MSI Press Blog

  A cat rescuer friend called urgently. She had just been told by the local shelter that she had to take back and find a barn or some safe street local (Those exist? Right?!) for the tiny kitten who was "unadoptable." He was so scared in his tiny cage that he would not move from one spot -- not to eat, and, ugh, not to pee. Could I take him, asked my friend? After all, I do have a reputation of domesticating feral cats and integrating new cats into our healthy, bonded cat family.  I thought I was at the limit of household cats - 6. But the house is big, and one never notices the lot of cats because we have a cat room and a catio as well as five other rooms. And they are quiet, well integrated, happy. I am pretty good with the patience required to integrate a new or shy or feral cat with the others. So, the little black-and-white kitten moved in. We called him Moo because his coloration was that of a Holstein cow.  Within a couple of hours, he was following Bear around. Not su

how Happy Cat began sleeping post-stroke and our first big clue as to what had happened Diagnosing strange -- and altered --  cat behavior can be quite difficult, if not impossible. Our Happy Cat turned into Sad Cat overnight. We knew he was missing Snyezhka and Bobolink , who had suffered major medical trauma/issues and crossed the rainbow bridge. After perfect results from a physical check-up, the vet admitted that the picture of Happy Cat sleep was odd, but she had no idea as to why he would be doing that. He also walked unsteady, crossing his legs instead of walking with a straightforward gait. His sight dimmed; again, the vet confirmed that he was not seeing anything much but that physically his eyes looked okay. He walks around in a fog, quite unlike our blind cat Simone , who manages admirably. Perhaps if we lived closer to a major medical (animal) center, more diagnostic procedures would be available. But, like probably most Americans, we are too far away from such levels of so

Our Happy Cat is now Unhappy Cat. For 14 years, he was unflappable. He was the beta cat; he groomed the other cats, he introduced -- successfully and quickly -- new cats into our cat family, and he stepped in when alpha cat Murjan died, as mother and father to the brood. With people, he was laid back, a cool hippie cat who was friend to all, not overly affectionate, just always a friend to any human, but especially attached to Carl , sitting at his feet when he died. In a very short period of time, Happy Cat lost from his life Carl (from cancer ), Murjan (from cancer), Snyezhka (from a saddle thrombus), and Bobolink (from autoimmune hemolytic anemia and cardiac arrest). He would look out the door every day, looking for them. Then, her went blind.  He stopped grooming the other cats. He adopted CB, Carl's mini-me, as his buddy but otherwise did not care if there were other people around. He started eating a lot, like people who are depressed. And just sitting and lying and sleepin

Intrepid hiding from the world in a bag. Cats get scared all the time for various reasons. I am not talking about scaredy cats (those shy ones that it takes months to bring out of their shells and develop trust -- I have had my fair share of those, always with successful endings). I am talking about the average cat who gets shocked by something or unnerved by something. Like Happy Cat , who needs oxygen upon arrival any time he goes to the vet because of his fierce panic attacks. (This is in addition to using gabapentin in advance to calm him!) So, I often look for new ideas and even old (tested) advice. Here is a great set of solutions for helping scared cats calm down:  How to Soothe a Scared Cat: 9 Cat Calming Solutions. Click here for more Caturday posts Caturday posts :  Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthly newsletter (recent releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, author advice, and more -- stay up to date) Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , an

  Happy Cat was so named because of his cheerful, laid-back, cool, and chill nature. An outdoor who always kept his distance, he approached us for help when he came down with a lung disease and was close to death. At the time, he was somewhere between two and four years of age. That was 2012. He has been with us since, joining our cat family of four at the time, and welcoming new cats into the fold as the family grew to six in number. Happy Cat was the beta cat, grooming and nurturing the other cats, especially the new ones. All the cats are indoor cats only; Happy Cat helped our rescued cats adjust to being inside and having a family. First after Happy Cat came Snyezhka . He knew her from his street days, and he seemed so happy to show her around the house. He groomed ger several times a day, and they slept together. After Snyezhka came Bobolink , afraid to venture forth from his cubby on the cat tree in the cat room; one full day with Happy Cat took care of that. Happy Cat lured him

  Today is one of those days -- sitting up with a rescued street cat, sitting side by side to provide warmth, and periodically adjusting the steam vaporizer to reach Happy Cat's nostrils. Happy Cat is not very happy today. Ten days ago, he snatched and swallowed a blood pressure pill my son had placed on the counter while getting a glass of water. Happy Cat is a street cat rescue; he eats anything and everything. Or did, until today. Ten days ago, we had to take him to the vet for that BP pill snatch. He had his stomach pumped and was given charcoal to deal with the poisoning. He was put on IV -- and because of a panic attack, was put on oxygen. It was a tough day. Two days later, life became tougher. He started sneezing. Then, his nose started running. In days, he had trouble breathing. Back he went to the vet. That was two days ago. Again, he was put on oxygen for his panic attack (in spite of pre-dosing him with gabapentin to lessen it). Again, he was poked and probed. He was hy