Safe Kitty/Cat: Choking Hazards

As you may have already experienced, our beloved cats are playful, curious, mischievous, and at times extremely energetic.  The combination of this characteristics can sometimes get our babies into dangerous situations, but the good news is that there are ways we can keep them safe. 

Mr. Fudge, the Black Cat, got in trouble this weekend. He was innocently playing with a paper bag, having lots of fun and then he got the bag handle wrapped around his neck. Not a good situation for Mr. Black Cat. Of course he was playing with the bag under my supervision and I came to his rescue as soon as it occurred. 

Having furry babies for years now, I have learned when they require more supervision and also have discovered that cats can encounter serious choking hazards around the home when they are not under supervision.

This blog post is mainly for those who may be new parents to a cat or if you're thinking of becoming a parent to a kitty cat. Find below my suggestions: 

1. Collars- if you're going to place a collar on your cat, make sure the collar you choose has a safety release. This will allow a cat to break free if he/she gets caught from the collar in something.

2. Plastic bags- I don't let my cats play with plastics bags at all (this is my preference) but if you do, make sure it is under supervision. Do not leave plastic bags around your home when your cat is alone in the house.

3. Paper bags- I allow my cats to play with paper bags when I am home because they like the noise it makes. If you do as well, watch them, be around if they need you. Also, it may be wise to cut off any handles the bag may have, to avoid choking hazard.

4. Containers- make sure you store away any containers that consists of lids that may accidentally shut automatically on your pet while he/she is playing it it. 

5. Children- teach children that pets are not toys and they can't be placed in confined enclosures where a pet can't have access to proper ventilation/ oxygen. 

DIY Catnip Toy

Cats are sleepy heads but they also enjoy playing which ultimately is a nice workout. We (the human parents, hehe) can add to their play time by adding enjoyable toys. And although there is many good ones on the market, it's so fun to make our own and add lots of love to the process.

For this project, you will need the following:
1) fabric
2) thick thread
3) needle with large needle hole
4) organic catnip
5) feathers or anything fluffy (optional)

I decided to go with this black and white leopard fabric with the hot pink thread.

Once you have all the supplies, you can begin:

Steps
1) Cut the fabric to the shape you like. You can use a fabric chalk to draw the shape on the fabric then cut it out. I decided to do free hand a heart shape. As you can see it's not a perfect heart shape but It doesn't have to be puuurfect, just have fun!

2) Start stitching around your shape with your thick, colored thread. As you can see i folded the fabric as to have part of the heart already sealed and have less stitching to do!

3) At the end of stitching, leave just a big enough opening to fill the toy with the organic catnip.

4) Once the shape is filled. Complete the stitching. Close the shape.

Then you are done! Step 5 is optional...

5) On both ends, leave the thread long to add feathers at the end. I thought it would make the toy more appealing to Miss Missey if I added feathers. You can add any other accessory if you don't have feathers or don't like them. You can even cut our an accessory from the fabric you used for the actual toy. Just anything that dangles will probably appeal to your cat.

Here is the final toy. Hope you enjoyed making it as much as I did and hope your cat enjoys playing with it as much as Miss Missey.

Missey was so into it, I had a hard time taking a focused photograph. She was highly animated. She was throwing it up super high in the air and throwing it every which way! I love watching her play :)

DIY Cat Toy

Materials:

1. wood craft rod

2. feathers

3. washi tape

4. string



Steps:

1. cover wood rod with washi tape

2. arrange feathers as desired

3. gather feathers & tightly tie feathers together using string

4. wrap the end of the tied feathers with washi tape to cover knot

5. leave extra string to tape to washi covered wood rod

6. Tape the tied feathers onto the washi covered wood rod

Play away!

Cat Self-Grooming

Cats are known to frequently self-groom. They maintain their fur nice and clean at all times. Miss Missey is not the exception! When she's not sleeping, she's grooming!




Not only do cats enjoy grooming themselves but they have the purrfect tool for it. A Cat's tongue is covered with filiform papillae, tiny spike-like projections. If a cat ever licks you, you'll feel them! The papillae makes the cat's tongue rough.The filiform papillae allows them to brush and clean their fur, all at the same time! They act much like tiny combs.

Miss Missey

This is Miss Missey, a sass-ball indoor tuxedo cat who loves to sleep! She is adorable! Very independent yet love-able. She loves to be held by her human mommy and loves to cuddle on her chest. Miss Missey feels safe with her mom who loves her more than words can explain. ♥