Firework Fiasco

Yesterday, here in America anyway, was Independence day. Everywhere people set out their grills, had picnics (That is, if it wasn't raining a monsoon as it was here in Georgia), spent time with family and friends, and probably watched fireworks--maybe even setting some off themselves!

"You're not planning on setting these off inside . . . are you?" - Finny

Yes, people love fireworks. And why not? They are excitingly bright, colorful, and festive. Other than the noise, they're great! That's just the problem though for pets, especially cats. As people, we understand that those huge explosions in the sky are harmless (to us anyway--the atmosphere takes quite a poisoning from fireworks), but the noise is terrifying to our little furry friends.

"Is it safe to come out now? Is the boom-boom gone?" - Finny

Since there's no way to prevent fireworks on special holidays, the best thing we pet owners can do is help protect our cats and keep them calm during firework shows. There are many sites out there that provide insight on how to best do that, but I found two particular articles to be the most helpful.

Two days ago, Keyt.com posted an article entitled "Dogs and cats may fear noisy fireworks." The article encourages pet owners to keep their pets inside during fireworks because scared animals are more likely to run away from home. It's difficult to re-catch animals when they are scared, so it is better to just keep them inside so they can't escape and get lost accidentally.

Wikihow also has an article on the subject. They've compiled a list of 5 steps and tips to help keep your cat calm during fireworks. Most of the steps consist of keeping your cat away from the fireworks so that the sounds won't be so loud. Good ways to do this are:

• Close doors and windows to decrease the firework sounds.
• Put your cat in the most sound-proof room of the house (this is usually a bedroom or some other place they like to hide).
• Play calming music and talk gently to your cat to ease their nerves.
• Pamper your pet. Make your feline feel like royalty by bringing them treats and creating a special area just for them to hide in.

If these tips don't help, there are more drastic measures you can take to help calm your kitty. For extremely-jumpy cats, you can talk to your vet about getting some tranquilizer pills, which should help to calm them down.

Another idea, which Finnegan is a huge fan of, is to give your cat catnip. Supposedly, the cat will be so entranced by the "kitty drug" that it won't even notice the firework sounds.

Just remember: even if none of these ideas work, don't get angry at your cat for being scared. Treat them gently and remember that cats' hearing is five times better than a humans'.

~RL

Mother's Day and Father's Day Cat Humor

Yes, this post is late to be about Mother's day, and it's too early to be about Father's day, but you know how cats are--they do everything on their own time schedule!

Finny actually slept through Mother's day and is planning to probably sleep through Father's day as well.

In honor of all cat moms and dads, Finny has searched throughout the Internet's vast collection of cat humor to present you with today's holiday treats. First of all, to all the cat mothers out there...

Image from the article "A Mother's Day Poem from the Cat"

"And most of all, remember we love you!" - Sammie

Sammie and his mom.

Also, Finny would like to give an early shout out to all cat dads.

For some unknown reason, there are many men who just don't like cats. Maybe they had a bad experience with cats, or maybe they just haven't met many cats in their lives. Whatever the reason is, it's just a fact of life that many men prefer dogs to cats.

However, there are a select group of men who love their cats; these are the wonderful cat dads we would like to honor today. Finnegan discovered this article that he would like to share. It's called "20 Cats Who Got Ties for Father's Day."

Don't you dare put me in a tie...

Happy Mother's day and Father's day to the great cat parents of the world!

~RL

Kitty Quiz

How much do you know about cats?

National Geographic made a quiz called the Cat Quiz, which tests the taker's knowledge about felines. The quiz is composed of ten questions about general cat trivia

 If you're a devoted follower of this blog, some of the posts should help you answer a few of the questions. If you'd like to see how you score, you can take the quiz here.

Finnegan would like to share that he took the quiz, and scored a 100 percent, of course. He is a cat himself, after all!

Tuckered out after taking the quiz, Finny takes a nap on my backpack.

So, how well do you know your cats? Your quiz results might surprise you.

~RL

Protect the Strays?

As Finnegan was surfing the web today (of course he really surfs the web--he loves Facebook!), he and I discovered an interesting story in the Yahoo! news.

"How do you get this webcam to work?"

Why was the story interesting to Finnegan? Well, here was the title of the article: Fur Flying in Florida as Cat Lovers Push Law to Protect Strays.

The article talks about a proposed legislation in Florida that would create cat colonies to protect stray cats in particular areas. The idea behind this legislation is TNR, or "trap, neuter, release," as Becky Robinson (co-founder/President of Alley Cats Allies) calls it. Instead of trapping and killing stray cats, the cats would instead be vaccinated, fixed, and then released back into the wild.

We think this would be a great idea, but some people (particularly the environmentalist lobbyist in Tallahassee, Florida) are against the idea. They think that the strays should be put down because they "are a murderous menace to Mother Nature."

Finny's disapproval face.

Of course, though, they might have a slight point (see Kitty Murderers).

Finny is just wondering . . . shouldn't environmentalists care about all of nature--including the animals in it, particularly cats?

The reason Finnegan is so attracted to this article is because both he and his "brother" Samwise were both strays at one time. Sammie was born out in the wild and wasn't adopted until he was a few years old. Finnegan, on the other hand, had a family at one time, but they abandoned him and he lived as a stray until he found me, Rebecca.

Just think about this: if all strays were captured and put down, neither Sammie or Finny would be here today. Thank goodness for rescue owners and other people who have pity on stray cats.

All in favor of saving strays say, "Meow!"

MEOW!

~RL