Creature Comforts Pet Services, LLC

Compassionate care for your friend

Theresa Berrett

Announcing…

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This is a project I have been working on for some time. A not for profit called Dante’s Paradise Animal Sanctuary. Located in Port Townsend, WA. I started it as a place for animals who lose their people to death or disability. As well as, helping owners to have peace of mind knowing their animals will be cared for. This way owners can follow through on their promise of lifelong care for their pets.

This is something I have done informally for a while. I hope that by setting it up more formally I will be able to serve more animals and now I have my first resident!

Please contribute to the support of this first resident Bird, in loving memory of Jim, his beloved person. Thank you, Theresa

Please click this link to help Bird.

https://fnd.us/f2gYQ6?ref=sh_dEloUc

I am also looking for volunteers to help get this off the ground! Please consider offering your skills. It takes a village!

Back to School Safety Tips 

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As the school year begins, new routines can affect pets, too! Keep them happy and safe with these simple tips:

Around the Bus & Carpool Lane

  • Always keep dogs on leash near school buses and drop-off zones.
  • Teach children never to let pets dart out the door when buses arrive.
  • Remind bus drivers and carpoolers that pets may be nearby.

Managing New Routines

  • Pets may feel anxious when kids suddenly disappear during the day.
  • Ease transitions with extra morning walks and engaging toys while you’re gone.
  • Stick to a consistent feeding and exercise schedule.

Watch for School Supplies

  • Keep backpacks, lunchboxes, crayons, and glue sticks out of reach—many items can be harmful if chewed or swallowed.
  • Remind kids to put away snacks (especially grapes, raisins, chocolate, and sugar-free gum).

After-School Greetings

  • Pets may get overexcited when kids return home.
  • Encourage calm greetings: have kids kneel to pet the dog or wait until paws are on the ground.

Teach & Remind Kids

  • Never tease pets with backpacks, bikes, or lunchboxes.
  • Walk, don’t run, near pets to avoid startling them.
  • Always ask an adult before giving pets food or treats.

Target Train your Cat

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Training can be excellent mental stimulation for any cat and it is really simple to get started.  Cats are prey as well as predator, because of this they do not respond well to punishment based training.  Positive reinforcement training with cats can improve your relationship with your cat, create a common communication between you, and prevent many behavior problems. Clicker training uses a marker (the click) to let your cat know the exact moment they have done something that earns a treat.  It makes the communication clear and precise which helps to reduce any confusion or frustration on the part of your cat.  It also requires very little time, but results in huge benefits.

Charge the Clicker

The first step in clicker training is to make a positive connection between the click and reinforcement.  This may take a little investigation on your part to discover what your cat considers reinforcing.  It can be treats, play with a favorite toy, or even brushing.  

Once you know what they like, spend a few minutes with your cat just click and then reinforce a few times in a row.  It really doesn’t take long before your cat makes the connection then you are ready to click for your first behavior.

Troubleshooting

Some cats are afraid of the clicker. No problem, use a ball point pen, which is quieter, or you can click with your mouth.

If your cat loses interest after just a few attempts, that is ok.  Remember that they don’t yet know what you are up to.  You may have to try a treat or reinforcement that is more exciting to your cat to get their interest.

And, keep in mind, a training session for a cat should really only last 2-3 minutes.  

If you feel frustrated at all there is nothing wrong with stopping and trying again another time.

Target Training

A good first behavior is to teach your cat to touch a target with their nose.  This can be later used in all sorts of other ways, such as to lead your cat into doing a spin.

You will need:

-A clicker

-a stick with a target on the end (think pencil or chopstick with a ping pong ball)

-reinforcements

Hold the target about 1 inch in front of your cat’s nose, most cats will reach forward to sniff the target, when they do click as they touch it and give them a treat.  If your cat does not sniff the target, move it slightly closer so he almost has to touch it, then click and treat. Even if you only get a small glance toward the target you can click and treat for that. You are giving him the idea that you want him to do something with the target and any interaction with it will earn him a treat.

Give him an opportunity to touch the target right away again, then click and treat.

Between each time put the target behind you back, so you get a new opportunity to present the target to your cat each time as the cue to touch the target.

Once he is touching the target consistently, try moving it a few inches to allow him to move forward toward it.  You can progress slowly to larger distances or even teaching him to follow the target little by little.

And there you have it! Congratulations! You have just trained your first behavior!

Hyperarousal in Cats

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Have you ever had the feeling of crawling out of your own skin?  Our cats can have this feeling too, called hyperarousal, or overstimulation, and it can manifest in many ways, but often indicates the need for some attention to their physical or emotional wellbeing.  Some behavioral signs you might see in a cat that is overstimulated are sudden bursts of hyperactivity (“zoomies”), increased aggression or fearfulness, hiding, hissing, dilated pupils, tense body language, fur standing on end.  There can also be physical signs such as scratching or biting at themselves (especially the tail or lower back), skin twitching or rippling, dilated pupils.  They might also excessively meow, yowl, scream or growl, as well as drooling or inappropriate urination.  Knowing the signs can help you be alerted to the escalation of behavior.

Where does it come from?  

Certain breeds are more predisposed to hyperarousal, such as siamese, Abyssinians, and Persians.  Causes can vary from stress and anxiety due to the environment, or insufficient mental and physical stimulation.  Overstimulation such as excessive petting, loud noises, intense play or strong scents that can overwhelm a cat’s senses. Sometimes medical conditions can contribute and this is always the first place to start any investigation of behavioral problems or changes in cats.

Here are some things you can do to help your feline friend:

Consult with your veterinarian to rule out any underlying medical conditions and discuss appropriate treatment options, which may include medication or behavioral modification strategies. 

Identify and minimize the situations that cause your cat to become overstimulated or anxious. This could involve providing quiet spaces, avoiding excessive petting, or gradually introducing new things.

Consider some environmental enrichment: Offer plenty of toys, scratching posts, climbing structures, and mental stimulation like puzzle feeders to help your cat channel their energy constructively and reduce boredom.  Regular play sessions can help to keep your pet feeling good and healthy, as well as be a way to expend extra energy.  Remember that we are their whole world and it is up to us humans to provide a life as enriching as their wild counterparts have.

Establish a Routine: Maintain consistent feeding times, play sessions, and bedtime routines to provide a sense of security and predictability.  Keep stability in mind whenever a change needs to happen whether it be a move to a new house or change in your work schedule, make the change gradually.

Consider Calming Aids: Feliway diffusers or sprays and calming music may help some cats relax. However, the effectiveness of these products can vary.

What to do with a cat that is already overstimulated?

When your cat is showing signs of hyperarousal, the first step to take is to stop the interaction or remove the cause of the overstimulation. This may include ending a petting session, stopping play, turning off household appliances, or dimming the lights.  Place your cat in a quiet, private location until they calm down. This space should have food and water bowls, perches, a litter box, and a bed to allow them to decompress. Most cats need anywhere from a few minutes to several hours to reset after they have become overstimulated.  If you have a cat that regularly reaches a high state or arousal, have a quiet space with everything they need set up ahead of time that she is already comfortable in.

Cat Poetry

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I am happy to share with you a book of cat poems book from friend and client John Delaney featuring his cat Ramen. Ramen has been a regular guest of the cat hotel. Here is a sample poem for you to enjoy.

A cat lying on the floor Description automatically generated

Scratching Post

Pretend it’s tree bark
or something alive to dig into.
Claw and scratch,
Kitty. Leave your mark
on me, on my bleeding heart, natch.
Ooh!

Fun Things to do with Your Kitten

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Kitten season is upon us! Here are some ideas to help your kitten get started right.

Great Kitten Treats

Chicken baby food, Squeeze cheese, or kitten food (you can feed these off of a popsicle stick or out of a needleless syringe)

Churu

Small pieces of chicken or cheese ( tiny really, the idea is to give them the smallest piece they still perceive as a treat)

Kitten treats, although a lot of time these are pretty big for a quick treat while handling.

Experiment and see what your kitten likes best.

Pair these activities with some yummy treats to create a happy association and you and your cat will benefit from the reduced stress involved in necessary care.

Timing is important!  You want to treat WHILE handling because that is the place where you want them to associate a good experience.

Short frequent sessions of practice handling are best.

Basic Handling

Have fun with this one (while still being very gentle!):  

Hold your kitten like you don’t know what you are doing.   The idea is to get them used to being held just about any way, so if they do encounter someone who doesn’t know, it is still comfortable.  The trick here is to hold them in various ways and give treats, but don’t hold them so long they begin to struggle.  Just get them used to the idea that they can relax and be handled.  

Some ideas:

Have them lie on your lap on their back. (Good for nail clipping later on.)

Hold them up and try to examine different parts, just as a veterinarian might have to some day.

Handle legs, paws, tail, ears, belly, etc.

Lift their lips and look at their teeth.

Teach them to allow you to look in their mouth. You can encourage this with treats.

Extend claws and look between the toes.

Crate Training and Cars

Keep your carrier open and available as a fun hiding spot.

Use treats or toys to make it a great place to hangout and relax.

You can also feed meals inside the carrier and briefly close the door while eating.

Once kitty is comfortable in the carrier, you can do short walking trips around the house to get him used to the movement.
Then add in going out to the car, sitting in the car…

The idea is small steps and pairing everything with treats, creating that happy association with travel.

Pill popper or syringe

Make a pill out of a treat and use a pill popper to deliver it.  Do the same with a liquid treat in a syringe and later they will look forward to getting medicine!

Nail trimming

Start with gently handling paws and extending claws.  It can help if they learn to be comfortable lying on their back on your lap. (See above)

Gently touch each nail with the clippers working up to clipping one nail at a time while pairing each clip with a treat.  If the sound of the clip seems scary to your cat, try sitting quietly with your kitten and giving lots of treats while clipping a dried piece of spaghetti with the clippers.  

Veterinary skills

Ask your veterinarian if you can do some friendly visits where you just stop on a few times for yummy treats.  This can help them to get used to the smells, sounds, and sights of the vet’s office so it is not a scary experience later on.  This is why we have a kitten kindergarten class in the veterinary setting.

Use a needless syringe to do mock vaccinations.  Gently hold up a portion of the skin and press the syringe there, again while pairing with treats.

Get them standing on a small scale enjoying treats.

Stand on a table comfortably. Remember here to use a towel or blanket so the table is comfortable and not slippery.

Practice with a stethoscope, otoscope, etc.  All while enjoying those great treats.

Other people and animals

Have friends over and encourage them to feed treats and play with your kitten.

If you have access to a calm and friendly dog, introduce them to your kitten.  Starting on opposite sides of a door, to get used to the smell of each other, then through a baby gate. If there are no big reactions on the part of either animal, be cautious and keep the dog on a leash while they are allowed to interact.

This can be done with other animals too.  If you like to keep small animals, introducing your kitten to a rabbit, rat, or bird will help keep everyone safe later on.  ALthough it is never a good idea to leave cats unattended with “prey” animals, they can act on instinct and cause injury even when carefully introduced.

Harness Training

This is a great idea to extend the world safely for indoor kittens.

You can use treats as a lure to get your kitten to put her own head through the harness and accept the harness being clipped.  

Have some short play sessions with just the harness on and let her get comfortable with the feel of it.  

Later attach a ribbon or string so she can get used to a lighter “leash” dragging behind.  Add the leash as she gets more relaxed and then short trips outdoors.  Keep it to small short trips to quiet places. 

Lastly, always carry your indoor kitty over the door threshold, so she does not learn to walk out on her own.  This can help prevent darting out the door.

Positive Play Techniques

Keep your hands out of the mix!  It may be cute and fun to wrestle with your hand with a kitten, but that can turn to not so fun when they grow up.  It is a good idea to avoid play that involves any part of your body.  (Think: Adult cat launching onto your head!)

Use a wand toy, move the toy in an erratic manner across the floor and over cat trees. Lots of fast movements will catch their eye while periods of slow movement will give your cat a chance to stalk and get ready for the pounce.  Moving the toy around the room away from them can help.  In reality a prey item will rarely move towards a cat.

Experiment with different types of wand toys.  Some cats prefer feathers, some strips of  material that wiggle like snakes, some like little stuffed toys to grab onto.  Some prefer the wands where the toy is at the tip with a bell, some prefer a wand with a string then the toy.  There are lots of things out there to tempt your kitty into play.

Lots of kitties love lasers.  If you have a cat that goes crazy for these, be sure to toss a treat or a favorite toy into the beam now and then so they have a chance to “catch it”, otherwise these can become frustrating to some.

Try the interactive cat  toys that move on their own.  Some cats love these, but be cautious with your introduction, some are afraid of the noises or movements.  It is also important to not let these take over play altogether and miss the bonding experience with you.

Some cat’s will play fetch or hide and seek under a blanket.  One for mine likes when I pull her around the wood floor on a blanket while she attacks the wrinkles.  You may even come with others all your own.

And lastly, remember:

Cats can be trained!

Working things like sit and other doggy tricks can add to your kitten’s stimulation.

I highly recommend clicker training with cats because it is positive reinforcement based and will serve to strengthen your bond with your kitten while also giving your cat a means of communication with you.