This article is being written at the end of December.  At this time of year many families take on a new pet.  Children clamour for a pet as a Christmas gift and all too often kittens are bought without adequate thought as to the long-term consquences.  If that has already happened in your house then some of what I’m about to write might come too late, but here goes anyway. (And the points below apply whatever the time of year)

Think before you buy. Never buy a kitten or adopt a cat on an impulse without thinking through the implications.  To take on the care of a dependent animal is a heavy commitment. Don’t do it lightly.  There’s going to be far more to deal with than those cuddly moments with a gentle furry friend.

Give attention to training. Give close attention to the training of your new pet.  It needs to know what are the boundaries of its behaviour. Invest time and patience in teaching it standards of conduct that will make your companionship a truly happy experience.

Feed your cat well – without over-feeding. Learn the principles of cat nutrition. Ensure that your pet is properly nourished so as to keep it healthy and full of vitality. Be very careful, though, to avoid over-feeding; far too many pet cats become obese with long-term damage to their health.

Neuter your cat. Unless you have a well-considered plan for deliberate breeding from your cat, have it neutered, whether male or female.  Unwanted litter with a female and tom-cat behaviour with a male can make life very difficult.

Keep your cat clean. Hygeine is one of the principal responsibilities of a cat owner.  Two areas stand out as of special importance – grooming and the litter box.  Short-haired cats will need less human grooming attention. Training in the use of the litter tray is important for cats; training in regular cleaning out of the litter tray is essential for humans.

Consider cat safety. Most cats are allowed outdoors unattended without problems.  I’ve noticed in recent months, however, that especially in the United States (in line with an increasingly zero-risk approach to life) there appears to be a movement toward being more protective and keeping cats indoors.  Personally I don’t agree with this, except possibly in highly urban environments where there is serious risk from intensive road traffic or with very expensive breeds where there is a significant risk of theft. In such cases the use of a leash or an outdoor pen might be advisable.  Generally, though, cats are very capable of taking care of themselves and don’t need pampering.

Don’t skimp on the Vet’s Fees. Most certainly it is a good thing to learn the basics of cat health, animal first aid and DIY treatments for minor ailments, but don’t skimp on veterinary fees.  And don’t delay treatment for serious conditions or the pain both to your pet and to your bank account could get much worse.

Tags: cat care, cat equipment, cat health, cat safety, cat training

As is indicated by its name the Burmese cat originated in Burma (often known today as Myanmar) and was brought to the West in the years immediately before the 2nd World War. After the war the look of the breed diverged on opposite sides of the Atlantic so that now there are European Burmese and American Burmese cats. Although the ordinary cat lover might often be hard pressed to tell the difference the expert breeders and show judges have long debated the merits and demerits of the two.

The breed is good around people and enjoys being in a home with more than one cat.  The following YouTube video clip shows the playfulness of Burmese kittens.  I liked this when I saw it but have so far been unable to identify its producer or I would give them credit.

A Burmese cat is sleek and smooth which from the point of view of the owner is extremely convenient as its glossy coat needs little or no grooming by human hand. The Burmese has been described as the ultimate low maintenance cat. Although sleek and medium-sized people are often surprised at the weight of a Burmese as they tend to be very muscular. Colour varies from platinum and champagne to chocolate brown, and the eyes are often bright yellow or gold.

Burmese Cat Calendar from Amazon.com

Burmese Cats 2011 Square 12X12 Wall Calendar (Multilingual Edition) $11.69 Known to shadow their owners wherever they go, Burmese Cats relish the attention and affection people give them and they return the favor generously. A Burmese is truly an extrovert. Fans of this fabulous breed will cherish this Burmese Cats wall calendar...

UK visitors to our site can find Burmese cat calendarson Amazon.co.uk.

Tags: Burmese cat, cat breeds, cat video

I came acros this excellent article on care for a mother cat and its kittens, published yesterday on vetinfo.com.  I hope you find it useful.

Helping Mother Cats Take Care of Kittens
Vetinfo.com, 15 Dec 2009
“Most mother cats have the natural instinct to care for their kittens after birth. However, while the mother cat means well, sometimes she cannot handle all of her kittens or she is at a loss for how best to do it. …..”

Tags: cat care, kittens, mother cats

Today, with pet beds on my mind, I thought that instead of a lengthy piece from myself I’d put together one or two links to useful cat bed articles written by others. Oh, but first I’ll add in a short video that might generate some good ideas.

Finally, as we’re in the thick of the gift-buying season, I thought you might want to treat your pet to a special bed. You can of course go to either our UK or USA cat store and see wide selections but for convenience I’m going to add a few possibilities from Amazon at the foot of this post.

And here’s the You Tube video I promised: How to Keep Your Cat Healthy : Determine which Cat Bed is Right for Your Cat

Understand the three types of cat beds: the cat tree house, soft bed and the cat tree in thisfree video. Expert: Dr. Adrienne Mulligan Bio: Dr. Adrienne Mulligan graduated from veterinary school at North Carolina State University in 1993, and now owns the Camp Verde Veterinary Clinic in Camp Verde, Arizona. Filmmaker: Chuck Tyler

In my first paragraph I said I’d put up links to some articles by other people. On looking through the ones that I had listed, however, I realised that most of them said very little that was useful – more ads than ideas. Here, however, is a recent piece that is worth reading, especially for the points made in its second and third paragraphs:

Cat Beds and Other Cat Necessities
From a blog by Caroline Stephenson, 3 Dec 2009
….. don’t undermine the tastes of your cat if they don’t sleep on it often at first, or even if they don’t sleep on it at all. Don’t worry – they will find out what is comfortable for them …..

Finally, as promised, I’m putting below a few suggestions taken from our Amazon.com data-feed. Apologies to our non-American visitors as shipping outside the US might be difficult or expensive. However, don’t forget that we have two online stores on this site: CatStore UK and CatStore USA. In both of them payment and delivery is serviced by Amazon – from their facilities on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

Coolaroo Elevated Pet Bed Replacement Cover, Green The original Coolaroo Pet Bed replacement cover for large beds 51.5" x 31.5"....

Sentry HC Good Behavior Pheromone Cat Collar 15-Inch $9.00 Sentry HC Good Behavior Pheromone Collar for Cats Stress can cause inappropriate behaviors in anybody. If you’re a cat, this translates to excessive meowing, destructive behavior, and marking where those “marks” don’t belong. The Sentry® HC Good Behavior™ Pheromone Collar for Cats releases calming pheromones, similar to those released by a mother cat to comfort her kitt...

Slumber Pet Thermal Cat Mat - 22 L x 18 1/2 W - GRAY $9.99 Our Thermal Cat Mat keeps cats warm and comfortable without the use of electricity. This is also a perfect size for puppies and small dogs. This cozy mat features a lightweight core that actually reflects pets own body heat back to the animal. Provides soothing comfort to cats, kittens,puppies, aging pets, nursing females, or animals recovering from illness or injury. Machine-washable pad features...

Tags: cat beds, cat care, cat equipment, cat tree, cat tree house, pet beds

For many families a kitten from the litter born next door, of no particular breed, is quite enough.  Other people like to have a cat of known breed, often because a friend or relative has one and they’ve been won over by its appearance and/or personality.

There is vast range of breeds and families of breeds to choose from. Information on these is not difficult to come by.  Many breeds have societies devoted to them; many have extensive single-breed web sites; and the number of books is legion.

There are many books to help you in your search to find what breed of cat will best suit your personality, and your purse.  A convenient “Kitten Buyers’ Guide” for the UK is published periodically in “Your Cat” magazine, the November 2009 issue being the latest.

An excellent book that I bought recently is Encyclopedia Of Catsby Candida Frith-Macdonald. It is available from Amazon.com by clicking the link above. Described as a “comprehensive guide to all world breeds”, and with more than a 1,000 photographic images, this 384-page book published in 2008 is highly informative and easy to read.

(UK visitors: As of the date of writing this post the British edition of this book appears to be out of print. However, here is a range of alternative cat encyclopediasavailable from Amazon.co.uk).

Tags: cat breeds, cat magazine, kitten buyers guide, your cat

There are many kinds of cat food. Nutrition experts have a great deal to offer in helping us to consider the respective merits of cat food food ingredients and to determine which will be the best canned food for our pets.  We have dealt with this subject before in earlier blog posts but it is so important, especially in connection with cat diet foods, that when I came across a valuable article on another pet care blog this morning I felt that I should give my readers here a link to it.

Nutritional Qualities of Typical Cat Food Ingredients

Danger of Diet Cat Food and Fillers. Weight control cat food ingredients make a cat feel fuller. The problem is these high-carbohydrate ingredients reduce the amount of protein a cat ingests. …

The article’s insistence on the importance of animal protein and vitamins, and the dangers of so-called special diet cat foods stuffed with carbohydrate, should be noted and acted on by all cat carers.

The treatment of cats when they are ill can be quite a problem for many owners.  Anyone who has tried to get medicine into a reluctant kitten can testify as to how difficult it can be.  A cat will struggle hard and long to prevent you getting anything down his throat that he doesn’t fancy.  Come to think of it I remember one of my children being a bit like that as well!

So how can it be done.  One approach is to take a cat pill, powder it fine, and mix it in with some of her favourite wet cat food.  Usually this will work, and you pet will think she’s been given a special treat without realising that she’s been tricked into taking medicine. A similar approach can be taken with the contents of capsules.

If this doesn’t work, possibly because you cat recognises a change in flavour, you may need to try stronger tactics.  Your vet may be able to supply you with a pill shooter which gently but firmly shoots the pill into the back of the throat, from where hopefully it is swallowed.  Or you may have to hold her head firmly, open her mouth and manual flick the pill into the back of her throat.  Once the pill is in there, by either of those methods, you should hold the cat’s mouth closed for a few moments and almost certainly the medicine will be swallowed.

It’s not always easy, and in extreme cases you may need to take further advice from your vet.  But whatever you do, remember that the treatment of cat diseases is important and can be urgent.  Always make sure that your pet takes the medication prescribed.

Tags: cat medication, cat medicine, cat pill, cat treatment, treatment of cats

Is there such a thing as a vegetarian cat?  Well certainly there are cats which are fed by their owners with non-meat foods, but this is to go against the basic nature of the animal.

It must be remembered that a cat is by nature a hunter.  Its most ‘natural’ food is a small mammal or bird that it has caught itself.  Outdoor cats will at least to some extent provide for themselves in this way.  Indoor cats, though, do need to be fed meat.

It might, of course, seem possible to provide vegetable protein in a cat’s food just as can be done for a dog.  This simply does not work.  A cat’s digestive system does not handle vegetable protein well.  It must have meat.  Also, it is only in meat that the essential protein material, taurine, can be provided.  A    cat is an “obligate carnivore” and to force it to be anything else is an act of considerable unkindness.

In the home environment even meat is not enough, however.  The hunter catches its prey and devours not only flesh but also fur, feathers and bone.  In what is to the cat an artificial environment these must be replaced.  Well-formulated dry foods provide the combination of fibre and other material including trace elements that is missing from meat-only food

So in summary, the message is, do not attempt to make your cat a vegetarian, and provide it with a balanced mix of wet meaty and dry fibrous foods which between them approximate to what ideally they would get from hunting in the wild.

Tags: cat diet, cat food, obligate carnivore