Adventures with Astrid

Today's installment of Adventures with Astrid takes us to our local park, yet again. This time around, Astrid ended up distracted by something in the weeds and whatnot by the creek.

For years now, this area of the park and creek have been known to house foxes. This walk took place in the evening, and it's not impossible that Astrid was hearing or catching scent of the foxes. Not wanting to cause a stir with the wildlife, I told Astrid that we needed to move along.

Oh, and if you can see that white thing on her head near her right ear, it's from when she stuck her head in the weeds earlier in the park. See?

Astrid hopes you enjoyed today's adventure! Happy Wednesday, friends!

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Doodle of the Day

Today's doodle is one that I'm not even sure I can fully explain. There are a number of reasons I drew this one, ranging from being inspired by the show Stranger Things to wanting to create yet more concept art for the stories that I'm yet still writing. Either way, we hope you enjoy this silly little doodle.

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Tip of the Day

Today's tip relating to taking your cat to the vet is in regard to nonrecognition aggression. In relation to vet visits, nonrecognition aggression is typically when one cat goes to the vet, and when he or she returns home, one of the other resident cats does not recognize them. This is typically because the returning cat smells unfamiliar, with odors from the vet. Though it can be a disconcerting and scary thing to witness, nonrecognition aggression is not terribly uncommon. What's more, there are ways to potentially prevent it, and to help your cats recover from it.

One way to combat nonrecognition aggression is to take your cats to the vet together. This way, neither of them will come back home smelling differently than the other. This method is easiest if both cats travel well and can safely visit the vet together. So, if nonrecognition is a concern in your home and it's a viable option, do consider taking your cats to the vet together to prevent future aggression between them.

There are other options to help prevent nonrecognition aggression. One is to use a synthetic pheromone spray, or a diffuser, to help keep all cats as calm as possible. Yet another option is to gently wipe down the cat returning home from the vet, in order to remove as much of the vet clinic smells as possible. Similarly, when a cat returns home from the vet, you can also wipe them with one of their usual blankets from home, to help transfer their usual scents back to them. Of course these are not fail-safe methods, but they can potentially help prevent nonrecognition aggression between cats.

All of the above being said, sometimes nonrecognition aggression might occur despite your attempts to prevent it. If it does occur, first and foremost, separate the cats who are involved, in order to keep them both safe. Then, reintroduction might be similar to how you introduce two unfamiliar or new cats to each other. Slowly and safely allowing them to sniff, see, and then interact with each other might take some time, but your kitties can indeed return to one big happy family with time and patience.