I guess you could say I've seen my fair share of litter box configurations--I'm no spring kitten--but I'd never heard of some of these "green" litters before I started my research. So if you're a kitty or two-legged that's experienced with any of the options below, tell me if they work! Read full post.

My humans have this embarrassing story they love to tell--the one about me as a kitten, climbing up the living room curtains and sliding all the way down. And there's that time when in one afternoon my razor-sharp claws completely obliterated the left leg of the couch.

I was young. I didn't know any better. But now me and my humans understand that cats scratch to shed the outer part of our claws, and that it's more or less a force of nature: you can't stop it; you can only redirect it to appropriate surfaces.Read full post.

Eddie says: This is a guest post by Jackie Fox, an entertainment attorney and former bassist for The Runaways. We're so glad to hear that Xena's feeling better!

I’d never heard of feline hepatic lipidosis before Xena was diagnosed with it. I’ve had Xena for almost 5 ½ years, ever since I adopted her and her sister, Cleo, as kittens. [Eddie says: No relation to my sister Cleo!] Earlier this year I added another kitten to our household, and I was so focused on integrating the cats that I didn’t notice that Xena had become stressed and stopped eating. By the time I did, she’d lost over a third of her body weight. It had only been a few weeks, but her liver was already severely damaged. Read full post.

Hello, cats for the environment!

I'm Cleo, aka Eddie's BKF, and I'm going to be writing here from time to time about feline issues. Me and my smaller-pawed, less slobbery friends noticed not too long ago that despite his best intentions, Eddie occasionally forgets to mention the cat side of things. So he's asked me to step in as his Cat Editor in Chief. (Thanks, Edmund!)

So let me answer one of the first kitty questions to come up this week: cat toys Read full post.

When Erin discovered she had bad cat allergies, she and Ann needed to strategize. For them, finding new homes for their two feline friends was not an option. So the cats would have to stay out of the bedroom, and unfortunately that meant they were also banned from the bathroom. Ann and Erin had to find a way to keep the litter box, and all tools that go with it, right in their living room. Read full post.

I love Cleo, and I know she loves me, but we don't always show it the same way. I like to show her my love by cuddling up with her when she's napping; she shows me her love by getting up and walking away. Mom says not to worry, that's pretty standard for a cat. Read full post.

Mom doesn't make tuna too often, but when she does she always drains the can into a dish for me and my BKF Cleo to share. Now that I'm learning all this stuff about toxic chemicals, I wondered if we should be worried about mercury coming from our little tuna treats. After all, the pet tests we took part in showed that cats have high levels of mercury in their systems.

Dr. Barchus to the rescue! In a recent post on the Dogster Vet Blog, he says that tuna is safe for cats as an occasional treat. Tuna does contain mercury, which is bad for pets and people, but most fish-based cat food will contain mercury anyway. The important thing is not to feed any one kind of food every single day -- and that's especially true for tuna, which isn't a balanced kitty diet.

So, tuna: a good occasional treat, but not an everyday meal. How's that sound to you, Cleo?

Photo: Mine, by Ab8wn.

So, as you may have heard, I really want to test pet food. There could be all kinds of stuff in there, and I won't be satisfied until I've seen the science myself (err... until I've had someone from EWG explain it to me). Click here to find out how you can help Pets for the Environment test pet food for safety. Read full post.

Okay, humans. Imagine this: You're about to get into your nice, comfy bed, and you can't wait to snuggle into the covers. You crawl in between the sheets, pull the pillow under your head, and realize. . . someone's sprayed chemicals all over the place! The bed's covered in them! How will you ever get comfy now? Read full post.

So, I don't know if you know this, but we dogs'll eat... well, pretty much anything. In order to be healthy we should eat a balanced diet, but that includes both meat and vegetables. That makes us omnivores, kind of like most people.

Now cats, on the other hand, are carnivores. That means they're built to eat meat. If your average housecat went out into the wild to be a hunter, she wouldn't be chowing down on leaves and berries. The problem is that in the house, a lot of what she eats is exactly the opposite of what she's built for. Typical cat food is loaded with carbohydrates and filler grains, which is of no use to a kitty's system. According to some, it's why there are so many chubby kitties around these days. (Not you, Cleo. You're very svelte.)

Cleo and other housecats may not be out hunting for their food every day, but they still need a meat-based diet. When you're looking for cat food, try to avoid products with corn, wheat, or other grains high on the ingredient list. Instead, choose a high-quality meat-based diet. Your cat will thank you!