A good scale for weighing your cat

More pictures below

Problem: you want to weigh your cat. Or baby.

Why would you want to do that?

• make sure the baby's growing on normally
• make sure breast-fed baby is getting enough milk
• monitor cat's health as he gets old
• make sure cat is sufficiently hydrated. Dehydration can lead to feline urinary problems

Solution: the Salter 914 baby scale is accurate highly rated and well priced


Pros:

• has a tare/zero function
• you can take the tray off and use it like a regular scale (up to 44 lbs)
• heavy base makes it sturdy
• accurate (at least mine is. Some reviewers have complained that theirs wasn't, although most said that theirs was if they mentioned accuracy at all.)
• rather attractive

Cons:

• $59 seems a bit much, but I didn't see any cheaper ones that got good reviews. I had been using a kitchen scale that goes up to 15 pounds to weigh the cats, but the platform was a bit too small. It was hard to get Twitch to stand on it, and Mr. Kitten--forget it. He doesn't have patience for that stuff.

Twitch has a lot of patience

I like the grayish-white. It's sort of retro modern.

with the tray off, it kinda looks like a bear

Twitch at his cat station

Here's the box

Here's the crappy warning on the box. Buy through Amazon so returns won't be a problem

P.S. 

I really like my Escali kitchen scale. I don't blame it for not being a good cat scale. That's not what it's make for. It goes up to 15 pounds in increments of one gram. I've had it over a year and haven't changed the battery yet. Here's a pic and a link. It's great for making bread. Since it goes up to 15 pounds, I can put my KitchenAid mixing bowl on it and add all the ingredients.

photo credit: Amazon

Snuza Halo monitor reminds you to breathe. Good for babies and adults with sleep apnea.

The problem: You're worried your baby might die of SIDS. Or you're worried you might die from sleep apnea.

The solution (or at least something that'll help): A device that measures movements of the diaphragm and sounds an alert if breathing stops.

How it works

The Snuza Halo clips onto your waistband. Every time you take a breath, the little rubber tip moves a little bit. If the rubber tip stops moving for 15 seconds, the device vibrates to stimulate you to breathe. If it goes to 20 seconds, it sounds and alarm and jiggles like a belly dancer.

What's good about it

• Uh, it helps keep you alive
• Small and lightweight
• If it loses contact with the body, it'll sound an alarm to let you know that breathing is not being monitored. (Strangely, some people complain about this and call it a false alarm.)

What's not so good about it

• The alarm isn't super loud
• The batteries don't last forever. (People complain because they had to replace the batteries inside of a year.)
• It takes weird 14250 batteries. 
• The company that makes it swears up and down that it's not a medical device and it's not for the treatment or prevention of anything, especially not SIDS, and that you use it at your own risk.

Helpful hints:

• Get some extra 14250 batteries. (By the way, CR14250, ER14250, DL14250, they're all the same kind of battery. The first two letters designate the manufacturer.)
• Look at the directions on how to open the battery cover, page 11 in the manual. 

Here's my Amazon Store where you can buy this item.

Full disclosure: I bought this item (two actually) with my own money. I have no connection to the company that makes. I am not part of the Amazon Vine program where companies send you free stuff. I don't get any free stuff. I researched the heck out of the product and read just about every customer review of it. I only review products that I have bought and that I like enough to recommend. If you buy through my store I will get a small commission through the Amazon Affiliate program.

More details also known as My Rant

I have severe sleep apnea. I stop breathing, or don't breathe enough, over 100 times per hour. I use a CPAP machine, which blows air into my nose, keeping my airways open. It's comfortable, I love it. If you're having trouble with your CPAP machine or want to learn more about sleep apnea, please click this article.  

CPAP works 100% if you have obstructive sleep apnea, where the airway collapses and you can't get any air in. But some people have central sleep apnea where for some reason, their brains just forget to breathe. And some peole have mixed apnea.

Anyway, I've woken up a couple times in the last month to find that my CPAP machine had turned itself off. I thought there was a malfunction with the machine, but now I think I had stopped breathing for so long that the thing had shut itself off. So maybe I have mixed apnea. 

I have the CPAP machine set to shut off automatically if I take the mask off. I guess the machine can't tell the difference between my taking the mask off and my just not breathing for 30 seconds at a time. 

Kinda scary.

I mean, seriously, WTF? I'm already not breathing, so the machine shuts itself off so that I've still got the damn mask over my nose and it's even harder to breathe? And you'd totally think I would just open my mouth and breathe that way, wouldn't you? But I don't. I'm so stupid when I'm asleep.

So I'm using the Snuza now. I got two, in fact. It's important enough that I need a backup. I'll be wearing two when I go to sleep. And I've changed the CPAP machine so it doesn't automatically shut off anymore. 

A Hassle-Free Can Opener

The problem:

• You've got a junky old can opener. 
• You don't want to waste counter space with a big electric can opener. 
• You don't like having the lids fall into the can. 
• You don't like getting your fingers dirty touching the can lid to throw it away.
• You don't like sharp edges in your garbage can.

The solution: The Kuhn can opener and lid lifter


What's so great about it:

• The blades cut the lid straight off. They never touch the food.
• You can reuse the lid to cover the can.
• You never have to touch the lid.
• The blades don't touch the food so they won't get dirty or rusty.
• It fits in a drawer.
• It doesn't need batteries or electricity.

What's not so great about it:

• It's manual. You still need a little strength to use it.
• The plastic tool for removing the cut lid seems a little flimsy, although I haven't had a problem.

The Problem

The Solution

Notice how the blades are cutting around the outside of the can

Use the attached tool to pull off the lid

You could even reuse the lid to cover the can in the fridge

I have this product. I blogged about it because I like it. If you'd like to purchase it from my Amazon store, please click here. It won't cost you anything extra, but I will get a small commission. Thank you.

Sleep Apnea Kills

Here's someone resting peacefully without a CPAP

If there's any chance you have sleep apnea, you need to get to a doctor, stat. Sleep apnea kills.

If you have sleep apnea and have a CPAP and aren't using it, well, no offense, but you're a putz. Read this article, man up, and start using the thing to save your life. It only takes a week or so to get used to it.

Seriously, think about the people who care about you. Don't have anyone who cares about you? That's even more reason to use the CPAP, so you can stick around and be ornery, dagnabbit.

It's also a good article if you just want to read about some cool apnea-related gadgets, learn how to be more comfortable with your CPAP, or want to learn about sleep apnea.

Are You In Pain at Your Computer?

The Tyler Twist is a cure for tennis elbow. Here's an article I wrote. It covers the Tyler Twist and talks about products and practices you can use to get rid of your pain.

There are gadgets to automate your work, books to help you improve your posture, a little info about nutrition and more.

Here's the link to my article on fighting computer pain.

Cat Gadgets!

The Six Best Products for Your Cat

in my humble opinion

and my cats' not-so-humble opinion

My litterbox better be spotless!

The CatGenie -- No more scooping! A real toilet for cats.

The ScoopFree -- A smaller and cheaper alternative; the second best litterbox ever.

Feliway Pheromones -- This has probably saved me thousands of dollars. Maybe saved Twitch's life; he gets sick whenever it runs out. I don't let it run out anymore.

PetWell Water Fountain -- The cats love it. It's the quietest I've found although that doesn't mean it's as quiet as I'd like. It encourages the little ones to drink.

Heated Cat Bed -- I cannot tell you how much they love this. You cannot give a heated pad made for humans to a cat. It wil cause burns.

Frolicat Laser Toy -- The cats find the laser endlessly amusing. I don't. This gadget moves the laser around for them.

All these products are available on my cats' Amazon Store. The Internet is weird.

Links:

Here's a link to an article in Squidoo with more details about the best products for your cats.

And here's a link to a Best Reviewer list with two more awesome products for a total of 8.