This short post is exclusively about Symptoms of Feline Diabetes . There are many sites where the disease is discussed in detail and I have a web page on the condition built around the proposition that a modern cat's diet in the form of dry cat food is at least partly responsible. Read my attempt here: Feline Diabetes . The four classic and probably most noticeable Symptoms of Feline Diabetes to people who keep cats would be: --- substantially increased appetite accompanied by:- --- weight loss (this would be particularly noticeable in the light of an increased appetite) --- urinating a lot more . This would and should be noticeable to people keeping cats particularly if you are the one who changes the litter tray. --- drinking a lot more . Once again this should be very noticeable if you are the person who feeds your cat. Water bowls will go down much more rapidly. In addition there may be these additional symptoms: --- vomiting . Although a cat vomiting can be something not to

Photo by xbloodsin Published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License The RSPCA UK do great work and are I understand pretty darned wealthy to boot (mainly through legacies bequeathed in Wills). They recently issued some new figures on animal abuse in the UK which would be worrying if most of us didn't think that they are really quite predictable. We know youth violence is on the increase so it really is a natural extension of that. Often violence towards inanimate objects, then vulnerable animals smaller than humans and finally other humans is a kind of natural progression in the school of violence. RSPCA UK say that figures for convictions for animal abuse for 2007 show an increase over the previous year. RSPCA UK figures showing convictions for animal cruelty in relation to dogs and cats. ( source: RSPCA website ). The RSPCA UK say the increase is a reflection of the increase in the "throwaway" culture of modern Britains driven by great

Exotic Big Cats for Sale - Captive big cat - this is what they look like when they are grown up. Photo by huntingdesigns published under creative commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License Exotic Big Cats for Sale is quite a popular search term (a keyword). Note the adjective, "exotic". People seek the exotic. This suggests that a fair number of people look to buy a big cat (I guess to keep them as some sort of pet). They must be very rich, have masses of land and know a hell of a lot about keeping big cats (including the law) because if they're not they are in for a shock and it will probably, almost certainly, lead to giving up the cat to a rescue center or something worse, euthanasia. And it doesn't stop there. If there is a demand for big cats someone will supply them. Some suppliers will be less than scrupulous. Irresponsible buyers feed the market and are, in part, responsible for the breeding and death, after a short and possibly miserable life,

Photo by SHamEy jo . Did he survive? No kill cat shelters do in fact, very often, kill cats, at least, indirectly. If a cat shelter is not one of the "No kill cat shelters" it has to be a cat shelter that openly kills cats in which case it cannot be described properly as a cat shelter. In fact the description "no kill" is probably misleading and so is the description "shelter". It really is not as it seems as far as I can tell. { note: these are my considered thoughts. I am thinking aloud really and, yes, they are provocative thoughts. They are not the views of anyone else that I know off. They are also views meant to play devils advocate, meaning to raise uncomfortable questions. I think that it is important to do this. It is not enough for a website to duplicate and regurgitate what is already on the internet . It is better to push the boundaries a bit and try and improve things if that is possible. Cat shelters generally provide a fine service

photo by jshots Microchipping for pets is a secure (but is it safe?) way of identifying the person who is responsible for the pet - and, from my point of view, the cat. The microchip in this instance is a glass encased implanted radio-frequency (RFID) microchip transponder (see picture below). It sends out a signal that is received outside the body of the cat by a device (a scanner) held by the veterinarian or other person. This produces a registration number from which data can be accessed. In the USA they are FDA authorized. But I guess that is not 100% conclusive as to their safety. Domestic cats are still talked about as being "owned" by people. I prefer "living wi th" or "kept" as it fosters are more equal and more healthy relationship, which leads to better cat care. The concept of ownership is promoted by the law which generally treats cats and pets "chattels", that is objects in the possession of people. This I believe should be cha

Do Invisible electric cat fences work? I have fitted a very large one and seen the results. I should know. A number of years ago I fitted an invisible electric cat fence on my parents property with the help of the supplier of the fence. It took about 3 hours to fit. My mother had recently lost a cat to traffic and was anxious, very anxious about keeping a cat. It affected her badly. Her garden is quite big by UK standards at about half and acre. Invisible electric cat fences are essentially a fine cable through which an electric current is passed (the current is low and will do no more than give a mild shock). It is buried under the ground near the surface or attached to trees and fences around the perimeter of the property. The cat wears a receiver device which gives an audible warning when near the cable and passes a small electric shock to the cat when the cat is in close proximity to the cable. The cat turns away and stays inside the garden. That is the theory and in practice it w

photo by ncfc0721 How to clean cat pee is probably one of the single biggest topics of conversation in relation to cats on the internet. The couple of times I have had to clean cat pee the cause was my fault on both occasions. On one occasion I was traveling in the car with my cat between my place and my girlfriend's place. I left my cat in the cat basket as we traveled; it is an open type basket. Because of the stress she peed and some of it got out onto the car seat. The other time she was stressed because she was left alone while I worked. Of course I came back each evening and so on but I had recently moved to a new place and I think this combination caused stress that led to Cystitis which in turn led to peeing small amounts outside the cat litter due the urge to go. Although sometimes she peed in the shower or bath (very thoughtful of her I thought). How to clean cat pee was something I had to learn because ordinary water and soap etc. is pretty ineffective. I threw ever

Australian feral cat - Photo by alexanderino The feral cats of Australia are being inhumanely persecuted and killed on the instigation of the authorities it would seem. If so, they are the innocent victims of errant human behavior. But there are many Australians that are sympathetic towards the feral cat. The feral cats of Australia are in the news either directly or indirectly. There are apparently 12 million of them. For example, recently there was a lot of talk about the importation of the Savannah cat into Australia by a cat breeder. The Savannah cat is a large domestic cat, a wild cat hybrid ( Serval and domestic cat). All the talk was about how this cat could or would kill native wildlife etc. There has been a lot of discussion about banning the importation of this cat. As at August 2008 the latest news is that this cat breed has been banned. Although I understand the concerns, I have my say as to why the Savannah cat ban in Australia is wrong . Scientists often present resear

i hate cats, no i hate f**k**g cats is what some people say when they dislike cats. But they nearly always don't explain why. It appears that they don't understand why. They don't understand how to write good English either as the title to this post indicates. A lot of them use lower case "i" to start a sentence, for example. And their grammar is appalling - lack of education. Also, they rarely say, I don't like cats because...and then give a good, reasoned argument. They tend to swear and declare to the world how they would like to kill cats in a cruel way. They are probably the kind of people who'd like to hunt cats. They appear to be quite violent and angry people. i hate cats - the picture above - my response Before I make my comment about cat hating people's comments, I'd like to refer to the picture above: "They never look happy" . Well, they probably don't when they're around the person who did the drawing! Cats

Photo by fofurasfelinas Introduction Insurance for Cat Health Problems is really about risk. I wouldn't automatically think that I have to get insurance for cat health problems immediately upon adopting, buying or acquired a cat. I have never bought insurance for my cat and so far this has worked to my advantage without in any way being detrimental to my cat. The various veterinary associations say that insurance is part of responsible "ownership". They would say that as pet insurance benefits veterinarians as well as the cat. But a person who doesn't take out insurance can be equally responsible provided he/she pays up when it is needed and doesn't shy away from that responsibility. I've always considered pet insurance from a basic standpoint and for what it is, which is the funding of health care for cats that are more often ill by those people who keep cats that are healthier. In other words the people who keep healthy cats fund the people who keep u

Cats and Kittens for free or Sale - Girl cat Vic - photo by by fofurasfelinas The cat in the photograph above is a "mixed breed rescue cat". She is shy and nervous but a very loving cat. She is beautiful too. Could you ask for more? This cat is the kind of cat that gets euthanized over 2 million times every year in the USA. She was rescued by the photographer. after the first carer wasn't able to help, sadly. This post is long but meant to be a comprehensive article and a good starting point on this subject with links (leading to lots more links and great photos), plus some thoughts and ideas on the subject of Cats and Kittens for free or Sale. Searching cold on the internet for this search term throws up a disjointed array of Google search items. This page is meant to be a little more coordinated. Cats and Kittens for Free or Sale - Cat breeders.... will be the prime source for purebred cats or kitten for sale. Most often they sell kittens but sometimes adult cats

SORRY -- This page has been moved to the main website for the purposes of trying to make it more visible as it is a good page which required a considerable time to create: PLEASE CLICK THIS TO GO TO THE PAGE . Thanks for your patience.

photo by matuzalems A cat vomiting is not that unusual and if it is a "one off event" it is nothing to be overly concerned about. My cat vomits occasionally and it is usually something she has swallowed such as a piece of grass that is too long or too sharp (see the photo below taken by helixblue and published under a creative commons license). It may be due to hair balls , for example. Yowling may accompany the vomiting of hairballs. See another page on Cat Vomiting . This is more likely to occur with long haired cats such as the Persian . Our help in regular grooming will minimize this. Veterinarian approved hair ball medication can assist as well. However, the real problems and our concerns start when cat vomiting is more persistent or even chronic (long term). In other words if our cat is fine and then vomits it is probably OK. Photo by helixblue It will be readily apparent that something is wrong and a trip to the vet is a must. Also, if a cat feels

Timmy a stray cat sleeping after a big meal. Feeding stray cats is one of those "things". It is the reaction of a concerned and gentle person for vulnerable fellow creatures that have been left in that state by other human beings who are not so nice nor so concerned. Some who abandon their cats and don't spay or neuter them are downright bad and irresponsible. The only way to treat stray cats is to neuter them and release them and, yes, maybe then feed them. So, strictly speaking feeding stray cats is not that clever because you support an unsupportable situation really. There are too many stray cats. To feed them simply perpetuates the problem. But what are we to do? Leave them to die, to starve. That is impossible for some people. The problem needs to dealt with at its root; the irresponsible people who acquire a domestic cat and then abandon her/him. All feral cats were once domestic cats. And all domestic cats once lived with someone as this is the definition o