PERFECT CATS A PURRFECT WEDDING DAY FIND OUT THE CAT OF THE MONTH!
10 SIGNS YOUR CAT LOVES YOU SPRING 2016 1ST EDITION
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Letter From Editor
M
y name is Kristin Wagenknecht and I am the editor for Perfect Cat Magazine. I grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. After highschool, I moved to Cedar Falls, Iowa to attend the Univeristy of Northern Iowa where I currently reside. Growing up, my family always had a bunch of cats when I lived with them. In fact, I do not remember having less than ten cats at a time at our house. Even today, my parents still have around ten cats, some of them have been with us even since I was younger. You can say my parents were a sucker when it comes to adopotion. My family and even me have always been die-hard cat lovers.Currently, I have just two cats that live with me: Piper and Boots. Piper and Boots have been my go-to companion. Piper is just under a year old, while boots is a little over a year, but he still acts like a baby. My cats mean alot to me, and I cannot wait to get a bigger place so I can add more feline friends to my family. In this edition, my hope is have you indulge in your love of cats, just like I did when reviewing this edition. You will find humor, useful tips, and even a great story on a cat-themed wedding. The team and I had Perfect Cat Magazine wishes you a happy reading, we appreciate your business and hope you enjoy reading our magazine as much as we did creating it.
IAMS Puurrfect Delights
THE FOOD YOUR CAT DESERVES
Contents 1 7 Page 7
Letter From Editor
Meet Kristin Wagenknecht
What's the deal with all the cat naps Explore the favorite cat activity
11
Cat Affection
Find out if your cat loves you...or not
14 Page 11
Cat of the month Meet Chai
A Puurfect Day
15
Page 14
Behind the scenes of a cat-themed wedding
Contents 24
Page 15
26
29 Page 24
30
Page 28
Healthy Cats
Tips to keep a healty kitten
Cat ages vs human years
find out how old your cat woud be if it was a human
A new cat
Tips on how to introduce a cat into a new environment
Cat friendly decor Remodeling with your friend in mind
NAPTIME
what's the deal with all the cat
naps?
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Cats Alw So As
Cats Can Sleep Up to 16 Hours Per Day.
Some Even S
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s Are Not ways ound sleep.
e Cats Snore.
Cats Are Capable of Dreaming.
eat sleep play Cat Watch Day-Care
Play With Me(ooow)
HALF OFF CAT TOYS FROM JUNE 22ND-24TH
10
Ways Your Cat Says
I LOVE
1 2 3 4 Your cat greets you Follows you at the door whenaround. Does ever you come your cat come home. and hang out Cat’s can even with you, in a recongize the sort of sound of your car casual, hey what pulling up. are you doing, way?
Ever been head-butted by your cat? When cats do this they are depositing their pheromones on you, and marking you as “theirs”. They love you.
5
Kneads you. Like Brings you presents. dough. Kittens do Cats love giving this to their gifts! Popular mothers, choices are mice ergo your cat and birds, but don’t thinks you are its discount frogs or mother and adores worms. you.
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E YOU 6
Meows. Cats do not meow to other cats, only to humans. Your cat is talking to you. Your cat is telling you it loves you.
7
Stares at you. Unsettling. But cats only make direct eye contact with people they really like.
8 Blinks at you. A long slow blink is a cat equivalent of a kiss. Do it back. But only if no one is watching.
9 Tolerates affection. My cat lets me kiss her, even though she clearly doesn’t like it. She may duck, but she doesn’t run away, and I consider this a victory.
10 Stays. Or as my friend Michael says: “They let you live in the same house as they do.”
Love Bites
OWEN STAR Photography
Call Today | (319) 205-3136
Cat of the month
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Meet Chai!
Chai resides in Milo, Iowa on a family owned farm. Chai was born into life by his mother, Krystal, who lives on the same farm as him. His owners, Mark and Dottie, pictured on the right, were there for his birth and helped Krystal deliver him. Chai is mostly an outdoor cat. However, he sometimes ventures into Mark and Dottie's home with the other cats that they own. Chai was named after the color of his fur, which somewhat resembles the color of the popular tea drink. His owners mention that their favortie thing about Chai was how much he loves to snuggle with them and even the other cats. Chai also loves running around the farm with his other cat friends Oreo and Bear. Today, Chai is celebrating his one year of life and is ashappy and active as ever.
A Purrfect Day The California native couple, Kiera and Zach, shared their most memorable day with their favorite animals.
By: Kristin Wagenknecht
Thank you to Zach and Kiera Knight for letting us use their photos.
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I
t’s no doubt that Kiera and Zach Knight share a die hard love for cats. They even wanted their favorite animals apart of their most memorable day. Kiera and Zach tied the knot in Los Angeles on July 24th, 2015. The couple went through Happily Weddings to help plan their perfect cat wedding. This fun yet stylish cat themed wedding displays what this couple is all about with their unique wedding concepts, personal touches, and of course attention to detail. This wedding was far off from tacky, but was more of a classy chic style. Kiera and Zach used there own two cats (Cedric and Lily) for the majority of the wedding, but they also seeked the help of sone cats from Second Hand Souls. Second Hand Souls is a rescue center located in California that specializes in training homeless animals for the entertainment industry. These kittens were even added to the guest list. Kiera and Zach were a little worried what their friends and family were going to say once they told them that their special day is going to be cat themed. Kiera mentions that both of her's and Zach's
Zach and Kiera with Cedric and Lily after the ceremony.
family are big on tradition. They both figured that their parents would snicker at the idea of a cat themed wedding. However, their reaction was opposite to what they thought it would be. They smiled and laughed and said, "we could've guess that one!" Kiera and Zach decided to share their special day with us. They mention how to to find the perfect cat themed decorations, how to get the felines to cooperate when it comes to pictures, and as well as how to leave your guests loving kittens just as much as you do. On this day, no cat pun was left out, the centerpieces were balls of yarn, the cake toppers were a couple of kittens, and the confetti came out in a litter tray. Alongside the feline features, were fabulous blooms, beautiful cakes, chic stationery, and a stunning wedding dress. Crazy cat ladies and feline loving fellows, prepare to smile like you’ve never smiled before. This, is your dream wedding…
Kiera tells us, "When we were planning our wedding, we really wanted to incorporate our two favorite things in the world, our cats. I think a lot of our friends heard “cat-themed wedding” and said, “Hmm. Sounds about right for you two!"
Kiera and Zach decided to share their life-long love with the ones that matter most to them: their cats, Cedric and Lily. The two cats took part of not only the photographs but were also used during the rest of the wedding, from roaming around the venue to entertaining the rest of Kiera's and Zach's family and friends. "Our friends were a little skeptical to say the least," Kiera mentioned, "however, once they got a sneak peak of the wedding decorations, they were shocked and speechless that we could pull off a theme as unique as this one." Kiera and Zach of course applauded the work of their wedding planners at the Happily Weddings company. I decided to ask what brought the happy couple to decide to use cats as their theme for their big day and why the decided not to use a more modern and traditional theme. Kiera's response was, "We are both quirky people, and I think when we were both picturing the big day, we wanted to do something unique, something that no one has ever seen before. We both share a love with cats, and I think we both just kinda knew thats what we should use as a them for our wedding day." "When we sat down with our wedding planners, the cat puns just kind of came naturally, we knew the title of our wedding should be a purrfect day when we decided to use cats as our theme." Zach told us, alongside Kiera nodding and smiling. Kiera and Zach mentioned how much fun they had while they were deciding on which decorations to use for their memorable day. "I was actually surprised to see how many cat-themed ideas were on social media sites like pintrest, you just normally do not hear of this kind of wedding." Brandie, one of the wedding planners mentioned. They decided to have a cat that looked like a traditional white layered wedding cake, however they added a twist and put pink cat ears on top, as well as a pink cat tail at the back side of the cake.
They also decided on yarn centerpieces because cats love yarn and they knew they could make it look elegant at their wedding. "Our hardest decision was what to do for the little decorations, like in weddings we've attended in the past you see some sort of container that the rice, or confetti, or bubbles are in, we were not sure how we could make that cat-like." Zach mentioned, "We did not decide to use the "litter box" as a way to hold the confetti until the last minute almost, we kept going back and forth on ideas." he continued. Some other of their decorations include, a cat shaped bowl to hold thier rings in, a picture frame stating, "all you need is love and a cat.", hiss and puurs chairs, and cat-like seating cards. Today, we see the use of cat themed weddings more and more. Whether it just decorations or even the cats themselves are in attendance. In fact, I might even consider having a cat themed wedding when the big day comes for me. I asked Kiera and Zach how they got Cedric and Lily to cooperate at the wedding and what is was like taking pictures wih them. Kiera laughed and said, "It was not that hard for them to cooperate at the wedding, they are both curious cats, so they loved exploring the venue and meeting our guests. However, when it came to taking our wedding photos with them, thats a different story... We had a lot of struggles trying to get them to pose how we wanted them too. In fact, our photograph session took twice as long as we planned just because of Cedric and Lily." They mentioned a helpful tip to get cats to pose, "use cats that are trained for the entertainment industry, or else you'll be stuck trying to get the photos you want for hours." Even through the struggle of trying to get Cedric and Lily to cooperate with the photos, Zach and Kiera are pleased how they turned out. Zach suggested finding a photograph that can photograph pets and people as well. Zach and Kiera's photos were captured beautifully by Josh Madson
The happy couple poses in front of their wedding day sign.
The yarn centerpieces on display at the Knight Wedding. Kiera and Zach mentioned that they even turned a few non-cat lovers into cat lovers due to "Cedric and Lily's" cuteness as they said. "My friend Amy was not very fond of cats before our wedding, but after she said she now has a better love and understanding for them" Kiera said, "I'm not really sure how that happened besides of Cedric and Lily's obvious adorableness." Cat loving Kiera believes her day couldn't of been any more spectacular. She said: "It's so surreal, knowing that a sweet adorable cat, with her fuzzy little hands and twitchy little tail, was helping us." Zach described it as "amazing" while Kiera added: "It was a dream situation." The kittens did not get a chance to comment, but the look in their eye suggested it was also thier dream wedding, they are super glad they could be apart of it. “The cat theme came about because we wanted
our two cats to be present in some way, and we looked for ways to incorporate small references to them. Each cocktail was named for a cat, custom kitty face stickers were on all the favor packages, and the sparkly cat ears worn by the guests was a really fun touch.” Kiera said. We also started asking the couples for advice, and this is what Zach had to say: “Finally, don’t do anything just because someone says, ‘but you have to have [X]!'” she concluded. “You really don’t have to have anything but your significant other; everything else is up for debate. Everyone will have ideas on what you should do, but it’s your wedding. Don’t let anyone else run amok with it or pressure you into anything you don’t care about. Don’t do something just because it looks amazing on Pinterest. Make it special to the both of you, even if it’s a combination of
“Our wedding was simply inspired by things that make us happy”, said Zach, “so that meant cats, particularly our own two cat babies Cedric and Lily!"
The couple used a "litter box" to display thieir confetti.
seemingly unrelated things. If it’s meaningless, your heart won’t be in it and the process will feel more arduous than it would anyway.” Kiera said: “My advice to other couples would be to remember what makes you happy”, she concluded. “Of course your guests need to feel comfortable and looked after, but really your wedding is a reflection of you, so stay true to what you believe in and nobody else!” Zach and Kiera mentioned that their favorite aspect of the wedding was being able to share their special day with not only thier family and friends but also their best feline friends. "We never left our cats alone for more than a day, even when we take trips we somehow try to take them with us, if possible." Kiera said. She also mentioned that Cedric and Lily probably would not be too happy with her and Zach if they missed their special day. Kiera and Zach's wedding displays cat-themed items that are now typically seen in most other cat themed weddings. Zach and Kiera loved how their how thier purrfect cat themed wedding turned out and even landed a spot on the Happily Weddings feature page. Zach and Kiera also had their catthemed wedding covered on Huffington Post. Zach, Kiera, Cedric and Lily are still a happy family and the couple is expecting a baby girl in August 2016. When asked if she was going to name the baby lily, she replied, "I thought about it, but probably not likely." We wish the Knight couple a great rest of their life, and we hope Cedric and Lily make the most out of their nine lives. Let us know what you think, would you go all out with a wedding theme? Would yours revolve around your pets, or how about your favorite sports team or movie? It’s so great to see a super-themed wedding look so stylish, don’t you think?
Kiera and Zach show off Lily. Kiera and Zach show their love for their cats, Cedric and Lily.
Thanks so much to Happily, and their team Josh Madson and Alex of Beautilitarian along with a gang of awesome vendors for sharing this fun feline-fest with us.
Feature Story End
"WOW"
New Unscented Fresh Step Scoop
KEEP YOUR SKINNY KITTY FROM GROWING INTO
one fat
cat
A
nimals can gain weight just as easily as we can. Cats with weight issues can suffer from major health risks, including type 2 diabetes, osteorarthitis, heart diease, high blood pressure, and kidney diease. Additionally, heavier cats provide more difficulty for veterianians to treat. They are more likely to die in surgery, less tolerant in warm temperatures and are far less diease resistant. Here are a few tips to help your feline friend stay healthy, or slim down.
Feed your cat wet instead of dry food. Surprisingly, wet food has a higher protein content then dry food. Plus cats are natural carnivores. Limit treats. We all love our pets, which sometimes can make it difficult not to give them treats or table scraps. Unfortunately, too much snacking has the same effects on cats as it does on humans. Control your cats portions and only feed them two times a day. Cats are less likely to overeat as dogs are, which leads the owners to leave their
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food out all day to eat when they are hungry. If food is always available, they will start overeating and gaining weight. To curb this, feed your cat once in the evening, and once again in the morning.
Last but not least, play with your cat often and give them toys - especially if you live in a small house or apartment. When theres nothing to do, and nowhere to go cats can quickly put on weight. Forcing your cat to excercise by playing with them or providing toys for them to play with when you are not around can help them get the stimulation and exercise they need to combat weight gain.
CAT 4 Weeks 6 Months 1 Year 2 Years 5 Years 10 Years 15 Years 18 Years 21 Years
in AGES
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HUMAN YEARS Baby Kid Teenager Mid Twenties Mid Thirties Mid Fifties Mid Seventies Mid Eighties Cententarian
The Shampoo Your Cat Deserves
Bringing Home
Here are a few tips to bringing home a new forever friend!
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A New Cat
C
ats are terrortial and feel uneasy when put into a new area to explore. You can help with this uneasiness by giving him a small area to call his own. Next, fill a litter box that can be placed in his small area. After that place a feeding station complete with food and water in an are that is away from the litter box. Cats love to have a little area that they can run away too, a box or a cat carrier works well for this. Once your new cat has settled in, encourage scratching on posts instead of your furniture, this can be done by dangling toys above the post, or by sprinkling cat nip also. When your cat is accumlated to its new environment you will want to look for items that be easily knocked down and broken and put them in a safe place. It is also beneficial to go over rules with the family members in regards to the new pet, such as do not startle him. After a few weeks, your new cat will start to feel comfortable in its enviroment and start being more friendly and active.
t a C
y l d n e i Fr
r o c e D
ctor in a f o t e sure B ? mfor t! g o n c i l d e n d re-mo afety a e s m s o d s n t frie to do s e g b n i r n u n yo Pla
Fabric:
When looking for an animal friendly fabric, choose those that are tightly woven and can resist tears and rips
Flooring:
Think hard surfaces compared to carpet hair.
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Painting:
Look for painting that is low in chemicals. These toxins are especially dangers to animals and can cause breathing problems.
s. They are much easier to maintan t. They also do not trap unwanted
Accessories:
When designing with a cat in mind, multi-functional accessories are necessecary. They can used for storing items like toys and food.
HAVING A HEALTHY, HAPPY PET, JUST GOT A LOT EASIER...