Cat Q&A

Archive for December, 2008

Learning to bite and scratch is a main part of a cat’s development. These accomplishments are especially essential for cats that live mainly out-of-doors, as they provide their sole means of defense. These two activities will also form the main staple of your cat’s leisure time, playing out conflicts with toys, other cats or humans.

If you do not want to be bitten by your cat, the 1st rule of thumb is to train your cat not to bite your hands. If your cat thinks your hands are play toys, their little talons and fangs will soon find their way to your flesh.

However, if it is too late for that rule, there are some steps you are able to take to minimize the damage done from cat biting attacks.

First of all, as you train your cat to behave in new ways, you should trim his claws (don’t declaw, as this is severely painful for the cat). This will take a lot of the sharpness away and make your encounters less painful.

Once your cat grabs on to your hand, make your reaction known with a loud and firm, “Ouch!Do not yell, and don’t yank your hand away or the cat will think it is a toy and follow it again. Remove your arm slowly from his mouth after your determined “Ouch!”

Most of the time, your cat is scratching and biting because he is bored and would like to play. Using time set aside to play with a fun cat toy should help relieve boredom.

Aggression is an inherent aspect of your cat’s predatory nature: behaviors like stalking, chasing, leaping, pouncing, swatting, and biting are all common displays, and are always a major component of any play session.

Usually, this does not constitute a problem: it’s just how cats like to play, and catering to your cat’s innate behavior can be pretty fun. When your finished, your cat will give you a break so you can watch som Animal Planet on Directtv.

While Feliway Spray sounds like a way to repel felines, it is in all reality a pheromone scent created to prevent felines from urinating in inappropriate places. When Fifi decides to pee outside the litter area, you do have a problem, since cat pee is one of the most awful pet smells. Feliway uses the facial pheromones to avoid litter box issues, but also Feliway for Cats has a wonderful calmative effect for relaxing stressed cats.

How Does Feliway Spray Work?

Feliway Spray is is made of the feline Pheromones combined with an ethanol compound. These very same facial pheromones are used in a constant manner by all cats by means of claim their territory. Other felines in the area can tell such pheromones from a distance and learn of claimed territory. Kitties usually don’t to urinate to claim territory when it’s already been claimed, so this will prevent inappropriate urination. Felines place these pheromones onto objects by rubbing their cheek or foot pads up on them. If you’ve ever had your cat rub their face against you, now you know specifically what was really happening. When people say their moggies own them, that’s undoubtedly the case. Feliway essentially duplicates this effect.

What Will Feliway Fix?

• Urination not in the litter pan
• Spray marking of territory by non-spayed/neutered pets
• Helps calm those who are stressed out
• Can stop constant disagreements
• Helping bring in cats to new places

A usual view by relieved users on the web are that it’s a incredible product. Keep in mind however that these problems can result from external factors, so you be aware that Feliway for cats isn’t necessarily an end-all though it should prevent the symptoms. Cats can behave like aliens sometimes that we may not grasp how to correct, but it’s a definite bet that Feliway will help.

I encountered Cat Ownership 101: Secrets of Buying & Raising Cats the other day and was intrigued, so I coughed up the cash and bought the package.  It turned out to be a wonderful purchase, and certainly at $9.99 had little downside to it.  It is an easy reading but thorough study of what you have to learn about buy a kitten and cat raising.  It’s easy to make critical missteps when choosing a feline as pet and become sad when it encounters problems.  Some preparation in advance of the fact goes quite a long way towards paving that onward road with happiness instead of troubles.

The book gets into gear with a summary of several of the popular cat breeds.   Do you hope for a highly active cat that will go like gangbusters the whole day?  Are you looking for a loving cat that is cuddly?  Are you looking for a shy cat or friendly one?  Following on is a summary of the benefits and problems of male, female, whether to neuter, long hair or short, pure bred or mixed, and the important subject of buying a kitten vs buying cat.  This overview will put you on the road to selecting the specific cat that’s right to meet your needs.

Now we head into some practical tricks on cat-proofing your abode, helping your cat or kitten get used to your home and family, adjusting them into the swing of things slowly and in a consistent manner.  Cats can get stressed out with change and newness, so hurrying them along into unfamiliar places can have terrible consequences for the adjustment period.  You will find out all about what supplies you will find helpful to raise your new kitten and the items you must acquire to make sure everything is ready.

The next insightful and informative subject is the feeding and exercising.   From not feeding enough to that energetic kitten to a full eating regime for the mature cat and plans to keep them active, you find tons of helpful tips and tricks listed.  We move into cat health care concerns there, where you will grow to understand about the typical illnesses that your cats can suffer from, all about veterinarians, shots, neutering and spaying, grooming considerations and what you can do to keep them happy and healthy.

Another main topic of the book goes over expected cat patterns of behavior.  What does a cat’s non-verbal communication tell you about it’s mood?  Body movement patterns along with vocal patterns assist you to converse with your cats, and until they learn people’s language it’s going to be your means of choice.  Why do they knead people?  What does clawing signify?  From here you will be taught how to assist mold why your cats do what they do and help prevent them from unsafe acts.

In the end, this book concludes with listings of cat oriented organizations that you must have and a helpful glossary of feline related words and acronyms that refer to felines and specific meanings you should grasp.  All in all, I was very impressed with the book and tell you it is extremely informative.  I most definitely recommend this handy and useful book, and it’s without a doubt a steal at only $9.99!  Visit the Cat Ownership 101: Secrets of Buying & Raising Cats site for extra details and how to order. It is an easy reading but thorough primer for what you need to grasp about choosing cat and raising a cat that you without a doubt must read!

A Feliway plug in is the most practical means to get a continuous flow of cat pheromones into the airways and surrounding areas of your home.  The Feliway Comfort Zone Plug-in means to, as it sounds, diffuse into your room the Feliway spray.  Plug in the Feliway plug ins to your outlets to help diffusion goodness for your stressed out moggies and they will once again be calmed Cats.

A Feliway plug consists of part of a large array of cures for many common pet ailments relating to cat stress.  In short, Feliway for cats is a synthetic cat facial pheromone that calms and relaxes tempermental kitties.  Locales where your animals sense this pheromone are realized as peaceful and safe, quite like moving to their safe place in the vicinity of the diffuser.  Feliway plug ins do a great job of preventing ignoring of the litter box, easing cats in the course of travel or acclimatization to new places, when introducing cats to each other in a house with several cats, and usually eliminating conflict that you may find when too many cats are in crowded space.  It must be noted that this will assuredly contribute to a reduction in the stress level of people who may be not enjoying stress issues of said cats, additionally.

While you want to employ the Feliway plug ins spray on specific, particular spots where your pet has urinated (not, of course, the litter box!), the Feliway plug in is used to provide area coverage for a more general sense of calming and relaxation.  The Feliway diffuser plugs into the wall socket, and you install a bottle of the Feliway.  This works exactly the same as plug in air fresheners, except you don’t smell it.  Incidentally, using a spray other than the intended will undoubtedly cause malfunctions with the diffuser, as it is arranged to work with Feliway spray only and not others.

Used to prevent urination or spraying problems, the Feliway electric diffuser needs to go in the rooms where the urination concern has occurred, and a thorough cleaning of the place done.  Remember, animals can smell traces of their urine well after it is gone from your sense of smell, and you want the Feliway plug in to prevent that.

For mood concerns and appetite difficulties, you should place the Feliway diffuser in the area that felines are regularly in.  It should be placed in an open area so the spray can sufficiently diffuse, so be sure not to put it behind furniture or curtains.  It should go out in the open.  A Feliway diffuser can cover a section of up to 60 square meters.

For difficulties with new cat integration or aggresion issues in the multi-cat household, you may think about using several Feliway diffusers and place them in separate locations where your felines often spend most of their time.  It is not a must to smother the entire house with the Feliway diffusers, though of course the common areas and any areas where particularly stressed animals usually remain should be covered so as to provide the maximum benefit, with a Feliway Comfort Zone Plug-in each area.

Another issue to be aware of with the Feliway diffuser is that they tend to heat up in the area of the actual diffuser. Feliway diffuser device is designed such that it’s surface is heated up to assist the spray to spread into the air.  Keep it away from the furniture and curtains or draperies, or your kitties stress level may be the minorest of your concerns.  It’s always good to be prudent with your Feliway plug ins and your household.

When it comes to cat health there is a lot of information available out there, even down to the health information of different cat breeds. Possibly the most important cat health information regardless of the breed is the common cat diseases your pet may be at risk of getting. There are a few very common diseases all cats can get and we will explore a couple of them here.

It is vital that you are aware of the potential risks your cat may face so you can be prepared should you notice any symptoms developing. There are two commonly occuring cat diseases you should learn more about from the outset.

The risk of cancer

Similar to the occurance in humans, cancer is fairly common in cats. Unfortunately it also has much of the same effects on their organs and bodies. And some cancers, much like they do in us, will develop slowly while others will develop quite quickly. Some of these cancers can be treated medically and other treatments are being dicovered all the time. Diagnosing cancer early is crucial to the success of any treatment.

The risk of rabies

Ensuring you understand the risk of rabies is key cat health information you should know as much about as possible. Rabies is a fatal condition caused by a virus that attacks the brain.

Most people are familiar with rabies having heard about or seen a rabid dog. It is less common in cats but should nevertheless be taken very seriously. Rabies vaccinations are the best way to prevent this disease. They are safe and effective and should be administered by a vet when the cat is still a kitten.

The symptoms of rabies are unfortunately quite similar to the symptoms resulting from other unrelated diseases making it difficult to look out for. Things to look out for are a change in the cat’s temperament, drooling and any drastic changes to appetite. The best thing to do if you suspect there is a problem with your cat is to take it to the vet immediately. The animal could bite you or a member of your family which is not worth risking.

Information about your cat’s health is every bit as important as knowing about your own health. Understanding the health risks your cat (or any other pet you may have) could face in its lifetime is a responsibility you must assume. To ensure your cat enjoys a healthy and long life learn all you can from experts like veterinarians and trainers.