If you look up the word Imperial in the dictionary, one of the definitions reads: “outstanding in size and quality, regal and majestic.” This accurately describes the products manufactured at www.imperialcat.com  the maker of unique and functional kitty scratching pads from tough, corrugated cardboard.

When the Orca scratching pad arrived, my cats went overboard with delight! Although the unit arrives with catnip in a sealed pouch, no such enticement became necessary as my clowder crowded around the whale vying for their turn to perch on the back and claw the tail. The attraction was immediate and while the adults lounged on top, the kittens played underneath, in the belly of the whale.

There are times when new products arrive that my cats’ attention becomes short-lived. They focus on a new product, attacking the strange object as they would a prey item and then walk away never to return. Not with Free Willy- the cats have been a constant companion to this whimsical scratching pad ever since I set it on the floor. In a matter of my own survival, last night at 2:00 a.m. I had to get up out of bed and store Free Willy inside a locked closet so we could get some sleep!

Even with the constant attack of harpooning felines, the corrugated cardboard whale has stayed intact. The kittens seem to enjoy the rocking motion when they pounce on it, and become upset when the adult cats lounge on the whale’s back thus stabilizing the scratching pad.

For pure entertainment value on behalf of you and your cat visit www.imperialcat.com  Take a look at all the grand selections this innovative scratching pad comes in. Then click on a vendor, find your closest location and order one today.

Available in all shapes and sizes- prices vary-

Those doubts were displaced several minutes after I poured the litter into the pans. Several of my cats wandered over attracted by the scent and the temptation of new litter that was just waiting to be christened. My Alphas jumped in the boxes without so much as wrinkling a whisker!  They loved the litter and quite frankly so do I. 

The lavender isn’t so overpowering that it fills the room with perfume. It is a subtle scent that makes litter pan clean-up definitely nicer. There were no cries of litter upheaval during the test period. Interestingly enough, even my two strongest alphas  ceased litter pan ambushes of the other kittens when Fresh Expressions ™ Scoopable litter became available in their boxes. 

Lavender has long been used for both external and internal issues in people and pets. How insightful to take this flower scent, that retains the ability to calm and mildly sedate those in the immediate area and put that in with scoopable litter.  

Besides generating longer cat naps with the felines here,  Fresh Step® Fresh Expressions™ Scoopable Litter in Lavender Scent also cut down on the routine cat box odor in the room. This is now the preferred litter of choice with the Miller Gang!

More information available at http://www.freshstep.com/ 

At moderncritter.com you are presented with cat furniture that puts the word FINE back  in refinement. True craftmanship molds and shapes this wood, forming a polished piece of furniture. The Miller Crew became receptive to the scratcher being placed on the floor versus hanging on the wall. One note, if you decide to hang your scratcher, the brackets are included and the installation is quick and easy. However, on my piece, the level included in the box didn’t allow for the scratcher to hang straight. I used my own level to get the piece to hang correctly.

The bent plywood cat scratcher provides your kitty with a comfortable place to nap,  stretch her back and sharpen her claws. Made of 5/8″ thick molded plywood, covered in a rich walnut veneer, the piece is  heavy and may require some assistance to mount on the wall.  The FLOR carpet tiles are easy to install. You can change-up the color and pattern to fit any of your room decor easily.

The Miller Cats are enjoying this combination perch/bed and scratcher and in an age where the purrsonal touch is mostly nonexistant, at moderncritter.com, the artist brings back into focus an originality and distinctiveness fit for a king, or in this case, any of your feline companions sharing your world.

Order through http://www.moderncritter.com/ 

Coming into the room to discover what trouble was brewing, the smell sent me reeling back. Tomcat urine is quite potent. The military would do well to make it a weapon of mass destruction! 

Retrieving my black light, I doused the lights and swept the light over the room. I saw the telltale glow covering my file cabinets, books, paneling and carpet. He had even left his pee graffiti on our ceiling! My own feline stealth bombers were investigating the areas he left. When I saw the familiar quiver and tails starting to rise, I knew I had to act quickly.

 I grabbed up the latest product for removal of cat urine odor- Wee Cleaner Following the green glow reflected from the black light, I marked all the places outlining them with masking tape. Switching on the lights and viewing the long trail of tape, I knew my work was cut out for me. I just hoped Wee Cleaner would live up to the challenge. Using rubber gloves (the caution on the container said it might cause irritation to sensitive skin) I set to work. With a spray bottle, I liberally covered all areas with a generous amount of Wee Cleaner. Then, I let the areas air dry.  Because I share my home with multiple cats, when it comes to odor removers, I have a long history  with the products available. On the market today dozens of pet urine odor removers that use  stronger scents to remove the initial smell of pet urine from what humans can smell exist. Only a handful of odor removers effectively removes the odor so the cats can’t smell it. There are over 200 million smell-detecting cells in a cat’s nose. When they smell intruder cat urine, their response is to cover the area with their own spray. It can be a vicious cycle to break.

When you deal with multiple cats, urine in your carpet, your walls or even your ceiling, can become quite a battle.

24 hours after the application of Wee Cleaner, there were no repeat attacks. Wee Cleaner is biodegradable- phosphate free and feline-friendly. No animal testing is involved with the making of this product. No dyes are used. You will need to the test the surfaces being treated first to check for color steadfastness. Place a small amount in an inconspicuous area and wait 24 hours to see what develops. Do not use Wee Cleaner on metal surfaces, silks, leathers and non-colorfast surfaces as discoloration may occur. When it comes to combating urine odor, I am relieved to have Wee Cleaner added to my arsenal. 

Order through www.weecleaner.com available in 32 oz. or 1 gallon container. Comes with a money-back guarantee.)

As I turn the pages, I am reminded by short passages and amusing watercolors, how sweet life is when you share that life with a cat. “Don’t be a show-off!” reminds one page as an orange-striped tomcat does a one paw handstand on a fence next to two not even amused Queens. “Be Flexible” another passage encourages as a kitty stretches from end to end on someone’s lap.

I see many of my cats’  reflected on these pages. Many of the characteristics only understood by true cat lovers show on each page- “Live in the Moment…”Be Your Brother’s Keeper” and other sayings keeps you smiling ear-to-ear.

At the end of the book, I am craving more of these wisdoms, needing more smiles and giggles and rememberances of dear feline friends long passed.

 And now, if you will excuse me, I believe it is time for me to stop and smell the catnip…………

Cats need to scratch- it proves their dominance, leaves their mark, sheds off old brittle nail coverings and stretches their back and leg muscles. Scratch Lounge isn’t flimsy and lives up to all  feline expectations able to withstand the constant scratching activity without sliding all over the floor or leaving cardboard shreds on the carpet.  

Most cats enjoy roughness against their skin and the Scratch Lounge supplies this requirement. If the Miller kitties aren’t using the Scratch Lounge for scratching purposes, they are using it for napping purposes! So our sofa gets a double break, the cats aren’t using the sofa for their scratching games and they are sleeping on the Scratch Lounge instead of the couch cushions.   

It arrives fully encased in it’s own cardboard frame. Just a tip, if you have only one or two cats, leaving the box completely encircling the pad is a good idea. If you have more than two kitties, take off the end flaps and fold them down. The kitties will likely need a quick get-away as the alphas challenge them for the privilege of using this product. 

Made in the USA (and not many products are these days) some of the proceeds from the sale of a Scratch Lounge are donated to animal rescue to help with spay and neuter costs. It’s a win-win situation however you look at it.In the Miller home, the Scratch Lounge was an instant hit.

Order at http://www.scratchlounge.com/index.htm 

If you are a multi-cat home- order several- your cats will purrsonally thank you!

The PetsGuard collar removes this angst for owner and cat. There are ¼ cut pullouts in the center for easy fitting, but before pulling these out, test the collar by sliding it over your cat’s head with a twisting motion.

Sounds a bit easy doesn’t it? For cats brought up with love and laps of comfort, I suppose it would be. But for my feral crew, I have to sometimes think outside the litter box. My cats don’t like new objects, especially objects that dare to touch them. This collar could interfere with their whiskers (a sensitive area) so in placing the collar, I carefully manuevered it around their whiskers.  

Although the kitties were first intimidated by the collar. The PetsGuard Cat Collar turned out to be open to feline investigation. The soft foam carried an interesting smell, not one that my kitties responded to. I grabbed the Feliway Spray and gave the collar a light spritzing. Now, it smelled “friendly.”

Meeting opposition with some of the clan, I brought out the treats, placing Kitty Kaviar in the center of the collar and holding the collar up to the group until Everest took the plunge and stuck his head through the center to grab the treat, I quickly pushed the collar over his head in a twisting motion. The process took only a few seconds and the PetsGuard Collar was on before he knew it.  I then held him on my lap. He calmed down a few minutes later, and other than shaking his head a few times, he was fine.  Over the next few days, I tried the collar on several more of my team. None of them had major objections so long as I offered treats along with the collar. 

The cats can wiggle out of the collar, especially the kittens. The older cats are more accepting and after a fashion they resign themselves to the fact that the collar isn’t going anywhere without them. They were able to eat and drink easily. I even used this collar when I was treating a new arrival for a bad case of ear mites. For the first time, I didn’t get scratched after the medicine was applied, and Trumps ears didn’t turn bright red because he couldn’t get past the collar to scratch his ears and shake the medicine all over the room.

Compared to the stiff e-collar from your vet’s office, PetsGuard Collar comes out on top. The foam does get scratched easily, but it would take a lot of time and effort for a cat to work her way through all the padding and reach the site being protected.

It’s nice to know that during my next feline emergency- I have a collar waiting in the wings that will keep kitty from doing more damage to herself. 

Order at http://petsguard.com/default.aspx

Several of my cats are not fond of being brushed with any grooming tool. Claws come out and teeth are bared whenever they even think I am getting close to them with the dreaded brushes or combs. I did not find this to be true with the FURminator.

In fact, my special needs kitty who dislikes anything touching her skin, began purring and kneading when I used the FURminator on her.

*It is important to note that the grooming session should not exceed 10-15 minutes. You might be tempted to go longer, but if you do, your kitty might lose more hair than you want her to.*

The FURmintor removes a lot of unwanted and excess hair. If there are small mats hiding in the undercoat, the FURminator will remove those with ease. The larger mats wouldn’t budge.

Besides reducing the shedding factor, the FURminator is a great hairball preventative. If someone in your home is allergic to pet dander, this tool should be part of your grooming routine. The bonding between you and your cat is also strengthened, for unlike other rakes and combs, the FURminator is gentle on the sensitive skin of your cat and doesn’t pull the hair, just gently removes it.

Visit the website at www.FURminator.com and take a look at the shampoos, conditioner and deshedding solutions also available.

Although many cat owners attribute their cat tearing and scratching the carpet as “bad behavior,” the truth is, cats need to scratch on all sorts of firm surfaces. Scratching allows them to shed off the castings of their claws, sharpen their tips while leaving their mark stating they have been there. Scratching on solid objects also permits them the opportunity to stretch their back muscles. They don’t scratch out of boredom or to upset the humans in their lives. They scratch purely by instinct.

When the cat scratch box arrived, my cats were immediately intrigued running over to take a look at the newest cat product in the house. Set in an attractive mahogany frame, the scratching pad measured 14”x28” making it large enough for more than one cat at a time to enjoy. Immediately, my alphas’ Matuse and Oliver claimed their right to this fine piece of feline furniture. As their claws found purchase in the filler (heavy-duty industrial corrugated cardboard, I braced myself waiting for the filler to fly across the room. It held fast. The noise of the scratching brought the other cats in at a run. They jostled each other striving for better position as they all marked this scratching pad to claim ownership.

The catscratch box has been here now over two weeks. Besides adding a touch of elegance to our front room, the catscratch box also doubles as a cat bed for my crew. More than once while making my rounds at night (doing a head count) I find three or four of the kittens laying on the cardboard surface purring their night’s content.

Our “sacrificial sofa upstairs (this old sofa was purchased at the thrift store) for the sole purpose of being a scratching post for the cats isn’t getting much action these days. During vacuum sessions, it only takes a minute to sweep across the corrugated surface and suck up any loose pieces wedged inside.

The beauty of this catscratchbox over the rest not only lies in the custom craftsmanship, but when one side of the cardboard wears down, all you have to do is simply flip the box over and you have a brand new scratching pad!

Although catnip arrives with the box (as an added enticement) the use of catnip wasn’t necessary. My cats gravitated towards the box, first of all because it was a new smell in their territory, and second of all, because cats are highly curious creatures. They are using this box and are purrfectly contented to give it a high mark on their appreciation scale.

Order at www.catscratchbox.com or call 1-978-416-7045

Racking my brain to find a solution, I remembered a recently acquired product, Snugglekittie. This was the brainchild of Julee Roth of Aspen, Colorado. Its primary objective is to offer comfort to motherless kittens and nervous pets.

Equipped with two separate heat sources and a battery-powered heart that duplicates the heartbeat of a mother cat when activated, Snugglekittie is so well thought-out in design, that even its eyes and nose are simply outlined in stitching. This is done in an effort to stop an active kitten, from removing detachable pieces and possibly choking.

Borrowing a chapter from Nature, the manufacturers of Snugglekittie created a pouch in the belly. Just as a mom kangaroo nurtures her Joey where he can be warm, smell her scent and be calmed by her beating heart, so can a distressed domestic animal have his or her fears allayed. For within this Snugglekittie pouch, is held the heart, the heat packs and that all-important unwashed sock of the owner, which assures your pet, that you are nearby.

Kubota and his howls of outrage prompted movement, and I grabbed Snugglekittie and headed upstairs… Twenty minutes later, I was settled back down in front of the computer. The house was peaceful. As the computer booted up, I found myself marveling at the scene I had just been privy to. Kubota had immediately leaped onto my lap to greet me. When I offered him Snugglekittie, he just gave it three perfunctory sniffs, and then turned his attention back to me. I broke open a heat pack, turned on the heart, and slid both items, along with an unwashed sock back into the pouch. I then placed Kubota near it, and watched as he began to knead the back and head vigorously.

Once he had mashed down Snugglekittie to his own desire, he settled on top of the belly and closed his eyes. Reasonably sure that when I moved, he would leap up and once again demand my lap, I carefully slid off towards the end of the couch. I was impressed when he remained calm and did not stir. I tiptoed out of the room, turned off the lights and left him and his new buddy alone.

The two retained their close friendship during the entire week that Kubota was in confinement. Peace prevailed; Snugglekittie had delivered on its promise. Every year in the springtime, kitten season brings me batches of orphaned babies. It has been difficult to watch these infants grow up with no mother to cuddle them and no heart songs to help ease them to the transition from womb to independence. But now, armed with Snugglekittie, I am prepared and even looking forward to these new arrivals! Order at www.snuggleme.com  Beware of imitations! This is the original creator’s website