Cat Litter Advances: Detect Urine PH Changes

I just read an interesting article on new advances in cat litter–one that helps identify changes in the urine PH. This might be appreciated by pet veterinary insurance companies such as the one in California that said their number one claim in 2005 and 2006 was for urinary tract infections in felines.

Apparently the unique product was hard to develop and I can see it being useful for cats of all ages but especially to those who have experienced urinary tract infections before.

The litter is coated with a nontoxic PH detector so that the litter turns colors when the PH changes in a cat’s urine and the litter acts similarly to the strips used to test the PH in human urine or swimming pools. This is good because who wants to stick a PH strip under their cat when he or she is using the litterbox?

So, if the litter changes to a color out of the norm, it’s an indication the cat should visit the veterinarian for a diagnosis. Cat owners should seek veterinary care immediately and avoid trying to diagnose the situation if this happens.

In the animal field we are serious students of “poopology” (the study of poop). This is because some of the first signs of illness are just slight abnormalities in toileting habits, and the appearance (or quantity) of excrement/urine.

Animals usually hide their illness so the PH detecting litter can help detect an early problem. Unfortunately many people do not detect problems until treatment becomes very expensive or is too advanced to treat and perhaps this can help.

The new litter is supposed to also have all the qualities cat owners look for–such as moisture absorption and odor control.

If you decide to try this litter, it is important to determine what is normal for your cat—assuming you have already had a wellness check recently. Then, when there is a change it can be clearly identified and you can get the feline to the veterinary clinic immediately.

The manufacturer’s recommendation is that the diagnostic litter be used alone. Although it may be fine to mix litters while transitioning from one to another, be aware that the diagnostic litter may react when combined with another product.

Also, using odor-control products is discouraged since they may also cause the litter to react and proper storage (away from other chemical products) is important to keep the integrity of the product from being contaminated.

Read more about one PH detecting cat litter here or another one here. If you want to find an outlet that sells First Alert Cat Litter click here.

Hate Mail & Other Musings

It amazes me when people take the time to write. In most cases, I receive warm letters of how my books or work have impacted the lives of the people writing.

Often my publishers delay sending the letters sent to them addressed to me–but some people look up my address on the Internet.

Recently we sent out a call for pets for filming a new educational series I am hosting. So, when I saw the hand scrawled letter in my private box I assumed it was pictures and information submitted for the new series.

It was not.

There was no return address. The package was stuffed with lots of different cartoons, bizarre pictures of human babies, and a rude letter calling me a freak and other such nonsense because of an alleged article I wrote.

First, I didn’t write an article but instead was quoted in several articles such as this one talking about the phenomena of pet ceremonies sweeping the nation.

What amazes me is that someone would take the time to be so hateful. Gone is the old training where people taught their kids, “If you don’t have something nice to say don’t say anything.”

Funny, the illiterate letter also did not include a return address–only a Las Vegas postmark.

I think the person needs more to do. Better to channel that energy into constructive stuff.

Blogging Power Outage

Sorry to have been so scarce. I have been dealing with severe fatigue and so lack the energy to do much. Fortunately, we just pinpointed the reason and I am under treatment for it. Ever hear of something called Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome? It goes undiagnosed and is often dismissed by many health practitioners.

Hopefully I’ll start seeing a shift in energy pretty soon. Until then I might remain a little inconsistent.

Catting Around

This week we took a jaunt down to a feline specialist down in Yorba Linda. The long drive allowed me to work on the incessant yowling and fit pitching by my friend’s cat.

Needless to say she stopped her bad behavior after some behavior modification on the way down the hill. So we only endured about 30 minutes of bad behavior instead of two hours of it. My progress was also helped by Feliway Spray.

Anyway, the veterinary clinic had a few comments about the slightly wet cat–until they got to experience the wrath of the kitty. My pal’s cat is a pistol and made no bones about her unhappiness. Really good to have savvy cat professionals handling her.

An hour later, we concluded our session with a tour of the facility. Ultimately, we were happy with our experience and the professionalism and care of the staff.

We loaded ourselves back into the car for the two hour trip with Miss Kitty–who continued to show good behavior on the way back–which was a relief to my friend.

My pal and I discussed behavior because he unknowingly had reinforced some of her habits and thought he had to tolerate bad behavior. Such is the case with most people.

Some how people think bad behavior is okay. They would rather not discomfort the animal…like the clinic staff or person who raises an eyebrow if they think the animal has been inconvenienced.

Personally, I think the real inconvenience to be concerned about is the bad behavior that lands those misbehaved animals into shelters and a life of homelessness.

But hey, that is just me.