Natural Cat Litter Trial

Thanks to World's Best Cat Litter's free rebate offer, My Household Zoo's feline furiends were able to give this great natural corn litter a test run for free!

It was only a small 8 lb bag, so we could only fill one(our main) litter box, but it was enough to fill it up 2-3 inches deep. And that litter box is humongous. 8 lbs of corn litter is more volume than 8 lbs of clay litter.

Our overall opinion? I felt good about keeping the environment cleaner, but until we find something better, we are sticking to clay clumping litter.

Why?

Pros of World's Best Cat Litter:

• It clumps reasonably well. It's got the same "clumpability" as any name brand clay clumping litter.
• It's flushable.
• It's great for the environment.
• The kitties didn't mind using it.
• It's not dusty at all.
• It's lightweight and easy to carry from store to car, from car to home.

Cons of World's Best Cat Litter:

• It's a bit more expensive than clay - however, if you take into consideration the fact that World's Best is lighter, and thus has more volume per pound, the price difference is decreased. It's still there though.
• Availability. Cat litter is one of the things I buy at grocery stores, even though I shouldn't. You have to go to pet stores to buy World's Best Cat Litter.
• Even though it's flushable, it's somewhat of a hassle - an extra step - to flush. Not only do you have to scoop it out into a bag or bucket, but then you have to pour it into the toilet and flush. And be careful not to get dirty litter everywhere. Which happened to me.
• The deal breaker for us was the odor. As soon as the cat pee hits the litter, it smells. It's not necessarily a "bad" smell, not like cat pee. It just smells like... well, wet corn. What do you expect? The wet corn smell goes away after a couple of minutes, then returns when you clean the litter box out.

Even though this litter made me feel GREAT about the environment, the price and odor sacrifices don't make it worth it for me. I'll still be on the lookout for a great litter that is cheap, odor controlling, and earth friendly, though!

What type of cat litter do you use?


-Cynthia

Outta Commision

**WARNING** Somewhat graphic photos of my bruised and swollen ankle.

So, I couldn't complete the "Walking on Sunshine" K9 Kamp challenge.

I don't know if I'll be able to complete this week's K9 Kamp challenge at this rate either.

And I haven't been able to blog all week, like I wanted to.

Now that I'm finally mobile, I can tell you guys why. But I'm still pretty busy catching up on everything that I couldn't do for those few days that I couldn't come downstairs.

Tuesday night, I tripped on a lovely rock, went to the hospital only to find out that it's just a sprained ankle. But it seems like a pretty nasty sprained ankle to me.

Both pictures are from Friday.. 3 days after the injury.

I'm sorry guys! I'll be back soon :)



-Cynthia

Our Fosters

 Jet

 

If you follow the My Household Zoo Facebook page, you probably know that we are currently fostering a gorgeous kitty cat named Jet.

Jet is a five year old silver spotted Bengal cat. He's a big boy at 15+ pounds. I am fostering him for Great Lakes Bengal Rescue.

In my experience, Jet has been a very mellow, relaxed, inquisitive cat. He loves to explore, but he also loves to sleep. He is not excessively active like some other Bengal cats are. He's not a lap kitty, but he does like attention. He enjoys sleeping in the bed with me, and his favorite thing is a nice chin rub. We also have frequent conversations.

Jet needs to find the right match. The previous family that tried to adopt him had issues. He became a completely different cat. He stopped using the litter box, and he attacked them whenever they came into the bathroom for a week. So, potential adopters may need to have some patience with him. He has not and is not displaying any of those behavior problems here, so I'm not able to offer any advice other than that maybe he just needs a different environment.

He does "okay" with my own animals, as in he sniffs them and shows interest, and doesn't attack them, but due to his experiences with the last adopters, I believe the rescue would prefer if he was an only pet.

If you're interested in adopting him, please visit his Petfinder page.

Lab Rats

At my college, in the veterinary technology program, there is a lab and exotics class. The class receives rats and mice on the last Monday of class from Harlan laboratories. They use these mice and rats to practice skills, ranging from handling and restraint, to IP injections.

If no one wants to take the mice or rats home, they are euthanized and dissected. I wasn't going to let that happen this month! :)

Thanks to some great networking on rat forums, I am fostering the six lab rats for a week and a half until someone from Michigan is coming to pick them up and offer a more permanent fostering situation while she finds them homes.

In between then and now, if anyone local wants to adopt a lab rat from me, please contact me. There will also be transport through Michigan. There are five currently available. They're all males, and they are young, between 5 and 8 weeks of age.

-Cynthia

Motivation

Okay, so I told you guys what inspires me.

But even if I'm inspired, am I motivated?

Well... Depends on what we're talking about. I'm pretty motivated to blog, but as you guys have seen, lately it's been hard.

School work? Yea, that might be my biggest motivation.

Exercise? Err.. Maybe next Sunday. Yea, Sunday is a good day to start.

You heard that right. I'm not on an exercise regimen. *shocked face*

And that's why I'm excited. This week, Koly and Kelly's K9 Kamp started for round two! Last year was very fun, but uneventful in regards to My Household Zoo. I didn't have an operational camera so I couldn't blog much about it. ): But this year, you guys will see me every step of the way.

And guess what? It's going to motivate me.

I will be even more motivated to blog, so I'll probably just stay up way later than I should(like now.. 11:36. Gotta wake up in 7 hours. Yay!) to squeeze in that last-minute post.

It's actually gonna make me motivated to exercise. Gasp! You don't understand the weird looks that I will get from my friends and family. And of course, exercise leads to weight loss. And I need that, too.

Rare view of Midget's tubby tummy.

It's gonna motivate me to make Midget exercise and lose weight! Yay! She's gonna love this. Poor Midgey is very very tubby and very very out of shape. A walk around the block on a cool day makes her pant. I'm determined to get her back to the weight she was when we found her - maybe even lower!

One of Zora's many energy-blasting activities: holes

 I'll be motivated to make Zora blow off some energy. Everyone needs this.. I need this.. Jack needs this.. The household furniture needs this.. Trust me, this is a good thing.

Poor Jack is starting to slow down. Maybe some movement will loosen his joints a bit, but we'll move at his pace when it's his turn.






And why, might you ask, is K9 Kamp so motivating?

1. I love reading other bloggers' posts about their adventures in K9 Kamp. The "that happened to me too!" reaction feels pretty awesome. :)
2. It's fun.
3. There's prizes. Who doesn't love prizes?

 It really is a blast. You should join in too! Click the link in the top photo or in the blog hop below.

-Cynthia

Inspiration

My Inspiration

     In response to the recent nomination that My Household Zoo has received for eCollegeFinder.org's Top Pet Blogs Award, I'd like to tell you all a little about my life as a student, my inspirations, and why I think pets are an important part in most people's life, including students.

   Most of you already know that I am currently studying for my associate's degree in Veterinary Technology. Sure, it's because I love animals, but I'm not going to make this post about how much I love them, because I know that not all students have as big a passion for animals as I do. Instead, I'm going to talk about how I truly believe pets are good for everyone; even people who may think that they're uninterested in animals.

  As a student, having pets in my life has benefited me in so many ways. I mean, honestly, can you think of a better excuse to procrastinate on that big research paper than: "My dog needs to go on a walk right now!"?

 On a serious note, I think the real reason most students(and most people with a soul) should have pets can be summed up into one word: Inspiration. Hands down, my biggest inspiration in life has been my dog, Jack. He's the reason I've made almost every choice that I've made since 2006. He's why I'm studying what I'm studying, why I'm attending college here, and why I decide that I have to succeed at this every single day.

Courtesy of Picture-Book.com by David Austen Clar

 On a more universal scale: would you rather wake up in the morning to an annoying *beep, beep, beep*, or to a dog's nose to your face? Would you rather get out of bed because you have to finish a project, or because you have to take your super-happy, super-motivated dog on a walk? Do you want to come home and start studying right away, or take a couple minutes and have a laugh while you lure your kitty cat with a laser? Would you rather graduate college because society says you have to, or to get a great job so you can buy your kitty that new luxury six foot cat tower? That's what I thought.


 There are so many other examples, and so many other reasons pets can be beneficial to the life of a student, or any other person. They teach us so many lessons, give us such comfort and comedic relief when we need it, and they could possibly be the most stable support system in any person's life. Most importantly, though, at least for myself, is the magnificent inspiration my pets offer me in everything I do.

-Cynthia

Icky Teefers: An ONP All Smiles Oral Care Spray Review

   Some of you may remember when I posted about Midget's icky teefers wayyyy back in January. Despite the veterinarian's age estimate of two to four years, her teeth worse teeth than Jack's at (approaching) six. She doesn't tolerate brushing well, so we decided to review Only Natural Pet Store's convenient All Smiles Oral Care Spray.

   Cost: The bottle lasted Midget, a "small" dog, four months at two sprays a day. We received the 1 oz bottle, which costs only $19.99, so I'd say that the price is pretty reasonable.

   Tolerance: Midget definitely tolerated the spray much better than she tolerates a toothbrush. However, she still didn't particularly enjoy it. When she saw the bottle in my hand, she'd kind of slouch and wag her tail, as if she was begging me not to do it. Still, much better than the running and hiding and fighting she does with a toothbrush. We've gotta do something about those icky teefers, Midget!

I made this image a bit larger, so you could see the "chipping" of the build-up

    Effect: I noticed a breath improvement within days. That was awesome. The actual tartar build-up was slower to disappear, and there's still a decent build up left. You won't notice much of a difference in the "before" and "after" pictures. That's really because of my bad camera skills, though. I definitely notice a difference in the build-up. It's hard to see in the picture, but on one side, there is actually areas where you can see that it's completely gone. It has a 'chipped' appearance to it.
             




After the first couple weeks of using All Smiles Oral Care Spray, I noticed that the build-up on her teeth was turning green. This was obviously a bit worrisome at first. Soon after, though, I discovered that anything in the least bit abrasive(even rubbing a cloth on her teeth) took the green build-up away. So, the spray works to soften the build-up, but not remove it.



    Overall, I think that this would be a decent product for anyone who's got a dog that doesn't like to have his or her teeth brushed. However, it needs to be applied daily and between meals, and it should probably be used in conjunction with some kind of abrasive treatment - be that chewing on bully sticks, or running a gauze across the dog's teeth. It's a much better option than tooth care products with questionable, chemical ingredients and a great way to avoid the need for a dental prophylaxis from your veterinarian.



   Be sure to check out Only Natural Pet Store for other great, natural pet products, including food, treats, toys, homeopathic remedies, and more! Right now, you can save 10% off of their great natural food selection by using coupon code "food10".





-Cynthia


-I was not compensated for this review. Only Natural Pet provided the product for our reviewing purposes(thanks!) and all of the opinions stated are entirely my own.