Cat Behavior & Care Archives

Your Hero Pet Winners: TRICK OR TREAT Thriller #9

by Amy Shojai | Oct 3, 2025

Today, Friday October 3, I sent my latest thriller TRICK OR TREAT to my editor. Yay! Once again, the book takes place in Texas. But the characters (and readers) come from all over the world. So it’s fitting that my editor lives in Canada.

Oh, and my cover designer lives in England–he just sent me the draft, and I’m over the moon! I hope you’ll love it!

As with past books, I invited my newsletter subscribers to nominate hero pets to appear in the upcoming TRICK OR TREAT thriller. Boy, did y’all come through! Here are what these amazing characters add to the story, and the winners that YOU voted for! Following the theme, the hero pets come from Texas, from Ohio, and from Mexico! Without further ado, here are your hero pets…

Cat Social Skills: Cat About Town?

by Amy Shojai | Oct 2, 2025

Socialization for cats? Yes yes YES! Well socialized kitties not only exude confidence, they’re happier and healthier. Read on…

Ghost Cats, Ghost Dogs, and Visitations From Beyond

by Amy Shojai | Oct 1, 2025

Has a ghost dog or ghost cat visited you? They have blessed me that way more than once, but never when I wish for it and always unexpectedly. Far from scary, the visitation from beyond brought me great comfort. I know my furry wonders live on–somewhere, somehow, and that I’ll see them again.

It wouldn’t be heaven without them. In fact, one of my Pet Peeves radio programs discussed whether pets go to heaven. At my church, Pastor Craig Sturm also shared a message about whether or not pets go to heaven. Read more about pet ghosts, and what (maybe) they mean.

Karma’s Swollen Ear: Aural Hematoma & What to Do

by Amy Shojai | Sep 23, 2025

Some years ago, Karma-Kat visited the veterinarian for his annual wellness check. He’d lost a little over a pound (yay!), and the doctor said Karma looked like a two- or three-year-old kitty rather than a mature nine-year-old man-kat. He’s a senior kitty now, but doesn’t know it or act like it. We celebrated a great exam until I got home–and discovered the swollen ear flap, or aural hematoma on Karma’s right ear.

Voting Open! Name That Hero Cat!

by Amy Shojai | Sep 18, 2025

Voting is now open for the HERO PETS in the next thriller TRICK OR TREAT! Vote for your choice for hero CAT, and hero DOG, and hero HORSE! Share and vote often–voting closes SEPT 28.

Sweet Pet Poison: Your Guide to Cat & Dog Antifreeze Poisoning

by Amy Shojai | Sep 11, 2025

It’s never too early to take precautions. Pets often get into poisons by accidentally eating the wrong plant, or other dangerous toxins. With the pending change in the weather and when temperatures fall, cat and dog antifreeze poisoning becomes a danger.

You’ll find antifreeze in surprising places, not just in the garage. For instance, the liquid in snow globes can poison pets when the toy breaks. Not long ago, social media shared many stories of antifreeze poisoning cats from the liquid in broken snow globes. The liquid tastes sweet, so it’s very appealing for sweet-loving dogs to drink or lick up spills on the garage floor. Puppies are the worst, eating anything that doesn’t move faster than they do. Cats also are at risk when they walk through puddles and lick/groom the liquid off their body. Here’s what you need to know to keep your pets safe–and maybe save their life!

Angry Cat? 8 Ways People Hiss Off Cats

by Amy Shojai | Sep 10, 2025

We love our cats but still complain about their “behavior problems," but did you ever think why your angry cat might behave badly? Our blood pressure goes off the charts when Sheba and Tom scratch the furniture, baptize the bed, and caterwaul at 5:00 a.m., even though...

How To Leave Your Cat Alone At Home

by Amy Shojai | Sep 5, 2025

Every year, we take trips to visit family over the holidays. Our cats are not the happiest travelers, so what’s a loving pet parent to do? Is it safe to leave your cat alone at home? That’s a topic I’ve meant to cover for some time, and now guest blog writer Maya Kinsley provides you with lots of great information to consider.

10 Tips for Moving With Pets to a New Home: Getting Pets Used to a New Place

by Amy Shojai | Sep 3, 2025

Moving With Pets to a New Home: Getting Pets Used to a New Place

Moving with pets raises human stress levels and your cats and dogs are no different. While many dogs enjoy adventure and visiting unknown places (and smells!), cats bond closely with their home territory. Any change can put their tail in a twist when moving disrupts routine. An unfamiliar location, smells, and sounds raise levels of fear, anxiety, or stress (FAS).

With proper care, though, you can reduce or even eliminate the angst. Here are tips for moving with cats and dogs and helping them quickly acclimate to their new home.

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Cat Enrichment, How & Why to Stimulate A Cat Brain

From time to time, I receive queries from other journalists asking for interviews on a variety of pet-centric topics. I’ve written extensively on the subject of cat enrichment, which helps stimulate kitty brains and keeps them healthy. For example, scent enrichment for your cat can help stimulate the kitty brain. Here’s a recap with some new information along the way.

4 Eco-Friendly Ways to Enrich Your Dog’s Environment

Dogs, cats and other pets can get bored just like we do. I struggle not to binge on snacks and bad TV. Keeping our minds and bodies active is important for our health, and environmental enrichment elevates your dog’s physical and emotional health.

When Shadow-Pup feels bored, he terrorizes Karma-Kat. Oh, they love to play together, but he overdoes things and can get too rough when he feels bored. He’ll also demand more attention from his humans. That takes the form of staring and barking at us (READ MY MIND!), or bringing toys to play, or even indulging in zoomies–racing around and around the house l

There are many ways you can add some stimulation into your pet’s world. That doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming. Check out these easy and green pet-parent projects you can try this spring.

Holiday Pet Books, Time to Order!

This year, Amazon has delayed nearly every book order I’ve made. That’s incredibly frustrating when “gifting” for the holidays. I see books ordered TODAY not expected to arrive before December 24 at the earliest, eeeek! Order PAW-tographed copies NOW to get ’em in time for the holidays.

Dog Enrichment for Bored Dogs: 6 Quick Tips to Enrich Dog Environments

Boredom is the worst. When I’m bored, I want to snack, usually on high-carb stuff that packs on the poundage. Hey, Cheetos and M&Ms are brain food, right? It’s not just us humans who fall into bad habits, though. Dogs do too. At least we can control what goes in their bowls.

One of the easiest ways to keep your dog blissfully busy is exercise. Shadow-Pup loves games of fetch, and also adores games of wrestle-and-tag with Karma-Kat. Oh, and cats get bored, too. And when Bravo-Dawg was alive, his Big-Ball (water-filled tug toy) brought him joy even after the loss of his leg.

While physical exercise is important for dogs, they also need to keep their brains busy too! Besides, this hot weather means outdoor fun gets limited to early morning hours before we hit triple digits here in Texas. I’ll put together a dog enrichment webinar and booklet in the coming months. Meanwhile, here are my 6 quick tips to enrich your dog’s environment to help them stay mentally and physically active – and out of trouble.

Kennel Cough Got You Down? Protect Dogs from Holiday Hacking

Coughing dogs are no fun for you, or your dog. With holidays near, many dogs may spend time away from home being boarded. That can expose your furry friend to kennel cough. Or other newer canine respiratory dog illnesses. Learn how to protect your dog, by understanding more about kennel cough, a very contagious disease.

New Puppy Introductions: New Pets Enrich Furry Lives

Did you adopt a new pet over the holidays? New puppy introduction to pets — in my case, dog to cat and puppy to dog introductions — is one kind of dog school that everyday dog obedience classes may not teach. While dog to dog introductions are a bit easier in some ways, puppy to cat introductions work very well when both pets are supervised. Puppy school starts in your home with basic dog training. When it involves a smaller pet like a resident cat, safety is also an issue.

On Sunday, May 31, 2020, a stray puppy showed up at our house. We didn’t plan on a new pet, especially since Bravo-Dawg developed major health challenges. As it turned out, Bravo adopted the new baby as his very own comfort-pup. Here’s how to introduce pups to adult dogs so they become fast friends.

How To Give Pets As Gifts

Giving pets as gifts prompts discussions every time the subject comes up. Most recently, we got our “gift puppy” and “gift kitten” when they adopted us, and we’re so glad Karma-Kat, Trinity-Kitty and Shadow-Pup are part of our holidays. But for many folks, this year means a new puppy or new kitten for Christmas. Learn how to gift pets–and please share your experiences in the comments!

13 Pet Holiday Dangers to Avoid: How to Keep Cats & Dogs Safe

I write about pet holiday dangers every year. This listicle (and a fun infographic at the bottom) offers more than a dozen problems. I’ve included links to more detailed information for those wanting a deeper dive on all the must-knows for pet holiday safety!

“Cat-mas” Gift Book: Christmas Cat Legend

Several years ago, an editor friend urged me to turn this story into a children’s book. But (as those who read my thrillers understand) I don’t write for kids! Children are, IMO, the toughest audience of all.

But I do love the story. My friend passed away not long after I’d worked with her on another of her terrific pet-theme anthologies.

People, and ideas, come to us for a reason and so I followed the suggestion. Better late than never, right? This gift book, not specifically a “kids book,” I offer as a story for people of ALL ages who love Christmas…and cats.

Share the joy of the season with a heartwarming, original telling of the very first Christmas in this gorgeous full-color gift book for cat lovers of all ages!

Counting Thanksgiving Blessings, the Pet Writer Way in 2025

Time for my annual Count My Blessings post. The past year has meant change, change, and more change, and that’s good and also challenging. But some things never change…I’m thankful to you—yes, those who read this blog, the cat book lovers, and the dog book lovers, and folks who have “adopted” my thriller series. And those who offered awesome applause and support any of the other venues mentioned…

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