Janette DeLoach’s heart broke as she learned about the extent of the homeless and feral cat population in her area of Central Florida. So, she combined her love of plants and cats to save lives, putting a quirky spin on the popular cat café business.

A blooming business

Janette, a former vet tech, bought a 23-foot camper and transformed it into a colorful mobile cat lounge that she brings to community events and other places. She named her camper, now a full-time business, Botany Cats. The plant theme is everywhere: An artist painted the trailer green and added images of Bear, one of Janette’s own cats, and plants she sells. While visitors cuddle with kitties, they can shop for plants like catnip, cat grass and silver vine (instead of coffee and muffins), and related products like catnip toys.

“I have a lot of people come in just to get their kitty fix because someone they live with is allergic or they are college students who can’t have cats on campus,” says Janette. “Sometimes people come in just wanting to play with the cats. They fall in love and end up adopting.”

Since opening in February of 2022, Janette gets a handful of calls a week — and several a day during kitten season

— from people seeking help with stray cats, many with litters of kittens. She takes them in, gets them spayed and neutered, and puts them up for adoption at Botany Cats. Foster homes house the kitties until there is space in the
camper, where up to 12 kittens at a time (and a few adults) live.

“I like to keep every cat we have as happy as possible until they have their forever home,” Janette says.

Knowing the possible fate that awaits cats in Polk County, where animal control reported euthanizing almost 150 cats a month in early 2022, Janette passionately works to rescue as many as possible and give people an alternative to a high-kill shelter. Botany Cats visitors adopt three to five cats a week, where they either pay $5 for a walk-in visit session or $7 for a half-hour reserved session.

A success story

Trinity Valeriano, a student at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, started visiting the Botany Cats van for a kitty fix. On her second visit, an 8-month-old kitten named Mocha caught her eye. Mocha was shy and usually hid under the couch. Trinity would stick her hand into Mocha’s hiding place to coax her out.

“She would look at me and purr so intensely,” Trinity says. “I fell in love.”

After seven visits over about two weeks (and approval to have an emotional support cat in her dorm), Trinity adopted the young cat, who is now named Mavis.

The environment at Botany Cats makes the place seem extra inviting, like magic. “It’s beautiful, and all the decorations are so colorful,” Trinity says. “As soon as I entered the trailer, I thought, ‘I could stay here the rest of my life.’”

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Cats and dogs are animals with “three legs and a spare,” as Dr. Beth Galles and other veterinarians often say when encountering a tripod pet. But still, there are some kitties with special conditions — like severe obesity, arthritis or other mobility issues — who may struggle to walk well on just three limbs. That’s where a prosthetic, otherwise uncommon with pets, may be helpful, Dr. Galles says.

Olive, a three-legged brown tabby, became a guinea pig for biological systems engineering students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. For their senior project, this group of students used a 3D printer to create a prosthetic kitty leg. Olive, who is missing part of her left foreleg, was a real trooper through the whole process.

Meanwhile, Olive — a rescue from the Capital Humane Society in Lincoln — found her forever home with Dr. Galles, whose family fell in love with the kitty as the veterinarian fostered her.

“Olive is the sweetest cat!” Dr. Galles says. “I brought her home to foster her during this project and after about one day, I knew my children would be devastated if she left again.”

The project started in spring 2020, when an obese cat at the local humane society needed a front-leg amputation. Dr. Galles and
shelter staff, concerned that the cat couldn’t walk on her own after the operation, contacted the university’s engineering department to ask about making a kitty prosthetic. But then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and shutdowns derailed plans.

When Olive came into the shelter in the fall of 2020, the team revisited the idea of creating a ready-made cat prosthetic for cats that might have an unusually hard time missing a leg.

“In those cases, a temporary prosthetic may be very useful as we treat and optimize the animal for life on three legs, such as with losing weight or treating and controlling the arthritis pain and inflammation,” Dr. Galles says.

Abby Smith, Harrison Grasso and three other students got started on the project with Olive early in 2021. They had regular hour-long sessions with her over a few months. Abby, who graduated in May, says the project sounded tricky. The students weren’t expecting to work with animals, and nobody had much experience with cats.

“I think we got very lucky in that Olive is one of the sweetest cats I have ever been around,” says Abby, who was surprised because she wasn’t expecting a cat to be cooperative. “She was such a good sport throughout it all and was so kind to us. She never lashed out or anything at us, or Dr. Galles or the veterinary staff. … She was honestly an angel throughout the entire project.”

The students used a 3D printer to make the prosthetic out of polylactic acid, after three or four iterations. It attaches to the cat’s leg with Velcro straps and the help of a silicone sleeve. They printed out several prosthetics for the humane society, so the shelter will be prepared if a kitty needing the help comes.

Olive — whom her family calls Ollie — shares her home with her human family, which includes three young boys. She also lives with two other critters, a Beagle named Millie who she tolerates, and a guinea pig named Halloween. She isn’t much of a lap cat, but Ollie loves to play and sit with her family and watch birds.

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When fleas or ticks bite your kitty, she becomes miserable with the itching, skin irritation and other discomforts from the parasites. We pet parents aren’t happy either, as the pests can spread and infest our other pets and throughout the house. We’ve compiled local guides to fleas and ticks on cats, as well as a few general pointers:

First off, is there truly a flea and tick season?

Different regions of the United States, with their varying climates, may have a particular season for fleas and/or ticks, to a degree. But unlike Christmas and Halloween, fleas and ticks aren’t necessarily seasonal, says Dr. Michelle Matusicky, D.V.M., assistant professor — practice at The Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

“It is a common misconception that fleas and ticks have a season,” Matusicky says. “They have a life cycle that is constantly replicating.

“Sure, it is more common for a flea infestation to begin in the spring or summer seasons, but it can take months to get rid of completely,” she says. “If not properly cleared, they can set up in your home and live quite comfortably throughout the winter months.”

What cats are at risk for fleas and ticks?

Ticks and fleas appear all over the United States, but each region of the United States has some differences. Fleas come in more than 1,000 species, but the types of fleas that bite cats and dogs are fairly uniform. Ticks come in several distinctive varieties.

As always, talk to your veterinarian about using topical preventative flea and tick treatments. Cat parents can also greatly reduce the chances of kitty encountering fleas and ticks by keeping cats inside, which all veterinarians we interviewed recommend.

Preventing fleas and ticks on cats:

• 10 Ways to Fight Fleas and Ticks on Cats
• 7 Facts About Ticks and Cats
• What Every Cat Parent Must Know About Fleas and Ticks
• 9 Methods of Natural Flea Control for Cats

For specific, regional information about fleas and ticks in your area, check out our guides below:

1. Northwest Guide to Fleas and Ticks on Cats
2. Southwest Guide to Fleas and Ticks on Cats 
3. Midwest Guide to Fleas and Ticks on Cats
4. Southeast Guide to Fleas and Ticks on Cats
5. Northeast Guide to Fleas and Ticks on Cats

It’s Flea and Tick Week sponsored by Andis on Catster.com. Stay tuned for more tips on how to keep your cat and household safe from fleas and ticks!

The post The Regional Guide to Fleas and Ticks on Cats by Kellie B. Gormly appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

The northeastern United States — including the mid-Atlantic states like New York and Pennsylvania, and New England states like Massachusetts — has plenty of grass, woods, trees, autumn leaves and winter snow.

Fleas in the Northeast

Fleas here can live year-round, even in the icy wintertime, when a host like a raccoon may carry the bugs. But — just as they do around the US — the warmer months give parasites the best biting and infesting opportunities, says Matthew Frye, entomologist with New York State Integrated Pest Management Program, Cornell University.

Fleas breed in shady, moist places outside with exposed soil. Key spots might be under porches and decks, so beware of your cat hiding in these areas, Frye says.

Ticks in the Northeast

The most common tick in the northeast is the black-legged tick, also known as the deer tick. There’s also the lone star tick, a southern species that has been making its way north, and the American dog tick, also known as a wood tick. Black-legged ticks prefer moist, dark habitats like forested areas. American dog ticks like a sunny field with tall grass. Lone star ticks can be anywhere. If you keep your grass trimmed, which keeps the moisture level down, you’re not likely to have ticks in your lawn.

Since cats are self-groomers with sandpapery tongues, they might be able to remove a tick themselves, unlike a dog.

The peak activity for ticks — which like to congregate in leaf litter — is in the spring, with lots of baby ticks, and the fall with adult ticks. Summertime ticks are less active because of the heat. In New England, cat owners should stay on top of prevention efforts, especially in the fall; black-legged deer ticks are the biggest and most common tick threat in October, according to Anchor Animal Hospital in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. The clinic’s website cautions people not to assume that ticks die after the first frost and don’t bite in the winter.

More recommendations for preventing fleas and ticks on cats:

• 10 Ways to Fight Fleas and Ticks on Cats
• 7 Facts About Ticks and Cats
• What Every Cat Parent Must Know About Fleas and Ticks
• 9 Methods of Natural Flea Control for Cats

 Thumbnail: Photography by AlisLuch / Shutterstock.

It’s Flea and Tick Week sponsored by Andis on Catster.com. Stay tuned for more tips on how to keep your cat and household safe from fleas and ticks!

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In the hot, muggy humid environment of the southeastern United States — including places like Florida, the Carolinas and Georgia — fleas and ticks are less seasonal because of the warmer, steady climate.

Fleas on ticks in the Southeast

These pests can cause consistent problems for cats year-round, says Dr. Richard Gerhold, assistant professor at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, Knoxville.

Ticks on cats in the Southeast

Mostly, the region has the lone star tick, which is identified by unusually long mouthparts, and one or more white spots on the back, and the American dog tick, which has shorter mouthparts and white spots on the back. According to the University of Georgia Extension website, the lone star tick bites large animals like livestock, smaller animals like cats and dogs, deer and humans. The American dog tick prefers dogs but also bites cats, larger animals and humans.

Pets in the southeast may also encounter the black-legged tick or the brown dog tick, the latter of which is tropical in nature and can’t survive outside. If your cat gets a brown dog tick, she probably got it from inside a building where ticks have been — for instance, if you move to a new house, Dr. Gerhold says.

Cats can get a serious disease called cytauxzoonosis felis, carried mainly by the lone star tick. This disease attacks the red blood cells and can make the cat anemic, with very pale to almost white mucous membranes, Dr. Gerhold explains. The best way to spare your cat all parasite suffering is to practice flea and tick prevention.

Flea and tick prevention in the Southeast

If your cat goes outside, minimize potential flea and tick problems by keeping your grass cut short to keep humidity low, removing leaf litter, keeping the compost pile covered and not feeding wildlife except for birds, Dr. Gerhold says.

More recommendations for preventing fleas and ticks on cats:

• 10 Ways to Fight Fleas and Ticks on Cats
• 7 Facts About Ticks and Cats
• What Every Cat Parent Must Know About Fleas and Ticks
• 9 Methods of Natural Flea Control for Cats

Thumbnail: Photography ©Dixi | Getty Images.

It’s Flea and Tick Week sponsored by Andis on Catster.com. Stay tuned for more tips on how to keep your cat and household safe from fleas and ticks!

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The Midwest region — which includes areas like Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and other states — typically has cool-to-warm springs, hot-but-not-too-hot summers and very cold winters. Fleas and ticks abound, but cat parents can protect their pets and homes, experts say.

Fleas on cats in the Midwest

Although cats can get fleas at any time of year, flea season usually starts in May and goes through to winter, with peak flea times happening in September, October and November, according to Prairie View Animal Hospital in DeKalb, Illinois. You can typically stop putting flea-prevention treatments on your cats once the temperature consistently dips below the freezing point, according to the clinic’s website, pvahosp.com.

Flea infestations are much more common in the home than tick infestations, says Dr. Michelle Matusicky, D.V.M., assistant professor — practice at The Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Ticks on Cats in the Midwest

Ticks aren’t entirely an outdoor-cat problem; the brown dog tick can actually complete its entire life cycle indoors.

In the Midwest region, cats are most likely to encounter the American dog tick, black-legged tick (also known as the deer tick) and brown dog tick, especially during the warmer months, starting in the spring. Don’t be fooled by the “dog” in the names: The ticks bite cats, too, especially if the cat spends a lot of time outside. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, people and pets in that area might also encounter the lone star tick and the winter tick.

How to prevent and treat fleas and ticks on cats in the Midwest:

Dr. Matusicky advises cat parents to focus on prevention, as that is much easier than treating a flea or tick infestation that creates a household nuisance. Kitty will be much happier, too, to be spared the hair loss, itching, skin infections and other maladies.

“From a financial standpoint, the cost of prevention alone is going to be cheaper than multiple trips to the vet for skin infections or other ailments that these ectoparasites have caused,” she says.

More recommendations for preventing fleas and ticks on cats:

• 10 Ways to Fight Fleas and Ticks on Cats
• 7 Facts About Ticks and Cats
• What Every Cat Parent Must Know About Fleas and Ticks
• 9 Methods of Natural Flea Control for Cats

It’s Flea and Tick Week sponsored by Andis on Catster.com. Stay tuned for more tips on how to keep your cat and household safe from fleas and ticks!

Featured Image Credit: socrates471, Shutterstock

The post Fleas and Ticks on Cats in the Midwest by Kellie B. Gormly appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

The desert southwest — a special climate we see in places like Arizona, New Mexico and Southern California — is arid and dry. Fleas and ticks may not flourish in this environment as much as they might in humid regions with green grass and forests. But cats in areas like Arizona aren’t immune to irritating flea and tick bites, and pet parents may face the headache of infestations in their houses, says Dr. Brian Serbin, a Phoenix veterinarian at Ingleside Animal Hospital.

Fleas on cats in the Southwest

Fleas can be worse than just a nuisance. In fact, in 2017, Newsweek reported that officials discovered that fleas in two Arizona counties were carrying the bacteria that causes the bubonic plague.

With the temperate, consistently hot climate in the southwest, there is no flea or tick season really; the pests come year-round. Still, like other regions, the peak time is the spring, summer and fall since winter can have some cold spells and pests aren’t breeding as much. Interestingly, cats in the desert southwest get fleas more often than dogs do, Dr. Serbin explains.

Ticks on cats in the Southwest

The good news for humans and pets in the whole region west of the Mississippi River is that there is little to no Lyme disease, Dr. Serbin says.

The brown dog tick is the most common tick that lives in the desert, and they feed on cats as well as dogs — the most common hosts — and other animals, including humans. Ouch. Remember that these parasites need a host, like your cat, to survive; and, they can pick up the ticks from wildlife like coyotes, Dr. Serbin says. Keeping your cat inside will prevent wildlife contact and most tick encounters.

The prevention and treatment

Serbin recommends year-round measures, based on your veterinarian’s advice and tailored to your cat.

More recommendations for preventing fleas and ticks on cats:

• 10 Ways to Fight Fleas and Ticks on Cats
• 7 Facts About Ticks and Cats
• What Every Cat Parent Must Know About Fleas and Ticks
• 9 Methods of Natural Flea Control for Cats

Thumbnail: Photography by julia-kobzeva / Shutterstock.

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The Pacific Northwest — including parts of Northern California, Washington State and Oregon — has many areas with a lot of precipitation, cooler temperatures and thick forests. Despite the many wet, soggy areas though, there are some drier parts of the region (like parts of Washington). This can lead to a variety in the types of parasites and the seasons, but for consistency’s sake, we will focus on the heavily populated region of Seattle, which has a relatively mild climate.

Fleas on cats in the Northwest

According to the Washington State Department of Health, fleas can be a year-round problem. However, the pests are especially prone to bite cats in the spring, summer and fall seasons. One flea can multiply exponentially, and lead to a full-house infestation that spreads to your other pets.

Fleas are one of the most common infestations in Pacific Northwest households, according to the website of the Western Exterminator Company, with several offices in Washington and Oregon. Fleas especially thrive in this region when there is a mild winter. Winter is the perfect time to fully purge fleas, before a potential infestation comes in the spring.

Ticks on cats in the Northwest

As for ticks, they typically start coming out in the spring — just when people and many cats are getting outside more. The most populous ticks in the Northwest are the Western black-legged tick, American dog tick and Rocky Mountain wood tick, according to doh.wa.gov. The department recommends keeping your cats out of wooded areas in order to avoid ticks, and using tick-control products according to your veterinarian’s advice. You should use tick repellent, too, and shower after coming back from a woodsy area to wash away any tick hitchhikers.

Your best bet for avoiding parasites on your cats, and many other ailments or injuries, is to keep them inside, experts recommend.

More recommendations for preventing fleas and ticks on cats:

• 10 Ways to Fight Fleas and Ticks on Cats
• 7 Facts About Ticks and Cats
• What Every Cat Parent Must Know About Fleas and Ticks
• 9 Methods of Natural Flea Control for Cats

Feature Image Credit: IRINA ORLOVA, Shutterstock

The post How Bad Are Fleas in Washington State? Important Considerations by Kellie B. Gormly appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

I find it a bit silly to have holidays designed to practice things that should be a way of life. Case in point: Respect Your Cat Day, observed today, March 28. We cat people respect our cats 365 days a year, don’t we? Still, it doesn’t hurt to raise awareness by having an official time for what should be the norm.

According to the website Sometimes Cats Herd You, Respect Your Cat Day started in 1384 in England, when King Richard II issued an edict forbidding the consumption of cats. Well, that sure was a good start!

The 3 Ways to Celebrate Respect Your Cat Day

1. Respect your cat by giving him good, species-appropriate foods

Speaking of eating animals, like many pet lovers, I am a vegetarian. But, respecting your cat means respecting that he is, in fact, a cat and a very different species from humans and from other animals.

Cats are hunters and apex predators in many areas of the wild. Their digestive systems are designed to eat meat, not plants. I cringe whenever I open a can of cat food, but I know I must respect the fact that my cats are carnivores.

2. Respect your cat with play that feeds into his hunting instincts

Another way to respect your cat’s catness: Feed into his hunter instincts. Cats love to stalk and hunt and pounce on either real prey, like mice, or toys that play the role. Just watch your kitty go crazy swatting frantically at the wand toy or pouncing on that plush mouse. Let your hunter enjoy the chase by providing stimulating toys.

3. Respect your cat by realizing that most cats do not behave like dogs

And, finally, we shouldn’t take it personally when our cats don’t behave like dogs. Cats have an independent spirit, and though many are very affectionate, they still like to do their own thing and enjoy their solitude.

We should respect our cats for their quirks and embrace it all as part of their charm. After all, I’m sure there are many things about our humanness that our cats could do without — like the need to cater to our desires and whims as well as the cats’.

Thumbnail: Photography ©Monkey Business | Thinkstock.

About the author: Kellie B. Gormly is a Pittsburgh-based journalist otherwise known as “Mother Catresa” to homeless kittens and cats. She blogs about her adventures in fostering at Mother Catresa’s Chronicle.

Read more cat news on Catster.com:

• New Care & Control Program From Merck Animal Health Helps Diabetic Pets
• Denver Outlaws Declawing Cats
• Books for Cat Lovers

The post Respect Your Cat Day: When Is It & How To Celebrate by Kellie B. Gormly appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

It’s one of our favorite cat sounds: the high-pitched, squeaky “mew” of kittens meowing. That squeal is so adorable and “Awww”-inspiring that we almost wouldn’t mind if it woke us up from a nap. And, like human babies, those pint-sized kittens can have some loud, impressive pipes! Let’s look at some videos to hear some of those adorable kitten meowing sounds — and find out more about what they mean!

Kittens meow to communicate with their mother cats at first

Kittens are born with their ears and eyes sealed shut, but they can feel the vibrations of their mother’s purrs, says Amy Shojai, a Texas-based certified animal behavior consultant and author of pet books, including Complete Kitten Care. The kittens can exercise their vocal cords and meow from birth, but they usually begin experimenting with vocalizations once they start to toddle around and explore their world.

Felines are vocal animals, and they start “talking” as babies as a way of communicating with their mothers and littermates, says Marilyn Krieger, aka The Cat Coach, a certified cat behavior consultant in the San Francisco Bay Area. Kittens meowing serves the same purpose as a human baby cry: It makes a demand and gets mom’s attention.

“When they are newborns, their little mews successfully let their mums know when they are hungry, frightened and cold,” Krieger says. “When separated from their mums, kittens mew their angst and, instinctually, most mums rush to find and comfort their vulnerable little ones.”

Outside of meowing, kittens communicate with their mothers via purring, touch, body language and scents.

Kittens meowing is a two-way street

Acoustic communication between cat mothers and kittens works both ways. Moms interact with their kittens vocally, too, and kittens get very attached to their mom’s sound. A study published in 2016 in Developmental Psychobiology, a peer-reviewed science journal, found that kittens who listened to playbacks of greeting “chirps” and meows from both their own mothers and stranger cats reacted much more strongly to their own moms’ vocalizations.

Kittens tend to take after their mothers vocally, Shojai says, and cats have varying personalities, often based on breed. A Siamese mother and her kittens may be more talkative, while a Chartreux mom and her litter may be quieter.

Why do kittens meowing sound so squeaky?

For many kittens, the baby-size meow sounds a bit like a squeaker toy. Physically, this sound results from the size of the kitten’s body — smaller than that of the more alto-voiced adult cat — along with the immaturity of the larynx, mouth and sinus spaces, and vocal chords. These body conditions produce meows that are softer, higher-pitched and often shorter in length, Shojai says.

As the kitten matures, so does his voice, just like a growing human’s voice deepens. However, curiously, some cats retain their kitten squeak well into adulthood, Shojai says. Typically, though, felines will produce an adult-sounding cat meow — with a lower pitch and longer range — between about 9 and 14 months of age, when they reach full physical size.

Kittens meow to communicate with littermates and humans, too

It’s not just mama cats that kittens communicate with when they meow. When kittens start interacting with their siblings after several weeks, they learn important social skills and boundaries through their meows, Krieger says.

“If the wrestling and playing becomes too intense or one is hurt, the little one communicates his or her angst through loud meows,” she says. “This usually is enough for the kittens to back off and stop playing.”

As kittens mature, they learn that their meowing works on humans the way it does with their mothers (think of those “Feed me!” meows, and watch the video above!). Both adult cats and savvy kittens use meows mostly to communicate with humans, rather than with each other, Shojai says.

Thumbnail: Photography ©AlinaMaksimova | Thinkstock. 

Read more about cat sounds on Catster.com:

• 9 Weird Cat Sounds and What They Mean
• Cat Trilling: Why It Happens and What Your Cat Is Telling You
• Let’s Talk Cat Growling — Why Does Your Cat Growl and How Should You React?

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