Where to see
our Product
April 25-26, 2009
America's Heartland
Kennedy Comples
St Louis, MO 63128
June 13-14, 2009
WI/IL Cat Fanciers
Hart Park
Wauwatosa, WI
July 18-19, 2009
Garden State Cat Show
Garden St Exhibit Center
Somerset, NJ
Sept 12-13, 2009
National Capital Show
Chantilly, VA
November 20-22, 2009
Michigan Family Pet Expo
Rock Financial Showplace
Novi, MI
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Looking for a new reference book? Or maybe you need a gift idea? ... Look no further.
Looking for common sense, practical, ways to care for your cat. Here is a good book that you can refer to often.
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Could You Handle a Pet Emergency?
The American Red Cross has published a source book to help you prepare for health emergencies that arise from sudden pet illness or injury.
The book, and DVD that accompanies it, details step by step action plans to treat your cat for over 60 health related situations.
This is a very valuable resource for every cat owner and should be in every home that has a cat.
Order your copy today for only $19.95 (which includes shipping)
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eLayaway
Alternate Payment Plan
eLayaway provides you with an economical way to purchase a cat tree. The rates are much less expensive than charging it to your credit card. You know that when you receive you tree it has been paid for in full. The use of this payment option gives you more buying power than the use of a credit card because the fees are so much lower. So check out our cat tree products today. Select the one your cat would most enjoy and then select eLayaway as your form of payment. We track your payment history and build your cat tree so its ready to ship within four business days of when you make the final payment. Couldn't be easier. Plan today for holiday delivery. For more information on eLayaway see:
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Wall Accessory
Building your "wallscape"
The Whimsical Wall Shelf sells for only $49.99 and is an integral accessory allowing you to bridge between various wall mounted cat trees and other wall accessories in completing your unique wall playground for your cat. The shelf is 23 inches wide and 9 and half inches deep, providing ample room for your cat to comfortably rest or sleep on the padded platform. We include our thermal liner that absorbs and radiates back your cats' body heat for added comfort. The unit mounts easily to any wall with the hardware provided. See this and our other accessories on our website. Great Lakes Wall Mount
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| Greetings!
Welcome to the March edition of our Newsletter. Just a brief recap of what you will find in this issue:
- The Sunflower is a medium sized cat tree and featured this month.
- We suggest the right cat tree for your Birman
- We list interesting pet industry trends you won't want to miss.
- Does your cat like to eat grass? Check out the affordable and safe way to enrich your cats' diet.
- Cody talks about recognizing salmonella poisoning and provides a link for more information about poisons and poison prevention.
- We added some new, interesting links, and updated our show schedule in the side bar.
We thank you for your support, and as always, we are open to suggestions and encourage you to email us with any ideas or comments about our products or the content of this newsletter. Enjoy!
Tom Kartes
greatlakescatfurniture@gmail.com |
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Sunflower
Bring the beauty of the outdoors inside
 The Sunflower is a medium sized cat tree standing four feet four inches tall. There are no leaves on the backside of the tree which allows you to slide the tree closer to a wall or deeper into a corner. It's an ideal size for all your cats' activities and this space saving feature allows it to be placed in an area where a fully-rounded tree may not fit.
The tree has three levels which gives your cat an opportunity for exercise; four holes to hide in or otherwise peak their curiosity; and a large padded top for added comfort when resting and watching the world go by.
The holes are each nine inches in diameter and lead to the center of the trunk which is twelve inches wide. The four sculptured leaves each have a thermal liner which collects and radiates back the cats' body heat for more coziness. Each leaf is attached to the trunk with a special bracket that allows for a little "flex" when the cat jumps onto or from the leaf. This feature makes it easier on the cats' joints and back, and older cats will get more use out of the tree if they suffer from joint or back problems.
The Sunflower is one of our most popular and best selling cat trees because of its compact size and colorful presentation. This unique piece of cat furniture will be the focalpoint of activity for your cat, and the center of conversation among your friends. Order yours today.
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The Right Cat Tree For Your Birman
Very friendly, highly intelligent, great companion
 The Birman, as one author put it, is the lazy mans' longhair as they require very little maintenance.
The breed originated in Burma, and has the coloring of the Siamese, with deep blue eyes, seal mask and points or blue mask and points, but with four white paws, which is their characteristic.
The bred has a wonderful temperament and make very good companions. They form a strong affinity with their owners and other members of the family. They are highly intelligent and seem to take a sincere interest in whatever is going on around them. They are very inquisitive and playful, and require a lot of stimulation and attention.
In buying a cat tree for your Birman you should consider one that has multi-levels and several cubbyholes to ensure they get some exercise and at the same time satisfy their inquisitiveness. They love to play with toys, and a couple toys on your cat tree or tucked away inside a cubbyhole will tweek their interest and provide hours of entertainment for both of you.
The typical Birman has legs that are medium in length, well-muscled, and feet that are large and round. Levels on the cat tree should not be too far apart so that the Birman can move easily from level to level. The levels need to provide secure footing and be wide enough for the stocky physique to fit comfortably.
As the Birman loves to be in the middle of the activity you should find a cat tree that aesthetically fits with your decor so that you keep it in the area where your family spends the most time. This way you are satisfying the cats' need for attention and its desire to be around others.
Any of our cat trees over four feet tall are ideally suited for the Birman. They all have multi-levels, and all but the Jack-n-Beanstalk, have cubbyholes. The leaves on this size tree are mostly 12 inches wide and 20 inches long providing secure footing and enough space for the cat to "chill". The fact the leaves are sculptured to nestle your cat gives it a greater sense of security.
Visit our website to see all our medium to large cat trees.
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Pet Industry Trends
Will we continue to grow?
 Even though the economy has been going down a pretty rocky road, there are some positive trends going on in the pet industry and we thought we would share a few with you if for no other reason than to talk about something good.
1. Spending on pet supplies and over the counter medication continues to increase and has been on a steady rise for the past four to five years. Part of this increase is because there are more pets than four years ago, however, if you own a pet you have to feed it and pet owners continue to spend on toys and gadgets.
2. There is a growing interest in providing better health care for our pets. Owners are taking more interest in providing better care and much of that interest is fueled by easy access to quality care and resources. From reading ingredient labels to make sure what our pets eat is the best possible, to searching the Internet for over the counter remedies are just two of the ways owners are getting more involved.
3. More pet owners realize that prevention is often less expensive than treatment. With the skyrocketing cost of providing pet health care more pet owners are turning to securing pet health insurance. Experts say we can expect to see more big name product and service providers getting involved in pet insurance not only in making owners aware of the benefits of having insurance, but also from the standpoint of providing the policies. The U.S. is trailing Europe in the number of pets covered by pet health insurance so this should be an area of sustained growth.
4. At lease 38 states currently have laws that allow pet owners to set-up pet trusts to take care of pets after they die. As the "baby boomers" age we can expect pet trusts to become more popular and we can expect the senior population to keep their pets who might otherwise not have done so. There is a growing trend where more funeral homes are providing services for pets. And pet cemeteries and cremation services are on the rise.
5. The Internet is exploding with services and products geared toward all aspects of pet ownership as a whole plethora of small businesses try to capture niche markets. Websites are beginning to become more sophisticated in design and ecommerce, reaching their target audiences via better usability, search engine optimization, affordable marketing, pay-per-click, and good old fashion "word of mouth". We can expect prices to stay low and services to increase as these small businesses compete for market share.
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Cat Grass
Watching the grass grow ... Lucy's Cat Grass
 Have you ever noticed your cat eating grass or nibbling on plants and wondered why? The answer may be as simple as your cat satisfying a natural craving for grass.
Although some cats are more interested in nibbling on grass than others, if yours is one that does, you should be careful about allowing your cat to go outside to munch away. Lawns and other outside plants are often treated with chemicals such as pesticides, fertilizers, or insecticides that are poisonous to cats.
If your cat isn't able to satisfy its craving for grass outside, it may turn to nibbling on your house plants. Unfortunately, not only might this be undesirable, but it may be deadly. Certain house plants can be very dangerous or deadly to your cat regardless of whether they have been chemically treated.
A simple and safe solution to satisfy your cats' craving for grass is growing cat grass. Sometimes referred to as catgrass or pet grass, cat grass refers to a type of cereal grass such as oat or wheat that can be grown indoors and fed to your cat or other pets. Growing cat grass is easy! It grows quickly and is very easy to tend. Growing your own supply of greens will insure that your cat eats only healthy organic grass.
How Cat Grass Benefits Your Cat
- Adds roughage to your cats' diet providing health benefits such as adding fiber and vitamins that are vital to the overall health of your cat. - Helps to eliminate hairballs. - Satisfies your cats' craving for greens. - Can help keep your cat away from dangerous plants by giving them something safe to nibble on. Lucy's Cat Grass sells a variety of seed kits and seeds for growing cat grass for your cat including oat grass, wheat grass and their own unique variety - Lucy's Special Buck Oat GrassWhat's different about Lucy's Cat Grass? You will have to ask Lucy why she prefers her special Buck Oak Grass when other grasses are available. We discovered the organic wheat grass we had been growing, juicing and drinking for our own additional health insurance was semi-interesting to choosey Lucy. As we began our search for greens we could plant for Lucy to enjoy, we stumbled onto her very own vegetation delight, named in her honor, Lucy's Buck Oat Cat Grass.Cat grass provides cat owners with an affordable and safe way to enrich their cats' diet, eliminate hairballs and keep them safe from toxic plants. If you are not providing this safe alternative to your cat then we encourage you to click on the links provided and learn more.
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Cody's Corner
Miscellaneous Kibble
 - The recent outbreak of salmonella that resulted from contaminated peanut butter caused the death of several pets. Would you know if your cat was suffering from salmonella poisoning if it was sick? The most common symptoms include: lethargy, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Some cats only show milder symptoms including decreased appetite, fever, or abdominal pain. By their very nature cats will try to hide these symptoms, but you know your cat better than anyone; that's why its important that if you suspect your cat may have contracted an illness you seek professional help by visiting your vet. - The third week of March each year is National Poison Prevention Week. Last year the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center handled more than 89,000 calls concerning pets who ingested painkillers, cold & flu remedies and other drugs. Insecticides ranked number two with 26,000 calls where owners reported their pets ingested insect baits, licked bug spray, or had been eating grass that had been recently sprayed with fertilizer and herbicides. More than 8,000 calls were related to pets eating harmful plants such as lilies. These numbers are staggering - collectively the Center is handling 350 calls per day. Be a responsible owner by being aware of the things around your house that your pet shouldn't be into, and make sure they are put in a safe place. For more information about poisons and poison prevention see the ASPCA's website at: Poison Control"Which is more beautiful -- feline movement or feline stillness?" Elizabeth Hamiliton www.greatlakespetfurniture.com | |
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