Bringing Sexy Back!

The most important date is upon us!

It's National Feral Cat Day!

For National Feral Cat Day, our founder Christine is like a kid at Halloween--brainstorming creative ideas, weeks of planning, culminating into one hot mess--a music video.  That's because Christine admittedly can not sing! The lengths she goes to, to raise awareness and trigger a dialogue about homeless cats, feral cats, black cats and cat women!

Take it away Christine...

Hello followers, fans and first-time visitors!  In my mission to overturn misconceptions about stray cats and cat women, and to elevate and celebrate them, this year I donned my black cat costume and kicked it up several notches by orchestrating a quirky but fun music video to show:

1) Feral cats are cats too. Community cats, whether friendly or feral, exhibit the same range of emotions and need for food and affection as indoor pet cats. They have a special place in my heart. Stray cats are thrilled with a scoop of food and  head scratches and do not make demands. They have taught me valuable life lessons, yet society remains largely unaware of their plight and suffering.  To know them is to love them! I have my work cut out for me.

Cosette is a 5 year-old feral Riverfront Cat who never lets us pet her.
But she smiles, meows and does her happy dance when she sees or hears caretakers.

2) Cat women are sexy on the inside and out. Stereotypes surround cat women. In reality we are single, married, with kids, grandchildren, and work as doctors, lawyers, teachers, models, actors, bankers...Cat women come from all backgrounds and professions. We're Sexy and We Know It (hey that's a famous party song --hmm I sense next year's video), although we may not dress sexy while feeding cats. We're also practical when making our rounds. Cat women are not crazy. We are compassionate and passionate. It's what's on the inside that matters most.

This is Midnight. One of three black Riverfront Cats.

3) Cat women know how to have fun.  Lord knows I can not sing.  Have you ever sang in the shower when you're in a great mood thinking no one can hear you?  I feel good about the work I do and wanted to let that exuberance shine through a-la-Christine style, clean fun (no twerking necessary).

"What was a I thinking?"

"Wind blown hair is not all that glamorous"

"Can you tell I'm cleaning and grooming my face after eating?"

[For those that may not recognize the music, it's inspired by Justin Timberlake's song "Sexy Back"]

So sit back, grab your beverage of choice, and please laugh with me, not at me.
CHEERS to Feral Cats and Cat Ladies!



To learn more about Christine, visit her personal blog. www.aboutchristinemichaels.com

So how did you honor National Feral Cat Day? Was it like any other feeding day? Or did you indulge your colony with special treats? (We served lactose-free milk--healthy and yummy!)  Did you host a special event? Anyone else humiliate themselves like Christine?  Let us know! Share your comments below.

CAT WOMEN & MEN, BRING YOUR SEXY ON!

Whether it's wearing your favorite tshirt and jeans, or wearing fuzzy slippers while drinking glass of wine or your rendition of sliding across the room in socks and briefs lip synching...

Send us your sexy self photos 
--and/or--
 sexy cat photos and stories! 

Special appearances by the Riverfront Cats: Romeo, Cosette, Tabitha, Samantha, Fannie, Sinbad, Bobbie, Gabriel, Mama, Midnight, Cali, and Tomcat.  Indoor rescue cats: Johnny Walker, Ninji and Gretel.

Cat food or monetary donations are always needed and welcomed! 

Contact us at riverfrontcats[at]yahoo.com or click the DONATION button on the right column. Thank you.

 Note: This is not a paid sponsorship by Purina for Friskies. We feed the cats Friskies dry and moist canned food and therefore used the brand name in the lyrics.

Blessing of the Pets, Oct 6

October is one of our favorite months because many important dates in this tenth month celebrates cats.  This weekend is the blessing of pets throughout churches in the U.S. in honor of St. Francis of Assisi who devouted to a life void of material things, helping the poor and homeless animals.

Francis saw animals as his brothers and sisters because they were God’s creatures, just like people. He said of animals:

“Not to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission -- to be of service to them wherever they require it.” 

So Francis prayed that God would work through him to help animals as well as people.

His Saint Day is observed October 4th and therefore the Blessing of Animals is observed on or near October 4th.

In downtown Miami, Riverfront Cats is volunteering and celebrating at Trinity Cathedral beginning at 4pm.

TRINITY CATHEDRAL
 464 NE 16th St  Miami, FL 33132

(305) 374-3372

Have you had your pet blessed? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Check local listings in your area. You don't have to be Catholic to attend. All are welcome!

Can Indoor Cats Get Fleas?

Simple logic would suggest that house cats are immune from fleas, as long as they are strictly indoors and never step outside.  There’s nothing wrong with this theory, except that it’s completely wrong. Unfortunately, even house cats are susceptible to fleas (and the other risks of being outdoors,) the only difference being there is a little more you can do about it. Here are a few of the things to help explain why:

How are cat fleas different? 

To understand what the fleas are capable of, it’s first important to understand why they are different to other kinds of fleas. Firstly, they have massive jumping capabilities. They can cover up to seven inches vertically and thirteen horizontally, that would be the equivalent of 250 feet up and 450 feet across for humans – a pretty long way. Indoors they tend to live and hatch in carpets, floor cracks and in the creases of furniture. While they need to eat (you/your cat) to breed and lay eggs, they can survive in a dormant state for any time up to a year.

How do they get inside? 

Excluding the instance of your indoor cat making its way outside, in which case the cause is obvious, the cause comes from the fleas’ ability to jump those huge distances. Outdoors they tend to live in muddy and sandy areas, as well as long grass, so fleas can jump on to humans or other animal residents in your house. They can also get in via windows. If you regularly leave your window open, fleas can jump onto your cat either from another cat coming up to the window or by long grass near the window giving them a close enough area to jump from.

Highrise condo cats are still susceptible.  Let's say your neighbors have cats or dogs that regularly go outside.  Fleas travel! If you feed or manage a colony of community cats, then you are a carrier for fleas.  Outdoor neighborhood cats carry many fleas and those pesky fleas will jump onto your clothes and food bags and thus get inside your home. 

How to get rid of them? 

While the contractions of fleas may be different for indoor cats, getting rid of them is always the same. There are plenty of different kinds of medication to help remove fleas from the cat. Solutions like Advantage or Revolution are applied on the top of their back on the shoulder blades where they can’t reach with their mouths and tend to be really effective. If you’re house is infected with fleas it can be a little more difficult. Flea powders are effective if applied thoroughly throughout the house, but they really do need to be applied to all areas rigidly if you’re to avoid any return of the fleas.

Summary 

While cat fleas may be slightly different biologically to other fleas, the main point of this is to highlight how flea prevention should not be avoided or treated any differently when you have indoor cats. Prevention is much easier to handle than removal, so being pro-active is always the answer.