Cat owners have a few options for caring for their pets while they are away.  Some owners are able to leave their cats alone at home for several days at a time by putting out extra food and water.  While this works well for some cats, it can be problematic for others.  If you have a cat that’s prone to over-eating, she can quickly exhaust all of her food.  As well, the litter box may become full, leaving your kitty to find her own place to do her business.  Generally speaking, leaving your cat alone at home is only advisable for short trips – if you’re going out overnight, she’ll probably be fine, but if you’re gone for a week, she might not do so well.

For longer trips, some pet owners choose to board their cats at a boarding facility.  Many vets have such a facility, and the facility will feed and care for your kitty while you’re away.  Some facilities offer extra options, such as play time or even massages for your cat!  Before you pick a facility, check it out first.  Make sure the facility is clean and well-staffed, and that the area your cat will be staying is big enough.  Stay away from boarding facilities that have cat carrier-sized “cages” for their residents; your kitty needs room to roam!  Also, be sure you understand the price before you commit to a boarding facility.  Besides being expensive in general, some facilities have extra charges for things such as holiday stays or administering medication.

Another option that’s quite popular is hiring a cat sitter while you’re away.  A cat sitter comes into your home to feed and play with your kitties.  Depending on the sitter, you’ll get all of the benefits of a boarding facility without having to worry about transporting your cats to the facility and stressing them out in the process.  Sitters are also great because they can handle other things around your house in addition to your cats, such as watering your plants or just keeping an eye on things.  If you’re looking for a sitter, start by asking your neighbors or other cat owners – many have a sitter and are happy to recommend one to you.  You can also try a site like PetSitting.com, PetSitters.org, PetSit.com, or the like, but make sure you spend time interviewing your potential sitter, since they will be coming into your home while you aren’t there.  Many sitting directory sites offer background checks or have other membership requirements for their sitters.

Finally, whatever option you choose, be sure to give your kitty lots of love and attention before and after you leave!  Cats miss their owners when they’re gone, and a loved cat is a happy cat!

Going on vacation with your cats is a post from: Cat Urine Odor Help

Did you know that cats experience stress, just like people do?  Excess stress can be a problem for your cat in a variety of ways.  Symptoms of stress in cats include being over-hyper or over-tired, pulling out hair, a change in eating patterns, urinating or defecating out of the litter box, yowling, and more. 

The good news is that you can do a few simple things to reduce the stress your cat experiences.  That will make both of you feel better.  Here are a few tips for eliminating stress with your kitties.

Tip 1:  Take care of the basics

The easiest thing you can do to reduce your cat’s stress is to make sure the basics are taken care of.  It sounds simple, but making sure your cat has adequate food and water and a clean litter box will go a long ways. 

There are several different feeding strategies you can use, and you may want to experiment to figure out what works best for your cat.  If your cat is currently fed once a day, try splitting the meal to a morning and an evening meal.  Alternatively, you might try feeding once a day, but switch to the evening instead of the morning (or vice versa).  For many cats, an evening feeding helps calm them before you go to bed, so that can have an added benefit for you too.  One strategy to avoid is to continuously feed your cats – leaving a food dish out all day isn’t healthy for your cats as they will often overeat and become obese.

Your litter box placement and litter selection is also something to consider.  Generally, you need at least one litter box per cat.  If you have more than one floor in your home, consider putting a litter box on each floor, with at least one per cat.  Make sure to choose a simple litter box without gadgets like doors or sweeping mechanisms that can scare your cat, and make sure you clean it daily.  Also, consider using a natural cat litter to help encourage your cat to use the litter box, and keep her healthy too.

Tip 2:  Don’t forget playtime

All cats – even older cats – like time to play.  Taking 10 minutes out of your day to play with your cats will work wonders to help de-stress them.  Playtime stimulates your cat’s mind and provides them with exercise that they otherwise wouldn’t get. 

There are lots of toys on the market to choose from, and you should have a variety.  Laser pointers are a great, inexpensive toy that most cats love, although you should be careful not to point the laser at your cat’s eyes.  Most cats also like catnip toys, especially catnip mouse toys.  Some indoor cats will even treat mouse toys like a real mouse, delivering you a “present”!

You can also make your own cat toys from things around your house and found objects.  Cats love empty cardboard boxes, so next time you get a box your cat might be able to fit in, give it to them to play with.  Tying a piece of yarn around a stick is another great idea.  If you’re handy and have the materials, you can make your cats a scratching post or cat condo too using some lumber and old carpet.

Tip 3:  Make sure your cat has company

Even though cats can seem like solitary creatures, most of them love company, especially when that company is you.  Cats whose owners aren’t home very often are often stressed out from simply being alone all day.  If you only have one cat and are gone often, think about getting a second cat (or a dog!) to keep each other company.  Obviously the cats need to get along and it may take some time for that to happen, but putting in the effort to find your cat a feline friend is well worth it.

If you travel for a living, you’re probably used to either leaving extra food and water out for your cats, or boarding them if you’re gone longer.  Instead, consider a pet sitter.  Pet sitters are usually inexpensive and will come to your home to feed and play with your cats while you’re gone.  You don’t need to worry about driving your cats to the boarding facility, and your cats are usually less stressed.

Tip 4:  Try a pheromone diffuser

If you’ve tried the other tips and your cats still have stress issues, consider a pheromone diffuser.  Pheromone diffusers plug into a wall socket and emit a natural scent that calms your cats.  You won’t be able to smell the scent, but your cats will feel more comfortable.  If you decide to try a diffuser, make sure to read the instructions and get enough diffusers to cover the areas your cats spend the most time.  Pheromone diffusers can really make a big difference for stressed-out cats.

4 tips for reducing cat stress is a post from: Cat Urine Odor Help

• KittySites.com KittySites offers a web directory of only cat-related sites.  They’ve got a great index by breed too if you are looking for breed-specific information.
• CatForum.com CatForum is an all-purpose discussion forum for all things cat-related.  It’s a great place to get a question answered.
• Catster.  Catster also offers questions and answers, but has a great section where you can post a bio of your kitties, sort of a “Facebook for Cats”.
• TheCatSite.com Lots of information for cat owners, as well as a general-purpose forum.
• Ultimate Pet Directory Lots of informations for all things cats and dogs. They’ve got a special section on Pet Health too.

I’ll add more sites as I find good ones to share, and will try to keep the list to really quality sites that are worth your time to look at.

Some selected kitty resources is a post from: Cat Urine Odor Help

One of the best ways you can prevent cat urine odor and have happy kitties is to choose a great cat litter.  Picking a great cat litter is important because it helps encourage your cat to use her litter box, reduces the smell of cat urine odor as well as cat feces odor, and makes the cleanup job easier on you.  Most cats aren’t too fussy about their cat litter, and that’s good for you as it will give you more options.

The first thing you should consider when picking a cat litter is whether you want single-use litter or scoopable litter.  Each has their advantages and disadvantages.  With single-use litter, you change the litter box every day.  This means that you must discard the full box and fill it each time you change the litter.  It also means you will go through much more litter, which is usually much more expensive.  The biggest advantage of this litter, however, is that your cat always has fresh litter, which usually means the litter box won’t smell as much. 

With scoopable litter, you don’t change the litter everyday, and instead scoop out the urine and feces and discard it.  You can always throw away scoops in the garbage, but some types of scoopable litter can be flushed down the toilet, assuming your sewage system can handle it!  Scoopable litter’s biggest advantage is that you’ll use less litter, which is usually cheaper in the long run.  It’s biggest disadvantage is that you might end up with a smelly litter box if you can’t get all of the urine or feces out when you scoop it, or if you wait too long between fully changing the litter out.  Usually, you should fully discard and refill scoopable litter about every week or so, depending on how many cats you have.

Some cat litter has deodorizer built in which is useful for trying to keep the odor down.  Some cats are allergic to certain types of deodorizer though, so if you have a cat with allergies, be sure to check with your vet.  The amount of deodorizer in the litter usually has to do with the number of cats the litter is designed for.  If you have a multiple cat household, look for a cat litter that’s designed for multiple cats as it will have extra deodorizer to help reduce the smell, as well as other features such as long-lasting odor protection.

When it comes to the material your cat litter is made from, there are plenty of choices.  Lots of cat litter is made from clay or some combination that includes clay or similar minerals.  These litters are inexpensive, but can produce a lot of dust when you change them, and many contain non-natural chemicals.  Another choice is a natural litter.  Natural litters are made from products such as corn, pine shavings, wheat, wood, and other natural products.  These litters are highly effective at controlling odor and are also good for your cats too.  As an added bonus, most natural litter can be flushed down your toilet, eliminating the need to dispose of the scoops in the garbage can. 

For most cats and people, a natural, scoopable litter will be the best balance between cost, odor, and hassle, without compromising your cat’s health.  Situations and cats do vary, however, so you may find you need a different type of cat litter to make you and your kitties happy.

Choosing the best cat litter is a post from: Cat Urine Odor Help

To prevent your kitty from urinating out of her litter box, you need to understand the reasons she does this. One of the main reasons cats urinate on the carpet is that they are stressed or anxious. Just like some people do, cats experience stress, and urinating out of the litter box is a common response to stress. Try to identify the source of the stress in your cat’s life – perhaps you are away too much, or your kitty needs more play time. You can also try a pheromone diffuser product to help calm your cat’s nerves as well.

If stress isn’t the problem, make sure you don’t have existing spots on your carpet where cat urine is already present. Chances are, your kitty is smelling the cat urine that’s already there and re-marking the spot. This is particularly common if the previous occupants of your home had cats. If you suspect that your cat is marking in a pre-soiled area, use a blacklight to find the cat urine, and then clean it with a product specifically formulated for cleaning up cat urine. Never use water as water will only make the cat urine smell even worse!

Cats can also urinate out of their litter boxes for medical reasons. A urinary tract infection is one of the most common medical reasons for this. If you suspect your cat has a urinary tract infection, see your veterinarian right away. Your cat may also be uncomfortable with his litter box. Try to use a litter box that doesn’t have a door or an automatic scooping mechanism, as these can scare cats and discourage them from using the litter box.

Understanding the causes of cats urinating out of the litter box is the key to preventing it from happening in the first place. You can’t totally eliminate the problem, but you can reduce the chance of an accident.

If you do have an accident, you can learn how to detect and clean up the cat urine odor right here at CatUrineOdorHelp.com!

Removing cat urine odor starts with prevention is a post from: Cat Urine Odor Help