Health Insurance For Cats | Is It Good News Or Bad News?

Will your health insurance for cats cover that ER visit?

Accidents happen. Especially in the middle of the night. But now, if your health insurance for cats is with ASPCA or Hartville, you can find out how many high-credit limit cards you have to take with you as you rush your cat off to the ER.

Owned by Crum and Forster Pet Insurance Group, the companies aim to relieve the sticker shock of an ER visit by letting customers know ahead of time whether the cat's procedure will be covered. They also provide an estimate of how much of the bill will be reimbursed. I can see where the answers to those questions could cause even more sticker shock. But isn't that why we have credit cards?

Care Credit Pussyfoots Into The Health Insurance For Cats Market

The Daily Cat Quote

“When Rome burned, the emperor's cats still expected to be fed on time.” 
-- Seanan McGuire, Rosemary and Rue

California Attempts To Ban Declawing Cats -- Again

There are better ways to protect furniture
than declawing cats.

In the Never Lose Hope Category, California hopes to become the first state in the nation to ban declawing cats. But it has some competition. Bills banning declawing are also under consideration in New York and New Jersey.

While this may seem like a no-brainer to many of us, vets in New York and New Jersey are fighting the proposals tooth and nail.

Running a vet clinic is expensive, after all, and cats can help foot the bill by sacrificing their claws.

Pouncing On The Usual Excuse For Declawing Cats

Study Shows Today's Cats Are Bigger Than Their Wild Ancestors

Study shows today's cats are bigger than
their wild ancestors were.

Most species, including dogs, get smaller when they become domesticated. But, perhaps due to their sometimes perverse nature, today's cats are bigger than their wild ancestors were. 

Why are cats different? No one knows for sure, but experts theorize the reason might be as simple as regular meals.

And it's possible that this applies only to cats in Denmark. That's where researchers had the grisly task of sifting through bags of ancient animal bones looking for some that belonged to cats. 

The Vikings And Seafaring Cats 

The Daily Cat Quote

If man could be crossed with a cat, it would improve man but deteriorate the cat.” 
-- Mark Twain, Notebook

Meet Mousr, The Robotic Cat Toy & Your Cat's New Best Friend

Petronics' Mousr

The price may seem a bit steep for another cat toy that's just going to lie around on the floor doing nothing. But hey, isn't your cat worth it? That $149 buys a robotic cat toy with artificial intelligence and its very own app. 

Petronics introduced Mousr, its smarter-than-most-robotic-cat-toys, at Global Pet Expo last spring and left the event with high honors. It won both the American Pet Product Association's Best New Cat Product Award for 2018 and the Fear Free Best Cat Enrichment Product award. 

Playing Cat And (Robotic) Mouse

The Daily Cat Quote

“There are several cats smoothly moving about, which helped me greatly to relax, for I have always felt that no house is wholly bad where there are cats, and conversely, where there are several cats, a house is bound to be wonderfully charming.”
― Hans Holzer, The Ghost Hunter: Chilling Tales of Real Life Hauntings

Cat Friendly Practices: Good For Cats, Good For Vets

© Elayne6-Dreamstime.com

Do you dread taking your cat to the vet? You're not the only one. Your vet might dread that visit as much as you and your cat do. But the American Association of Feline Practitioners is trying to change that with its Cat Friendly Practice program. And, according to a recent AAFP survey, catering to cats doesn't just eliminate the dread. It's good for business. 

In the survey, 83 percent of the vets with a Cat Friendly Practice designation reported increased cat visits. And 61 percent said their practice revenue has grown since earning the designation.

Heck No, I Won't Go

The Daily Cat Quote

“Like all pure creatures, cats are practical.” 
-- William S. Burroughs, The Cat Inside

Goodbye Drs. Foster And Smith

© Hilary Roemer | Dreamstime.com

Back in the day, my cats and I loved finding a Drs. Foster and Smith catalog in our mailbox. 

We thought there was way too much dog stuff, but we always found a few cat items to buy. Our first floor-to-ceiling cat tree came in a huge box from Drs. Foster and Smith.

That was before there was an Internet and online retailers. And more important to Drs. Foster and Smith, it was before there was a giant pet supply company called Petco.  

Petco purchased Drs. Foster and Smith in 2015. It will shut the company down this month and move its online services to Petco's website.

Changing Times, Changing 'Pet Parents'

Cat Food Trends -- New Ingredients To Look For In 2019

Coming soon to the front of your cat food cans and bags: turmeric, honey and coconut. Think of them as biohacking for cats and the newest cat food trends to look for in 2019. 

Biohacking for humans has been around for years, although many of us have never heard of it. The simple definition of biohacking is adding nutrients or more natural foods to your regular diet to improve your health and quality of life. 

But like so many human food trends, biohacking is now making its way into the cat food market. Enter turmeric, honey and coconut. 

Cat Food Trends - Ingredients With A Purpose

It's New! Amazon's Private Label Cat Food

In its never-ending craving for still more business, Amazon launched a private label cat food brand earlier this month. Wag, Amazon's private label cat food, comes in seven flavors. But based on the reviews so far, cats aren't exactly wagging their tails with joy when they see the cans coming out. 

Not that cats ever wag their tails with joy. Amazon began its foray into the private label pet food business with dog food called Wag. 

There's Nothing New About Amazon's Private Label Cat Food 

The Daily Cat Quote

“Cats tell me without effort all that there is to know.”
-- Charles Bukowski, On Cats

Mirtazapine Ointment For Cats Increases Appetite, Reduces Stress

Here's some much needed relief if you're struggling to add an appetite stimulant to your sick cat's meds. Mirtazapine ointment for cats is now available from vets, and all you have to do is rub a little bit inside an ear flap. 

Mirataz, the transdermal formulation of the popular appetite stimulant, went on the market a few months ago. 

An Appetite Stimulant Just For Cats

The Daily Cat Quote

"If a cat spoke, it would say things like 'Hey, I don’t see the problem here.”
Roy Blount Jr.