Tag: petparents

Posted in cats, experience, health, kittens, pet parents, routine, training

An Update on a Work in Progress

Posted on by peanut& donut

Hello everyone, we have been missing for awhile. The pawrents have been slightly busy, but today we have decided to give you guys an update on a long term project that we have been working on for a few months now.

Some of you may know that Dodo has always been an aloof and sometimes grumpy cat. She wasn’t always like this of course, she was quite a playful kitten when she first came. However, as she grew older, she seemed to mellow down a lot. For the longest time we just took it as her transitioning into adulthood and that is just her personality. Pea Pea joining the family didn’t really do much difference either although she did seem to take on the role of a mother/elder sister, grooming him, allowing him to follow her wherever she went. But as Pea Pea grew up, Dodo retreated back into the shadows again. It took Cat Dad some effort to convince me that that is not how Dodo should be and he eventually succeeded. We figured that living with a rain cloud hanging above her head is probably not good for her psyche and might even lead to physical illnesses. Hence, we’ve been trying different ways to get Dodo back to being the adorable and curious cat she once was.

Our main objectives were to get her to show interest in anything and to have some possessiveness in things that belonged to her. This was because, a lot of times, we noticed that she would adopt the passive way of dealing with Pea Pea. We wanted her to have a bit of fighting spirit in her and to stand her ground when Pea Pea tries to be funny. As of now, I think it is safe to say that that Dodo has shown significant improvement since we started a few months ago. We dare not say that we have it figured out and we have a surefire way of handling her. We are definitely still in the process of coming up with new and novel ways to mentally stimulate our little princess.

Catnip

The first time in a long time we saw her react enthusiastically to anything was catnip. We tried the dried grass version but she wasn’t very interested in that so Cat Dad got some catnip sprays and to our surprise, they work! In the past, she would always be very cautious when Pea Pea was around, but catnip allowed her to relax so well that she started rolling around on her back and showing her belly even when Pea Peas was beside her. She would even smack or hiss at Pea Pea when she felt that he was coming for her catnip toy. Fortunately, Pea Pea was more curious than interested in it, so there really wasn’t much competition there.

Diet

A few months ago, Dodo was hospitalized. Her weight had dropped below the healthy level and she was running a fever for no apparent reason. At the vet she was given meds for her fever and was put on drip because she was not eating. Thankfully she was only kept under monitoring for the day and we were able to bring her back that night.

In retrospect, we realized that the reason why she was always lethargic was probably because she was under eating. In order to get her energy level up, we needed her appetite to improve. Dodo was never one to finish all her food in one sitting. She always take a few bites, go off to do her thing, come back for a second round, go off, and if Pea Pea hadn’t finished her food for her by then, she would come back for a third round. Before this, she really didn’t have much interest in food and to add to it, she was extremely picky and cautious towards new food. As such, we went on a hunt for good quality and nutritious food to introduce to her. For the most part we stuck by our choices even though she didn’t like them at first, and slowly got her to accept them because good quality food would provide them with their daily nutrients. Only when their bodies are healthy would they have energy for playing and exploring. In addition, we also introduced some multivitamin supplements and digestive supplements because Dodo is prone to puking fur balls.

We got a wide selection of treats to switch around and tried our best to get treats that have nutritional value or oral hygiene properties as well. We would like to believe that she understands and is happy that we got the treats and yummy food for her, which we’re convinced, have contributed to her positive change in behavior.

Getting Along with Pea Pea

A few months ago, she wouldn’t show much interest in any toys and even if she did, she would at most give it a few swipes before walking away. We also noticed that she would stop playing whenever Pea Pea came over. It was as though she didn’t want to play with him or she didn’t want to compete with him for the toy. It was difficult for us to separate their play time because everytime we took out a toy, Pea Pea would appear. We also tried putting Pea Pea in the room while we played with Dodo. As soon as he hears the sound of toys on the other side of the door he would start meowing and Dodo would get distracted and not play anymore and clearly, that was not a viable solution to our problem.

Dodo’s relationship with Pea Pea isn’t exactly bad, however, she seems to choose not to be in the same space as him most of the time. If he approaches, she will move away, but other than that, they don’t really get into serious fights that resulted in any injuries. However, Cat Dad and I then decided that in order for her to be happy and comfortable in the home, tolerance towards Pea Pea is not enough. We NEEDED to get Dodo to be okay with Pea Pea coming near her before we could even get them to play together. Before this, the only time of the day where they are within touching distance of each other is during meal times and even then, if Pea Pea looks at Dodo’s bowl or tried to eat from her bowl, she would just give up and walk away. We wanted to get her to stand her ground and protect her food bowl.

We tried a lot of methods before deciding on the most straightforward training method – reinforcement. We started to only give them treats when they are together so Dodo can learn to associate being near Pea Pea with treat treats, and hopefully thereafter, whenever Pea Pea comes near her, she will automatically have a positive feeling. This took awhile before we saw results and we believed that this is when having a wide variety of treats come in handy. Switching around the treats we give out helps her to stay interested in the training process.

Another thing that we think have made Dodo more accepting of her brother is letting them sleep in the same room. This was actually an accidental discovery because our initial intention of putting them in the same room was not for this purpose. Dodo grew up sleeping in my bedroom and it’s only natural if thinks that my room is her room. Confining them within the space of my room forced them to find their own comfortable and safe space within close proximity of each other. As Dodo got used to falling asleep with Pea Pea in the same room, she also got used to having him near her during other times of the day. In fact, I have, on multiple occasions, caught them playing with each other in the middle of the night and they seemed to be having a good time 😂.

Recently, Dodo has started showing interest when we are playing with Pea Pea and most of the time she would join in the fun. She has also been inviting Pea Pea to play by luring him into chasing after her and we would see them running around the house on a daily basis.

The next goal that we are working towards is to get them to groom one another because that is a true sign of affection in cat language. In fact, a few days ago, I happened to catch Dodo playing with Pea Pea’s tail and in the midst of playing she groomed it a few times!

Our hopes are high now!!

As of now, we’re happy to say that Dodo is back to being the mischievous and playful cat that she was meant to be. She has taken on a new hobby of following her hoomans into the bathroom on the daily. She has also been meowing a lot more these days, especially when she rediscovered a new toy. Her weight has been steadily increasing with the improvement of her appetite. We’re taking it slow with her weight because we wanted her to gain weight healthily and with the proper nutrients.

The entire process of changing Dodo’s behavior took months and at some point we were not even sure if we were doing the right thing. We were quite lucky that we saw improvement relatively quickly because some other cat owners are having it harder than us. One thing that we always believed in is to have patience and take things at the pace that the pet is comfortable with. Although they may not understand our words, they are able to sense when we are feeling frustrated and they would feel pressured. We also try to remind ourselves to think in the perspective of the pet and not just focus on our need to see results. Seeing such a significant improvement in Dodo gave us a lot of gratification and motivation to do even more for her.

If you are a fellow pet owner, do let us know what are some tips and tricks you use to help your pets get along! We would love to hear from you!

Posted in cats, experience, kittens, pet parents, pets, routine

5 Things We Cannot Live Without

Posted on by peanut& donut

We’re sure most pet owners would agree with us when we say that having pets involve MAJOR changes to our lives- you’re now entitled to only half the bed because your pets occupy the other half; a casual walk from one end of the house to the other involves you stepping around and skipping over landmines toys which they inconspicuously left all over the floor for you to trip on; you get to enjoy spontaneous foot reflexology that immediately jolts your half-asleep brain awake when you step on cat litter, the list goes on. You get it.

Your pets are not the only addition to the family because in comes the avalanche of toys, necessities, treats, clothes, accessories, et cetera. Do we need all of them? No. Do we want more? Yes. But there is a handful of holy grail items that every pet owner absolutely CANNOT do without. We swear by these things to help keep our sanity in check because having pets is not always about rainbows and unicorns. So here’s a list of items we’ve acquired and they’re now very much incorporated into our routine with the maos.

1. Water fountain

In our earlier post, we talked about how much this item has changed the game for us. We’ve noticed that both Pea Pea and Dodo drank significantly more ever since we got this water fountain for them. Cats have a natural fascination with things that are moving and that includes moving water, which could explain why some cats like to sit on the kitchen counter and drink from a dripping tap. A water fountain ensures that the water is always flowing. What is good about this particular water fountain is that it comes with a filter pad that you can replace regularly. Each of the components in the fountain can also be removed for easy cleaning.

2. Grooming brush & nail trimmer

That’s technically two items but never mind.

It is not uncommon to see fur everywhere in our house and vacuuming the floor becomes a daily routine. Both Pea Pea and Dodo have thick and long coats of fur and frequent brushing helps to eliminate shedding quite significantly. Frequent brushing can be tedious when the maos are not feeling cooperative but it is definitely worth the effort because we end up spending lesser time picking their shedding off other surfaces. There are many types of pet brushes out there but we find this to be the most effective for us. We also have fun making fur balls from the fur we collected.

The nail clipper is another must have that we’re sure all cat owners would agree. Pea Pea and Dodo are not aggressive in using their claws but sometimes accidents do happen and we might lose a bit of blood. To prevent that, we’ve been trimming their claws since they were babies, keeping them at a good length. However, with smaller kittens, we suggest using nail clippers for human babies because kittens have much smaller and softer claws and a small nail clipper would be easier to manage. Nail clipping can be intimidating for some cat owners but it is something that needs to be done in order to prevent accidents from happening not just to yourself, but also to the cats.

3. Lint roller

Need we say more?? This is an absolute life saver for us ever since we had Pea Pea and Dodo. Unless you want to hide all your dark colored clothes and never let them see light again, this tool is a must have for families with shedding pets, or just regular families in general. But if you want to wear your “pet glitter” with pride, hey, we don’t judge. You do you.

4. Wet wipes

This is extremely handy to have in every corner of the house. They are good for cleaning up the maos after they went potty or when we bring them to the park. We also use them to spot clean around their food bowls after they eat, they make cleaning up fuss-free and convenient. They are certainly multifunctional both for pets and humans, and good to have around. Just make sure that they’re suitable for human babies before using it on your pets because certain types of wet wipes contain alcohol or are too heavily-scented.

5. Wireless vacuum cleaner

With the flying fur and loose bits of cat litter in unassuming places, a wireless vacuum cleaner is a must-have for us. We vacuum the floor at least once a day and it would have been very tedious for us to drag around a massive vacuum cleaner. Not to mention, even in a household with no pets, a wireless vacuum is a good thing to have for quick and efficient cleaning. For cat owners who use clumping litter instead of pine litter, be careful to choose a vacuum that is strong enough because clumping litter can be heavier and more difficult to pick up.

All of the items mentioned have brought a lot of convenience to us, both the hoomans and the maos. There are definitely more items that we can add to the list but for now, these are the things that we find ourselves reaching for almost everyday. If you are a fellow pet owner, feel free to share with us your personal must-have items in the comments section! We’d love to hear from you! 😊

Posted in cats, experience, harness, kittens, leash, pet parents, pets, shoes, walking

Things We Learned From Bringing the Cats Out

Posted on by peanut& donut

We’ve been bringing Pea Pea and Dodo on walks pretty much as soon as they can fit comfortably into harnesses. In a previous post we mentioned why we wanted to bring them out and how we started with their training. Along the way, we learned a few tips and tricks that we found to have worked on our cats in helping them enjoy their outdoor experiences more. In this post, we will be sharing some of them with you. Again, these were what we have found to work for us, if you decide to try them on your cats, do practice some precaution as different cats may react differently in such situations.

For the most part, we only bring them out in the evening or when the sun is setting. We found that to be the best condition for them to be out in terms of outdoor temperatures. In the past we have tried bringing them out early in the morning and we’ve noticed that they are not in the mood to walk or are simply feeling too hot to walk. As both of them have rather thick and long fur, the night time weather suits them well enough, keeping them cool and allowing them to kill off some energy after a perfectly timed dinner. When we go home, they’re usually nicely drained and ready to sleep for the night.

Things to Bring

  • Harness, leash, shoes
  • Carriers
  • Ice/cooling packs, portable fans
  • Treats

When pet parents think of walking their pets, the essentials that comes to mind are usually harnesses, leashes, and shoes. In fact, we first got exposed to the idea of walking our cats from YouTube videos of adventurous cats hiking with their owners. These cats were wearing special harnesses attached to leashes. Some of them were even wearing little windbreaker jackets or tiny life vests. As for shoes, we got them because we didn’t want them to injure their paws by stepping on sharp objects or rough surfaces.

However, our experiences with our cats have taught us that they are not walkable cats. They cannot be attached to a leash and walked, like how dog owners walk their dogs. Most of the time, once the harnesses and leashes are on, they lay flat on the ground refusing to budge and we’d have to drag them across the floor in order to get them to move. We thought that would only happen in the comfort of our home but we were so wrong. Believe me, you wouldn’t want your cat lying on the ground outside. Owners who share their beds with their cats, you feel my pain. Don’t even get me started on the shoes. For the most part, the shoes stay on Dodo and she actually walks quite well with them on. But Pea Pea has what we termed “Shadowless Paws”. As soon as the shoes go up, his paws start to spin and go into a blur and before you know it, you have shoes flying off in all directions. No matter how tightly we secured them, they ALWAYS come off.

And so, we wanted to think of ways to make their experience better and to actually see them WALK instead of being carried around. We realized that the number one cause of discomfort for them was probably the shoes. So we started letting them walk around the void deck bare-pawed and they immediately walked so much better. Both Pea Pea and Dodo do not have much stamina – meaning even if they start running, they don’t go far. With that knowledge, we decided to remove their leashes and let them walk completely unrestricted. Of course we were always within a few feet distance of them just in case they do decide to start running or if they were approaching potential danger. As soon as all that came off, they began to walk less awkwardly and they also started to express more curiosity towards their surroundings. At the end of the walk, we would simply wipe them down with wet wipes or a damp towel and they will be good to go. Even though they technically do not use the harnesses and leashes to walk, we still like to bring them along as they helped us hold onto the cats when the situation calls for it.

For easy transportation to and from the park, we have individual carriers for them.

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These are the ones we’re currently using but we use a different front cover that provides more ventilation when they are in the bags. With these cute bags, Pea Pea and Dodo always receive a lot of attention every time we bring them out!

If it is a particularly warm day, we would bring frozen ice packs in their carriers to keep them cool. We found that they tend to not pant at all with the cooling packs. We also have portable mini fans, but those are mostly for us humans. Bringing along some kind of treat helps too! Although when we first started bringing them out, they were too nervous about being out to enjoy the treats. As most pet trainers would suggest, we wanted to let Pea Pea and Dodo associate being outdoors with yummy treat treats so that they would be more at ease and enjoy being outdoors, and we’re glad that they did eventually calm down enough to eat the treats.

Location

  • Quiet, less people, away from roads
  • Large empty spaces, flat ground
  • Away from grass/trees, water bodies, drains

Pea Pea and Dodo are indoor cats and do not have a lot of interactions with humans other than family members living in the same household. As such, we made sure to bring them to places with less traffic, as far away from noisy roads as possible. We did encounter some problems when finding a good location for them to roam. Most of the reservoir parks in Singapore have wonderful facilities for kids, some even have water features and splash parks in them. However, these places were not pet friendly, or at least we cannot go anywhere near the water features, which is where the shade is usually at.

We did eventually manage to find a park that has quite a nice environment and Pea Pea and Dodo seemed to quite like it as well. It’s the Waterfront Park at Woodlands! There is a huge open-air play area near the entrance where we let them roam freely. The rubber flooring of the area does not affect their paw paws as much, although there was once their white paw paws stained blue after a particularly foggy and wet day 😂. The big open space is good for them to explore, it’s cooling enough for them to lay there and watch the other park-goers as well. We also did not have to worry much about them going into the grassy areas where insects might be found. The playground is quite a distance from the sea and jetty, so we did not need to worry about them going for a swim.

All good habits should start at a young age. From our experience with bringing the cats out thus far, we have learned that it might have been better to start bringing them out when they were younger. We started bringing Dodo out in her little carrier pretty much as soon as we brought her home. But Pea Pea lived most of his kittenhood in the safety of our home. We feel that that could have led to the difference in their reactions towards the outdoors and strangers. Dodo, although cautious, is definitely more calm while Pea Pea often froze up. Perhaps bringing them out at an earlier age would help them get used to being outside.

Nonetheless, we’re constantly trying out new routines and things that might help Pea Pea and Dodo enjoy the outdoors. Maybe one day we’ll be able to bring along their toys and let them run around! If you are also a cat owner or have experience with pets, please let us know if you have any tips that worked for you! We would greatly appreciate them! 😁

Posted in cats, experience, harness, kittens, leash, pet parents, pets, shoes, training, walking

Look! The Cat is Walking on a Leash!

Posted on by peanut& donut

That is one of the things we’ll hear when we bring the cats out, alongside “Oh! It’s a cat! I thought it was a dog!” because I guess it’s not every day you see people bringing their cats out for walks.

Ever since Pea Pea was physically old enough to engage in altercations with Dodo, we would often return home for the day to find bunches of fur everywhere. It is not uncommon to see them suddenly burst into Energizer bunnies, chasing one another around the house. Most often than not, it would end up with Dodo hissing and growling at Pea Pea, with bunches of fur fluttering in the air and scattered romantically like rose petals around them on the floor.

Initially we thought maybe Pea Pea was at that age where he wants to assert dominance on Dodo, and hence, the chasing and mounting. For Dodo’s sanity, we brought Pea Pea to the vet’s for a little procedure but what we didn’t expect was for the fighting and chasing (and growling and hissing) to continue as before. After a bit of reading on the internet, we learned that indoor cats have a lot of pent up energy which they will have problems releasing unless stimulated properly.

We live in a high rise apartment building and both Pea Pea and Dodo are complete indoor cats and are not exposed to the outside world. We could see why they would have pent up energy. We had a plethora of toys available for them which worked to drain their energy for awhile, but their attention for them grew shorter and shorter.

We started bringing them out for short trips to the grocery stores or when we go out to get food. What we noticed from those trips was that, not only were they super curious about what was around them, they would almost always come home completely drained and would sleep very soundly through the night.

We took their curiosity as a positive sign and began preparing and training them for walks. We had them wear harnesses attached to leashes and shoes for a few minutes daily for a couple of weeks before deciding that they were ready for their first walks.

Pea Pea and Dodo have very different personalities. Dodo, being the alpha, is treated like a princess most of the time. She is also less social and would prefer to nap in a quiet room by herself while Pea pea is more attached to the humans. He is also a lot more vocal than Dodo. As such, we expected Pea Pea to be more adventurous and more eager to explore the outdoors. Little did we know, that was NOT what happened.

Needless to say, they were both very nervous on their first walks where we brought them around the neighborhood. Their bodies were crouched close to the ground as they made their way around cautiously. Pea Pea would continuously look for sheltered areas or secluded corners where he could hide. What came as a surprise to us, was that Dodo, while being cautious about her surroundings, was exploring every inch of the lift lobby.

We eventually removed her leash to let her walk freely, but we also made sure to be within reach of her at all times, just in case she decides to make a run for whatever it is she decides to make a run for. That seemed to reduce the weight she felt on her body as she began walking more normally, sans the crouching. She even said hi to the neighbors!

P.S. Pea Pea was a scaredy cat that’s why he’s not in the video (because he was too scared to walk).

After a few more walks around the neighborhood, Pea Pea and Dodo graduated to bigger spaces. Cat Dad was careful in shortlisting a few parks in Singapore. We visited most of them several times to find one that the fur babies are comfortable in. There were also a few tips and tricks we learned along the way to make their outdoor excursion more enjoyable for them, but we’ll talk about them in another post.

As of now, we have one park that we frequent weekly. Pea Pea and Dodo seem to like the environment there. They amuse fellow park goers by walking around, sometimes even casually strolling up to strangers to take a closer look at them. Some people come up to us to ask questions about our cats, others secretly take pictures of them to send to their friends. Sometimes kids come close enough to give them pets before squealing and running away in excitement, but for the most part, the people seem pretty chill about sharing the space with two fluffy cats.

As for their behaviors, we do notice that there are lesser episodes of Energizer bunnies dashing around the house. We also observe quite a bit of improvement in Dodo. She has been more active and playful nowadays (although she still grumbles occasionally). Pea Pea is also better at being outdoors now compared to when we first started off. He still tries to hide when we first reach the park, but as time passes, he gets more comfortable.

We might move on to other parks, we might keep going back to the current one. We’re still on a look out for other places but till then, we’re setting up base here.