Pets

cat exercise equipment

It’s no secret that exercise is one of the key ingredients for a long and healthy life and this is true for our pets as well. Unlike humans, cats don’t need to do 20 minutes of aerobic exercise 3 times a week to stay fit. They also don’t need to be walked several times a day like dogs, but they do need to lead an active life. It’s challenging not only for us but also for our furry feline pets to get off the couch and engage in some kind of cat physical activity that gets the heart rate up and provides a good workout.

Outdoor cats get all the exercise they need, exploring, chasing leaves, birds, flying insects, climbing trees, and just being curious, stalking and attacking fictional or real prey, including scratching, scratching, chasing, and climbing. Rarely do you find “fat cats” who enjoy the outdoors.

“Feline obesity” is more of a concern for indoor cats, however, they can still be healthy and content, as long as they get exercise in other ways. It can help if your indoor cat has a companion pet and if you can encourage him to play for an hour or so each day, such as chasing or running after and crushing toys, etc. Also, cats get better exercise when they do something that comes naturally to them, like predatory acts, stalking or climbing, etc. However, it will take some effort on your part to ensure that your pet participates in your cat fitness program.

To help encourage your feline to be more active, there are some great cat exercise equipment and toys you can make yourself or purchase, such as:

cat toy

Laser Bolts, Fling-ama-string are examples of some of the toys that will get your cat active. Cats love to chase bolts of light or try to catch whatever is at the end of the rope. Some of these are automated so your cat will use them with or without you. There are tons of other toys out there that encourage the cat to do what comes naturally…chase and catch. Some mimic birds, mice, or insects. Even though your cat is not hunting, she still enjoys the actions and movements involved in the hunting process and will create a form of play. Balls are great, anything your cat can hit, possibly carry and try to smash, bite and roll. Keep toys for your cats, especially if they spend a lot of time alone.

cat scratching posts

Scratching is very natural for cats, with or without claws. There are so many scratching posts to choose from, from the inexpensive cardboard, rope or carpet covered posts to the more elaborate ones found in many of the cat trees and gyms discussed below. The cat scratcher is an essential piece of exercise equipment for cats and they love using it, even more than your expensive furniture.

cat trees

These climbing structures were intended for cats whose natural instincts are to climb, relax in safety, and gaze at the world below. This goes back to the beginning of Cats. Many of these cat trees are made of rope or carpet fabric that allows them to use their claws to climb or without claws to jump or get the traction to get up. Most incorporate multiple platforms on various levels that cats love to relax on. Depending on the size and number of decks, condos, accessories, including scratching posts, these trees vary in price, but there is one for every budget. Trees can be quite large, but can easily be placed in corners and out of the way places. Cats love their own furniture, they will claim it and use it.

cat gyms

There are plenty of game possibilities with these as well. Cat gyms come in various sizes and prices, and can include multiple platforms, trays, towers, squish toys, and tunnels. Cats will use their imaginations and make good use of gyms. If you spend a little time with your cat getting him interested in how to use his own gyms, you will soon discover that he will play on his own, if only for several minutes at a time. Cats only need a few minutes here and there to be considered active.

cat exercise wheel

Cat exercise wheels are fairly new. They are simply a very large wheel that the cat walks, jogs, or runs on much like hamster wheels. Training the cat is pretty simple in that you place the cat, hold it there with a treat or two, and move something in front of it to make it walk and turn the wheel. Soon, they will have the wheel turning. These are expensive and also quite large, so budget and space will determine if they are appropriate for your home and pets.

Outdoor pet pens, cages, mesh tunnels

If you have a patio or even a deck where you can place your cat outside for fresh air but don’t want her to escape, then this could be the solution. Again, there are many sizes, styles, and prices for every budget or purpose.

Collar, leash and harness for cats

This is not for all cats, but there are some that like to take short walks. It’s best to start teaching “cats” to walk when they’re young, although some older ones walk on the leash like the old pros. Get the kitten used to wearing a collar with a “safety device” that allows the cat to escape if the collar gets caught on something. Then attach a long, thin leash or cord to the collar and begin walking the cat indoors, gradually moving outdoors in safe areas, and finally onto sidewalks when you feel your cat is well groomed. Some cats will adamantly refuse, but others, especially cats that are more “dog-like in temperament” such as Siamese, Burmese, Russian Blues, Ragdolls, Oriental Shorthairs, will consider “leash walking” if the walk it is short If you’re traveling with your cat, then a collar, harness, and leash is something you should spend time getting your cat used to so you can get her out of cat bags or carry-on bags and let her “stretch” her legs without fear. fleeing and getting lost or injured.

DVDs and videos

There are many Cat-inspired visual and audio products on the market to help your cat deal with loneliness and stay mentally sharp. Plus, there are even “cat exercise videos” to encourage activity.

Make exercise “fun” and your cats will join in. Play is healthy and can incorporate getting in shape, which is essential for the physical and mental well-being of your cats. It helps to overcome boredom and discourages the development of behavior problems, especially for those who spend a lot of time alone or don’t get a lot of individual “attention”.

Enrich the life of your Cats and they will enrich yours. Keep them entertained with lots of toys to play with, exercise equipment and high places to relax. You will have a very happy and content cat.

Real Estate

Why buying a foreclosed home may be your best bet as a homebuyer

The housing market is cyclical and is currently in a gradual recovery from the 2008 real estate crash. The number of foreclosed properties is less than it was a few years ago, but there are still opportunities to buy a foreclosure at a respectable price.

I don’t know what you’re doing, don’t buy

Buying a foreclosed property is not for those who have not studied the foreclosure process as thoroughly as possible. prior to buy a foreclosure (also known as real estate, REO, bank owned). Study information available online, take community college courses, and attend foreclosure investing seminars.

Line up your financial ducks

The next step in shopping for foreclosure is to develop a detailed budget. Determine the absolute maximum you’re willing to spend, including mortgage, property taxes, and insurance. Include some funds for possible repairs.

Then research REOs in your real estate market of interest.

Many foreclosed homes need at least some rehabilitation. How much are you willing to spend on repairs? Are you planning to do sweat equity or will you need to hire a contractor and crew to get the job done?

Now look at your budget and make a list of what you can afford for a down payment and security deposit. Will you have to take out a mortgage loan?

Having the financing lined up before you make your foreclosure offer tells the selling financial institution that you are a serious buyer. Please note that most REOs require this information along with your offer.

Be prepared to stick to your budget and if the deal doesn’t come under your limit, be prepared to walk away.

smart buy

Some REOs are priced above market value. Find out what price similar properties are selling for in the area. Several online real estate organizations list “offsets” for the property you are interested in, as well as similar properties.

The REO bank does not normally offer information about a foreclosed property. Some houses are in terrible condition, even uninhabitable. DO NOT consider, much less make an offer, foreclosure without first having a full inspection of the property by a licensed inspector. And be very careful with any property that is listed significantly below market value. It may be hiding some serious problems.

Don’t go it alone – work with a real estate agent who has a lot of experience dealing with foreclosures.

The good deal

A good deal on an REO property is one that needs little or no restoration. Or, it could be the rehab property that fits your budget and financing.

A stronger offer is one for which you can pay cash. Be prepared to act quickly. Bidding wars for desirable property can be common. Do not lower your offer. Do it clean, in cash (if possible), with few or no contingencies and a quick close.

The best bet on a foreclosed property is the one you prepared for, even before you began your search.

Shopping Product Reviews

Three natural home remedies for melasma, pigmentation and age spots

Dark spots and skin discolorations can be a difficult and embarrassing problem. Skin pigmentation, age spots, and melasma are difficult to treat. There is no shortage of bleaching creams on the market, many of which are unsafe and do more harm than good, such as those containing hydroquinone. Others are simply ineffective and a waste of time and money. However, there is a chance that a simple and natural home remedy could be the solution you are looking for.

When I first noticed the darkening area on my forehead in my early twenties, I didn’t know what it was. Was it dirt? It wouldn’t wash off! I did some research and determined that it was melasma, like an age spot, it’s a type of hyperpigmentation on the skin.

Age spots are usually like large, dark freckles. Melasma is an area of ​​patchy dark skin that often affects the forehead, temples, and cheeks. Both age spots and melasma can be treated with the same types of lightening solutions.

Being the kind of girl who appreciates a good home remedy, I dove headlong into research and found several simple natural treatments to try to lighten the dark spots on my face.

Vinegar: Dilute vinegar in equal parts with water and use it to cleanse and rinse your face. Let air dry to seal in moisture. Or use the vinegar and water mixture instead of an astringent or toner. Vinegar is chemically acetic acid, and it is capable of whitening and brightening, as well as making the skin smoother and more radiant. It has also been used for a long time as a skin softener. Apple cider or other natural vinegars are recommended, although some people use distilled white vinegar.

Onion juice: To get onion juice, you can finely chop an onion or blend it and squeeze the juice through cheesecloth. Mix with equal parts apple cider vinegar, apply twice a day with a cotton ball, and watch for results for weeks to come. Alternatively, you can cut a slice of onion, dip it in vinegar and apply it on the pigmentation.

Lemon juice: Applying the juice of a fresh lemon on the pigmentation has a similar effect to the onion remedy: it is acidic and can safely peel off the top layer of skin, causing the spots to fade.

Onion, vinegar, and lemon juice are great home remedies for relieving age spots, melasma, pigmentation, and discoloration. I found this treatment quite effective at lightening for several weeks; what I didn’t like was the onion smell. Although it was great in a pinch, I didn’t want to have stinky hands and face for life, so I learned many more natural remedies to combat my melasma.

Sports

Childhood family dysfunction can last a lifetime

People often talk about the resilience of children, and that is true, in the sense that they find a way to survive physically and emotionally. But it is not true that children are undone by the effects of childhood family dysfunction, traumatic events and patterns, physical abuse, sexual abuse, or childhood neglect. They suffer deep emotional pain and are changed for the rest of their lives.

Children must be seen as a treasure, a gift to the family and the world, and treated with love, tenderness and care. It’s so sad when that’s not what happens.

Childhood family dysfunction

Many children grow up in families where things happen that are on a continuum of childhood family dysfunction that ranges from mild to severe, with the severe end of the spectrum including sexual abuse, physical abuse, childhood neglect, and a lot of emotional pain. Children often seem to “get it right” even so, and are later able to get and keep jobs, form relationships, marry, and have children of their own. But that doesn’t mean their lives and relationships aren’t deeply affected.

Childhood family dysfunction affects children’s personality

Children who go through the emotional pain of being repeatedly criticized; called negative names; you are not allowed to get angry or cry, shout with glee or laugh merrily; or they are not allowed privacy or comfort, many times they automatically begin to believe that they are bad, stupid, ugly or useless. They often learn to suppress emotions until they are no longer aware of having them. They learn ways to create privacy and comfort that are not in their best interest, but rather are a way of surviving the family dysfunction of childhood.

How children can be harmed by physical and emotional pain

In a child’s mind, parents are all-knowing figures. If the parent does or says something in relation to a young child, in the child’s mind, what he says or does is the ultimate truth. The more often something is repeated, the more deeply this “truth” is etched into the child’s mind and emotions until he actually begins to create the child’s personality. For example, a child who is constantly criticized or told that he is stupid or ugly will begin to feel worthless and may learn to cringe with others, to try to make himself invisible, to believe that he cannot be competent, and therefore Thus, failing in school and later, as an adult, have difficulty establishing relationships or jobs, or may fail in college, relationships, and jobs.

A child who is told “I wish you had never been born, you are a burden” will often feel unworthy to be alive on the planet and as an adult will act in ways that will bring misfortune into their life. If a child is told, in a negative way, “You are just like your father (or mother)”, he may feel terribly torn because he loves his father (or mother), but at the same time he feels that it is bad for him. the. he loves the other parent and the child feels that this is wrong in some way. This emotional pain also lasts into adulthood and profoundly affects social and work relationships.

How children respond to physical abuse

Children whose parents subject them to physical abuse in the form of spanking, arm twisting, forceful pushing down or other forms of physical abuse are damaged not only physically but emotionally and psychologically well into adulthood. As adults, they may chicken out easily, find it difficult to ask for and stand up for what they need, or remain aloof in relationships. They may feel helpless and become deeply depressed. Or they may go in the opposite direction, becoming angry at those close to them or physically abusing themselves.

How sexual abuse affects children

When children are sexually abused, the very core of their being is violated. They can become extremely defenseless people, because in reality were extremely helpless as children. Because it is impossible to actually be present while being violated on such a basic level, child sexual abuse often creates people who learn to dissociate. Since, as children, they were forced to be physically present during the abuse and unable to escape, they learned to mentally and emotionally escape, numbing, fading, “disappearing” into themselves. This also continues, and adults who have been sexually abused as children can put up with being taken advantage of in many ways because they were unable to have a sense of personal boundaries as children. Or, because they learned that the way they are “loved” is to be touched sexually, they may later believe that the only way to be loved is sexually, and they may become promiscuous as adults. On the other hand, sex with someone you love and who loves you can be next to impossible because people who have been sexually abused often feel pain during sex.

Child neglect has long-term effects

Babies left crying alone for hours, toddlers whose parents leave them home alone to fend for themselves, children whose parents feed them erratically or make them wait too long to eat are also deeply affected until well entering adulthood. Adults who have endured childhood abandonment may feel that they are alone in the world, that no one is there for them when they need help. They may become isolated and depressed, or feel like they have to do everything themselves and thus subtly push away anyone who wants to help them. On the other hand, adults who experienced childhood neglect when they were young may react to having their needs denied by becoming overly needy and clingy, thus creating relationships in which their partners may feel like a burden.

There are ways to change the patterns of thinking, feeling, reacting, and relating that are created in dysfunctional families. If you are a person who grew up with childhood family dysfunction, sexual abuse, physical abuse or neglect, psychotherapy and specifically EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) can help you.

Relationship

Will acting withdrawn from your boyfriend make him want you? See the answer right now

Sometimes men just can’t see what we want from them. If you’re tired of being a trophy girlfriend and want a little more from your relationship, you’re going to have to take some extreme measures. To make him see your worth and make him want you, sometimes distancing yourself from him is the only option available. This is how this will work.

He will miss your physical presence.
Initially, when you start to distance yourself from him, he won’t miss much. But when you stop contacting and getting to know him, he will start to miss your physical presence first. He will miss seeing you and soon talking to you will not be enough.

He will miss holding you
A relationship is about closeness. As you continue to distance yourself from him, he will begin to miss little things like holding you and feeling your breath on his skin. He’ll start thinking about how your hair smelled and how great you looked in that favorite dress of his.

will miss having fun with you
I’m sure you had a good time together when you got together. But over time that fun passed less and less. When you distance yourself from him, he will revisit the fun times you had and want to spend many more happy times with you.

You will miss the intimacy.
Intimacy is a part of every relationship. When you distance yourself from him, you become so unapproachable that he begins to miss the intimacy you shared in the good old days. He will start to realize everything that he has been doing wrong and how he is responsible for driving you away.

Will miss your quirks
When you start to distance yourself from him, you also start behaving with him in a very formal way. The extravagance you displayed that made you so brave shows up in a much more reserved way, making him feel more like an outsider in your life. He will soon begin to long for things to go back to the way they were before and start trying to impress you again.

He’ll miss the way you make him feel.
He will also start to miss the way you made him feel. You made him feel special, needed and wanted and now by creating the distance all he feels is coldness inside.

He will miss the closeness and your relationship.
The bond they shared made their relationship special. Distancing yourself will make him love you more because it will make him see what you’re really worth.