Archive for July, 2009

Stone Foundation Repair - What to Do?

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

Owning an historic property with an old stone foundation can Newsfeed22 an interesting experience. Those with a strong will and a sound pocketbook can be true caretakers of a piece of history. The foundation of that history is the simple, bold and strong field stone foundation wall.

Older buildings with a stone foundation will generally have the original stone facing visible on the exterior and interior of the building. However it was common to apply a coating of plaster to the interior foundation wall in the basement area, as a means of waterproofing so the stone may not be visible from inside of the building.

Most of the original plaster would have worn off by today but if you are lucky, you just may run across an old stone foundation still in pristine condition but this would be the exception.

Usually Newsfeed39 30 - 50 years the foundation would have shifted cause cracks to appear in the foundation wall and it wasn’t uncommon to apply a second to the foundation with a masonry cement stucco. If the second layer is cement stucco than it would indicate that the second coating must have been applied after the early 1900’s, when mass produced cement stucco became available.

Regardless if plaster or stucco was applied to the walls, they will look lumpy as the individual stones shapes will show beneath the plaster or stucco.

What to look for Newsfeed32 lot of these older stone foundations were never well maintained and can challenge a building owner with problems ranging from water leakage, mortar turning into sand, loose stones and bulging walls. Anything beyond these few maintenance problems could be considered ‘in failure’ and may need an engineer’s inspection.

Stone foundation Newsfeed22 that leak - It wasn’t uncommon for these old stone foundation walls to leak. When they were originally constructed a hole was simply dug to the dimensions of the building and a trench dug where the walls were to be placed. Large field stones would be placed in the trench and became the bed stones of the foundation wall.

Drain tile were not in use around the foundations of older building so static pressure would have been a problem from the beginning depending or the soil type and topography. A high quality builder would have trenched to daylight from the low corner of the building site to take water away from the foundation, if the site permitted. The trench would be partially filled with rubble stones before covering but this simply drainage technique would be an exception and not the rule.

Most of the older homes were constructed high off the ground to keep moisture to a minimum. The basement area for these homes where never intended to be used as living space so a little moisture would have been common and of no concern.

Stone foundation wall problems - Decades of water infiltration will cause deterioration to the stone foundation walls. The result can be bulged walls from excessive static pressure or settlement of the foundation, deteriorated mortar joints from excessive moister or loose stones and missing mortar joints from simple aging and movement.

Bulged walls - This problem presents the biggest hurdle for a building owner depending on the degree and severity of the bulging problem and the location within the foundation wall. Generally though, a portion of the foundation wall can be removed and rebuilt but proper shoring must be in place to support the building load before you proceed. This should not be out of the range of an experienced mason contractor and you should seek their advice.

Loose stones and missing mortar - These items are simple to remedy. Loose stones should be taken out and re-set with fresh mortar. Care should be taken not to undermine any critical support areas within the foundation. If you suspect an area of loose stone is carrying a beam load or other loads then consult a professional for advice.

Holes and missing joints can be filled with mortar or tuck-pointed to help tighten the foundation walls. Any brand of masons mix available at the local box store should be adequate.

After you have completed the repairs mentioned above you may wish to apply another layer of cement stucco. This will help to smooth out imperfections, close small holes, ’stiffen’ the walls surface and hopefully provide some protection against water leaks.

Check the foundation annually and make any necessary repairs immediately. By taking immediate action and implementing the repairs recommended above you will be one step closer to keeping that old, stone foundation in shape.

Michael Olding is tradesman and consultant in the field of restorations and repairs and currently operates a restoration and repair business in Cincinnati, Ohio. Newsfeed38 is also a Master in the field of masonry construction, restorations and repairs.

In addition he is a writer and speaker as well as a marketing, training and business consultant for the contracting industry. If you interested in his services he may be contacted by visiting www.cincihomepro.comwww.cincihomepro.com

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Shag Past and Present - History of This Great Hair Style

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

The shag hairstyle is a youthful cut where you have short and layered hair. Mostly hair is layered at the crown of the head rather than below. As an option you could add bangs to the cut which you should be able to push off your face. The look should allow you to tuck hair behind your currency trading company and keep them in place with barrettes. Today’s shag could be a variation with more layers towards the bottom of the cut or longer length.

In recent years, the most outstanding and noticed shag hairstyle was Meg Ryan’s in IQ. The flirty short shaggy bobs were a variation which really motivated a number of us youngsters waiting at our stylists with her picture, queuing up for a similar look. Though it may look real neat and trendy, you need a stylist with ’shear magic and eye for styling’ to get you the right look. He should know exactly where to layer your hair depending in your face and features; where to thin out thick hair and give volume to thin hair. A shag hairstyle is the most versatile haircut giving you the option to style it in two to three different ways! You could add bangs on one side, both sides, keep it long or short, keep it messy, styled or carefree and the best is you can manage them at home without the need to buy every styling product in the market.

Paul McGregor had invented the Shag hairstyle and gave it to Jane Fonda in the movie Klute . Farrah Fawcett wore it in the famous Charlie’s angels television show and it became a phenomenon of sorts. Shag is the classic hairstyle of the ’70s and considered one of the ‘coolest’ as it was worn by the heart throbs of that time. David Bowie, Rod Stewart, everybody who was anybody had the shag hairstyle. During the ’80s, adaptations of the shag hairstyle were worn by the heavy metal rock bands who wore their hair in long shag cuts. The shag hair style was the ultimate unisex style and women and men were both wearing it with élan.

Another theory suggests that in the 1960’s men had begun wearing their hair long after the hairstyle Process brought in the 1920s by the African Americans. In the 1970s when hairstyles were changing and the process style was fading, men were habituated to wearingh their hair long. So, in the 80s, they let their hair grow at the back of the head while keeping them shorter at the top. This was the first form of the shag hairstyle worn by men which was soon adapted into various styles.

The 70s was an era of the youth, the end of the Vietnam War added in making it the turning point for them. Platform shoes, disco dancing and the Beegees; this new found youth was perhaps the reason for the emergence of this carefree, youthful and messy hairstyle- the Shag hairstyle.

Shag Hair Style .com is dedicated to bringing you the best information and resources anywhere on the internet for everything shag. So if you like a good shag hair style, check us out at www.shaghairstyle.orgShag Hair Style.

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Doctors - Having a Patient Payment Plan in Place Can Increase Your Practice’s Revenue

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

It is a common phenomenon in the health care industry for medical practices to struggle with collecting their patient obligations. Default not that you as the doctor didn’t provide quality health care or the patient was dissatisfied with your service. Unfortunately medical bills get put on the back burner because generally speaking, the mortgage payment, car Default and other various bills have top priority by a lot of consumers. Having a patient payment plan in place can make the patient obligation more affordable, which means they are more likely to pay.

Is offering a patient payment plan a smart business move from a medical practices point of view? According to Dallas L Alford IV, CPA and President of Atlantic Financial Consulting, a medical billing firm in Wilmington, North Carolina, there are benefits to offering a payment plan.

The first benefit is that you will establish loyalty with your existing patients. An example of this may be a geriatric practice whose patient base consists of older patients that are more than likely on a fixed income. These patients have every intention of paying but may not be able to afford their bill. If you offer them a favorable payment plan, you can guarantee they will pay their balance and will be back to see you again since they need your services. They will more than likely tell their friends and family about your practice, which will in turn further increase your patient base and revenue.

The next benefit is you will increase your patient base and revenue since you will continue to see patients that are enrolled in your payment plan. A lot of practices have a policy in place that they refuse to see patients that have an outstanding balance. While this type of policy is understandable and you may end up collecting 100% of your patient obligation with such a policy, you may also limit the number of repeat patients that visit your practice. Let’s compare the numbers of a practice that has this type of policy versus a practice that has a payment plan in place. The practice without the payment plan may be collecting 100% of $125,000 while the practice with the payment plan is only collecting 98% of $200,000. The first practice may be collecting 100% of their patient balances but has fewer patients while the second practice is only collecting 98% of its patient balances but has more patients due to the availability of a payment plan. You have to ask yourself what is better for your practice, collecting 100% of $100,000 or 98% of $200,000?

The key to a successful payment plan is to minimize your practice’s risk and headache associated with administering the plan. To improve cash flow for your practice, ask the patient to pay as much as possible up front and collect the remaining amount via an automatic payment plan that drafts the patient’s checking account for a predetermined monthly amount. This type of service can be done in-house or handled by a third party billing service.

The bottom line is patients are becoming more responsible for healthcare costs due to such insurance plans as health savings accounts and those practices that can adapt will grow their patient base and increase their revenue.

Dallas L Alford IV, CPA is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of North Carolina and owner of Atlantic Financial Consulting, a firm which specializes in assisting medical practices with outsourcing their insurance billing, collection of patient accounts receivable and performance of coding audits.

To learn more about Atlantic Financial Consulting, you may visit their website at atlanticfinancial.usatlanticfinancial.us or contact Dallas L Alford IV, CPA at 1 888-428-2555.

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Blog Marketing - What A Long Strange Trip It Is

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

At first blush, Blog Marketing shouldn’t be much different then “old fashioned” affiliate marketing. However, a Blog brings with it a new set of challenges along with some powerful new ways of getting your message out. Let’s take a closer look…

I’ve been a web marketer since the late 1990’s, for the majority of my career, I’ve developed plain old HTML websites. Those HTML relics were clunky, problematic to maintain and didn’t lend themselves to much in the way of updating. Basically we’d develop a web page, do a little SEO tweaking, once we got it where we wanted it, we’d …ah, forget about it. Now early on this was fine, everyone did it this way and it just worked. However, the new millennium brought with it a brand new platform —The Blog!

When I first heard the term Blog, I couldn’t help but think of an old “B” movie that starred Vincent Price (oh wait that was The Blob), anyway I really didn’t start Blogging until last year (2006). By then Blogging was big business and I was just a late comer…

Here’s the big difference between Blog Marketing and HTML site marketing. Where an HTML donating car to charity is static, a Blog post is dynamic, it’s designed to grow. Instead of just being a web page that speaks about something, a Blog post speaks to its readers and asks for feedback and further input. A good blog post is really a conversation; it can be almost as intimate as a couple of friends having coffee at the corner Starbucks.

So with this intimacy comes a much stronger connection. This connection can be a powerful way to sell. If you have an audience that listens to everything you say (post) then selling to them is as easy as saying “this new product is great, you have to try it”. And odds are, a percentage of your readers will take your advice and go out and buy whatever it is you’re talking about.

However, it’s a double edged sword. That intimacy that makes for such powerful selling can cool down pretty quickly once you start to over exploit it. Once you start posting nothing but product recommendations, those close friends that kept your site going will become nothing more then jaded infrequent visitors.

So there’s the key difference. With a static site you can build a sales path and dump as much traffic to it as you want. A Blog on the other hand, needs to be free flowing. You can’t (or you shouldn’t anyway) build a set path for you users to follow. Your visitors have their own ideas when they hit your site. They want to read what you’ve posted and they want to interact but they want to do it their own way. Blog marketing is more about fostering a sense of freedom in your users then it is about some structured sales path.

David Olsen has been an Internet Marketer since 1999. In his career he has developed well over one hundred affiliate websites and promoted dozens of products. He is an expert in SEO and writes extensively about it at his flagship website, Affiliate Profit Center.

Visit his site today to learn more about www.affiliateprofitcenter.com/Blog Marketing!

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Does True Love Last Forever?

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

Yes, it can, but it is unlikely to do so for two key reasons: our own emotional evolution and a lack of reciprocity.

First, as adults, we evolve through life as we age, and our needs are constantly changing to match our maturity. By the time we are 40, we are naturally a different person from the one we were at 25. Our aspirations, needs and desires, and especially how we perceive ourself, auto accident attorneys Wisconsin donating a car changed, some in subtle gradual ways, others more dramatically. It means that the love we feel for someone at 25, based auto accident attorneys Montana who we were then, will not necessarily last until 40 or beyond, unless that partner has evolved in the same direction with us and we have the same feelings of appreciation and value towards them.

The second personal injury attorneys New Jersey reason for love failing to stay the course is a lack of give and take - reciprocity - in the relationship. Like anything else, love has to be nurtured and sustained. However, within a few years of the partnership, it is likely that the couple will begin to get very comfortable with one another and start donate vehicle each other for granted. In short, they stop making the effort to affirm and reinforce each other in loving ways. The love between them either becomes static or goes altogether because of increasing resentment and failed expectations.

Every person who meets someone on a date and falls in love with them has the potential of enjoying everlasting love, if they love unconditionally, affirm their partner regularly, actually demonstrate that love at every opportunity and have the confidence to know what they both want in the relationship and mutually agree to it. However, all those things seldom happen in most relationships because of our emotional evolution which changes the way we view life. It means that the person we have expressed undying love for at 25, when we are inexperienced and just finding our way, is seldom likely to be the one we find attractive when we have reached a more experienced 45 years when our expectations are different and our values and attitude to life have changed remarkably.

In the end it is our basic need for change as we develop that prevents us loving anyone forever. No matter how wonderful the person, after a good while with them, we really just want to try something new.

What does your home mean to you? Is your relationship/marriage holding you back? Try our cyprah-quizzes.blogspot.com/2007/05/relationship-quiz.html RELATIONSHIP QUIZ to test how you feel about your partnership. A bad relationship robs you of a life because it has a domino effect on everything else. Find out the state of yours now.

ELAINE SIHERA ( www.myspace.com/elaineonewww.myspace.com/elaineone) is an expert author, public speaker, media contributor and lifestyle columnist. The first Black graduate of the OU and a post-graduate of Cambridge University. Elaine is a Personal Empowerment and Relationships Consultant. Confidential advice is available on the quiz site. Author of: 10 Easy Steps to Growing Older Disgracefully; 10 Easy Steps to Finding Your Ideal Soulmate!; Money, Sex & Compromise, among others (available on www.amazon.co.ukwww.amazon.co.uk as well as her personal website). She describes herself as, “Fit, Fabulous, Over-fifty and Ready to Fly!”

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What is IRS? And How Did it Started?

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the largest bureau within the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the agency is responsible for assessing and collecting most types of taxes owed by individual citizens and businesses. The term donate car for cash revenue refers to government income from domestic sources (that is, internal to the nation), as opposed to income from foreign (external) sources, such as fees imposed on foreign merchants who sell vehicles for charity goods in the United States. The government uses the tax money it collects to fund the nation’s military defense, space exploration, maintenance of national highways and other public facilities, law enforcement, and public services such as libraries and education.

Each year individual taxpayers must file their annual returns, or a request for an extension, by April 15, while corporations must file their returns (or extension requests) by March 15. In 2003 it was estimated that the IRS received more than 130 million personal income tax returns and almost 6 million corporate income tax returns, amounting to trillions of dollars in tax revenue.

In tadalafil to collecting taxes, the agency is also responsible for enforcing tax laws, distributing the forms and guidelines citizens need to file their tax returns, and providing information and support to make it easier for people to understand and auto insurance in Massachusetts tax regulations.

The origins of the IRS go back to the American Civil War (1861-65). Needing to generate funding to cover war expenses, President Lincoln and Congress initiated a federal income tax by passing the Revenue Act of 1862. The act also established a federal agency, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and the head office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, to oversee tax collection. Ten years later the income tax was repealed. Although Congress attempted to reinstate an income tax in 1894, the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional a year later.

Income taxes did not become a permanent fixture of American life until 1913, when the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, auto insurance in Michigan Congress to enact an income tax. In 1953 the bureau was renamed the Internal Revenue Service, in an effort to emphasize its obligation to “serve” the American public.

For more information on IRS, www.whatisirs.comVisit IRS Information here

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Increasing Commissions in Affiliate Marketing

Monday, July 20th, 2009

These days, everyone is searching for quick and easy ways to make money. Affiliate programs in a way could be considered one of these opportunities. If in fact Virginia personal injury attorneys have a website that receives a donate a auto amount of productive traffic, you are capable of making money with affiliate programs. You get out of it what you put into it. In other words you Mississippi personal injury attorneys put some time in effort into your affiliate marketing in order for it to pay off. Affiliate commissions are a portion of the revenue genereated from the sale. For example if the amount of commission that you get from a sale is 50% and the product cost $100, you get $50 dollars for the sale. The beautiful thing about affiliate programs is that if you have a website, you can get additional revenue by putting up related banners, text ads and any other advertising material. Affiliate programs can be considered one of the easiest and most legitimate ways of making money online. Choosing the affiliate programs you participate in wisely goes a long way.

Different programs offer different commission rates. Joining an affiliate program with a quality product to offer and a fairly high commission percentage is one of the simplest of ways that you can increase you commissions and revenue in a market. Strive to seek rewards by reaching high levels of earnings. Even just a little bit more can help immensely. A lot of programs reward the high earning affiliates. Affiliate programs do this to encourage and motivate affiliates to make more sales. You can most definitely increase you commissions by split testing and experimentation. Something so simple car insurance Oklahoma changing the background of a sales page could have a profound effect on your bottom line. Experimenting is great because It allows you to see what is working and what is not. The best thing that you could be doing in the business is experimenting to find ways to boost profits Also while experimenting and testing, you should try writing some affiliate product reviews, pr recommendations. Having a newsletter gives you more opportunity to work with promoting different affiliate programs. Get more traffic to your site by optimizing it for the major search engines by submitting original articles to article directories with a link pointing back to your site. Be patient and give it time.

Things in life just car insurance Oregon time and patience. Think in terms of long term when building your profit empire. If you keep the above mentioned points in mind, you should be able to take action and see the resulting increase in the amount of money you make with affiliate programs. You may even turn it into a full time business.

If you want to see increases in your affiliate commission checks, it may be worth it to visit marketing4me.net/marketing4me.net/ for more information about doing that.

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Squelch Some Cell Phone Myths

Friday, July 17th, 2009

Cell phones are dangerous accident attorney auto use. All of the hype of the myths surrounding cell phones would not only have you believing this, but it would have you burying your cell phones in the back yard commercial van insurance to be on the safe side.

Before you get the shovel, consider these few facts. Using a cell phone while pumping gas will not cause a spark that would blow up the gas tanks. This is a myth. Although static electricity can Denver personal injury attorneys a sufficient enough spark to cause the gas to ignite, it just does not come from the cell phone. Feel free to chat away while you fill up.

It’s been said that driving while using a cell phone is just a dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol. There have many tests conducted that have proven this out. Any one that has encountered a distracted cell phone driver knows it is true. Most just don’t think it actually refers to them. Reaction times while on the cell phone decrease dramatically and needed attention is distracted from the road. If you have to talk while you are in your car, take the time to pull off the road (you’ll also ensure that you won’t drop the call that way).

People have been killed in company van insurance because of cell phone calls. This is just not true. When the technology first arrived in the mainstream, many hospitals and clinics responded with bans on the cell phones. Slowly, those bans have begun to lift. It may not effect the medical equipment when using cell phones in hospitals, but it may affect communications (if that hospital uses the same service calls could be crossed). To be on the safe side, always follow the rules and regulations set up by each hospital.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. A quick scan of the internet and of myth busting sites reveals pages of cell phone myths and legends. accident attorneys Boston reacting, always do a little research. Until you know for sure if it’s real or just a myth, play it on the safe side.

Kathy Lang is a freelance writer specialising in modern technology. She has written extensively on www.promobiletalk.com/Cell Phones and www.techwatch.co.uk/mobile-phones/mobile phones

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Cat Eye Infections - How to Treat and Prevent Common Cat Eye Care Problems

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

Feline conjunctivitis is a cat eye infection is characterized by an inflamed pink membrane that lines the inner eyelid and the white part of the eye. Oftentimes conjunctivitis occurs only Nounhunter one eye rather than both. In this article you’ll learn how to recognize and treat cat eye infections without costly prescriptions or antibiotics.

If your cat or kitten has conjunctivitis it is an eye infection that can occur intermittently for a few months to several years. It may or may not occur in conjunction with other eye problems. Sometimes feline conjunctivitis also presents with a cornea erosion or ulcer; corneal inflammation, called Keratitis; or intraocular inflammation, called uveitis. These other cat eye infections are often instigated by Feline Herpesvirus-1.

A conjunctivitis cat eye infection is most often caused by Feline Herpesvirus-1, Feline Chlamydia or Feline Mycoplasma. One, two or all three of these organisms probably caused your cat’s eye problem.

What are the Signs of Cat Eye Infections?

1. Occasional or continual squinting - your kitty looks sort of like Popeye. If her squinting is severe, it may indicate a corneal ulcer or erosion.

2. Watery or mucous-like discharge that’s clear, yellow, gray, or a rusty dark red color that resembles blood - but it’s not blood.

3. The pink membrane lining, or conjunctiva, that surrounds her eye is red and possibly swollen.

4. The cornea, the clear dome over her eye, may be cloudy; this can signify a cat eye infection involving a corneal ulcer or erosion.

5. The iris, the colored part of her eye, may appear duller than usual or be an entirely different color; this can signal an infection involving uveitis.

6. One, several or all of these cat eye infection signs may be present. They may be present in one or both eyes.

7. Sometimes infections are accompanied by frequent sneezing and possibly an upper respiratory tract infection.

How Do Veterinarians Treat Cat Eye Infections?

Cat eye infections caused by Feline Chlamydia and Feline Mycoplasma can be treated with topical antibiotics. Feline Mycoplasma-induced infections respond very well. But Feline Chlamydia cat eye infections may recur. Sometimes topical antiviral medicines may also be prescribed.

FHV-1 cat eye infections are stubborn little boogers to treat. They don’t respond at all to topical antibiotics.

Nearly every cat in the world has FHV-1; they are exposed to the virus when they’re kittens. This virus lies dormant in a cat’s body for its entire life; it can flare up to cause a cat eye infection at any time. The deciding factor in whether FHV-1 flares up is stress. Although your cat isn’t a briefcase-toting stock broker on Wall Street, she can still experience stress! Stress suppresses the immune system.

Some kitties may never experience an infection. Other kitties may go for years between each cat eye infection, and yet other kitties may experience frequent flare-ups. Without proper treatment, your kitty would experience long-term discomfort and pain.

FHV-1 conjunctivitis and keratitis that cause infections cannot be cured-but they can be controlled.

How to Control Cat Eye Infections

Holistic vets and cat owners are finding great success in using homeopathic remedies made of natural substances. These eye tonics are a combination of burdock, rosemary, meadowsweet and Chelidonium majus. Feline conjunctivitis is often the result of a weakened immune system and may occur along side other illnesses such as respiratory infections. Your cat may need some immune boosting supplements to help her body naturally fight off infectious agents - without the side effects of antibiotic therapy.

About The Author:

Find a non-prescription treatment that is proven safe and effective for treating www.coolest-cat-care.com/cateyecaredealscat eye infections. Kate Rieger is partnered with the Kentucky SNIP clinic where they provide affordable, natural alternatives for treating your pet. Visit Kate’s site today to find more options for treating your best 4-legged friend naturally at www.Coolest-Cat-Care.com/CatEyeCareDealswww.Coolest-Cat-Care.com/CatEyeCareDeals

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How to Solve Litterbox Problems in Multi-cat Homes

Saturday, July 11th, 2009

When we have only one cat and she misses the litterbox, it can be hard to fix. When we have more than one cat in the house, it can be even harder. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help stop litterbox problems in a multi-cat home. first of all, act fast. A litterbox problem that continues for a long time can become harder and harder to solve. Litterbox mistakes can lead to territorial responses, and disturb the routines and hierarchies of your entire household. Will Muffin still want to take her daily afternoon snooze on the couch if Tiger urinated there? She may find some other area, displacing more and more of your cats, and creating fighting and other dominance displays. If you put off solving the problem, hoping it will go away on its own, you may find it multiplying in your home.

Find the culprit. Before you even try to determine the “why,” figure out the “who.” If you catch it Second Life Evaluation At Hamilton College enough, you can hopefully nail it down to one cat. Many people like to isolate each cat to determine which cat is causing the problem, but displacing one cat, even overnight, can sometimes lead to dominance displays in the others, as they claim undefended territory. If you have new cats, or kittens reaching adulthood, you may want to visit the vet for help. Your veterinarian can prescribe fluorescein for your cats, helping you to determine which urine stain(s) glow under an ultraviolet light.

Rule out a Veterinary Problem. Veterinary causes underlie many litterbox problems, particularly in household with older cats or those with access to the outdoors. Urinary tract infections are one of many common causes, where the cat develops an aversion to the box as a painful place to be. Other health problems can also cause litterbox mistakes. Worse, without visiting the veterinarian, your other cats may be at risk, which could cause the problem to multiply. No behavior techniques in the world will help a cat with a veterinary problem, so don’t skip the trip to the vet.

Observe the Behavior. If the vet rules out a health problem, I next recommend a brief observation period. It’s always very frustrating to the owner to let the cat continue his litterbox mistakes, but it gives you the knowledge to attack the specific problem. During the observation period, try to concentrate on the things in the environment that may be important to your cat, like litterboxes, food bowls, favorite places, the routines of the other cats and people in the home, etc. Start a journal where you record as much information as you can about every litterbox mistake, then look for links. Does the cat always use the same room? Is it always on carpeting? Does it happen after meals, or at some other time of day? Are the other cats nearby? Did you have guests over? When you isolate the specific stimuli involved, it allows you greater control without making major changes in the environment that may upset the rest of the cats.

Break the Habit. Elimination sites are matters of preference, and when the cat gets into the routine of going to a certain location, you’ll need to prevent the behavior from recurring. Since the smell of declining urine is a signal for the cat to “reapply,” clean the accident site with a pet odor remover - perhaps multiple times to get past the cat’s sensitive nose. Block off the area while the product does its work. Remote deterrents, that work whether you are around or not, will keep the cat from returning to the area whenever you aren’t standing guard. Double-sided tape or an upside-down plastic carpet runner, pointy feet up, can keep your cat from standing in the same area. Cats also hate to be startled, so anything that can safely surprise the cat when he visits that area can help make the area less “cat-friendly.”

Make the current litterbox more appealing. While you are preventing bad habits, make good habits more appealing. The litterbox should be clean, have privacy, and in multi-cat homes, escapability is also important. This simply means that the cat can see off a distance, so he won’t be ambushed in the box, or on his way there. Most cats prefer clumping, non-perfumed litter, but work with your individual cat to determine whether a box of a different size, shape, or litter would help.

Retrain the cats. If it doesn’t seem to help to address the individual factors in your journal, or your cat has never regularly used the litterbox, you may want to retrain the cat by himself. Use this as a last resort, since removing the cat from the hierarchy may upset the routines of all the cats in the home. Keep the cat in a small, uncarpeted room, with a clean litterbox, food bowl, and toys in opposite corners. Pick up all rugs from the floor, so the only soft place to choose to eliminate will be the litterbox. Visit the cat often, and clean the box regularly. I also recommend recording the times that the cat uses the box. Many cats stick to a regular routine, so once you’ve determined when the cat is likely to use the box, you can let the cat out during low-risk times to maintain the hierarchy, and put him back in the room with the litterbox during high risk periods. Repetition of successful use will increase the cat’s preference to the box.

General stress reduction. In some situations, it’s difficult to determine specific environmental triggers for a problem behavior. However, sometimes general stress reduction techniques will prove helpful, particularly in multi-cat homes. For litterbox problems that have arisen from territorial disputes, additional resources may reduce competition for resources. Extra litterboxes and food bowls are always helpful, but remember that YOU are also an important resource, so give each cat as much attention as they could possibly want. Exercise can also help redirect cats energies. It can also help desensitize cats to each other, while they are praised for attacking a toy while the other cat watches. Routines are also very important in multi-cat homes, particularly when older cats are involved. Scheduled feeding, petting and exercise periods at the same time and location every day can further reduce stress that may be contributing to the litterbox problem.

Litterbox problems in multi-cat homes can be difficult. However, caring responsible owners can have an advantage solving the problem with they use quick, decisive actions and apply solid behavioral techniques.

Keith Londrie II is the Webmaster of cat.about-animals.infocat.about-animals.info A website that specializes in providing information on cat.about-animals.infocats that you can research on the internet at your own pace. Please Visit cat.about-animals.infocat.about-animals.info now!

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