Pet Grooming Orange County

Can Dogs and Cats Live Together?

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It’s commonly known that dogs and cats don’t get along. However, this isn’t always the case. As Orange County’s premier grooming salon, we’ve seen several families where dogs and cats are best friends. It’s important to note that this doesn’t always happen overnight. It often takes a lot of time and patience to convince household pets to tolerate each other. Sometimes they never become friends but they do learn to share their space.

Start Young if Possible

The best cat/dog relationships start when one or both pets are young. When introducing a dog into a household with cats, it’s generally best to start with a puppy. This will seem less threatening to your cats and gives you an opportunity to train the dog not to chase. This can take some time as dogs have a natural instinct to chase and cats will instinctively run, making it even more satisfying for your dog.

If you decide to bring home a kitten to play with your dog, you must take care to ensure it doesn’t get hurt. This can be difficult if your dog is large. You will need to watch them very carefully together. Just one grab and shake could seriously injure or kill your kitten. It is up to you to ensure this doesn’t happen.

Enforce the Rules

It’s important to ensure that both the cat and the dog understand the rules. Do not let them chase each other or steal each other’s food. This might take some time as both must adjust to their situation. Rewarding good behavior lets them know they’ve done something right. This is a much better approach than punishing your pet for bad behavior.

Make Sure You Spend Time With Both Pets

Even if the transition goes smoothly, your pets may feel left out if you spend too much time with one and not the other. Make sure that you set aside plenty of time for both pets.

Claws N Paws Day Spa offers dog and cat grooming from our full service salon in Fountain Valley, CA. Please call 714-962-1005 to set up a grooming appointment.

Keeping Your Indoor Cat Happy

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Despite what many people believe, it’s not a good idea to let your cat outdoors. Outdoor cats have a significantly shorter life expectancy than indoor cats.

Outdoor cats face numerous dangers including traffic, coyotes and other wild animals, poisons, and more. Even cats that are only allowed outside every once in a while are more likely to die from unnatural causes. This is why it’s so important to keep your cat indoors.

Start Young

Kittens that grow up inside are generally happier to stay indoors later in life. Unneutered males are the exception to this rule. These cats have a very strong instinct to find a mating partner. This is one of the most common reasons male cats go missing.

Have your cat spayed or neutered as soon as possible to prevent them from attempting to find a mate. Neutering can also solve other problems such as spraying, yowling, and aggressive behavior.

Play With Your Cat

Both outdoor and indoor cats require exercise and stimulation to keep them happy and healthy. Regular exercise reduces stress, increases the human/feline bond, and may prevent certain diseases.

Set aside a little time each day to play with your cat. Popular toys include feather wands and laser pointers. Some cats even like to play fetch. You might want to experiment with several different types of toys until you figure out which type your cat prefers.

Keep The Litter Box Clean

Cats are tidy creatures. They do not appreciate mess. Keeping their litter box accessible and clean can go a long way towards improving the health and happiness of your cat.

Just In Case – Be Prepared

Sometimes even the happiest indoor cat will sneak out to explore. If this happens you’ll want to make sure they make it home to you. ID tags are a great place to start. You can create ID tags for your cat at most pet stores. The tag should include your name and recent phone number. If you move or change your phone number, you need to update the tag.

Microchipping your cat is one of the easiest and fastest ways to ensure it makes it home. The microchip is placed under the skin at your vet and contains all of your contact information.

Claws N Paws Day Spa offers grooming and boarding for cats. Please call 714-962-1005 for information about our services.

 

 

 

 

Should You Let Your Cat Outside?

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There’s a lot of debate over whether or not it’s a good idea to let your cat go outside. While many people believe it’s cruel to keep your cat inside, the statistics and facts prove otherwise. Allowing your cat to go outside exposes them to numerous dangers, reducing their lifespan and putting other animals at risk.

While most pet parents have good intentions when they let their cat outdoors, there are numerous reasons why you shouldn’t. Below, we detail the top reasons why it’s better to keep your cat indoors.

Reduced Lifespan

Allowing your cat outdoors reduces their lifespan by as much as three to five years. Every single time a cat is put outside, their life is at risk. Common dangers include vehicles, other animals, diseases, and ill-intentioned people. While not every cat that goes outside will get killed, their chance of being injured is extremely high.

Reduction in Bird Populations

Cats are natural hunters. Unfortunately, even the best fed housecat will hunt and kill other animals for sport. While you might think that this is a small problem, it’s actually quite large. Cats kill an approximate 1 to 4 billion birds each year in the United States. This not only affects bird populations, it increases the amount of insects we have to deal with, as birds often feed on these common pests.

Overpopulation

Cats reproduce extremely fast. Many people don’t realize that cats can become pregnant at just four months old. Once they give birth, they can reproduce almost instantly, producing a large amount of offspring in just a short amount of time.

It’s important to have your cat spayed or neutered, even if they never go outdoors. Cats are excellent escape artists and will find a way out if they have the opportunity to reproduce. Spaying and neutering reduces the desire to go outdoors and eliminates the chance of reproduction.

Cats Can Easily Become Trapped or Lost

Cats like to squeeze into tight spaces. They will often follow small critters into unfamiliar territory. Once a cat becomes trapped or lost, they often don’t make it home.

Final Thoughts

Many people believe that cats become bored when left indoors. This is true for both outdoor and indoor cats. Cats need regular interaction. Keep your cat happy by playing with them daily. Claws N Paws Day Spa offers a variety of toys for your cat. Please visit our grooming salon to see our selection.

 

 

 

Why It’s So Important to Spay or Neuter Your Cat

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Unspayed female cats become pregnant extremely easily. If your unfixed cat is allowed to go outside, chances are pretty good you’ll end up with at least one litter. These litters can vary in size from one to over ten kittens. It’s extremely difficult to figure out what to do with these kittens once they are born. Most people do not have the time, space, or money to care for multiple cats.

Unfortunately, many unplanned litters are abandoned at the shelter or left to fend for themselves on the street. These cats face horrible lives and are often killed by wild animals, vehicles, or ill-intentioned people. This is just one of the reasons why it’s so important to have your cat spayed or neutered.

Even if your cat that is not allowed outdoors, if they aren’t spayed they’ll most likely find a way out. This has nothing to do with how obedient they are or how much they love you. When a cat goes into heat, it’s instincts take over. These instincts tell them to reproduce. Unfortunately, this instinct doesn’t understand overpopulation or the fate that most unwanted kittens face in our world.

The Danger of Giving Kittens Away For Free

Everyday, kittens are given away for free. Many of these kittens face horrible futures. Several are abused or used for animal testing in labs. Awful people frequently pay decent individuals to answer Craigslist ads or collect kittens advertised for free.

While the family giving away these kittens believes that the person they are giving them to has the best intentions, this isn’t always the case. A simple search on Google brings up multiple incidents where kittens were given to seemingly “good homes” only to end up in a horrible situation.

Benefits of Spaying and Neutering Your Cat

Spaying and neutering your cat prevents them from becoming pregnant. It also fixes behavior problems such as spraying urine and aggressive behavior. Ideally, cats should be spayed or neutered at four months old, before they reach maturity. However, this procedure has been proven safe in cats of all ages.

If Your Cat is Already Pregnant

If your cat is already pregnant it’s important that you keep them inside. Follow your veterinarian’s advice for care. Once the kittens are born, do not ever offer them for free. Charge an adoption fee and make sure that you interview the people adopting your kittens. This is extremely important for their safety.

 

Kitten Adoptions

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Claws N Paws Day Spa has been caring for pets in Orange County, California for sixteen years. While many people already know about our pet grooming services, not everyone knows that we also have several rescued cats and kittens available for adoption. These sweet felines are eagerly waiting for someone to give them a chance at a happy life.

We Take Donations!

Many of the kittens we have available for adoption were found as newborns. These kittens have to be bottle-fed and socialized before they are able to find a new home. This takes a lot of time and effort. It also costs a lot of money.

Kitten formula is expensive. So is the veterinary care and medicine these babies often need. This is the reason we ask for donations whenever possible. The money we collect for our rescue does not go back into our grooming shop. Every cash donation goes directly towards caring for our foster cats and kittens.

If at all possible, please consider donating to our rescue. In addition to money, we also accept towels, blankets, formula, cat and kitten food, and litter donations.

Adopt, Don’t Shop

Kittens in pet stores usually come from puppy mills, or commercial breeders. These breeders see the animals in their care as profit makers. They generally do not provide the attention or medical care required to raise happy, healthy pets. As a result, pets from pet stores are often sick or badly behaved. Purchasing animals from a pet shop allows this type of breeding situation to continue. If you are looking for a cat or kitten, please consider adoption.

All of the cats and kittens we have available for adoption are healthy, up-to-date with their vaccinations, spayed or neutered (when old enough), and socialized with people and other pets. Our bottle-fed babies are some of the sweetest kittens you’ll ever meet.

Stop by our grooming salon in Fountain Valley, California to meet our available cats and kittens. Each has its own unique personality. Our groomers will be happy to help you find the perfect fit for your family. Please call 714-962-1005 for more information about our cat and kitten rescue.

 

 

 

 

Stopping Cats From Clawing on Furniture

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Stopping Cats From Clawing on Furniture

Clawing is a natural behavior for cats. Cats scratch to mark their territory and sharpen their claws. While totally natural, cats can do a lot of damage to furniture, drapes and carpet. In fact, it’s one of the reasons why people surrender their cats to the shelter.

Fortunately, there are some things you can do to stop your cat from destroying your home. Let’s take a look at the top three ways to stop your cat from clawing your furniture.

Use Deterrents

If you want to stop your cat from scratching your favorite chair, then you need to make it as unpleasant as possible for them. There are many products available over the counter to deter cats from scratching.

Cats are extremely sensitive to both smell and touch. Deterrent sprays smell bad to cats and sticky strips are annoying. Both of these deterrents are extremely effective.

Offer Alternatives for Your Cat to Scratch

In order to stop your cat from scratching your furniture, you need to offer them a suitable alternative. Cats need to scratch. If you take away their favorite scratching place, they’ll naturally move to another one. Offer your cat scratching posts, boards or furniture. You might need to experiment with different types until you find the one your cat prefers.

Trim Your Cat’s Nails

You might not be able to stop the scratching altogether, but you can reduce the amount of damage being done. Trim your cat’s nails every four weeks. If you are unsure how to cut their nails, or your cat is being uncooperative, visit Claws N Paws Day Spa for a kitty pedicure.

In order for these methods to be effective, you must work with your cat to discover what works and what does not. Try using different types of scratching materials and deterrents.

These tips can help decrease or eliminate unwanted scratching. These options are much more humane than declawing or surrendering your cat.

Claws N Paws Day Spa can help keep your cats claws trimmed. We offer full service grooming for cats. Please call 714-962-1005 to set up a grooming appointment. Nail trims do not require an appointment.