Archive for February, 2008

If you’ve always thought cats were too snooty and unaffectionate, you haven’t met an Abyssinian. These cats are very personable and affectionate animals that love to interact with their families.

The Cat Fancier’s Association classifies the Abyssinian as a part of the Championship Class, along with thirty six other cat breeds. This breed is often smaller than many other cat breeds, weighing in at only nine to sixteen pounds.

The Abyssinian has a graceful tail that is as long as the rest of its body. Although Abyssinians can have coats in almost any shade, from red to lilac, they all are tabbies with a ticked appearance. This means that each individual hair has bands of dark and light color. This cat breed has a wedge shaped face with eyes that are green, amber, or hazel colored.
This breed is much older than many other cat breeds. Images in ancient Egypt show cats with a very similar appearance, right down to the ticked appearance of their coats. The first Abyssinians to arrive in England came from Ethiopia in the eighteen hundreds.

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You should always take your new kitty to the vet as soon as possible after you bring it home.  This acquaints you with the veterinary clinic you’ll be using and the procedures for getting an appointment there, and also let you meet the veterinary, and the veterinary meet your kitten!  It also means that your kitten can have an initial examination and get treatment for any kitty ailments that it might have if you have bought the kitten from a pet store or farm then it is possible it may have worms or ear mites that can be easily treated.  Depending on the age of you kitten it may also be time for any shots that haven’t already been administered before you took over ownership of the kitten.  One of the basic things that the veterinary will tell you at this visit is whether your kitty is a boy or girl ?don’t automatically assume the original owner got it right, it is not always easy to tell and it is easy to get it wrong!

Knowing when to take your kitty to the vet outside of a normal annual examination however is trickier.  Rather like when you are sick but unsure whether you are sick enough to warrant a doctor time, it is hard to ascertain if your kitten is sick enough to warrant a veterinary’s time ?not to mention the expense!  A good rule of thumb is to remember one very important fact is a kitten’s health can deteriorate rapidly within a few hours even so making a decision to think about it, can mean putting off for a couple of days, you are looking at 24 hours maximum, and if things don’t improve with kitty’s health then you make an appointment and tell the reception how old he is, how long he’s been sick and what the symptoms are.  If he gets worse before 24 hours are up, contact the veterinary clinic immediately and talk to the reception staff that may be able to connect you through to either the veterinary or clinic nurse who can discuss whether or not it sounds dangerous enough to require immediate veterinary help.

Knowing your kitty is part way to knowing when he’s feeling off-color.  By performing a regular informal examination of his movement, eyes, ears, mouth, and general appearance you can see when he’s not himself?  It may be that he be limping or scratching himself more than usual or it could be that a usually active cat is sleeping more than he normally does.  These are all signs that something is amiss and need you to start paying attention.  A kitten that is sleeping all of the time, or has a temperature should always go straight to the veterinary, as he should if you notice he has problems or blood with his urine.

For the most part, cats are quite healthy pets and by learning your kitty’s normal appearance and traits, you can soon pick up on when he’s not feeling well, and a quick phone call to the veterinary clinic can reassure you that he’s almost certainly going to be ok to monitor for the next day or so, or whether you should bring him into the clinic that day.

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My daughter has been bugging me for a new kitten for the past few months. Although my home already has already run out of space to cater for any more pets. It is really hard for me to reject my daughter’s request. My only concern is whether my daughter interest in getting a kitten is a short live event or a long term commitment.

As you know, being a cat owner is not only about taking just taking care of its basic needs but it goes further than that. Nevertheless, after some discussions with my wife on this, she grudgingly agrees to let my daughter get one provides she is really serious about it.

Finally the search begins for our new kitten and after some extensive research and showing my daughter plenty of cute kittens and cats’ photos; she decides she want to get a maine coon cat. I was initially apprehensive as maine coon cats are quite difficult to take care of especially my daughter is still new to taking care of cats. However after some discussions, she show enough determination

I try going online to look for information on kittens for sale but found virtually none near my area. Actually I am quite proficient when it comes to looking for things online but it seems there is really a lack of information on maine coon cats for sale online.

Luckily for me, one of my friends who is an avid cat lover tells me of this wonderful website where I can get information on maine coon cats or kittens for sale. Now, the only thing left for me is to select the perfect little kitten for my daughter.

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One of the most adorable things about kittens is the mischief they are capable of getting into – adorable in someone else’s home anyway! In your own home, where it’s your stuff that the kitten is rolling around the floor, ripping to shreds, or chewing to death, it’s not always as funny. But what’s a kitty owner to do?

Well the first thing is more of a “what not to do” – don’t yell at the kitty! Count to 10 and calm down, and then firmly take hold of your kitten, say “No” in a firm clear voice and put the kitty either in his bed – or in his safe zone if you’ve created one and he’s still using it. The next thing is to identify why your kitten has gotten into this particular mischief – is he bored, did it offer too much temptation, or is he pandering his hunter genes?

Usually it’s a mixture of boredom and practicing his hunting skills that gets a kitten into the most trouble around the house! The boredom leads him to find things like trailing plants, or apples that roll, and they tempt him to playful mischief. A cat loves to hunt however, and so occasionally he will “kill” the odd cushion!

Buying a few cat toys will help teach your kitten what is acceptable to play with and what’s not. A soft ball, not necessarily a small one either – some kitties are quite happy to push something that’s about half their size but not too heavy around the house – is a great toy. A ball made out of scrunched up newspaper is another good way of getting your kitten to play – but make sure that you scrunch it quietly because loud noises will probably scare him. Any toy that has been filled with catnip – some kind of dried herb that cats go crazy over – is destined to keep him amused for hours, but often the most entertaining of all for kitty is a box with large holes cut into it that he can jump in and out of.

A kitten getting up to mischief can often be frustrating, but given the right toys, he’ll not only entertain himself, but he’ll also keep you entertained watching the antics he gets up too. Remember, he’s not intending to be mean when he does something he shouldn’t, he’s just bored, so find something to occupy his mind!

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Booking your travel accommodations can never be any easier with the advancement of the internet and the easy access of internet. More and more people are going online to search for information on travel destinations and places of interests, buy air tickets, book accommodations and more. It is no wonder there are tons of web sites that offers such information.

If you are thinking of going to Greece on your next trip, you can check out this web site FantasticGreece.com for information on Greece. Over at FantasticGreece.com, you will find a lot of useful information such as where to go in Greece, Accommodation in Santorini and more. The web site is very user friendly and full of interesting information on dining, nightlife and sightseeing in Greece.
For example, check out this page where you can find information on Hotels in Santorini. The hotel search function is very easier to use and you can select the dates that you want to book. Besides that, you also get to see a Google map featuring all available Santorini hotels. Scroll down the page and you will be able to see some of the recommended accommodation options. If you are keen to find out more, check out their web site at http://www.fantasticgreece.com.

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There’s a huge array of resources that will help you to keep your kitten healthy. What you need to know is which ones will help you to keep your kitten healthy!

One of the best sources of information is your veterinary clinic. Not only will they be able to provide you with free leaflets and information, they may also have their own guide they give out to new kitten owners, and books that they suggest you read or have on your reference shelf in case of emergency. There are so many books published on the subject of cat and kitten care that it’s easy to get lost, or pick up a book that’s not quite as comprehensive as it could be, and a recommendation or two from your veterinary can allow you to choose between books that he thinks are the best ones available for your situation.

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Ceiling fans are a great way to cool down instead of using air conditioners. It is also a great way to save on electric bills during the summer. As you know, summer months are normally hot and humid and without either the air conditioner or the humble ceiling fans, it is tough to really sleep well at night.

Ceiling fans are also a great way to decorate your home. In fact there are many types of unique ceiling fans and even more accessories to make sure no two homes ever have the same ceiling fans. It is with this type of decoration flexibility and also the savings in electrical bills that it is in the best interest of everyone to install a few ceiling fans at home.

If you are looking for ceiling fans for your home, check out Farreys.com. At Farreys.com, they have a very extensive range of unique ceiling fans and ceiling fans accessories such as hunter ceiling fans and fanimation ceiling fans for sale. For more information, check out their web site at http://www.farreys.com.

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When you look at the new feline addition to your home, it’s hard to imagine that it could have anything like fleas. Unfortunately, it’s not unheard of for a very young kitten to have fleas; it all very much depends upon the environment in which it lived before you brought it to live with you. For example, if the mother cat had fleas, then there’s a huge possibility that all the kittens will have fleas. If there was another pet in the home such as another cat, or dog, then again, there’s a possibility that even though the mother cat wasn’t allowed out while she was nursing her kittens, fleas were brought in by the other pets. Even humans can bring fleas into a home on their shoes or clothes.

One of the first things you should have in your home is a flea comb. As soon as you bring the kitten home, take it to the bathroom and gently talk to it as you glide the flea comb through the kitty’s fur. Pay special attention to the area at the base of the tail, or behind the ears – if kitty has fleas, you’re bound to find one here. And at this point, one is all you need to find out that you have a problem that needs immediate attention.

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Life insurance is a must for everyone. It is a coverage and protection against any accidents that may happen to you and cause you to be unable to provide for your family anymore. However, many people do not realize the important to having themselves adequately cover with insurance policies. It is this ignorance that sometimes causes many families to be deep in debt when something happens to their main breadwinner.

If you are looking for information on insurance, you can check out OneDollarGlobeInsurance.com. At OneDollarGlobeInsurance.com, you can find information on life insurance, medical insurance, and more. You can even apply for life insurance that does not require you to undergo any medical examination at all. No examination is required, just apply and you are in. If you are keen to find out more, check out their web site at http://www.onedollarglobeinsurance.com.

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The short answer to this is YES! Even if you are going to allow your cat to be outdoors whenever it wants, you need to be sure that if ever there was a time when it couldn’t get outside for whatever reason, it’s already potty trained and can use the litter tray whenever necessary. It may not be happy using the litter tray but you probably don’t care about that should you find yourself in a situation where allowing your kitten outside isn’t an option.

It could be that you need to be out of town for a few days and you don’t want to leave your cat door unlocked for security reasons, so your kitten needs to kept indoors. It could be that it’s too cold, especially at night in the winter, so you want to keep him inside so he doesn’t come to harm in sub-zero temperatures. It’s even more possible that at some time in his life, he will need a surgical procedure that will result in him being kept indoors for at least 24 hours. If you have trained your kitten to use a little box, the cat he grows into won’t have a problem if he finds himself locked inside with no means of getting out.

When you first bring your kitten home, have a litter box ready for him to use. You won’t be letting him out for those first days when he’s tiny, so use this time to “potty train” him. Use a shallow tray that he can easily get into and put a layer of kitty litter into it. As he grows, always have a clean litter tray available, even if he doesn’t use it he’ll learn where it is and when the day comes that he finds himself lock inside, he’ll know where the “bathroom” is and how to use it.

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Internet or online shopping has never been my cup of tea. I always been fearful of personal particulars been disclosed and I am a true fan as a conventional shopper who used to patronize the brick and mortar shops, not until recently when I was introduced to and signup with visa credit card where I enjoyed great benefit through a rewarding cash back scheme. Have you ever wonder if you restricted by credit limit or already busted your credit card limit?

Try out this search and search out credit card that may suit your lifestyle and shopping habits. Get a Credit Card with Centrro where there are many great offers on the take that may just surprise you. Here some of the offer for the signup with the credit card such as:

• Earn Up To 5% Cash Back with Unlimited Rewards Potential
• With No Merchant or Category Spending Restrictions, You Can Earn Points by Shopping Wherever You Want, for Whatever You Want
• 0% APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for Up To 12 Months

There is another area that you will like to check out if you need loan to finance your homes. Get a Loan with Centrro because that is where you can own your dream home if you are short on budget. You can check out the quotes and find out which mortgage loan is best tailor to your needs and financial obligations. Take the necessary action to realize your dreams today.

Visit http://www.centrro.com/ to check out relevant information and help that you may need.

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Cats and kittens in the same household can be the best of friends, or the worst of enemies, and occasionally, both at various times of the day!  One of the main problems is that cats are very territorial and if one cat thinks that a particular part of the room is his alone, he will soon show his displeasure if the kitten should dare to walk anywhere near it.  On the other hand, a kitten will sometimes do just that in order to get the older cat’s attention.  In some ways, kittens are not unlike small children!

To ensure that your cat and new kitty get off to the best possible start socially, you need to go against what your heart intuitively wants to do.  Really, this is in kitty’s best interests even though it may make you feel heartless at the time!  Bring the new kitty into the room and leave it in its travel carrier for a while.  Allow your cat to wander around the carrier and get accustomed to the new kitten’s smell – stand nearby and monitor the situation so that the cat doesn’t try attacking the kitten through the bars!

Talk gently to your cat about the newcomer.  Tell him that it’s a playmate.  Reassure him that the kitty isn’t going to take his place in the household’s pecking order.  When the cat finally stops pacing around, and perhaps even stops any verbal complaints he has, bring the kitten out of the carrier.  Keep a hold of the kitten but fuss the cat.  If possible try and transfer the scent of one to the other – once they’ve lived together in the same environment, they’ll have a similar smell and “belong”, although this is no guarantee that they’ll ever be the best of pals!

Never leave the kitten alone with the older cat, especially at night when all humans are asleep, until the kitten is big enough and secure enough to defend itself.  It will probably be used to pushing siblings out of the way to get milk from its mother but the sheer weight and size of your other cat is a threat to the well-being of the kitten.

Acceptance will come slowly and friendship ever slower.  They may even have a love-hate thing going where you think they can’t stand each other, but remove one of them for any length of time, and the other will start pining for him.  By introducing them to each other slowly and not forcing them together, you allow each of them to weigh-up and observe the other, and this is the best way of ensuring that every won’t be a survival battle for either of them!

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When people talk about Iceland, the first impression they have is Iceland is full of ice and definitely it is one of the coldest places on earth. Well, they are wrong on both counts. In fact, Iceland has a higher annual temperature than countries in the same latitude. Despite its proximity to the Arctic, the island’s coasts remain ice-free through the winter. As such, Iceland is a great place to visit for those of you who don’t mind the cold weather. Iceland is one of the least populated countries in northern Europe. Its capital and largest city is Reykjavik.

For those who think Iceland is not to your liking, maybe you can try visiting Denmark instead. Denmark capital city is Copenhagen and it is a great place to visit as there are many places of interests there such as Strøget which is a three kilometer long pedestrian shopping street in central Copenhagen.

If you are keen to visit Iceland and Denmark sometime in the future, you can check out more information on Cheap Hotels in Iceland, Cheap Hotels in Reykjavik, Cheap Hotels in Denmark and Cheap Hotels in Copenhagen at http://www.cheaperthanhotels.co.uk.

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One of the good rules of thumb to apply here is to think about having a toddler around, only a toddler in miniature size – mobile, curious but tiny!  This means that you need to consider your home in terms of potential kitty hazards before the kitten gets too old and “into everything”.  Although there are some thing that you’d have to do to create a safe home for your toddler that aren’t necessary for a kitten (such as power sockets and drawer locks), there are a few things you should take a look at with a critical eye as to whether or not they present a danger to your kitty.

If it’s hanging, or trailing, and it moves then it’s a toy to your kitten!  Make sure that you tie up all loose wire and cables, or use cable tacks and attach them firmly to walls or along the baseboard, counter top, up desk legs, etc so that there’s nothing to attract your cat’s attention.  If he pulls a cable on your tea kettle, or computer keyboard, there’s a big possibility that the item will end up on the floor and need replaced even if the kitten is unharmed so it makes sense to prevent this happening.  Trailing plants such as ivy may also need to be secured, although if kitty finds it, this could be just as hazardous to the plant as the kitten!

A kitten can also easily find itself entwined in – and possibly choke with - hanging fixings such as those on window treatments and lamps, so tie these up out of the kitten’s way – if he doesn’t see it moving, he won’t be attracted to it.

Like magpies, kittens are also drawn to small things that sparkle but which can be lethal if they swallow them so put your jewelry away in a box where he can’t see it.

Other small things such as paper clips, rubber bands, thumb tacks, threads from a sewing box, are all possible toys that are dangerous to you kitten so use commonsense when finding a place to store these once you have a kitty in your home.

Although kitty’s can’t open bottles or containers which have poisonous liquids in them, it is possible for them to poison themselves by consuming toxic substances in other formats so be careful where you spray bug spray, and cleaning materials.

This may seem like being overly cautious, but before you switch on any appliance such as the microwave, oven, washer or dryer, make sure that the kitten has found its way inside!  What a kitten loves as much as his toys is warmth, and it will seek out the warm places in your home.  A quick check will ensure a tragic accident doesn’t occur.

Kittens are tiny and fragile, and they have no concept of danger, so limiting the amount of potential hazards will create a safer environment for your kitten to explore.

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The first visit to your local veterinary’s clinic should be as soon after bringing her home as possible.  The vet will be able to assure you that she’s in tip-top condition, advise you on the kind of food and how much she should be having, what shots she should have now, and whether or not she’s currently a home for fleas and worms.

This is a good opportunity for you to see how the vet handles the kitten, and also to ask any questions you may have about your cat’s health in general.  Use your time with the veterinary wisely.  Whilst the vet examines kitty, ask if there are any kitten care leaflets you could have, or any books she recommends.  Ask when the kitten can go outdoors, what’s the best way of litter tray training her, how to stop her from scratching your furniture, does she need any vitamins added to her food, how much milk does she need – any questions, it doesn’t matter how dumb you think they may sound to a professional, you aren’t a professional and you need the answers!

Once the initial examination is complete, the essential question that you should ask the vet is when you should bring the kitten back for her next “check-up”, and write that immediately into your day planner.  In kittens, some veterinary clinics may want to check on your kitty every other month or so – or they may recommend a series of weekly shots to boost your kitty’s immune system ready for all those birds and mice she’s going to chase once she’s allowed outside!   Once you get through this feline baby stage however, you’ll probably be advised to bring your cat into the clinic once a year for an annual shot and general health check-up.

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