In the area around where I live it would be considered extremely strange to walk a cat on a lead.  Even cats that spend most of their lives indoors are usually allowed out in the garden (and therefore further afield) to get some outdoor exercise.  A cat leash would be a highly unusual item of cat care equipment.  Walking a dog is common practice, but walking a cat is something I have never seen in all the years I’ve lived here.

This, however, is a country area and road traffic is light.  Cat safety is not a major issue here.  I can, however, fully appreciate some pet owners’ concerns about allowing their cat to roam in the great outdoors of a busy town or city. In that situation a cat leash and harness can be a big help toward keeping your cat safe.  You may be able to give your cat or kitten a much more enjoyable life with a well-designed harness and a leash long enough to give some freedom but short enough to maintain control.

Cat Lead and Harness

As with everything else connected with pets there is a wide range of cat leads to choose from, at a wide range of prices. Watch out for the design though.  You may buy one in small, medium or large size but your cat leash still will need to be adjustable for size and made in such a way as to hold the cat firm and, when needed, to restrain movement without pressure on the throat.  Take a look at the ranges here:  for the USA and the UK

Tags: cat lead, cat leash, cat narness, cat safety

Artists down the centuries have included cats in the work, from at least as far back as the ancient Egyptians. Modern poster artists have been no exception, and neither have photographers.

There are many posters of cats suitable for hanging on a wall and a wide variety of these are readily available by clicking on the example illustrated below. Honour your cat today by hanging a poster or a cat art print depicting one of his distant relatives. You can choose from high resolution photographic prints, artists’ portraits of cats, sophisticated posters designed to promote events, and much more.

Tags: cat art, cat posters, posters of cats

A new kitten needs behaviour training. If you allow it to do exactly what it wants, when and where it wants, your life is going to be very difficult and the relationship between you and your kitten could become very fraught.

Maybe you don’t have a young kitten, but have adopted an adult cat. It may be that you have inherited not only the pet but also bad cat behaviour which was not corrected by the previous owner. Training older cats takes longer but with patience and persistence it can be done.

One owner tells of a cat which scratches the furniture and irritatingly attempts to attract attention, and succeeds, by walking over the computer keyboard while she’s typing. Training a cat not to do damaging and annoying things is essential to the peace of the home. So how to stop the little monster from misbehaving, and to turn into a pleasant furry friend?

One trick is the water spray. Get a simple spray bottle of the kind often sold in garden stores. The very cheapest will do; this is not a sophisticated cat discipline method but something very plain and simple. Fill the bottle with water and after allowing time for it to stabilise at room temperature you’ll be ready for ‘battle’. Oh, if you have several such bottles containing different liquids (such as foliar feed for your houseplants) make sure you label it clearly as the “Cat” spray.

Now, whenever the cat misbehaves, speak her name firmly and spray her with water. Do it immediately or the cat won’t associate it with the wrong deed. You only need one short and not too strong burst of spray. You’re not trying to drench the poor animal completely, nor are you trying to hurt the cat. Never aim for the front of the head but for her body or tail.

Be consistent with this and it won’t be long before your cat associates the unpleasantness of the water spray with the misbehavior. She’ll start to think twice about running the risk. Eventually you should be able to drop the spray and just speak your pet’s name harshly. It may in some cases be necessary to return to the spray if misbehaviour recommences, but very often by using this simple method of cat behaviour training the cure is permanent.

Tags: cat behavior, cat behaviour, cat discipline, cat training, kitten training, training older cats

A great gift for a cat lover could be a cat jigsaw puzzle. Here’s one that I’m sure you’ll enjoy, and in terms of cost per hour of enjoyment (including a bit of puzzled frustration from time to time) what could be better than a 600+ piece puzzle.

The example below is humorous. Among puzzles on a wide range of other subjects there are many other cat jigsaw puzzles to be found, ranging from the humourous to the sentimental, on the AllJigsawPuzzles.co.uk web site.   Sizes vary, as does difficulty, with jigsaws from 250 to 1,000 pieces.

As the winter evenings come upon us give yourself or a friend a treat with a cats jigsaw puzzle. Who knows? Your cat might even decide to ‘help’ find the pieces.

Catching the Post

Tags: cat gifts, cat jigsaw puzzle, cat jigsaws, cats jigsaw puzzle

In the UK cat lovers’ magazine “Your Cat” for November 2009 there’s a great story of a cat in the English East Midlands with a serious behaviour problem and risking falling foul of the law. In fact this lad is clearly quite a criminal already.

Jaffa the Siamese has taken to disappearing out through the cat flap and returning with soft toys that he clearly has obtained by entering through other homes’ cat flaps. Quite a crime-prevention problem for the local police station cat to get his claws into.

For more cat stories – and serious cat care articles too – why not buy yourself a subscription to ‘Your Cat‘ magazine, and while you’re at it take another as a gift for a cat-loving friend as well.

Tags: cat story

A truly feral cat is one that has been born wild, and has grown up without human interaction. Its parents or grandparents may once have been domesticated, and may have been lost from a kindly home or have strayed from a environment of neglect or even cruelty. Whatever the family history, by the time we reach the present generation this cat is truly wild.

The question is often asked, can a feral cat be tamed, and the answer is probably not. If caught at a very young age there may be more of a possibility, but once into adulthood the most likely response to human contact will be scratching and hissing. Occasionally, when there is a shortage of food supply in the wild, one will accept food left out by a friendly human and become a little more friendly itself. Even so, the challenge of fully taming a feral cat is likely to be too great.

An abandoned or lost cat that has had previous experience of relationship with humans may possibly be re-domesticated, but if you intend to try, remember that it may take many months of patient love and care before any significant bond is developed with even a semi-feral cat.

Your early steps should include having it sterilized and checked by your vet for disease, especially if you have other pets. You will need to let it adjust to its new and unfamiliar surroundings. Provide a safe place for the cat to stay, maybe in a utility room where it can settle down without too much interference to start with.

Understand that you will probably be faced by aggression if you try to handle it at too early a stage. Allow it to become accustomed to you slowly. Spend time with it several times a day but don’t initially try to go over the top with stroking unless it voluntarily comes to you. Treat this as a slow patient seduction that may take many weeks.

You should be prepared to accept a considerable risk of failure in taming a feral cat, and also understand it is extremely unlikely that your cat will become a cuddly companion in the same way as a cat with which you have build an affectionate bond since kittenhood. Having said that, you could be pleasantly surprised and may wish to make the effort.

Tags: feral cats, taming a feral cat

Humans can be remarkably like cats. Have you ever thought that two people you know would get on really well together? So you’ve introduced them, and aghhh! They can’t stand the sight of one another. Somehow, the chemistry just doesn’t work. You leave it for a while, and then one day you see these two mutually incompatible people in town chatting away happily over a coffee. Oh well, you think, maybe it was just the way I introduced them.

That’s how it often is with cats. Introduce a new cat into your home where one has been established for some time and you never quite know what to expect. You and your family may be excited about the new arrival but your existing bundle of furry friendship might suddenly burst into fiendish feline fury. A cat’s territorial instinct can be very strong. But there’s no reason to give up hope on Day 1.

Your current pet may well hiss and snarl when the new one arrives, but just ignore it. Take your newcomer into a room that the existing occupant doesn’t normally go into and make it comfortable there with all the normal things you’d have for a cat such as bed, litter tray, water bowl, etc.. Close the door and return to Number One. Make sure you then give him or her plenty of attention so as to be clear that your affection has not waned.

At first, number one cat may make quite a fuss on going near the door of the newcomer’s room. Don’t worry, and don’t scold. Wait until this calms down, then gradually allow them to get more accustomed to each other’s scent. A method some people have used successfully is to start feeding them from the same bowls at different times and places, then gradually feed them closer together, in time and distance. Have two feeding bowls, and when each has been used by both cats several times so that each has been repeatedly exposed to the scent of the other, feed them at the same time on opposite sides of the closed door. If there is peace then you can try opening the door.

There may be a certain amount of hissing and suspicion. Territory may still be quite an issue with the first cat. Try playing with them both together, giving equal attention to each. If there’s a fight, put them apart and try again a day or so later. Gradually the ice will be broken. Almost certainly they will eventually become friends. Don’t become concerned if their play is a little rough at first. They’ll settle down.

Well, I say that they’ll settle down. There are cats that for one reason or another unknown to us mere mortal humans steadfastly refuse to settle down to peaceful coexistence. It’s unlikely though that you’ll have such an extreme situation. Your introductions may not be anything like so difficult as I’ve portrayed above. With kittens it is usually much easier,and even with adult cats you may find that you have a very easy transition; the two cats may get on well from the start. Just don’t assume that this will happen, and don’t get over-worried if there are initial inter-feline frictions.

Tags: cat introductions, cat territoriality, introducing a new cat, new cat, new kitten

For some people it is no great problem.  For others it is little short of agony to clean out a cat’s litter box.  The cuddly furry little pet that spends hours lying on a rug cleaning itself can also leave a foul mess, and then cat care takes on a different aspect.

In taking on the care of a cat, however, an owner takes the rough with the smooth.  For the owner of a cat good hygiene is an important responsibility and cannot be avoided without adverse consequences.  Not only does lack of good pet hygiene bring health risks but if you do not keep the litter tray clean you can be sure that your cat will find somewhere else in the house to leave its mess.  In the experience of many this often means ruining a favourite carpet – and sometimes it almost seems as if the little furry f(r)iend thinks, “The more expensive the better”.

Although it is important to keep the litter box clean this does not necessarily mean a complete replacement of its contents every day.  Simply check once or twice a day for lumpy areas and use a plastic trowel or litter scoop to remove the contaminated part of the contents.  Put this into  a small plastic bag for disposal outside with the garbage, and remember to probe around the litter a little to check that there is not more than one area to be removed.

Usually the cat’s urine will have been soaked up by the litter material and should not be a major problem, but if an area is becoming noticeably damp then remove that part of the contents along with the solid lumps.  If you have to remove much of the litter replace it with some fresh material.

Approximately once a week you should replace the litter material  completely and wash  out the tray thoroughly with water and detergent.  Under normal circumstances this should be often enough, although if your cat is unwell it may have to be done more frequently.  Keep checking.  Cleanliness is vital to the health of your cat.

Tags: cat hygiene, cat litter, litter box, litter tray

There are four main ways of acquiring a kitten.  Some families will buy one from a local pet store. Alternatively, and especially if a specific breed is wanted, you might make the purchase from a specialist cat breeder.

Others will prefer to adopt a kitten from a family home where there more in a litter than they wish to keep themselves.  Finally, don’t rule out the possibility of adopting a kitten from a rescue home or animal shelter.

Remember to check that the kitten is clean and healthy.  A good owner or breeder will have cared for it well, as will a reputable and well-managed shelter during the time it has been with them. If possible, although at a cat rescue centre this would be unlikely, enquire whether there is any risk of genetic diseases or whether the kitten is known to have any special needs.

Such problems may not prevent you from adopting a cat, but you should preferably be aware in advance of what you are taking on in terms of time, cost and emotion.  Your kitten’s diet may, for example, mean the need to spend more than usually anticipated for specially formulated and expensive cat food. Make sure, as best you can, that you’re not taking on more of a financial burden than you can sustain.

In addition to all these factors, remember that although kittens can be gentle and playful they can also do damage around the house.  Be prepared for this.  Be ready to invest time, patience and love into training your kitten as it grows.  And yes, from the very beginning remember that the little ball of furry feline fluff that first arrives will eventually grow to be a much larger cat.  Think ahead.

Tags: adopting a kitten, buying a kitten, kitten, kitten diet

Choosing food for a pet can be difficult, and whether or not he or she will like the flavour can be fairly well unpredictable.  From the point of view of flavour, when selecting a brand of cat food you’ll simply have to try it and see.  This, of course, assumes that you’re going to feed your cat canned food rather than provide it fresh and homemade made from left-over scraps such as chicken.

There are many factors to consider, and in our links below we give some suggestions for other sources of information to allow you to think about the subject more broadly than is possible here.

Commercially available cat foods come either in dry or wet form.  The dry foods usually contain components of both animal and vegetable origin.  In addition to flavour many owners will need to take careful account of cost.  Some makes can be very expensive.  The most important factor, however, is nutritional value.

It has to be remembered that cats are carnivores.  In cat food protein content is key.  Their digestive system is not designed to process vegetable matter efficiently, so that even though protein can be obtained from vegetable sources a cat will not digest it to the same extent as the animal proteins in meat to which it is adapted.

If you are looking at cat foods which are pre-prepared then you should examine the ingredients list on the package and ensure that not only is there a substantial proportion of protein from meat but also important components such as Vitamins A and B.  Be aware of the labelling standards in your particular legal jurisdiction. There can for example be precise rules about the meaning of words like food, formula and flavour which control the minimum amounts of an ingredient that must by law be present in a pet food.

Do not overfeed with carbohydrates.  These do not suit their metabolism and could result in obesity, which is said to be a problem with anything up to 35% of domestic pet cats.  You might also be well advised to avoid feeding your cat canned food containing a lot of preservatives.

If your animal is seriously under or over the normal weight for its age and breed, before you feed your cat diet food you should consult a properly qualified vet.  The cause may simply be one of diet, but there could also be an underlying health problem which you might make worse without professional advice.

Some Useful Links:
http://cats.about.com/od/whyfoodisimportant/a/foodfitforacat.htm
http://www.consumersearch.com/cat-food/review

Tags: cat canned food, cat diet food, cat food, cat food protein, feeding cats, food for cat, homemade cat food