Happy Holidays!

Bramwell and Christina help string up some lights 

Christina with Rudolph

The shortest day of the year at the end of the week means a lot of darkness during our waking hours. Fairy lights help make the early evenings less dreary and the kitties love them. (Just use caution if you have kittens or a kitty who chews and secure the lights where kitties cannot access.) Everyone knows cats love Christmas trees  - all those dangling toys hanging from a tree right in the living room! You don't need to spend a lot of money of store bought toys to make your kitty happy. Everyone also knows that cats love boxes too! Create a play gym out of boxes with cut-out tunnels and tape it securely together. Add a sprinkle of catnip and your cat will likely spend hours in it. Be sure to keep pieces of ribbon and string picked up after gifts are opened, as any veterinarian will tell you that cats can swallow these and surgery is usually necessary to extricate the foreign matter. Most kitties enjoy nibbling on fresh grass and actually derive some digestive benefits from it. Growing you own cat grass is easy once you get the hang out it. You can buy a kit, then buy wheat in any bulk food section at the grocery store and re-use the pot and lid to keep on growing.

If you decide to splurge for your kitty, consider a sturdy cat tree that will provide your kitty exercise and fun for many years to come. Look for a locally made one instead of one made in China, so that you can sure the materials are safe and you can support a local crafts person. NOAH in Stanwood sells beautiful cat trees in their lobby at prices that are quite a value: NOAH Center.

Shopping for a cat lover on your list? A donation to a cat charity in their name is a wonderful gift with a big impact. Donating cash, or supplies via their Amazon wish list, helps kitties get spayed or neutered, adopted into loving homes, or warm and well fed in a safe sanctuary space.

Wishing you and your kitties a healthy and happy New Year ahead!

Happy Autumn

Misha, Cole and Odin share a heated bed in the sunshine on a cool autumn afternoon.

As the weather turns chilly and we start to think about the upcoming holidays and new year, it's both a time to prepare and look back. With Election Day behind us, we can be proud as Americans that Florida will enact a ban on greyhound racing and 11 tracks in that state will close forever. Like animal based circuses such as Ringling Bros., attendance was down making it unprofitable to continue to exploit animals. Even China closed it's only legal dog track earlier this summer and volunteers are working on getting the dogs placed into loving homes. In California, Prop 12 passed by a landslide, and will require that eggs, veal and pork sold in that state come only from cage-free animals. This historic law will hopefully set a precedence for the rest of the country as more consumers become educated to the atrocities of factory farming and demand changes. (In Washington State, a 2011 bill eliminated a total phase out of battery cages for egg laying hens along with mandatory enrichment, such as having perches available, by 2026.)

November is often a busy month with preparation for either traveling, house guests, or both. It's definitely time to book for pet sitting if you are going to be away. Choose a professional sitter who pet sits as a career and not just a part-time job, has years of animal care experience along with references from folks whose companion animals she has cared for over the years, and has insurance in case something in your home gets accidentally damaged or your pet gets injured while in her care. If you will be home and hosting guests, be sure to put your dogs and kitties' collar and tags on - splurge on a cute, new collar so they look their best for the party! Some kitties may do best however not actually attending but lounging in a quiet room closed off from noisy guests. Be watchful that your dogs or cats do not get into food or drinks that will make them ill. "People food" isn't necessarily bad for them, but ingesting rich, fatty food, alcohol, sweets (especially xylitol and dark chocolate) and cooked poultry bones could require a trip to the emergency clinic.

I'm sure your kitties will be tops on the list of everyone and everything you feel grateful for in your life. Our companion animals provide us with unconditional love, help us relax (petting a sweet, furry animal can actually lower your heart rate), and entertain us with their antics and expressions. They truly are "our sunshine" on dark and stormy Northwest days.

Have a cozy autumn!

Help Support the Kitties!

Visit our our table at the Holiday Gift & Craft Bazaar on November 17th, from 9am-4pm at the Camano Center. We will be selling unique greeting cards featuring KittyStar and Flower Feline kitties, organic catnip pillows, and beautiful handmade earrings with semi-precious stones and silver or gold filled wire. Buy gifts or a little something for yourself and your kitties while helping artisans do their creative thing!

Flower Feline Sanctuary is live!

Flower Feline Sanctuary is officially open, just ask Ellie, Bramwell, Christina, Bunny and most recently, Riley. The FFS website and blog are ready for viewing too. How can you help the kitties? You can list Flower Feline Sanctuary as your dedicated charity when you shop on Amazon Smile. We also have an Amazon wishlist if you would like to donate supplies. If you are interested in seeing our catio structures for ideas on how to build your own secure kitty enclosures, contact me for a tour. Thanks for caring about kitties!

Co-founders Diane, Geri and Misha, our most senior feline family member

So Long Summer...

As our first summer on Camano winds down, the kitties are still enjoying sunshine and dry days. However, heating pads are plugged back in and extra fleecy beds are employed as the nights have grown chilly. My efforts at vegetable gardening paid off with a great crop of sugar snap peas, green beans, chard, zucchini and cherry tomatoes. I'll continue with squash, kale and onions through winter. I've wanted to grow dahlias for years but lacked the space and sunshine (and ability to kill slugs), so I'm very excited about how easy it was to grow dahlias here. It is so dry here that there are never any slugs in my garden beds!

Kitties will always take priority over my gardening (I do that while they nap). I've been working on Flower Feline Sanctuary as well. Stay tuned for my next post featuring the Flower Feline Sanctuary website and blog! You'll get to read about our new residents and see their cute photos. Hint... Bramwell, pictured below, is one of four new kitties.

Karen enjoys a summer day

Jane dozes in the warm sun

Bramwell nibbles on grass

Double the Fun

 Thinking about adopting a kitty? Don't let Single Kitten Syndrome happen in your home! Kittens adopted as only cats can end up with a host of issues that may not be life threatening but are rather sad when this can so easily be prevented. Most people want their house cat to be friendly and cuddly, but think about how much time the average cat is alone.  It's a conundrum - the free-roaming feral cat who might do quite well by himself does not make a sweet companion in your home. Many folks adopt a kitten for their child, but the child will hopefully grow up and leave home during the cat's lifetime, and in the meantime is busy going to school and leading an fun, active life. People also must often work away from home, leaving the kitten home alone. Even if new pet parents are retired and home a lot, the new kitty still misses out on cat-to-cat contact and playtime. 

Fortunately there is a simple solution - adopt two kittens or a mom and one or two of her babies! Watching cats interact is SO much better than TV. Most shelters give you a deal on more than one as well. Read more on the Seattle area Feline Rescue  blog.

Tabby Twins Turn 10!

The Tabby Twins lounging on their sunny kitty deck

Hard to believe but Adian (left) and Odin are 10 years old this month. I started my blog with them in mind after employing nearly every person I know to come over and socialize with them. People wanted to know how they were doing and would they find their forever home? They had a daily calendar with friends bringing their friends and moms along just to expose the boys to new people and let them know that it's okay to like humans. (Odin only bit one person.) The boys are still very shy with people they don't know, especially Adian. Their favorite thing when there is someone they don't know in the house is to let themselves into a cupboard that closes behind them. There is plenty of space inside and I never disturb them when they are in their cupboard because that's their safe spot. They also enjoy their giant, covered kitty deck with a pot of fresh catnip and their cushy chaise. So yes, they found a home!

It's Adopt a Shelter Cat Month!

June is Adopt a Shelter Cat month! Many folks find a cat adopts them by parking outside their home and slowly maneuvering their way into the household routine. However, if you want to add an additional kitty to your family there are many wonderful shelters in Western Washington. Shelters in our area are constantly networking with other shelters and small rescue groups to find homes for all kinds of kitties. Shelters in the greater Puget Sound area are now mainly no-kill except for instances when a kitty is truly suffering and euthanasia is the kindest option. It wasn't always so rosy and 1.5 million animals are still killed every year in shelters across the U.S. 30 years ago when I volunteered at a large shelter with municipal contracts to act as "animal control" a large number of cats were unfortunately killed due to space. (Two of my most precious kitties ever were adopted from that shelter and I started my career fostering litter of kittens there so I don't regret that experience.)

Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah, has had a profound impact on showing shelters how to dramatically reduce the number of traditionally animals killed in this country; in certain areas of the country there is a glut of small dogs for instance so they will be transported to areas where small dogs get adopted quickly, community cats are now recognized as deserving of resources in order to be spayed/neutered and returned to their outdoor home, neo-natal kittens immediately go into a 24 hour nursery if one is set up or into foster homes where they are bottle fed around the clock, then weaned and eventually entered into the shelter system as adoptable kitties. Volunteers are now an integral part of every progressive shelter so if you cannot adopt perhaps you can you can use your special skills to help your local shelter. Foster homes are always needed and all you need is an extra room in your house to sequester off for a short time (shelters can provide all other supplies). Do you sew as a hobby? Make kitty beds or toys for the shelter to sell at fundraisers. Celebrating a birthday? Ask guests to bring high quality/grain free cat food or kitten milk replacer, or donate via the shelter's wish list. This is great for kids' parties too and fun for them when they deliver the goods to the shelter. If you own a business perhaps you can donate your products or services to the shelter and get a great tax deduction. 

No matter how trendy a specific breed of dog or cat is, there is absolutely no excuse for purchasing a companion animal when so many animals are waiting for their forever homes in shelters right now. We know better and can do better for these sweet fur babies.

Purrfect Pals, a no-kill, non-profit private feline only shelter , 230 Mc Rae NE, Arlington, WA 98223, www.purrfectpals.org, 360-652-9611

The NOAH Center, adoptions and low cost spay/neuter clinic (free for free-roaming cats), 31300 Brandstrom Rd., Stanwood, WA 98292, www.thenoahcenter.org, 360-629-7055

Everett Animal Services, adoptions and pet licensing, 333 Smith Island Rd., Everett, WA 98201, https://everettwa.gov/148/Animal-Shelter, 425-257-6000

CASA, adoptions, low-cost micro chipping, pet licensing, 198 Can Ku Rd., Camano Island, WA 98282, www.camanoanimalshelter.com, 360-387-1902

Gorgeous adoptable kitty at CASA in February 2018. He was a hugger!

Happy Spring!

Everyone is enjoying the more frequent sunny days now. Getting fresh air and sunshine is important for kitties but so is staying safe. We most often think of cats as being great hunters since they often keep your home free of the occasional moth, spider or fly that makes it inside. However kitties are also prey for many animals and that's one reason they are capable of sleeping "with one eye open" so to speak. They need to stay alert to dangerous dogs, coyotes, hawks or eagles (or frightening and loud humans they dislike). Speeding cars are unfortunately one thing cats are ill prepared for. Keeping your kitty enclosed in a catio, on a harness, or staying close by him for supervised only outdoor time in a fenced yard are options where he can be safe yet still experience the outdoors. Bright days also offer fabulous conditions for some charming pictures!

Cinnamon

Sidney 

Total Cat Mojo, a book review

Total Cat Mojo, The Ultimate Guide to Life with your Cat by Jackson Galaxy with Mikel Delgado, PhD, is the perfect book for both new and experienced cat guardians.  Mr. Galaxy explains all those weird little isms that make cats such a fascinating combination of wild creature and ideal companion in the home. If you are planning to introduce another feline, a dog, or a human baby to your current kitty, or are currently having a challenging situation involving your cat, Total Cat Mojo is a must-read. This isn't a book that will tell you how to train your cat, but will instead help you understand your furry family member. "If you took the species part out form the equation and just saw your cat as another member of your family, you'd be left with a relationship. At the core of this relationship are fundamental elements that dictate your ability to successfully navigate the relationship...," states the author. He then lists components he views as vital to any relationship, such as listening and compromising and vulnerability - components that folks who think of having a cat as "ownership" really need to grasp in order to have a truly meaningful and deep bond with their kitty. All of Mr. Galaxy's solutions take the cat's feelings into account and emphasize empathy as to why the cat may be reacting in such a way.

Total Cat Mojo is a trade paperback (fairly low priced) and features lots of cute graphics that get the author's points across. I'd love to see this book included in adoptions packets when people adopt a rescue kitty. I'd love to see this book sold at veterinarian clinics and anywhere people with companion animals frequent. Truthfully, My Galaxy is television personality with no scientific training so many professionals might balk at some of his information. However, I've seen firsthand many frustrated kitty guardians who went the route of veterinarians and certified veterinary behaviorists and still need help. It is Mr. Galaxy's experience with traumatized shelter cats and desperately unhappy felines in private homes, along with his passion for all cats that give his work depth and breadth. His suggestions all ring true to my own ideals and years of working with a wide variety of kitties. So I give Total Cat Mojo two paws up and highly recommend it.

Sidneys got total cat mojo 24/7

Save the Claws!

Cat people know that cats need their claws! Removing a cat's claws is a painful, debilitating procedure with lasting effects such as phantom pain, remaining bone fragments, and behavioral changes. Since stepping on the surface of the litter may be uncomfortable cats may stop using the litter box. Cats may also turn to biting since they feel defenseless. Other cats may hide all the time whereas they used to be confident and outgoing. Since felines without the ends of their "fingers" don't have their whole feet to walk on their gate and spine can change over time and arthritis can develop. So why do veterinarians continue to offer this service? I have heard some doctors comment that they suspect the guardian might surrender their cat to a shelter if they don't perform this surgery. Actually, more kitties end up in shelters after such a procedure because of the resulting behavioral and personality changes. I tend to believe that guardians who seek to change and control their cat in such a way are probably less committed to the relationship in the long run anyway. Whatever the reason veterinarians give, they do profit from these surgeries and outlawing declawing has historically been an uphill battle in the U.S. The light on the horizon is that feline advocates are attempting to pass laws outlawing declawing in the states of New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. Currently Denver, eight cities in California and 42 countries have all made declawing cats illegal. Learn more here:  Alley Cat Allies

Americans love their companion animals and most are open to learning about issues impacting the lives of dogs and cats. Look at the recent Olympics and the amount of attention that Korea attracted with the practices of dog and cat meat eating. Puppy mills have come into the limelight in the past decade and California recently became the first state to ban the selling of puppy mill dogs in pet stores. (County and city bans but no other state bans exist throughout the U.S.) The saddest part of declawing, as well as debarking, and the cosmetic procedures of tail docking and ear cropping in dogs, is that all of these surgeries are completely unnecessary and utterly worthless for the health and happiness of the animal. Cats scratch just like dogs wag their tails and bark for a reason. All of these actions make your animal who he or she is; expressing their kitty or doggy self is vital to their catness or dogness. So next time your co-worker or neighbor mentions they made an appointment to have their new feline declawed, please educate them on why this is a bad idea.  There is usually resistance at the beginning of any social change, but we need to continue on for the kitties. 

National Love Your Pet Day!

Hannah

Today is National Love Your Pet Day but don't you love your pet EVERY day? Of course you do! Americans are crazy for their companion animals, spending over $60 billion every year on them.  More and more companies are allowing their employees to bring their dogs to work with them because they know this will make for happier workers who don't have to rush home at night to take their dog out and feed him. People are calmer and less anxious when hanging out with a well-behaved, social dog. Dogs are now routinely deployed to communities after a shooting or other tragedy has occurred simply to help those suffering mentally and psychologically. Dogs are usually the species selected as therapy animals but there are certainly lots of other domestic animals who fill that role, officially and unofficially for their guardians.

Yet it's still legal in most U.S. cities to pay a veterinarian to surgically amputate the first digits of your cat's paws. Or to have your veterinarian "debark" your dog by altering his larynx and amputate the tender ends of his ears and tail because of tradition. And it's legal to leave your cat to roam outside in all kinds of weather or your dog chained up outside 24 hours a day and in freezing temperatures as long as there is some sort of shelter.  I propose that we replace the love with the word RESPECT. Respecting animals would mean that we allow them to have some autonomy and agency in their lives, while understanding that they rely on our common sense to know what is safe and healthy for them. We do not force them to meet our every expectation and try to suppress their innate behaviors just because they are inconvenient for us.

I am an advocate of adopting rescued animals but even animals purchased from a breeder can be vastly different than their usual "breed profile." That's why in addition to lots of mixed breed dogs and cats, there are always purebred animals at shelters or in foster homes with purebred rescue groups. Just like the person you once dated and now wonder what attracted you or the "dream job" you left after a few months, these animals turned out to be different than what their guardians wanted or expected. We may end up with a kitty who tends to hide when there is too much activity or company in the house, or a dog who piddles when he gets too anxious. We can use positive reinforcement and lots of affection when our animal chooses to do something we prefer over something we dislike, but ultimately we accept trade-offs within the relationship. We understand that a walk may take three times as long as it should because our dog has to smell everything extensively. We may know that we cannot leave anything remotely edible on the counters because when we turn our backs, it will be eaten by someone who shouldn't have such things. We understand that if we leave clothes, towels, or cotton rugs on the floor our cat may urinate on them because they have an ingrained "surface preference." We may sacrifice a single upholstered chair our kitty started clawing and prefers over any other scratching surface we've offered and just let him have the chair. We stop getting upset about these things because the relationship with our companion animals is worth much more than these small adjustments we make. In turn, our animals are confident and happy, not cowered and constantly having to adjust who they are to make us love them. They are their own little persons and we learn from them when we grow quiet and listen. 

Hannah (pictured above) only came to live with us about four months ago. I knew and loved her before adopting her but since our visits were previously limited I didn't fully appreciate how incredibly sensitive and intuitive Hannah really is. Hannah keeps me on my toes when I am not listening and plodding ahead in typical human fashion. She's a wise and beautiful soul in a cute tuxedo package.

Love and Animals

 "Country living" to me means having lots of animals around, both wildlife who lived here before I did and domestic animals who require my care and attention. Much of my property will be left natural to encourage butterflies, bees and wildlife to flourish here. There are quite a few snags now with lots of woodpeckers taking advantage of them. I've heard owls at night and seen deer and one gorgeous coyote. I don't plan to operate a sanctuary for large animals but maybe someday I'll adopt some domestic animal friends larger than house cats. What the Animals Taught Me is a lovely book about the author's experiences with rescued sheep, a pony, donkeys, cats, chickens and even deer who take up residence on her farm. Stephanie Marohn weaves each of their stories along with life lessons she gained from these special animals. Her amazing relationships with the animals are based on respect and allowing the animals autonomy.

Ms. Marohn's first unconditional love lesson is about letting go of control. "Letting go of the need to dominate allows trust and love to blossom. It is a basic lesson in learning to open the heart and love unconditionally. Loving unconditionally means we do not predicate our love on the other doing what we want. Loving unconditionally means we work together for the highest good of both of us. To enter the realm of unconditional love, we let go of our desire to control, and focus instead on our desire to connect and communicate. And soon, a whole field of flowers is blooming before us," writes Ms. Marohn. Readers will get to know Charlotte, Pegasus, Gabriel, Wonder, and other animals as individuals. The animals' relationships with each other are also remarkable to read about from such an empathetic view. All of use who have shared our lives with a beloved kitty or dog understand the deep bonds that cross species and the love that stays with us long after the animal is no longer physically with us. The word "love" is commercialized, publicized, and tossed about a lot on Valentine's Day but love takes on many forms. What the Animals Taught Me is a wonderful book about love, simple and real.