Rob Laidlaw has spent his life working with animals and wildlife protection, and has written a number of books on animal issues, aimed at children. A perfect balance between the sometimes tough ‘real-life’ aspects of animals’ lives, and the enjoyable and positive aspects of their lives, whether they be owned, rescued or feral. ‘Cat Champions: Caring for Our Feline Friends’ promises to be as awesome as his previous books – pre-order now to avoid disappointment or delay, this book comes out in March 2014.
Category Archives: news
One BIG kitty! “Meatball’ starts his diet…
It is a relief to hear that a 36-pound (16kg) cat, who is so exceedingly obese he can hardly walk, has arrived in a cat shelter in Arizona where he can begin a strict weight loss regime. This news video shows him struggling to move around, but still managing to enjoy some human affection! Please don’t let your cats get fat, folks!!
Getting such a morbidly obese cat to lose weight must be done very carefully. Cats have a special liver metabolism that means if they are starved or made to lose weight too quickly, they can develop a liver condition called Hepatic Lipidosis. This is a potentially life-threatening illness that requires hospitalisation and intensive veterinary treatment. We recommend always getting advice from your vet about how to promote safe weight loss in your cat.
Remember to update your cat’s microchip details!
A lesson to those of us who move house and forget to change the address on the cat’s microchip – this cat had a Spanish microchip, but when the cat and owner moved to the UK, its microchip was still registered in Spain. After being found 30 miles away in a family’s garage, the owner’s name was luckily recognised by a local vets practice, and that cat was reunited with a grateful owner! Nothing like a happy cat story.
Changing your pet’s microchip details is easier if you know which company or database their microchip is registered with – your microchip registration documents will tell you this, or your vet may be able to help. The most common microchip databases in the UK are PetLog, PETtrac, and Anibase. There is sometimes a small fee for changing the details, but this is sometimes only a one-off, and well worth it!