Cat Behavior & Health Info

June 18th, 2009 by Katz

Cats can make excellent pets as they don’t require as much attention as dogs or other pets. Cats don’t need to be taken for a walk, and they don’t bark all day like a dog.You can interact with young cats and kitten, as they are extremely playful, but they are also very independent. Most cats are content to play with toys by themselves.

This doesn’t mean that cats aren’t excellent companions though. They can be silly at times and they often enjoy curling up on your lap and purring. However your cat won’t come running when you come home at the end of day and knock you over. You don’t have to worry about them biting people when you have visitors. Cats seem to know when you need some comfort and will jump up on your lap and give you a fuss.

A cat is a perfect choice for children because they tend to take care of themselves. As long as they are given sufficient food and water they will remain happy. Cats are intelligent, so cat that are kept Indoors learn quickly to use a litter box so you won’t have to deal with cleaning up such messes around your home. You will have to clean the litter box regularly because cats do not like to use a dirty litter box.

In the majority of cases, cats lead a very happy and long life without too many problems. They don’t cost very much because cat food and litter are very cheap. Unlike dogs, cats don’t require as many vet visits for routine shots which can become quite expensive. Cats are clean animals as they spend a large amount of time grooming themselves each day.

For those that have problems with mice, cats make a great natural system for taking care of them. This means you won’t have to deal with messy traps or dangerous poisons around your home.

Cats are very precious and beautiful animals as well. They have coats in all colors as well as eyes that are very shiny and bright. Each cat has their own personality and you just can’t help but adore them. There are many breeds of cats if you want a particular kind but some of the most beautiful cats are those that are mixed breeds.

Cats are very smart animals too so they will quickly catch up to what you like from them and what you don’t based on the praise you give them. Contrary to popular belief, cats are obedient and they want their owner’s to be happy with them. They will learn fast that you don’t like them scratching on the furniture or putting their tail in your face while you are sleeping.

June 18th, 2009 by Katz

Before bringing home a cat for a pet, one should do some research on what items are needed to make this feline friend of yours feel comfortable indoors.

Most times when you bring one of these pets home it isn’t yet a litter box trained so you need to make sure that you get one so that you are able to train the cat yourself.  Making sure that this is done is going to ensure that you’re not going to have to clean up a lot of accidents on your floor.

Choosing the right litter box for your cat is truly important if you want to make this happen.  This is all going to depend on how big your cat is and how spacious the cat box is in comparison. Since this is the toilet for your cat, your going to need to make it easily accessible both going in and out of the box.

It is easy to find a litter box the you can clean on a regular basis. This can be found in the internet or at the local pet store that will cost twenty-five dollars and above.  The price depends on the kind of material that is used in making the box- whether it is plastic or another kind of non-absorbent material.

If you don’t like to clean your cat litter box, then you can spend some extra money and get one that is electronic.  If you don’t like the idea of either of these, you can pick up a disposable type i.e. a soda box, which is also going to have to be changed regularly.

You are going to have to get cat litter for the box so that you will be easy to clean.  This is essential for the prevention of odors staying in the box which can produce harmful bacteria that will make your cat sick.

In order for the cat to have some privacy, it is best to choose a litter box that can have a cover on top.  This can help to make your cat feel comfortable when it is using the box.

It is amazing how many different types of litter boxes are on the market from really small ones for kittens to great big fancy ones for adult cats.  With all of the different types of cat litters on the market, you’re going to have to choose one that your pet is not sensitive to.

If you are having a hard time picking out the right cat litter box, you can always ask a sales associate at a pet store or a friend who might have a cat as a pet.

Find your next automatic litter box at litter boxes for cats

June 18th, 2009 by Katz

In this article we will take a look at some skin disorders which could affect your cat, the symptoms of these conditions and just what you can do about them. If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of your cat suffering then you should consult with your vet.

Most cats are covered with a thick, protective fur.  This makes it extremely difficult to tell if a cat has a skin problem before it becomes extreme.  It is important to take time on a regular basis to examine your cat’s skin closely for anything that may be wrong.

Run your hand gently over his body and explore the skin for any unusual patches. If you find any, part the fur by brushing it slightly, so that you can see beneath the fur and have a better look at the skin. If you carry this out regularly and understand your cat’s body, you should notice any problems very quickly. You will learn to know what looks normal and what doesn’t.

Cheyletiellosis  is a skin disorder in cats is caused by skin mites and is particularly contagious between cats as well as humans. In cats, the symptoms are itching and it usually results in heavy scaling and flaking of the skin, which is why Cheyletiellosis in cats is often known as “walking dandruff”. You cats life should not be at risk with such a condition and when it has been confirmed there is medication available to simply treat the problem.

Alopecia is a skin disorder in cats that will result in hair loss due to endocrine disturbances, localized infections, or generalized illnesses. This can also be caused by stress. The cats symptoms included bald patches on the skin and can be accompanied by reddened or inflamed skin. Not a deadly skin disease, and with proper treatment, the fur would most likely grow back. 

While most skin conditions are cause by allergies to food and pesticides bite, and can be easily managed and treated, early detection is still important.A short amount of time daily could stop any period of discomfort later on.

Please see cats fleas and cat illnesses for related articles.

June 18th, 2009 by Katz

If it’s been a while since you had a cat in your home, or if you’re bringing your first cat home as a pet, you will need to review some basic advice in house cat care. Like any pet, a cat has very specific needs and the more information you have, the more likely it is that you’ll be able to guarantee your cat’s health and happiness. Just take a few minutes to look over the advice given here to ensure your cat’s well-being and long healthy life.

The first thing that you should do is consider cat-proofing your home. Before you bring your new cat home, try to see what the cat will be seeing. Wander throughout the rooms that you will be using to house your cat, and make sure that there are no dangerous places that he or she could get to. To save yourself some headaches, remember that you will also want to move any valuable pieces of furniture away to a room that is off limits for your cat.

One of the most important things in house cat care is that you’ll need a litter box for your cat. You’ll be scooping this litter box out at least once a day, maybe more, and it should only be in an area of your house that isn’t active, and that is not accessible to other animals or children. You’ll see that cats are ready and willing to use the litter box, but the first time you expose them to it you may need to put them in it and show them how to scratch at the gravel in the litter box.

If your cat has longer hair, you will also want to remember that your cat needs to get used to being brushed. By keeping your cat brushed, you’ll be able to avoid having your cat swallow its own hair and develop hairballs.

This can lead to more serious health issues later in life. Remember that house cat care means your cat needs to be picked up and brushed. The best time to begin this is when the cat is young, if you can.

In general, the best way to care for a cat is to use common sense and, remember to watch your cat. See if he or she is doing anything out of the ordinary and figure if their behavior changes and why. Good observation can keep a little problem from turning into a big one, and you’ll find that it is a great way to get to know the newest addition to your family!

June 18th, 2009 by Katz

You’re a loving cat owner. You take good care of your cat but you are always busy at work. You have to work until late at night and still have to finish up some backlogs over the weekend or worse  you’re being sent away to business trips on short notice. You are always troubled about how the cat will be fed while you’re away. It helps a lot that there are automatic cat feeders. You’re free to leave your place and still be sure that your pet gets to eat regularly.

Automatic fish feeder will make sure that your cat is fed at the right intervals not just for a day but for several days. These automatic feeders have been designed to fit the needs of your pet cats from one to four meals in a day. There are those that would reach up to eight meals. An automatic cat feeder has compartments that can reach up to 8. It can even accommodate 96 ounces of pet food. Some of these great cat feeders are electric-operated while others run on batteries. You can time your pet’s feeding at your preferred interval with this excellent tool. An automatic pet feeder can include a feeder dish which is meant for wet foods. You can even place ice packs under it to preserve the food.

There are other stuffs that can be placed in an automatic cat feeder. The feeder can also dispense your pet’s medicine. You can regulate the time he needs to take his medicine on its digital control panel and your cat can take his medicine in the appropriate time. Everything you programmed you can find on an LCD screen where you can easily change the information on time intervals and dates.

This is a great help for any cat owner who has no fixed schedule for a daytime job. Whenever you have to go for the next trip you can rest assured that your pet is fed. That’s what’s great about this cat feeder you can bring it anywhere. These feeders you can be sure of your pet’s food supply without constantly checking on it. You then have enough time to enjoy the scenes.

You can be happily feeding your cat with an automatic cat feeder. You are no longer afraid to leave home without anybody to feed your cat.

June 18th, 2009 by Katz

Cat Scratching posts

She looks so forlorn in the shelter’s cage, so you decide to take her home. You couldn’t be happier!

She’s affectionate, sweet and best of all, she’s litter-trained! You cannot help the feeling of wanting to take her back at the week’s end!

The front corner of your once beautiful chintz love seat has been reduced to shreds, all thanks to your precious kitty.

Wait! Don’t take her back! A solution is at hand. What you need to buy, right away, is a good cat scratch post. After all, she’s doing what comes naturally to her, looking for a strong and stable surface to scratch. Your loveseat is the best available option!

Cats have a territorial instinct that prompts them to place their mark and establish their territory.

They inform other cats that they are coming into marked territory, by leaving a distinctive scent on the surface they scratch from the sweat glands in their paws.

Even if you don’t have any other cats, your kitty doesn’t know when one might show up! Cats also scratch simply because it feels good!

By purchasing a cat scratching post, you solve two problems:

Number one:
Your kitty doesn’t scratch your furniture anymore, and

Number two:
She can satisfy her urge to scratch and keep herself in shape at the same time. Every time she attacks the scratching post, she gets the workout she needs, with the stretching, pulling and working of the muscles of her front quarters!

Actually, she’ll prefer her cat scratch post to your loveseat, as long as you purchase one made of rough sisal material or something similar. The soft pretty looking posts, just forget about them! They will not gain her interest al all.

Sisal material and not sisal rope is perfect for satisfying the cats’ need to shred. Cats cannot resist the urge to shred things! Your kitty needs to get a healthy stretch while she scratches, so make sure that the cat scratch post is at least 28″ high.

The post should not move during one of her heavy duty scratching sessions, so it is imperative that it is sturdy! If the post topples on her, she will be frightened of it, and not come near it ever again!

Now that you know the reasons why kitty scratches, don’t hesitate another minute! You both need a cat scratch post, not to mention your beautiful chintz love seat!

For quality cat furniture visit www.catbedandtoy.com and www.pussycatfurniture.com

June 18th, 2009 by Katz

It’s not difficult to learn how to toilet train your cat if you have the patience to go through every single step. Really, it’s quite easy. It can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. The more slowly you go through each of the requisite steps, the better the chances are that your kitty will master this new accomplishment.

Cat toilet training is certainly something you ought to at least attempt. Toilet training your cat will save you much money, will get rid of unacceptable odors arising from the litter box, and is among the most environmentally friendly decisions you can come to. The following are a few simple steps for those who would like to give this a try.

To start with, you need to begin slowly moving the litter box towards its new location so your cat doesn’t find it too much of a change. Thus, you want to shift the litter box in increments. It might take a while, but it’s the best way to teach your cat that there’s a new place where it will do its business. You can move the box an inch at a time or you can do it in smaller or bigger increments, whatever works best for your cat.

After the litter box is located right beside the toilet, the next step is to elevate it. Increase the height of the base over time until the litter box is at the same level as the toilet. Before you do so, make sure that the box is tightly attached to the base. You cat will have to leap up to use it, and you don’t want it to tip over. Phonebooks and cement bricks are good options for this foundation. Once the base is level with the toilet and your kitty is used to the new arrangement, it’s time to start sliding it over nearer to the toilet, and eventually resting right on it. Meanwhile, you need to put less and less litter in the box, so eventually there’s only an inch or so covering the bottom.

You’re now ready to move to the last step of this operation. Substitute the litter box with an aluminum pan that you fasten to the toilet. Eventually, you’ll get rid of the litter entirely and cut a small hole in the bottom of the tray. Slowly start to enlarge the hole, until eventually your cat is only using the toilet!

June 18th, 2009 by Katz

In today’s market a large number of unique cat litter boxes are available which can be used as a piece of decorative furniture. They are cat litter boxes but the style of presentation is contemporary and people will look at it as  functional pieces of decorative furniture.  These designer litter box covers are not affecting the décor of the home, they are actually enhancing it.  

Automatic litter boxes are also available and they do not need the usual manual cleaning procedures. They are self cleaning and the when the cats come out of the box,  the rest of the cleaning procedure is taken by the box itself. They are electrically maneuvered litter boxes which have a cat sensing element that will sift the waste when it enters. An auto functioning flushing system is also available and this litter box actually flushes away the waste matter as soon as it is perceived by the sensing element. A kitty litter box motion sensor is the newest technology which has been integrated into cat litter box systems.  

The smart scoop litter box is an upscale cat litter box because it features self cleaning technology. This technology assistants in self cleaning the litter box and everyone who wants to avoid scooping would appreciate it. Liter cartridges are useable with models like Scoop Free LT1 and these cartridges soak up most of the moisture content and odor.

Automatic litter boxes such as the Automatic Liter Robot make matters more comfortable for cat guardians. The cat owners who do not want to personally clean the litter boxes would love this unique litter box. This litter box is environmentally friendly as well. This is a uniquely designed upscale litter box and boasts several features.Even handicapped people can keep cats and take care of them because today’s litter boxes are able to attend to the needs of the cats. Manual labor no longer necessary to keep litter boxes clean.

June 18th, 2009 by Katz

Cats in the wild can take care of themselves, that’s not the case with household pets.  House cats become completely dependent on humans for their care, feeding, and other attention.  Responsible cat ownership and the proper care of your cat is important. Check local bookstores or the humane society for educational material to help you learn to care for your cat.  Here are some tips for how to care for a cat.

Some people have the misperception that cat’s can’t be trained.  That’s not true.  Cats can be trained through gentle, positive reinforcement.  Reward good behavior with a treat.  Try to ignore bad behavior, if your cat’s bad behavior illicit a reaction from you that is attention, which the cat considers a reward.

It’s true that cats keep themselves clean.  They like to clean themselves up a little daily.  Nonetheless, your cat needs a good bath every three weeks.  Products designed just for cats are available at your local pet store, but any mild soap is sufficient.  Some, if not most, cats don’t care for baths. Unless you train your cat from the time it is a kitten to get used to bath water and reward it with a treat following every bath, you will have a scratchy situation on your hands when you try to bath the cat when it gets older.  Start when your cat is a kitten and you should be able to acclimate the cat to bathing.

Try to keep going into the bathroom for a bath calm.  If the only time you take your cat in the bathroom is for a bath, it is going to tense up when you pick it up and head for the bathroom.  Allow the cat to enter the bathroom with you at other times so that it becomes just another room in the house.  Then, when it is bath time, try to keep your cat calm and entertained.

Don’t forget to clean your cat’s ears and nails with a gentle q-tip.  Towel dry your cat after its bath.  Don’t even consider using a blow dryer.  The noise and hot air will scare the cat, and the hot air can damage your cat’s sensitive skin.  Brush your cat after the towel dry.

Most cats like to sleep with their owner or at least nearby. It’s a bad habit to allow your cat to sleep in your bed.  You’ll constantly have cat hair on the bed and your clothes.  Get the cat its own bed.

Keep the cat litter box in a place where the cat can easily reach it, but where the smell will not disturb you or your family.  Keep the litter box clean for the health and safety of your family and your cat. Keep some of these tips in mind when it comes to choosing a pet for kids as well.

June 18th, 2009 by Katz

Our most loved feline home companions have been giving us great company, even while we travel, for almost 6,000 years now. Many of these felines are wild since they are naturally raised in the wild. Remember that these hairy and cute cats are wild descendants of African and Southeast Asian cats. It only means that no matter how comfortable your cats are at home, there will always be time when they want to run around, see the sun, and explore the great outdoors. To make sure that they are safe and protected while they’re out, you should get your cat the best cat enclosure available.

Your feline cats need a cat enclosure for many other reasons. Here are some of the most significant of them:

You can be sure that your furry Siamese will be protected from any animals that might attack it. As cats usually are not brought up outdoors they initially lack some of the basic survival skills. Remember the saying about curiosity and the cat!

Your cats won’t be able to prey on local and rare bird species which may be endangered.

Your cat can now play on his own whether indoors or out with or without you watching him.

Your cat won’t be able to scratch your furniture or your landscaped lawn. You know well that cats love to scratch their claws on any surface.

You can make sure that your cats will not be a nuisance to the neighbors. With the use of cat enclosures, your feline pets can roam only those areas that are allowable for them. Your roof and your neighbor’s are safe from being climbed on by your cat.

Your cats will be safely protected from running cars.

A great cat enclosure can be used in any part of your house, whether that is indoors or out. These are some areas where you can place your cat enclosure to make the most of it:

You can attach it to your cat door for him to have access to the front lawn or backyard anytime he wants without asking for you to do it for him.

You can place it beside the pool where he can have the view of children playing, without any fear of him falling into it.

You can also attach it to the apartment window where your cat can enjoy the sunshine on his fur.

Your cat can enjoy the great view on your lovely patio when you place the cat enclosure out there.

You can provide your little furry pet a litter box to complete the wireless cat fence system. This time you can be sure he will have a holiday out in the sun every day.