MSI Press Blog

 For a few decades, we have rescued feral cats. In fact, with only one exception, our "domestic" cats have been ferals that we brought inside to join other ferals, already domesticated, as part of a bonded cat family. Right now, we have five cats (alas, Murjan , the single non-feral cat we had, died from cancer last fall), all of whom get along pretty fabulously. Of course, all of that is easier said than done, and the bonding took time -- lots of it. Here are some of the things we did to create our cat family, some of which is not at all typical of what others have done, but it has worked for us. We don't trap the feral cats at all; we win them over and invite them in. We do this by feeding them a distance from the house and walking away, then moving the dish closer and closer to the house and walking less and less far away, until they are eating at our feet, at which point they will usually let us scooch or kneel beside them. To get to this point may take weeks. Getting

  I have to start out by saying that our geriatric cat, Simone (age 16+), a street rescue at the age of two, has a great vet, but no vet is all-knowing or always right. Ten months ago, Simone developed a cyst on her back. It filled and drained, filled and drained. Then, it just filled, and her vet drained it -- twice. She told me I could drain it at home if it got too back (bigger than the size of a golf ball), but she did not want to do surgery. Eventually, as could be expected, the cyst, in its drained state, became infected. An antibiotic injection helped, but the infection did not totally disappear. Orbax did no good at all. The vet did not want to remove it surgically because of Simone's age, but having to clean a pus discharge every two hours just did not cut it as a long-term solution. I asked the vet what reason other than age she had for not removing the cyst; there were none. She thought that Simone would not survive surgery because she was so passive during her exams. Wh

Street rescue cats have personalities all their own and their own timetable for joining the rest of the family (or cat family). Some take a brief time; those younger than 6 months, generally can be integrated into the rest of the cat family in weeks, perhaps a couple of months. Those who are older can take months. Simone was and is still cautious. She slept under the house for two years. When we moved, we were happy to be able to capture her (and she promptly bit the vet and was marked FERAL).  She likes living with us, and she has never tried to leave the house, even when we accidentally leave the door wide open. She has calmed down and no longer bites vets! She even likes to be petted, BUT, even after 14 years, she still sleeps under the bed. It is interesting to see what coaxes her out. As I said, cats each have their own personalities. Simone fell in love with golf on TV. She would stand for long periods of time, following the ball, and swatting at it. We discovered this accidental

  Little Simone , our Himalayan cat, has a significant amount of arthritis, as did Murjan , our late Turksi Van cat (he is so missed!). Of course, cosequin capsules are a daily "treat," However, early on, we came across an orthopedic memory foam bed (just like the ones for people) that both cats have loved. I throw a blank on top to protect the covering although it is washable and because Simone (pictured above) especially loves soft and warmth.  Now that Murjan has passed over the rainbow bridge, Sula , our parish cat (and book writer), who also has advanced arthritis has inherited the second bed. The beds are available from Chewy -- and no, I am not a rep nor do I get anything for an endorsement. I just know how hard it is to make life easier for cats with arthritis. Especially comfort. Simone sleeps very peacefully for hours on this bed.                                     Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter                           Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Fa

  This is not the first time we have written about cat cancer in a Caturday post. We learn more about it over time, and it seems that more in general is learned about it over time.  Blind Cat rescued share the following interesting and information post about cat cancer:  Feline Carcinoma (blindcatrescue.blogspot.com) . Cat cancer not only occurs, but at least in our household has become common as our cats have aged. Among our cats, three have died of it, and two are living with it. The breed does not seem to matter; it appears that cancer is blind to breed. Intrepid was the first to be diagnosed with cancer and the first to die with it. In his cancer, it was small cell lymphoma. He lived only a few months after diagnosis. His vet missed the cancer -- that happens with people, too. After describing Intrepid's late night howling to a friend who works at the SPCA, he gave us the name of a vet with excellent diagnostic skills. She immediately intuited the problem, scoped Intrepid, fou

  To honor Caturday, we have been presenting pictures of MSI Press authors with their cats. Here we share a photo of Simone, Larry MacDonald's cat, who traveled around Canada in an RV with him, his wife, and his dog Elly. To read about these travels, check out posts about Travels with Elly HERE . The book is available from online sellers, kindle, retailers, and the MSI Press webstore. For information about Larry and his other books, click HERE for some great reading.

  Our elderly gentlewoman Simone has had arthritis for 5-6 years now, controlled well enough by cosequin until recently; now she needs a monthly shot. Not only has she lived a long time with arthritis, but she has also lived a long time, period, for a Himalayan cat. The life span of that breed is 10-15 years. Simone is a dignified 17 years old. In the past year, she has developed high blood pressure controlled by medication, and in the last three months, she has lost all of her eyesight. Still, she manages. She spends a lot of time dozing comfortably in her memory-foam cat bed (shown above) that was especially developed for arthritic cats, but she insists on spending nights in bed with me in my sleep number bed, set at a very firm mattress level but topped with two layers of foam. It is also comfortable.  Tomorrow, she is going to the vet to have her front leg x-rayed; she missed the stairs leading to/from the bed, which, of course, she cannot see, and tumbled onto the floor. She is al

  When our alpha cat, Murjan , died, I thought that Happy Cat, Murjan's best pal and truly a pal to all the cats, would take over as alpha, keeping all the remaining six cats in line. That did not happen. Happy Cat earned his name by his mellowness. Our biggest cat at 16 pounds, he is our gentlest.  Integrating cats into healthy cat families and growing happy cat families is indeed tricky business. But it is easier with a beta. Happy Cat has shown us that again and again and again and again. Simone lived under the bed. She had been afraid of her shadow ever since we rescued her from human bullying on the street. Born a stray, she found houses intimidating, but there was safety under the bed. Of course, she would come out to eat, and we would cheer whenever she chose to spend some time in the sun. Then, a couple of years later, along came Happy Cat. While Simone still finds security in being under the bed, she comes out a lot more often and interacts with Happy Cat, the only cat she

Simone (middle) and Wooper (right) would like to take Murjan (left) for a walk.   Happy Caturday! I hope you enjoy the picture of two of our cats trying to take a third for a walk. Beloved Murjan crossed over the rainbow bridge last year, but the picture still makes me smile. And, for Caturday, I hope you enjoy this helpful article I came across recently:  12 Unusual Cat Behaviors to Look Out For – and What They Mean! (msn.com) . For more Caturday posts, click  HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC?  Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com. Want an  author-signed copy  of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@m

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

  Murjan at the pet hospital, scouting out the area As an owner of older cats , I am aware that all kinds of things can happen with them, just like all kinds of things happen with people. In addition to various illness and cancers, our oldest cat, Simone , has gone blind . We are learning how to help her and manage her environment to make it more manageable for her. Older cats, I have learned recently (though not through personal experience) can also develop dementia. I found this article quite helpful (should any of our cats start showing symptoms): Cat Dementia: Signs, Causes and Treatment Options (msn.com) For more Caturday posts, click  HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Planning on self-publishing and don't know where to start? Our  author au pair  services will mentor you through the process. Interested