The 30 Second Guide to Grooming a Maine Coon Cat

by: Sarah Crosier
Maine Coons are a semi-longhaired breed and have a heavy thick coat. Frequent grooming is required to prevent the fur from matting and knotting.

Common places where knots can develop are around the front and back legs on the underside of the body.

Things you will need:

1. Mild cat shampoo
2. Empty bottle for mixing water with shampoo
3. Rinsing jug and/or shower spray
4. Steel comb
5. Fur brush
6. Clippers (“rounded” type)

A Maine Coon breeder shared with me her method for bathing her 7 Maine Coon cats!

Add part cat shampoo and warm water to an empty bottle (amounts according to directions on bottle) and mix thoroughly.

Run the bath, without your cat knowing it’s for him/her!

Gently lower your cat into a filled bath (2-3 inch depth of water approx), feet first and gently pour bath water over body with a jug.

Add shampoo/water mix on a section of the fur and lather steadily.

Be as flowing and speedy as you can without any sudden movements. Offer reassurance and praise throughout.

When fully lathered, rinse as thoroughly as you can. Again be gentle and try to avoid fast jets of water or too much splashing.

Place the cat in a large towel and dry as much excess water out the fur as quickly as possible.

Soon after, get the first brush onto the coat and continue to groom at regular intervals until the coat is dry. I have heard of some owners using hair dryers, although we have never used this method so can’t comment on its effectiveness.

Pay particular attention to the tail, and be careful not to catch the tailbone with the brush. This can be painful and can cause to discomfort if extra care is not taken.

TIP: You can wear gardening gloves if your Maine Coon has a tendency to scratch whilst he is being groomed. We don’t tend to wear these ourselves as Henry has been groomed since he was a kitten and is quite used to this routine. He also knows he will receive treats once the trauma is over!

Claw Clipping

If you do not feel confident with this, you may ask your vet to carry this out, or a professional groomer. However, if approached carefully, it can be done quickly and without discomfort to the cat.

The most important thing is not to cut too far down the claw into the “quick”. This looks like a pink pointed claw within the claw.

My advice when starting out with this is to just clip the points off the claws regularly, rather than leaving long periods between clipping.

The other thing to remember is not to cut “across” the claw. You must cut with the clippers facing down in the same direction as the claw is pointing.

Copyright 2006 Sarah Crosier


About The Author

Sarah Crosier is a committed Maine Coon owner and enthusiast. She is the author of the 17 page report, “7 Essential Tips for Maine Coon Cat Owners”. A free copy of her report is available for immediate download by visiting: http://www.mainecooncompanion.com/info.html

Data Entry At Home – Work With Your Cat!

By Gregory Newell
So you don’t want to leave your house, for whatever reason. Maybe you are a mom who likes to be at home with her kids (or a dad), maybe you hate being around people all day, or you want to work in your pajamas, or maybe you live in Alaska and it is just too freaking cold. However, what do you do about the money situation? You need some cash flow and realize that in order to get it you are either going to have to become a criminal or get a job. Don’t despair there is an answer for you; data entry at home.

Okay, okay so it sounds pretty boring, but hey you want to work at home, what do you expect? There are very few jobs you can do at home that are glamorous. Yes, so you sit in front of a computer all day but isn’t that what you were doing anyway? Except now you can get paid for it. There are a couple things you will need for this data entry job at home; a computer equipped with a 10-key pad, knowledge of how to use said pad, and any special software specified by the company-I have been told this is normally provided if it is not widely available.

Now to find your data entry job; well you can actually do this from home as well. There are numerous websites and message boards devoted to data entry at home. Most of these have recommendations from other house lovers like you. A lot of them also have useful lists of places to look for the best jobs and how to go about it. You can also find jobs on job sites such as Monster.com and others like it. Now you know it isn’t going to be glamorous but think about it, you can work in your pajamas, with the TV or loud music on in the background, and with no boss leaning over your shoulder giving you a hard time, sounds pretty perfect.


About the author:

Gregory Newell takes the guess work out of data entry from home. Also check out more advice on data entry at home.


Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com

Cat Insurance: choose a quality life your cat

By Robert Scott
Since your cat is member of you family, her quality of life is as sentential as any other family member. However, being a cat owner we take care of our cat very well but sometimes, when she gets injured and requires instant medical treatment, we unwillingly compromise with her requirements. Since taking her to a renowned veterinary doctor can go out of our budget, we do not take her to any good clinic. However, no one likes to treat any of his or her family members in such a manner but financial shortage make people do so. There is not any particular way of saving your cat from such physical problems except insuring her life with cat insurance policy. Such policies offer a financial solution to meet your veterinary expenses, so that you may provide your cat with supreme healthcare benefits without bothering for the cost of treatment. Such policies provide you with financial solution to manage the medical cost by reimbursing all qualified medical expenses for illness or injury of your cat. These policies cover every medical expense right from routine preventive healthcare, fees of the veterinary doctor, lab fees, surgeries, X-ray to hospitalization expenses.

It is widely observed that nowadays, most of the pet owners are buying insurance policies for their pets, so that they may provide them with every possible medical care at the time of injury or illness. In fact, these life insurance policies are providing them with suitable financial assistance when their loving pet is not well or injured. For people, who are worried about their cat's health, as she is prone to getting various viral diseases, cat insurance is a good option. Cat insurance ensures them for every possible support that related to their cat's health.

However, cat insurance are highly beneficial but some may not find them ineffective as they think that cat is an indoor animal and risk of accident or injury is least associated with her. Since you cannot keep her at home every time, it is quite possible that they get injured while playing in the lawn or road. Moreover, one cannot keep an eye on all the activities of his or her cat therefore possibilities of eating any poisonous insect are very high. Since so many risks are associated with our loving cat, buying an insurance policy for her is not a useless thought.

Apart from all accidental injuries and illnesses, age is such a factor that brings a lot of physical problems for you cat. Aging can cause various physical abnormalities and can also affect the immune system of your cat. In such situation any viral disease can affect the health of your cat therefore, if your cat is affected by this aging factor, then it is for sure that you will need a lot of money to provide her with best medical solutions. In fact, cat insurance is perfect for dealing with any such situation where minor physical abnormalities are very frequent, as it can cover all major and minor medical expenses of your ill or injured cat.

About the author:
Robert Scott is a veterinary doctor and through ages having been dealing in pet insurance. If you want to know more about Pet insurance,Dog insurance,Cat insurance,Pet insurance Online.you can visit www.insuranceforpets.net

Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com

Spring Into Big Cat's2

By: Ernest Miller
Areas that hold fish can be easy to find but challenging to deal with. Like targeting many other fish finding structure is definitely the key. One way to get started when trying to locate where these fish maybe holding is to start with the most obvious. Looking for a log or logs sticking out of the water is a good place to start. These fish like cover and so does their bait. A log can offer suitable feed along with easy swimming as the fish will lay in the slack water created by wood or other obstructions. One thing that’s very helpful to have is a depth finder. Even if it’s not a top of the line Lowrance fish finder. Many of the rivers in West Michigan have very low visibility. The basic models show depth and seeing where the depth of the water makes a sudden change is what you need to look for. A sudden change in depth if even by a few feet can create a comfortable spot to hold for big cats. By watching your fish finder you may find those changes were made by wood or piles of rocks that are underwater that aren’t as easily noticed.

When targeting rivers and structure it’s important to bring an anchor heavy enough that you can drop straight down and hold your boat position. The less line you have out to the anchor the better. The tighter the lead to the anchor the less the boat will move in the wind or current. Using an anchor at both the bow and the stern of the boat is best. Anchoring your boat up stream form the area you have decided to fish is a must. Choose a weight that is heavy enough to stay right where you cast it. When fishing rivers it’s best to prevent your bait from dragging on the bottom. With good anchoring and your weight holding your bait in place your able to spread your lines out and loose fewer rigs. The weights Dan use he pours himself because of their shape. He says "any slip sinker will work " but Dan suggests keeping your leader short from your sinker to your hook to minimize snagging.

Springtime Catfish in West Michigan will be on my list of things to do for years to come. I hope it’s on yours too.

http://www.riverkatfishing.com http://www.michiganfishguide.com

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Spring Into Big Cat's1

By Ernest Miller
Spring is the time of year when so many things begin to show promise. As flowers spring up and the sun begins to show it self a bit more often our spirits are lifted as we begin to think more about what we want to do or get done outside. As a fisherman myself spring is always a time of year I look forward to. Traditionally it’s been about chasing Walleye’s around Michigan or Steelhead fishing on the Muskegon River. One thing I wasn’t aware of as spring begins to unfold. One of Michigan’s best kept fishing secrets lies waiting.

Fishing for Catfish in West Michigan can produce 10 to 20 Channel Catfish a trip often in the range of 3 to 15 pounds. Option to target big catfish like Flathead Catfish are also available. Even though you don’t catch as many fish as you do when targeting Channel Catfish. Hooking fish in the 30 to 40 pound range is common

There are a good amount of people out there that recognize how much fun these fish are. I’ve not seen many that realize the numbers or the size of the Catfish we have in West Michigan’s rivers. I know I never did. All though I have caught my fair share while targeting walleye’s or other species. My passion for Catfish was always limited to the fond memories I had of growing up on a lake and fishing for Bullhead after dark. It wasn’t until the last few years I realized how much others not only enjoyed fishing for catfish but have a sincere passion for it. One person with just such a passion is fishing guide Dan Lipski. My kids call him "Dan the Catfish Man" . Dan owns and operates River Kat Guide Service. Dan grew up spending a good amount of time fishing with his father on the Grand River. It’s easy to see after spending any time at all with Dan that he loves to fish. Get him on the conversations about big cats and his passion runs deep. While talking to Dan about Catfish strategies.

There seemed to be three main things he considers when going after Catfish. Looking for good structure, the bait you use and how those baits are rigged.

Dan’s set ups consists of 8 foot fiber glass composite rods, Abu Garcia level wined reels spooled with Power Pro braided line. He uses Power Pro 10-40 for most of his fishing but has several reels spooled with 12-50 Power Pro for targeting bigger fish. The fiber glass rod will take the abuse of the hard fighting fish and the Power Pro line Dan feels is required. Dan said "with the fact these fish like to hold close to the structure they like to turn into it as soon as you set the hook". With this extremely tough line, Dan can put the pressure on the fish as soon as he sets the hook. "You need to turn their head away from the troubled areas right away. When they do get wrapped up, the no stretch characteristics of Power Pro sticks the pressure directly to the fish to pull them out" Dan commented.

Bait options are numerous but Dan is very particular about which baits he uses. He decides what he is going to use based on what he intends to target that day. One of Dan’s favorites baits when targeting big numbers of fish is a stink bait made by Cat Tracker. When he needs to put big fish in the boat It’s all about using big and lively bait. Some of Dan’s most dependable baits are 12 inch live Shad and hand size Blue Gills. If good numbers and overall quality fish is the goal. "A fresh creek chub is where it’s at"Dan says. He puts a great deal of effort catching these chubs and keeping them alive. Fresh is so important he keeps them alive and turns them into a precision piece of cut bait right before they go on the hook. Dan said " fresh but not alive is key when using Chubs. It’s the smell that their attracted to ". For rigging cut bait or live bait Dan likes to use a 3 to 4 ounce slip sinker with a very short lead to a blood red # 7/O Daiichi Circle hook which keeps the bait tight to the bottom. He uses 7/0 for live bait and 5/0 Eagle Claw #84 for cut bait.

http://www.riverkatfishing.com http://www.michiganfishguide.com

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