Cat Bed Ideas for the Pampered Feline

PAWSITIVE PAMPERINGS CAT NEWSLETTER, JANUARY 2013  My name is Simba, and I am pictured on the left.  Did you know that adult cats will sleep up to 18+ hours a day?  Why not provide them some great comfort?  Their own special cat bed!  And if you have a kitten, what better way to train them than teaching them to use their own bed while they are young. We, at Pawsitive Pamperings, have several suggestions in deciding what type of cat bed to buy:     1. The Window Perch – Snowdrift, a beautiful white cat, loves his window perch bed.  He sleeps in it a lot!.     2. Kitty Condos – These beds are designed for your cat to hide in while sleeping.  This is the perfect choice for your cat to sleep hidden away from the action in the home.  When awake, he can see out of the window and watch the weather, birds and squirrels, or watch his pet parents do some gardening while he is resting.  We have unheated and heated window perch beds, and one design has an optional bolster edge.        3. Round bed with sides – This style is great for the cat who likes to snuggle; especially for the small to medium sized cat.  Some beds have low sides; other designs have the sides just a little bit higher.     4. Heated bed – Being in the middle of the cold winter months, your precious feline may love a nice, heated bed.  This style may be the only convincing style to keep them off of your bed.  This cat bed was purchased by a friend who bought it to put next to her on her desk. That way her cat could stay warm and near her while my friend works on her computer and her cat wouldn’t get on her warm computer.   I know most cats love to be on your furniture or your bed.  Ours do.  Providing a comfortable small bed in any room, the living room, computer room, family room, etc., may just be that special touch to keep them off of your furniture and thus leaving those pesky cat hairs in their cat bed and not on your furniture or your clothes. We have several style cat beds.  Pamper your little furry friend and buy her a new cat bed.   Thanks for shopping at www.pawsitivepamperings.com.

You Came Home with a Cat

We recently discussed on this blog the elements in making the decision to bring a dog into your home. Now let’s switch gears and talk about bringing a cat into your home.

Cats are much less demanding than dogs, but the still have definite needs. Cats need good cat food, her own food and water dishes, a comfortable cat bed in which to sleep (unless you don’t mind if she sleeps on your bed with you), a litter box away from her food area, cat toys and scratching posts. The good thing is: they don’t need to be taken for daily walks.

It is very important that you keep your cat’s food and water dishes clean, and her litter box clean. Don’t keep her food near her cat litter box…this is not healthy.

Cats are more independent creatures than dogs, but they still have very important needs. Some are very social creatures. They like attention. Kittens especially like playtime. Sometimes they create their own entertainment with their cat toys, and sometime they like interactive time with you. Some like to be held and some like to be petted. Some do not like their tummies rubbed and they will let you know immediately when you try. Most often, however, they choose the time they want to play.

Cats adore be loved and treated kindly, but they do not like to be controlled. They don’t want to be held a lot or even often. Short periods of time are what they will prefer. They don’t like to be controlled by being placed in a carrier to take to the vet, or taken some place else. They don’t even like to be held long enough to have their nails trimmed. They want control as much as possible.

Each cat has her only personality. Some are shy; some more frisky; some are more inquisitive; some like more social time; some attach themselves more to one family member than others.

We have discovered with our own cats, having had indoor/outdoor cats, and strictly indoor cats, that indoor cats develop a very special personality. Whatever their personality, however, cats are a delight to own.

Thanks for stopping by to read our blog, and for checking out our website: pawsitivepamperings.com

Until next time, have a great day. Mrs. Paws

Are outdoor cat beds necessary?

Our outdoor cat’s health is really important to me. She chose our house as the place she wants to live, so I try to care for her the best I can.

It is getting cold for our area here in Oregon.  The temps are dipping into the high 20’s at night, and low 40’s during the day.  When it is overcast and foggy, it even seems colder.  It may even be colder where you are, and some places around the country have already had snow.  The winds often blow around 20-40 mph and the chill factor is really cold.

Let me share with you how we are protecting a little outdoor stray cat that has been around a while.  Her name is Deckster, because she likes to be on our deck.  She has been around for about 7 years.  She is still a little skittish about me getting close to her, but sometimes she lets me pet her when I put her food out.  We decided she needed some cat bedding to stay comfortable and warm.

On our back deck, my husband constructed a 3 sided area with plywood.  A large piece of plywood is over this shelter.  Inside the shelter, we have 2 storage bins that we got at a discount store.  I have laid them on their sides and in one I have a round, padded, fleece lined cat bed.  In the other, which is larger, I placed a sweater storage bin that has sides about 4”-5” high.  Inside this bin, I have an old towel and a portion of a fleece blanket.  Deckster can snuggle down inside this bin and be protected from the wind.  She uses both, going back and forth as she decides. I call it her ‘open floor plan with a 2-cat bed condo’.

For the fleece blanket, I found a sale around Christmastime one year for a single bed size fleece blanket.  I cut it into thirds. I put 1/3 of the fleece in her cat bed at a time.  Now I have a change of linens as they get dirty or wet.  I am trying to maintain a nice warm place for her to stay.  Of course, if the sun comes out, she finds a nice warm spot out in the open to snooze a while.

If you have an outlet near your cat’s bed where you could plug in a heated outdoor cat bed, that would be the ideal.  Unfortunately we don’t have an outlet close enough to her shelter.  It would be a safety hazard to string an extension cord, so we just have warm bedding in her cat beds. She actually uses them both.  She decides if she wants to stretch out and sleep, or just curl up and snuggle.

We need to be aware of our dog or cat’s comfort and provide the best we can afford.  Do what you can with what you have to protect them from these winter time temperatures.