SECRETS FROM CAT MAILING LISTS
Rusty Human
When preparing a white cat for show as a last rinse after a bath put a cake of washing blue in a large bucket of water and rinse the cat with that - they come out glowing white. As a matter of interest washing blue is an old folks remedy to kill ringworm here in SA. The cake is dampened and rubbed on the lesion. Within 4 days it has scabbed and fallen off leaving pink skin behind. When cleaning persian eyes use a small square of towelling instead of cottonwool. I cut a face flannel in 4 pieces. Dampen with warm water with boracic powder in it or a weak solution of "no more tears' baby shampoo. The towelling gets the bits in between the hairs off very well. If you use clay litter you will find your litter boxes get a caking of litter on the bottom after awhile. use swimming pool acid to clean it off. Cover bottom of tray with some water and add 2 cups acid. Leave for 10 minutes and then wash out well. ****************************************************************************
Pierre Villemaire: removing stickers on carriers I have a much better trick for you my friend. Just use a blow dryers.
Use the hottest setting for 1 or 2. When really hot those sicker come off
without leaving behind one single piece of glue.
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One of my favorite remedies for yucky ears that are not yucky from mites is:
4 parts rubbing alcohol 4 parts hydrogen peroxide 2 parts vinegar
(proportions are not sacred - you can just get close)
Mix well, put in syringe (I often mix it in a syringe - easy to measure that way) and squirt into ears - massage well, wipe out excess. One or two applications will flush out the crud, leaving the ear clean and dry. Beats the heck out of most of the earwash stuff I've tried!
Regards, Valerie Smith
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I am going to repeat one that I gave with several others. It is extremely important and so simple. A real life saver this one.
When birthing kittens, I use a 4x4 gauze pad. You can buy a pack of 100 at home care businesses. You don't need the expense of sterile.
The use? When kittens are coming out and you need to pull them the rest of the way, I use a partially opened gauze pad to grab the kitten. They stick directly onto the kitten. They are the thinnest cloth you can use. You can see through them just enough and you can feel what you have hold of and what you are doing.
I have had many emails and phone calls thanking me for this one. To date, to my knowledge, this trick has saved 9 kitten lives and/or trauma. Well worth repeating, wouldn't you say.
Mandi/Furrfollies Persians for fun and show
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If you need to cage kittens but you don't have a kitten cage with narrow bars you can nevertheless prevent tiny ones from getting out (at least till they start to climb). Take some of the replacement plastic webbing that's sold for lawn chairs and weave it in and out of the bars on a regular cage, or even a dog crate. Secure the ends by folding into a point, wrapping around a bar and attaching a grommet with a grommet setter. Make your weave about three or even four rows high, depending on the size of your kittens. I've used this method to good effect when converting a child's portable crib to a kitten nursery, in the days when cribs came with bars rather than mesh. You can still find these cribs at tag sales, cheap.
Mary Tyson Thaison Siamese & Orientals
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I also carry a small bag with me for hotels. In it: tall garbage can bags in which to put a used litter box (Feline Pine for less weight! and EASY pickup), miniature dust pan an whisk brush, canned food, spring water bottle, roccal-d, paper towels and little plastic food dishes that are light weight. This past weekend I had kitty barf on the floor, that mini dust pan helped pick it up and get it all straight!! TIP: don't put your teaser sticks in the cage for the night UNTIL you have removed the cat! Mine ate some and that's why the barf... another lesson learned. The poor cat had an upset stomach the whole next day. best, Karen
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For those of you that use Tetracaine or the like to pop those Persian eyes open. I learned the easiest most wonderful secret from Vicki-Dickerson Nye. First of all, she reprimanded me for obviously using the Tetracaine (when I was a newbie). Second, I had an adverse reaction from it on yet another cat, eyes swollen shut...now there is accomplishing your goal for a ring.
Use Visine regular eye drops. Keep it on ice during the show. I have granded many a cat and the cats have captured lots and lots of rosettes using this trick. Carry a small collapsible sandwich size cooler when you travel. Take a sandwich baggie along and fill with ice at the hotel. Put the Visine in your pack and your cat is ready to have popping crystal clear eyes.
Mandi/Furrfollies Persians for fun and show
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You know the yellow you can get on a bicolor's or white's feet. Pour some club soda into a little tub container and let the cat stand in it for a little while. You can also use a lot of club soda and put it into your sink. Just keep pouring it over the cat. They will return to sparkling white. If your cat is too far gone, it will lighten them considerably. Takes away the dingy white color too that can be found
mandi/furrfollies persians for fun and show
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Use sunscreen on your white cats ears and nose!
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My favorite time and money saving cat tip is making my own disposable litter boxes that I use in the cold winter months when I can not clean litter pans with the garden hose. I get the short, cut off boxes that groceries are placed in (e.g. Sam's club) about 3 inches high on the sides and then recycle my plastic grocery bags by putting one over the box on each end, having them overlap in the middle. Next comes the litter. You have a moisture proof litter box that can be thrown away and costs almost nothing.
Michele Broadbent, Sunchaser cattery
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D. Valley
The best and safest thing I have found for any sticky mess (had a cat and kid get into panel adhesive), and stud tail is peanut butter! Just rub it in then work in your regular shampoo to wash it out.
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Need a bib for your kitty? use a coffee filter! just cutout a hole in the middle!
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Stud tail
Rub mechanics hand cleaner(Goop) into the dry tail.Rinse,wash with dishwashing liquid.
Rinse well and keep powdered with fullers earth.
Rusty Human - Stanwick persians.
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Lime Sulpher I make my own "lyme shampoo", and find it works well. I put a couple capfulls in a cheapie shampoo 16 oz, just enough to make it a bit stinky and yellow. I lather the cat/kitten and let the kitty sit in an open wire cage I have. (This cage has multi uses and is on short legs and wire on all 4 sides (great for drying too) Anyway, I let the cat sit for 15 minutes or so, and then rinse the whole mess off, and there is no stain and no odour when they dry. If you do this once or twice a week, it will kill fungus and get rid of it. It is always good to back up with fulvicin if you see lesions, but the shampoos "sits" are enough if it is just a preventative. Most kitties that are lathered like that just huddle miserably and do not lick it off. At least Persians that is. This method also does not give that rough brittle feel to the coat . Dottie Persson Harwood Persians
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Rusty Human
Use Sterri-Nappi (diaper sterilizer) to wash cats bedding and clean catteries to get rid of germs and male urine smell.
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Lisa Aring
I've shared this before but quite a while ago. And the credit goes to my husband.
Want to keep cats out of drawers, cabinets and cupboards? You can of course use a child lock, but we couldn't find any we liked. So we instead bought some Velcro - the kind with the strong adhesive on the back that's usually sold in the automotive dept. One strip on the door/drawer and the other on the frame and...Voila! Cat-proof! Moreover, the "safety feature " is not seen and you your kitchen/bedroom or wherever doesn't look like a challenge for Houdini.
It's VERY strong. We've had ours for over 2 years and it's still holding. Fair warning though: until you get used to the effort it takes to open the door, watch your fingernails!!
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Disposable Litter trays for kittens
Use the cardboard trays beer cans are sold in
Rusty
Eye stains:
Make a paste of white fullers earth and Boracic power. Apply and leave to dry.
Wash off and repeat if necessary.
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If you use clay litter you will eventually get a clay build up on the bottom of the tray.
To get rid of this put some water in the empty tray and add 2 cups of swimming pool acid.
Allow to stand for half an hour and then wash.
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Stain remover for carpets:
To 500mls(1Pint) hot water add
1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablesponn dishwashing liquid and 1 tablespoon vinegar. Sponge on stain and
mop it dry with an old towel.
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Bathing your cat? need two hands? use an old lampshade wire frame to stand the hairdryer in
so you have your hands free to brush the cat.
The sponges you get out of medicine/vitamin bottles are ideal to use when you bath a cat.
A little shampoo on the sponge is ideal for washing the face without drowning the poor thing.
Keep a bowl of diluted shamopo and use the sponge to get to hard to reach places like legs
and stomach. Less waste of shampoo!
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Items for your 'birthing kit':
Glucose - Add 1 teaspoon to 1 cup water and give 2 cc.s every 15 minutes to keep the blood
sugar up of your queen. You can also add Caullophylum homeopathic drops to speed things up and
give good contractions.
Dental floss: for tying off cords that might bleed.
Bicycle valve tubing: buy a piece next time you go past a bicycle shop. Use to suck out the
fluid from the kittens throats when they are born. It is soft and pliable and can be pushed far
down the throat. A small piece cut off , put in hot water and then put on the end of a syringe
is ideal for feeding kittens as they suck on it, pulling the plunger down. That way you see
exactly how much the kitten is drinking.
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Use Euphrasia homeopathic Eye drops to keep you cats eyes open and clear on show day!
They are useful any other time come to think of it!
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For stings:
Apply vinegar for a wasp sting and bicarbonate of soda for bee stings. raw cut onion also works well!
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Fumigation recipe for the house after ringworm:
Formaldehyde, Potassium permanganate.
Put 3 tablspoons permanganate crystal in a heatproof container in each room. Close all windows.
Remove pets and house plants. Then add 500mls formaldehyde to each container. RUN out the house
and keep closed for 6 hours. Air for 2 before you bring pets back. Kills all spores,etc.
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Need to keep watch on a queen all night? have a LARGE glass of water at bedtime. Guaranteed to
wake you up in 2 hours time. Not half as noisy as an alarm clock!
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Cut a face flannel in four pieces and use the little squares for cleaning persian faces. Wet in a weak
solution of baby shampoo, wring out and clean face of cat.
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If you have read this far - here is one for you:
Castor oil put on the eyelashes at night will make them grow thicker and longer! 8-)))
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Trust me on the sunscreen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Got a secret? Email it to me to add to the list, please?
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