For decades, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) positive cats basically faced two fates: euthanasia, or a lifetime without a forever home. Due in part to a lack of conclusive studies on the virus, and made all the worse by the stigma associated with other immunodeficiency viruses, the public had long been convinced that FIV+ cats could only live with other FIV+ cats, which made placing these cats into homes nearly impossible. Fortunately, recent veterinary studies, a growing…
The Fourth of July is super fun for people, but not so super fun for pets! Terrifying fireworks, disrupted schedules, dangerous food… drunk neighbors… the whole thing is enough to send a cat or dog into a state of panic, sometimes with terrible consequences.So keep your pet safe this holiday with these tips from the Cat Connection: Make sure your cat or dog is wearing a collar with tags AND is microchipped (with up-to-date information)!…
Scratching. When you share your life with a cat, it’s just part of the deal. But although scratching is one of the most natural feline behaviors, it is often met with frustration or fear by humans. It’s no secret that the Cat Connection is emphatically against declawing cats (for more info, see here, here and here), so whenever someone is willing to listen, we educate our friends about why cats scratch and how people can…
Declawing, or onychectomy, is the amputation of the last digit of each toe. Because a cat’s claws grow directly from bone, the bone itself must be amputated; it is not simply the removal of claws. The surgery is performed with either a scalpel or a laser on either the front or back set of paws. It is the equivalent of amputating a human’s fingers or toes at the first joint. Because cats walk on their…
Daniel “DQ” Quagliozzi is the cat behavior guru behind Go, Cat, Go – San Francisco’s leading in-home resource for cat behavior advice. With more than a decade of experience working with cats in shelters and in homes, DQ’s custom designed Action Plans save cat lives, educate frustrated cat guardians and restore peace in homes. Go, Cat, Go is all about the cat, teaching clients to see the world through their cat’s eyes to arrive at a…
Dr. Raina Weldon has the distinction of being the only veterinarian in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex on the official Does Not Declaw List of Declaw.com. The owner and sole doctor of The Cat Hospital of Dallas, Dr. Weldon kindly sat down with us to answer a few questions about her decision not to declaw cats, her experience with the surgery and what Cat People absolutely need to know about a decision that will change your…
Do you have a cat who just won’t play, no matter what you try? Well, you’re not alone! The Cat Connection regularly hears from customers frustrated with kitty’s unwillingness to play with her vast collection of cat toys. We get it. It’s the worst. But don’t despair! Instead, get kitty playing in no time with these tips from the Cat Connection’s cat pros. Play is necessary. Your domestic cat is still very much a wild feline and has many…
For the uninitiated, feline communication can appear nearly impossible to decipher. While dogs benefit from, conservatively, 15,000 years of co-evolution with humans, in addition to decades of intensive scientific and behavioral research, cats have largely been left to their own mysterious selves. The discrepancy between how we engage with dog versus cat communication is partially due to the difficulty of using cats as research subjects, because as it turns out – go figure – cats simply don’t care that…
