Brotherly Love

Curry has maintained radio silence for a few days.  You can blame it on me.  I'm her blog secretary and nothing gets typed up if I don't have the time to do it.  So, on behalf of Curry, I would like to apologize for the last few days of no blogging.  And now, I'll let Curry tell you what's on her mind.

"Yeah, whatever, mom.  I could type if I really wanted to...but I have other things to do with my days.  So, today I'm going to tell everyone more about my brothers.  You've already learned that my older brother Zorro is very special to me and he has allergies.  I've told you about Willie the physical comedian, and I've conceded that Grayson is a cute young-un even if he is a bit of a pest.  I've observed a lot of other things about my brothers.  It's easy to do because I often find myself on the outside of their interactions.  That way, I can be an unbiased observer. 

First of all, I couldn't talk about brotherly love without restating that Willie is a very good big brother to Grayson.  As soon as Grayson came to live with us, Willie took him by the paw and started taking care of him, grooming him, teaching him how to take long, cozy naps, and playing with him.  They play-fight, they chase each other, they sometimes play with toys together, but most importantly, they just like to hang out.  Here are just a couple examples of them being brothers.

Even though Willie is kind of clumsy, he's still a cat, and he likes to climb.  In the first photo above, he shows Grayson how it's done.  After Willie demonstrated balancing on the scratching post, Grayson climbed up and had his turn.  In the other photo, the boys are sitting on top of mom's wine cellar.  I don't know why, but they just like to be up there when mom is in the kitchen.  I guess it gives them a good view of what she's doing.  Or maybe they are hoping she will pour them a saucer of wine.  In any case, even I have to agree that these boys provide a fine example of brotherhood.

Now, Zorro is my favorite brother.  It's because I knew him first (since I was a kitten).  He used to take care of me just like Willie takes care of Grayson.  Zorro and I are not quite as close as we used to be, because now he has the other boys to hang out with.  He still loves me though.  Just the other day Zorro and I woke up from our cat naps and groomed each other's heads.  In case you don't know, that's a definite sign of affection between felines.  It was very nice to know that Zorro still cares about me.  He also cares about Grayson, as you can see below.  See how they nap together so peacefully?  That used to be Zorro and me.  I'm not bitter...not exactly.  I'm just missing that golden time of my youth, when I was the baby and everyone doted upon me.

Well, that's about all I can stand to tell you about today.  Yes, the boys are good brothers to each other.  Mom is always saying how sweet they are and how cute they are, and how happy she is that they get along (what about me, mom?...yeah, yeah, I know she loves me too).  I just want to let everyone out there know that it is possible for cats to get along in multiple-cat homes.  It's important to introduce them properly (see any of Pam Johnson-Bennett's books in the Amazon box on this page), but it is possible.  And, contrary to popular belief, male cats are not all territorial and aggressive, as you can see by my three brothers who get along great.  So, that's all for now.  I'm going to dictate some more blogs to mom now so that she doesn't skip so many days posting again.  Really mom, you're gonna ruin my blogging career if you keep that up!"

It's Easy Being Green

"Really, it is easy being green!  I know I'm a cat, but I know things.  And I know that there are easy things you can do to take care of our home, our environment, on Earth Day and every day.  I would definitely do more if I had the ability to get outside whenever I wanted, or if I had opposable thumbs.  Wait...if I had opposable thumbs, then I could open the door and go outside!  Well, I'm not gonna abandon my mom and my brothers, even if they sometimes bug me.  So, I'm stuck inside.  I get to smell fresh air though, whenever it's nice outside and mom opens the windows.  I know that it's important to have high-quality air and I'm happy to say that most of the time, the air is good here.  I hope that generations and generations of cats after me can say the same thing.  Here are some simple things that cat owners can do to help the Earth.

1. Take your own reusable bags when you shop.  Here's a picture of me, Zorro and Willie about to raid mom's groceries.  An extra benefit of reusable bags: they don't cut into your paws like those dumb plastic bags do.
2. If you do end up with plastic bags, please reuse them or recycle them.  Mom saves the ones she gets and uses them when she scoops out our litterboxes.  She also uses them to line small trash cans, rather than buying plastic liners.
3. Use eco-friendly cleaning products.  Mom gets great products from Melaleuca (and she can tell you more about them if you're interested).  The Melaleuca products are non-toxic and use some all-natural cleaning agents, which makes them safer around children and animals, in addition to the Earth.  Most of the products are concentrated so there is less packaging and less water.  They also come in recyclable containers.  Yes, there are lots of so-called "green" products on the market, but Melaleuca started their thing long before "green" became a marketing gimmick.
4. Recycle cat food cans, and all other recyclables.  Some people think it's an inconvenience to sort their "trash" or to take cans/bottles/etc. to a recycling center.  But tell me, wouldn't it be more inconvenient to have a world with depleted natural resources?  Mom can recycle very easily in our building, but even when she couldn't, she would save up the recycling and drive it to the neighborhood center.
5. Use eco-friendly cat litter.  Mom uses pine pellets for us, and we all agree that this is better than traditional clay litter.  You can read my previous blog about this from 4/8/10.
6. Shop Amazon.com Earth Day Savings.

There are lots of other things you can do to be a good custodian of the Earth.  Check out the official Earth Day website for some ideas.  I just wanted to share the easy ones that cat owners can do immediately.  Trust me, all your pets and your kids will thank you for taking care of their world.  Happy Earth Day, everyone!"

Real Men Like Cats

This is Curry's first interview! She interviewed my friend John, who selflessly rescues cats and finds them good homes. John has worked with cat rescue organizations in Columbus, Ohio, but to me, his most notable work involves the stray cats he rescues from his own neighborhood. In fact, that's how I came to adopt both Willie and Grayson.  John rescued Willie as a gangly teen, and I took him in shortly thereafter. Grayson's story is a little different. John couldn't say no to a petite, three-legged, pregnant cat. Affectionately known as "Stumpy" (I know, I know), she gave birth to four healthy kittens in June 2009. I took in Grayson, my neighbor adopted Bailey, and Frisco and Spice went to a third happy home; Stumpy has been spayed and still lives with John. Here, Curry discusses cat rescue and other topics with John.

Curry: Uncle John, you are one of my favorite people. Thank you for taking this interview. Let’s start out with you telling everyone how you came to love cats.

John: Let me start by saying thank you for interviewing me. I'm honored, as I've always been a fan of yours, even before you were famous. I have always had animals in my life and have always loved them. I did prefer big dogs for a long time though because I thought they were the most loving. Growing up, our cat wasn't too interested in attention from me, so I came to the conclusion that cats are aloof and don't care for much attention because they're so independent. Everyone else seemed to think that way, so it seemed to make sense. Well then I met your Mom. She had three cats who were different than other cats I had met. They were very close to Sandy and loved interaction.

Curry: Yes, they were my siblings Maggie, Sage and Thor.  I miss them.

John: They were great cats. This started me thinking a bit differently about all cats. A couple of years later, I got a kitten for a girl I was living with. She already had one cat, but wanted another. That kitten showed a lot of interest in me and I bonded with her. We called her "Little Kitty" back then, but today her name is Bast (or sometimes Abby) and she is still with me. I was so taken with her, I started reading a lot about cats and their behavior, which made me even more interested in them. I was learning that they are very social creatures who can love deeply. After breaking it off with the girl, Bast and I started adopting other cats in need.

Curry: Some people think that cats are feminine, and you’re a straight guy who loves our kind. How do you justify this to closed-minded people?

John: Well I try to avoid closed-minded people, but sometimes I do try to get through to the occasional person who still believes that stereotype, which is a ridiculous one. Between cats and dogs, cats appeal much more to my masculine side. They are the most efficient killers in the world and are braver than any other animal I know of. I don't know of any dog owners who sustain the same number of injuries I do from my cats. I get gouged, scratched and poked on a regular basis. And it takes a much bigger man to walk against the stereotypes than to simply conform.

Curry: I'm a non-conformist myself.  So, tell me a little bit about your own cats.

John: Bast was the one who taught me the most. She went straight for my heart and got it. She helped me learn about cats. She is small, soft and amazingly beautiful. When Bast was a year old, I decided to get her some friends. I found Johnny & Ariel, brother and sister, at the Sawmill Animal Hospital. No other creatures in my life, including humans, have ever been so close to me. These two quickly became my soul mates and we depend HEAVILY on each other for much love. Achilles was my fourth. I found him outside my apartment and when I walked up to him, he acted as if he knew I was coming and went right along with me. After much posting, no one stepped forward to claim him, so I had to make a decision. I decided that 3 was enough, so I took him to the Capital Area Humane Society. When I was standing there at the counter about to hand him over, I looked him in the eye and he looked back at me and I realized that although he had no idea what would happen, he did know that he was in my hands and he had given me that trust. He looked me right in the eye, wondering what I was doing with him. It was then I realized I could not hand him over. So here he has stayed. Thank GOD. He gives better rubs, bumps & cuddles than anyone! A few months later, a lady at work brought in 2 little kittens (Hollywood & Speed) that she found on her back porch. She was going to take them to the shelter. At one point, they both got set on my desk & hung out there for a while. Big mistake, because I then said I'd hold on to them for a while. Well they were just too cute and I didn't see that big of a difference between 4 & 6. But then a week later she found their other brother, BlackJack, so I took him in too (unfortunately he has since passed on). Blizzard, my last permanent cat, came from the people in the apartment behind me. They were moving and they were going to just let him go outside. I'd met him before as a kitten and wondered how I could get him out of that place (they had raised other cats and then simply put them out to be homeless once they were adults). So it worked out that they just came over & offered him up. At that point, I had already been fostering & finding homes for other cats & kittens I had rescued, but I wasn't about to try to find him a home because he was just too gorgeous. I have three others currently, Stumpy, Pei Wei and Lucky, who could go to another home if I could find good ones, but they might end up staying with me. Lucky is an all black cat who crossed my path the summer of '08. I found a home for him but he came back a few months ago. Pei Wei crept up to my front porch that same summer while I was sitting out there. And I found Stumpy last year outside my front door, pregnant and missing a back foot. I found homes for all 4 of her kittens, but you already know that, because one is your roommate, Grayson. So in case you're not keeping count, that's 10 total right now.

Curry: That's a lot of cats! And I thought our family was big. Can you estimate how many cats you’ve fostered or helped find a forever home?

John: In the last 7 years, I have taken in over 40 cats. Only 6 have passed over the rainbow bridge so far.

Curry: What was your most rewarding experience helping needy cats?

John: I don't think of any as more rewarding than the others. I help because in each case I'm presented with a decision to make and I make the one I know God wants me to make. The fact that many cats who may have been abandoned now get much love on a daily basis is pretty rewarding.

Curry: I know my mom is thankful that you rescued Willie and Grayson for her, but I have to ask: was Grayson always such a pesky little kitten?

John: Yes. First of all, Grayson is a male and we males tend to be a little too high strung. Secondly, he's very young and still has a great deal of energy. In addition to those things, he grew up with a lot of other cats around, which means he never learned to respect the privacy or personal space of a cat like you, who came to expect a certain amount of space and respect. Just hang in there and keep trying to teach him and don't be afraid to learn a few things yourself!

Curry: Other than hanging out with cats, what human hobbies do you enjoy?

John: I enjoy computers, phones and other cool electronic gadgets - I like taking them apart and learning how to fix them. I also love to kayak and fish - usually together.

Curry: Ooh, I wish I could go fishing with you.  But I digress... The President adopted a dog. What do you think of that?

John: I think it's great that our President set an example for the nation by adopting an animal in need. However, it would be nice to see some cats in the White House as well.

Curry: What advice do you have for a human who is thinking of adopting a cat?

John: Read! Read about behavior and needs. Read about what makes cats do what they do. Read about declawing and other procedures. Read about what it's going to take to care for a cat. And finally, DON'T SHOP, ADOPT!!!!

Curry: Thanks for all this great information, Uncle John. You are an inspiration to other animal lovers.  Say hi to your cats from me, and tell Stumpy that her son Grayson may be a pest, but he has a great home with us now.

Willie's Birthday Party

"Friday was Willie's second birthday and we had a little party.  It all started with the arrival of a box.  This was not just any box!  It smelled soooo good!  It smelled of catnip!  Mom helped us open the box and inside were two of the new twigs from Cat Faeries.  You remember my blog about the Legendary Cat Toys, right?  So mom ordered the twigs, and the Cat Faeries people threw in a catnip carrot as a bonus!  Maybe someone told them it was Willie's birthday.  Anyway, we all had great fun playing in the box and the packing paper, and also with the toys!  Even Zorro played and usually he doesn't get into it, but he does like the Cat Faeries toys.  We played for a long time and then we had Willie's birthday dinner.  It was a can of Nutro Natural Choice salmon and oceanfish flavor.  Boy, do we like seafood!  Dinner was good except Grayson edged the birthday boy out to steal his food.  Greedy little kitten!  After dinner Grayson and Willie wanted a drink from the sink.  Willie is a perfectly capable cat when it comes to jumping on the bathroom vanity, but he was hamming it up for the camera, pretending to be all hesitant about jumping.  All in all, it was a pretty good party, but I'll let you watch the video and see for yourself.  Happy birthday, Willie!"

A Trip to the Vet

The cats don't like going to the vet.  They don't like going in the car either.  But as a good cat owner, I make sure they go in for annual exams and get the shots and treatments they need to stay strong and healthy.  Yesterday both Curry and Willie were due for annual exams.  I took the camera to the vet with me, and Curry shares the story here.

"It was that time of year again.  The time when I have to go in the car, see the veterinarian, and get poked and prodded.  This time mom scheduled Willie and me for the same day.  As if going to the vet with Willie would make it all better - not!  So, mom gathers us up and shoves us into our respective carriers and then throws us in the car.  (OK, she didn't really rough-handle us, but she may as well have, for as unpleasant as it all was.)  As she's driving, both Willie and I are silent.  Mom keeps talking to us, saying stuff like: 'you guys are so good, no crying at all, I'm proud of you.'  Are you serious, mom?!?  We're silent because we are seething.  You just can't see it from the driver's seat.  We are not being good for you, we are just doing what we need to do to endure this trip.

We get to Ballston Animal Hospital and have to wait for what seemed like an eternity.  Mom says it was really only 10 minutes or less, but to us it was awful.  The kind people at Ballston Animal Hospital are good to us, but still, we don't want to be there.  When Dr. Gallitz comes in, she examines me first.  I hate-hate-hate having my temperature taken, but at least I didn't have to get any shots.  Then I get my claws clipped.  Here is a picture of Dr. Gallitz and the vet tech clipping my claws.  Yeah, they had to hold me down.  Do you think I'd let them do this voluntarily?!?  I'm not very proud of this photo.  It shows me in an undignified light.  But I include it here for one reason: to tell you all that I have claws and I'm proud of them!  If you ever consider having your cat declawed, please educate yourself about it.  I'm so glad mom let us keep our claws.

So, Willie was up next.  I got to go sulk under the examining table while he had his exam.  Willie was only 1 year old when he went to the vet last year and at that time he wasn't fully grown.  Now, Dr. Gallitz said that he is a little overweight at 12.8 lbs.  So, mom has to watch that.  Willie also had to get his vaccinations, which will last for three years.  (Lucky me, I got mine last year.)  Dr. Gallitz also took a real close look at Willie's ears and eyes because mom told her that Willie is uncoordinated for a cat.  Turns out there's nothing wrong with his equilibrium.  He's just a clumsy cat.  Sheesh, I could have told her that!  Willie growled and hissed while he was being handled at the vet.  Mom said, 'wow, he's usually so easy-going; he never growls like that at home.'  Well, get a clue, mom!  At home he doesn't have to endure a rectal thermometer, needles, and being held against his will.  Even a cat like Willie is likely to get stressed out at the vet.

Well, it's over for now.  Both Willie and I made it outta there relatively unscathed.  We each have a clean bill of health.  As much as I hate going to the doctor, I know it's for my own good.  Preventive veterinary care is very important.  As an educated cat, I can tell you that it is much better to see the vet when you are well than when you are sick.  So, all you cat owners out there - make sure you get your cats (and dogs, and other pets) to your veterinarian for regular check-ups.  They may fight you on this, but you know it needs to be done."

Favorite Cat Toys

"I told you all about my very favorite, special Thing 1 and Thing 2 Dr. Seuss toys.  I would be remiss in my duty of feline education if I didn't also tell you about my brothers' favorite toys.  First of all, my brothers will play with just about anything, for a period of time.  Grayson even likes my Thing 1 and Thing 2 toys (sometimes I let him play with them).  The boys have all kinds of toys: balls, mice, little puffs of felt, and an assortment of battery operated items like a ball that never stops rolling, and a walking dinosaur robot.  But of all the toys available, their favorites are the Legendary Cat Toys from Cat Faeries.  Mom found out about Cat Faeries from a Facebook ad, and it was one of the best clicks she ever made.  Here is a picture of Willie and Zorro going crazy over the Legendary Cat toys.  It's kinda blurry because the boys were in motion and mom was also in motion trying to get a good shot.  Willie is holding a chili pepper toy, Zorro is holding the strawberry.  Next to Zorro is a pink, striped carrot with lace leaves, and next to Willie is an orange and yellow polka-dot mouse. 

Why are these toys so great, you ask?  First of all, they are very cleverly designed and come in great varieties.  One of our favorites is the fried egg (the catnip is in the yolk).  They are also handmade, so that makes them special.  But the best thing about them is their organic, very potent catnip.  They are so yummy to play with!  I like them too; just not as much as my brothers.  I think you should definitely go to Cat Faeries at once and buy the toys.  They may seem a bit more expensive than your average pet store prices, but trust me, we cats are worth it!  How many times do you buy cheap cat toys that your cats never play with?  Not the case with Legendary Cat Toys!  I am excited because there is a new offering from Cat Faeries: a catnip twig.  It is longer and looks more flexible, and has cute felt leaves.  It is supposed to have a crinkling sound too.  Mom is going to buy some for us and I can't wait to try them.  The twigs look really fun!"

Thanks for the blurb on Legendary Cat Toys, Curry.  The cats were so blown over by these toys that I had to reorder them, and I also gave them as gifts to my cat-sitting clients last Christmas.  I ordered a big grab-bag of the toys and had fun deciding which cat would get which toy.  Some of them got a mouse, or a pepper, a hamster, an ear of corn, or a carrot.  I kept a fried egg and a magic mushroom to add to my own cats' collection.  Without exception, everyone who reported back to me claimed that their cats loved the toys!  So, I'm very confident that your cat will love them too.  The folks at Cat Faeries have lots of other great cat products for sale, so I hope you'll check them out.  They are also wonderful about educating cat owners.  I like their business philosophy, and I wish them the best of success.  Above all, I wish that they never stop innovating when it comes to Legendary Cat Toys!

Cats We Miss

I love my cats, but I also miss the cats from my past.  It wasn't too long ago that I lost three wonderful cats that I'd had for more than 10 years, beginning in their kittenhood.  It was a very unfortunate course of events that caused me to lose Sage to anemia in December 2007, then Thor to cancer in February 2009, and just three weeks later Maggie to cancer in March 2009.  Curry and Zorro lived through these losses.  If anyone wonders if cats grieve, I'm here to tell you that they do.  Curry, especially, had a hard time adjusting to these losses.  As the "baby" of the family, she was used to being spoiled not only by me, but by her older siblings.  Here, Curry shares some memories of her siblings.

"I'm the only girl in my feline family now, but it wasn't always that way.  This is a picture of me with my sisters Sage and Maggie.  They were littermates, and pretty close, even though they weren't a thing alike in personality.  I think they loved me, but sometimes I think they just put up with me.  Sage was the smart one.  She was an intellectual cat like me.  She was also really, really special, according to my mom.  Sage didn't let people pick her up, but she was a lap cat when she wanted to be.  She purred loudly and gave lots of love.  She consistently begged to eat mom's leftovers as soon as she heard a spoon or fork clinking on a nearly empty plate.  Mom thought this habit was annoying, but then she missed it when Sage died.  Poor Sage, we didn't know she was sick until mom had to make an emergency trip to the vet and Sage did not come home.  It was so sudden and it occurred on Pearl Harbor Day.  I hadn't studied up on American History, but mom said this was a significant day.  Sage was the first sibling I had to learn to live without.

Then there was Maggie. She's the extra fluffy one in the picture.  Maggie was one big furry ball of sweetness.  She always wanted to be held and doted upon.  I found it rather tiresome, but I can't blame Mags for it; it was just her way.  She won the hearts of every guest mom brought home.  Maggie wasn't without her goofy quirks though.  When she was a kitten, mom thought it was cute when Maggie suckled on her shirt, so she encouraged the habit.  Maggie never gave up the enjoyment of sucking and licking fabric.  Maggie also had some particular tastes in food.  Even though mom didn't typically feed us people food, she found out that Maggie liked cheese.  This started off with Kraft Singles, but eventually Maggie developed a taste for more sophisticated cheeses like gorgonzola and sharp white cheddar.  She would beg for cheese whenever she heard mom open a plastic package that sounded like it contained cheese.  The other thing Maggie liked was ice cream.  Not just any ice cream, but only Haagen Dazs coffee.  Once the store was out of Haagen Dazs so mom bought store brand coffee ice cream and Maggie turned her nose up at it and looked at mom as if to say 'what do you think you are feeding me!'  Hey, at least she liked the good stuff!

Now, this picture is one of Zorro with Thor.  Thor is the brother we lost last year.  He was 14 pounds of solid cat; not a fat cat, he was tall and big-boned.  He was also long-haired, so he always looked large and intimidating, but he was a good guy.  Thor was solid black with an endearing white spot on his neck and mom always joked that he dressed as a priest each Halloween!  I loved Thor very much because he was so good to me.  He always let me drink out of the faucet before him, and he let me 'get away with' stuff that he would never allow the other girls to do.  Thor was mostly a dignified cat, but he had his share of silly habits like kneading my mom's head in her sleep.  I miss both Maggie and Thor the most, because they died so close together in time.  They each had cancer.  We thought this was strange that they were sick at the same time, but their illnesses were unrelated.

So, that's the short story of my siblings Maggie, Sage and Thor.  They and Zorro were my feline family until just last year.  We all still miss them because they were a part of the family for so many years, and they were each special in very unique ways.  Now, Zorro and I are learning to live with Willie and Grayson, and sometimes it's tough for me.  I wish I could make Willie and Grayson understand that I still miss my older siblings, but they don't get it.  They won't get it until someday they go through a similar loss."

Life does go on after losing a pet.  It's hard though, and like Curry said, it's something you don't quite understand until it happens to you.  Always take the time to appreciate your pets while they are with you.  I wish everyone lots of life, love and happiness.

Make Mine Pine

"My cat litter, that is.  A couple years ago mom switched us from that messy scoopable clay litter to the pine pellets.  At first they felt funny under our feet, and they were kinda loud.  But after a while we realized that this was a definite improvement.  The pine litter is all-natural and not fumey with chemicals like clay litter.  It smells naturally nice (just imagine your little paws walking through a pine forest), it doesn't create a cloud of dust that coats everything (our fur, the floor, the furniture), and it's better for the environment.  We love our pine litter.  It makes it more pleasant to go to the litterbox.  I guess there are other non-clay litter options that are just as good.  I even found an organization called Cats Against Clay that is working to get the word out about why clay litter is bad.  Mom is going to tell you more."

I had heard that clay litter was not environmentally friendly.  That's a good enough reason for switching.  But my main impetus was to get rid of the clouds of dust that formed when I poured clay scooping litter in to the litterboxes.  With four cats and multiple litterboxes, this clay dust was blanketing everything.  Even with covered litterboxes that were stationed in a closet with a partially closed door, I found that furniture, bed linens, and yes, cats' coats, were becoming coated, and this was just disgusting.  It was a mess to clean up, unpleasant to breathe, and very unfair to the cats.  I knew that there were other options, so I took a leap and tried the Feline Pine pellets.  There wasn't much of an adjustment period.  Even though I initially mixed some pellets with the old litter, the cats took to it pretty quickly.  I was very happy a short while later when I was using the pine pellets exclusively.  No more mushroom dust clouds!  I could breathe better, the cats could breathe better, the litterboxes smelled better, and we could see our television screen without dusting it daily.  I wished I had made the switch years ago.

I don't know much about Cats Against Clay, but I applaud their effort to fight against clay litter.  It's for everyone's benefit.  I hope they will provide information on good kitty litter alternatives.  In the meantime I'll do that here. 

• Pine Pellets: While I started with the well-known Feline Pine, I sometimes also use ExquisiCat Pine.  They're interchangeable, so I just buy what's on sale at the time. 
• Scoopable Pine: Feline Pine makes a scoopable pine version, and it clumps amazingly well.  I stick with the pellets because they are less messy outside the box (consider picking up a few stray pellets as opposed to a trail of "sawdust" that the cats track down the hallway).  You'll get the same benefits from the pellets or the clumping pine, so it's just a matter of personal preference.
• Scoopable Wheat: One of my cat-sitting clients switched to Swheat Scoop, so I get to try this stuff when I watch her cats.  It clumps as well as the scoopable pine, so it's another good option for those of you who prefer a clumping variety.
• Corn Litter: I haven't tried corn litter, but Nature's Miracle makes a clumping variety that got 4.6 out of 5 stars at Petco.com, so there must be cats out there who like it.
• Paper Pellets: These varieties are either marketed as recycled newsprint (Yesterday's News brand) or just plain paper.  The idea of recycling newspaper is a good one, and the concept of cats peeing on current events is a bit funny.  Personally, I wonder how well the paper can really hold up, but there are several fans of this variety on Petco.com.

If you decide to try one of these litter alternatives, I applaud you!  I've applauded some of my cat-sitting clients who have recently switched to pine or wheat litter.  I truly believe these are a better choice for the health and comfort of our cats, ourselves, and for the cleanliness of our homes.  Just be sure to make a gradual transition so your cat has time to adjust.  Don't be afraid to experiment with more than one of the non-clay varieties to find something that works best for you and your cat(s).  I know that I'm never going back to clay litter.  Curry, Zorro, Willie and Grayson would kill me!

Prim & Proper Dr. Seuss Kitty

"I hope everyone likes me even though I speak kinda proper for a cat.  I never learned that lol catz speak, or whatever it is.  Nothing against it, but I am an educated Siamese girl and I was taught to speak proper English.  Sometimes people think I'm trying to appear better than other cats, but I'm not.  I just don't know any other way.  In short, I am who I am.  I'm very open-minded though, and I accept you as you are.

There is one thing about me that is kinda goofy.  I love me some Dr. Seuss.  I wish I was a human kid so I could read Dr. Seuss books all the time.  My favorite is 'The Cat in the Hat' but I'm sure that doesn't surprise you.  It's not just because of the Cat.  The Cat is cool, of course, but my favorite characters are Thing 1 and Thing 2.  I even have Thing 1 and Thing 2 toys.  My mom got them for free in boxes of Rice Krispies cereal.  They weren't supposed to be cat toys, but you tell me the last time that mattered to a cat.

You can see from the picture how much I love my Thing 1 and Thing 2 toys.  I gathered them up so they could play together in the box.  Why are there three of them?  Well, when I was a baby I kinda chewed the hair out of my first Thing 1, so mom gave me another Thing 1.  Now I play with all three of them.  OK, another word about this photo.  Please excuse the mess my siblings and I made of our scratching post in the background.  Mom has since rewrapped the rope and it's as good as new.

So now you know that I may be a proper-speaking cat, but I'm no fuddy-duddy.  I've  got my fun side like anyone else.  I think I have just proven this.  I mean, even some humans don't like Dr. Seuss (what's wrong with them?)."

My little Curry.  She never was as silly as other cats.  I always thought she was more intelligent and more reserved than your average feline.  She still is.  I'm just glad that she finds her own way to have fun.  Those Dr. Seuss toys and her Facebook habit both keep her youthful, in her own prim & proper, Siamese cat kind of way!

OK, I'll Admit it: Grayson is Cute

"My little brother Grayson gets on my nerves.  He picks fights and gets my dander up just for fun.  He knows I don't want to be messed with, but he messes anyway.  You know how one human sibling will put their finger in the other's face while taunting 'I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you?'  Well, Grayson does that sort of thing to me.  Then there's all that kitten stuff of his that doesn't directly involve me, but causes me to roll my eyes...

So, as a mature, intelligent feline who abhors all things ridiculous (except for Dr. Seuss), it pains me to admit that Grayson is, indeed, very cute.  Ah, so I finally got that off my chest.  As much as it kills me to say it, there is no denying Grayson's appeal.  Maybe I wouldn't mind admitting this if he was just a little bit more respectful of me.  That's all I will say for now.  I need to go compose myself."

My dear Curry, she just doesn't remember that she was once a goofy, adorable, entertaining kitten herself.  It's as if she's grown up and forgotten that she had a childhood once too.  Unlike Curry, I can't get enough of telling and showing people how cute Grayson is.  I picked him out of his litter before I even knew I was going to take a kitten.  That's my hand touching six-week old Grayson before he was weaned from his three-legged mama (more on that in a future blog).  How could you not love this little guy?  Maybe Curry needed to see him that small.

So, this is one of many future posts about the adorable and wonderful things Grayson does.  For now, I'll close with this video of Grayson just being cute.  Willie makes a brief appearance.

Can't We Just Get Along?

Poor Curry.  Sometimes her brothers pick on her.  It could be worse.  Actually, it was worse.  When Willie first came home we had some behavior issues.  Curry explains:

"My mom got this wild idea to get a new cat last April.  Zorro and I had gone through a rough time losing our older siblings to cancer, and I was very depressed.  After a while, mom thought it would be good for me to have a young cat in the family.  What can I say?  She's human and she's flawed.  I didn't like being so sad and lonely, but I'm not sure if adopting Willie was the best thing.  He was young and full of testosterone (even though he had just been fixed).  He strutted in here like he owned the place, with no regard for Zorro and I living here first and being a few years older than him.  Willie endeared himself to mom immediately.  He acted all cute and lovable and slept in the bed his very first night.

By morning, we saw that there was going to be trouble.  Willie had declared himself the alpha male and started a war of aggression on my poor, sensitive brother Zorro.  Now, I've told you about Zorro before and if there is anything that Zorro is not, it is aggressive.  Zorro couldn't care less about status and authority; he just wants a comfortable life and a little bit of love.  There was absolutely no reason for Willie's full-on attack of Zorro.  And I do mean attack.  Not only would Willie pounce on Zorro when they crossed paths, but Willie would purposely go find Zorro and pick fights.  Poor Zorro!  My big, black & white brother either never learned how to fight, or he just believed in turning the other cheek.  He never fought back and so Willie won every fight.  Of course mom broke up the fights whenever she could, but I was still very nervous about what was going on, and there was nothing I could really do to protect Zorro.  Occasionally, Willie even lashed out at me.  The only difference was that I fought back.

Our Aunt Christine suggested a solution to mom and within a few days I saw these little things plugged into the outlets in the living room and bedroom.  They looked like air freshener, but that's not what they were.  Mom couldn't smell them, but to us cats they gave off the most soothing, comforting aroma.  And slowly but surely, Willie calmed down and stopped being quite so aggressive.  The boys get along great now.  You can even see Zorro grooming Willie in this picture (I'd never do that)."

So, what is this miracle potion that Curry mentions?  Feliway.  Feliway is a synthetic cat pheromone that relieves feelings of aggression, territoriality and unease in cats.  You know how cats rub their faces on objects to mark their territory?  They are releasing pheromones that say "this is mine" to other cats.  Feliway tricks cats into believing their own pheromones have already been released, and really does make a difference in the way they interact with each other.  When I got the Feliway diffusers, I noticed a change in Willie's behavior almost immediately.  And over the course of the next few weeks he became less aggressive and more accepting of Zorro.  It was amazing to observe.  It also relieved my own stress, as I had become concerned about Zorro's safety and happiness.  I didn't know what to do because I loved all the cats (Willie was never aggressive with people).

Feliway can not only help cats adjust to other animals, but can ease their transition to a new environment, and can reduce or eliminate other behavior issues.  You can link to Feliway products through the Curry's Favorites Amazon box on this page.  There are several other Amazon vendors that sell the Feliway diffusers, refills and spray in different quantities.  (Feliway is also sold in pet supply stores, but is much more expensive than through Amazon.)  The spray is a more portable product that's great for taking cats in the car, or for spraying on furniture to say "keep off," but for general home use, I recommend the plug-in diffusers.  Give Feliway time to work; results may not be immediate like they were for Willie.