The post Cat Litter: Why It Pays to Get It Right by Dr. Karyn Kanowski‚ BVSc MRCVS (Vet) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it‚ but all of these articles were assigned‚ contracted and paid for‚ so they aren't considered public domain. However‚ we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article‚ then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com. Hi‚ I’m Dr. Karyn! Read my introduction to learn more about me and meet my five hilarious cats: Clutch‚ Cyril‚ Alex‚ Zelda‚ and Zazzles. Last week we were talking about how to choose the best food for your cat (you can read that column here)‚ and that one of the ways we can tell how well your cat’s food is working for them is by looking in the litter box.  “If your cat farts a lot‚ poops more than once or twice a day‚ and clears a room when they use the litter box‚ it’s a sign that they aren’t digesting their food well.” Not only is this a good indicator of your cat’s health and food quality‚ for me‚ it is an important consideration because the cat litter trays are located in my home office. So when it comes to food and cat litter‚ I spare no expense. But does that mean I’m paying ridiculous amounts for my cat supplies? No‚ and you don’t have to either. What’s Food Got To Do With It? One of the points I made last time was that even though higher quality foods are more expensive‚ their high digestibility means that you end up feeding as little as half the amount of a cheaper brand. The other benefit of this‚ apart from the obvious benefits to your cat’s health‚ is that your litter box takes less punishment too. If your cat’s poops are large‚ loose‚ and frequent‚ you are scooping out more litter more often. When it comes to my feline’s bowel movements‚ I am scooping one small poop per cat per day. This means less wasted cat litter‚ less mess in my litter box‚ less work for me and a much more pleasant work environment! I am extremely fortunate that my cats have formed quite a cohesive group‚ and will actually share litter trays. Ordinarily‚ I recommend a minimum of one tray per cat plus one extra‚ but over time‚ I realized that my cats weren’t even using all the trays‚ which is unusual in a group of unrelated felines! One factor that has possibly influenced this is the small size and reduced odor of their poop‚ and how well the litter covers it. My cats are great at sharing! What Are My Options? You’re probably aware that there are quite a few different varieties of cat litter‚ making it tough to know which one to choose. Much like with cat food‚ you generally get what you pay for‚ in that the cheap and cheerful non-clumping clay litter will do the job‚ but you’ll go through it much quicker than you would a clumping type. Because it doesn’t bind the urine‚ there is minimal odor control‚ and you’ll need to completely change out the litter every couple of days. For years there has been concern voiced over clumping litter‚ and whether its cohesive properties pose a risk to the inner workings of our cats’ digestive system. Well‚ you might be surprised to learn that there is virtually no scientific evidence to support this fear. In fact‚ the opposite might even be true. Cats get hairballs as the hair swallowed during a grooming session gradually accumulates in their digestive tract. With nothing substantial to move it along‚ it builds up over time until it forms a solid clump. The addition of a few cat litter particles into this equation would likely help push the hair along the intestines. There is the fancy silica gel litter that traps urine‚ and its odor‚ and the only thing you need to scoop out is feces. If I was a single cat household‚ this is probably the one I would go for‚ but with this many cats‚ it isn’t the most cost effective option for me. Then there are the various eco-friendly litter options such as paper‚ wood‚ wheat or corn. I would like to be able to say that I put the environment before my own personal needs‚ but these materials just don’t cut it when it comes to odor control. For my clowder‚ I opt for a fine clumping clay litter. It’s not stupidly expensive‚ but it is a bit pricier than some of the more basic clumping litter. The fine particles hold liquid more effectively and allow my cats to dig and cover their poop more effectively‚ all of which equates to excellent odor control. My easy-to-scoop cat litter Which Litter Is Best? Am I telling you that fine particle clumping litter is the best cat litter option for everyone? I am not. One of the annoying features of this type of litter is that it tracks. Despite having top entry litter boxes‚ I still find litter particles on my desk‚ laptop‚ window sill‚ sofa…and that might be a deal breaker for some. For me‚ whose priority is odor control‚ it is an acceptable drawback. If I could tuck the litter boxes in a different part of the house‚ I would probably rethink my options‚ and consider a more eco-friendly material. If I had just one or two cats‚ the silica gel would be a strong contender‚ although it is the worst in terms of the environment. But here I am making it all about me. Not only am I lucky that my cats all get along‚ I am also lucky that they all seem to be happy with the litter I have chosen‚ because that’s not always the case. You might do your research‚ make a decision‚ only to find that your cat won’t touch it. This is more common with the little silica gel balls or wood or paper pellets‚ as some cats don’t like the feel of them underfoot. So the other thing you need to be aware of‚ and prepared for‚ is your cat’s personal preferences. Just like we did with our cat food discussion‚ when it comes to choosing cat litter‚ the best product for you and your cats‚ might not be what’s best for the cat next door. One thing I will say is that if you’re looking to save some dollars‚ don’t do it by buying that giant bag of non-clumping clay. You don’t have to go top of the line‚ but spending a little bit more on a decent clumping cat litter will be worth it; trust me. The post Cat Litter: Why It Pays to Get It Right by Dr. Karyn Kanowski‚ BVSc MRCVS (Vet) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it‚ but all of these articles were assigned‚ contracted and paid for‚ so they aren't considered public domain. However‚ we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article‚ then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

In the midst of yet another wild‚ gritty‚ action-packed commute on public transit recently‚ my mind turned to the bathroom signs at work. Had I taken down the signs before heading home or was I just remembering a previous occasion when I had remembered? Memories are tricky things‚ easily misplaced or transformed into lies. This is why memories play so prominent a role in science fiction and fantasy.   “The Linguist” by Stephen Robinett (1975) Memory transfer commodified recollection. No need to waste the time developing useful skills when economically desperate people will invest the time‚ then trade their hard-won abilities for a meagre sum. Everyone wins! At least‚ rich people do‚ and who cares about the poor? Emberly’s knack for picking up languages provided him with a steady stream of skills to sell. His spendthrift wife   ensured that Emberly was always financially desperate enough to sell his linguistic skills. Until now‚ he had no reason to resist playing his designated economic role. Now‚ however‚ he does. It is best not to think about all the abuses to which this particular version of memory transfer lends itself. Emberly is a willing participant but one doubts that is true for every person strapped into Robinett’s little device.   “The Phantom of Kansas” by John Varley (1976) Fox is a designer; they work on ecologic design of disneys‚ which are vast subsurface entertainment habitats. It’s an important job! The masses are diverted! How rude and thoughtless‚ then‚ for someone to murder Fox. Even ruder to murder Fox over and over. Clone bodies and recorded memory mean that death is but a momentary inconvenience. Nevertheless‚ each time Fox is murdered‚ Fox loses all the memories accumulated since the most recent brain recording. This is a real inconvenience. Since the police do not seem inclined to catch the killer‚ Fox must catch the culprit themself. There are many SF mysteries in which one could replace the story’s McGuffin with a manila envelope without significantly altering the narrative. This is not one of them: the killer’s motive is intimately tied into the Eight World’s technological base and the legal structure surrounding it.   When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger (1986) Most 22nd century people are enthusiastic brain-implant consumers‚ confident that nothing can go wrong; neither personality modules nor add-ons will reduce users to drooling imbecility. Marîd Audran has a deep-seated aversion to implants. Audran’s personal charm‚ applied cynicism‚ and prodigious quantities of drugs have been sufficient to establish him as an independent player or‚ as fellow Budayeen residents might phrase it‚ low-life scum. Oligarch Friedlander Bey at first considered Audran a likely culprit for a series of brutal murders. Then‚ convinced that Audran is innocent‚ Bey decides Audran possesses the right combination of ingenuity and expendability to serve as a cat’s-paw. Strong-armed by Bey into playing detective‚ Audran may well end up as another murder victim. As long as the killer is caught‚ this is a sacrifice Bey is willing to make. The first question any detective should ask themselves in a case is “am I a character in a noir story?” Knowing that won’t help them escape alienation or being forced to acknowledge the inherent corruption that is the foundation of all societies. In many cases‚ awareness will not keep them alive. It will allow them to appreciate the experience on more levels that would a naïve dupe‚ though‚ and that’s something!   The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (1994; Trans. by Stephen Snyder 2019) To better assist the island’s inhabitants in conforming to the state’s needs‚ memories are being stripped away‚ one by one. Most people do little to resist the process. Not only is it hard to miss something you cannot remember having had—among the first memories erased was any knowledge of seafaring. A very few‚ like editor R.‚ are resistant to memory erasure. These criminals are permanently removed from society by the Memory Police. Preferring not to discover in person what fate awaits detainees‚ R. prevails on an unnamed novelist to conceal him. R. is safe…for as long as it takes the Memory Police to track him down. While it is true the end state towards which the Memory Police is pushing the island seems hellish‚ the project does have tangible benefits. By giving the police control over perception of reality‚ the on-going campaign to spread amnesia provides the police with considerable power. Clearly this is for the greater good‚ as the police have been able to define “greater good.” Readers interested in a less horrifying but equally memorable story driven by memory should seek out the same author’s The Housekeeper and the Professor.   Echoes of Another by Chandra K. Clarke (2020) Using off-the-shelf technology‚ Kel Rafferty invented a method for recording the memories from one brain and then imprinting them on another. Kel considered only her own research goals; she never stopped to consider what other people might do with her technology. Ray‚ a player in the Toronto underworld‚ comes up with an ingenious use for her breakthrough. Determined to find the person who murdered his friend‚ he finds underworld employment as a torturer for hire‚ inflicting memories of torture on victims who cannot be physically harmed‚ while hoping the identity of the killer will fall into his lap. As plans to solve a murder go‚ Ray’s plan is unimpressive. He’s relying on sheer luck to pull useful info from random victims; he’s committing horrible crimes in the process. It would have been more ethical to stick to the traditional crime-solving methods. While one cannot count on the presence of a bored‚ crime-solving spinster‚ it would have been easy for Ray to loudly ask inconvenient questions until the killer tried to silence Ray‚ at which point Ray would know who the guilty party was. ***   Memory loss is a great hook on which to hang a plot. I imagine that my readers can name dozens of works that I did not mention above. Well‚ works that you can remember. Some confabulists may ever remember books that never existed! Comments are below. Please do not disappoint me. In the words of fanfiction author Musty181‚ four-time Hugo finalist‚ prolific book reviewer‚ and perennial Darwin Award nominee James Davis Nicoll “looks like a default mii with glasses.” His work has appeared in Interzone‚ Publishers Weekly and Romantic Times as well as on his own websites‚ James Nicoll Reviews (where he is assisted by editor Karen Lofstrom and web person Adrienne L. Travis) and the 2021‚ 2022‚ and 2023 Aurora Award finalist Young People Read Old SFF (where he is assisted by web person Adrienne L. Travis). His Patreon can be found here.

In Palworld‚ the Gumoss Leaf is a useful item needed to make certain clothing items. It isn’t exactly a rarity‚ but only if you know where to look. Where to find Gumosses in Palworld The Gumoss Leaf is an item dropped by the Gumoss Pal‚ a cute ground and leaf-type Pal. They aren’t exactly powerful‚ which is useful if you want a whole bunch of their leaves. To find a Gumoss‚ have a look at the map below‚ which details everywhere they spawn. Image: PC Invasion As you can see‚ these little creatures really get around! They like to travel in small groups‚ usually in pairs. Also‚ they typically spawn in at a really low level‚ too‚ so you can easily take them out of capture them. As they are delicate creatures‚ you’ll want to have low-powered weaponry if you want to capture them. If you’re pretty strong‚ then using fists will do. Related: How to get your Pals guns in Palworld Best way to get Gumoss Leaf in P...

With players jumping into Palworld for the first time‚ it’s inevitable that some errors will happen. So how do you fix the Online Session Error in Palworld? If you’re also receiving this error‚ there are some possible solutions you can try out. Here’s what to do when facing this error. Palworld: How to fix Online Session Error message While attempting to play Palworld online‚ many players have noticed a strange error message appear‚ having something to do with failing to create an online server. One possible solution to how you can fix the Online Session Error in Palworld is by not changing world settings‚ or turning multiplayer off. Xbox Altering daytime speed breaks the world save and makes it impossible to start. byu/420_Beardy_Boi inPalworld After exploring the Palworld subreddit‚ I’ve come across these two possible solutions. One Reddit post suggests that altering any of the world settings after you’ve alread...

Got the game? Check. Got friends? Check. Got a connection? Nope. Here is how to fix the Xbox Multiplayer timeout error in Palworld. Palworld: How to fix Xbox Multiplayer Timeout error Now that Palworld is available for all of us to enjoy – and by enjoy‚ I mean being completely astonished at capturable creatures that are able to wield guns – many players are eager to connect with friends and see what this new open-world adventure has to offer. However‚ as things often happen during online game releases‚ being able to do so can get a bit sketchy. Players Xbox users are encountering issues trying to connect to each other so that they can enjoy a few rounds of gun-wielding monster capturing. This multiplayer timeout error might happen due to some server stabilities‚ but users report that this issue can be solved by restarting your consoles. This fix may work given that many background glitches tend to disappear whenever you shut down a system or even a spe...

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Whenever I read a story involving one of the profusion of holy relics preserved and exhibited over the centuries‚ whether it be the Shroud of Turin or the finger bone of the fifth-century patroness Saint Genevieve‚ to this day displayed in a small glass cylinder in the Chapel of St. Continue Reading...

by John W. Whitehead‚ Rutherford Institute: “No president from either party should have the sole power to shut down or take control of the internet or any other of our communication channels during an emergency.”—Senator Rand Paul What’s to stop the U.S. government from throwing the kill switch and shutting down phone and internet communications in a […]