We love to decorate for the holidays, but when it comes to our kitties, the less help from them, the better. Kitties can be extremely curious and want to nibble on everything from curling ribbon to plastic bags to tree tinsel. The best advice, keep the ribbon off the gifts and forgo the tinsel altogether to be safe. When it comes to live plants, we need to be especially careful –  mistletoe, poinsettia, holly berries, and amaryllis blooms can all be toxic to one degree or another if they are ingested by your cat. The two general types of poisonous mistletoe’s are the European variety, Viscum Album, and in the US, the Phoradendron Serotinum. Read more

I told you when I first locked eyes with Kizmet at Pet Supermarket a couple weeks ago that I did not know why he was destined to be in my life, but I felt intuitively that there was a reason. It turns out that this little guy not only stolen my heart, but he has captivated many others and has become an ambassador to promote adoptions in households that already have a cat(s) and I could not be more happy.

In his case, it’s really the pictures that tell the story and what a better way to do that than with video – pictures come to life!! In our first installment of “Kizmet’s Korner,” we share a typical day with this heart breaker as he interacts with his human and feline family!

I will forewarn you that this is a sneaky and unfair tactic – if you did not want to adopt another cat before, you will after seeing this video!! There is also a cameo appearance of Zoey on the couch with her daughter Mia – you will see firsthand what I told you about Zoey being both a growler and a loving mother as you watch her interact with Mia!

Enjoy and Happy Caturday!

My darling, sweet, precious little angel!!

As you know from my last post about Kizmet, I had carefully laid out plans about how I would slowly introduce him to the other cats in the house so that he would not be overwhelmed with the stress of seven large, adult cats who would in all probability chase him into a corner and bully him to defend their territory. To me, he is my sweet little baby – a helpless, tiny ball of fur that I rescued and I wanted to make sure he would feel safe and secure in his new forever home.

He had gone to the vet for his second checkup – his infection was cleared up and he was given the green light to safely meet everyone which was my main concern and I planned on slowly bringing him out of the office in the next day or two.  You know how I had wanted it to go – I would put the other cats in the bedroom so that he could explore the house on his own for a bit, then I would introduce him to one or two cats at a time so they could become familiar with one another, while being supervised by Dan and I. Not only did I want the process to run as smooth as possible for Kizmet, but I also wanted the other cats to ease into meeting him so that they were not overly upset either. Read more

By now, most of you know that we have a new feline family member, little Kizmet that I got from a Pet Supermarket adoption, and the pressing question of the day is “how is he getting along with the other cats?” Well, truth be told, I have no idea because he has not met them yet and that is the subject of today’s post – how to properly introduce a new cat or kitten into a household with one or more cats already settled in it.

Since I had not anticipated leaving Pet Supermarket with a kitten, I was unprepared for Kizmet's arrival. Here he is in my office where he is spending his time until he can meet the other cats. You will quickly note I did not have time to vacuum the rug.

When you make the very serious decision to adopt a new pet, in this case, a kitten, you envision all sorts of playful hi-jinks and shenanigans with your existing cat (in my case, seven) who will welcome the new feline mate with open paws and it is so tempting to want them to meet right away. What you normally get is a long and sometimes traumatic period of anger issues, territorial issues, jealousy issues – in a nutshell – a lot of hissing, fur flying, growling, territory marking, and a host of other behavioral issues from your residing felines who are typically NOT HAPPY at all that you have invaded their delicate social dynamic just because your eyes bonded and you fell head over heels in love with your newest furry bundle of joy. Read more

“

"The Cage"

“Eight is Enough” is the title of this post, but what I really wanted the title to be was “Damn-it, would someone please not allow me to go into Pet Supermarket any longer?” Here’s the thing, for most of us cat lovers, having to walk past “The Cage” – you know the one I’m talking about – the one that is in front of the store that is filled with cats/kittens that you have to unavoidably walk by to get to the cat food aisle is heart wrenching at the very least.

Normally I do my best to make a very polite visit to say hello, but I try to avoid any serious eye contact that would involve an overly dramatic emotional connection with the cat(s). It’s the only way I can get through it without turning into a pile of mush when I leave the store without all of them in my arms. Read more