Cat Care, Breeds and Resources Blog

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If you find feral cats or kittens, you may think that calling the local animal shelter or humane society is the best thing to do. IT IS NOT! Do NOT do any of the following 3 things if you find feral cats and kittens. Doing these things will get the cats KILLED!

3 Deadly Traps For Feral Cats

1. Shelters routinely KILL feral cats that are bought in because they are un-adoptable.
2. Animal control organizations called about feral cats will trap then KILL the cats.
3. Some shelters will loan you a trap IF you agree to return it with the cat(s), then they KILL them.

In other words, feral cats are almost always killed. In fact, millions of cats are killed in shelters every year.

Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR), The Alternative

TNR is a program that has proven effective throughout the United States. It saves the lives of these feral cats, allowing them to live out their lives in the wild without reproducing. Feral cats are wild but they do have a home — the outdoors.

More shelters and humane societies are starting to support TNR and actually sponsoring programs because they have found that the killing of cats does NOT stop the population, more just take their place. TNR is the way to go and thank goodness, more people and organizations recognize that now.

For more information on TNR, click Save Feral Cats. You’ll find facts, figures, photos and information on TNR. You’ll also find links to rescue organizations throughout the U.S. who sponsor TNR programs, have information packages and training on TNR.

The picture below is of a feral cat, Tara, who actually lived as an indoor cat with us for 4 years until she died of breast cancer. She was a cat’s cat. All of our cats loved her and she played with all of them. We miss her dearly. Read her story on the site mentioned above and see more pictures as well.

Tara With Her Big Brother Lee

Purrs, Frankie

Kira here. Yeah, that Tara was one cool kitty. I used to chase her through the house. Sometimes, I even let her chase me. She really dug Lee. I don’t know why she liked that big fur-ball so much. I used to whip his butt regularly. (snicker, snicker) Oh well, I guess her taste was only in her mouth. Yawn. Back to my nap, Kira

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P.P.S. For funny cat pictures and facts, click Cats Just Wanna Have Fun

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Since cats have rough tongues which they use to clean their fur, their stomach collects hair in large quantities. Most of the hair will be processed through their digestive system and find its way out in their stools. However, from time to time too much hair will accumulate in the stomach. This undigested hair is called “hairballs” or “furballs”.

There are only 2 ways for a cat to get rid of this undigested hair — through the aid of the digestive system and coughing or vomiting it up. In short, out one end or the other. If a cat cannot get rid of these hair-balls, she might suffer from a blockage in the intestine or stomach. Left untreated for too long, it can become life-threatening. Without surgery, the blockage might be deadly.

Lee, our long-haired kitty with the most fur-balls

There are several things you can do to help prevent the build up of hair-balls in your cat’s body.

1. Brush his fur. A regular brushing (at least daily for long-haired cats), will remove much of the loose hair keeping it from being swallowed.

2. Improve her diet. If your cat seems to throw up a lot, you can add a little mineral oil with her food daily. Mix about 1 teaspoon with her soft or even hard food every day for a week, then once a week. This will help the digestive system dispose of the dead, swallowed hair.

3. Give him petroleum-based treats. These come in a tube and will help to do what the mineral oil or petroleum jelly does — coat his tummy and digestive system for easier passage through the body.

I have several cats that love this stuff and beg for more. But I have others that refuse to eat it. I’ve found that the trick is to scrape it behind their top teeth. Other ways I’ve tried with mixed results are applying some on their paws or snout and they will lick it off. Several times I’ve had the stuff flung across the room when the cat shakes his paw vigorously.

4. Give him petroleum jelly. You can give him a finger full (about 1/2 teaspoon) of petroleum jelly every 3 or 4 days. Cats will not eat this of their own accord, so you have to find another way like those mentioned in #3).

Signs of hair-ball distress
Symptoms of a hair-ball blockage will consist of the following: coughing and hacking for more than a day, lack of appetite and lack of body eliminations. If any of these occur, take your cat to the vet right away.

Purrs, Frankie

Lee here. This is a topic I know something about. After all, I hold the indoor record for fur-balls. I hacked up one once that was the size of a small rat. Mom wasn’t too happy, but I’m sure she was proud. (snicker, snicker) I know I was.

I don’t know about you, but we have almost as many computers and iPods in our household as cats (we have 8 cats). So my cats are all used to the technology. In fact, Nikita regularly sends faxes and makes copies. And Kira, Xena and Hawk love to sleep on one of the PCs. (They pretty much avoid the keyboard. After so many years of hearing us say, “No. Off.” they get it — keyboards are not good. LOL)

I guess what draws them to the computer is that it’s warm. It actually is not good for your computer to have a cat sit on it as it can overheat. And, it may not be good for the cats. I found the following picture of a cat with an iPod that I thought you’d enjoy:

Purrs, Frankie

Coco here. I am the newest, youngest, and cutest. The older cats turn up their noses at listening to the ipod. Me, I loooves my tunes. After all, I grew up with ipods. The only prob is they are too heavy, the cord pops out as I drag it around on my daily rounds. Humans work from sun to sun, but a cat’s work is never done. And my owners are too stingy to spring for a shuffle. Caio.