“So – you’re getting a kitten. That’s great! You are in for a wonderful learning experience”
Special thanks to
Tammie Whitted for this
great article.
How could something so fluffy, adorable and small cause so much trouble? Having a kitten is similar to having a two year old. They need to be watched almost constantly. You know the old saying about curiosity and the cat? It applies even more to a kitten. And because kittens are so inquisitive, here are a few tips to help protect your little one:
1.Check book cases, curtain rods, shelves, etc. to make sure they can withstand your kittens weight.
2.Be sure to check under sofas and recliners to make sure he/she cannot get trapped under them.
3.Kittens love playing with (and very often destroy) houseplants. Since many plants are poisonous, you may want to consider hanging them out of the kittens reach.
4.Cover all waste baskets so your kitten can’t go exploring.
5.Pieces of yarn, string and thread are wonderful play things for your kitten but if swallowed can become intestinal blockages that can be fatal.
6.Your new kitten should be introduced to its new home carefully. They can become disoriented in their new surroundings. It’s best to introduce children and other pets gradually over a few days.
Have you noticed your kitten loves to knead? They do this from birth to stimulate their mother’s milk. Sometimes kittens will drool in anticipation. This “milk kneading” is done at a slow pace and the kitten will purr loudly while kneading. If we suddenly stop this activity by tossing the little one down, he/she is surprised. The mommy kitty never did that! When setting, you look relaxed. To the kitten that is an open invitation to hop in your lap and start kneading. The next time your kitten looks eager to knead, throw a blanket over your lap to protect yourself and your cloths from claw pricks and let your kitten do what comes natural. They will soon withdraw their claws.
“Kittens are social animals”
They respond to your voice, enjoy your companionship and can be trained. Even though kittens (cats) are social, they are far more concerned with territorial issues than we could ever imagine. Kittens don’t suffer much from loneliness. They do a great job of entertaining themselves. Be sure to provide it with some toys to play with and it’s own bed and scratching post to save your furniture.
You may be wondering about the litter box. Kittens don’t need to be taught to go in a litter box. Just show him/her where it is and your kitten will take it from there. Be sure to have it in an accessible place determined from your kittens point of view.
A very important bit of information you need to be aware of is if you are pregnant, litter box duties are definitely off limits for you. There is a risk of toxoplasmosis. You can have your vet check your kitten for toxoplasmosis by examining his/her feces for the presence of eggs.
And last but not least is finding a good veterinarian for your kitten. This is a very important part of caring for your pet. Your vet will give you all the information you will need to ensure a healthy life for your pet.
Unless your kitten was purchased for breeding purposes, please consult your vet on spaying or neutering at the proper age.
To shop for the essential supplies you will need, click here to visit our home page.
How to Make Your Cat Adore You
If you want your cat to adore you, you must first adore your cat. If Kitty falls in love with you after you learn to follow this “courtship” plan, you had better be willing to…learn more
Do you want your cat to be happy and healthy?
Looking for information on cat breeds?
Just got a new kitten and need to know the secrets to looking after it?
Having trouble with litter training and sick of having to clean up the mess? Find answers here…
Filed under Guest Articles 
“How to clean up cat urine or poo”
If you don’t clean it up thoroughly, the cat is likely to go again in the same spot. Clean up when your cat is not in the room. It may otherwise think its marks gets your attention!
Never use bleaches or disinfectants. They smell like urine to a cat, so does anything pine, rose or lemon scented.
Use warm water with ten per cent solution of biological liquid or powder. (One suggestion is one tablespoon of Napisan AND one tablespoon of biological washing powder to one pint of water.) Then rise the area thoroughly in cold water and let it dry or dry it with a hair dryer if time presses.
Next spray or apply some other way surgical spirit. Use a nail brush to get this into fabric and crevices. This gets rid of the fatty residues that prompt a cat to top up his own marks. Dry this off completely.
Patch-test cleaning on a small area in case it removes dyes from carpets or polish from furniture.
DIFFICULT AREAS
The edge where the skirting board meets a laminating flooring will have a pool of spray urine if the site has been used repeatedly. Use a silicon sealant between the two. Then cover with heavy varnish of the sort used to varnish boats to make a barrier between the sprayed urine pool area and the outside world.
The intersection between tiles. This too collects a pool. Clean the tiles then put the heavy boat varnish in the intersection or even over all the tile surface as well.
Cement floor. Wash and clean with a biological cleaner first and let dry out for two to three weeks. If the urine marking has gone on for ages, paint concrete floor with heavy paint as a sealant. Whether painting or not, put a sheet of heavy duty polythene (the sort builders mix concrete on) under the carpet underlay before putting on clean carpet.
Wooden plank floor. The urine pool will have been created between the planks. Lift carpet, clean boards and remove any rotten wood. Leave to dry two to three weeks. Use heavy paint as a sealant. Wait for two or three months to make marking is over. Cover the planks with a polythene sheet as a barrier before putting down new carpet. If worried, put an additional sheet of polythene between the carpet and the underlay so if the worst happens, the underlay isn’t ruined and it will be easier to clean up.
Carpet cleaning. If carpet has been used for urine for a long time, consider replacing with new rather than just shampooing etc.
AFTER CLEANING
When the area is thoroughly cleaned and completely dry, take a plain white piece of cloth and rub this round your cat’s cheeks. Then apply the cloth to the place where the cat sprayed. Do this daily (or twice daily for an indoor cat) for about a month.
If your cat will be frightened or spooked by the cloth technique use Feliway spray obtainable from your vet. In this case, do not use Feliway spray directly on the cleaned site for 24 hours. Cover the cleaned site with clingfilm and then spray on the cling film. 24 hours later remove cling film and spray Feliway directly on the area.
OTHER FABRICS
Send curtains etc to dry cleaners. Wash duvet covers and bedlinen. With moveable mats and small carpets get these cleaned somehow if you can. Throw away if you cannot clean. Before putting these back use the white cloth or Feliway on the previously soiled area. Do not try to save money on cleaning because in the long run the more thorough you are, the cheaper it all will be. A spraying or pooing cat can cause a lot of grief and nothing is too much to stop it early on.
This article reprinted with permission from
Celia Haddon
http://www.celiahaddon.co.uk/
Filed under Guest Articles
Sometimes out of the blue a cat will stop using the litter tray. Most owners just think “Oh, an accident!” and clear up. Then it happens again. And again.
For cats learn to feel a certain substance under their feet. For most cats this will be the litter, itself. But if (for some other reason) the cat has not been using the litter, it will start getting used to the feel of, say, carpet. And once carpet is the substance which triggers urination or defecation, you are in trouble.
So all “accidents” with litter need quick investigation and quick remedy.
1. IS THE LITTER CLEAN ENOUGH? It must be cleaned daily, or even twice a day. The cat may leave its bottom over the side because it doesn’t feel the box is clean enough. Some cats will tolerate a dirty tray. Others will refuse to use a tray that already has one lot of dirty material. So see if adding a second tray will solve the problem.
2. IS IT TOO CLEAN?
Are you putting in deodorants, disinfectants or scented litter. A litter tray should be dry and clean but with an aroma of urine and faeces it should smell like a latrine. If you are cleaning the tray with disinfectants remember to rinse it thoroughly so their scent disappears.
3. IS THERE ENOUGH LITTER? There should also be enough litter some cats will stop using the tray if you are too mean with the litter.
4. HAVE YOU CHANGED THE TYPE OF LITTER? Change back. If you want to change it, start by adding one handful of the new litter, then two slowly changing over several weeks.
5. IS IT THE RIGHT LITTER? An outdoor cat may not like commercial litter. Try sand or earth. Then slowly change once the tray is being used. (see above). In general cats prefer thin grained litter to large grained.
6. IS YOUR CAT USED TO DOING IT OUT OF DOORS? For an outdoor cat (whom you want to be an indoor going cat) transfer some soil/sand from where they go. The familiar smell may trigger use. Some cats will use potting compost or peat, rather than other litters. Add some soiled material so the tray smells like a latrine.
7. IS THE TRAY IN THE RIGHT PLACE? Some cats stop using the litter tray if it has been moved to (for them) an unsuitable place. Put it back! Cats do not like a tray which is close to the feeding bowl.
8. IS IT THE RIGHT LITTER TRAY? If the problem is that the cat won’t use the litter tray (and therefore goes elsewhere) check that the cat is happy with a litter tray. Experiment with covering it up the tray, either just the sides or the top as well, using a cardboard box cut to fit. If the litter tray is unused, maybe transfer some material from the place the cat does go, into the box.
9. DOES YOUR CAT DISLIKE USING THE SAME TRAY FOR BOTH URINATION AND DEFECATION? Add a new tray so that it can urinate in one and defecate in the other.
10. ARE TOO MANY CATS USING THE SAME TRAY? There should be one litter tray per cat as a minimum. Some cats won’t go with other cats. A tray for each cat and one over makes extra sure.
11. DOES THE CAT NEED A SECLUDED TRAY? Experiment with a cardboard box, one that fits tightly over the litter tray as a cover. If this stops her sitting on the edge or doing it over the side, then buy a litter box with fitted cover. Use the same kind of litter and place some of the soiled litter in the new box, just so that it smells right to her.
12. IS YOUR CAT HANGING HER BOTTOM OVER THE SIDE OF THE TRAY? Make sure the tray is full enough and clean enough. Or who leave their bottom outside of the entrance into the covered litter. For these cats try placing a smaller tray inside a larger one with a gap of about two and a half inches at the entrance. This ensures that the cat has to step across the gap to enter and use the inner try. Any over spill is absorbed by a small amount of litter in the gap area.
The other idea is simply to buy a large deep round washing up bowl and use it instead of the conventional litter tray. “Our cat, Mitzi, was unable to get her tail over the side. It had other advantages in that the bowl was easier to lift with its rounded rim and easier to keep clean” reported Mitzi’s owner.
13. HAS YOUR CAT HAD AN UNHAPPY EXPERIENCE WHILE ON THE TRAY? Has your cat had an unhappy experience while using the tray ambush by a companion cat, ambush by a dog, stomach pains while eliminating (from diarrhea?), human interference while using the tray, a sudden loud noise while on the tray, pain from cystitis. If so, the cat may mistakenly decide that the tray isn’t safe any more. Therefore, experiment with a new (yes, new. Don’t be mean) tray.
14. IS YOUR CAT FINDING IT DIFFICULT TO CLIMB IN? Arthritic cats may need a shallow tray.
15. DOES YOUR CAT HAVE CYSTITIS?
Symptoms include straining, pain when urinating, blood in urine, frequent urination, urinating in the wrong place. More common in long haired, overweight, neutered males. Check with vet Cystitis attacks occur at stressful times.
If you have answered yes to any of these questions, then remedy the situation as quickly as possible. If not, then the likelihood is that your cat is marking its territory either with urination or defecation
This article reprinted with permission from
Celia Haddon
http://www.celiahaddon.co.uk/
Filed under Guest Articles
One of many choices of diets for your cat is a vegetarian cat food. A cat is considered an obligate carnivore. Their body cannot manufacture certain nutrients such as vitamin A and niacin among others. In the wild a cat would obtain these nutrients from animals they consumed. There is some controversy as to whether a cat can survive without meat. It is believed by many that these nutrients can be extracted from vegetables and concentrated to meet the nutritional needs of a cat. Manufacturers of vegetarian cat food should have a detailed ingredient list and nutritional value on their labels.
You can purchase supplements to add to your vegetarian cat food or purchase it premixed and add a few ingredients at home, making your own dry cat food.
If you do decide on a vegetarian cat food diet for your feline, we highly recommend you consult with your veterinarian before changing your cats diet. Also, do some research on your own. A cats nutritional needs can vary greatly with breed, age and existing health condition.
Veterinary Secrets Revealed
Easily Care For Your Pet At Home Using
Simple Techniques And Inexpensive Natural Ingredients! Learn about it here…
Filed under Cat Food Formulas
Premium cat food is considered by many to be of the highest quality available. It should not contain any by products such as chicken heads, feet, feathers or intestines to name a few. Many manufacturers use meat and grain suitable for human consumption in their premium cat food formulas.
There are many formulas of premium cat food on the market. There are formulas for the obese cat, for the senior cat and formulas designed to reduce hair balls to name just a few.
Most premium cat food brands use natural preservatives. Some top of the line premium cat food blend animal proteins and vegetable proteins in canned food.
There is a large variety of formulas for premium cat food to meet almost any of your cats nutritional needs. Some contain not only meat and grain but contain some fresh fruits and vegetables as well.
Cats have health needs the same as their owners. Quality does matter. Even though many veterinarians recommend premium cat food, do your own research of the quality of the ingredients of the many brands and formulas available today.
We highly recommend you consult your veterinarian before changing your cats diet to a premium cat food. Nutritional needs vary greatly with age, breed and existing health condition of your cat.
Veterinary Secrets Revealed
Easily Care For Your Pet At Home Using
Simple Techniques And Inexpensive Natural Ingredients! Learn about it here…
Cat Health Secrets
How to Have Happy, Healthy, Long-Living Cats… Without Spending a Penny on Vets, Medicines or Special Foods! Click here…
Filed under Cat Food Formulas