Welcome back to Idaho today. You know,
when we think of health and Wellness,
we tend to think of ourselves
or our family and our children.
But another important part of the
family is obviously our furry friends.
And as our kids go back to school and
we head back to the Office for Work,
our pets may go hours on end without
any attention or supervision.
So we obviously want to make
sure that they are home safe
and also comfortable as well.
And that's why we've got you covered.
We're joined by Maddie from simply
Cats today to tell us about how we can
make sure our pets are safe at home.
Maddie, first and foremost.
Who is that cutie? Behind
you. This is Leo, and I know you
were talking about how he stood up,
but I call him Mr Fancy pants
because he's just look fancy.
You know what's funny?
That's what Lauren calls me at home
is Mr Fancy pants. So nice with
school and work in so many different things.
We're now in the season where a
lot of our pets are left at home
for extended periods of time.
I've been there.
I don't even want to tell the story.
I missed the lunch break once,
and I had a bunch of presents
left off in my living room.
So yeah, let's talk about just that.
Extended period of time and this
could pose a threat to pet safety
and some of those things or tips or
tricks that we should look out for.
Yeah, so you know first thing,
always make sure,
especially if you have cats,
doors and windows are closed.
You don't want your Kitty getting
out while you're gone and having no
idea where they are and you want
to make sure you know toys such as
string and ribbon toys that they could
eat because they're just bored and
those are very dangerous to ingest,
so make sure those are put away.
Always make sure your microchip information
is up to date for cats not microchipped,
get it microchipped,
so that if it does go missing.
You don't have to worry about finding
them because the person finds them
can call you and say I have your cat
and then bring them home to you.
Yeah, that's such great advice
to what the microchipping,
because I do know some cat owners that
their cats have been like Houdini.
You know, even though you do close those
doors and those windows they get out.
So you definitely need to make sure that
there's a way for them to be identified.
Now you know. I mean,
we're we're all heading back to the office.
We're all going back to
school after a time period.
I think where a lot of people
were able to be home often.
Yeah, COVID really helped with the pet
and human bond. That's absolutely,
that's exactly my best friend's home all
day, exactly. Yeah, it was.
It was great for them,
but now that we're gone often,
I imagine that this might create a
bit of anxiety in some of our pets.
So what are some of the warning
signs that as pet owners,
we can keep an eye out for?
Yeah, so some of the warning signs to look
out for is just changes in their behavior.
Are they hiding a lot more than they used to?
Are they not eating as much?
Are there potty habits changing if they're
inappropriately urinating you know that
could be a result of stress that causes
a medical condition called urinary
cystitis and that needs to be treated.
And if they're having diarrhea
or they're vomiting a lot,
you know all those signs of stress
they they manifest as physical
symptoms and it can lead to.
Medical conditions that you
need to get addressed. Wow.
So that happens.
You, you know,
take your cat to the vet and,
you know,
you might have to make some changes
to make sure they're less anxious
and if they, if they have anxiety.
Is that something that what
are some tips you can do?
Like maybe, I think all, you know,
pet parents can tell sometimes
when their cat or their dog
has a little bit of anxiety.
Yeah, right. You can normally,
you can tell all the time
you're with them all the time.
So if, let's say my pet has anxiety,
what can I do before I go to work to?
Help that out.
Yes, there's a lot you can do.
And a lot of times an anxious cat can also,
you know, become a very bored cat because
it has nothing to do while you're gone,
and it's used to snuggling with you,
playing with you throughout the day.
And So what I would recommend is,
you know, play with your cat
a little bit before work,
get that pent up energy release.
There's automatic toys that you can
buy that you can kind of turn on so
they can play with while you're gone.
We're huge fans of bird feeders
over at simply cats because cats
can sit and watch birds all day
long. That's great advice.
I never thought about that. I don't want
a bird feeder. I could just sit
and watch birds eat all day.
It's not just for cats.
Joey too. Yeah, yeah.
No, that's some great advice.
And you bring up the, the, the,
the topic of activity, right?
Because I think also this is
applicable as well to to dog.
Yeah, when you're animals
cooped up all day long,
maybe they go in a kennel or you know,
like you said, maybe your cats
and like a really confined space.
You get home.
That activity is probably just as
important as it is before you leave,
as when you come home as well.
To really make sure that they're
being engaged with right.
Yes, yeah, that's really
important because you know cats,
they have a reputation for being very,
you know, solitude and dependent,
but they need a lot of enrichment
and mental stimulation.
So when you come home they
need a big play session.
They want they like to cuddle with you,
let them cuddle with you.
If they want you to just pet their head,
just pet their head,
let them have that time that they want
with you since they didn't have it all day.
And that's really important because
when a cat doesn't get that,
it's going to do.
Things that is just considered
bad behavior and might start
tearing up the furniture.
It might start knocking things over,
eating things they shouldn't
and they're just doing that.
They they want something to do and
they need to release that pent up
energy and you can even take your cat
on a harness walk if you have a cat.
That is awesome. Best place
to go For more information.
Simplecast.org if you go to our
resources tab, we have educational
information so you can find everything
you want to know about the best
way to give your cat enrichment.
How to look for you know signs of
sick cat and anxious cat and I'd
also recommend the cat Doctor.
They're a feline only veterinarian in Boise.
They have a lot of educational
information on their website
and Jackson Galaxy's website.
He's, you know, the cat man,
so he has everything
the cat whisperer.
Well, thank you so much for the time.
We appreciate it.
It's certainly something that
a lot of pet parents are are
concerned about during this time,
so thank you so much.
You're the best.
We appreciate
you welcome, thank you.