Tag Archives: Cats

Can Earthing Benefit Your Pets?

I believe the concept of Earthing was introduced in a book called Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever! I have not yet read the book but I read several articles about the subject and watched a documentary called Grounded. As best as I understand it, when we are disconnected from the Earth, like we are in our homes or while wearing most shoes, we build up free radicals in our bodies that cause inflammation. That leads to a long list of other health problems. By taking our shoes off and touching the Earth for 30 to 60 minutes a day, we allow a free exchange of electrons that can neutralize these free radicals and restore health. Even just standing on unpainted concrete, like a driveway or sidewalk, will allow an exchange of electrons.

I had been wearing minimalist shoes for over a year but decided I needed to get as close to barefoot as possible. The best option I could find was a pair of traditional moccasins that only had a single layer of leather for the sole. The leather, once worn in, conducts electricity and is the perfect compromise between shoes and barefoot walking. Plus, they are very light and allow my feet to move freely in them. The only problem was that I had to learn to walk like humans are supposed to, by landing each step less on the heel and more toward the balls of my feet. Striking the heel on a hard surface like I was used to with sneakers, or even the minimalist shoes, was somewhat painful.

Since moving a few months ago I have not been walking on the Earth much and lately I have been thinking about ways that I could get out more. Suddenly I realised that our cats get outside to touch the Earth even less than I do. I have always felt it was good for pets to get outside where they could run around and breathe fresh air and now I have another reason to get them out. I am sure that if connecting to the Earth can help people it could help pets too, perhaps even more so for inside only cats that never have contact with the ground.

Unfortunately, getting my cats outside has always been difficult. Busy traffic near our last home and rules against outside cats where I live now keep our pets inside. It also doesn’t help that Frankie is a runner and I fear he will go to far and get lost if let out without his harness, but finding time to “walk” all of our cats is difficult.

Going forward I will try let Frankie and Puck outside more often for walks on the harness. That will help me get out more too. Hopefully Puck can get over his nervousness because I want him to get outside as well. Chris doesn’t need a harness but I plan to spend more time letting him eat grass before making him go inside. In addition, I may pick up an earthing mat to use in the home. It is a mat that connects to the grounding plug in your home or to a wire that leads outside into the ground. It might be helpful when I sit at the computer with all the EMF radiation around me, then the cats could lay on it when I am not using it. I read that pets are naturally attracted to it.

What do you think? Does anyone have any experience with Earthing?

Even on Vacation I Find Strays to Feed

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When we went on our cruise at the end of last month we decided to go to Ft. Lauderdale a day early to reduce the chance that car trouble would cause us to miss the ship. We stayed at a hotel called Hyatt Place which was close to the cruise terminal.

About an hour before we planned to go out to eat, I walked down to get something out of the car. On the way I crossed paths with a little gold cat. He was very friendly and freely let me pet him but he seemed to be on a mission. He was looking through the bushes and picking things up to see if they were edible. I felt bad and was sure he was starving but I had nothing to give him. I went into the hotel but the only thing they had at that time was pastries.

While at dinner, I ordered the steak. I thought that was the best thing on the menu for bringing back leftovers. I ate about half of it and cut the other half into small chunks and brought it back with us.

When we arrived back at the hotel we found the gold cat, along with a tabby cat, in the bushes across from the front door of the hotel. They were eating dry cat food from a bowl that someone had tucked away in the bushes. That made me feel better but I still thought they would enjoy the steak better than the dry food so I gave a piece to each of the cats. The gold cat ate his right away but the tabby was timid and delayed long enough for the gold cat to take both pieces. The tabby had backed off so I threw a piece to her and I set the container down on the ground. The gold cat would grab a piece of meat, retreat to the bushes and eat it, then come back for another piece.

Note: Because there is a song playing in the background of the video, YouTube may restrict views in Germany.

The next morning, after breakfast, we went outside to wait for the shuttle to the terminal and the gold cat was out there. The cat just seemed to want attention at that point. We also learned from one of the drivers that the cat is a female named Puma. That surprised me a little because most gold cats are male but obviously not always. It also is another plus for people who believe gold cats are friendlier. I may have to rethink my position on that.

Kudo’s to the Hyatt employees who decided to not turn a blind eye and are taking care of these kitties.

Update 10/26/2017: After rewatching the video, I believe the employees might be wrong about the gold cat being female. Do you agree?

Gifts From the Cat-Sitter and a Forgotten Bad cat

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While we were on vacation we had two cat-sitters watching our boys. Lynn did a great job keeping us updated with texts and photos (see here) and Nancy was nice enough to bring gifts for the cats. Unfortunately, one of Nancy’s cats recently passed away and the other is not very healthy and does not use the items she brought over.

One of the items was a nice cat perch that I see the cats lying on now more than our other two small perches.

Next is a cat tunnel that everyone loves.

Finally she brought a nice scratching post. I will let Chris describe his feelings about that.

Our patio suddenly became too crowded so we decided to give Rose’s sister, Felice, the scratching post, one of our perches and a couple of other items. She said she could use them at the vet’s office where she works.

I started to bring the items outside on Saturday so I could put them in the car but the first time I opened the door, Chris came out of nowhere and zoomed out the door. I put down what I had and decided to leave Chris outside until I finished. He usually stays close and eats grass. I thought leaving him alone for two minutes would be easier that fighting with him every time I wanted to go out or come in.

Sorry about the quality

After I finished bringing the cat stuff outside as well as the garbage, I went back in and waited for Rose. She was involved in something, I don’t remember what, but it was probably another half-hour before we were ready to leave. When I walked outside I saw Chris lying there outside the door. I had completely forgotten he was outside. If he had wandered off, there was a chance we would not have known he was gone for several hours. I feel like such a bad parent.

We often do a cat count before we leave, mostly because they get into closets, so Rose probably would have discovered him missing but it is still a scary thought.

Photo Friday: Open Window

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The weather has finally cooled enough for us to be able to open a window. The cats sure love that.

This is what it looked like before we put the stool there.

cats and open window

Texts From the Cat Sitter

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We had two of Rose’s friends taking care of our cats while we were on our cruise. Lynn would come in the morning and Nancy would come in the afternoon (or vis versa). Lynn took pictures and sent us updates throughout the week and while we were not able to receive texts most days, it was a relief to know our cats were doing well on the days we did see them, which was Saturday while we were waiting to leave, Thursday when we were in Puerto Rico and Sunday when we returned.

I copied some of the texts from Rose’s phone to share with you.

Thank you Lynn and Nancy for taking such good care of our boys. Does anyone else get updates from pet sitters like this?

Home Sweet Home

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We returned from our eight-day cruise late Sunday afternoon and the cats were very happy to see… our luggage.

Of course, when there isn’t enough luggage space, problems are bound to occur.

They were also happy to see us, almost as much as the luggage and we were equally happy to be home with our little boys.

Photo Friday: Where did the Bunnies Go?

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The couch is a great place to sit and watch bunnies. Now where are they?

Vacation Time Again

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Rose and I are away this week on a Caribbean cruise. Since this is a scheduled post, I am actually writing this on Thursday while I am waiting to pick Rose up at the airport. She left for a business trip to San Diego (where her company is headquartered) on Monday morning and will return at 11:00 tonight. We then have to drive four hours or more across the state to Ft. Lauderdale. It will be our longest time away from the cats ever.

Packing for a trip is like a party for cats.

We have two people coming in to take care of them, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. We actually had an offer for someone to stay in our place while we were gone but I had two problems with that. First, we never met this person and only knew about her from a friend. How do you trust someone you never met? Second, I wanted two people in case something happens to one of them. I don’t want to risk my cats starving to death, even if the risk is low.

I alway put out a gravity feeder and waterer just in case. I may worry too much but it is better than not worrying enough.

Feral Waits for Me

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When I first started feeding the feral cats at work, I never saw them, I just saw they ate the food. There are three cats that I know of but one in particular shows up regularly after I get to work.

I always look for him when I get there but usually I don’t see him until I go inside, put my lunch in the fridge and then come back out with a handful of food. That is when I see his head poking out from a mound of grass or somewhere else not too far away but far enough to be safe.

Lately he has been getting bolder and I have seen him waiting behind our dumpster, which is a lot closer than usual. So far I have seen him that close twice and just a little farther a couple of more times. I can’t help but wonder if he was there waiting when I pulled into the parking lot and I just didn’t see him or did he move in that close during the three minutes it took to go inside and come out again.

September 2

September 23

Wherever he is, he waits for me to go back inside and shut the door. I usually leave it open a crack and watch him walk toward the food as soon as the door is shut. The front door is a fair distance away and it is not in a sight-line to the food but he still waits until I am inside and the door closes.

Thursday the ginger and white cat was there instead of my usual little buddy, but he stayed a bit farther away. It is possible the ginger intimidates the other one but I don’t know that for sure. The funny thing is, he waits for me to go inside and shut the door just like the other one.

This picture is from August. I didn’t have my camera Thursday.

I hope these kitties won’t be upset with me when I return from vacation.

Miss Luis the Kitten’s Last Day Before Adoption

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Back on the 26th of June, Rose and I were involved in rescuing a newborn kitten (read here if you missed it). We brought her to my sister-in-law, Felice, who is an experienced kitten rescuer. She worked hard to keep the kitten alive and now she is doing well.

Rose said she wanted to name the kitten Luis, if it was a boy, after her maintenence supervisor who found the kitten and called Rose for help. It was a girl and she ended up with the Name Lulu (see here and here) but that didn’t stick so now she is called Miss Luis, which we pronounce “Louie.”

We were at Felice’s house on Saturday to celebrate the birthday of Rose and Felice’s mother. While I was there I was able to get a few good pictures of Miss Luis along with two male kittens that Felice took in shortly after Miss Luis arrived.

Miss Luis

Makeshift kitten sanctuary.

The three kittens had fun playing together for awhile and then one fell asleep on the couch while Miss Luis hid behind the pillows. The third cat disappeared into the bathroom where he napped in a carrier that has become their bedroom.

Miss Luis eventually fell asleep with one of the boy kittens.

Later, the third kitten came out and joined Miss Luis in some play while his brother tried to nap.

Of course there are more than kittens at Felice’s house and I got plenty of attention from some of the locals.

The next day, Miss Luis went to her new home. A man adopted her so another female kitten he recently adopted could have company. I was told she cried all the way to her new home but then quickly became friends with resident kitten.

Bad Cat Chris

The Baddest Cat You'll Ever Love