When you have seven cats like I do, you can be certain that I am all too familiar with that horrendous gagging sound a cat makes when it is about to hack up a hairball. You can also be certain that no matter where they coughed it up, I will step in it… it’s just the Murphy’s Law of humans and hairballs. So, when I was approached by Caroline Golon of the blog Romeo the Cat to try out the FURminator deShedding tool, I jumped at the chance. The only catch, I would be participating as part of a contest for National Hairball Awareness Day and would have to make a celebrity of my choice out of the fur I collected from brushing my cats after I received the FURminator they were going to send me…. Yawn, just another typical day in a life of an obsessed cat lover.

For those of you that are not hairball experts, I will give you a quick 101 on the subject. Basically, hairballs develop as a result of a cat’s common grooming routine. When the cat licks its fur, tiny hook-like structures on its tongue catch the loose and dead hair, which is then swallowed. The majority of this hair passes all the way through the digestive tract with no problems. But if some hair stays in the stomach, it can form a hairball. Typically the cat will hack up the hairball with no problems, but if you notice symptoms such as vomiting or gagging without producing a hairball, lack of appetite, lethargy, constipation, or diarrhea, be sure to contact your veterinarian, as this  could be an indication that a hairball has caused a potentially life-threatening blockage. Read more

I can’t claim to be an expert on everything, for example, ask me about golf, cars, astronomy, and trigonometry and you will get a polite, but blank stare from me. Cats, however, is a different story all together and while I don’t have a fancy degree to back up my findings, I do have over 30 years of multi-cat household experience. I kind of feel I have earned my stripes to at least act as a quasi-expert and that is why I was thrilled when Gina Boekhout and her Tortie, Jessie, of the blog “Cat the Boss,” asked me to guest post about what it is like to live in a multi-cat household.

Are there challenges? Absolutely. Are they worth it? Equally absolutely.  For those of you that might be considering the jump from single to multi-cat ownership, this is a must read for you. If you already are part of a multi-cat home, please stop by to say hello and offer your own words of wisdom and advice.  Gina and Jessie are one of the newest additions to the cat blogosphere and would love to hear from you!

To read the interview, please click this link.

Editors Note: Since we last visited Zeuss in Boston a few weeks ago, he was primarily a solitary cat in a human world. Well, he is so excited to say, that has all changed and he decided to share his story with us! As always, I love a guest post from my favorite Boston kitty!

Zeuss and his human, Sean, enjoying some outside time!

  
Throughout my life most of my friends have been human.  Admittedly, I’ve become fond of a few canines, but for the most part dogs don’t like to keep in touch.  Humans, on the other hand, are so easy to bond with. They play with me when I want to play, pet me when I rub up on them, and pretty much shower me with attention when I’m in their presence.  Humans just “get” me!  And I “get” them. Read more