Protect Your Feline With House Plants That Are Safe For Cats

By Heather Sneed

Finding house plants safe for cats is not always the easiest thing to do. However, responsible pet owners search through the listings of poisonous and not poisonous plants put out by the ASPCA for appropriate plants. Then they decorate their homes with the plants that are safe for their precious cats.

Sometimes, you get a cat after you have already decorated your home. In this case, you bring your brand new kitty home and you do not give a second thought to your house plants. You go about your daily life never even thinking that those plants could be poisonous to your new edition.

Then one day, you come home from what is usually an otherwise normal day at work to find your cat a little ill. You have no idea what is wrong. This scenario goes on for a few days before you take your precious kitty to the vet and find your feline has been nibbling on a house plant. This is when you find out that the English ivy that you have had for years is actually poisonous to your kitty cat. Lucky for you, your cat did not ingest enough to be fatal but did ingest enough to get ill.

You quickly rush home and check the ASPCA's website and throw out all the potentially harmful house plants before something serious happens to your cat. After all, you are a responsible pet owner and you love your cat. You do not want anything to happen like this again. So, out goes all dangerous house plants and in comes safe house plants.

Since cats like to nibble on lush greens, many cat owners like to plant cat friendly gardens in their homes. You can accomplish this by planting lush greens. A simple seven by seven container will work just fine. In the container, plant some barley and wheat. Some pet stores and online stores sell "cat grass" seeds or something similar. It should grow a few inches tall and attract the cat for grazing. Since the cat will want to nibble, make sure the container is stable enough to prevent tipping over and spilling.

Other popular plants safe for cats include the Christmas cactus, African violet, and
the spider plant. They are all easy to grow and safe around children and pets. They add beauty and color to any living space. Therefore, you can brighten up your home without worrying about endangering the lives of your loved ones.

If you want to brighten up the outdoors, you might want to try a Boston fern. These grow nice and large. Therefore, they are not recommended to bring indoors. However, they do make for a lovely patio plant and are safe around cats.

Cat Urine Cleaning - Every Cat Owner Has to Clean That Urine Sometime

Cat urine cleaning is a task that befalls every cat owner at some point. Most cats are pretty good about using their litter trays, but sometimes when a cat is unwell, or feeling upset they can have their little accidents.

It's not the soaking up the pool of urine that's the problem, use enough paper towels or absorbent cloth and it soaks up easy enough. It is best to get to it before the cat pee soaks in though!

The tricky part of cat urine cleaning is the stains and the dreadful lingering odor.

Most household cleaning products will not do a very good job of cleaning up cat urine, preventing stains and neutralizing the smell. The problem with these cleaners is that they are ammonia based.

As you may know, when a cat urinates in a spot, even accidentally, she is likely to use that spot again. Leave any hint of your cat's urine smell and she'll think it is
okay for a repeat performance. What does ammonia smell like? Yes, it smells very much like pee. Use an ammonia cleaner and again, your cat will think that spot must be the place for her toilet. Cleaning products that are scented are not much use, they may cover up the smell for you, but they won't for your cat.

There are many cat urine cleaning products available which are enzyme based. These specialized cleaners are more costly than ordinary cleaners of course, but they stand a far greater chance of getting the result that you want. These enzyme cleaners do not mask the urine odor they neutralize it. How well they work depends on the surface your cat peed on, how deep the urine has soaked in and how well you use the cleaner.

When cleaning your cat's little accident from a carpet remember it does not take long at all for the urine to soak through. If it has then you will also need to clean the under padding and possibly the floor beneath. If it is a fitted carpet that may mean pulling it up. However, there is a very good cat urine cleaning product that comes with an injector so you can tackle the underside without having to roll up your carpeting. As with all the urine cleaners, it may take more than one application.

If your wood floor is well sealed then cleaning up your cat's urine should not be too difficult, but you still need to use an enzyme product to do it properly. If there are cracks in your wood floor your cat's pee is sure to seep through them, so you have to get the cleaner down there too.

Cat's do not just have accident's on the floor, oh no. They will urinate on your upholstered furniture, your bed, your clothing, just about anywhere. Unfortunately, sometimes you just can't eliminate that awful whiff, and all you can do is dispose of the soiled item. But, tackling the job the with the right cleaner, in the right way, often means that you can save whatever it is your cat decided to bless.


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How a Cat Uses It's Whiskers

Many people wonder why cats have whiskers. Unlike humans, they do not have to be trimmed. They may get wet or have food left on them. So why have them?

Whiskers also known as tactile hairs are sensory organs that become sensitive when something comes close. They help identify an object especially in the dark. By sensing changes in air currents with them, objects can detected and avoided.

There can be up to 12 long whiskers on the upper lip, shorter ones above the eyes and back of the forelegs. They are deep rooted in the face and up to three times thicker than normal body hair. The tips are sensitive to pressure. The ones on the lip will fan out enabling the cat to determine if it can fit through an opening. It can twist it's body through an opening because it has a collar bone. Even a blind cat can get around very easily by using them.

The ones on the forelegs can determine the size of an animal that has been captured. This helps keep control of the captured animal. A cat has is a natural hunter. It depends on it's ability to move undetected in the dark to capture it's prey. They help navigate as it is stalking it's prey.

A cat will use them to communicate. Depending on the mood, the position of them will change. If it is walking, they will be fully extended. They are held in tight when feeding, around another animal or angry. If it is content, they will be pushed forward and relaxed.

Some are straight and some are curly. Never cut or try to rearrange them. Some maybe lost when shedding but that is nothing to be concerned about. It takes several months for them to grow back. There is still enough left to navigate with until the new ones grow back.

Every feline has whiskers. Even on a lion or tiger, they perform the same functions in the animal. They are dependent on them for survival especially in the wild. They can be found in other animals and are usually used for sensing purposes.

So now you know that whiskers play an important role in everyday life. No human intervention is needed because a cat will maintain them. If there is a significant loss of them or they are damaged, go to a veterinarian immediately. The veterinarian can determine why the loss or how to repair the damage.

Frank Loethen-live in Georgia with my wife and three cats, Sunny, Sinclair and Midnite. If you enjoyed this article, please visit [http://www.purrfectcatproducts.com]http://www.purrfectcatproducts.com, your one stop site for all your cat and kitten needs. Cat toys, cat treats, cat beds, cat gifts and litter accessories are among the many items on the site. You also can meet my three cats on the site.
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