Dog owners know, nothing makes a household warmer than the unconditional love of our furbabies. In the early days of the pet’s arrival, everyone in the house showers the dog with attention and care. During this time, walks and outdoor play time are abundant. But, over time, as their presence becomes the new normal, we tend to get back to our lives and are unable to spend 100% of our time with our pets.

With work, school and activity schedules, families can be away from the home for extended periods of time. Many families are fortunate enough to have a fenced in yard and can install a doggy door that allows the pet to use the outdoor facilities at their discretion. For many of us though, this setup is not practical or possible.

Luckily, clever humans have gifted modern society with dog training pads. These simple devices are small pads that are liquid-absorbent on the top side, and waterproof on the bottom side. Your pet is free to urinate on them and the pad temporarily traps the liquid for easy cleanup and protects your flooring beneath them.

In many households, dog training pads are the norm long after the puppy is house broken.

Dog Training Pads For Puppies

Dog training pads can be immensely helpful in the early days of house training. For highrise dwellers and residents of extremely low temperatures, regular walks may not be as convenient, yet consistency and frequency are key in house training a dog.  

Placing a dog training pad in the same place and repeatedly taking your dog to it when they exhibit the need to do their business typically creates a quick habit for your puppy. Adding in a treat and positive praise when they are successful will demonstrate that this is your expectation when they need to go next time.

In the early days of training your dog to use the training pads, it is actually good to leave out a pad that has been urinated on for a second or third use. If the dogs smell their urine somewhere, it means instinctively it’s okay to go there and that will reinforce the habit. Additionally, puppies tend to go more often and release smaller amounts, so changing the pad every time can be an exhausting endeavor.

Dog Training Pads For Adult Dogs

As we mentioned earlier, the modern family can often be away from the home for extended periods of time. Your furry family member is left behind to nap, daydream and focus on chew toys for hours or even all day and it’s likely they are going to need to go one or more times while you are away. Dog training pads are a great solution to keeping your pet happy and healthy without ruining your new carpets or wooden floors.

So how often do you need to change your dog’s training pads?

For larger dogs who are well trained, they will likely only use the pads when they absolutely have to go. Therefore, one use will most likely drench the pad, and it will be time to introduce a fresh one. For smaller dogs who only leave behind an ounce or two each time, you can leave a pad out all day or sometimes even multiple days. Unless you have small children in the home, there is no danger in leaving a used pad out, but it can become unpleasant if the odor builds up.

Your home will be a more pleasant environment if you do dispose of used pads quickly and thoroughly. Consider the Training Champ odor-free dog training pad disposal system to more conveniently dispose of the used pads. It’s simple to use and the 7-gallon capacity canister makes the disposal of your dog’s training pads convenient and odor-free, sealing the odor inside the innovative canister!

However often you decide to change your dog training pads, make sure to give your furry family members an easy option to relieve themselves when you must leave them alone for extended periods.

I can still remember bringing home my very first puppy. While I had grown up with cats and hadn’t a clue about raising and training dogs, my girlfriend assured me that this would be a piece of cake, as she had grown up raising dogs.

Anyone who has adopted a puppy knows, potty training is priority one. As I quickly learned, discovering wet and stinky surprises in the corner behind furniture is not fun!

What my girlfriend had not experienced—or considered for that matter—was that we lived on the sixth floor, and getting our little pup outside to a grassy area quickly was no easy matter. Potty training is about consistency and getting your little canine out often enough that they never have to hold it to a point that they are tempted to sneak off to do their business in the guest room while you’re distracted.

But, in a highrise, you don’t have the luxury of sliding open a glass door to a fenced in backyard or even quickly hooking the leash on and doing a quick lap in the front yard. When your front door opens to a sixth floor highway, each trip involves the stairs or waiting for an elevator.

How I Discovered Dog Training Pads

Our eagerness to volunteer for walking duty quickly gave way to bickering about whose turn it was to take Jackson out before bedtime, especially when it was raining out. This particular summer, when we were doing our best to housetrain our new furbaby, it seemed to rain every day for the entire summer. Even if we were willing to brace the shower, Jackson would sit in protest at the front door and refuse to expose himself to getting soaked while he did his business. We had reached a breaking point when my neighbor saw me in the lobby during one of those morning downpours and said, “get yourself some of those pee pads so that you don’t always have to take him outside!”

Eureka. The solution seemed so obvious, but nobody had mentioned this to me before.

If you haven’t used dog training pads before, the concept is simple:
You buy a package of inexpensive pads that are absorbent on one side, and waterproof on the other. These are available at all pet stores and most supermarkets.
Place the pad in the same place—consistency is key here.
When your pup starts to motion or signal that it’s time for business, carry them over to the pad.
Reward successful uses of the pads with enthusiasm and treats. When your pet misses an opportunity to use the pad, carry them over afterwards so they begin to make the connection.
When a pad becomes used, simply fold it up and place it in a water resistant waste bag and dispose of it.

Today, we are able to leave Jackson for a longer period of time without fear that he is holding his waste all day and potentially causing harm to his body. While he enjoys going outdoors (except during those thunderstorms) on most days, he knows he always has a backup plan in the middle of the night, during bad weather or while he’s home alone.

Dog training pads are great for pet owners in highrises! And, for an even more convenient experience, get the Training Champ odor-free dog training pad disposal system to more conveniently dispose of the used pads.

Do we really need advances in cat litter disposal?

Well, think about it. The last “innovation” in cat litter disposal was when grocery stores went from paper bags to plastic and we started sealing in each scoop so that our garbage can wouldn’t stink. By the way, if you’re using one of those plastic grocery bags to remove cat litter every day, keep in mind that researchers have found those bags never fully biodegrade. They just build up in our landfills!

We live in a world of smartphones, cloning and space tourism. Surely someone has come up with a better way to cohabitate with our feline friends! Well, I’ve got good news. There has been a slough of advances in cat litter disposal that you should know about.

First of all, you’ve probably noticed that the cat litter product itself has gotten better. In general, cat litter is now lighter-weight, clumps in wet spots and is scented to lock in odor for short periods of time. Nonetheless, we cat caretakers are still forced to regularly scoop, change and clean the cat litter tray.

Which, as I mentioned earlier in the article, can create a lot of unnecessary landfill waste that future generations are going to have to deal with. I know those little grocery store bags don’t seem like much, but imagine your use multiplied by the 96 million cats in the United states alone.  

Is There an Eco-Friendly Cat Litter Disposal System?

The recent advancement in cat litter disposal that is most exciting is a system that simultaneously makes disposal process easier, more eco-friendly and reduces the odor traditionally associated with litter waste. Allow me to introduce you to the Litter Champ Cat Litter Disposal System by Lucky Champ. Litter Champ is the better way to clean up after your cat.

Here are some of the features and benefits of adopting the Litter Champ system:

The clean-looking device can be kept next to all of your litter trays, making the process quick and convenient.
Long-lasting liner saves you money over time.
Continuous liner system assures zero-waste disposal.
Litter Champ Liners will biodegrade 100% underground or in landfill within 9 months to 5 year period.
Exclusive triple-seal design locks odors in.
Odor-free system reduces trips to garbage can
Child-proof lock keep pets and small children out.

Each time you scoop your cat’s litter boxes you are replacing the use of a wasteful plastic bag with an easy scoop into the Litter Champ and sealing the odor and waste inside with the turn of a knob. Conveniently decide when you are ready to transport the waste to an outdoor receptacle without worrying about odor, cleanliness or safety.

Now that is an advance in cat litter disposal worth talking about!

Unless you live in one of the few tropical climates in the United States, you’ve become accustomed to life getting a little less convenient around the house during the winter months. Digging your car out of a snow fortress, winterizing your home and stockpiling groceries in case of a blizzard are just a few of the small prices we pay to enjoy living in a seasonal climate. Nonetheless, we always manage to find a way to make it to Spring.

If we truly take a moment to consider our modern day circumstances however, it’s hard to feel sorry for ourselves. Afterall, in spite of all of those stories our grandparents told us about walking uphill (both ways) to school in six feet of snow every day, they certainly had to make due without many of the conveniences we enjoy today. Heat, communication, home entertainment and transportation have come light years in last generation or two.

Cat Litter Disposal Doesn’t Take Snow Days

In America, as well as much of the rest of the developed world, convenience is king. But until recently, there was one inconvenience that us cat lovers had to endure every winter. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Since nature continues to call for our furry housemates during a three day snowstorm, we’ve had to choose between smelly cat litter waste building up in the garage can or bracing the elements to dispose of dirty cat litter outdoors.

Nobody wants to leave the mild interior confines of our heated homes on an icy night to pry open the outdoor trash lid just to dispose of the cat litter—”it’s your turn, John!” So for the most part, we families with felines had to tolerate the stench that would permeate our kitchens or garages increasingly until trash day.

And let’s not overlook the danger of icy sidewalks for those of us in apartments! Nobody wants to have to explain to our friends that we broke our hip walking the cat litter to the dumpster. We’ve already been warned that we’re about one saturday night at home away from being labeled the crazy cat lady by our social circle.

If only there was some kind of odor-sealing vault that would trap this stinky waste and then allow us to neatly transport the buildup to the outdoor garbage cans when we were ready. You know, when it finally stops snowing!

Litter Champ Cat Litter Disposal

Enter the best thing for cat lovers since timed-release catnip dispensing toys: the Litter Champ Cat Litter Disposal by Lucky Champ. Imagine a low-profile, handsome trash can near each cat litter with a scoop, lid and triple-sealed liner to guard your living quarters from the unpleasant odor within. Just scoop, step and drop! And with Litter Champ’s exclusive triple seal design keeping odors in, there’s no need to empty the pail until it’s completely full. What is this… the future?!

Wait, it gets even better.

You don’t have to touch any part of the waste during this process. The Litter Champ Cat Litter Disposal System comes with a hygienic hands-free pedal and convenient side-hanging scoop. This thing is so easy to use you won’t remember how you got along without it.

And if the felines aren’t your only children in the house, you can rely on the child-proof lock that keeps small children and other curious (i.e. nosey) pets out. The Litter Champ is good looking, compact and can safely house the smelly pet waste for days or weeks until you can permanently dispose of it.

Now that we’ve broken the ice with the Litter Champ, let’s take a look at why we’re so excited about this modern-day convenience:

Odor Free: Exclusive triple-seal design locks odors in and reduces trips to garbage can.
Clean & Hassle-Free Operation: Just, scoop, step and drop, the hygienic hands-free pedal is easy to use.
Economic: Long-lasting liner saves you $$$ over time.
Durable: Made with exclusive ABS resin provides sturdy structure and non-porous surface for easy up-keep. Comes with 5-Year manufacturer’s warranty!
Eco-Friendly: Litter Champ liners will Biodegrade 100% underground or in landfill within 9 months to 5 year period.
Elegant Design: With compact and elegant design, Litter Champ fits any home decor.
Safe: Child-proof Lock keep pets and small children out.

Don’t suffer through another winter without your Litter Champ Cat Litter Disposal System!

9 ways cats show their love

Cats show their love in so many ways. Some are obvious and some are not. Some we find cute and some we find a little annoying. However our cats show us affection, each has its own unique ways of showing them.

Cats like to give presents

The cat brought you a gift. It may be a leaf, a branch, their favorite toy… or errr… a dead-something they caught outside. Cats are natural-born hunters and when they bring you a gift, they’re showing and offering you a token of their affection and love.

Sometimes other people’s cats bring you presents of love, too. One time, the across-the-hall neighbor’s cat brought me a giant dead rat as a token of affection. I was flattered.

Belly Rub

Most cats don’t expose their bellies and don’t like their bellies touched. Ever. One, because it makes them too vulnerable and two, they trust no one (at first). However, if your cat plops down and rolls over that means they trust you, feel protected by you and are completely comfortable around you.

One of my kitties plops down for belly rubs the minute I get home from work. Every day. The other one just stands there and watches. She has no idea what she’s missing.

The Kitty-Bunt

AKA: the head butt. Sometimes it’s soft and gentle and sometimes they butt you so hard, the phone gets knocked out of your hand while you’re texting. Cats do this while they’re relaxed and friendly to deposit facial pheromones on humans or objects to signal comfort, safety and possession with you.

 The Nibbler

Your cat may give you little love bites that don’t hurt and you barely feel while playing with you. These playful nibbles are signs of affection and their way of showing you attention.

It’s totally cute when my cats do this. Not so cute when the playful nibble turns into a MMA fight match with your arm.

Why are you following me?

Do your cats follow you around from room to room or run circles around your feet and rub your ankles while trying to make dinner? They’re showing their fondness and want to stay close. While it may not be the best moment, just roll with it. It’s another way of them showing love.

Making Biscuits

Kneading or as vets call it “making biscuits” is a cat instinct. For many cats, this kitten behavior developed as babies when nursing from their mothers, carries into adulthood for a number of reasons including showing contentment and love, a way of calming down if feeling anxious or to mark you or an object with the scent in their paw sweat glands.

Tip of the Tail

Your cat’s tail can indicate its mood—if content in the current situation, she’ll hold her tail out and loosely behind. If happy, she’ll hold her tail up high with a slight twitch or it will curl forward. If her tail is moving, twitching or wagging she’s showing interest. We’ve all seen this movement as Mr. and Ms. Kitty intensely watch a bird through the window.

The Purrfect Purr

It’s a cat-parents favorite sound. The purr. Cats purring=happiness all around.

Did you know that kittens start purring even before they open their eyes? They purr and rumble while nursing, a reassuring sound to mama cats.

Kisses. Kitty-Style

Eye contact is uncomfortable for cats. However, once they’ve made that connection of trust and lock eyes with you, they’ll show just how much they like you by blowing kisses, kitty-style. How to know if you’ve been kissed? Make eye contact with your kitty and slowly blink. If you see her slowly blinking, as well—you’ve been kitty-kissed! Try it again. Chances are they’ll give you more than one kiss.

Our Litter Champ was featured as a brilliant solution to cat litter disposal in the Spring 2010 issue of Southern Paws & Tails magazine.

Millions of Americans suffer from one form or another of arthritis. It is a painful and debilitating disease of the joints. This is also true for middle age and older cats. Recently, Dr. Alice Wolf from Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine, studied the radiographs of 100 cats aged 10 to 18 years. She found that 90 % of the cats over 12 years of age had some type of arthritis. In another study done at shelters, one out of every five cats over one year of age had at least one sign of early arthritis.

Sources of Damage

Arthritis comes in many forms, and can be associated with a variety of factors. There is no difference in incidence between male and female cats. Most cats get a form of arthritis which is called DJD (Degenerative Joint Disease). This is very similar to the human form called osteoarthritis. Precipitating influences for DJD may include a genetic predisposition, an infectious disease, an injury, gradual wear and tear, or some other congenital structural problem such as Hip Dysplasia or a “trick knee”. Very young cats are more likely to develop the type of arthritis called rheumatoid. In this case, the joint damage is brought on by the malfunction of the immune system. While the sources of the condition vary, they all eventually lead to the erosion of cartilage. Cartilage is the smooth tissue found in joints, which protects the ends of the bones from rubbing together. When this protective tissue is worn away, the bone ends come in contact. The persistent grinding of bone results in inflammation and pain!

Typical Signs

DJD starts out very subtly. It is unlikely that as an owner you may notice stiffness or an altered gait. Limping is rarely noticed because usually both sides of the body are equally affected. If you stop and think, you may recall that your cat has not jumped up on the counter lately. You may find that your cat may become more “cool acting”, choosing to stay in one place despite what activity may be going on around him. Due to persistent discomfort, some animals will have less fastidious grooming habits. Or they may start having “accidents” outside the box because they can not lift themselves comfortably over the edge of the box.

Diagnosis

Veterinary diagnosis of a cat experiencing arthritic pain focuses on excluding other conditions and, insofar as possible, definitively confirming the presence of osteoarthritis. Because cats are often stoic in the office and will not easily demonstrate how they are walking at home, the veterinarian must first get a thorough history from the owner. Sometimes a videotaping is very helpful! Next, we feel the joints and do range-of-motion tests. This approach is then followed by X-rays, which are done with pain medication so the patient is always comfortable.

Easing the Pain

Treatment is directed toward pain management and preserving a good quality of life. It is best to start by reviewing the cat’s environment. For example, we confirm that the food bowls are high enough and in a convenient location. Stools and ramps are placed such that felines can still happily get to all their favorite places Be sure to use a large litter box with a low entry point and higher sides filled with a finer-consistency litter.( One such box is the Lucky Champ™ Litter Pan which we have available at out office.) Our house calls are ideal for a full evaluation of your home set-up.

Medical therapy often begins with the use of a nutraceutical such as Cosequin™ or chondritin or glucosamine. Cosequin™ will work to maintain the structure of the cartilage in the joints while inhibiting the enzymes that destroy cartilage. After starting this product, it will take 4-6 weeks to reach maximum effect, but many of our patients notice improvement within two weeks. An alternate form of chondritin and glucosamine may be necessary if your cat has beef allergies. If too much product (as in a human dose) is given, diarrhea may result, but otherwise this product is very safe to use in cats. It also comes in tasteless and yummy chicken and tuna flavored sprinkles and capsules. Chondritin and glucosamine are also sold as seafood treats and liquid formulations. Ask us for details on how we can entice your kitty to take something that will ease his discomfort. If oral treatment is not possible, an injectable drug called Adequin™ may be the best choice.

Adequin™ can be administered by a nurse in our office twice each week for four weeks. The drug is injected painlessly, and only needs to be repeated monthly after the initial series. Although this treatment is more costly, many cats that do not respond fully to Cosequin™ will respond well to this alternative.

If the desired pain-free state is still not achieved, then the next step is to prescribe anti-inflammatory medications.

(Examples for humans only would be Ibuprofen™ or Tylenol™, which are toxic to cats.) Only in the past two years have this class of medications been made safely available to felines. The first drug made available was Metacam™. It is very effective (response within hours) and inexpensive and easy to give, but it must be used with caution in cats with kidney problems, so cats on this product must be monitored carefully.

In just the last six months a new and VERY promising anti-inflammatory medication has emerged. Duralactin™ comes in powder and liquid. Much to the cat’s delight it contains a special milk protein which makes it tasty!! Improvement has been seen in 7 days, but full effect is achieved in two weeks. The only side effect reported is some mild vomiting in a few cats.

In very severe cases of arthritis, veterinarians may turn to steroids or narcotics to provide immediate relief while waiting for slower acting medications to take effect.

It is also worth noting that cats with rheumatoid arthritis can benefit from grape seed oil. This product is a strong anti-oxidant and vascular modulator. Unfortunately, safety studies in cats have not been done, so this product must be used with extreme caution.

In our office we are also proud to offer Acupuncture and Therapy Laser to our patients as a non-drug therapy for all stages of DJD. For both humans and animals, these modalities have been proven to reduce pain and the amount of pain-relieving drugs that are necessary.

Since Arthritis is not a curable disease, early detection and intervention is valuable. The ultimate goal of any form of treatment is to keep your cat comfortable and functioning as well as possible for as long as possible.

Kristine L. Hoyt, D.V.M.

Cats on Call Newsletter, Volume 7, December 2005

256 U.S. Route One, Scarborough ME 04074 – (207) 883-7000

This is a picture of Precious and Princess awoken from a cat nap.

Dina Monroe

Hi, I just received the litter pan and canopy – just love it.  The pan is nice and big and there is plenty of “head room” for my kitties.  I especially like the fact that light can filter through the canopy and the “girls” don’t have to enter a dark cave.  The lower front is also nice. They have ventured in a few place and have used it so that means it’s a hit. Thank you for making such a wonderful product.  I always disliked the covered pans made of plastic no air, no light very bad design-made for people not kitties.  Thank you again.

Betty Marszalek