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

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 $7.89 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

Cats are fundamentally very clean animals. They put a lot of effort into grooming themselves. An occasionally, maybe weekly, brushing will help it and also strengthen the bond between pet and owner. If a short-haired cat becomes seriously dirty and unkempt there is almost certainly something wrong with its health and you should see your vet. Long-haired breeds of cat, however, do need some assistance with grooming and should be brushed regularly as a matter of routine.

While grooming your cat take notice of its skin condition. Look out for obvious irritations and sores. You might identify a disease problem early by this means and be able to prevent it getting worse.  Always brush the hair in the direction of its growth, from head to tail.  Never brush its face or paws.

There are some cats that do not like a brush.  They will often, however, accept a cat grooming glove.  Most that are groomed with a brush from being small kittens will enjoy the experience.

Don’t only take note of the skin condition.  Look also at your cat’s eyes, ears, teeth and claws while you have thins close up opportunity. Once again you might well discover health problems at an early stage.

Grooming is an important aspect of practical cat care.  For the good of your pet’s health grooming should be done regularly.  It is also one of the great opportunities to strengthen the bond between yourself and your feline friend.

Tags: care of cat, cat care, cat grooming

In earlier articles on this blog we’ve mentioned litter trays several times.  The traditional kind of litter box was just an open tray filled with sand.  Eventually more absorbent materials came into vogue, that not only soaked up the moisture but also much of the odour.

This was quite an advance over having a wad of old newspaper on a patch of linoleum, but even so for many cats this was not ideal.  Some seem very concerned about their privacy, and therefore the location of the tray had to be chosen with care.    Then came the enclosed litter box came into use.  This is a box with a roof to it, and a cat flap entrance through which the sensitive feline can go, do what it has to do, and emerge with dignity intact.

For a range of litter trays and boxes take a look at our CatCarePlus.com CatStore.

Tags: cat care, cats, litter box, litter tray

A responsible cat owner will always want to protect the health of the family pet.  Especially where there are children people often treat their cat as a member of the family.  Keeping it healthy and treating it well when ill are seen as solemn responsibilities.

In this article we will look at a few starting points for your cats health. As with humans an important  influence on health is diet, and not only the nature and quality of food but also its quantity

Feline obesity is a major problem in the ‘developed’ countries of the world, where both people and the their animals have become far too prone to eating far too much of the wrong kinds of food.  In the UK, for example, it has been estimated that almost 35% of cats are overweight

Obesity can lead to heart disease, especially as your pet ages.  It is important to manage the quality, quantity and frequency of feeding a cat in this situation.  Get advice from your vet as to all three of these points.  The necessary mix of nutrient material can be crucial to health,and even to survival, and it could be very different from what you might yourself expect.

Whilst shorthaired cats can groom themselves, those with longer hair often need some help.  Keeping your cat’s hair clean and in good condition is important to its health.  Try to give it a good brush on at least a weekly basis.  Incidentally, this can be an excellent way to create an affectionate bond between you and your cat.

Cat dentistry can become necessary.  Mouth infections are not rare.  Even more common, in female cats, are unwanted pregnancies. Unless you especially want a litter of kittens, it is good practice to have your kitten neutered.  Repeated litters of unwanted kittens are not good either for you, the cat, or the kittens themselves.  Remember also that following a sterilisation your cat may need an adjustment to her diet, and you should check this with the vet who does the operation.

Many people prefer to remove the claws of pet cats so as avoid risk of scratches both to humans and to their furniture.  In many countries, however, this is now an illegal practice and hopefully will become so more widely.  Claws are an inherent part of being a cat, and declawing is an attack on its ‘cattiness’.  It is done solely for the convenience of a human owner, with no benefit to the animal itself.

Providing somewhere for your cat to deposit its urine and faeces other than on a corner of your carpet is vital both for your health and hers.  A litter box or tray is a must. However, this does need to be ket clean.  Contaminated areas of litter should be removed daily and all of it replaced weekly.  Be sure to use litter material which is highly absorbent and also, especially if your cat is prone to attacks of feline asthma, make sure that it is not too dusty.

As with small children you should be careful what you leave lying around in the house. Poisonous liquids especially should be away from access even by an adventurous kitten.  You may also be well advised to check on the safety of your houseplants and their fruits.

Cats tend to bond strongly to their location.  Removal to another town or city, or example, can be quite traumatic. Use a cat carrier to transport your pet, and your vet should be able to recommend a mild sedative if he considers it appropriate.

Don’t forget to have your kitten immunised against the more common cat diseases, especially if it is not being kept totally indoors.  Infections pass quickly from cat to cat.  Take advice from your vet and remember that although there is a cost to this, the price of ignoring these precautions can be very much higher, quite apart from the unnecessary suffering that can be caused to your cat

Tags: cat care, cat cealth, cat diet, cat neutering, cat sterilisation, cat sterilization, looking after cats, looking after kittens

Last month we mentioned a story about a cat that developed a practice of slipping in through other people’s insecure cat flaps, stealing soft toys and bringing them home.

It should have occurred to me at the time that our readers might want to think about how to prevent anything similar happening to them. How do you provided a way for your own cat to come and go without opening your house to all the unwanted feline visitors in the neighbourhood?

Well surely the answer is obvious. When you yourself go in and out of your house you use a key. So why not give a key to your cat? Are you afraid she’ll lose it?

Hmm! Can the cat reach the keyhole and turn the lock to let herself in through the door? No, of course not. However there is a way. Install a lockable cat flap. But then, you ask, how will the cat lock and unlock this secure cat flap as it comes and goes?

Answer: a magnetic or infra-red triggered lock.

Lockable cat flaps are available which unlock in response to a magnet or miniature infra-red emitter attached to your cat’s collar as he or she approaches. Any other cat trying to get in without the required collar attachment will find itself firmly excluded.

Lockable cat flap sources: Click on the cat flap above to see a selection from PetsAtHome in the UK, or click here for cat flapsat Amazon.com.

Tags: cat care, cat flaps