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5 Things I Did To Stop My Cat’s Chronic Vomiting
We are led to believe that frequent or even semi-frequent cat vomiting is normal, but IT’S NOT. I adopted my second cat in 2016, shortly followed by the adoption of our third and fourth cats. The following year, I noticed multiple spots of vomit in the basement where they ate. At first I didn’t know which cat it was or when it was happening, but as the condition worsened, I realized it was Ash who was throwing up about 1 hour after eating. My cats started on dry kibble, but after some research I thought maybe it was just poor quality food causing the chronic vomiting, so I changed the…
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How To Have An Environmentally Friendly Outdoor Cat
My cats are now outdoor cats, but not in the way you might think. They are not free roaming outdoor cats that come in at night, instead, they live full time in a chicken coop turned catio. In this post I’ll explain the why, the how, and everything else you want to know about the new style of outdoor cat. Why My Cats Live Outside The easiest explanation is because now we do too. This past winter (2022), my husband and I decided to convert our cargo trailer into a custom RV and leave Maine in the winters for some warmer weather. That’s easier said than done with two dogs…
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Car Camping For Beginners
Sharing tips learned from my first car camping experience, everything you will need to know as a beginner! A 4,000 Mile Round Trip Adventure! My husband and I recently took a cross country road trip from Maine to east Texas, where we will be buying land to become snowbirds (another story for another time!) We were joined by our two dog children, Brantley and Scout, who are both large dogs (60-65 lbs). The journey one way was a 30 hour drive along 1,900 miles of highway. I drive a 2015 Ford Escape, a compact SUV with all wheel drive and decent fuel economy. However, the studded snow tires I run…
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5 Maine Hikes To Do With Your Dog(s)
If you’re like me, you might have adopted a dog with the expectation of hiking together. And…if you’re like me, maybe you adopted a second dog shortly after and was overwhelmed by the prospect of hiking solo with two dogs. In this blog post I’m going to share my experience, tips, and top 5 hikes in Maine you and your furry hiking buddy can do together. Prepping For The Hike Are Dogs Allowed Where You’re Going? Dogs can be a great hiking companion but there are some considerations to make before you hit the trail. Always confirm that dogs are allowed. Some places, like bird sanctuaries or preserves, don’t allow…
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Coexisting With Wildlife When it Comes to Our Furry Friends-Part 2: Indirect Impacts
For me, pets were a staple part of my childhood. My parents liked animals but it also helped teach us the responsibility of taking care of another living being. I knew my first year living off campus in college I was going to have a pet. As much as I wanted a dog, I knew starting off with a cat would be best (not to mention I like cats a little more than dogs, but truly love them both). Maxwell is my cat, I adopted him from my local shelter and he has been with me for four years now. For the first year, I lived in an above garage…
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I Found a Chip(munk) on my Living Room Floor
I was going to try and write a beauty and cosmetics or food article for this week’s post since it’s been a while, but something happened this weekend that I couldn’t not write about, and since the purpose of this blog is sharing my personal journey towards sustainability, I figured I’d roll with it. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, we built a catio for our four cats to be able to enjoy the outdoors safely and prevent them from harming wildlife. That said, on the rare occasion, an unfortunate northern short-tailed shrew or black capped chickadee makes its way into the catio (which I’ve learned recently is…
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Coexisting With Wildlife When It Comes To Our Furry Friends
Part 1-Direct Impacts One of my favorite things to do with my dogs is find a local trail and take them out for a hike. My dogs are trained with off leash e-collar system, so I often let them run if there are no other people and/or dogs around. I pretty much make them stick to the trail, and always keep them within eyesight. Luckily we have never run into a wild animal while on the trail, however, the mere presence of dogs can have direct and indirect impacts on local wildlife populations1. In this post I will explore the different ways our pets, primarily cats and dogs, can impact…