10 Cat Care Guidelines

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By: Dave Markel

There area many common sense rules to follow when caring for your cat. These rules are simple and will ensure your cat will be healthy and happy.

1.  When your cat arrives at home:

Bringing your new cat home can be frightening for it. Be prepared by having a food and water spot already set up. Also have a litter box setup in a quite spot away from the food. Your new cat should be transported in a cat carrier. When you bring the cat inside set the carrier down and open the door. Let the cat come out and explore on its own. Confining the cat to a quiet room for a day or two will make the experience less overwhelming.

2.   Going Outside:

Before letting your cat outside for the first time be sure it is comfortable with you and its indoor surroundings. There are many dangers outside so let your cat have an escape route in case it needs it. My cat uses a cat door and it has save him a few times.

Judge the risk to letting your cat outdoors. If you live close to lots of traffic having an outdoor cat may not be a good idea.

3.  Litter Boxes:

If you are using a cat box it should be cleaned daily. Clumping cat litter makes this easy. Simply scoop out the clumps and you're done. Put the litter box in a place where the cat will not be disturbed.

4.  Food and water:

Your cat should always have a supply of fresh food and water. I prefer to use a heavy ceramic bowl to prevent the cat from pushing it or tipping them over.

 

The water bowl should be changed daily and food should be added to maintain a good supply.

My cat is now on a high quality dry food. I found feeding him can food was a waste. He generally left some behind at each meal regardless of the portion. At 15 I weaned him onto dry food only.

5.  Scratching Posts:

Any cat is going to have the urge to scratch. The question is where is it going to do it? Best to have a scratching post that is safe and secure. Play with your cat on the post so it gets used to being allowed to scratch there. Rubbing a bit of cat nip on the scratching post will encourage your cat to scratch.

6.  Cat Toys:

There are so many different cat toys on the market these days it is hard to choose a toy your cat will like. After much trial and error I determined my cat likes the string attached to the toy much better then the toy. Whenever I want to play I get a string, or better yet, my gold necklace (his favorite).

7.  Sleeping Places:

A cat always needs a quiet, out of the way place to sleep the day away. A bed near a heater or furnace vent is ideal. In the winter most of the vents in my house have a cat bed near them. If you have small children make sure they can't disturb your cat when it sleeps

8.  Care for eyes and ears:

When cats get a build up of discharge around the eye simply clean it with a damp cloth. A small amount of discharge is normal for a healthy cat but if there are excessive amount then consult a vet.

Regularly check your cats ears for dirt or ear mites. Any dirt can be removed with a damp Q-tip. If you spot small brown clumps of discharge you should consult your vet. This is a sign of ear mites.

9.  Care for the claws:

If you have an outside cat, claw care is less important. Climbing trees, and other outdoor stuff helps to keep claws well maintained.

An inside cat has far less need for its claws. There is really no environment where your cat needs to use its claws. You should trim your cats claws once or twice a year. Clip the very tip of each claw. Taking any more then just the tip can hurt your cat. It is recommended that you have a vet show you how to clip their claws properly.

10.  Care of the mouth and teeth:

As cats age their teeth start to get calcium build up which can cause gum inflammation. Check your cats mouth every 6 or 8 weeks. Find and remove and calcium build up before deposits get too large.

Caring for a cat is quite simple, common sense really. I believe that good food, fresh water, lots of love and exercise is best for a cat. By following these 10 simple guidelines your cat can live a long and healthy life.

Author Bio

Visit http://house-cat-supplies.com/cat-articles.html for more great articles related to cats.

Living In Style With Indoor Cats

by: Derrick Anderson

Pets are wonderful companions. The loyalty and constant acceptance from our pets is priceless. Many pet owners make sacrifices so they can have their furry friends in the house. Pet hair on the floor and furniture, litter boxes, and messes in the feeding areas are just a few drawbacks of having cats in your home. Fortunately, there are some steps to living in style with indoor cats.

Create a Space for the Cat

If you have the space in your home or apartment, it's a good idea to create a space for your cat that can be considered his or hers. Place the litter box, food, water, and bed all in this space if there is room. You don't want the litter box too close to the food and water. Your friend won't enjoy this and may refuse to eat or use the litter box. You can put some toys or scratching posts in this area, as well.

Set Rules in Other Areas

Now that your cat has it's own space where it can do what it wants when it wants you'll want to set some rules for the rest of the house. This can be a long process with cats, especially if your pet has been living with you without rules for some time. The key here is consistency. If the counters, tables, or certain furniture are going to be off limits now you will need to reinforce this rule every time your friends decides to venture on to these areas. Simply placing the cat back on the floor should be enough if you are consistent. Some pet stores carry products to help in this training. Motion-activated sprays and other items are of great help while you are at work or away from home if you don't want to use an indoor cat cage.

Place Litter Box Out of Sight

This can benefit you and your cat. Cats like privacy when using their litter box. If you have company often, this will promote healthy behavior in your feline friend. Sometimes just using a litter box with a cover can improve an area. Other options include placing the box under tables, shelves, or cabinets. Table cloths or drapes can be used to help conceal the litter area. Be certain, if you move the litter box, that your indoor cat knows where it has been moved to. This will help avoid accidents during this process.

About The Author

The author recommends iHomeDecorations for home decorations at http://ihomedecorations.net/

Dania

http://www.silvestorkittyblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.rockysdoggieblogstore.com/

From Mummies to T-shirts: the History of Cats

The facts and figures in this article may not be 100% accurate - I wasn't around to witness the history of the cat from the very beginning about 5000 years ago, so I've had to rely on various sources and my own imagination in equal parts. Furthermore, it's not supposed to be totally accurate - just a humorous and hopefully entertaining look at the history of our most beloved pet: THE CAT!

Some 5000 years ago (recent studies say about 100.000 years ago, but who's counting) a smart - and hungry - African Wildcat somewhere in (what was then) Upper Egypt made a clever observation. "These strange and mysterious bipeds seem to be very fond of grain", he thought. "Biped collects lots of grain and keeps it in big baskets. Big baskets of grain attract lots of yummy mice! Biped doesn't seem to like mice in his grain! I think I'll adopt one of these strange bipeds and live in his house and EAT HIS MICE FOR HIM!"

And thus a mutually beneficial relationship between smart African cats and strange Egyptian bipeds began! And history was made.

Life in Egypt was good and the African cats enjoyed their newly discovered coexistence with human
beings; the Egyptians liked cats, the pharaoh LOVED cats and there was plenty of food around, but still... So after having lived the good life in Egypt for about a thousand years or so, cats - being curious animals! - started wondering: "What is outside this country. Are we missing out on something?!"

One cat thought: "I would like to sit outside a temple with one paw raised, beckoning people to enter that holy place. That would be neat! My skills and talents would totally fit that job description". The cat told this to a Mediterranean merchant, who was in Egypt on a business trip, and the merchant said: "I know of such a place. I'll take you there". And the merchant brought the cat to Japan, where the cat found a nice-looking five stories pagoda temple with a beautiful garden.

The cat positioned himself outside the temple and raised his paw in a friendly manor to beckon passers-by to enter the temple, for that was now his job! The Japanese people had never seen anything like it, but they liked what they saw and they said: "This little animal has an air of holy mystery about him, this animal will bring us luck! We shall call this animal Maneki Neko and we shall make lots of little porcelain Maneki Neko figurines that we shall sell to tourist and make lots of money! ...in about 4000 years."

A couple of elderly cats were so tired of the never-ending African heat and drought and told another visiting trader (in town to buy small pyramid replicas for his novelty shop in London), that they would like to go to a cooler and wetter climate. The trader, of course, brought them back to England.

The English being... well, ENGLISH, said: "I say! What positively lovely little creatures. We shall take them in, feed them and breed them and have magnificent CAT SHOWS!" The whole cat show thing came much later of course (in 1871 to be precise), but, believe me, the idea was born the second the very first Englishman (or it might... it PROBABLY was an EnglishWOMAN) laid eyes on those cats.

But England wasn't the only European country where the Egyptian cats set paw. Around 2000 B.C. the cats of Egypt started a very successful worldwide marketing campaign, promoting their exceptional mouse and rat hunting skills. And it paid off! Soon cats were being invited to every European country, the Middle East and Asia, where they lived well and in harmony with the human bipeds for many, many years. But then something happened:

ENTER THE DARK AGES! ...in the history of cats. Right after the end of the middle ages - beginning around 1550 and lasting about a century - the Christian church decided that cats were the source of all evil. Cats had always been associated with gods; in Egypt it was Bast, goddess of life and family and in the northern part of Europe it was Freya, who was always surrounded by cats. But these were not Christian gods, so cats now became "animala non grata". This was probably when the saying "curiosity killed the cat" entered the English vocabulary; "They wanted to see the world, and look where it got them!" Yes, curiosity did kill a lot of cats during these terrible times. Cats were hunted down, burned, drowned and hanged. And people who had the audacity to so much as look kindly at a cat, were deemed witches. And they were killed as well. This was NOT a good time to be a "crazy cat lady" in Europe!

During this time cats were also being blamed for spreading the plaque, when in fact it was the disease-carrying rats that managed to kill off almost half the European human population by spreading plagues and other epidemics. And as the humans had so efficiently killed off most of their cats, there were practically none left to kill the rats! That'll teach them to treat cats so disrespectfully!!!

But eventually things got better. The Europeans came to their long lost senses and realized that cats were actually good to have around! Less rats, no more plague and soon the former so beautiful and harmonic cat-human relationship made its come-back. And when the first European settlers came to America in 1600-something, they brought cats with them to THE NEW WORLD. Good thinking! Their cats kept their homes, farmhouses, henhouses, outhouses and doghouses rat and mice free. Well, maybe not doghouses!

Yes, the human bipeds truly rediscovered the value of cats. They took cats into their homes again and this time into their hearts as well. The cat became more than a useful little mousetrap, it became a PET.

And so cats - being cats - now started to claim their INDOOR territory; the couch, the best arm chair, the dining table, the bed, the lingerie drawer... in short: THE WHOLE HOUSE. And finally things were as they should be between cat and man.

5000 years ago the Egyptians worshipped cats and showed their admiration and respect by mummifying them after death and depicting them on vases, amulets, rings and inside tombs! Today we pay homage to cats by putting pictures of cats on coffee mugs, napkins, sofa pillows, mousepads, clocks, refrigerator magnets and t-shirts! And in a thousand years from now, I'm sure there will be an enormous image of a cat on our first spaceship to Mars.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Martine Carlsen was 6 years ago adopted by two silver-gray Abyssinian cats, Sonny and Cher, and if you ask them, this article would or could never have been written without their help and inside knowledge. Martine Carlsen works as a web designer and spends most of her spare time working on her website, Cats on t-shirts.


Dania
http://www.silvestorkittyblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.rockysdoggieblogstore.com/
http://www.ezhomemadedoggietreatz.com/

Human Foods That are Toxic To Cats

 

Human Foods That are Toxic To Cats

Pets Articles | June 7, 2010

Many human foods are harmful to cats.  That is why it is not wise to give your cats food from the table.  To keep your cat safe do not give people food as a treat.  Buy treats made just for cats.  Did you know onions and raw potatoes can be harmful to cats.  Learn what other food your cat should never eat.

We all use to be guilty of it. Admit it. We have given our cat table scraps from our plate. You love your cat. Showing that you love him/her is usually by giving into what they want.
When your cat is begging for a piece of turkey or any other goodie on your plate you do what all animal lovers do you give in and let your cat have what they want.

The only problem with doing that is you may be giving your cat food that could be harmful to cats.
First, it is best to train your cat not to be at the table when you or anyone else is eating. It is just good manners. You do not want to have company and have your cat begging at the table.

The main reason for not feeding your cat table scraps is much more important, and here is why.
For example: you are having a turkey dinner. Is their gravy on your turkey and do you feed a piece of that turkey to your cat.

You could be harming your cat.

Many types of gravy have onion-flavored broth and onions like garlic and other root vegetables are among the list of foods that cats should never eat.

Potatoes that are raw as well as green tomatoes also can be harmful to your cat. So when peeling potatoes if any fall on the floor make sure your cat does not get a hold of it.

Tomatoes that are green are harmful especially the stems and leaves. They contain toxins that are dangerous for cats. Unlike ripe tomatoes, those have no danger to your cat.

Chocolate

I think by now we know that chocolate is just plain bad for animals. It is deadly for dogs and cats. Keep it away from all pets.

Milk

We have all seen movies and read books where people put out a saucer of milk for cats. That is wrong and should not be done.

I am not saying that milk is toxic or dangerous to cats. It just does not have a purpose for cats that
have a healthy diet.

It can have side effects for them that are extremely uncomfortable.

In addition, many cats are lactose-intolerant and milk can make them have diarrhea and an upset stomach.

There are products on the market designed for cats that are better for them then milk. One such product is called Catsip. It is available in many supermarkets and has better nutritional value for your cat. Therefore, if you have a cat that just loves milk try this instead.

Last two foods that may cause harm to your cat are grapes and raisins.

They seem to have an adverse effect on many cats, so the ASPCA has recommended that you keep these two foods away from your cat.

Therefore, when your cat comes begging give him/her a treat that was made for cats. There is any number of healthy treats available now that you can safely give that will make your cat happy and you will not have to worry about toxic side effects.

Remember our pets think we know what we are doing and depend on us to keep them safe. That is the least we can do since we are so fortunate to have these wonderful animals in our life.
http://www.allthingspets.info/

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Find out what else may be harmful to your cat.  Learn how you can use natural home remdies for your cat.  Get free recipes and hundreds of natural remedies.
http://www.allthingspets.info/



Dania