A Pet's Place of Clearwater Inc.

How cats say ‘I Love You’

We all know most cats can’t say those three little words ‘I Love You!’ Many people wonder and make jokes about cat behaviors. Many misunderstand a cat’s behavior of wanting attention to mean they want to be fed, and we get overweight cats. Here are a few ways to tell you that your cat loves you.

Cats like to rub each other mostly using their faces. With people they will rub your feet because your face is a little too high. Some cats like getting up on things to get closer to your face. They also rub doorways, chair legs and other furniture when you are close by. It’s true that they have multiple scent glands on their heads. They have glands located around their mouths, chins, sides of the face, neck and ears. When a cat rubs his face on an item, he leaves his scent behind. The act of a cat rubbing his head on objects is called “bunting.” This bunting and rubbing are reserved for bonding, social, comforting and friendly purposes. When your cat engages in head bunting or head rubbing, he is placing his scent there as a social and affectionate gesture.

When you watch your cat move about, generally the tail is up with maybe a kink at the tip. When your cat holds its tail high in the air as he moves about his territory, he's expressing confidence and contentment. When the tail sticks straight up, it signals happiness and a willingness to be friendly.

When cats are found curled up sleeping on one another even when its warm and they don’t need the heat, this is another way of the expressing affection. Similarly, when you sit and they jump in your lap, curling up contented, you know you are loved. Grooming is another expression of fondness. As you pet them, particularly along the head and back, it marks your friendship. Some cats even will try to groom you back, which can be startling with the barbs on their tongues.

The purr as you approach your feline friend intensifies, showing his love. The main period for kittens to be socialized is between 3 and 8 weeks. So being in contact with multiple humans tends to create a much more adjusted social cat. There is even a gene expressed in most male cats called the boldness gene, that helps them prefer human companionship.

People take the food they buy in the grocery store for granted.

They don’t realize that it sometimes has very little resemblance to its wild counterpart—if it even has a wild counterpart. For example, modern strawberries did not exist until the mid-1700s.
Before the discovery of DNA and technology to manipulate it, most plant and animal changes took place naturally through the survival of the fittest and crossbreeding. This “natural” form of genetic modification has been in practice for thousands of years and has changed everything from the size of our dogs and horses to the very existence of orange carrots.

Common Signs of Pain In Your Cat to Watch For:

According to an article which appeared on Feb. 24, 2016 in PLOS One, a multidisciplinary online journal; 19 international veterinary experts in in feline medicine feel these twenty-five signs could indicate that your cat is in PAIN. While they add that no single sign is necessary for a cat who is in pain to express, any are sufficient to consider your cat may be in pain and should be seen. This is especially true when we consider that cats hide their illness, and often hide themselves when they are sick.

Canine Obesity
Obesity is when a dog weighs at least 30% more than it should. Over 2/3s of American dogs are obese. That's about 35 million dogs. Too much fat will strain your dog's joints and can lead to several diseases, reducing your dog's quality of life. Obesity is linked with diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis and even cancer.

Common Questions I Get About Cancer

How common is cancer?
It is a leading cause of death in older animals. Statistics from the Animal Cancer Foundation estimate 1 out of every 4 dogs will develop cancer and each year 8 million dogs are diagnosed with cancer. Cancer in cats is probably half what we see in dogs. But when we see cancer in cats, it tends to be a more aggressive form. I feel the main reason for this is that cats often mask symptoms, so that it is harder to diagnose in cats and caught later.

Does your dog seem distant or depressed?

You may be creating this tension and causing your pet to be unhappy. We all love our dogs and want to make them as happy as possible! It's likely you're not, but just in case you're unsure or want to help someone who might be stressing their dog, check out these behavior tips!

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Drink lots of Fluids

Many problems cats suffer are caused or at least made worse because cats don't drink enough. The most common problem we see is inappropriate urination, but kidney disease is also very common in older cats and constipation also occurs frequently. Simply put drinking more water rids the body of toxins, flushes away wastes and cleanses the body of some bacteria which can prevent infections. 

Pain Control
We've all experienced pain. While most pets reflect very little pain in their soft looks, it's often the gradual reluctance to preform common tasks owners notice like hesitating to go up and down stairs, lagging behind or tiring easily during walks, preferring to lie down rather than sit or stand, stiffness, especially after resting, whimpering, growling or snapping when touched. Nearly every owner will tell me that they do not want their pet suffer needless pain. In todays' article I will try to explain things we all can do to help control pain in addition to the routinely prescribed medications. Let me say before you reach into your medicine cabinet, please call us at A Pet's Place (727) 461-4393, as they can be deadly to your pet.

Fear Free Vet Visits 
Here are 10 steps we recommend to decrease the anxiety of visiting the vet or to take the "petrified" out of your pet's vet visit. These practices or methods help calm veterinary patients and create low-stress environments for us all.

Kneading is an instinctual behavior
A kitten kneads the queens mammary gland to stimulate milk production. Older cats still  knead to show they are content. Cats also will knead to find a soft place to lay down. It also is a way of marking territory as they have special scent glands in their pads.

Purring occurs because of a vibration in the vocal cords due to neurological stimulization.

Cats generally purr when some pleasurable activity is happening:

• Petting
• Stroking
• Greeting a familar person or pet
• A kitten nursing
• Rolling around
• Rubbing

Sometimes it occurs when they are injured or ill. It is felt that the frequency of the vibrations are associated with healing.

Purring is also reinforcing to people and thus increases the length of time they get petted

11 Reasons Owning Cats Can Make You Happier

1. They make your heart healthier: According to a study from at the University of Minnesota's Stroke Institute, cat owners are  thirty percent less likely to die from all cardiovascular diseases, including  heart attacks and strokes.
2. They never miss an opportunity to take a nap: Studies have shown that indulging in a little afternoon nap can work wonders for your alertness, memory, creativity, productivity and overall mood.

When pets take medication prescribed for someone else they are at risk of illness or even death, just like people! While many medications are used in both animals and people, the effects and doses needed aren't the same. About twenty-five percent of all phone calls to Animal Poison Control ((888) 426-4435) are about human medications. Your pet can easily ingest harmful medications as many have sweetend coatings or may be given unknowingly by an owner.

The 10 most common human medication complaints the Poison Control received are here, listed in order based on their number of complaints:

Bufo Toads

Dogs and cats that have contact with Bufo toads, which live in but are not native to Florida, can die without treatment. Glands in the toad's neck release a poison, and licking or even just sniffing it can be dangerous. Treatment is usually successful if initiated quickly. Veterinarians and wildlife experts say owners who suspect their pet has been exposed to the toad, also known as a cane toad, should run water through the side of the animal's mouth so it pours out of the mouth and not down the throat, then seek immediate veterinary care