Website Re-Evaluation

I've been re-evaluating the website again. I do this every year, about renewal time. This year, however, Google has played some mean games with their algorhythm, and it's hurt me pretty badly.

My traffic, which is the backbone of any website, has dropped to a small fraction of what it should be. It's down to about 30% of what it was just a few weeks ago. That means it isn't getting found, sales aren't made, and no one is asking for counseling.

 I haven't done much to it, or added anything new, for a while now, so part of it is my fault. The poor thing needs some new content, and I could make folks dig a little deeper for information, instead of laying it all out on one looooong page.

If I re-do the site, those issues will be addressed. I've learned a lot in seven years, including what mistakes I made seven years ago.

There are other issues, and I've been working on them, too. Broken product links, for one. I've also learned who I want to work with and who I don't.

Back in 1998, when I first began playing around on the internet, looking into what are called "monetization models" or ways to make money on the internet, I joined up with a few folks who were making it possible.

I've since found better partners - ones who make it easier for me, not who pay me more, although that's always a nice idea. I've partnered with them, and made some strong ties.

How I get paid is through commissions - like any other sales person.

I buy stuff on the internet, and figure it's kind of nice to get a small discount, in the amount of 2%-5% as a commission, when I buy from my internet partners. Some of my partners are a bit more generous, hoping to stimulate sales, I guess.

It sure helps, but I look at the product and how it is used before I recommend anything. And then I try it myself. If I like a product, I'll tell you and give you a link to get it yourself, if you have a need. That's my way. I don't "gush" over stuff very often. I just tell you how it is and how to use it.

If I don't like it, sometimes you hear about it, but most of the time you don't. If I don't like it, I won't give you a link to it. That's just my way. And if I've had a link to it available, I'll pull the link or re-direct it to a better product, instead. It's just easier to not make you think I love something when I don't.

So, that's been my philosophy for a while now, about the website. Sure, I want to give quality information, timely information, and accurate information. I want to give you referrals to places that enhance your experience with your cat.

It's all about the cats, anyway. It's just nice if the website pays for itself, because hosting a website isn't free, and my time is worth something.

 So, I've been re-evaluating again, and wondering if it's worth continuing. Right now, it's a toss-up. On the one hand, yes, the site is paying for itself, but on the other, I'm not making anything for my time.

And if I'm going to spend time on the website, e-mail, counseling, finding products, posting information and sharing updates and notices, I need to get a little something out of it, too. After all, I have 5 cats to support, and I'm barely making ends meet.

Without the website, I can't make ends meet, and I'll probably lose the house - which means the cats will have to find homes someplace else.


So, I'm giving it a month while I work on it, and then I'll give it 6 months to grow my traffic back. If I don't see a marked improvement, I'm taking it down.

I have other things I can be working on, and I don't need the aggravation and worry.

Suspending e-Zine and Planned Site Overhaul

I'm suspending the e-zine for a while. It turns out that the articles I've been using are not "fresh" and are published elsewhere. I am changing the source of articles, and will be taking the time to write fresh articles myself. I've tried to bring in articles that had the same theme by using an article service, but it seems that the articles are published and then re-published over and over. That is not what I want to give my readers. I want fresh articles and information by quality writers and cat experts.

I have a few weeks coming up where my time is not as committed, and I will be writing articles and re-working the website. My hosting company has undergone a major interface upgrade, which adds a lot of functionality to the site if I choose to use it. I have not done much during this time except wait and watch, since I've been so time-committed.

However, with my upcoming "free time" I will include some of the upgrades in a site overhaul. As a result, I'm looking for original photos, with your permission to publish them, and comments from readers.

This is an important time for For the Love of Cats, and your input is needed.

If you are willing to contribute an article about cats, please send it by commenting with your e-mail address. Remember that any submitted article must reflect a love of cats, and if you are expert in some aspect, please include that.

I am sending this same article to my current subscribers, so please don't unsubscribe if you subscribe to the ezine and the blog. It may seem redundant, but I want to be sure that all my readers get this information, and not everyone subscribes to the ezine.

I Surrender!

I tried a cat food for my cats with diabetes, and I'm VERY unhappy with the results, after 2 bags of food. I even signed up for their "bottomless bowl" service, and had them set it up for 3 weeks, which was a closer interval than their website offered. At $40 a bag, I'm very unhappy with the food.

Firstly, my cats are always interested in what I put in their bowls. It doesn't matter which bowl, either. If I put something in a cat food bowl, all of them come to check it out. Not so with this stuff. They could care less. They truly only eat it because there is nothing else available.

Second, it gave everyone gas. The methane in the house is so strong, that if someone smokes near the house - say on the porch - I'm afraid the place will blow. It's truly bad. None of the cats can sit on my lap for long without getting pushed off. This damages the relationship with the cats and myself. And they are pushing each other away, too. Even they hate the smell!

Thirdly, there is a lot of diarrhea. The poop is not well formed, but is soft, instead. It looks like poop, not puddles, and it stinks to high-heaven! MAN! Each time a cat uses the litter box, the entire house smells for a while. If one of them runs away and doesn't cover it, then the smell stays around until I go cover it. This means that either I have to get self-cleaning boxes (three of them) or I go cover the poop in the box. I cover the poop.

Fourth, since there is SO much poop (twice as much as before) I am cleaning the litter boxes more often. This isn't such a bad thing, since the litter actually lasts longer when I pull the urine faster, but it does seem to be more work for me. The cats are really having trouble with all the clumps in the box, which never seemed to be such an issue before.

Fifth, the size of the food bag is a mere 8 pounds. For the price, I can get a 16 pound bag of another food and save $8. That food has no vegetables, grains, fillers or other stuff, either! And, I don't have to have a product shipped, but can go get it at the store here in town. That saves greenhouse gases, since I already pass the store that carries it twice a week on my way to and from school.

So, I'm quitting the cat food and I won't be "promoting" or "selling" it anymore. That's another thing. They came to me, asking me to try the food and to promote it to my readers. It seemed like good food, in smaller doses. But I have NEVER received a marketing report, or sales journal, so I don't know if any of my readers ever purchased it. Consequently, I don't know if I'm owed commissions or not, and I don't care at this point. While money is money, my cat's health is more important.

I just want nothing else to do with this company. When I question something, I'm not really given a solution. A company like that is like one of the global business shape-shifters of today. They can't be trusted. Yeah, there are laws that say this or that, and legal departments are all over any statement made by anyone at a company - but a question needs a clear answer, not a double-speak answer.

If you have a company with a product you would like me to try, don't be put off by this. Send me a trial or sample and your write-up. I'll give it a try. If I like it, I'll pass that on to my readers. But if your company is all balled up with attorneys and legal-speak, don't come to me. Pet people are pretty straightforward folks. We want clear communication and answers to questions. I try to eliminate all that marketing and legal-speak when I talk with my readers, but sometimes, even I get balled up in it.

And sometimes, it takes a larger test to really see how a company will deal with you. That's what happened here. The cat food is made in the USA, but it isn't good for my cats. Maybe it doesn't have the threat of Chinese ingredients, but it still isn't good for my cats. And my experience with the company is not that good. I will say that every e-mail has gotten a prompt response. But the words are all doublespeak.

Oh well, ENOUGH! I hope my cats have not been done any permanent damage by this food - kidneys and liver and so on. I'll nurse them back to health and toss this food in the garbage.

Vet Programs for Students

The Feds have a program for vets and vet students that is newly available. Check their website for more information. This is for 2012!

http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/default.htm

Cat Doings Around the Web - Ohio, USA

I found an interesting blog from Cleveland, Ohio. Below are some extracted bits...

$1,000 raffle for cats
Caroline's Kids Cat Sanctuary is again raffling $1,000. Tickets at carolines-kids.org are $5 each or six for $25 for the Friday, April 27, drawing at the shelter, 7394 Morley Road, Concord Township. The last $1,000 raffle netted $3,215 for the care of 250 cats. The group also hosts a Polka for Pussycats event from 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday, April 14, at the Kirtlander Party Center, 9270 Chillicothe Road, featuring sideboards, a cake walk, German food and music by Ralph Szubski, the Accordion Man. Tickets are $42; call 440-449-3496.


Cleveland cats
Residents of the Broadway and Slavic Village neighborhoods, ZIP code 44105 in Cleveland, can get owned and stray cats neutered for free through the Public Animal Welfare Society. Call 216-739-0705 to schedule a surgery. Details: 440-442-7297, pawsohio.org.


Feral cats
Euclid Beach Feral Cat Project volunteers in Cleveland's North Collinwood neighborhood have captured more than 640 cats and kittens since April 2009. Most were taken to the Cleveland Animal Protective League for adoption. More than 100 feral cats were vaccinated, neutered and returned to small shelters, where they're fed daily. More volunteers and donations are needed to continue the progress; ebfcp.org.



Cats in Medina County
Save Ohio Strays, based in Wadsworth, offers vaccinated, neutered cats for $9.99. Details: saveohiostrays.org, 440-567-3585.



PetFix
Low-income pet owners and stray-cat caregivers can have dogs and cats neutered by PetFix Northeast Ohio for $30 to $70 each in the PetFix mobile clinic, which visits humane societies, rescue groups and pounds in Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Portage and Trumbull counties. The nonprofit group has neutered nearly 22,000 pets since January 2006. Details: petfixnortheastohio.org, 216-536-0930.

****

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and Rep. Dennis Kucinich continue to prod the Food and Drug Administration to step up its search for toxins in dog treats made in China.

"I'm urging the FDA to expedite this testing, and to complete the 153 tests still pending as soon as possible. I will continue to press the FDA on this issue because Ohio consumers shouldn't have to worry about the safety of their pets' food," Brown said in a news release.

The FDA began testing chicken jerky treats in 2007, after receiving the first reports of sickened dogs. Since then, about 600 dogs have become ill or died of kidney or liver failure after eating treats from China, according to reports submitted to the FDA. The agency has issued three warnings about the treats, but has never ordered a recall because a contaminant has not been identified. "

****

Yep, lots of interesting stuff available in Ohio! Does anyone else have stuff from another state?

Why I Recommend Twice-a-Year Vet Visits for Kitties

By Dr. Becker

Why I Recommend Twice-a-Year Vet Visits for Kitties
I encourage semi-annual vet checkups for cats for a number of reasons, including:

• Your kitty's health can change quickly, and especially if your pet is older. I frequently see senior cats with normal kidney enzymes in January who have elevated kidney enzymes 6 months later. The earlier I detect a problem, the more successful I am at slowing, stalling or reversing a disease process.
  
• If your cat has a health problem brewing, the earlier it is found and treated, the better the chance for a full recovery. Because I take a proactive approach to your pet's well being, I'm able to address a developing issue before it turns into full-blown disease. But I can't do that unless I see your kitty regularly.
  
• Unfortunately, many cats these days are overweight or obese. I have found getting a too-heavy cat back in shape is more successful when the owner and I work together toward a weight loss goal. And since good nutrition is the foundation of good health, even for kitties at optimum weight I find it extremely beneficial to regularly review diets and nutritional supplements and make adjustments as necessary.
  
• Many indoor cats never get out of the house except for trips to the vet. More frequent trips can sometimes reduce the amount of stress your kitty feels at each visit.
  
• In addition to regular professional checkups, I also recommend you perform routine at-home wellness exams on your cat. This will help you learn what's normal for your pet, and therefore, what's not normal.

How You Can Ease Your Cat's Vet Visit Phobia

Suggestions offered in the “AAFP/ISFM Feline-Friendly Handling Guidelines”ii include:

• Perform 'rehearsal visits' to the veterinary clinic to help get kitty accustomed to trips in the car and the clinic environment. This includes loading your cat into her carrier and traveling around the block in the car.
  
• Do mock vet exams at home to familiarize your cat with human handling. Do things like handle your pet's paws, inspect her ears, clip her nails, open and inspect the inside of her mouth, move your hands over her legs and body, and comb or brush her coat. If you do this regularly your cat will be less stressed when faced with the real thing at the vet's office.
  
• Get your cat used to his carrier. If the only time your cat sees the carrier is for vet visits you can't blame him for panicking. Put your cat in his carrier with a few treats for 5 minutes a day for a week prior to the visit. Even consider feeding your cat in the crate, leaving the door open to encourage exploration on his own.
• Leave the carrier out for a week prior to the vet visit so your cat can inspect it.
  
• The morning of the appointment find him well in advance of the time of your vet appointment and encourage him to enter the carrier on his own. Put an item with a familiar scent in the carrier, like his bedding or a toy he's fond of.
  Consider administering homeopathy and Bach Flower Essences prior to the visit. There are several remedies including Bach Rescue Remedyiii and homeopathic Aconitum that can reduce anxiety and fear.
  
• Stay cool. Keep in mind your kitty can sense your anxiety and stress, so remain calm. Stay positive and proceed at your cat's pace. Be aware of his response to what's happening, and use treats and other rewards to encourage desired behavior.

Help for Cats That Freak Out at the Vet's Office

Posted By: Dr. Becker on March 21 2012

Those of you reading here today who share your lives with a cat know taking Tiger for vet visits can be an upsetting experience for both of you.
In fact, many kitties are so distressed by vet visits their owners decide it's more harmful than helpful to subject their pet to routine wellness exams.
According to the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP)i:
In the United States, there are 86 million owned cats and 78 million owned dogs
Almost twice as many cats than dogs never visit the veterinarian
Of the cats that do visit the veterinarian, they average 26% fewer visits than dogs

• 41% of cat owners visit the veterinarian only for vaccinations (which is the worst reason for routine vet visits)
  
• 39% of cat owners say they would only take their cat to the veterinarian if the cat was sick
  
• 60% of cat owners report that their cat hates going to the veterinarian
  
• 38% of cat owners report that they get stressed just thinking about bringing their cat to the practice

The result, of course, is too many cats are not seen by a veterinarian until they become sick. And because kitties are excellent at hiding discomfort and illness, often a disease process is quite advanced before the cat parent even knows there's a problem.

Making Veterinary Practices More Feline Friendly

To help provide solutions to the problem of declining feline vet visits, the AAFP has created a "Cat Friendly Practice" initiative aimed at veterinary clinics. The goal of the initiative is to help vet practices become more welcoming places for cats, and more accommodating to their unique needs. Hopefully this will ultimately encourage more cat owners to bring their pets to the vet for routine wellness checkups. In order to be designated a "Cat Friendly Practice," a vet clinic must have at least one DVM on staff who belongs to the AAFP. The clinic must also comply with a 10-item checklist covering the following areas:

1. Staff Training & Continuing Education / Client Communications
   
2. Veterinary Practice / Waiting Room
   
3. Feline Handling & Interaction with Clients
   
4. Examination Room & Clinical Records
   
5. Wards Facilities
   
6. Pain Management / Operating Room & Anesthesia
   
7. Surgical Equipment & Dentistry
   
8. Diagnostic Imaging & Laboratory Facilities
   
9. Treatment / Health & Safety
   
10. Preventative Care by Life Stages

The staff submits their completed checklist for review, and if the AAFP approves, the clinic receives the "Cat Friendly Practice" designation.
The vet office then receives marketing materials to promote its cat-friendly status to the community, and is listed in a Cat Friendly Practice online database.
According to the AAFP, there are actually two levels a veterinary practice can qualify for. "Silver Standard" status means the practice has met the standard criteria to be a Cat Friendly Practice. "Gold Standard" status is awarded to vet practices that have implemented an optimum level of cat-friendly criteria.

More tomorrow....

Feral Cat Population Programs (TNR)

New York is trying to clear up homeless cats


Another New York Post

Northwest Ohio has another view

North Dakota SCRAPS (love that name!)

The Local College Press and the Cat Coalition in Billerica Mass., have a new take on helping kitties

If you can help any of these (or your local organization), please donate or help them to trap the cats. The overpopulation of feral cats is a problem all across the country, as more cats go homeless because their owners have to move or downsize. This is not to catch and place the unfortunate cats - just to spay and neuter them. Some placement programs may also be involved for the kittens, but usually the adult cats are left to live feral.

Salmonella in Cat Food

http://prn.to/A5gWDi
The official announcement is here...

http://prn.to/A5gWDi

Iams Renal Feline Formula and Iams Veterinary Renal Feline Formula. Lot numbers are listed here...

Product Name	Lot Code	UPC Code
Iams Veterinary Formulas Feline Renal 5.5 lbs	01384174B4	0 19014 21405 1
Iams Veterinary Formulas Feline Renal 5.5 lbs	01384174B2	0 19014 21405 1

Diabetes in cats

My Missy Fluffs has come to have diabetes. She was a bit on the pudgy side when I rescued her, having lived in a cage for the first 2 years of her life. I've slimmed her down with exercise, but she's always had a very healthy appetite.

Recently, she began drinking a lot of water. I knew something was up, and then she vomited all over my house - got several rooms, and there were no hairballs in it. So, time to change the food and start monitoring her.

The monitoring isn't so bad, really, just a prick in her ear and take a drop of blood on my glucose meter. The same ones used for people can be used on cats. Just be sure you are looking at the correct range of blood values.

For food, the crunchies are hard to eliminate. Bugsy still eats nothing but crunchies, and the others supplement caloric intake with free-feeding all day. I'm getting some special food, Young Again Pet Food, Cat, Diabetic formula...

http://www.for-the-love-of-cats.com/YoungAgain-Food-D

I'm also using some Instinct dehydrated raw food and adding some vitamins. That makes up a kind of gruel when mixed with hot water (thereby cooking the meat). They look at me like "what is this?" instead of eating it.

http://www.for-the-love-of-cats.com/RawInstinct-Food

Princess seems to love it. Beasley will eventually put his nose to the bowl, Fluffy and Queenie just go hungry, and poor little Bugsie doesn't know what to do with it.

I'm currently feeding the Lamb formula, and will switch to the Venison later this week. I find it takes 3 mini-patties per feeding for 5 cats. I could probably do 5 of the patties, but right now this is working. Once they are all eating it, I will increase.

I'm adding a taurine supplement, since there is no taurine listed in the ingredients on the label. Cats must have that added to their food. Since the food is used for both cats and dogs, there are no additives of any kind. Pretty good stuff, actually!