Feline Pine Forums

Feline Pine Scoop "Clumping"

2008-08-24T17:40:36-05:00

I find this to be a great product and I have started using it. I have one very important question: Is it safe to flush the clumps in the toilet? or Am I asking for problems in the future? Thank you.

My older cat and renal failuew

2008-08-30T10:00:06-05:00

I have an older cat, 8+, who grew up on raw hamburger; not exclusively. Now on occasion he gets raw beef tips, deli sliced chicken and turkey, Sheba chicken, and crunchy Purina Healthful life. His “girl” age 7+ primarily eats Fancy Feast Ocean Fish and the Healthful Life. Now we have the 5 mo old who is a monster(huge feet on that boy)(part Siamese part Maine coon) who eats 4 little cans of food a day. They all like canned tuna. One recently brought me a big mouse that I have yet to find and I am hoping they will find it and kill it.(peanut butter on the “better mouse trap” has not yet done it’s job). And we have been brought ground squirrels, birds and baby rabbits. oh, and lizards.

My older cat, Butty, had his annual vet visit. At his age they do the blood test thing. They called and said he had a point something elevation result in the part that indicates the beginning of renal failure but not to worry as it was not that much elevated over the normal range. Ok, so I hear “renal failure” and block out all other words being said. So I go out without doing any research and buy that urinary tract dry food. And because the monster “Tibbit” is eating me out of cat food I decided to put them all on just dry food. Then I read the forum about cat food and see that I should do the canned food again. Can I use the dry food as bird food?

Guess I will have to go online for the Wellness and others mentioned as we do not have a pet food store in our town, and Walmart? forgetaboutit.

I bought the Feline Pine from Walgreens and am impressed and will use it in all my cat boxes now. So I went online and have found so many wonderful posts to the forums, very informative.

So, if Ms. Michele would kindly take it upon her knowledge and let me know what I should do to keep Butty healthy I would appreciate it. I had my DW for 19 years and he finally succumbed to congestive heart failure. I fed him cooked chicken, raw beef, canned food, dry food, combos, tuna and lots of love.

Kudos to all you cat lovers,
Rhoda
Tennessee

What You Should Know about Flea and Tick Products

2008-03-11T01:40:09-05:00

Protecting your pet from fleas and ticks is an important part of caring for your pet responsibly. Although there are many brands of over-the-counter flea and tick products available at supermarkets and pet supply stores, it is critical to read their labels, and consult with your veterinarian, before using them on your companion. These products may contain ingredients that could harm pets and children.

In November 2000, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a report called Poisons on Pets: Health Hazards from Flea and Tick Products. The report demonstrated a link between chemicals commonly used in flea and tick products and serious health problems.

The Chemicals

The ingredients to be wary of are organophosphate insecticides (OPs) and carbamates, both of which are found in various flea and tick products. A product contains an OP if the ingredient list contains chlorpyrifos, dichlorvos, phosmet, naled, tetrachlorvinphos, diazinon, or malathion. If the ingredient list includes carbaryl or propoxur, the product contains a carbamate. According to the NRDC, the potential dangers posed by these products are greatest for children and pets. There is reason to be concerned about long-term, cumulative exposures as well as combined exposures from the use of other products containing OPs and carbamates.

The Products

The NRDC’s report lists flea- and tick-control products marketed under the following major brand names that have been found to contain OPs: Alco, Americare, Beaphar, Double Duty, Ford’s Freedom Five, Happy Jack, Hartz, Hopkins, Kill-Ko, Protection, Rabon, Riverdale, Sergeant’s, Unicorn, Vet-Kem, Victory, and Zema. To protect their pets and children, consumers should consult with a veterinarian before purchasing over-the-counter (OTC) products.

The Effects

According to the NRDC, there are studies that show OPs and carbamates can harm the nervous system. Children can be especially vulnerable because their nervous systems are still developing. For pets, the data is limited, but according to NRDC, many companion animals appear to have been injured or killed through exposure to pet products containing OPs. Cats are particularly vulnerable, since they often lack enzymes for metabolizing or detoxifying OPs and can ingest OPs by licking their fur.

What about the EPA?

Each year, millions of Americans purchase over-the-counter flea and tick products believing that they couldn’t be sold unless they were proven safe. But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not begin to review pet products for safety until 1996. There is a substantial backlog of products waiting to be tested, so many pet products containing potentially harmful pesticides still make their way onto store shelves.

Last year, after reaching an agreement with manufacturers, the EPA announced that the OP chlorpyrifos—also known as Dursban—would be on a fast track for a phase-out. A second OP, diazinon, is also on the way out. An agreement between the EPA and manufacturers set the phase out at December 2002 for indoor-use products (including flea and tick products) and December 2003 for all lawn, garden, and turf products.

Reducing the Risks

The HSUS recommends the following precautions be taken to reduce the risks to pets and humans during the flea season:

Use alternatives to pesticides to control fleas and ticks: Comb your pet regularly with a flea comb, vacuum frequently and dispose of the bags immediately after use, mow areas of the lawn where your dog spends time, wash pet bedding weekly, and wash your pet with a pesticide-free pet shampoo. In addition, to protect cats from fleas and ticks, as well as a host of other outdoor hazards, cats should be kept indoors at all times.

Always consult a veterinarian before buying or using any flea or tick control product on your pet.

Never use flea and tick products designed for dogs on your cat, or vice versa.

Remember never to apply pesticides to very young, elderly, pregnant, or sick animals unless directed to do so by a veterinarian.

Always read the ingredients, instructions, and warnings on the package thoroughly.

Avoid OP-based products by looking for any of these active ingredients: chlorpyrifos, dichlorvos, phosmet, naled, tetrachlorvinphos, diazinon and malathion. Avoid products with carbamates by looking for the chemical names carbaryl and propoxur on the label.

Consider using a product with insect-growth regulators (IGRs), which are not pesticides. These will prevent the next generation of fleas but will not kill insects already on your pet. Common and effective IGR products include those made with lufenuron (found in Program® and Sentinel® and available by prescription), methoprene (in Precor®), and pyriproxyfen (in Nylar® and EcoKyl®).

You might want to consider several relatively new topical products, available through veterinarians, that are insecticides designed to have fewer toxic effects on the nervous systems of mammals: imidacloprid (found in Advantage®), fipronil (in Frontline® or Top Spot®), and selamectin (in Revolution™).

All information from http://www.hsus.org

pine perks points

2008-07-05T12:05:03-05:00

Hello, im an avid pine perks ponts collector, and i recently bought a 7 lb. bag of feline pine that must have been from the old packaging. there are no pine points on it from what i can tell. is there any way i can get points for this?

thank you,
amy thomas

DO YOU KNOW WHAT’S IN YOUR PET’S FOOD????

2008-03-11T00:43:18-05:00

Hi everyone. Just a little heads up on pet nutrition. What you feed your pet can effect it’s health and well being. You’d be surprised what’s really in your Dog or Cat’s food. I see so many pets with allergies (usually from wheat, corn, or soy) and poor skin and coat and it’s usually all because of their diet.
Your best foods to feed your pets are that human grade or organic foods. The ingredients and the quality of the ingredients matter! You wouldn’t eat junk food everyday for every meal so don’t feed it to your kitty.
When you see chicken, beef, etc. on a non human grade food that meat came from an animal that was denied for human consumption. Which means it was either DISABLED, DISEASED, DYING, OR DEAD (known as the 4D’s). Now I don’t know about you but I would not feed my pets something like that. Also we see by-products. These are parts of the animal that are considered inedible such as beaks, feet, necks, intestines, etc.. Also several foods are full of fillers such as corn. Dogs and cats can not digest this…
Most people’s concern about switching foods is the cost. Don’t let price fool you. You end up spending more on your grocery store food in the long run. Here’s why. In your lower grade foods they are full of fillers. Therefore your pet must eat much more food to digest the amount of nutrients they need. Which equals more food and more waste. In your high quality foods the pet will eat less to become satisfied. Also they digest more of there foods which means less food and yes smaller poops! It’s true!
I used to feed my pets a medium grade food before I found out more about pet nutrition. One of mys dogs suffered from skin allergies, bad dander, and would even chew her tail until the fur would fall off. I switched to a human grade high quality food and within a month my dogs’ coats became shiny and dander free. My dog would no longer scratch or chew her tail. Now all the hair that was missing on her tail grew back and her coat is softer than ever! Also the size of their waste is almost 2/3 smaller.

Lets help our pets stay healthy. Find a human grade food with no wheat, corn, soy, artificial flavors or colors, no preservatives, gluten-free, and no by-products! Go ahead read what’s on the label of your pets food.

Feeding

2008-08-23T18:22:03-05:00

I have 2 ferile cats I adopted, one is a black and white slinky style he is nearly 3, his playmate is a tiger striped brown lady with adorable eyes who is nearly 2. Problem is I have always fed them Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys ( because that is all they would eat, (no inexpensive food for them) they also have fresh dry food on the side and fresh water daily. In the last few weeks they have decided they will only eat certain flavours of the Elegant Medleys, should I buy just chicken and tuna and cook that for them instead since they have become so finicky they only eat 2 cans between them a day and some of the dry, plus I give them treats before and after I come home from work. Neither of them are over weight. They have their shots and have been fixed. Should I be worried and take them to our vet?

getting started - not sure how to deal with the sawdust

2008-08-09T15:38:18-05:00

Hi, I’m considering changing to FP from crystals after a lot of internet research. We’ve used crystal litter for several years and loved it (no odor for 5 cats) but Wal-Mart no longer carries the inexpensive brand of crystals we were using. Going with the name brand crystals would double our cost. With 5 cats that’s a budget-buster so we really do need to find something else. From what I’ve read on the FP website and in reviews so far, it seems that FP will work similarly to the crystals and will be more affordable, not to mention being healthier.

My biggest question about FP is what to do about the sawdust. I’ve read about how FP turns to sawdust over time, but haven’t seen any posts talking about how to deal with it. Do you have to buy a sifting cat box to make this litter work? Does the sawdust turn to muddy slush in the bottom of the box? With the crystals, the urine is absorbed and I just scoop the dehydrated solids. Is that basically how this works? I’ve read all the material I could find on the website and may have missed it, but am having a problem figuring out how to use FP unless I buy all new litter boxes (ouch). Any thoughts?

Does anyone have any comments about changing from crystals to FP?

Thanks,
Sylvia from Oklahoma City

Feline Pine litter is not lasting as long as advertised…..

2008-08-16T22:23:56-05:00

My friend switched over to FP but the litter does not last very long. She only has one cat but we have to change litter twice a week. Has anybody else had this experience with the FP litter (original one). I’m thinking of switching to the clumping type but would like some feedback first. For those of you who have switched to the clumping type, are you using less now or same amount?

Private messages…?

2008-07-23T19:59:55-05:00

Has anyone here been able to access their private messages? I’ve never been able to get it to work. I tried using the PM to send messages to the moderator and other people, and I’ve tried to go to my own inbox… I assumed I had one since it says I have 0 unread. But since it’s never said there were any messages actually IN the inbox, and since it’s never worked for me I thought that part of the forum wasn’t fully set up yet.

Then I checked my regular email today and see this:

Charlene,
******** has just attempted to send you a Private Message,but your InBox is full, exceeding the maximum of 60. Please log in and remove unwanted messages from your InBox at: http://www.naturesearth.com/

Hellooooo… I can’t get into my inbox!!! I’ll be happy to delete some if I can actually get it to open! Whenever I click the Private Messages link, it goes to my control panel screen and won’t let me go anywhere else. I’m sorry to anyone who tried sending me messages, I haven’t been ignoring you, I never knew I got anything!

*waves* Need some IT help here!!! *waves*

Dogs eating cat ‘deposits’ and FP pellets?

2008-03-20T13:53:56-05:00

Does anyone have suggestions on how to keep the dog out of the cat box, or from ating the pellets that come out on the cats’ feet? My dog is driving me nuts with her constant pellet eating. I am pretty good at catching her before she eats their ‘deposits’ but the pellets are harder to spot and keep cleaned. I am not going to check the outside of the box area to keep it pellet-free numerous times a day.