_____
Toon Tuesdays feature cat & dog cartoons made by the peeps over at Shoebox Greetings (a tiny little division of Hallmark) - where our mom works, too!
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Monday, May 6, 2013
Physical Fitness and your Pet
I was speaking with a group of dedicated cat shelter volunteers last week about conditions that make cats less adoptable ... and I was utterly shocked to learn that obesity isn't one of them.
"No," I was told. "People consider fat cats to be cute, and so they usually fly out of the shelter."
Really? Rehoming a cat is as easy as fattening him up a bit? There's something really wrong with this, I thought.
Not that I'm not thrilled that certain types of cats are easily adoptable. But what about all the potential health issues that accompany said fat cats?
There are a ton of them, and they run the gamut from arthritis to kidney disease to heart disease.
Fat cats might be cute, but they aren't healthy. Nor are they necessarily happy either, carrying all that excess weight around.
Pet obesity is at an all-time high, with dog obesity increasing by over 37% since 2007, and cat obesity by a whopping 90%.
Techincally, that qualifies as an epidemic.
As we've mentioned here before in December's article on the Obesity Epidemic, this is mainly due to overfeeding. But since May is National Physical Fitness month - and because here in the U.S. spring has (finally!) arrived, bringing with it lots of opportunities for outdoor activities - we thought it would be a good idea to talk about the other part of the healthy weight equation: exercise.
Cats and dogs face the same weight loss challenges we humans face - the simple equation of calories in vs. calories out. Which means that a sedentary pet, trapped indoors while the human is at work all day, is going to need that dedicated workout time just as much as you do.
It's a bit easier for dogs, especially if you like to walk or run in your spare time. Consider adding your dog into that routine, and both of you can get fit together.
Discovery's blog has a few other interesting ways you can mix it up with your dog for a fun and effective toning routine.
They suggest things like the Squat Tease, an exercise where you face your dog holding one of his favorite toys. Squat down, tap him lightly with it, then raise the toy above your head as you come out of the squat. Your pup will leap for the toy and you both will get a great quad and glute workout.
Click here to read about other exercises such as the Dogstacle Course and Fetch Racing.
For cats, it's really no different. They love chasing their prey of choice as much as any dog.
The challenge is on the human side of the equation: setting aside time on a daily basis to wave that Neko wand toy or Da Bird long enough for your cat to get in a good cardio workout.
Maxwell will beg for it each evening - and I've been "too busy" enough evenings that Faraday has figured out how to open the drawer and help himself!
But don't think that's the only game in town for your cat.
Ryker and I used to play kitty tag throughout the house, and he used to love it when I'd sneak up on him, make a chuffing noise and run off. He'd take off after me and we'd end up running circles around each other, both panting at the end of the game.
Currently, Faraday loves to demonstrate how much faster he is than his puny humans. We call this game "Ready...GO!" but it's basically the equivalent of a kitty StairMaster.
We'll call him while standing at the bottom of a flight of stairs, and crouch as if we were at a starting line.
Faraday will come running, then wait eagerly for us to call "Ready...GO!" Off he tears up the stairs, leaving us behind to figuratively eat his dirt.
And I've been working with both of the boys to get them comfortable with a harness for outdoor walkabouts.
[Faraday feels like a "big boy" now that he gets to go outside and investigate all the cool smells! Well, except for the fact that the harness is a rather unmanly pink. Check out his disgusted look.]
For kitties in shelter situations, the weight loss issue becomes even more of a challenge.
Those kitties consigned to kennels simply don't get much exercise, and volunteers who engage them in playtime not only help burn calories but provide them with much needed mental and social stimulation as well.
At our shelter, a generous volunteer even donated a "kitty treadmill" that certain cats just love.
And we love seeing them make the thing spin madly around as they race on it, too! Take a look at the "wheel" in use, below:
However you choose to exercise your pet doesn't really matter. The important thing is simply that you commit to doing it. As pet owners, it's the responsible and caring thing to do.
Excuse me...Maxwell's looking at me pitifully. He seems to think there's a wand toy calling his name....!
"No," I was told. "People consider fat cats to be cute, and so they usually fly out of the shelter."
Really? Rehoming a cat is as easy as fattening him up a bit? There's something really wrong with this, I thought.
 | |||
| Most cats do this all day while waiting for you to get home. © Supertramp | Dreamstime Stock Photos &Stock Free Images |
There are a ton of them, and they run the gamut from arthritis to kidney disease to heart disease.
Fat cats might be cute, but they aren't healthy. Nor are they necessarily happy either, carrying all that excess weight around.
Pet obesity is at an all-time high, with dog obesity increasing by over 37% since 2007, and cat obesity by a whopping 90%.
Techincally, that qualifies as an epidemic.
As we've mentioned here before in December's article on the Obesity Epidemic, this is mainly due to overfeeding. But since May is National Physical Fitness month - and because here in the U.S. spring has (finally!) arrived, bringing with it lots of opportunities for outdoor activities - we thought it would be a good idea to talk about the other part of the healthy weight equation: exercise.
Cats and dogs face the same weight loss challenges we humans face - the simple equation of calories in vs. calories out. Which means that a sedentary pet, trapped indoors while the human is at work all day, is going to need that dedicated workout time just as much as you do.
 |
| © Razvanjp | Dreamstime Stock Photos &Stock Free Images |
Discovery's blog has a few other interesting ways you can mix it up with your dog for a fun and effective toning routine.
They suggest things like the Squat Tease, an exercise where you face your dog holding one of his favorite toys. Squat down, tap him lightly with it, then raise the toy above your head as you come out of the squat. Your pup will leap for the toy and you both will get a great quad and glute workout.
Click here to read about other exercises such as the Dogstacle Course and Fetch Racing.
 |
| Anyone up for a game of ball? © Kamchatka Dreamstime Stock Photos &Stock Free Images |
The challenge is on the human side of the equation: setting aside time on a daily basis to wave that Neko wand toy or Da Bird long enough for your cat to get in a good cardio workout.
Maxwell will beg for it each evening - and I've been "too busy" enough evenings that Faraday has figured out how to open the drawer and help himself!
But don't think that's the only game in town for your cat.
Ryker and I used to play kitty tag throughout the house, and he used to love it when I'd sneak up on him, make a chuffing noise and run off. He'd take off after me and we'd end up running circles around each other, both panting at the end of the game.
Currently, Faraday loves to demonstrate how much faster he is than his puny humans. We call this game "Ready...GO!" but it's basically the equivalent of a kitty StairMaster.
Faraday will come running, then wait eagerly for us to call "Ready...GO!" Off he tears up the stairs, leaving us behind to figuratively eat his dirt.
And I've been working with both of the boys to get them comfortable with a harness for outdoor walkabouts.
[Faraday feels like a "big boy" now that he gets to go outside and investigate all the cool smells! Well, except for the fact that the harness is a rather unmanly pink. Check out his disgusted look.]
For kitties in shelter situations, the weight loss issue becomes even more of a challenge.
Those kitties consigned to kennels simply don't get much exercise, and volunteers who engage them in playtime not only help burn calories but provide them with much needed mental and social stimulation as well.
At our shelter, a generous volunteer even donated a "kitty treadmill" that certain cats just love.
And we love seeing them make the thing spin madly around as they race on it, too! Take a look at the "wheel" in use, below:
However you choose to exercise your pet doesn't really matter. The important thing is simply that you commit to doing it. As pet owners, it's the responsible and caring thing to do.
Excuse me...Maxwell's looking at me pitifully. He seems to think there's a wand toy calling his name....!
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Roses! And more snow?
Maxwell: Papa brought momma roses for her birthday.
(As if his gift could compete with our May Snowpocalypse.
Oh by the way, did we mention that the ground was all white again Friday night too? It melted by morning.)
(As if his gift could compete with our May Snowpocalypse.
Oh by the way, did we mention that the ground was all white again Friday night too? It melted by morning.)
 |
| Allie: *wounded look* You mean...they're not for...ME? |
(In all honesty, he usually does buy her one!)
Faraday: Seriously guys, you're looking at the wrong end. The ribbon is the Best Part!
***
We wish to apologize for our scarcity this past week - and most probably the coming week as well.
May has turned into a bit of a boondoggle, what with all the balls being juggled up in the air.
There's the Jackson Galaxy fundraiser for local shelters...
BlogPaws mid-May...
Over 90 minutes worth of content to film - direct & produce - within 3 weeks (oy!)...
and a dear friend battling a recurring cancer.
Please know that we are visiting, if not commenting as much as we'd like.
(If a certain human's brain is too fried to type, she prefers to lurk!)
We hope to be back next weekend and we really look forward to June!
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Saturday Photohunt: Under
Allie: Mother had to crouch under me to get such a low angle shot!
(Mommy just got back from a week in a Director's workshop - can you tell? MOL)
And Laurence, she learned two new French phrases: dos-à-dos and mise en scene!
(Mommy just got back from a week in a Director's workshop - can you tell? MOL)
And Laurence, she learned two new French phrases: dos-à-dos and mise en scene!
***
We're also participating in the Weekend Cat Blogging blog hop...
...and the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop, hosted by Baby Patches, Life with Dogs and Two Little Cavaliers.
Friday, May 3, 2013
In honor of your birthday, Mommy...
We ordered you a record breaking, never-before-seen...
SNOW in MAY!
(don't ever say we didn't give you anything!)
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Thursday Trivia: Having Kittens!
Have you ever heard this phrase?
"Oh, he's going to have kittens over this when he finds out about it!" Meaning somebody's going to get real upset.
But why kittens? After all, there's nothing cuter, so why associate fuzzy adorableness with a reaction to upsetting news?
According to the site Cat-ch Phrases, “In medieval times it was believed that if a pregnant woman was in pain, she had been cursed by a witch and had kittens inside clawing at her belly. Witches, they believed, could control cats, and could eliminate the kittens. Since a woman believing she was going to give birth to a litter of kittens would become hysterical, the phrase has, over time, come to mean being in an angry panic.”
Phrases.org tells us this superstition originated in Scotland and was documented as late as 1654 in a court case where a woman accused of trying to get an abortion used as her defense the excuse that she had 'cats in her bellie.'
So there you have it!
_______
Sources:
Cat-ch Phrase
Phrases.org: from "How Did It Begin?" by R. Brasch (Pocket Books, New York, 1966)
"Oh, he's going to have kittens over this when he finds out about it!" Meaning somebody's going to get real upset.
But why kittens? After all, there's nothing cuter, so why associate fuzzy adorableness with a reaction to upsetting news?
 |
| Kittens! (Photo: Public Domain) |
According to the site Cat-ch Phrases, “In medieval times it was believed that if a pregnant woman was in pain, she had been cursed by a witch and had kittens inside clawing at her belly. Witches, they believed, could control cats, and could eliminate the kittens. Since a woman believing she was going to give birth to a litter of kittens would become hysterical, the phrase has, over time, come to mean being in an angry panic.”
Phrases.org tells us this superstition originated in Scotland and was documented as late as 1654 in a court case where a woman accused of trying to get an abortion used as her defense the excuse that she had 'cats in her bellie.'
So there you have it!
_______
Sources:
Cat-ch Phrase
Phrases.org: from "How Did It Begin?" by R. Brasch (Pocket Books, New York, 1966)
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Wordless (Watercolor) Window Wednesday
Happy May Day!
***
Breaking News!
The Cat Mojo VIP Reception with Jackson Galaxy next Wednesday May 8 in Kansas City is SOLD OUT. But you can still come to the General Admission event at 7 PM. Admission is $15.95 (the cost of the book) and can be purchased at www.rainydaybooks.com/CatDaddy.
On a different note:
SNOW IN KANSAS CITY ON MAY 3?!? Three out of three kitties do NOT approve this forecast.
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