June 17-23 is Animal Rights Awareness Week

Six Ways to Protect the Rights of All Animals

June 17-23 is Animal Rights Awareness Week. If that conjures pictures in your head of crazy protestors tossing red paint on women wearing fur coats, you're only partially right.

The observance was started in 1999 by a group called In Defense of Animals. They wanted to raise awareness of the rights of all animals to be treated humanely and compassionately, regardless of their function in our society. They included in that not only our beloved companion animals, but farm animals, wildlife, and animals used in medical research or product testing.

1. Know Your Cat Breeder

It would be difficult to find anyone who's in favor of cruelty to animals, but some of our own buying habits may have that end effect. If you bought your cat from a breeder instead of rescuing it from a shelter, did you thoroughly investigate that breeder to make sure all their cats are humanely treated? 


Just last week, there was a news story about a breeder of Savannah cats who had them all seized after authorities found that he was keeping them in his dark basement in unsanitary conditions. That's no way for a cat to live! But when there's money involved (especially the large sums with some exotic breeds), unfortunately, some people begin to view the animals as a mere commodity and not as living, breathing, sentient beings. 


And that's a shame...fortunately, it's also a crime and there are laws in place to deal with such people. If you uncover such practices, report them.

2. Feed Your Cats Humanely

Humane treatment of animals goes beyond our own cats. When you buy your cat's food, do you look at where the meat in it comes from? Because cats are obligate carnivores, we don't have the option of feeding them a vegetarian diet, at least not if we want them to be healthy.

But it stands to reason that if an animal is stressed when slaughtered for food, those stress hormones will remain in the meat from that animal. When our cats (or we) eat that meat, those hormones go into our own bodies. Is it any wonder we're all stressed to the breaking point?

If food animals are sick, or have been pumped full of antibiotics to keep them from getting that way in overcrowded conditions, those things also get into our cats' bodies when they eat that meat. Yucky! Natural meats are far healthier and don't have all those unwanted additives.

Seek out cat foods and meats containing flesh from free-range animals that are humanely slaughtered and you won't have so much of a problem. You'll also enjoy a much lighter conscience.

3. Avoid Buying Fur

Perhaps you've seen those cute little cat figurines covered in soft fur on a gift shop shelf. Are you sure where that fur came from? Sure, the people selling them will tell you it's from rabbits, which are food animals. But how do you know for certain? If they were made in China, there's a very good chance that fur came from actual cats.

Or maybe you've seen a beautiful fur item in the store, for which the origin of the skins is unclear. How do you know that it's not cat fur?

Cats have a rough time of it in China. Although many Chinese people are now keeping cats as pets, any of them that get outside are in danger of being captured by collectors who sell them for meat and fur, stuffing them into overcrowded cages filled with fear and pain on their way to market. These are cats just like your own loving kitty, viewed as commodities by uncaring people out to make a profit off their hides. Remove support for the Chinese cat fur trade by refraining from buying fur products and eliminating the profit motive that fuels it.

4. Avoid Products Tested on Animals

It's nigh on impossible to refrain from buying any products that haven't been tested on animals at some point. And animal testing is essential to develop the drugs and surgical techniques that keep our families -- including our cats -- safe and healthy. So it's a fact of life in our society.

But there has been plenty of unnecessary suffering inflicted on animals over the years to avoid lawsuits from consumers who wanted to make a quick buck off some faceless corporation. An increasing number of companies has brought products to market without any animal testing, and they make some fine products. Support them by looking for those products in stores. 

And please, don't contribute to the corporate fear that drives animal testing by being a part of the frivolous lawsuit problem.

5. No More Homeless Cats

Is your cat spayed or neutered? Every day in America, thousands of healthy, loving cats are euthanized for no other reason than that they have no homes. Not only a tragedy in loss of life, this practice is debilitating for the shelter workers who must end those furry little lives. It's a horrible task, and completely avoidable if pet owners only acted more responsibly.

Most shelters use humane methods of euthanasia, but some shelters in rural areas use the cheapest and easiest means possible, which usually means gassing conscious animals. Are you aware of the euthanasia method used by your local shelter? If you need to advocate for a more humane method, we have a brochure to help you educate your local officials on accepted methods. There's also one on Trap-Neuter-Return method of feral cat colony management that can save many lives. You'll find them both on our Free Downloads page. Feel free to print and use them however needed to educate local officials; we do when we hear of this issue coming up in local communities all over the country. By approaching the issue in a friendly, helpful manner and offering elected officials material that will help them in making such decisions, you can have a positive impact on many cats' lives.

Do you volunteer at your shelter to help animals find homes? Have you adopted animals yourself from the local shelter? For every cat you rescue from a shelter, you save two lives: the cat's you bring home, and the cat who can then take its place in the shelter. And every shelter and rescue group is always looking for more people who can help them achieve their mission by volunteering just a few hours each month, or making donations to help the animals in their care to be a little less frightened and more comfortable.

6. Protect Wildlife From Your Cat

Do you keep your cats indoors? While some people with their own agendas tend to inflate the figures for it, cats who roam outdoors usually do kill some wildlife. If their mothers taught them to hunt, they will have a natural tendency to pursue prey. Make sure that prey is inanimate toy objects and not the birds, squirrels, chipmunks, etc. in your yard.

While some country cats were born and bred to be mousers in barns, city or suburban cats are safer inside...both for themselves and for the wildlife.

So when observing Animal Rights Awareness Week, try to examine your own habits to see if there's anything more you can do to ensure that all animals are treated humanely and with compassion. Our own cats may be treated like royalty, but all animals deserve respect and consideration. Living more consciously doesn't make us freaks. It just makes us humane.

Keeping Fleas in Check

Controlling Fleas On Your Cat

Sum-sum-summertime is upon us once again. Its heat and humidity bring out pests like fleas to bother us and our cats. And this year's mild winter will help ensure a bumper crop of the little blood-suckers to plague us. The more humid it is where you live, the more you'll be troubled by fleas. The southeastern U.S. is rife with them.

A female flea can lay 25-40 eggs per day and will continue doing so as long as she can consume blood. She will eat 10-15 blood meals every day. The eggs are laid on your cat, but quickly fall off into the cat's environment. They will hatch in about 2-5 days if the temperature is warm and the humidity level high enough. The larvae that hatch will eat any organic matter, such as flea feces, in their immediate environment. Within about two weeks with sufficient food, the larvae have matured into pupae, then a couple weeks later into adult fleas. 

Without a food source, the pupae can live for months, quickly stimulated to fully develop when they sense the vibrations of a host nearby. If you've ever gone on vacation for a couple of weeks, or moved into a new apartment, and walked inside for the first time, you may have noticed a swarm of fleas attacking your legs. They've been laying dormant as pupae, just awaiting your arrival. Fleas can jump about 12 inches to land on a passing host.

Problems Arising From Fleas

But more than just itching and scratching, fleas can present several health problems. Cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) are the most common flea and its bites can create several health issues.

The first is flea dermatitis. When a flea bites your cat (or you, for that matter), it secretes saliva that keeps the blood from coagulating so it can drink more freely. That's what causes the swelling, redness, and itching in a bite. In some hosts -- that would be you or your cat -- that saliva causes an allergic reaction more intense than the normal itching. It can lead to an infection in the bite area, seborrhea, skin reddening in areas other than the bite, and hot spots. Cats may "barber", or lick off their hair, in response, resulting in hair loss. The symptoms tend to be worse on the inner thighs and in the tail area.

Fleas can also spread tapeworms. Flea larvae consume the tapeworm's eggs. When your cat is scratching and biting at fleas, sometimes a flea gets ingested, along with those tapeworm eggs. If you see wriggling white worms about the size of grains of rice in your cat's poop or near the tail, kitty's got tapeworms. The worms live in your cat's small intestine and will prevent your cat from getting sufficient nutrition. You'll notice kitty losing weight and becoming lethargic.

If left unchecked, flea bites can cause your cat to become anemic. In heavy infestations, the fleas suck so much of the cat's blood that anemia becomes a problem. This is especially true for young kittens. Some can die from the condition. Anemia comes not only the loss of blood, but transmission of a type of bacteria by fleas that causes the destruction of red blood cells in a condition known as hemobartonellosis.

Increasingly, fleas have been the source of more serious health problems, some of which can also infect humans. These include plague and murine typhus! A recent typhus outbreak in California was traced to cat fleas, which can actually infest many types of animals, both domestic and wild. Typus causes headaches, fever, chills, fatigue and rashes. If left untreated it can be fatal.

So fleas are not something to take lightly!

Symptoms of Fleas On Your Cat

All cats scratch and groom, but if your cat is doing so excessively, especially concentrating around the hindquarters, you could have a flea problem. You may notice red, irritated skin or areas your cat has licked bald. There may be the aforementioned "hot spots" that become oozing sores. Your cat may start seeking out unusual places to sleep, in trying to get away from the fleas. And even exclusively indoor cats are susceptible. 

My poor little Vixen got a bad flea infestation once and I didn't realize it until I flipped her over onto her back to trim her claws. She'd licked all the hair off her tummy and the fleas just scattered when I turned her over! I immediately got some flea shampoo to bathe her, and the bath water turned pure red from all the blood she was losing. Anemia had already set in, so I had to give her a supplement to build her health back up afterward. There was one of her nine lives gone!

Fleas will stay near sources of water on your cat. This means the eyes, mouth, ears and...get ready to go "Ew!"...the anus. When grooming or loving on your cat, look for fleas or "flea dirt" -- actually flea poop -- in these areas. It will appear as little black spots, sort of like black dandruff on your cat's skin. If you put these spots on a wet paper towel, they'll spread out red as the water rehydrates the blood in the flea feces.

The fleas themselves are about 1/8 inch long, flat and oval, reddish brown in color. Their eggs tend to be mixed in with dust and dirt in the environment and are pretty much impossible to spot. Flea larvae look like tiny white worms, but are also very difficult to see.

Obviously, if you're getting bites around your feet and ankles, that's another sign that fleas have infested your home or yard. It's time to take action!

Preventing Flea Outbreaks

Obviously, preventing fleas from infesting your cats and your home is better than trying to get them under control once they gain a foothold. Fleas can live in your environment for a year, and their pupae can survive without hosts for months. So what works?

Keeping your cats indoors won't ensure that they stay flea-free, but it will help. If they're roaming the neighborhood and socializing with other cats, they're bound to be exposed to fleas somewhere. And when they come back into your house, in come the fleas with them. Freezing weather and drought-like conditions help to keep fleas in check outdoors. I live in Florida, so there's not much of either of those this time of year.

Vacuuming your house frequently, including along the baseboards, is helpful, and make sure you empty that vacuum cleaner bag every time. This gets any eggs the fleas may have deposited in your carpet. It also removes any flea dirt on which the larvae feed. For tile or hardwood floors, using a damp mop and detergent weekly will have the same effect. Again, it's important to get all the way to the edges, not just run the vacuum or mop around the center of the floor. Fleas will congregate toward the edges of the flooring. And remember, your cat goes underneath and behind furniture, so move all those things to get to all the spots kitty frequents.

Wash your cat's bedding weekly to get any fleas, eggs, larvae, or pupae living there. If your cat sleeps anywhere other than in his own bed (and you know they all do), that needs to be washed and/or vacuumed weekly, as well. This includes your bedding, any upholstered furniture, and any cat trees you have. If your washer has a sanitary cycle, use that one.

In your yard, it's helpful to keep your grass cut and the ground free of mulch. The drier and clearer your yard is, the less hospitable the conditions for fleas to thrive. This is especially true if you live in a very humid area. If you use a yard spray, use it under bushes, shrubs, decks, and porches, not in the main part of the lawn, where the sunlight and more arid conditions discourage the development of fleas. Flea eggs can also be deposited in the soil between the joints of pavers, concrete walks and porches, so treat those areas. Follow the instructions for these products carefully. And make sure you let any spray products dry for several hours before you allow your cats to go outside.

It's important to treat both indoors and out so that you can avoid bringing fleas back into your home once you've eradicated them there. If fleas gain a foothold, you may need to call in a professional pest control company to get them under control.

Treating Flea Outbreaks

When I was growing up, the only flea treatment options we had were to manually pick fleas off our animals or give them a good dusting of messy, stinky flea powder. When flea collars came out, we were thrilled! That is, until we realized that they don't always work all that well, and some cats have a reaction to the chemicals in them. But all of these methods are still available.

The next type of treatment that came along was "dipping" which involved a pesticide applied by a veterinarian or groomer. These were more effective than the home-grown remedies, but could get expensive. They lasted about a month and required a trip to the vet every time to have it redone.

The most popular flea preventatives in recent years are the monthly spot-on treatments applied between the cats' shoulder blades. They're very effective and keep your cat flea-free for an entire month. Advantage, Frontline, and Revolution are all examples of this type of product. However, some cats do have reactions to them, so you'll need to make sure you follow your veterinarian's advice in using them. And never use dog flea products on your cats, as the chemicals in them are too strong for a cat's lighter weight and more sensitive system and can kill your cat! There are also some flea prevention pills.

But not everybody wants to saturate their environment or their cats with toxic chemicals. While there are also many natural products on the market to control fleas, be very careful with these, as well. Make sure the product you choose is safe for cats. Some of the poisons in them that kill the fleas can't be handled by a cat's liver and can also be toxic to cats.

Flea shampoos can be a cheaper alternative than spot-ons, but anyone who's tried to bathe a cat knows that they may not be the best option. If your cat will tolerate a bath, however, they can be effective. Make sure to use a flea shampoo that is safe for use on cats.

The old-fashioned flea comb is still the most natural method for removing live fleas from your cat, but it does not remove the eggs, larvae, or pupae. These must still be treated to get the fleas under control. If you catch the infestation quickly and treat your home and yard at the same time, you may be able to get the upper hand on them with a flea comb. Just make sure you use it frequently. It doesn't take long for fleas to invade.

What Doesn't Work on Fleas

The ultrasonic devices marketed to control fleas have never been scientifically proven to have any effect on them at all. And such natural treatments as brewer's yeast, B-complex vitamins, and garlic have also proven ineffective in repelling fleas. 

The bottom line: obviously, prevention is far preferable to treatment for fleas. If you keep your environment flea-free, your cats should stay that way, too.

Old Maid Cat Lady has an assortment of flea prevention and treatment products of all types to help you and your cats enjoy the summer together. More are being added all the time, so check back frequently to see what's new.

Are You Ready to Go?

Hurricane Preparedness For Your Cats

Living here in Florida, every June we're bombarded with news stories about the beginning of the hurricane season. Every news outlet seems to have their own preparedness guide to help people get ready for either battening down or evacuating in the event of a direct hit.

Since I live fairly close to the oceanfront, I'm in the first evacuation zone, where we're ordered to leave if there's any chance at all that a storm will hit us. Fortunately, our portion of the coast rarely receives a direct hit from a major hurricane. But we have been ordered out at times, just to be on the safe side.

Once we received a very close brush with a storm while Vixen and I were living with my mother. We packed up all the most important things in our cars and headed westward to my Aunt Inez's house. With my trunk and back seat filled with photos, computers, et al, Vixen was in her carrier on the front passenger seat, next to me.

We'd driven on an expressway and arrived at a red light on the far end of a bridge across the St. Johns River. As I slowed the car, Vixen stood up in her carrier and looked at me like, "What do we do now?" She had picked up on our unease at what the storm may bring and knew something big was afoot. I just told her it was okay and we weren't there yet, we still had a little way to go. She accepted that and immediately laid back down in her carrier. How I miss my smart little girl!

Fortunately, that storm did no damage to our house, and when Vixen and I returned the day before my mother, all I had to do was clean up a lot of pine cones, palm fronds, and pine straw that had littered our yard. Salt spray from that storm had also killed the pine trees in our yard, so it was also the last time I had to deal with their gummy mess.

This past week, we actually did get a direct hit from an early tropical storm, Beryl. A large, low branch came off my oak tree in the back yard, but other than that, it was just more palm fronds and smaller tree branches again. Whew; another bullet dodged!

But because of that one evac experience Vixen and I had, I always keep an evacuation kit packed and ready for my cats during hurricane season. And since some storm shelters will now accept pets with prior registration, I also go online to the city's website and register my cats each year, just in case.

What to Pack in Your Cat's Evac Kit

Several things are good to have in the evacuation kit for your cat, and you can keep them together all the time in one of those plastic storage containers. That way, you won't have to be rushing around looking for these items as you're packing to leave:

• Disposable litter box (I just use one of those made from the recycled paper)
• Liner for the box, if you use one
• Enough litter to last for several days
• A copy of your cat's medical records, including current rabies vaccine certificate from your vet (if shelters allow pets, they typically require you to show a current rabies vaccination certificate)
• Bowls for food and water (stainless steel works well because it doesn't break)
• A spoon to dish out canned food
• A manual can opener, if your cat's canned food doesn't have the pull-tab top
• A first aid kit, just in case your cat gets injured

Other items will need to be added to the kit as you prepare to evacuate. Make sure your plastic storage container is also large enough to hold them:

• Your cat's food (dry is easier, but if you must feed canned, take it, too)
• Any medications you must give your cat
• Any nutritional supplements you regularly give your cat
• Your cat's bed, to provide a comforting scent of home (or a travel bed your cat has used before)
• Any toys your cat especially enjoys
• Your cat's harness and leash so that when you have to take the cat out of the carrier, there's a way  to keep him safely with you
• A calming and soothing product for your cat, especially for high-strung kitties
• A gallon of fresh water (you never know about the availability of water where you're going, and emergency workers will provide it to people first)

If your cat is not microchipped, you'll want to put a collar with an ID tag attached on the cat so if you get separated somehow, kitty can find his way back to you.

As the Storm Approaches

Your cat is probably more aware of the storm's status than are you. Kitty doesn't need a TV weatherman to know that the barometric pressure is dropping and it's time to batten down!

Cats also pick up on our own stress as we worry about an approaching storm and how to protect our homes, families, and other possessions. So if you have to evacuate, you may find that your cat is hiding. This is a natural behavior and part of the cat's self-preservation instincts. If you can't find the cat, try starting an electric can opener; that usually brings them running! (It even seems to work on cats who have never eaten food opened with a can opener. Why is that?)

Your cat should travel in the car with you in a sturdy carrier. This protects your cat in the event of a car accident, and also can serve as a temporary crate if you don't have a larger crate in which the cat can stay at a storm shelter.

Make sure you leave early enough to avoid the outer fringes of the storm, which can still bring nasty winds and rain, even spawning tornadoes. So even though it's a pain to leave the comfort of your home for the inconvenience of a storm shelter or a hotel, that's far better than trying to schlep your cat and all the various kitty accoutrements somewhere in the fringes of a hurricane!

Preparing an evacuation kit for your cats ahead of time will help you tremendously if you do actually need to evacuate. It's just one less thing you'll have to worry about when the time comes. And if you live in a coastal area, it's not a matter of "if" that time will come, it's "when".

Here's wishing you a safe and event-free hurricane season. Purrs!

How to Hug a Cat

How to Hug a Cat

Do you hug your cats? Not all of them like it...at first.

When I started hugging my cats, they resisted, not liking the restraint.  But I'd persist until they'd break out of the hug, walk away from me, then circle back around, their body language saying, "Do it again!" I'm trying to get the kittens accustomed to being hugged from an early age.

Toward the end of little Vixen's life, she didn't like to be up off the floor because she got dizzy. But during her last couple of weeks, I'd pick her up and put her in my lap, pulling her close to my body and giving her a little squeeze. She purred as loudly as she ever has for anything.

So here's my method for cat-hugging that has become popular with every cat I've tried it on:

• Get on the same level with the cat, whether that means you pick up the cat into your lap, or you get on the floor with the cat.
• Leaving the cat on all four feet, or sitting as the case may be, wrap your arms around the cat's body, with one hand over the chest. Hugging them this way lets them still feel in control of where their body is, and is a more natural position for the cat.
• Give the cat a mild squeeze while talking softly and telling the cat what a good boy/girl he/she is.
• Just hold the squeeze for a moment, then release it. The cat likely will not tolerate much of the squeezing part, but if it's working for you, take your hand that's around the cat's chest and scratch the cat's cheek area, where they have the scent glands they like to rub on everything. If they haven't been sold on the hug before, this should do it!
• If your cat is especially tolerant (and if you don't mind having a little cat hair stuck in your lipstick), you can give them a little kiss on the head to go along with the squeeze and sweet talk.

That's it! Now, get to hugging, because it's National Hug Your Cat Day today!

How Old Is My Cat in "People Years?"

How Old is My Cat in "People Years?"

All my life, I've heard that one calendar year is equivalent to seven years in a dog's life. Not entirely accurate, but close enough. So what's the "standard" for cats? There's not really a simple answer to that, as no truly scientific method has been developed to gauge the maturity level of cats.

In actuality, cats don't age in a steady accumulation of time like humans do, but in a big spurt at the beginning of life, then more regularly as the years go by. And depending on your source, that growth rate differs. Knowing where your kitten is, developmentally, can help you with training and introducing kitty to new things. It also helps you know when your cat should be spayed or neutered to avoid any unwanted litters.

Understanding age equivalency as your cat ages can help you make adjustments to make kitty more comfortable and healthy. Senior cats experience more difficulty with their teeth and may have arthritis that makes moving around, or even bending down to eat, painful. Some also develop age-related diseases and they require more frequent check-ups at the vet.

I've combined information from several sites and compiled this Cat Age Chart to estimate your cat's age equivalent in human development and aging:

Cat's Age = Human Age 

(with outdoor cat's age in parentheses)

1 month = 5-6 months

2 months = 9-10 months

3 months = 2-4 years

4 months = 5-6 years

5 months = 8-9 years

6 months = 10-15 years

8 months = 15 years

1 year = 15-24 years

2 years = 24-28 years

3 years = 28-32 years (32)

4 years = 32-36 years (40)

5 years = 36-40 years (48)

6 years = 40-44 years (56)

7 years = 44-48 years (64)

8 years = 48-52 years (72)

9 years = 52-56 years (80)

10 years = 56-60 years (88)

11 years = 60-64 years (96)

12 years = 64-70 years (104)

13 years = 68-72 years (112)

14 years = 72-80 years (120)

15 years = 74-80 years

16 years = 76-84 years

17 years = 78-88 years

18 years = 80-92 years

19 years = 84-96 years

20 years = 96-100 years

21 years = 100-104 years

22 years = 104-108 years

23 years = 108-112 years

24 years = 112-116 years

25 years = 116-120 years

Cats mature quickly in their first year. After that, the level of development is more regular through the remainder of their life. But experts start referring to cats as "senior" at about the time humans would be middle-aged, about 7-8 years in the cat's life, and "geriatric" at about age 12. The oldest cat on record was Creme Puff, a female cat who died in 2005 at 38 years and 3 days old. Another cat in the UK is said to be 39 years old, placing her human age at around 172! Cat age calculators are available on a few sites, but it's not clear which model they're using to calculate the cats' ages.


An About.com entry includes the reminder that not all breeds of cats age at the same rate. Maine Coon cats, for example, develop more slowly and don't reach maturity until they're 3-4 years old. Just as with people's individual personalities, there is likely also some difference from cat to cat. Especially Cats points out that factors such as age of weaning, reproductive status, and the cat's genetic average mortality play a role in how fast a cat ages. And Catster reminds us that cats living outdoors will age more quickly, including a chart from The Cat Owner's Manual as backup. Those numbers are the ones shown in parentheses in the chart above.

Most of the charts stop at around 18-20 years of a cat's life, with only one going beyond. So it's hard to determine exactly how old my little Vixen, who had just turned 24 when she died last month, would have been in human years. Nearest I can guess, she would have been about 107-116 if she'd been a person. As more cats live into their 20s due to indoor living, better food and veterinary advances, it seems like some new charts need to be developed...and perhaps those designations of "senior" and "geriatric" need to be rethought, as well.


Sources for the chart above included CalculatorCat.com, The International Cat Agility Tournaments, About.com, Purina's UK division, Spoiled Kitty, Catster, and Cat Channel.

To help you address the needs of your cats at all ages, Old Maid Cat Lady has a special section for Kittens, and another for Senior Cats. Cats in between the two can use things from all the other products for cats categories!

Do Cats Need Fiber, Too?

Do Cats Need Fiber, Too?

Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning that meat must be the primary ingredient in their food. But just as our doctors advise us to eat fiber, it's also an important part of your cat's diet.

In the wild cats eat prey, and they eat all portions of that prey. That includes not just the meat (muscles), but organs, hair, bones, feathers...each of which provides nutrients of value to the cat. Hair and feathers are natural types of fiber found on prey that are not present in our modern-day canned or dry cat foods.

You may have noticed that your cat will eat grass sometimes. This is helpful to kitty in passing hairballs and in adding a little fiber to the diet. You'll even find kits for growing cat greens, which are healthy for your cat to consume and have the added advantage of keeping kitty from dining on your houseplants.

Increasingly, you may have also noted the appearance of something called "prebiotics" in your cat's food. Fussie Cat is a brand we've recently added on OldMaidCatLady.com that contains them. What are prebiotics, and why does your cat need them? Are they different from "probiotics"?

Prebiotics are actually a form of fiber, but a very specialized type. They encourage the growth of helpful bacteria called microflora (or probiotics) in the intestines. These include Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli. A healthy population of "good" bacteria in your cat's intestinal tract will inhibit the growth of "bad" bacteria - the kinds that cause disease.

Prebiotics have been used as human supplements in Japan for many years and are gaining fans in Europe. But they're only starting to catch on here in the U.S. as human supplements. So why are they important for your cat?

Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and Cats

There are actually different types of prebiotics. One class is called "fructooligosaccharides", which is a mouthful of word in itself! Other names for it are oligofructose or oligofructan, and it's often abbreviated as FOS. It's essentially a plant sugar linked in chains and occurs naturally in asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes, bananas, garlic, chicory root, tomatoes, wheat, and soybeans. Not exactly cat-favored foods, right?

The beneficial thing FOS does is provide a place, or substrate, for healthy bacteria to grow in the large intestine. Studies have shown its effectiveness in improving calcium and magnesium absorption. It's used to combat both constipation and diarrhea, as well as lowering cholesterol levels. Anecdotal evidence shows that it is also effective in preventing yeast infections.

All things in moderation, however: in addition to feeding the good bacteria, too much FOS can give pathogens -- the "bad" bacteria -- a growing place, as well. It's important not to go overboard with it and give your cat too much. Make sure you buy a brand of food carefully prepared to include the correct amount. And it is not recommended for cats suffering from any type of bacterial infection.

Some cats may also have an allergy to FOS. If you switch to a food with FOS and notice your cat experiencing flatulence, bloating, apparent abdominal pain or cramping, and diarrhea, go back to the old food you were feeding without it, because it's not the right solution for your cat. Cats with loose stools may not adapt well to any addition of FOS to their diet.

Galactooligosaccharides (GOS) and Cats

The galactooligosaccharide, or GOS, type of prebiotic is produced by enzymatic conversion of lactose, or milk sugar. It is sold as a human supplement widely in Japan and increasingly in Europe, usually in a syrup or powder format.

Studies done on GOS show the same benefits as with FOS, especially early in life. They have increased the resistance of human infants to respiratory infections when added to the diet during the first two years of life. But does this benefit carry over to cats?

Several university studies on prebiotics fed to cats showed that a diet with added FOS and GOS together has improved digestibility for cats. It also increases beneficial bacteria and short-chain fatty acid concentrations. All the studies have concluded that low-level supplementation of FOS and GOS have a positive effect on "gut health" in cats.

So what's up with the "short-chain fatty acids"? Those are important because they are a source of energy for the cells lining the colon. SCFAs also help your cat maintain balance of fluids and electrolytes, help food to move through the intestines, combat inflammation, and help maintain the normal structure of the colon.

Trans-galactooligosaccharides (TOS) and Cats

Also a part of milk, TOS is included in some kitten formulas. It provides many of the same benefits as GOS: improved digestibility and good intestinal health.

So yes, your cat does need fiber! Help your kitty stay healthy by making sure he gets the right amount.

It's National Pet Week!

May 6-12 has been dubbed National Pet Week in the U.S., so let's celebrate the joy that our cats bring us! This year's theme is "Healthy Pets Make Happy Homes."

First, a few statistics:

• The U.S. has the largest cat population of any nation worldwide. China comes in second, followed by Russia, Brazil, and France.
• While 43 million U.S. households contain dogs, only 37.5 million of them contain cats. But there are far more cats in those households: 86.4 million, with only 78.2 million dogs. Apparently, we prefer our cats in multiples. Interesting, since dogs are actually the pack animals by nature.
• The states with the highest percentage of cat-owning households are Maine, Vermont, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington. Only three states have official state cats: Maine (Maine Coon), Maryland (Calico), and Massachusetts (Tabby).
• 21% of owned cats were adopted from an animal shelter. Adopting a cat from a shelter actually saves two lives: that of the cat you adopted, and the cat who can take its now-empty space at the shelter. In volunteering at my local shelter, I've been amazed at the gorgeous and sweet cats they have available for adoption. Many others acquire their cats by adopting strays, and it's true that a cat will find its way to you when you belong together. Just to make sure, check your local shelter to see if that cat is waiting for you there.
• 88% of owned cats are spayed or neutered. We all know the benefits of this, and healthy kittens can be altered as soon as they reach 2 pounds in weight. Since a female cat can get pregnant as young as 4 months of age, early-age (or "pre-pubertal") spaying and neutering is a good way to keep this from happening. Moreover, it's a safe practice endorsed by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). Kittens neutered early actually have fewer surgical complications and faster recovery.
• The proper term for an unneutered male cat is a "tom". Once neutered, he becomes a "gib". A female cat is called a "molly", or if she's a mother, she's a "queen". (But we know that all cats think of themselves as queens!)
• Women tend to be the primary caregivers of all pets...but then, you knew that, didn't you? However, a 2007 Gallup poll revealed that men were just as likely as women to own a cat. Cats do tend to respond better to a woman's voice, likely due to its higher pitch. (That and a can opener: have you ever noticed that even cats who have never eaten food opened with an electric can opener will come a-runnin' when you start one? What's up with that?!)
• Cats are far less likely than dogs to see their veterinarians frequently. Do you take your kitties in for an annual checkup? If for no other reason than a rabies vaccine booster, you should. While multi-year rabies vaccines are available, they have a higher association with vaccine-associated sarcomas, so I tend to shy away from them. Don't yet have a vet? You can find one near you by using the AVMA's free service, MyVeterinarian.com.
• Cats are highly intelligent. They can be trained, and even enjoy the mental stimulation of it. But most cat owners don't try to do so, in the mistaken belief that cats can't be trained. That's a shame! There are plenty of books on training your cat, so get one and give it a try. Good mental health is a part of your cat's overall well-being and mental stimulation can go a long way toward avoiding "bad" behavior that comes from boredom.
• Adolf Hitler disliked cats, so there's one good reason for distancing yourself from people who don't like cats! I'm guessing that cats weren't too fond of Hitler, either, since cats tend to read people pretty accurately.

As many of you know, I recently began fostering two little 4-week-old kittens, who I will adopt as soon as they're old enough. They just turned 6 weeks old and had their latest round of shots, weighing in at 1.1 pounds each. That's them, pictured at the top of this post, on the first day I brought them home. I've been calling them Captain Roughy and Gilligan, and they are certainly a handful! Adult cats are really more my speed, but after losing my beloved little Vixen, it was just too difficult to come home to an empty house with no little furry face to greet me. I intended to help out the shelter by fostering some of the many kittens they get at this time of year, and just fell in love with these two.

"My boys" already have great plans in store for them. Having never lived with kittens this young before, I'd never really had the opportunity to start them out right by teaching them to get used to walking on a leash and harness, or having their teeth brushed. Now they can get a good foundation in life and we will learn from each other how best to raise them. Will they excel at cat agility trials, or would they prefer to become therapy cats who visit the sick and elderly? Or will they just become twin fixtures lounging atop the back of my sofa? Only time will tell. Whatever they become, I'm looking forward to shepherding them on their journey there.

Purrs, and happy National Pet Week!