Class Act Cats

08/18/2024

Want to take video of your cats… for science? Now you can! I won’t say which of my cats participated for privacy reasons, but one of The Dudes decided to join this study. 👀

Record yourself playing with your pet cat, and send the footage to researchers at UC Davis.

08/17/2024

It’s Black Cat Appreciation Day and I appreciate the very special black cats I get to work with. Contrary to the myth that they’re bad luck, anyone who has a black cat in their life can tell you they’re pretty lucky to have them.

Want to learn more about where the myth about black cats and bad luck came from? Hint: it’s misogyny. I have a blog on the topic: https://classactcats.com/blog/black-cats

08/15/2024

Whoa, Laura and I at the same conference?! This could not get any better.

There’s still time to register! The conference starts tomorrow. Don’t delay and miss out on all the fun.

Please join me and many other fabulous presenters this weekend for The Pet Professional Guild’s event, Celebrating Life Together. I will be presenting on using pattern games effectively when introducing cats. If you’ve been my client, you’ll know how much I love using pattern games and how great they can be! The event runs all day on Friday the 16th, Saturday the 17th, and I will be presenting on Sunday the 18th in the afternoon. There are several other great cat talks this weekend as well! It’s not too late to register!!!

https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/webinars-events/your-pet-approved-event/

08/15/2024

If you’re working on modifying your cat’s behavior, you want to be bored. Behavior modification and training isn’t always exciting. It can be repetitive and uneventful. Progress may be slow and steady. You’re still making progress, but it’s not necessarily leaps and bounds at once.

Boring is good. Why?

The alternative is often frustration and stress. In many cases, excitement isn’t the kind of excitement you want. You’re better off being a little bored and seeing slow steady progress than repeated setbacks.

This is especially true when it comes to managing tension in multicat households. Boring is the goal. Excitement usually means fur flying, bites, and hissing. Be excited about not being excited.

08/09/2024

Let’s talk cat resources. One of the best ways to encourage your cats to not get along is by not giving them their own separate resources and just expecting them to happily share. That’s not how cats work.

For Poutine’s birthday, I got both him and Prozac a fancy new cat bed that floats above my desk so they don’t need to compete over it. Even though the second bed is for Prozac, Poutine benefits because if Prozac wants to nap in the bed while Poutine is using it, he can go to the second bed which is equivalent. No need to get territorial.

That’s not to say cats can’t share or use things at different times, but maaaan are you playing with fire by forcing your cats to share things. Not having enough resources for your cats is a great way to end up with tension between your cats.

Resources you need multiples of if you have more than one can include litter boxes, feeding stations (feed👏🏻your👏🏻cats👏🏻separately), water fountains/bowls, places to rest, places to hide, and places to climb.

In other words… Some of you need to go hit “add to cart” a few times. I’m sorry for the bad news or you’re welcome for enabling you as the case may be.

08/08/2024

Today is and it’s also a big day at Class Act Cats. It’s our sweet Poutine’s birthday! Poutine is… He’s loud. He’s very loud. 😹 But he’s also a giant ball of fun and loves nothing more than rubbing himself all over you. Well, playing with socks might be his preferred activity.

I am so happy I found you hiding in that cabinet and you decided to come say hello despite being very very nervous. I knew we’d be fast friends. 🥰 Happy birthday, Poutine!

08/07/2024

Tomorrow is International Cat Day! I hope you have something fun planned for your cats.

08/05/2024

Poutine is not happy that it’s Monday.

08/01/2024

Have a cat with arthritis and want to help other cats? There’s a study at the U looking at a new treatment for arthritis. Check out the link below and see if your cat qualifies! (I am not affiliated with the study, but I do like helping cats)

Feel free to share with anyone else whose cat may be eligible.

Towards a new treatment for feline osteoarthritis: Soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibition

07/31/2024

Go get yourself a new best friend.

07/28/2024

All cat ladies (and dudes) are awesome, children or no children.

07/27/2024

Yes, today is my birthday. Yes, I am taking the day off from checking email and responding to behavior questions. Yes, Prozac and Poutine got me the gift of giving them treats to celebrate. What sweet cats, am I right?

07/26/2024

Today is the kick off to the Summer Cat-lympics where cats of the world compete in feline sports to win gold, silver (vine), or bronze Churu. Here you can see Poutine and Prozac in their sport of choice, synchronized swimming.

What sport would your cat take home gold for?

07/23/2024

Oh hey. This sounds like a fun talk…

🎉Celebrating Life Together - A Pet Approved Event!
Join Joey Lusvardi of Class Act Cats at the three-day virtual advocacy event on August 16, 17, 18, 2024.
Register here today:
https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/webinars-events/webinars/celebrating-life-together-a-pet-approved-event/
PRESENTATION TITLE - Just Say Yes: Catnip and Other Psychoactive Plants for Cats
SESSION DESCRIPTION:
Hey you, does your cat want some ‘nip? All the cool cats are doing it.

Most cat parents are familiar with catnip. It’s often added to cat toys and you can find bags of the green stuff at most pet retailers. This familiar plant drives many cats bonkers, but why do our feline companions love catnip so much and is it dangerous for them?

Come learn all about the ‘nip and, if your cat doesn’t respond to catnip, learn about some catnip-like plants such as silver vine and valerian. You’ll learn why cats react to each of these plants and how they can be used for both enrichment and to address common unwanted behaviors. For those with a green thumb, we’ll go over how you can grow some of these plants at home.

Sometimes giving in to peer pressure isn’t a bad thing when it makes you and your cat this happy!
🐶Come and join us! Please help us be the antidote to harmful training and pet care.
🐴66 sessions over three days.
🐦You can access the recordings for 12 months, and there are great CEUs.
😺Let's join together and create a large platform of ethical and compassionate pet care shaping the industry one paw at a time.

07/22/2024

Breaking news that you’re hearing first from Class Act Cats: After a whirlwind of events over the last day, Poutine is excited to announce that he has accepted the nomination for the democats (not a typo) for president. He has selected Prozac as his running mate.

Poutine’s top priority will be agriculture. Specifically, he wants subsidize chicken farmers, tuna fisheries, and build a Churu factory in every state. The DEA will be abolished and he replaced with the Department of Catnip. Building codes will be updated to include mandatory built in cat shelving. The punishment for disturbing a cat that is resting (which is already illegal, FYI) will now be death.

In his role as vice president, Prozac will work with congress to make sure that not feeding a cat right when they ask for it is outlawed. The punishment for failure to adhere to this law will also be death. Wow, their platform is actually a little concerning…

Anyway, Poutine and Prozac are honored to be chosen for their experience being leaders in napping, clicker training, and eating snacks. They look forward to earning your vote in November!

07/20/2024

Things are getting busy around here and August is looking extra jam packed. I’m taking some time off toward the end of August as well. In other words, things are looking busy and my availability is getting patchy.

If you’re thinking of scheduling or need a follow up, do so soon so there aren’t any delays.

07/19/2024

07/18/2024

Cat peeing outside the litter box or… well, doing most other unwanted behaviors? Your first thought may be that your cat is mad at you. Cats don’t think like we do and, for example, peeing on something isn’t a terrible, awful thing to cats. It’s just something they do. It may also be a medical concern so make sure your cat gets examined by a veterinarian!

Rather than thinking of your cat as being mad at you, thinking of them as being stressed will get you way further to solving the behavior concern. You can work on a more consistent schedule, repair relationships between cats in your home, add in more cat resources, or remove the source of stress.

Sometimes the source of stress may not be obvious so don’t give up if you can’t figure it out right away. Solving cat behavior concerns can be a slow process and take time to reach a resolution.

07/17/2024

Oh 💩! There are some kitties in need of litter. Go take advantage of the last few hours of Prime Day deals to help out some cats as they wait to find their homes.

07/16/2024

Prime Day: It’s a made up shopping holiday but your cat is going to be really excited about some of the deals.

I’m busy wading through them for myself, but there are some very useful ones for your cats! So far I’ve spotted deals on Churu (!!!!!!) and the automatic feeders I recommend so if you’ve been thinking of getting something for your cat, today and tomorrow are the days.

Clients doing reintroductions: There is a full door height pet gate for $160. This is a really good deal!

I will be dropping some of the deals I see in the comments if you need some inspiration. You can also head to the suggested products page on my website as I keep links to everything organized there: https://classactcats.com/suggested-cat-products

Full disclosure: I use affiliate links which means I get a small commission if you purchase using them. I have no shame in skimming a bit off the top from Amazon because it costs you nothing extra and I recommend these products anyway. 🤷🏻‍♂️

07/15/2024

Caught in the act! I walked in on these two snuggling over the weekend as they got a nice nap in on the couch. 🥰

Cats sleeping near each other isn’t always a sign that they like each other. If you find your cats sleeping on opposite ends of the bed, they may like the bed more than each other. Actively choosing to sleep by each other while touching (or entangled as these two were) is a more reliable sign of a friendly relationship.

07/10/2024

Happy National Kitten Day!! I love kittens 🥰 Kittens are so much fun and their sweet faces melt your heart 🥺

Thinking of adopting a kitten? They can be delightful and silly and fun, but they also require a lot of stimulation and tend to have more behaviors that people find annoying until they mature. They’re not an easier version of a puppy that requires no maintenance so make sure you have time to devote to them. Know what you’re getting into ahead of time!

07/08/2024

Ahhh, videos with random cute footage of cats and a numbered list of cat facts. They’re hard to avoid once the algorithm figures out you like cats.

These videos are catchy and the robots that read them sound so confident. They must be well researched and accurate. Plus, how could Mush Mush The Sabertooth Tiger lie to us?!

Listen, in the next 24 hours I could go get a parrot, get 3 minutes worth of video of her, start TikTok for her, and slap some words together without so much as doing an internet search for parrots. Does that make my video that claims that parrots require a diet high in cream cheese to be able to produce speech or that they love when you pluck their feathers out one by one because it helps them resolve trauma from when they were an egg accurate? Absolutely not.

Please do not do either of those to your parrot, by the way.

Anyone can confidently assert things about cats and claim they’re a fact. That doesn’t mean they’re actually real. Even videos that get things partially true may have still be largely wrong.

Look at who posted the video and ask what qualifies them to know that fact or if they cite their sources. Then question their sources. If you find a video making a claim, look into the information from a reliable source before believing it as true.

Even if the video has a particularly cute cat and 8 million likes.

07/07/2024

If you need a little extra support after losing a cat (or other companion animal friend), there’s a new option.

"The bond between a pet and a human is a sacred one, and when a pet is gone, a part of us goes with them" – James Herriot 🤍🌈

We are honored to introduce our new pet loss group, "The Bridge Between."🌈

Our first meeting will be this upcoming Wednesday, 7/10, from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM at our Minnetonka office. We will host this pet loss group twice a month.

The Bridge Between Pet Loss Group provides a safe, compassionate environment for anyone experiencing the loss of a beloved pet. Join us to listen, share, and find support among others who understand the unique bond and profound grief of losing a pet.

If you or someone you know is going through this difficult time, please share this resource with them. 💞

For more information, visit: https://www.thebondbetween.org/the-bridge-between

07/07/2024

Chocolate is tasty, but it’s not a great idea to give it to your cat. Get them a meat based snack or a fun chocolate shaped toy instead.

If you’re looking for a better way to celebrate , I hear sending me chocolate is a great idea.

07/05/2024

Today is Pet Remembrance Day. Regardless of how long they are gone, we miss the cats whose presence was a source of comfort in our lives.

I have a series of blog posts on grief that are on my blog if anyone is finding the loss of a cat challenging. In particular, I wrote one about one of the many ways I knew Zoloft loved me for his gotcha day that I’m thinking about a lot. It’s a very tough memory so if you’re not in the place to read that, that’s okay. Https://classactcats.com/blog/does-your-cat-love-you-unexpected-place

I’d like to share a special memory I have of him, though, that brings a smile to my face when I think about it. A few summers ago, Zoloft and I were hanging out when I suddenly couldn’t find him. I had my windows open and lived on the top floor of the building so I was very worried he got out and was seriously injured, but there was no evidence of escape. My door was shut and there wasn’t any signs of him getting out. I spent an hour searching for him but he wasn’t anywhere.

I had a cat tower in the middle of my apartment with a cozy condo in it that I looked in at least three times and didn’t see him. Well, after I was sobbing and panicking about where the heck he was I checked a fourth time… and there he was sleeping peacefully. He woke slightly as I repeatedly told him how much I loved him and was so glad I found him literally in the middle of my apartment and stared at me, confused, before going back to sleep.

I hope you are able to think of a funny memory of your cats who have passed today. Feel free to share in the comments if you’d like.

07/04/2024

Happy 4th of July! Today is probably really stressful for your cats so a few last minute tips to help ease their fear:

🎇 Keep your cats inside. Because people are silly and wasteful, they set off fireworks during the day when you can’t see them. Don’t let your cat get spooked and go missing.
🎆 Secure all exits and keep an eye on your surroundings when you leave home.
💥 Put on white noise and close all windows during the evening. Even your AC or a fan can be white noise.
🧨 Let your cat hide. If it’s not dangerous, don’t make their fear worse by yanking them from hiding.

And of course don’t forget to give your cat some extra treats and play time today to ensure they’re having as low stress of a day as possible.

07/02/2024

I want to remind folks of my rescheduling policy.

You are required to reschedule your session at least 24 hours ahead of time. Not doing so affects both me and my other clients. I have it set up so you get multiple reminder emails and you can opt in to a text reminder now too to help you remember to show up.

If you something comes up ahead of time, you can reschedule your session using the “change appointment” button in your confirmation email.

Thank you for understanding!

07/01/2024

Poutine may not be Canadian, but he is named after the national dish of Canada. He’d like to wish everyone a very happy 🇨🇦Canada Day🇨🇦! We'll be celebrating with some Nanaimo bars and listening to Metric, but Poutine wanted to make I shared some Canadian cat facts in honor of the big eh... err, I mean big day.

😺 Canada has an estimated 8.3 million pet cats.
🐈 There are three species of native wildcats in Canada: a lynx, a bobcat, and a cougar.
🇨🇦 According to Rover, the most popular cat breed in Canada is the domestic shorthair. Poutine being a Siamese mix cat thinks you should all know that Siamese cats are the fifth most popular breed.
🐈‍⬛ Quebec, where poutine originated, is home to 1.8 million cats and has more cats than dogs. On many levels, great job, Quebec!

06/30/2024

There’s nothing like a heartwarming video of animals meeting 🥰 … except when it’s not actually heartwarming because the animals are stressed AF.

I saw a video this morning of two kittens being introduced to an adult cat backed into a corner. The adult cat was hissing and very upset and all the comments were like, “Awww, how cute!” or “You should put them in a carrier to introduce them” which is just about the worst thing you can do.

Cats don’t necessarily like other cats. New cats coming into a cat’s territory is very threatening and the cat doesn’t know if the new cat is going to eat all their food or steal all their sexy lady cats or whatever they’re worried about.

That’s why we introduce cats slowly NOT IN A CARRIER PLEASE NEVER DO THIS. It allows the cats to realize the other cat isn’t a threat and minimize the amount of stress they experience. Plus it’s closer to how a new cat would join an existing clowder in nature. You can work on building a positive association using play, clicker training, brushing, or even catnip/silver vine to help them get along better.

I know it’s tempting to cut corners in this process and go with easy solutions or just letting the cats have at it, but integrating a new cat should be done thoughtfully and carefully. You won’t have to rely on getting very, very lucky that your cats tolerate each other without violence and you won’t need me to help you with a months long reintroduction!