Cat Livin, a furniture company catering specifically to cats and their families, have recently been awarded 3 prestigious Editors’ Choice Awards from Cat Fancy magazine. I checked out the furniture and have to say I can see why!

My absolute favorite is the Cat Livin Cat Climber, pictured above, that attaches to any door inside your house. This is perfect for apartments, studios, bedrooms or any other place where space is at a premium. It’s really a fantastic idea.

There’s also a custom designed Cat Ottoman that fits into any room for your cat to hide within or perch on top. Both products are covered in high quality sisal, which is long lasting and holds up to sharp little claws and general use.

The collection also includes cat accessories like countertop cat gardens, graphic pattern mats and hand-crocheted blankets. They’re currently working on expanding their furniture line to include arm chairs and end tables!

[images used with permission from catlivin.com]

Many years ago after we’d first adopted Turbo, I did what everyone at that time was doing and made a webpage about him (admit it, you did too!). While searching for great things to add to the page, I came across a tutorial about toilet training your cat.

Well, there is now a gadget available that helps make the whole process a little easier. It’s called the CatSeat and the neat thing about it is that you don’t even need to use a toilet to get started.

With the old process you’d gradually raise a litter pan to the level of the toilet seat so the cat gets used to it, and then you’d have to find a bowl to fit under the seat, filled with litter, for the cat before eventually removing it when the cat got used to that.

The CatSeat is all-inclusive - no need to find bowls or use phone books and newspapers to raise up a litter box. The CatSeat even claims that once the cat gets used to going in the Seat, they’ll follow it to the toilet and use it regardless of needing to jump for it.

I’m not sure this would work for us at this point - my old, crotchety cats would probably have my fingers if I messed with their boxes!

[image: catseat product photo]

If you’re involved in or just want to keep an eye on the $24 million class action lawsuit involving the pet food tainted with melamine, keep the following info handy!

First off, if you purchased and your pet consumed pet food after March 16, 2007 double check to see if it’s on the recalled products that are affected by the lawsuit, which contains a lot of big names like Nestle-Purina, Royal Canin, Diamond Pet Food, Hill’s, and Del Monte.

The case is called Pet Food Products Liability Litigation; MDL Docket No. 1850, Civil Action No. 07-2867 (NLH). The final hearing will take place on October 18, 2008, and the final date for submitting a claim form is November 24, 2008.

Check with PetFoodSettlement.com for continuing updates and read through the FAQ, notices, and important dates.

[image: sxc]

Summer is in full swing which means it’s vacation time! If you have a pet, though, you’ve got a lot of extra preparation to consider before you even pack your bags: Where will the dog stay? Who will take care of the cats? Why not take them with you!

Many hotels and resorts around the world are realizing how important pets are to their guests and have become accommodating by not only allowing supervised pets on the properties but some even go so far as to provide special outdoor areas for them as well.

My friend and fellow pet lover Alicia helped me find a few of the links below - they’ll definitely help make life easier the next time you need a weekend away!

BringYourPet.com lets you search worldwide for pet-friendly hotels, chalets, bed and breakfasts, resorts, lodges, and motels.

PetsWelcome.com offers pet-friendly listings (use the menu on the left), as well as emergency vet locations and kennels nationwide. They even have a section just for cat-friendly spots!

PetTravel.com lets you search by city, country or region, and even has informative articles on pets and timeshares and immigration and quaratine.

DogFriendly.com provides travel guides specifically for dog owners.

PetFriendlyTravel not only lists hotels, motels, B&Bs, etc, but also restaurants and recreation areas.

1ClickPetHotels lists only pet-friendly hotels and motels by state or province.

[image: flickr]

Catster has a really interesting article up illustrating the time line for how quickly cats actually age compared to humans. Because their typical lifespan is so much shorter than ours, their milestones and physical aging obviously come on a lot sooner than ours do, thus the “how old is he in cat years.”

The old “seven cat or dog years to one human year” doesn’t seem to hold true, either. In fact, a cat ages to about 24 within its first two actual years of life, and by the time a cat reaches the end of its lifetime around 14 years of age, he’s already the equivalent of 72 years old! And the interesting thing is that outdoor cats age a lot faster - I assume because they’re subject to more dangers and diseases than an indoor-only cat.

Dogs also age faster than we do. The typical formula for them is 10.5 dog years per human year for the first 2 years, then 4 dog years per human year for each year after.

How old are your pets?

[image: sxc]

Hope, a one year-old Maltese puppy with only nubs where her front legs should be, is finally getting a chance to see what life is like with a little mobility!

The custom designed harness is attached to independently moving arms that are actually attached to model airplane wheels, and with a just a bit of push from her hind legs she’s able to move around almost as she should as opposed to the hopping she previously did.

As she gets older she’ll have to have another device made for her. Make sure you check out the rest of the article linked above - she’s too cute to miss!

I love the idea of robotic or motorized litter boxes - it’s one of my least favorite chores. We tried a Littermaid years ago and were unimpressed - it was noisy and broke down completely within six months, but not before flinging poop and litter across the room randomly when it “cleaned.”

The litterbox above is called a Litter-Robot and if it looks big it is - it stands at 24-by-22-by-29 inches which would take up an entire corner in my house. If anything would definitely be a conversation starter, though!

The process seems simple enough: A sensor in the step lets the system know when a cat has stepped into the box, and is triggered again when the cat leaves, turning on a seven-minute timer. It then starts rotating, sifting the litter into a pocket while the kitty offerings get deposited into a drawer in the base. It then rolls back over and the litter comes out of the pocket and back to where the cats can use it.

I really love the idea of this - everything stays contained (unlike the Littermaid), there are no outside moving parts. I think the size and the price (approximately $330!) would keep me from giving it some serious consideration, though. Maybe after a few years we’ll find that they’re able to adjust the size and we’ll give it another look.

[image: product photo]

Aww, this is so cute! Apparently a little piggy in the UK is actually afraid of mud and dirt and refuses to join its littermates when they’re rolling around in it.

Image details: Piglet served by picapp.com

Her owners noticed that Cinderella, as she’s been dubbed, would sit off to the side of the pen shaking while the rest of the pigs were being, well, pigs and came to realize that she was having a problem with the mud. They grabbed some small wellies (rain boots) that were being used as pencil holders and slipped them on Cinderella’s feet. She now joins her littermates doing what pigs do best!

She’s so used to them now that she runs over to have them put on as soon as she sees the owner enter the pen!

Timberwolf Organics brand dog food is voluntarily recalling two formulas from their line of pet food due to some customers reporting that their dogs are vomiting, have diarrhea, and are refusing to eat.

Only two lines are affected - the Dakota Bison and Ocean Blue with the following “best by” dates printed on the bag:

- Dakota Bison: best by date of February 12, 2009
- Ocean Blue: best by date of February 20, 2009
- Ocean Blue: best by date of March 8, 2009

If your bag is affected you can take it back to the store you purchased it from for a full refund.

[product images: timberwolf organics]

When I make dog treats for my dogs sometimes I like to go the extra step and use bone-shaped cutters (when I’m not in the mood I just roll the dough out and use a pizza cutter to make “nuggets“). These only really work on recipes that form a firm dough that can be rolled out.

The little one there in the center is the perfect size for our chihuahuas, and I’ve used the larger one on the left for my friends’ dogs. I don’t know anyone with a dog big enough for the largest size, but it doesn’t hurt to have it on hand!

I don’t remember where I got these, I think it may have been on Ebay for about $8. After a quick search you can find several sites online that sell single cutters or sets of different sizes, and some made from metal and some from plastic!