Cat & Dog Behavior & Care Advice
Amy Shojai, CABC, Pet Expert & Award-Winning Author
DWAA Hall of Fame & AVMA Veterinary Media Award Winner
How to Keep Cats & Dogs Cool in Hot Weather
Yikes! It’s hot-hot-hot here in Texas. Shadow-Pup is NOT happy. He misses his ZOOMIES in the back garden, but I’m afraid to let him overdo too much. It’s time for hot weather games for pets and keeping cats and dogs cool in hot weather.
Spoil Your Cat: How to Show Cats You Love Them
Cats are great actors and try to convince pet parents they’re already purr-fectly healthy and happy. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it’s a good time to think “outside the litter box” and find special ways to love your cat.
Recently, I’ve received a boatload of emails with product suggestions for spoiling cats with healthy fun. So check out some of the offerings–and in the comments, add suggestions of your own! Then share the blog far and wide to spread the kitty love!
UPDATED AGING CAT BOOK DISCOUNTED!
I’m delighted to announce the release of the 2024 edition of COMPLETE CARE FOR YOUR AGING CAT. This book, when released, received multiple awards from the prestigious Cat Writer’s Association. I got the rights back after the first edition, published by New American Library/Penguin Books, and released an updated version first in 2010, and again in 2017. But the latest 2024 version offers the most comprehensive revisions and updated material.
Learn more–and how to get deep discounts on the Ebook, Paperback, and Hardcover editions!
Steve Dale EveryCat Health Foundation Communications Award Now Open!
Wyckoff, New Jersey – EveryCat Health Foundation announced that nominations are open for the Steve Dale EveryCat Health Foundation Communications Award.
The award, named in honor of long time EveryCat Board member Steve Dale, CABC, is presented annually, to recognize a person or group who utilizes various media outlets to educate and inform others about cat health and/or behavior for the purpose of promoting the human-cat bond, and the welfare of cats.
As a past recipient of the (then-named) Winn Feline Foundation Media Appreciation Award, this opportunity makes me PURR. We have so many worthy communicators who champion cats. Read more to learn how to nominate someone (or yourself!) but don’t delay: Deadline is end of February!
Puppy Temperament Tests: Guide to Understanding Puppy Testing
Puppy Temperament Tests: Guide to Understanding Puppy Testing
Many breeders and shelter workers swear by puppy temperament tests–or they swear AT them! Learn what puppy temperament tests offer, and how best you can use them to find the pup of your dreams. If a new puppy figures in your 2022 plans, take a look at what you need to know about puppy temperament tests.
What Are Puppy Temperament Tests?
When Magic was a baby, his breeder conducted a series of puppy temperament tests to better predict his future personality. Many professional breeders do this best match each pup to future owners. We won that lottery, in part because Magic was an opinionated, head-strong, smart-aleck pup with test indications predicting he’d make a great Schutzhund dog. Because we’d had a German Shepherd in the past, and my background in behavior, the breeder figured we’d know how to channel that drive. Even so, Magic still nearly drove us crazy when the normal delinquent behavior began! That’s when many dogs lose their homes.
Inappropriate expectations by prospective pet owners are a major risk factor for relinquishment. Owners fall in love with a barking bundle of joy, or a needy shivery stray. They dream of the Lassie-beneath-the-fur, but end up with a headstrong aggressive delinquent, or a clingy anxious pooch that eats through doors. That’s where temperament tests can help, not just for professional breeders, but also shelters and rescues.
2024 New Year Goals–from the Pets
It’s another circle around the sun. How did that happen? New Years comes faster each time, and for me provides a time to reflect, remember, savor the “wins” and explore the “not greats” and make plans for the next 12 months. Rather than making New Year resolutions, I make new year goals—and hope that the journey along the way proves equally rewarding.
For instance, rather than say, “lose weight” I strive for good health. In 2023, my health improved and along with a healthier weight, more energy, and less achy-schtuff. That’s a win, for sure! This year, I plan to continue that trend, concentrating on what gives me and my family joy, letting go of past angst, and challenging myself to grab for that next shiny object. I’m at the age when I’ve let go (well, still trying!) to not care so much about what others thing–and focus on what I want and need to stay happy and human.
Here’s my annual yearly recap, plus New Year Goals…from the pets!
Pawsitively Clearing the Air: Answering Your Top 6 Questions about Amy Shojai Books
I get that being a pet parent means being a little careful – and sometimes even a little skeptical – when you’re deciding what ‘stuff’ you or your pet actually needs, like pet books. You’ve got to juggle a lot of decisions, balancing your pet’s personality, health, and well-being, plus the practicalities of budget and lifestyle. That’s where Amy Shojai books come in.
After publishing my first book in 1992, I’ve had decades of feedback and so many incredible conversations with y’all about my books and pet care information. I think I’ve found the top folks tend to ask us about finding the best info-tainment for you to help your cats and dogs. Or simply to provide YOU with fur-tastic fun!
New Year Book Bundle: 7 Hardcover Thrillers, Anyone?
Enter for a chance to WIN all 7 September & Shadow Thrillers–in hardcover.
Yes, you can purchase them from my bookstore at a discount. But you can enter the giveaway contest for free, and then “gift” the paw-tographed books to yourself–or someone who loves pet-centric stories.
The more you share the contest, the greater your chance to win. Fill out the form, and start sharing. Good luck!
Cyprus Cats Update: New FIP Strain Identified
This past summer I reported on the apparent FIP outbreak among cats on the island of Cyprus. As thousands of cats quickly sickened and died from signs of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), experts puzzled over why. While the feline-specific illness tragically kills most infected cats (if not given expensive hard-to-access treatment), pockets of “outbreaks” had previously been limited to handfuls of cats in cattery or shelter population.
But in Cyprus, things changed. Here’s the update…stranger than fiction, but true.
Mystery Canine Respiratory Disease? What We Know
Each fall and winter heralds a rise in respiratory illnesses in people–and also in dogs. Like humans, dogs can contract a number of hacking, wheezing, coughing, yucky illnesses that make them feel bad. Canine respiratory diseases get lumped together as canine infectious respiratory disease complex (CIRDC). These are a constellation of different illnesses resulting from viral, fungal, or bacterial infections.
One of the most common, kennel cough, spreads easily from dog to dog. It gets its name because dogs housed closely together in kennels, boarding facilities, shelters, and similar places provide the perfect transmission opportunity. But recently, an apparent increase in dog respiratory disease has owners, and many vets concerned.
Awards
CWA Muse Medallion Award
Dog Writers Association of America Maxwell Award
Fear Free Certified
CWA Muse Medallion Award
Cat Writers Muse Medallion Awards
Memberships
