Why Bring Your Cat to the Groomer?

1. Eliminates dander (which can cause allergic reactions in people)

2. Reduces hairballs

3. Less shedding

We can groom your cat and clip its nails.

Call to make an appointment! (202) 986-7907

by Wendy-Jon Campos, Groomer

Circus Dogs and Cats!

Dogs were Gregory Popovich's first baby sitters, his first friends. Born into a circus family - his parents were jugglers and dog trainers - Popovich learned early on that the bond between people and animals is strong. So after years of performing as a juggler with the Moscow and Ringling Brothers circuses, Popovich said it only seemed natural to get the four-legged members of his family in on the act.

For the past 10 years, The World Famous Popovich Comedy Pet Theater has delighted audiences with physical comedy, juggling and the antics of Popovich's trained dogs and "cooperative" house cats.

"You can't 'train' a cat to do anything it doesn't want to do," joked Popovich.

In Russia, shelters for animals don't exist, he said. So it was wonderful to come to the United States and see programs that aid pets in need. All of the animals from the Popovich Comedy Pet Theater, which includes 16 cats, 12 dogs, six white rats, six white doves and "five well-trained Russians" are adopted from animal shelters, he added.

The tricks the animals perform aren't dangerous or extreme, Popovich said. Their part in the show is more about funny skits than jumping through flaming hoops. In choosing his performers, Popovich looks for "personality" above all else.

"I try to build on the animal's natural habits," he said. "I want to make (performing) fun for them."

While it saddens Popovich to think about any animal as being unwanted, he said it's important to support organizations that focus on preventing pet overpopulation and work to find every animal a good home.

"My pets all got a second chance," Popovich said. "Other animals should have that, too."

Your Cat's Real Age

Everyone wants the question answered: “How old is my cat?” The old, outdated idea was that one human year is equivalent to seven cat years. More accurately, the first two years of a cat's life are roughly equivalent to the first 25 years of human life; thereafter, each calendar year is roughly equivalent to four feline years.

Aside from this formula, there are other caveats that play a role in determining your cat’s age; such as environment, diet, and mental health. To determine your cat’s real age, look at the conversion chart pictured below to determine your cat’s human age. Then, subtract years from your cat’s human age, when applicable, after answering the following questions:

Do you keep your cat safe and secure inside your home at all times? If so, subtract 7 years from your cat’s human age.

Keeping your cat indoors reduces his or her risk of attack by other cats, dogs, coyotes, and other predators, as well as reduces the risk of being hit by a car—one of the most common outdoor threats. Your cat will also be less likely to contract disease or parasites and less likely to require emergency treatment.

Is your cat spayed or neutered? If so, subtract 5 years from your cat’s human age.

Having your female cat spayed helps minimize the risk of mammary cancer and having your male cat neutered protects him from testicular cancer and prostate problems.

Does your cat visit the veterinarian at least once a year? If so, subtract 4 yrs from your cat’s human age.

Annual examinations allow your vet the opportunity to evaluate your cat's health and detect feline health problems before they turn into serious cat diseases or illnesses.

Do you make sure that meat is the first ingredient in your cat’s food? If so, subtract 4 years from your cat’s human age.

The ingredient that is listed first makes up the biggest part of the food, so seek out cat food where a named meat (chicken, turkey, beef, etc) is the first ingredient and avoid unnamed foods (poultry by-products, wheat gluten, etc.). Always follow your veterinarian’s instructions for feeding a sick or senior cat requiring special prescription cat food.

Does your cat have a proportional figure, with slightly padded ribs and a distinct waist? If so, subtract 2 years from your cat’s human age.

Overweight cats are more susceptible to certain health conditions. Excess weight increases a cat's risk of health complications that can affect the respiratory, cardiovascular, and skeletal systems. One easy way to combat overweight cats is to cut back on the treats. Kitty treats should compromise no more than 10% of your cat’s total daily diet. Talk to your veterinarian for more information if you think your cat is overweight.

Do you have a variety of feline-friendly toys and encourage your cat to play for at least 15 minutes per day? If so, subtract 2 years from your cat’s human age.

Playing with your cat is the simplest way to maintain your cat's overall health. Playtime helps increase metabolism, minimize weight gain, and boost circulation.

Is your home free from toxins such as cigarette smoke, poisonous plants, rat poison, phenol and ammonia household cleaners? If so, subtract 2 years from your cat’s human age.

Research shows that the chances of developing smoking-related cancers, as well as lung infections, respiratory problems, asthma and other feline health problems are greater for cats living in smoking environments. And keeping your household free from poisonous plants and other types of toxins helps keep your cat safe.

Do you brush your cat’s teeth and/or regularly give dental treats? If so, subtract 1 year from your cat’s human age.

Periodontal disease, caused by plaque buildup, can ultimately affect various organs of the body and the nervous system if left untreated. Cats over the age of five years old become more susceptible to dental diseases, so it is important to keep your pet's teeth and gums clean with regular home dental care. If brushing your cat’s teeth seems too daunting, try giving dental treats. C.E.T. Home Dental Care makes a line of cat dental treats that can be purchased online.

Please be aware that this real age test is only a guideline and there are other determinants such as genetics that may factor into your cat’s age. As always, talk to your veterinarian for more information on how to help your cat live a long and healthy life!

Howling Mad!

Scientists studying feline defensive rage liken it to human anger, saying that both emerge and unleash in the brain.

With each such advance in the understanding of the mammalian brain’s recipe for rage, scientists seem to be moving closer to developing medications to quell violent behavior in humans and other mammals.

In cats, such therapies may prevent the hissing, back arching, ear retraction, claw extensions and fur standing-on-end that are typical indicators of feline defensive rage.

In humans, related anger reveals itself with road rage, an impulsive form of anger that involves little or no thought.

“In road rage, the person never thinks about what he is doing but just acts in the way he does because he feels that he has been threatened by someone else and the impulsive behavior represents a way by which he can protect himself from such a threat,” Discovery News quoted co-author Allan Siegel, a professor in the Department of Neurology & Neurosciences at New Jersey Medical School in Newark, as saying.

“In reality, his actions are usually much more dangerous to him than to the person whom he perceived cut him off on the road,” added Siegel.

Previous studies had shown that anger is centered in the medial hypothalamus region of the brain.

In the latest study, the researchers electrically stimulated this brain region in 10 female cats, creating feline defensive rage among them. When a protein called an interleukin was introduced into the anger region of the cats brains, it fueled the felines rage.

Siegel says that the protein somehow attaches to a serotonin receptor, which is a critical neurotransmitter that helps inhibit everything from sleep to vomiting to sex and hunger in humans.

The researcher says that for anger, the interleukin reacts with the serotonin, and causes the neuron to which the serotonin is attached to discharge.

Before long, many neurons in the region start to discharge at a high rate, causing the individual to fall into a rage and behave defensively.

Since wild cats are very territorial, says Siegel, zoo tigers feel threatened and act aggressively whenever they face intruders, whether in zoo or in the wild.

An expert, who did not participate in the research, agreed with the findings outlines in the new study. "There is a possibility that new targets for therapeutic management of aggressive behaviour in humans can be developed,” said Hreday Sapru, director of Neurosurgical Laboratories at the New Jersey Medical School.

“In addition, this discovery may provide a basis for future studies that will unravel the underlying mechanisms of aggression and other related behaviors in animals,” Sapru added.

The findings have been accepted for publication in the journal Brain, Behaviour, and Immunity.

The Digital Catflap!

Your pet door gives you cat access to outdoors; but is it too much access? Think about getting a CatMate!

The CatMate is a catflap that uses RFID (radio frequency identification) technology to restrict your cat's movements in and out of the house. Plus, you have different settings for each of up to seven cats!

Who Says You Can't Train a Cat?

Cats are Good for Your Heart?!

Whether it's a frisky kitten or a tubby tabby, a cat at home could cut your heart attack risk by almost a third, a new study suggests.

The finding, from a 10-year study of more than 4,300 Americans, suggests that the stress relief pets provide humans is heart-healthy.

And dog lovers shouldn't feel left out: Although the study found no such benefit from "man's best friend," that's probably because there simply weren't enough dog owners in the study to draw firm conclusions, the researchers said.

"For years we have known that psychological stress and anxiety are related to cardiovascular events, particularly heart attacks," noted study senior author Dr. Adnan Qureshi, executive director of the Minnesota Stroke Institute at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

According to Qureshi, the new research shows that "essentially there is a benefit in relieving those inciting factors from pets."

The stress-cardiovascular disease link is well-documented in scientific literature, and the affection and pleasure pets give humans is a known stress-buster. In fact, one study presented in 2005 at an American Heart Association meeting found that a single 12-minute visit with a dog improved the heart and lung function of people with heart failure.

In the new study, Qureshi's team analyzed data on 4,435 Americans, aged 30 to 75, who took part in the federal government's second National Health and Nutrition Examination Study, which ran from 1976-1980. According to the data in the survey, 2,435 of the participants either owned a cat or had owned a cat in the past, while the remaining 2,000 had never done so.

Qureshi's team then tracked rates of death from all causes, including heart and stroke.

Cat owners "appeared to have a lower rate of dying from heart attacks" over 10 years of follow-up compared to feline-free folk, Qureshi said.

The magnitude of the effect -- a 30 percent reduction in heart attack risk -- "was a little bit surprising," he added. "We certainly expected an effect, because we thought that there was a biologically plausible mechanism at work. But the magnitude of the effect was hard to predict."

Qureshi -- proud owner of his own feline, Ninja -- stressed that dogs probably would bring people the same kind of benefit, but the numbers of dog owners in the study wasn't big enough to count statistically.

Kathie Cole, a clinical nurse at the UCLA Medical Center and School of Nursing and the lead author of the 2005 dog-and-heart-failure study, said she wasn't surprised by the Minnesota findings.

"I would be inclined to think that any animal that is perceived as meaningful to a person in a positive way would have health benefits," Cole said. She pointed to multiple studies that have found that animal companions "have a calming effect in regard to mental stressors."

Both researchers believe pet ownership should be perceived as a low-cost, low-risk medical intervention that can potentially save or extend lives, especially for the elderly. "The problem right now is that so many apartment buildings or nursing homes aren't allowing animals in," Cole said. "That's the problem I see from a community standpoint."

Qureshi agreed that cats, dogs or other pets may bring tangible medical benefits to owners.

"This opens a whole new avenue or intervention that we hadn't looked at before, one that can be made at the public level," he said. And unlike drugs or surgery, pet ownership "doesn't appear to have any risks to it," he added.

Savannah Scandal Cats!

The seizure by Dutch authorities last month of three exotic cats that a U.S.-based “designer” pet company says it created has sparked allegations by some cat breeders that the felines aren't what they are advertised to be.
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LifeStyle Pets says the Ashera cat, shown on the company's Web site, is the result of a "proprietary blend" of exotic bloodlines.

On Jan. 17, customs officials confiscated three so-called Ashera cats marketed by Delaware-based LifeStyle Pets, and are investigating whether the large cats with leopardlike spots violate an international treaty that forbids the sale or trade of protected species and their offspring.

LifeStyle Pets, which claims that the trademarked Ashera is the result of a “proprietary blend” of exotic bloodlines and are “unique in that genetic monitoring is used to standardize breeding,” sold one of the three confiscated cats for 27,000 euros, about $40,000, to a Dutch couple, according to accounts in the Dutch press. In the United States, LifeStyle offers the Ashera for $22,000 to $27,000, according to its Web site.

But a U.S. cat breeder claims that at least two of the three animals seized in the Netherlands are not Asheras but Savannah F1 cats – which commonly sell for $5,000 to $6,500 – and were purchased from his Pennsylvania breeding facility last month.

LifeStyle Pets is an offshoot of Allerca, a company once based in San Diego that made national headlines in 2006 with its claim to have developed a cat that is virtually free of sneeze-inducing allergens.

Chris Shirk of Cutting Edge Cats, a Pennsylvania Savannah breeder, said he identified the alleged Ashera cats as his from several pictures that ran in the Dutch press, including Amsterdam's De Telegraaf, the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper. One photo shown by Dutch media is one that Shirk said he took and used in advertising his Savannah cats online, he said.

Shirk said he sold three young male F1 Savannah cats to Martin Stucki of A1 Savannahs, an Oklahoma cat breeder, and shipped them by air Jan. 11.

“I'm positive two of the cats are mine from the photos I've seen, and I suspect the third one is as well,” said Shirk, who said he has filed a claim with Dutch authorities to reclaim the cats and provided them with litter certificates, photos and other documentation to prove their lineage. “I'm very distraught about this; it is just wrong, it is fraudulent.”

Shirk said he has also offered to provide DNA samples of the alleged parents of the cats so Dutch authorities can compare them with DNA samples from the three contested cats.

Allerca was based in San Diego until late 2006, when the company announced it would move to Los Angeles, and it later reincorporated in Delaware. Time magazine placed Allerca's hypoallergenic cat on its Best Inventions of 2006 list.

Yet Allerca and LifeStyle Pets have also generated skepticism among geneticists, allergists and traditional cat breeders, who question whether the companies have accomplished what they claim. Allerca, which sells its sneeze-free cats for $7,900, has not released peer-reviewed scientific data or submitted it for peer review in a scientific journal.

Some critics have expressed concerns about Brodie, who has a history of failed companies and a criminal conviction involving a business venture in his native Britain. Brodie was sentenced to 2½ years in jail for accounting fraud for his role in the 1992 demise of Cloudhoppers, a hot air balloon-flight business.

In 2006, the California Department of Corporations ordered Allerca and Brodie to stop offering or selling cat franchises in California. The company had been marketing the franchises – at $45,000 a territory – on its Web site and in e-mails to residents of California and other states.

Among Brodie's more recent woes, last year Allerca was suspended from doing business in California because the company had failed to pay state taxes since 2004. And three former Brodie employees won judgments last year against Allerca and another Brodie company, Cyntegra, for about $220,000 in unpaid salaries and severance.

The attorney for one of the employees, San Diegan Brendan O'Dwyer, testified before the California Labor Commission that Allerca had “a lot of cash flow problems and has tried to skirt its responsibilities in a number of ways,” according to court records.

Allerca is now part of LifeStyle Pets, according to its Web site.

Roel Vincken, a spokesman for the Netherlands General Inspectorate, said the three young male cats seized by Dutch customs are being well cared for and won't be destroyed.

He said they were seized at the border because their shipment appeared to violate an international treaty known as CITIES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora. One cat was being shipped to a couple in the Netherlands, while the other two were in transit to other countries, Vincken said.

“Customs could tell they were not everyday cats that were being shipped,” Vincken said. “They have the looks of a wild animal.”

Vincken said that if the cats' immediate bloodline includes African Serval and Asian Leopard, as LifeStyle Pet's Web site claims, then trafficking in them might violate the CITIES treaty. The agency will conclude its investigation within two weeks, he said.

A Chicago-based Savannah cat breeder and broker, Cynthia King, also identified from the Dutch photos one of the young cats seized in the Netherlands as a product of Shirk's Savannah cat breeding facility. She said she had tried to help Shirk sell the cats last month.

In 2006, King said Brodie tried to purchase five to seven first-generation female Savannahs from her, but she said he used an assumed name – Campbell Francis – and said he was from a company called Monsenco Capital. The deal never went through because Brodie did not send the check.

At the time, Brodie acknowledged the subterfuge after the address on the King contract was identified as the one Brodie used on a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office application for the Ashera trademark, but he said he did not use his real identity so he would not be “gouged” on the price.

At the time, Brodie said his company's cat breeding experts asked him to acquire the Savannahs for the purpose of devising “the right formula” for the Ashera. Brodie said the company, using unspecified “genetic techniques” and artificial insemination, had combined components of three breeds to create the Ashera.

He also said that while the Ashera would look similar to a Savannah, it is not a Savannah.

Cat Matcher

Do you like your cat?

For some people the honeymoon with their new cat is over within days -- and that's why the Central California Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has started to give its cats a personality test. The test is known as "Meet Your Match: feline-ality."

"Are you looking for one that will sit down with you, or do you want one that will jump up and play with you?" said Beth Caffrey, volunteer coordinator for the Fresno, Calif., SPCA. "It will make people think about what they want."

There are nine personalities, ranging from shy, quiet and loving to playful, adventurous and downright crazy. Cats are assessed by shelter workers based on their behaviors and interests. Then, using a questionnaire, shelter employees try to match an owner's preferences with the cat's behavior.

For example, Sheetrock, a shelter mascot, displays rambunctious "party animal" traits. Brooks, another shelter mainstay, is Sheetrock's opposite -- a low-key, somewhat shy "private investigator."

Prospective cat owners who come to the shelter or an SPCA adoption site in a pet store are asked to fill out a 16-question survey to identify the type of cat they want to adopt. Then, when they go through the "cattery" portion of the shelter, purple, orange and green cards represent the personality types.

Bill Danner of Sanger, Calif., was searching for a cat to hunt down moles on his property. A large, calm black-and-white male was a good fit, because the cat could contend with Danner's dogs while on the hunt.

"I am looking for a hunter," he said. With some assistance from the cattery's lead person, Beatrice Erwin, he selected his cat.

"He has some scrapes like he's been in some battles," Erwin said.

Karen and Steve Dezso, whose "feline-ality" form pointed to a high-energy cat, took home a gray-and-white kitten after adopting a puppy, too.

While owners learn more about what they want in a pet, the program also plays an important role for shelters. The American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shows that return and euthanasia rates have decreased as much as 40 percent in shelters where the program is used.

CATalyst Summit Results Announced

The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) announced the successful outcome of the CATalyst Summit, which was held Feb. 5-6 in Palm Springs, Calif. Attendees were led by AAFP and represented more than 30 leading organizations and companies including the American Animal Hospital Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Cornell Feline Health Center, Morris Animal Foundation, Winn Feline Foundation and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

These key influentials gathered to discuss how to improve health care for felines, increase responsible pet ownership, enhance the stature of cats and enrich lives. They all agreed there are alarming statistics about the cat that need to be addressed and, as a result, developed an action plan that includes the following five elements:

• Continue to Collaborate Across all Channels
• Develop Feline Life-Stage Guidelines (for veterinarians and pet owners)
• Create Cat-Friendly Veterinary Practices
• Brand the Cat
• Produce a Consumer Awareness Campaign

A steering committee has been formed to determine the structure and organization of CATalyst to carry out the action plan established at the Summit.

"The passion and energy shared by all the participants at the CATalyst Summit was awe-inspiring," Jane Brunt, DVM, Summit chair and past president of the AAFP, said. "Throughout the meeting, we kept in mind that it's all about the cat, and as a result participants from so many areas of the feline world agreed on how we can do our part to help cats."

As an immediate outcome of the Summit, the AAFP and the American Animal Hospital Association announced their plan to partner on developing feline life-stage wellness guidelines for veterinary professionals. Winn Feline Foundation will coordinate the writing of a consumer version of the guidelines with the assistance of writers on its media committee.

The CATalyst Summit was first announced as the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) released the 2007 U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook, which showed an increase in the cat population coupled with a decline in veterinary visits for cats. Jim Flanigan, Director of Marketing for the AVMA, presented the Sourcebook data along with findings from the Perceptions and Attitudes of Pet Owners study from BNResearch. These studies concluded that cats from households with both dogs and cats were seen by the veterinarian significantly less often than dogs from these same households.

More information about The CATalyst Summit is available at the event Web site, http://www.catalystsummit.org/.

Five-legged cat!

EIGHTY-FOUR, Pa. - Cats may have nine lives, but one unique feline has five legs , for now.

The cat, named Babygirl, will undergo surgery to remove the extra leg and another crippled leg.

The operation is expected to improve Babygirl's quality of life, according to the Washington Area Humane Society, where the cat will live until a home can be found for her.

Chrystin Rice, a kennel associate, said a woman brought Babygirl to the shelter on Jan. 19. The woman had first seen the stray animal as a kitten about a year ago in Canonsburg.

Aside from the extra leg, Babygirl appears to be in good health, Rice said Saturday.

"It's actually a really, really nice cat," she said.

A doctor at Metropolitan Veterinary Center in Robinson Township has agreed to perform the operation, though the surgery has not yet been scheduled.

Some people have expressed an interest in Babygirl, but no one has applied to adopt her, Rice said.

"We've had a few calls come in, but everyone's just kind of asking how's she doing, when's the surgery," Rice said.

Associated Press

The Cat in the Bag

A kitten went on an adventure thousands of miles across America after being carried away in its owner's suitcase.

The pet, named Gracie Mae, belonged to Kelly and Seth Levy from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Gracie Mae got a little more than she bargained for after the suitcase she was sleeping in was zipped up and carried off by Mr Levy, who then embarked on a trip to Dallas, Texas.

The kitten was trapped in the bag as it went through the Fort Lauderdale baggage process, was scanned by X-ray machines, loaded onto the plane, flown four hours to Texas and unpacked.

To further complicate the situation, Mr Levy's bag was accidentally picked up by another man at the airport, giving the feline inside something of a shock when the suitcase was opened.

Rob Carter, the traveller who picked up the bag, said: "I went to unpack and saw some of the clothes and saw it wasn't my suitcase. I was going to close it and a kitten jumped out and ran under the bed. I screamed like a little girl."

Mr. Carter called the number on Gracie Mae's collar and was able to meet Mr Levy at Dallas Fort Worth airport so the stowaway could be sent home.

Tim Wagner, an American Airlines spokesman, said it was difficult to understand how airport workers failed to notice the presence of a cat in a bag.