The Cat’s Meow – What Is Your Cat Saying?

Cats are great at communicating and use their entire body to tell you how they feel or what they want. Some may not be too inclined to vocalize their opinions through a meow, while others may be a chatty Cathy.

Every kitty is born with their own baseline noisiness – some breeds are chattier than others such as the Siamese. A large amount of meows in cats is likely due to human behavior. If a cat meows because he wants to be fed, he will keep meowing until he gets food. If food is never given when he meows, he would be less vocal.

It is possible to talk to your cat more to encourage him to talk back. Reinforce him meowing by giving him something he wants, such as to open a door or giving him a treat. If your cat talks too much, teach him to do something that doesn’t involve meowing, such as walk in a circle, to get a treat. If you give your kitty attention each time he meows, he will know a meow is the key to getting noticed.

Keep in mind, excessive meowing can sometimes indicate pain, anxiety or another medical issue. If you are in doubt, consult your veterinarian.

The following are some reasons why your cat meows:

• Illness. The first step is a thorough checkup by your veterinarian. Numerous diseases can cause a cat to feel hunger, thirst, or pain, all of which can lead to excessive meowing.
• Attention seeking. Despite what some people think, cats don’t like being alone a lot. Cats often meow to initiate play, petting, or to get you to talk to them.
• Wants food. Some cats meow every time someone walks in the kitchen, hoping to get a bite. And many cats become very vocal when it gets close to their feeding times. If this is your problem, don’t feed your cat when she cries.
• Greeting you. Many cats meow when their people come home, or even when they just meet them in the house.
• She’s lonely. If your pet spends too many hours a day alone, think about getting a pet sitter to drop in during the day, or find other ways to enrich your pet’s life.
• A stressed cat. Cats that are experiencing stress often become more vocal. A new pet or baby, a move or changes to the home, an illness or the loss of a loved one can turn your cat into a talker.
• Aging cats. Cats, just like people, can suffer from a form of mental confusion, or cognitive dysfunction, as they age. They become disoriented and often cry plaintively for no apparent reason, especially at night.
• Cats that want to breed. If your cat isn’t spayed or neutered, then you’re going to hear a lot more noise. Females yowl when in heat, and males yowl when they smell a female in season. Get your pet spayed or neutered.

How To Keep Your Pets From Getting Bored

With the colder winter months here, it is sometimes difficult to get your dog out for his normal exercise. Cats may not be keen on going outside when it’s raining or snowing either.

Clear the Air would like to share some helpful tips to keep your pets entertained and avoid bad behavior when it is difficult to get outside:

• Just like humans like to be entertained by technology, cats can too. Have you ever had your cat follow your mouse pointer on your computer screen? What about a laser toy for your cat to run around the house and chase? As crazy as it sounds, there are even apps you can download on your iPad just for cats!
• Use a clicker to train your dog indoors and teach him new tricks. In clicker training, a distinct and consistent signal marks a desired behavior of your pet in real time. Once you click, follow the signal with a motivating reward like a treat. Because your dog understands which action earned the click and reward, he will learn new behaviors quickly and enthusiastically.
• Cats love hunting and love to explore hidden things. How many times have you unpacked a package you received and watched your cat be entertained for hours with the box? I know our cats love new things like that! Try putting a couple treats in a paper cup and letting them bat the cup around until they find the treat.
• Both cats and dogs can perform agility training by navigating through obstacles such as a hoop or tunnel, especially if a treat is rewarded at the end of it. Set up different obstacles for your pets and put a treat at the end of it.
• Have your dog use his nose and search for a treat. Nose work is a variation of search and rescue and a popular way to keep your dog moving by tapping into their natural scenting abilities.
• Use items around the house to make a toy for your pets. Poke a hole in a plastic jug so food comes out of it when your pet rolls it around. Of course it is important to monitor your pet to make sure he doesn’t chew or ingest any bits of the homemade toy.
• Get a toy designed to keep your dog busy. Stop by your local pet store and ask them what they suggest to give to your dog to keep him entertained. If you have to leave for a while, give him a toy that will keep him busy while you’re gone. One of the ones we like to use on our dogs is the Kong. You can easily refill it with peanut butter or anything else your pet likes.
• Associate your dog with other dogs at indoor dog parks. There are many doggy day cares which offer socialization with other pups.

Eliminating Odors Around The Home

Many different odors can emerge throughout your home. Thankfully, Clear The Air can eliminate all those odors, no matter how bad they smell! Please share with us how Clear The Air has helped eliminate odors in your home.

Refrigerator Odors: Place one to two of our Odor Eliminator Bags in your refrigerator and let our product do its magic. Of course, taking out any old or spoiled food from your fridge will help take the odor away faster.

Cat Litter Box: Add granules to bottom of litter box, add litter, then add additional granules on top. Add ½ cup of granules each time litter is changed, scooped or as needed. This will prolong the life of your litter, along with making the odor unnoticeable to your nose and your cats!

Doggie Smell On Carpets/Furniture:  Remove feces and excess urine then sprinkle granules over area until dry granules are present on top. Our product will also work well on old dry urine odors. Leave product on overnight, then sweep or vacuum. Clear The Air pulls odors from carpet, padding, and subfloor. Typically one application will eliminate all odors; occasionally a second application is necessary. One canister covers 100 square feet.

Cigarette and Cigar Odor:  Hang 1-2 Earth Care Odor Eliminator Bags in each room that smells like cigarette smoke. One bag will cover 50-100 square feet. The odor will be eliminated in 24 hours. One bag will last 1-2 months, if room is heavily permeated with smoke odor the bag may need to be changed more often at first.  If odors are particularly strong or room has been smoked in for years sprinkle Clear The Air Odor Eliminator for Carpet and Furniture granules on carpets and furniture. Leave down 24 hours and vacuum. Odors will be completely eliminated. One canister of Clear The Air Odor Eliminator for Carpet and Furniture covers 100 square feet; one bucket covers 900 square feet. Granules can also be placed in ashtrays and cigarette butt receptacles.

Basement: Hang 1-2 bags in basement. One bag cover up to 100 square feet. Bags will continue to eliminate musty odors for up to 3 months. If odors are strong (or you have had a flood) also sprinkle Clear The Air Odor Eliminator for Concrete or Carpet granules on floor, leave down 24 hours and sweep or vacuum. Odors will be completely eliminated. One canister of Clear The Air Odor Eliminator For Concrete or Carpet granules covers approximately 100 square feet.

New Carpet: Some new carpets contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are emitted as gases when they are first installed. When exposed to VOCs people may experience a wide range of symptoms that can include nose and throat discomfort, headache, allergic skin reaction, nausea, fatigue, and dizziness. Sprinkle Clear The Air Odor Eliminator granules over entire carpet. Leave down 24 hours and vacuum. When granules are down it is best to have some ventilation in the room such as a window open. One bucket covers 900 square feet. Also hang 1-3 bags in each room. Bags will last 3-4 months; we recommend you leave the bags up to continue removing new carpet odors. One bag covers 100 square feet.

Sell Or Rent Your Home Faster

Property management companies and Real Estate Brokers and Agents deal with odor issues on a routine basis. Cigarette, pet, musty/mildew, dead rodent, and cooking odors are most common and make a home harder to sell or rent.

Real Estate is often slow selling/renting or discounted due to odor issues. It has been reported that approximately 5-10% of all listing have odor issues that may impact the sale. Clear The Air Odor Eliminators are an easy, inexpensive way to solve the problem and get your property sold or rented.

Clear the Air does not have to come into contact with the odor producer; it will pull the odors from the carpet pad, and sub-floor. Clear The Air draws in odors like a powerful magnet. The odors are adsorbed, and neutralized without any fragrances. Clear The Air does not cover up odors; it literally “clears the air” leaving the air fresh and clean. Clear The Air is made from an all natural mineral, is non toxic and biodegradable and safe for Planet Earth. It is also safe around children and pets even if eaten.

Check out how to eliminate odors in a house:

• Hang 1 or 2 bags in each room that has odor. Some air circulation is best. One bag covers approximately 100 square feet. Bags will last approximately 3 months; we suggest leaving them up until house is sold/rented.
• If you have pet urine odors in the carpet (including cat urine) sprinkle Clear The Air Odor Eliminator for Cat Urine on carpet, tile, concrete, furniture, or any other surface. Leave down overnight; sweep or vacuum up and odor will be completely eliminated. One canister covers approximately 100 square feet.
• If you have odors outside on lawn or shrubs sprinkle Clear The Air Odor Eliminator for Lawns down. Leave down indefinitely, Clear The Air is an excellent nitrogen soil amendment. One canister covers approximately 100 square feet.
• If you have a dead rodent odor please click How to Eliminate Dead Rodent Odors PDF
• Many agents keep a case of bags in their trunk.

How To Get Rid Of Odors In Your Refrigerator

Do you open up your fridge and immediately your whole kitchen smells because the leftovers are a few days too old? Don’t let refrigerator odors get you down – use Clear the Air Odor Eliminator Bags.

All you have to do is simply place the Odor Eliminator Bag in your refrigerator and foul odors will be eliminated. The bags last up to 3 months.

These bags are perfect for refrigerators in your RV or boat, should the power get turned off and food spoil in the fridge. Bags are easy to use and last an average of 3-4 months in use and contain no chemicals, toxins or fragrances. Simply place the bag near the odor and in 24 hours the odor will be gone.

Earth Care does not mask odors it removes them. Its contents are bio-degradable, non-flammable, non-toxic, safe around children, pets, & mother earth.

Do you have questions about our product? Please contact our customer service representative, Pat, and she will help answer all your questions.

Remove Urine Odor From Carpets and Other Flooring

Do you have a dog or cat who has urinated in your home? We guarantee 100% the odor will be eliminated with Clear the Air’s Carpet/Furniture Odor Eliminator.

Cat & dog urine odor is one of the strongest and toughest odors to get rid of. Most products on the market are wet and must come into contact with the urine to remove the odor.

This means if you have urine that has soaked into the carpet you must pull up the carpet and pad and soak the carpet, pad and floorboards. What a mess!

With Clear The Air Cat & Dog Urine Odor Eliminator just sprinkle the granules on top of the carpet leave on overnight and vacuum in the morning and the odor is completely eliminated. Works well on all surfaces pulling the odors out of tile and concrete. Will completely eliminate the odors from your litter box, no one will know you have a litter box in the house!

Clear the Air does not have to come into contact with the odor producer; it will pull the odors from the carpet pad, and sub-floor. Clear The Air draws in odors like a powerful magnet. The odors are adsorbed, and neutralized without any fragrances. Clear The Air does not cover up odors; it literally “clears the air” leaving the air fresh and clean. Clear The Air is made from an all-natural mineral, is non-toxic and biodegradable and safe for Planet Earth.

It is also safe around children and pets even if eaten.

Eliminate Cat Urine Odors From Carpets, Wood Floors, Tile, Concrete or Furniture:

• Remove feces and excess urine.
• Sprinkle granules over area until dry granules are present on top. Also works well on old dry urine odors.
• Leave overnight, then sweep or vacuum.
• Clear The Air pulls odors from carpet, padding, and subfloor.
• Typically one application will eliminate all odors; occasionally a second application is necessary.
• One canister covers 100 square feet.

Keep Rodents Out Of Your RV

While your RV is in storage this winter, you will want to keep unwanted animals out of your camper. We have some helpful tips from Ehow.com about deterring rodents from your RV.

Remember, if you have the unfortunate experience of opening your RV to find rodents have made their home in your RV for the last few months, eliminate the odor with our collection of Odor Eliminator Products.

Mice and other rodents frequently enter campers and cause damage to the interior. Mice enter through small holes in the exterior of the camper; these holes are usually located on the underside of the structure. Pest control precautions are especially necessary before storing your camper for the season.

What you’ll need to deter rodents from your RV – A can of expandable foam, glue traps and ultrasonic rodent deterrent.

• First you will want to search the exterior of the camper for any holes.
• If you find any, point the can of expandable foam at the holes. Depress the can’s nozzle, and fill the holes with expandable foam. Repeat this process around all unwanted openings.
• Next you will want to place mousetraps around the outside of the camper. This will hinder the mice from entering your camper.
• You might want to also install an ultrasonic rodent-control-device. These devices emit sounds that deter mice from entering the camper.
• Lastly, spread mothballs around the inside of the camper. Please note, if you place mothballs inside the camper AND place your Odor Eliminator Bags in the camper, the bags will work to eliminate the moth ball odor, thus less efficiently removing any dead rodent odors. Our suggestion is to take the moth balls out of your RV should you already have odors from rodents, then place the Odor Eliminator Bags in the camper.

Have questions about odors in your RV? Please contact our customer service (located in the USA) and we’d be happy to help answer any questions you may have.

Caring For Your Cat And Watching For Illness

Cats are good at hiding how they feel if they are ill and the older a cat gets, the longer it takes for them to recover from an illness.

It is important to pay attention to your cat as he ages and catch any problems before they become very serious.

If you are close with your cat, you can usually tell if something is different or not right with him. Don’t discount that feeling that something doesn’t seem right. Because of the love and close relationship you share with your feline, you have an advantage to knowing when something is wrong.

In fact, change in behavior is the number one way a cat will tell you he’s not feeling right. Changes in behavior can be sudden or may develop over time. When your cat begins to age, it is important to make important enrichment to his nutrition, grooming needs and home life.

It is a good idea to keep a log of some of your cat’s normal activities. Since changes in your cat’s behavior are the best sign that he isn’t feeling good, knowing what is normal and abnormal for him will help nip a potentially fatal illness in the bud.

If your cat normally chases after his toys, make a note of that. If he wakes you up every morning then suddenly stops, this could be an indication of arthritis and it may hurt too much to jump on the bed.

It is also important to note how often your cat eats and drinks. If he always runs to his food bowl when he hears you pour more in and suddenly stops doing this, something may be going on with  him. Keeping note of his appetite, weight, water intake, urination and defecation, skin and fur, respiration and other habits of your cat will let you quickly identify if he isn’t feeling well.

If you have any concerns your cat may be sick, take him to the vet immediately. If your cat has accidents in the house, use Clear the Air to eliminate cat urine odor.

Keep Your Cat’s Litter Box Smelling Its Best

Do you have a cat? Are you regularly reminded you have one by the way your litter box smells?

If you are expecting company for the holidays, you will probably want to keep Clear the Air on hand to sprinkle on your cats litter box to make the odor non-existent while making the litter box more appealing for your cat.

We have provided some helpful cat litter tips:

Scooping – The number one rule, and the only thing that will keep litter box odor at bay, is constant cleaning. That means scooping the box out at least twice a day, removing the solids and liquid clumps if you use clumping litter.  If you don’t use clumping litter, you can use a large solid metal spoon to lift out the most urine-soaked areas each time you clean and add litter as needed to replace what is removed.

Washing Your Litter Box – You should also get in the habit of washing the litter box at least every other week if not more.  Use a mild unscented dish detergent and rinse clean.  Remember to clean your scooper too.  When the box is dry, sprinkle a thin layer of our Cat Urine Odor Eliminator in the box first.  Then add two to three inches of litter.  Cats do not like a deep tray of litter and this allows you to add litter as you scoop.

Type of Litter – Some have perfumes and others have additives to only cover the smell.  To a cat, these smells can be overwhelming and make the box unwelcoming.  It is usually a good idea to get unscented litter and sprinkle our Cat Urine Odor Eliminator in the box to eliminate the odor, not cover it up.

Type of Litter Box – Using the largest box your home can accommodate is the best idea.  A good rule of thumb is to get a box that is at least twice as long as your adult cat and wide as the cat is long.  Even though a covered box is nicer to look at, most cats don’t like them and they also trap odors inside making it unpleasant for your pet to enter.  Cats claws can get stuck in liners when they are digging for a place to relieve themselves and the urine can also seep into the liner, trapping odors in the box.

Location – Lastly, location of your cats litter box is very important to keep your pet happy to relieve himself in the correct areas.  The rule is one litter box per cat plus one.  If your cat is on the third floor of your house and the litter box is in the basement, he may not decide to make the long trek.  It is important to have the boxes in different locations.  Also make sure the box is in a low traffic area, away from his or her food and in a place that your cat can easily get in and out of.

These suggestions may take a lot of effort but not only with your cat be happier but you will as well, not having to put up with cat urine odors.    Remember to pick up Clear the Air’s Cat Urine Odor Eliminator available at all Petco stores or online.

Hurricane Sandy – We Want To Help

Our hearts go out to Hurricane Sandy victims…there is still so much clean up to be done on the East Coast and we want to help. Please watch our special Hurricane Sandy video: