Cat-proof your home by building a play center where your cat can climb, perch, and scratch. Provide a few toys your cat can bat around, such as spring-mounted, dangling, or bouncy toys. Indoor cats with little access to grass or other vegetable matter may chew house plants. Offer them lettuce, catnip, or a kitty herb garden in exchange.

To keep your cat away from problem areas, first try child locks, barricades, or closed doors. For persistent problems or areas that cannot be barricaded, use remote punishment, taste and odor aversion, or booby traps as deterrents. Never use physical punishment — it may cause your cat to fear you and to stay away from the problem area only when you are around.

Scratching is a normal behavior that allows your cat to condition its claws as it marks its territory. It also provides an opportunity for a nice stretch.

To prevent destructive scratching, keep your cat away from tempting areas, trim its nails regularly, and provide a proper scratching post. Encourage your cat to use a scratching post by placing one near its favorite sleeping area and perhaps a second post in a prominent area.

If your cat continues to scratch in an inappropriate area, put a post in there. Food rewards will help keep your cat interested in the post and away from your furniture. If scratching persists, cover the scratched surface with plastic or short strips of double-sided tape. Another option is to use plastic coverings that fit over your cat’s nails. These are available from your veterinarian.

If you have sincerely tried to solve the problem but still encounter destructive scratching, declawing may be a final consideration. It is certainly a better alternative than banning the cat outdoors or taking it to an animal shelter. In numerous studies, declawing has been shown not to have detrimental effects on a cat’s behavior or personality.
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About The Author
Anita Hampton http://www.eliminatecatodour.com

Before you begin bathing your cat, you will need to gather a few supplies. At the minimum, you will need two absorbent terry cloth towels, a pet safe shampoo, a pet safe conditioner, a sponge, and a sprayer attachment for your sink or tub. If you don’t have a sprayer attachment, you should have a pitcher or large cup that you can use to scoop clean water over your cat’s body. Ideally, you should also have a non-skid mat to help your cat feel more secure.

If you decide to bathe your cat in the tub, you may have a harder time holding on to him if he becomes frightened. However, it is usually easier to keep him contained if he escapes in a bathroom than in the kitchen.

Place your non-skid mat in the bottom of the sink or tub. Add two to three inches of warm water and gently place your cat in the tub. Talk to him quietly and reassure him. He will most likely settle down within a few seconds. Once he is calm, begin to wet him down. If the sprayer attachment scares him too badly, you may have to pour water over him using your pitcher or cup, instead. Do not pour water on his head. You will clean his face later.

Once your cat is wet enough to shampoo, apply the shampoo with your hand, massaging your cat’s fur and talking kindly and calmly to him while you do. Rinsing the shampoo is probably the most difficult part of the bath. It’s important you do it thoroughly even if your cat objects, because the residue from the shampoo will irritate his skin.

Now, work a palm sized dollop of conditioner into your cat’s coat and then rinse it out. This step is actually optional if the cat has short hair. However, conditioner will not hurt a short haired cat, so, if he is not too upset, you may still want to use it.

Once your cat’s body is clean, dampen your sponge and use it to carefully wipe down his face. Pay close attention to the area under his eyes.

The drying stage is the easiest. Wrap your cat in a towel and rub him down. Change towels when the first one is wet. Get your cat as dry as possible. If you have a long-cat, some people suggest a hair dryer, but most cats are afraid of the sound. Use your judgment. If you do use a dryer be careful that it doesn’t get too hot for his skin. Tell your kitty he smells wonderful and is going to look so beautiful now that he’s clean.

About The Author
Copyright 2007 Ron King. This article may be reprinted if the resource box is left intact and the links live.

For more info, see Cat tips at: http://www.new-cat.com or Cat health at: http://www.new-cat.com/Cat_Health.php. Ron King is a webdeveloper; visit his website on Authoring Articles at http://www.ronxking.com.

Feeding Time

Most pet supply stores sell specially formulated cat foods that are designed to provide proper health and nutrition to elderly cats. Some formulas assist with proper digestion, since this can often be a problem with older cats. Senior cats cannot assimilate their food in their digestive tracts in the same way that they did when they were youngsters.

Older cats can also have problems with their teeth that cause them to eat less. This is why it is important to maintain good dental hygiene in cats at a young age by either brushing, taking them to the veterinarian for a cleaning, or feeding them snacks that clean their teeth. If your elderly cat eats less, it may be due to a toothache, thus it is sometimes ideal to feed them softer foods, mostly wet, canned foods, so that chewing their dinner won’t be as much of an obstacle.

Many cat owners find that their cat’s coat becomes dull with age. This is due to poor nutrition. Feed your older cat a diet rich in essential fatty acids to fix this problem. When organisms, including cats, get older, they have an increased production of free radicals in the body. Free radicals contribute to the degeneration of cells in the body. Help build up the immune system of your beloved cat by increasing his or her intake of vitamin C and E.

Finally, you want your cat to remain active in old age. The more energetic activities your cat participates in the better health it will remain in. If you allow your cat to become obese it will lay around the house and have reduced quality of life, as well as a decrease in general health. Watch your pet’s eating habits and assure that it is not overeating, or eating as a recreation as some cats do.

Grooming Elderly Cats

Another element of proper Elderly Cat Care is grooming. When cats age, they sometimes stop grooming themselves with the same frequency as they did when they were younger. This can create a matted fur coat that is dirty and smells bad. Bad hygiene will eventually lead to bad health. Because of this, it is important that you groom your eldery cat yourself. Purchase a good cat brush that doesn’t just brush the outer coat, but one with bristles that reach down to the skin to pull up old hair.

It sometimes helps to give your cat a bath, even though most cats hate them with a passion. The best way to wash a cat is to place them in the tub and gradually introduce water. You certainly don’t want to throw them into the tub with hot water running inside! You may get a deep claw mark in the arm that will never heal and remind you to never do that again. If you apply water gradually to the cat’s coat until they are completely wet and then work in some shampoo quickly, you should be able to accomplish that goal.

Vet Visits and Medication

When your cat grows into old age, it may have health complications that require regular medication. You should schedule a regular vet appointment for your elderly cat to assure that you are keeping up with all details of its health regimen. In older age, cats may seem fine but still have complications. Ask your veterinarian to give your cat a blood and urine test to find out if there is anything to be concerned about to head off any future problems. Going back to dental care, most older cats develop gum disease which can lead to health problems down the line. Gum disease can be treated by your veterinarian.

Just as with a human who has to take daily medication, if your cat has been prescribed to take medications on a daily basis it is helpful to keep everything in one place as a reminder. You do not want to miss a day of any crucial medication as the system of your older cat is much more delicate than those of younger cats.

Pet Insurance

Insurance companies are coming to recognize the love that people have for their pets. Thus, there are many new pet insurance products popping up on the market. It is best to enroll your pet into an insurance program at a younger age to assure a more reasonable premium, but you may still be able to enroll your elderly cat into an insurance program where his or medical bills will be partly covered in the case of a medical emergency. Some pet insurance companies will charge anywhere from $20-$50 per month per cat, depending on their particular situation.

The costs of pet surgeries and treatments can be way out of the budget of most households, so having a pet insurance plan to back you up can be a great asset. It will also give you peace of mind about your cat as it ages.

Activities of the Elderly Cat

The activity level of elderly cats vary. Some cats become inactive and spend most of their day sleeping or sitting. But other cats can be just as active in old age as they were in their younger days. These cats may still like to play with you, run, and chase the other cats around the house, but you just need to be understanding that they may not be able to participate in these games for as long as they used to. For example, a game cats love to play is “chase their owner.” Instead of letting them chase you up and down the stairs as you did when they were young, maybe you could keep the activity to one level of the house. That way you will not overexert your cat and help prolong his time spent active.

Most cat experts agree tht a cat is generally healthy and happy when they are “bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.” Another indication of a healthy cat is a lustrous, shiny coat, and a tail that sticks straight up in the air when the cat is walking. Proper elderly cat care is dire if you love your senior cat and want to keep it in good physical health.

About The Author
David Beart is owner of the http://www.professorshouse.com Professors House, a site dedicated to family, relationships, http://www.professorshouse.com/pets/cats/cats.aspx cat information, and household issues.

In the 1950s in England, a stray cat gave birth to a litter of kittens with a curly coat. Through crossbreeding and inbreeding, this interesting trait was maintained, resulting in today’s Devon Rex. It was once thought that the same mutation caused this and the Cornish Rex mutation (the fine, curly coat), but genetic testing has shown that this is not the case, making the Devon Rex a separate and distinct breed of cat. Due to crossbreeding, Devon Rexes come a wide variety of colors including black, white, blue, red, cream, chocolate, lilac, and caramel. They can also have various markings and patterns such as smoke, tabby, tortie, bi-color, tri-color and pointed. The Devon Rex coat can also come in a variety of coverings.

Some Devon Rexes are completed covered in the soft fur and others only have the occasional tuft. Some coats are curlier than others but all are soft and thin. Though Devon Rexes do not shed nearly as much as other breeds that are more densely coated, they do have some hair on them and will, therefore, shed. This makes them more suitable for those with allergies, but they are not a hypoallergenic cat.

Devon Rexes, on average, will weigh about six to nine pounds and are muscular. They will live about thirteen years. This outgoing cat is a performer. Devon Rexes like being the center of attention and will engage in many antics including jumping to high places, riding on the shoulders of their human companions and stealing food. Despite their antics, Devon Rexes are good family pets and adaptable to most situations.

Though active, they do well in apartment settings. Due to the delicate nature of their hair, a Devon Rex should be kept indoors. The sparse coat is insufficient to protect it from sunburn or cold. Grooming is done infrequently but when done, must be done carefully as the hair will break easily. Although very healthy, Devon Rexes can inherit genetic problems, such as cardiomyopathy, luxating patella, hip dysplasia, and spasticity.

There is a website that has great information on Devon Rex and most other breeds of cats. It has details that pertain to a cat breeds health, grooming, living conditions, best food choices and more, the website is called: Dog And Cat Facts, and can be found at this url:

http://www.dogandcatfacts.com

By Robert W. Benjamin

Copyright © 2006

You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter on your web site as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and without modification except for formatting needs or grammar corrections.

About The Author
Robert W. Benjamin has been in the software business on the internet for over 5 years, and has been producing low-cost software for the past 25 years. He first released products on the AMIGA and C64 computer systems in the late 1970′s-80′s.

RB59.COM Software
http://www.rb59.com/software

I have discovered she has developed a taste for ice cream, especially the luxury ice cream such as Haagen Dazs or Ben & Jerry’s- I put a little bit into the lid for her to lick, and get no peace until I’ve finished!

I am aware that too many treats can be very bad for cats, but subscribe to the view that, like us, a little bit of what she fancies every so often isn’t going to do her much harm!

What are your cat’s favorite treats?

Needless to say, this can become a very bothersome (and embarrassing!) habit. Wool sucking cats seem to prefer a woven material such as a sweater instead of raw wool. In some cats, the sucking begins with wool, but then progresses to other available materials such as cotton or even plastic. The behavior most often begins at puberty and, if left untreated, can lead to serious digestive illness and destruction of household items.

Why Do Cats Wool Suck?

The majority of cats that display this behavior are Siamese and this fact gives a strong indication that it can be inherited. It is not, however, related to any nutritional deficiencies, external stresses or to the sex or reproductive stage of the animal. One hypothesis is that this may be a behavior that is “left over” from the prolonged six-month suckling period that is common in feral (stray or wild) cats. Since domestic kittens are usually weaned at six weeks, this may result in suckling deprivation that is expressed by the sucking of man-made objects such as wool. Unfortunately, this idea has not been tested experimentally.

It has also been thought that cats may wool suck because the odor of lanolin in wool is similar to the odor of the fur around the nipples of the kitten’s mother.

What to do With a Wool Sucking Cat

The treatments available to the owner of a wool sucking cat include behavior modification, drug therapy, and, in extreme cases, euthanasia.

Obviously, every attempt to control this behavior should be made in order to avoid having to put the animal down. This takes patience and perseverance on the part of you the cat owner.

Behavior Modification

The following are a few steps that you could take to help control a cat’s wool sucking behavior: The first step is to remove any objects that the cat may suck or chew on.

This may mean confining the cat to one room of the house. In order to encourage the cat’s natural meat eating instinct, a supply of rawhide or bones could be made available to the cat (no chicken bones!).

The next step in involves the use of some punishment: One method is to thump the cat on the nose and say, “No” when it begins to suck.

(Editors Note: The above statement is exclusively the viewpoint of the article writer and not of the staff of this blog. We do not condone nor endorse any form of physical punishment or aggressive behavior towards any animal.)

Another is to spy on the cat and use the trusty water pistol any time a cat is found sucking. In order for this kind of discipline to work, the punishment must be delivered immediately after every incorrect behavior occurs. For this reason, punishment often does not work because you cannot always punish the cat the moment it begins to suck and every time it sucks. The cat will take advantage of this and often turns the situation into a game. It will begin to sneak and lurk around to try and avoid getting caught. For these crafty cats, the use of slightly sprung mousetraps hidden in clothing may be effective. This allows punishment to be delivered even if you are not around.

Another technique that can be used involves a bottle of your favorite perfume and a bottle of Tabasco sauce. This method relies upon the association of a certain odor with a bad experience to deter the cat. By applying the perfume and hot sauce to an item of clothing, the cat that sucks on the clothing will associate the smell of the perfume with the unpleasant taste of the hot sauce.

Chemicals that can be administered

If punishment and/or the hot sauce do not work, there are various substances that you can give to your cat.

Since one possible explanation for wool sucking is a craving for lanolin, it can be fed to the cat. Although no nutritional deficiencies have been found in wool sucking cats, it has been found that feeding the cat a diet high in fiber can eliminate the behavior in some cases.

It has also been found that administering 0.5 g per day of thyroid hormone also controls some cases of wool sucking. For cats where none of the above treatments work, anti-anxiety drugs (e.g. amitriptyline HCL) may help however there are side effects to these drugs.

Prevention

Unfortunately, since it is not known exactly why cats wool suck, there are not many steps that you can take to prevent this behavior from occurring. However, here are a couple of points to keep in mind:

Siamese cat breeders should wait until kittens are 12 weeks old to wean.

This ensures an adequate suckling period. A cat displaying wool-sucking behavior should not be used for breeding because there is the possibility that the kittens could inherit the behavior.

Conclusions

Wool sucking is a peculiar and destructive behavior that is often hard to control. However, there are many ways in which this behavior can be controlled or eliminated, and with the development of new drugs, there may be even more options in the future. A lot of time and patience are required to successfully control wool sucking but these are rewarded by a normal cat, and clothing without holes!

http://www.eliminatecatodour.com

About The Author
Anita Hampton http://www.eliminatecatodour.com

Just about all kittens are infected with some kind of parasitic worm at the time of birth, which were transmitted while the kitten was developing inside the mother’s womb. Alternatively worm eggs can be transmitted via the mother’s milk during the nursing stage. Unless the mother is medically confirmed to be worm-free and lives in an immaculate indoor environment, there is a high probability the her kittens will have worms. With that being said, it is important to understand the following conditions as well as the deworming process involved.

All stray kittens will have worms. Don’t assume otherwise. Any stray kitten recovered must be taken to a veterinarian as soon as possible for deworming and other treatments. If your cat is a hunter and catches and consumes small animals such as birds or mice, it is highly likely that your cat will have worms from ingesting worm larvae that commonly exist in these animals.

Indoor cats can also be infected with worms. Chronic heaving and retching behavior is suggestive of a possible worm infestation in your cat. If a cat vomits and the worms are visible, this of course is a clear proof that the cat needs to be dewormed immediately. The most common type or worm to infect cats are Roundworms that look like spaghetti and Tapeworms that are flat and with box shaped sections.

Veterinarian worm testing may not always show a positive result for worms even if they exist. The common fecal test will only show a positive indication of worms if they are active and migrating within the cat. Quite often, worms can exist dormant within the cat’s body for a long time and only manifest themselves in a fecal exam after some sort of stress event like pregnancy or surgery.

Sudden changes in appetite or diarrhea are possible signs of worm infection. Fur that loses its sheen or the developing of a protruding belly are other signs. Cats that are observed eating feces must definitely be put through a deworming process.

Determining the exact type of worm infecting a cat will be critical to successful treatment because medication is specific to the type of worm. For example medication to rid a cat of round worms will not work for tape worms or other types of worms. Generally fecal testing is the best method for determining the type of worm infecting cat.

Worm medications can be in the form of a liquid or a pill and when administering medication to a cat it is vitally important to confirm that the cat actually ingests it. Concealing the medication in cat food or a treat is a simple way to accomplish this. It is also important to understand that it typically takes several deworming treatments to completely rid a cat of worms. This is due to the fact the worms in their various developmental stages will vary in their susceptibility to the medication.

In conclusion, you should subject your cat to a deworming process as warranted by conditions mention earlier. Regular veterinary fecal tests and closely monitoring your cat for symptomatic and behavioral signs of worm infection is the key for determining when and how often your cat should be dewormed.

About The Author
Ariel Keis is the webmaster of http://www.PawHouseOnline.com The Paw House – a 501(c3) charity dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of abandoned and abused animals and restoring them to their rightful place a loving human companions.

Besides giving each cat their own unique distinction, whiskers are a functional part of a cat. Whiskers are a sensory system for cats made up of nerve endings that allow them to feel the lightest touch, even an air current.

Cats are known to be farsighted and they will use their whiskers to move around in those areas that they are not able to see clearly. Even cats that are blind or their vision is deteriorating will rely more on their whiskers to move about. Cats that are born with their vision impaired will often have longer whiskers to help them move around. If a cat were to lose their whiskers, they would more than likely bump into things.

You also can tell the mood of your cat from their whiskers. When your cat is calm you will see that their whiskers will be pushed forward. And if your cat is stressed out or is being defensive their whiskers will be pulled closer to their face.

If you have more than one cat, have you noticed that the whiskers of each of them are not the same? The length of a cat’s whiskers even varies between breeds. I currently have three cats and have noticed that each one has whiskers that are different in length to the others. I have also noticed that Tiggy my oldest cat has a few whiskers that are not all white, but have some black in them. While the other two, Leena and Cooper, have whiskers that are all white.

Most of us see the cat’s whiskers above their eyes and around their mouth, also called muzzle. But did you know that they also have whiskers on the back of their front legs or what would be considered their wrists. I never knew that, but after I read about it, I looked on mine and they have them. They are not as long as the whiskers on their face, but they have them.

Whiskers do get very long and some people are tempted to trim them thinking that they should be to help the cat. But whiskers are never to be trimmed, cut, or any other method of removing them. The cats do have nerve endings in the whiskers and they will feel the trimming and it will not be pleasant for them. Have you ever touched one of the whiskers on your cat’s face? Did you notice them blink or twitch? It is because their whiskers are very sensitive and should be treated with care.

Whiskers can be ticklish when applied to us in the right fashion, and they are a very distinctive characteristic on a cat. We should always leave a cat’s whiskers alone, as they are their guide to moving around.

About The Author
Sharon Cowherd maintains Caring for Your Cat, a blog about her experiences and knowledge of caring for her cats. You can read more about Sharon and her cats at http://www.caringforyourcat.com

Occasionally a runny eye is caused by a disorder of the normal anatomy.

Tear glands continually produce secretions which lubricate the surface of the eyeball and flush particulate material into the tear ducts which then drain into the nose. If there’s a blockage of the ducts, the tears have no choice but to spill over and run down the face. Blockage can occur if there has been previous damage to the ducts or if the cat has an abnormal anatomy.

Persian cats frequently have tear staining, partly because their tear ducts are kinked and partly because their eyeball shape prevents effective drainage. Chronic tear overspill causes a brown staining on the fur which is most noticeable in pale colored cats.

Runny eyes are also a result of tear overproduction if there is an irritation to the sensitive eyeball. The cause may be easily identified as in some longhaired cats where a clump of hair rubs the surface. Some can be much more difficult to detect; solitary aberrant hairs may grow inside the eyelid and can only be discovered by carrying out an extremely thorough examination under general anaesthetic.

The cornea is the clear outer covering of the eyeball and is a very sensitive structure. Flu infections can sometimes extend beyond the membranes and also affect the corneas. In very young kittens, the damage can be so severe that the cornea is extensively scarred and the cat grows up visually impaired or even blind.

Most corneal disease is encountered as a result of a bit of a punch up with another cat and a claw being poked in the eye. The puncture wound may be very obvious, particularly if a bit of claw is left behind in the eyeball.

In other cases there may be no apparent defects.

Mild corneal damage will heal well if the cat is supported with antibiotics but more severe damage may require surgery. Stitching the eyelids together often helps with the healing.

The iris is the structure which gives the eye its color, ranging from pink in albinos, to blue in Siamese, through all shades of yellows, coppers and greens. The iris is a muscular structure which contracts and expands in order to vary the amount of light which passes through to the back of the eye.

It has very delicate blood vessels and if a claw has managed to pierce through the cornea to the iris, the bleeding can be very dramatic.

Some of the more unpleasant feline infections, Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) virus, Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV), Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and toxoplasmosis can all cause disease in the iris.

The first sign an owner may notice is a change in color of the eye.

Close examination reveals changes in the shape of the iris and the presence of debris in the fluid behind the cornea. It is very difficult to distinguish which one of these infections has caused the abnormality, so further investigation is always necessary.

If there is a diseased iris, also have to consider the possibility of a tumor. T he two most commonly encountered are lymphosarcoma, a solid form of leukemia, and melanoma, a cancer of the pigment producing cells.

If an iris has been affected by a treatable condition, it may be left with permanent color change and a distorted shape because of adhesions or scar tissue produced during the healing response. Not all areas of new pigment are associated with disease. Some cats, particularly orange colored individuals, can develop little dark patches of pigment in the iris as they age, but any change in eye color should always be checked by your vet.

The retina is a fine membranous structure which lines the back of the eyeball.

Light passes through the pupil and the lens and lands on the retina.

There it stimulates nerve endings which cause electrical signals to be sent to the brain where the information is interpreted as vision.

Any abnormality of the color, the reflectivity or the blood vessels indicates disease of the retina. One of the most serious conditions is a generalized degeneration of the retina. The retina appears to be very bright.

Blood vessels become much finer and in advanced cases are barely visible.

The retina can detach from the underlying tissue if there is a leakage or overproduction of fluid between the layers, or if there is bleeding.

High blood pressure resulting from kidney failure or an overactive thyroid gland can cause this eye problem.

Retinal detachments tend to be quite dramatic in onset and owners report that the cat appears to have gone blind overnight. The pupils are massively dilated and instead of a smooth concave surface there are billowing folds of retina. There is virtually no hope of restoration of eyesight in these cases.

The thought of a blind cat is quite horrifying to most owners but a combination of the cat not knowing it’s supposed to worry about its lack of vision and its other senses being so well developed means they actually cope remarkably well. If the environment is kept as constant as possible, most individuals adapt very well to their surroundings.

Many problems in cats are self -limiting and given one or two days most will rectify themselves. Eye conditions should be treated with a little more respect and a little more urgency even if the cat appears to be totally indifferent to its problem. A mild disorder can result in quite dramatic and devastating changes to the eye if left untreated so don’t delay and seek expert advice as soon as possible.

http://www.eliminatecatodour.com

About The Author
Anita Hampton http://www.eliminatecatodour.com

We have our routine. She will lie at the foot of the chair whilst I am working on my computer. When I make a move to get ready for bed, she follows me into the kitchen for supper. I go upstairs, and she will follow me when she is ready. I use the bathroom and she uses her litter tray; we often synchronise our eliminations!

I snuggle into bed, and after a few minutes wait, she will jump onto the bed and walk up and down, demanding fuss and purring her pleasure. After a few minutes of this, she will settle down, usually in the middle of the bed, and preferably touching the bulge that is my body beneath the duvet. After several more minutes, she will curl up and go to sleep properly.

She will usually sleep until I wake the next morning, but has been known to wake me at 5am if she decides that it’s breakfast time. I have also woken up to find her curled up on top of me- luckily I don’t move much during the night!

She may have condemned me to a life of permanent spinster hood, but I wouldn’t have her any other way!