Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Earlier in the year, our pet massage therapist (and pet sitter) noticed that we were using a custom-made rice pack on our elderly arthritic dog.  She commented how the item carefully customized for a small-sized human like Ledcat did not work really well on a dog’s body.

So she and a seamstress friend put their heads together and designer the ‘Comfurrt Buddy’ wrap. The wrap is sewn into very small section so the heated (or cooled) rice is even distributed over the body of a dog or cat. And it comes with a soft flannel cover to help distribute the heat/coolness more evenly and minimize the risk of discomfort.

We have two wraps – a small (9×13) and a medium (14×16) plus one cover for each. And we are very happy.

We use the small one primarily for our very elderly cat, Boris who will celebrate 21 years this April. Boris has a little cat bed island in the middle of the living room. When he’s feeling cranky or unsettled, I toss the buddy into the microwave for 25 seconds, slip it into the cover and put it in his bed. 99% of the time he sits on it for a few minutes (I think he’s warming his butt) and then curls up for a good, long nap. He now will set next to his bed and cry piteously to let us know he wants his comfurrt buddy.

It also helps when he’s struggling with constipation or some other issue that we can all only wait out. Telling him that a nice little nap will help doesn’t work so well as helping him snuggle himself up until his body catches up with him.

When we’ve had a cold day, I’ll heat it and drape across like a little blanket. He also seems to like this, but only if its chilly or damp. Fortunately, it is light enough that he can easily step out from it or off it if its uncomfortable.

We bought the medium for our larger cats and our chihuahua mix.  The dog, Ana, loves it. She doesn’t have significant muskoskeletal issues yet, but she does get restless and she feels the cold. I’ve noticed that she prefers to lie on top of the buddy as well. The larger cats respond to the heat like missiles.

Our bigger dogs have passed away, but I can easily see this being a source of comfort for them. The buddy and cover are thin enough that you could secure with a harness if necessary. The distribution of heat is very nice (I’ve tried it on myself, too.)

Prices on the wraps range from $12-27 with additional charges for wraps and discount pricing for a wrap/cover combo purchase. The materials vary from wrap to wrap, but you can discuss preferences with the company. Bulk purchases are available as are special orders with advance notice.

If you or a loved one has a pet living with arthritis, joint pain or perhaps recovering from a muscle injury, this is an excellent non-invasive treatment option to offer some relief and comfort. We keep the smaller pad literally in the cat’s bed so it is always easy to find and the larger one is on the back of the couch where the lovely scent often attracts a napping cat even without heat.

I highly recommend this as a holiday gift for the pets and their people in your life. It is a very reasonable price for a nice gift that will bring year round comfurrt.  And being designed by a pet massage therapist, the wraps are amazingly well contured to the bodies of pets. She is very familiar with their unique physiology, the value of heat/ice and their tendency to wriggle. Her seamstress consultant handled those technical angles, together being a great team to design an item that is really a good fit.

Learn more and find ordering information here. You can also call Your Critter Sitters at 724-448-7330 to discuss questions or place an order.

Disclosure – I am the social media manager for Your Critter Sitters and they are my pet massage/pet sitting company. But I purchased all of these items at full price and did not receive any compensation, either financial or in-trade, for writing this review.