My Blog

Frightening Sounds and Noises

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 09:35:47 -0500

If you have brought home a kitten or cat that was born and spent most of it’s life out side a house, you must remember that all the sounds in your house are new and frightening to them. The phone, TV, dish washer, vacuum, refrigerator, toilet flush, water faucet, & etc. Well you got the idea. So make sure they always have a safe place to run and hide until they get adjusted to these sounds.

NEVER chase after your kitten, or allow any one else to chase after them, as to pick them up or to play. You must know they are frightened. Sit down on the floor and coax them with a toy or treat to come out and play. If they don't come out at that time, they will when they are no longer frightened.

Do not get discouraged for any reason, cats have a mind of their own. Do not let anything that is cute at this age, become some thing that you will not want them to be doing later. Bad habits are impossible to brake.

REMEMBER, if you want the best chair in the house, you will have to move the cat!

SHOP KEEPER

Litter Box Train Your Kitten

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 10:45:46 -0500

Cats don't necessarily need to be trained to use the litter box.

It's a natural instinct for them to want to bury their waste in a soft,

diggable material such as litter – so if you follow the guidelines for

bringing a new kitten home, the litter box should be their best option

available.

You can encourage litter box behavior however. The first thing you should

do is have scheduled feeding times throughout the day. (this way, you'll

know approximately when your kitty is going to need to go to the

bathroom)

A young cat (4 months and younger) should eat 3-4 times a day. They

will usually “go” within 30 minutes after eating. 5-10 minutes after your

kitten is done eating, gently place him or her in the litter box.

If you see them showing signs of wanting to go elsewhere (sniffing

around, squatting) gently pick them up and place them in the litter box.

If you yell at or punish your kitten and then place them in the box, they

will associate bad feelings with the litter box and may never use it.

This may also cause your kitten to be afraid of going potty in front of you

– which can cause even more problems. So make sure you do everything

possible make it a pleasant and happy experience for them to use the box.

Allow them time for cleaning them selves before play time.

SHOP KEEPER

Bringing a Kitten home

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:00:00 -0500

You need to make what I call a "safe place" room, before you bring your kitten home.

Make this a small room, with a type of "safe" box that kitty can hide in, on or behind, a water bowl and litter box in plain view.

Go straight to the "safe room" when you bring kitty home. Don't give him/her any chance to run away and hide before you put kitty in this room.

Take a bowl of food into this room 2-3 times a day. You will be the provider and your kitten will learn to trust you through food.

Don't give your kitten free access to any other rooms for at least one week or until the kitten comes to you. Then you can allow kitty to wonder around one room at a time, but only with strick supervision.

When you are unable to keep an eye on your kitty or will not be home, you must return him/her to their "safe room". You will know when you will be able to trust kitty to rome the house when you are not home.

SHOPE KEEPER

How to Choose a Kitten

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 07:45:48 -0500

Whenever it is possible, a kitten should always stay with it's mother until it is at least 7 weeks old. Taking a kitten before this crucial period is over may result in them having a hard time getting along with other cats.

MALE VS. FEMALE?

With a survey I found, of over 130 cat owners, they concluded that there is no distinct personality difference between a male or female cat. A cats personality is determined mostly by breed, the way the cat is socialized, there history and whether or not the cat is spayed or neutered.

SHOP KEEPER

Share Your Cat or Kitten Story

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:18:17 -0500

Do you have a cat or kitten story you would like to share? All cat lovers have a funny or sad, cat or kitten story. We would like to hear yours!

Shop Keeper

Posting Comments HELP!

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:37:00 -0500

It has been brought to my attention that posting on this Blog page is very difficult to understand. I will do my best to help you to be able to post a comment here.

First of all, you can not post a new Blog. You can only post a comment to a Blog already posted. I, as the web master, am the only one who can start a new Blog. You as a visitor, can only post a comment under anyone of the Blogs. I can however take your comment and make it into a Blog if you start a new subject or question. To the right under each blog are the words Post Comment. Click on, give it time to come in, and post comment.

If there are any comments posted under any blog, go to the right again under each blog find View Comments (1). Click on, give it time to come in and find comments.

I hope this has helped you understand how this blog page works. If not, email me and we will get it explained better. SHARING IS CARING!

Shop Keeper

Do You Have A Question About Crafts?

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:59:00 -0500

I would like to hear from you! Do you have a question about some craft item I can help you with? I will do my best to find an answer for you. I have some questions of my own I would like someone to answer for me.

QUESTION - What kind of glue do you use to hold fake fur to glass? I would like to glue an animal to a glass plate.

Copyrights for Arts & Crafts

Sun, 2 Dec 2007 11:00:04 -0500

Many craftspeople use copyrights to protect their work. What is involved? And more importantly, how much protection does a copyright offer the average crafter?

What types of things does a copyright protect? According to the U.S. Copyright Office, a copyright can be used to protect "original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible form of expression". The categories are very broad and, yes, craft designs can be protected by a copyright.

What do you have to do to register a copyright? Actually, when the work is created, it is automatically copyrighted. That's right, all of your original pieces of work are automatically copyrighted without registering a copyright. However, to offer any real protection, you must register your copyright.

Crafts would fall under the "Visual Arts, Drawings, Photographs, Sculpture, etc." category.

Once registered, how do you protect your copyright? A copyright itself does not automatically keep someone from stealing your designs any more than a law keeps crime from happening. You must take steps to protect your copyright from infringement. This would involve not only finding people who may be infringing, but also enforcing the copyright through proper channels.

For the average craftsperson, the amount of work involved in detecting infringement and enforcement is not feasible. However, a copyright will deter some people from copying your work. The choice is yours. If you have a piece of work that you fear will be copied, especially if you will be targeting a large market, you may want to consider registration.

http://www.copyright.gov

SHOP KEEPER

Pricing My Crafts

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 16:06:01 -0500

I have been interested in how other crafters price their merchandise. I'm not completely sure a set rule is always best. I have been doing this a lot of years and I have found that the market area, other crafters, and eye appeal all have a lot to do with what we can get for our items.

I always look around at others and see what they sell items similar to mine for, and also I visit craft shows and shops and notice pricing, quality,& materials.

I wholesale many items I make to shops and those prices are usually doubled for retail. Therefore we have to be careful about the cost of the materials in those items.

As a rule, craft show prices are about 75% of what a shop retail would be. Also, if an item sells too fast, then the price may be a little low. If it doesn't sell, then it may be a little high.

I have also found eye appeal is very important. If an item catches the eye of the customer - that is more important than the price. Display often helps eye-appeal, too. If your space looks good and draws people to it, then your merchandise will sell and you should be able to make a good profit.

Quite a bit has been said about tags and this is also important. They don't have to be fancy, but eye-appealing. I started out cutting tags out of brown grocery bags with pinking shears and printing each one separately. I have finally advanced to computer-made tags which look good and I can have a variety of tags - one for each different item or category of items - and many different colors and print styles.

I feel that we should all make our crafts of high quality materials and workmanship,then charge a fair price. The consumer will buy when the item is good and the price is fair.

SHOP KEEPER

Outdoor Tip

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 09:14:28 -0500

I have used a sheet of Downy fabric softener placed in my belt loop to keep mosquitoes away! It works!

Jack