5 Tips on How to Feed You Feline

1. Nutrition is important to all animals, but felines have some specific nutritional guidelines. Your first look at a bag of cat food should ensure that it has the American Association of Feed Control Official (AAFCO) approval stated on the bag. While this does not mean glamorous or high end, it is proof of sound nutrition. 
2. Dry food is the common "go to" for feline owners, because it is easy to feed, and can stay out in a bowl all day without spoiling. The act of crunching dry food is good for teeth and gums and is a pleasing act for your cat. Additionally, dry food is frequently the most cost effective option for feeding your feline. 
3. Canned food typically has a higher moisture content. This moisture is helpful to cats with the common complaints of urinary tract problems, diabetes and kidney disease. And moisture helps compensate for a cat's low thirst drive. Higher protein levels are usually found in wet foods which helps the cat satisfy its carnivore background (remember, they have never forgotten that their forefathers were jungle cats!) while delivering the correct nutritional intake. In truth, a mix of dry and canned food is ideal, where there is a balance of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. 
4. Keep an eye on your cat's weight. If you notice that "kitty" is getting rotund, cut back on the portions, and stop the treats. Obesity only leads to poor health.  
5. Cats need water, not milk products! Always have fresh water available, even if you don't think you ever see your cat with his head in the water bowl. Good water intake is one of the single most important factors in keeping your feline friend on the right track. 

Safety for the Outdoor Cat

With the estimated 80 million cats in the US, approximately 45% live outdoors, with others living inside but having access to an outdoor tour. It is important to recognize the specific needs of the outdoor cat.   Assisi Animal Health suggests the following 6 tips for your feline.

1. Control the neighborhood population, spay or neuter your cat at an appropriate age.  This will also help control some of the wanderlust.
2. Cats with an "outdoor lifestyle" have specific needs.   Most important to overall health is having them vaccinated for both the legal (rabies) and disease-related issues they will be exposed to. 
3. Identify your cat with a microchip.   It requires a quick trip to your vet, but provides a lifetime of identification in case "kitty" gets the urge to roam.
4. Use appropriate flea and tick products, and heartworm preventative.   
5. NEVER declaw a cat that is exposed to the outdoors.  Their claws protect them from predators, and allow them to climb trees to avoid attack.  
6. Make sure your "outdoor cat" has nutritious food and water available at all times. The rations for an outdoor cat are usually bigger, to accommodate their additional exercise opportunities. Remember, in winter, outdoor animals require additional caloric intake to keep warm. Do not substitute milk or other products for water. While "a saucer of cream" sounds yummy, cats are actually sensitive to milk products.
7. Provide a safe resting place that will be good year-round, in heat and in cold. This can be a home-made solution, or one of the professional products that are specifically designed for all-weather protection. There will be temperatures where it is important for your cat to have access to the indoors, even if it is just a crack in the garage door or the garden shed.

How to Detect Pain in Your Cat

By nature, felines avoid any tip off that they are experiencing pain. It relates to their survival mentality where the jungle cat who exhibited any weakness became prey for the stronger cat.

Today's knowledgeable cat owners will verify their domestic cat carries inherited traits of their jungle forefathers and have never forgotten the urge to hunt, stalk, and survive.

The trait of hiding pain makes it extremely difficult to detect discomfort, particularly in its early stages. Early indicators can be subtle including consuming less water and food, a small change in attitude, less desire to be in the family mix (too much time spent under a chair observing), low energy, and perhaps even mild lameness. 

The progression of pain will often lead to more obvious signs such as lack of grooming, as a result of the discomfort incurred when bending their bodies to lick and clean.  Perhaps the cat that greeted you each morning on the kitchen counter by the coffee maker is now on the floor at your feet. As the need to hide pain increases, you could note more time spent in another room alone and less use of the litter box due to the difficulty getting into the box and the body positioning needed to defecate. 

The message is BE WATCHFUL. If you see any indication that there is a change in your cat's normal routine, consider this a potential sign for pain. Your first call should be to your veterinarian for a complete examination. Do not self-prescribe any medication. Cats are extremely sensitive to drugs and they have very few safe options in pain control, even short-term. If you do detect signs of pain in your feline, caution should be used when palpating or examining. The most loving cat will bite and scratch when you examine the painful area. 

National Feral Cat Day® Celebrated Worldwide Oct. 16

Cat advocates worldwide have scheduled over 700 events to advocate for the lives of cats and kittens on the 15th anniversary of National Feral Cat Day, Friday, Oct. 16, 2015. Inspired by this year's theme,Evolution of the Cat Revolution, supporters are committing to make their own evolution in working toward animal control and sheltering practices that protect the lives of all cats.

"Our incredible success in promoting Trap-Neuter-Return for feral cats as a mainstream practice has saved countless lives, but there's more to be done," said Becky Robinson, president and founder of Alley Cat Allies, the advocacy organization that established National Feral Cat Day. "We encourage cat advocates to continue with their own local evolution by taking the next step. It could be neutering a cat, speaking at a community meeting or spearheading a campaign for a local Trap-Neuter-Return ordinance. There's always room to grow."

More than 1,500 events have taken place on this day since 2011. Volunteers are organizing spay/neuter clinics, arranging educational sessions, encouraging official governmental proclamations, and raising funds to support local Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs.

Hundreds of these local, volunteer-driven events are listed on nationalferalcatday.org, which also has ideas that people can use to celebrate in their own communities.

Alley Cat Allies, the nation's only national advocacy organization dedicated to the protection and humane treatment of cats, established National Feral Cat Day as a call to action to raise awareness about feral (or community) cats, promote Trap-Neuter-Return, and empower and mobilize the millions of compassionate Americans who care for them.

Community cats are the same species as pet cats, but they live outdoors and are unowned and not socialized to people. Through Trap-Neuter-Return, community cats are humanely trapped and brought to a veterinarian to be evaluated, spayed or neutered, and vaccinated. While under anesthesia, the cats are eartipped – a small portion of the left ear is painlessly removed for identification. After they recover from the sterilization surgery, they are returned to their outdoor home.

Trap-Neuter-Return is the only effective method of stabilizing cat colony populations. In the last decade, the number of local governments with official policies endorsing TNR has increased tenfold, with hundreds of cities and towns successfully carrying out TNR programs.

Follow all the activities for National Feral Cat Day on social media with the #feralcatday hashtag.

About Alley Cat AlliesAlley Cat Allies, headquartered in Bethesda, Md., is the only national advocacy organization dedicated to the protection and humane treatment of cats. Founded in 1990, today Alley Cat Allies has more than 600,000 supporters and helps tens of thousands of individuals, communities and organizations save and improve the lives of millions of cats and kittens nationwide. Its website iswww.alleycat.org, and Alley Cat Allies is active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and YouTube.

Pet Parents and Furry Companions United in "One Health"

 It's no secret that a large—and growing—majority of U.S. pet owners consider their pets to be part of the family, and this human-animal bond is one of the most important factors behind pet owners' willingness to spend generously on pet products and services, according to Packaged Facts, a market research publisher with a diverse catalog of reports on pet products and services.  It's a trend that pet product marketers and retailers have catered to for several years. And these days the strength of the human-animal bond in which pet parents are willing to spend more to aid in the health and longevity of their companions has even begun to influence activity outside the traditional realm of services designed for pets.

Part of the reason why pet owners are spending more on their companions is because not only do they increasingly view their pets as family, but research indicates that an investment in their pets is also in many ways an investment in themselves.  It's a concept that some experts in the medical industry refer to as "one health," or the idea that human health is connected to animal health and the environment. According to Packaged Facts' Pet Owner Survey data from January 2015, three out of four dogs owners report being healthier and happier because of their canine companions:  38% strongly agree and 36% somewhat agree that their dogs have a positive impact on their physical health, and 44% strongly agree and 36% somewhat agree that their dogs have a positive impact on their mental health.  The ratings for cat ownership are nearly as thumbs up: 34% of cat owners strongly agree and 31% somewhat agree that their cats have a positive impact on their physical health, and 41% strongly agree and 33% somewhat agree that their cats have a positive impact on their mental health.

There are several examples over the past several years that point to the blurring lines between products designed for humans and those designed for pets. The shift extends not only to retail products such as human grade pet food, but also to the veterinary segment. For example, highly regarded Johns Hopkins University recently opened the Center for Image-Guided Animal Therapy. The new center allows Johns Hopkins to provide pets with many of the same advanced equipment and procedures that benefit humans, including imaging tools to diagnose pets and services involving image-guided biopsies and minimally invasive procedures. John Hopkins, renowned for its contributions to human medicine and unaffiliated with any veterinary schools, can now assist various veterinarians from outside practices who need to bring dogs, cats, and more exotic pet patients to the university for advanced diagnostic scans and therapies.

The cost for these imaging procedures is no small sum for pet owners, yet it's no surprise that so many pet owners are willing to foot the bill, especially considering that spending on veterinary services overall has been on the uptick. In the soon to be released reportU.S. Pet Market Outlook, 2015-2016, Packaged Facts estimates that the veterinary services segment (including pet products sold through the channel) is the pet industry's second largest, with $23 billion in revenue in 2014, up 5%.  Solid growth is expected for the future, and the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the veterinary services segment between 2014-2019 is projected to be 5%.