Pet Haven

Many of us are fortunate to watch our cats grow old, even though it is difficult for many to outlive their pets; the joy of the years together makes it all worthwhile. Now we want to give our senior cat the best care we can give. What should that include and what do you need to watch out for?

1. Dental Care
2. Arthritis
3. Hearing Loss
4. Vision Loss
5. Aches and Pains
6. Weakened Immune System
7. Weight Management
8. Nutritional Supplements

Of course our cats have a hard time letting us know when something hurts, so you have to practice awareness and pay attention to anything out of the ordinary. Do not hesitate to take your cat to the Vet for a seemingly unimportant symptom; nothing is unimportant when it comes to your aging cat.

A feral cat's average life expectancy is not even 2 years. So please, if you have the chance, take the time and patience and have a heart for a feral kitten or cat.

There are three different levels of feral cats. Nearly every feral cat can be tamed with enough time and patience.

Level 1

Are the real feral kitten and feral cat. These are the cats that are very scared of humans and will run from you. If cornered they will hiss and spit, scratch and bite. These animals appear almost impossible to be domesticated. They will run from you or if cornered, they probably will hiss, growl, scratch, and even bite you. Don't give up; it IS possible to tame them!

Level 2

Are the kittens and cats that lost their home or owners and ended up living on the streets. They will appear shy and take off once you get close, but usually they won't run far. They seem to be always on guard and very nervous. Try to bribe them with a piece of food and you will see that the cat will slowly change her demeanor and soon will come running when you come around.

Level 3

Are the kittens and cats that left home on their own due to abuse. All they have learned is to be scared of humans, but have no experience to survive by themselves. There is a good chance that these cats can be tamed, depending on the severity of the abuse. They might display some odd behavior for the rest of their lives.

What could be better than one kitty?  Why two kitties of course!  Whereas you probably wouldn’t even consider the possibility of buying two puppies at the same time, buying your kittens in pairs isn’t such a bad idea.  They’re tiny, they don’t eat much, or take up much space, and they won’t grow to a very large size.  As cats are territorial, if you think that it’s possible that in the future you would like to have more than one cat, the best time to bring a second cat into your home is at the same time you bring in the first!  This way, they both arrive on the same time and neither of them has territorial rights.  They will probably have a power struggle but depending on their individual personalities the power is likely to shift between them as the years go by.

The most expensive thing about buying your kittens by the pair is the medical bills.  The initial injections plus spaying is going to set you back a fair bit, but if you can budget a little in advance for this, it’ll help when the time comes to buy the kittens and start the necessary first veterinary clinic visits.  Although there’s a time frame when it’s best to have your cats spayed, if you have both male and female, you can’t afford to leave it too long or you may end up with more than 2 felines on your sofa!  When your kittens have their first check-up at the veterinary clinic, which ought to be within a few days of you bringing the kitten home, consult with your veterinary about when you should spay the queen.  It’s also possible that the person you bought the kittens from has their gender wrong and so the veterinary will also be able to confirm whether or not you have what you thought you had!

Aside from this initial expense, two kittens will be twice as entertaining to watch, and they will also amuse each other as well as stop each other from being lonely.  They will grow together and although they will still get into mischief, they are more likely to chase each other around than they are to destroy furniture out of boredom.

Have you ever wondered when a cat does a stiff-legged half jump against your leg?

In kitty language that means “Hello there! What are you up to?”

Have you ever wondered why a cat uses the litter box?

In their natural habitat cats protect themselves by hiding their feces from potential predator or intruding competition. Domesticated cats have kept this trade up to this day, thank goodness.

Have you ever wondered what makes a cat purr?

You guessed it: the first reason is that the cat feels goooooood.

Another reason is to let others know that they are no danger to them.

Some cats do purr when they are hurt or scared. Do not mistaken this as the cat being content!

Picar comes from the Spanish verb picar, which means to itch, however it does more to scratch the owners equilibrium than anything else, as pica is the name given to cats that eat non-food items. Whilst it can be annoying as the cat will destroy bedding blankets, and plants it has more serious implications. Cats are carnivores, the fibres of blankets have nothing to offer the cat in terms of nutrition, and they can block the digestive tract much as a hairball can. To say nothing of the fact that eating through a live wire can be fatal!

It is not actually known why some cats are more prone to this habit than others, the Oriental breeds often have a compulsions to eat non edible substances often fibre or wool. This would suggest that the behaviour is genetic rather than learned. Some behaviourists and veterinarians believe that it starts as a comfort thing when the kitten are weaned too early or too abruptly, much like a toddler and a comfort blanket.  They think that the sucking develops into chewing and then digesting.

Some others think that the diet is lacking in an essential nutrient and the cat is driven to eat other things to compensate. It is also possible that the behaviour is purely psychologically based a bored cat trying to make a diversion, or a cat behaving neurotically because of stress.

To complicate already muddy waters, some illnesses such as pancreatitis

Can make a cat eat odd things. In short it is better to have the cat looked over by your veterinarian before you attempt to deter him. The theory behind that is that a tired cat is less likely to eat your clothes. Making sure that has plenty of toys whilst you are away is also productive on the theory that a bored cat is morel likely to eat things it should not.

However non of these things are going to work if it is a dietary deficiency the cat is suffering from. Some cat owners report that adding a small amount of fibres to the food deters a cat. Lanolin is the oil found in wool and some owners report that adding a little lanolin to the food helps.

Some owners have tried to spray the clothes with pepper, or another smell to deter the cats and then another smell such as air freshener as the cat will then associate that smell with something he should not do. That may well deter him from eating sweaters but what happens when he starts eating towels instead?

The first step is to rule out medical causes. If the behaviour is genetic then you are going to have less luck in changing the behaviour. However if the behaviour is learnt then with patience it can be changed.

For many years, cat treatments were simply extensions of treatment given to dogs.  Cat disorders of the skin, the eyes, the ears, the circulatory, respiratory, urinary, digestive, nervous, skeletal, and the blood, as well as contagious cat diseases and external and internal parasites have been extensively studied.

Despite this, cats die because their ailments become fatal before their general conditions changes sufficiently to reveal any symptoms of illness and  many symptoms used in diagnosing cat ailments are not definitive for given disorders. Signs of illness include general symptoms such as a dull coat, lack of appetite, and listlessness. Diarrhea may be a result of serious illness or simply reflect a change in diet. Tearing of the eyes, especially when accompanied by sneezing, may indicate conjunctivitis or a cold. Since, however, sneezing is the cat's only mechanism for blowing its nose, not all sneezing indicates illness.

Open sores, usually at the base of the ear, around the mouth, or on the toes, can point to an ear mite or a ringworm infection or to a fight with another animal.

Cats are attacked by several kinds of external and internal parasites. External parasites are often found in kittens, although they can occur in adults. Frequently they are fleas, but lice, ticks, and ear mites occur. Internal parasites include roundworms, tapeworms, and protozoan coccidia. Once diagnosed all these diseases are easy to treat successfully.

Panleucopenia, often called feline distemper, is the best-known viral disease in cats. Highly contagious, with a high mortality rate, it is most evident in young cats. Vaccines are effective protective measures. Rabies is less of a problem with cats than with dogs, but all free-roaming cats should be vaccinated. Vaccines have also been developed for other feline diseases, including feline leukemia, pneumonitis (chlamydiosis), viral rhinotracheitis (cat influenza), and calicivirus infections.

Cats permitted to wander outdoors are exposed to a variety of hazards, including accidents, attacks from other animals, poisoning, fleas and other parasites, and contagious diseases such as feline acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Cats that kill and eat rodents and other small animals can become infected with the parasitic protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, which can be transmitted to humans and causes the disease toxoplasmosis.