Its Playtime!

Playtime. I am sure you all know when that time comes in your home. It is the time when your cat becomes utterly wild and starts to run around like a wild animal chasing toys, other cats, or maybe nothing. They all do it, they get their burst of energy in spurts. Older cats (usually 10+) do not play very often if any at all. All cats require play though. It helps keeps them lean. It is good to play with your cat with various toys until they become tired, then feed them. It is a good way to tucker them out and reward them with a treat.

Catnip is a great treat for your kitty that can cause them to get excited and act very wacky. Some cats do not all get nuts from it. It also can cause a sexual arousal for some cats. Bacardi is the only cat I have which does not get affected by catnip. He becomes very sleepy and wants more. He loves to lick it until it is gone, but he doesn't get all wacky like the girls do. Its a great tool to try especially if your introducing play into things. You can put the catnip in your hand and let them eat it, some treats have it in it, you can put it on their toys, or some cat scratching stands have pockets to put it in. It will not hurt your cat to try it, and you really can't give them "too much." Just sprinkle a pinchful wherever you choose to.

Laser pointers are another great tool to use to make your cat play. Their fairly inexpensive and they love chasing that red dot. I can get my cats to chase it for about a half hour before they start to lie down and just watch it and stop chasing it. Play sticks also work great. Walmart, Petsmart, Petco, Target, and many other stores have them. They are those little sticks with feathers, bells, mice, and other options to get your cat to play. Toys to have around the house are good as well. Mice, bells, balls, scratching posts, things to climb on especially going up and down, and tubes are also all fun for cats to play when your away from the home.

If you have 2 cats or more, play is not as hard, as they tend to play with each other, even at times when it looks like cats are fighting, it is normally just a more rough play. If you do have more cats, they will most likely play at night, when your dead asleep in the night.

Cats will need to play no matter what. It will help them live a much stronger, happier, and healthier life. Don't forget to squeeze some much needed playtime into your cats life, and yours. It will be a much funner and better experience with your kitty.

Eww... what stinks!!!

Happy Gobble day!  

for everyone on this awesomely snowy Thanksgiving day. I just wanted to say I am thankful for everything I have my family, friends, husband, and my kitties.

Now onto the fun.. the litter box. We all dread this nasty stinky ole thing. Its a plastic box that has tons of gross stuff in it. But all cats need it, unless you potty train them. But, who has time to toilet train your cat? I love cats, but I am not crazy enough to potty train my cat to go to the toilet. A cool technology that some people use are cat genies or automatic boxes. I have heard good things about them, but I don't want to get five of them at $100-300 dollars a piece.

The cat genies are the best ones to get, because there are so many options for them and you can connect them right to your toilet water line or washer and dryer line to use for the water to clean out the boxes. I prefer to use my plastic ones that have the cover. The cover because then my kitties cannot throw the litter all over. In every household, they say for every one cat you have, there should be 2 litter boxes for them. I agree with that, because some cats can be territorial over their "private" space. I have 4 of them in my home, with 5 cats and it works good.

For litter, I use Tidy Cats. It is a non scoopable litter because with my cats, I have to change it out so often, so I just replace all of it. Tidy cats is good with a little baking soda on it, and the smell will be very small for the first few days. If you do not change it within 6-7 days, it will get a hint of kitty poo scent. A lot of people like to use scoopable litter because then they scoop it out every day, so it can last a long time. It usually works well with 1-3 cats. Another litter I have tried is corn litter, a more natural litter. I do not recommend using it... it is very stinky within a few hours. Not a smell I would like to have linger. Bottom line, when you buy your cat litter, buy middle priced stuff. I buy Tidy Cats because it is not bottom line, but I don't spend all my money on cat litter. The store brands like Walmart's Special Kitty or any other similar, are terrible and stink right away. Better off going a step up.

Now that we got poo out of the way, what about cats when they play? .... Tomorrow will be the day we talk about all of it, from laser pointers, catnip, balls, mice, when to play, how to play, feathers, and anything else that relates to it!! Playday Friday!!

Have a great Thanksgiving! Don't forget to get your kitty something special. 

Talking..or maybe meowing..Sleeping..Eating..the very basics to know,

Have you ever talked to your cat? Does your cat meow a lot? The more you speak to your cat, the more it will talk to you! When a cat meows, it is usually speaking to you, not other cats. Cats do not usually communicate through meowing. My cats talk all the time, probably because I talk to them all the time. Speaking to them, they will communicate back even if it means they want to be petted. My cat Peaches tends to communicate a lot, from telling me she wants attention, to that she doesnt want me to go to sleep, she does it all. She is a constant talker, and she tends to get my other kitties going.

What about feeding? What does your cat want? What is good for them? Talking to them is the best, but knowing what is good for your cats health will do your cat the best. Hard food should be a primary food for your cat. Any food that starts out with an sort of meal is not always the best choice. It is just a filler, in other words, the cheaper you go, the worse it is for your cat. Cats need meat, and any food with meat is good. I use Purina Pro Plan, it is not the most expensive, but it is not the cheapest food. It has exactly the ingredients I am looking for in a cat food. But what about soft food? Soft food is actually good for them too. I feed my cats soft food twice a week as a snack. It has extra water and nutrients any growing kitty needs.

What about sleep? My cats tend to sleep all day, although I do not know exactly what they are doing throughout the day... Hannah and Laney are the main sleepers in my family. They sleep all day, and have only a few short moments throughout the day that they play. But does it affect anything for the cat? No, cats sleep and it will not cause any problems. As kittens they play until they are tired, then the sleep to rejuvenate all their energy. Never worry about how much your cats are sleeping; they will always get much more sleep than you, and will never be able to catch up to them.

Tomorrow I hope to talk about play, and using the ole so favorite litter box, we will see you tomorrow.

---Ashley

Cats & the funny things they do!

Cats. We all know what they are, those cute little four legged creatures with the long tail and makes the meow noise. But there is more to it, why do they have some parts that they are given? Why do they sleep all day? Who doesn't have a unique cat in there home? I sure do. I have five of them. They all have their own personalities and little quirks about them that make them such interesting creatures.

Throughout this blog, I will be referencing to my cats. So, a mini introduction for them is necessary in order to continue:

Bacardi: He is the only male cat in my home, he is black and white and size wise, he is the biggest. He watches over the home, and has time for you when he makes it on his turf. He is very intuitive, and knows he is the king of his four ladies.

Tinkerbell: She is Bacardi's sister, and is a white calico cat. She was the runt of her litter, and to this day is still the smallest cat I own. She is very whiny kind of like a prissy little school girl. She is my baby, my first, and she loves to snuggle the way you hold a baby with her belly rubbed. She does not like when other kitties try to come in her area when she is snuggling with mom.

Laneybell: Laney is our tiger kitty. She is part bengal and has tons of spots on her belly. She is a snuggler as well, but only under the blankets. She must be under the blankets and must have her neck or belly rubbed. She will always push her way under the cover, and will be upset if you do not want her there. She is a quiet cat, usually sleeps up in the bedroom all day, until bedtime when she wants to snuggle. She has the best teeth out of everyone in our little family.

Peaches-bell: Peaches is our orange cat, the baby as well. She is a year younger then all of them, and has been the most difficult to handle. She has a personality like a child in their terrible twos. She is a clepto, she takes anything shiny if you leave it lay out, and hides it under beds, in sink drains, or anywhere else she finds necessary. She is allergic to collars, most cat litters, suffers from very dry skin, and is the only cat who eats any flowers I bring into the home. She is an accident-prone kitty.

Hannahbell: Hannah is my black calico. We saved her from a junkyard when her sisters did not make it. We brought her inside, and she had a lot of scavenger habits. She is our most overweight cat, she loves to eat. Her favorite is pizza (is she can get her hand on it) and will eat all day. She is also our friendliest cat. She loves attention, all the time. There is not very many moments where if she is in the room, you cannot not be petting her, or she will be meowing or bunking you for that attention.


Now that I have talked about my cats, you will have some what of an understanding of who I am referencing to when it comes to any stories or facts I post about my own cats. But now are some cool facts about cats.

Did you know cats have 5 front toes, and 4 back? Cats purr at 26 purrs per second which is the same frequency as an idling diesel engine. Your cat uses her whiskers to see if they can fit through things or not. Your cat must have taurine, or it will go blind. A cat can run 30 miles per hour. Cats also spend 2/3 of their day sleeping....

This will conclude this post, but next time comes the fun, with the funny stories and great information to know about cats.

Introduction

Hi, my name is Ashley Ernst. I am writing this blog for my class at Moraine Park called Business Technology and Innovation. I am working on my Associates degree for Administrative Professional which I will finish this following spring 2014. I am recently married, and have a handful of cats I absolutely adore. My blog is going to be a killer blog all related to cats and awesome facts and stories behind them!



Why are you creating the content you're creating?
 Because I love cats, and cats are an awesome thing to talk about!
Who is your audience?
Anyone interested in cats!
What do you want the content to achieve?
To inform my readers as much as I can about cats!
When and how are you going to develop the content? Share your schedule for posting to the blog.
I am going to develop the content from my own personal experiences, and from some online research. My schedule for the blog is to post every day hopefully!
Where are you going to publish?
I am going to publish on Blogger. It is free, and I have a gmail account, so it is very convenient.
wordpress.com, www.weebly.com, www.mydiary.com are all other options I had for creating my blog.