday safety
* Common household toxins
* Playing for health
* Fancy reviews toys
* Why do cats drop stuff in front of us?
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