The Cat Concierge

06/30/2024

This is a bit late but….

🦟Using flea and tick chemicals on dogs and cats is sometimes unavoidable, as is walking your dog on grass or parkways that have been chemically treated. So, during summer chemical exposure, it’s wise to provide a detoxification protocol to help your pet’s organs clear these chemical residues from their bodies. 🐾

Animals eliminate pesticide and herbicide residues via detoxification, a natural process of removing waste products and toxins from the body. 5 organs are important for detoxification; the colon, skin, lungs, kidneys, and liver. Your animal’s liver is crucial for metabolizing flea and tick pharmaceuticals.

Today on the Inside Scoop, we’re diving into essential supplements💊🌿 that support chemical detoxification.

Join us this today at 12pm ET as we share practical tips, insights and download our 2024 Summertime Detox Cheat Sheet to help you keep your pets healthy and toxin-free this summer.

👉Comment SCOOPERS to join our troll-free subscription group and watch our weekly podcast. A monthly subscription includes our weekly livestream, plus access to over 4 years of lives, interviews, ebook downloads and more!

06/29/2024

Finished up 10 days caring for 3 furry Clients: Middy and his sisters Harpo and Torii. Middy is a sweet senior gentleman who is the greeter kitty. His sisters are more shy.

06/28/2024

Some great ideas here…

While California lawmakers are considering a bill to prohibit “no pet” clauses, prevent landlords from asking about pets until they have approved the rental application, and prevent them from imposing pet rental fees, Ohio lawmakers are debating a market-based approach to increasing pet-friendly rental housing.

“Designed to enhance access to affordable housing across the state, the Act proposes a tax credit for landlords who opt to permit companion animals in their rental properties. Notably, landlords receiving the credit cannot enforce restrictions based on the breed or size of the pets, nor can they impose nonrefundable fees or additional rent related to pet ownership”: https://bit.ly/3VMqdFA.

Legislation of this kind is sorely needed, as landlord-imposed pet restrictions are widespread. This negatively impacts adoptions, increases relinquishment, causes homelessness (for people and animals), and results in wasteful expenditures as renters must pay a premium for housing that allows their animal companions. The No Kill Advocacy Center has long called for state and federal legislation to ban housing discrimination for families with animal companions: https://bit.ly/3x54yi0.

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06/28/2024

an important publication…

The Summer 2024 issue of No Kill Sheltering was recently sent to members and supporters of The No Kill Advocacy Center.

The current issue covers:

- What dogs in shelters need to thrive;
- What cats in shelters need to thrive;
- Model legislation to protect animals and the people who love them;
- How to protect your animal companion from tainted pet food;
- Los Angeles runs a medieval pound where abuse and neglect are the norm;
- Meet the humane movement’s founders and the lessons they offered;
- And more.

If you are a supporter and did not receive it, contact us at nokilladvocacycenter.org/contact-us.

If you want to receive it, you can subscribe here: news.nokilladvocacycenter.org/p/summer-2024.

06/26/2024

Some helpful info about the signs of heatstroke in cats…

06/26/2024

Meet my client, sweet little TomTom, who has a very loud purr!

06/26/2024

Each cat I care for as a Certified Professional Pet Sitter is special. But few are as beautifully marked as Mr. Mango. Mango lives in San Dimas with his brothers TomTom and Rocket.

06/26/2024

The kitties I care for quickly learn to recognize the sound of my car when I come to feed them breakfast and dinner. So they’re often right at the door when I come in. They also learn to recognize when I’m getting ready to leave. Often they will sit in front of the door when I pick up my purse.

This time, as I was getting ready to leave
these two kitties Mango and Rocket really made me laugh. When I put my things by the door before leaving, first Rocket (the brown tabby) sat on my bag. Then Mango came over and sat on it. This kind of behavior always makes me wonder if they’re trying telling me they don’t want me to leave. But perhaps that interpretation is too human-centric. maybe from their perspective they’re just sitting on a bag!

06/17/2024

While California lawmakers are considering a bill to prohibit “no pet” clauses, prevent landlords from asking about pets until they have approved the rental application, and prevent them from imposing pet rental fees, Ohio lawmakers are debating a market-based approach to increasing pet-friendly rental housing.

“Designed to enhance access to affordable housing across the state, the Act proposes a tax credit for landlords who opt to permit companion animals in their rental properties. Notably, landlords receiving the credit cannot enforce restrictions based on the breed or size of the pets, nor can they impose nonrefundable fees or additional rent related to pet ownership”: https://bit.ly/3VMqdFA.

Legislation of this kind is sorely needed, as landlord-imposed pet restrictions are widespread. This negatively impacts adoptions, increases relinquishment, causes homelessness (for people and animals), and results in wasteful expenditures as renters must pay a premium for housing that allows their animal companions. The No Kill Advocacy Center has long called for state and federal legislation to ban housing discrimination for families with animal companions: https://bit.ly/3x54yi0.

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Get news from The No Kill Advocacy Center delivered straight to your inbox: news.nokilladvocacycenter.org/.

06/10/2024

Just finished caring for my long-time regulars, Gandalf, Nabucco, Solana and Willow. This is Mr Gandalf 🙂 I’ve been their dedicated cat sitter for about 4 or 5 years now.

06/08/2024

Meet my new fluffy clients Melody and Carri, who live in Diamond Bar. I am fully booked for all of June. In July and August I still have some availability.

If you’re looking for a certified, bonded and insured professional cat sitter in Diamond Bar, Phillips Ranch or Chino Hills, feel free to message me. You can also look my business up on Yelp

05/31/2024

a free event on zoom …

This is a free online event.

05/22/2024

Are the cat sitters on Rover certified, bonded and insured? If they’re on Rover they probably aren’t!

We see this a lot... pet parents searching for a pet sitter or dog walker, but the first comment is: "I'm looking for someone who doesn't charge an arm and a leg..."

When you consider the pet-care experience and specialized training professional pet sitters and dog walkers have and the customized care they provide, these pet-care professionals are worth FAR MORE than they charge.

Of course, you have to work within your budget, but lowest price does not mean the best option—and professional pet-care providers should be fairly compensated.

Remember, you get what you pay for—and your pets deserve quality care!

[Our image was inspired by a post/image shared by ]

05/17/2024

Here’s your laugh of the day!

Evolution 😹

05/11/2024

Here’s a free webinar on a helpful subject…

05/09/2024

Here’s a lovely story from our friend Baxter about the unexpected benefits of therapy cat visits for people in elder care facilities….

A while back we met Mrs K, she had difficulty speaking and was self-conscious about it so she didn’t say much the first two visits. On the third visit she meowed to me so I meowed right back, she was so surprised and delighted that she laughed and cried a few happy tears. We kept meowing back and forth and quickly gathered a crowd of other patients and staff, the laughter got pretty loud so others came to see what was going on, it was awesome! Never underestimate the power of purrs (and meows)!!

05/05/2024

Some sad news. But it sounds like the page will still be run by volunteers

DCIN Friends: It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce our Founder, the inimitable Venita Wood, has crossed the Rainbow Bridge to join all the kitties who were waiting for her. 😿 We mourn the loss of an amazing person whose love for kitties - hers and others' - knew no bounds.

Thousands of diabetic kitties owe their lives and renewed health to Venita, without whom DCIN would not exist. She ran this organization almost single-handedly from its founding in 2009 until the end of 2014, when we needed five new volunteers just to take over the core duties she had been performing. (We've added even more volunteers since then and are always willing to welcome more!)

When Venita founded DCIN in 2009, she had joined an online message board for diabetic cat caregivers after one of her precious furbabies received that terrifying Feline Diabetes diagnosis. She quickly realized that there was a need for an organization that could provide financial assistance to low-income caregivers: She saw on a daily basis people making the heart-wrenching decision to surrender their precious companions to shelters (and hoping they would make it out alive) or simply putting the kitty to sleep – all because treating Feline Diabetes is extremely expensive and people were having to choose between keeping their cat and paying rent or utilities. No one should have to make that decision! Venita founded DCIN upon that principle. To this day, DCIN holds as its mission the twin goals of providing financial support for those in need and education for our clients and the broader FD community.

Though we do not want to turn this tragedy into a fundraiser, we did want to share with you requests from the dear friend who let us know of Venita's passing. Venita was charitable through and through, so we think she would be okay with this request to support two of her favorite organizations: "One of the charities she recently supported helped homeless people with pets: https://petsofthehomeless.org/ . Or just help a cat through DCIN at https://dcin.dreamhosters.com/donate/ or another charity. Or tip your hat and give extra love to your kitties today."

Everyone in the US and Canadian Feline Diabetes worlds owes Venita a major debt of gratitude. I haven't mentioned the numerous other ways in which she helped us all (like performing the first test of Levemir in kitties, leading to a whole new class of insulin for us to use), but each and every one of us experiences the ripple effect of Venita's amazing work every single day.

Please join us in sending up a massive THANK YOU to Venita Wood, who made such a difference to so many kitties and their people. Because Venita was such a private person, we have chosen to include only her FB profile picture - a cat joyously riding a bicycle - instead of a photo of her. We think this image embodies her spirit.

As Venita would say, "Thank you for caring." ~Amy

05/05/2024

Great news that every cat owner needs to know about!

Did you hear the news? Legal FIP treatment is coming to the U.S.! 🙀

Starting in June 2024, veterinarians will be able to legally order compounded tablets of GS-441524, the drug proven to save the lives of cats diagnosed with FIP (like my dear Coco 🖤) through Stokes pharmacy. This is a major win for veterinarians and cat guardians who have historically had to either say goodbye to the cats in their care, or access the lifesaving drug through nontraditional (black market) means. It’s truly amazing to see history being made before our eyes!

As I said to Dr. Wallach when I heard the news yesterday, I am beside myself with happiness—and also feel like I’ll never have to stop updating my book, haha! I loved her response: “If science is progressing as it should, we should always be making our previous information outdated.” YES!

I wanted to share this cool news with you all so that if your cat becomes diagnosed with FIP, you can ask your veterinarian about the possibility of ordering compounded tablets that can save her life.

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P.S. I have had several foster parents tell me at events recently that they’re having kittens diagnosed with FIP one after another after another. So I wanted to add some of my own perspectives on reducing the risk of FIP in foster homes:

1) Avoid overcrowding — be mindful of your capacity for care. Don’t house kittens of many litters all together in one shared space, take breaks to fully disinfect between litters to reduce fomites in environment, etc.

2) Avoid exposure to coronavirus — keep your kittens contained and separated from resident animals. If you have a resident cat who routinely interacts with your kittens, please have them PCR tested for coronavirus (and stop exposing them to your kittens if they are positive.)

3. Follow good husbandry practices to reduce stress — while I’m not aware of a study specifically linking husbandry issues to FIP, we know that the coronavirus can mutate to FIP in immune compromised cats. Some husbandry issues I see often are premature weaning, inappropriate feeding schedules, unsanitary conditions, and failure to treat other diseases promptly.

I hope this information is helpful! 🖤

04/30/2024

Did you know it’s National Therapy Animal today? My cat Yanni is a retired Pet Partners Therapy Cat.

It's National Therapy Animal Day, and Summer gives an overview of her work as a therapy cat, answering many common questions.

04/25/2024

Here’s your laugh of the day! Enjoy!

Ha!

04/25/2024

Here is an important message from the rescue that saved my cat Yanni from the Downey shelter.

🐾 THIS IS NATIONAL PET I.D. WEEK! 🐾

Have you thought about the importance of microchipping your cat? You may say your cat is indoors only and wears a collar with an i.d. tag. That is recommended, but you never know when the door could be left open or a screen could come loose from an open window. And collars can break and slip off. What about when natural disasters strike; wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados & flooding? You may not be able to get to your pet! A recent study revealed that you have a 20 times higher chance of being reunited if your cat is microchipped! It is a quick, inexpensive procedure done by your vet.

It is also IMPORTANT to remember to register your pet's microchip and your contact information. Some vet offices do this for you automatically, but usually this is your responsibility! Be sure to ask your vet if you need to do this yourself. Your vet will give you the form to do so.

If your cat is already microchipped and you have moved or changed your phone number, this is a good time to update your information.

Artist - Dianne Heap

04/25/2024

Spent the past week caring for a new kitty cat client. Meet Middy, a wise old kitty who likes to snooze in the sunlight.
I serve Diamond Bar, Phillips Ranch and Chino Hills CA. Feel free to contact me if you are looking for a bonded, insured and certified professional cat sitter!

04/16/2024

Something everyone who has kitties needs to be aware of.….

I hear these questions all the time. I get asked them all the time. And while my answers, based on my experiences in the field for over 28 years, are, in order, “Not true, not much, and not exactly,” some information I came across recently made me want to address this issue.

04/15/2024

Spent time caring for my little friends Finn, Ollie and Gracie yesterday. This is Ollie. Isn’t he handsome?

04/04/2024

Years ago I had a kitty who developed dementia coupled with an optic nerve tumor. So I know that it’s very difficult to cope with cognitive decline in cats. If your kitties are gettin older, you might find this helpful.

Please join us on April 4th at 6pm ET as Dr. Kate Anderson and Dr. Pamela Perry from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine discuss how cognitive dysfunction syndrome manifests in dogs and cats and how to improve your senior pet's quality of life.

03/25/2024

Here’s something that might be helpful for those of you who have older kitties…

Please join us on April 4th at 6pm ET as Dr. Kate Anderson and Dr. Pamela Perry from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine discuss how cognitive dysfunction syndrome manifests in dogs and cats and how to improve your senior pet's quality of life.

03/15/2024

A new learning opportunity for cat guardians…

Being PURRfectly Clear on Feline Pain Presented by EveryCat Health Foundation and NC State College of Veterinary Medicine Feline Health CenterApril 13-14, 2024 - NC State College of Veterinary Medicine Partnering together for our feline friends. Register EveryCat Health Foundation and the NC State C...

03/09/2024

Taking care of my friends Willow, Gandalf, Nabucco and Solana this weekend.

03/09/2024

My furry little clients Finn, Ollie and Gracie.