Cats are true carnivores, and therefore must eat actual meat and not meat substitutes, to survive and be healthy. Commercial cat food consists mostly of animal products. However, it is supplemented with some grain filler and premium cat food also contains added vitamins and minerals.
There are two main groups of cat food, dry cat food and wet cat food. The debate over which one is best for your cat goes on, as some owners worry that their cat will not get enough water when eating dry cat food. Dry cat food certainly wins over in convenience to wet cat food. There are also different diet cat foods for those cats with specific medical conditions e.g. diabetic cat food or hypoallergenic cat food.
For any cat owner, feeding their cat can often be difficult, as cats are well known for being fussy eaters. So balancing your cats health needs with what they will eat, can often be a task. However, there is now so much choice available to cat owners to tempt the fussiest feline or those with health issues.
One of the leading brands of cat food on the market is Hills Science diet cat food or Hills prescription diet cat food. Many fussy cats can find one flavor of biscuit or wet food that they like and their range includes many types of foods for specific requirements.
Oral disease is one of the most common health problems in adult cats. Plaque is the main cause of oral disease. As plaque builds up on the teeth and around the gums, bacteria irritates gum tissue and can lead to infection. If not treated, it can lead to serious disease of the liver and heart.
Specially formulated foods can help keep your cats teeth clean and healthy. They work by helping scrape debris off your cat’s teeth. Hill’s science Diet oral care offers just such a cat food.
Cats that are obese can suffer from respiratory problems, diabetes, arthritis and heart disease. For this reason you need to consider very carefully your cats diet. If your vet suggests you start your cat on a complete weight loss program, he will also suggest several specially formulated cat foods for your cat.
There are now several good dry cat foods available such as Hill’s light cat food, Royal Canin or Blue cat food. These all have restricted calories and fat, with the proper amounts of fatty acids, protein, vitamins and minerals to keep your cat healthy while they are losing weight. They also have the advantage of being easy to measure and monitor the exact amount your cat gets.
Hairballs are a very common problem with cats, especially if they don’t have access to grass, have long coats or like to constantly clean themselves. For this reason, a diet that is high in fiber can help your cat pass existing hairballs and help prevent new ones forming. Again Science plan and Royal Canin offer hairball control cat foods.
Another common ailment in cats is urinary infections. Symptoms include inappropriate urination in places other than the garden or litter box. Nutrition is an important factor in treating and preventing urinary problems. The proper balance of nutrients helps maintain proper pH levels. Purina ProPlan along with plenty of drinking water offer the correct balance for your cat.
Older cats often require a special diet. Senior cats sometimes do not digest, and thus absorb fat, as well as younger cats. This means that older cats need to consume fat that is more digest able to get the same amount of energy. There are now many brands of cat food on the market for senior cats including, Natural Choice, Science Diet for seniors and Royal Canin.
Cats are best fed twice per day, giving small cat treats between meals if necessary. If your cat does not like a diet of biscuits, there are plenty of good wet cat foods available. Even then if your cat refuses to eat a commercial diet, you may be able to tempt it with cooked chicken and other meats, or the occasional tuna meal (not in brine). These can be gradually mixed in with brand cat foods to get your feline used to other foods.
It is well worth trying several different brands and flavors for your cat. Even choosing a cat food in gravy or jelly can make a difference. Whichever cat food your cat chooses make sure it is a good quality cat food as some cheap cat foods do not offer the recommended nutrients for your cats health. If in doubt seek information from your local veterinary nurse or surgery.
Some cat owners consider it cruel to have their cats neutered or spayed. This could not be further from the truth and it is actually cruel not to have this done. This is not only my view but that held by many cat charities around the world. Many will not allow one of their cats to be homed unless the new owner agrees to have the kitten or cat neutered or spayed within a specific time scale.
Some cat owners may find it hard to accept but the world is over populated by cats. Without some form of neutering program there would many thousands more unwanted cats roaming the streets and countryside in search of food. Cat organizations realise this and often support neutering campaigns especially among the feral cat population. The alternative is a mass cull which no cat lover would want although this is the fate of a large number of feral cats worldwide.
As for the domestic cat there are several reasons to get your cat neutered or spayed. If you own a Queen the last thing you will want is a litter of kitten which you will have to find homes for. Experts also believe that neutered cats make better pets as after the operation they tend to lose some of their aggressive spirit. Neutered cats also tend to live a longer and healthier life. Because they tend to fight other cats less they also do not pick up so many scratches and injuries that can lead to expensive visits to the vets.
Unneutered cats also tend to wander further from home and can be far more possessive about their territory. This can lead to such annoying habits as regular “spraying” both inside and outside the home as the cat marks its territory. The operation itself is not complicated although it is done under a general anaesthetic. In the case of the female the operation is called an ovariohysterectomy. This involves the removal of part of the cats uterus and ovaries. The Cat will have to stay at the vets overnight but will normally be back to normal in a few days. For the toms the operation involves the removal of the testicles and again they recover quite quickly and are usually allowed home the same day.
Ideally for the male the best time for the operation is when the cat is about six months old but no earlier. There is an old wives tale that female cats should be allowed to have one litter before they are spayed. This is rubbish and there is no evidence to support this. A female cat normally reaches sexual maturity between 6 and nine months and should be spayed then
If you have owned a cat, especially one of the long hired varieties you will be familiar with the problems of hairballs. All cats suffer from them to a lesser or greater degree but are a particular concern to the owners of long haired cats.
Long Haired cats are very prone to hairballs
The basic problem is that as the cat cleans itself it licks its fur and as a result swallows large quantities of its own hair. This slowly works its way down into its digestive system. Hopefully it will work its way through the system and be evacuated in the normal way. However, some will remain in the stomach and eventually this will collect with other undigested hair and form into a ball of matted cat hair. Sometimes this ball can grow quite large and become a threat to the cats’ health and welfare.
One of the first signs that a cat is suffering from hair balls is that it will go off of its food. Normally before the hairball becomes a serious problem the cat will regurgitate the hairball and cough it up. When it is doing this is can make a very harsh rasping, almost choking noise which can be quite alarming the first time your hear it but once the cat has spat the hairball out it will be fine.
It becomes more serious when the hairball gets lodged in the cats’ stomach and just continues to grow. The signs of this apart from loss of appetite are that the cat will become constipated and may begin generally neglecting themselves and their grooming. At this stage there is only one option and the pet has to be taken to the vets to have the hairball surgically removed. This is not a very pleasant experience for the cat or your wallet, operations do not come cheap.
Regular grooming using a cat grooming rake will remove a lot of the dead and loose hair and this goes a long way to preventing the build-up of hairballs. This is especially important when your cat is moulting, When I first got my cat he hated being groomed but now he loves it and rolls over in anticipation when I get the brush out. It is amazing the amount of hair that I get off of him. It is far better to have the hair on the brush than his tummy.
If your cat is particularly prone to hairballs there are some cat food products which are designed to help the digestion of the hair through the system thus preventing the build-up of cat hair inside the stomach. I have not used any these so I do not know how effective they are.
If either a cat or a dog has always been used to having the other around for a long time there is no problem. Dogs and cats are quite capable of living happily together but if you want to introduce one into a home were the other has up till then been the sole pet then you need to do it carefully.
In time cats and dogs often will become firm friends and even play and sleep together. However, initially there will be some problems unless you carefully plan how to introduce them to each other.
Cats and dogs have by nature different instincts, dogs in most cases being natural hunters and pack animals whilst cats are more stalkers and solitary creatures. Some people will tell you that you can introduce a cat into a dogs home but not visa versa. There seems very little evidence to support this providing you approach it in the right manner. Probably because of their playful nature it is usually easier to bring together younger animals. Even after a short time puppies and kittens will start playing together but with older animals it will take more time.
One big mistake is to try and bring the new pets together by picking one up and putting it face to face with the other. This will only produce fear and or aggression. Simply place the new animal in a room and allow the “resident” animal to approach the newcomer. Needless to say you will need to keep a watchful eye on the process.
Smell can play an important part in getting the two pets to accept each other. One idea is to take an item that one of the pets uses and hence contains its smell and place it in the sleeping basket of the other animal. In this way they will quickly get used to each others smells.
For successful integration it is worth considering the concept of like with like. A young kitten can make an older dogs life a misery and equally a young playful puppy will do little fore the calm of the older cat.
These kittens like the dog
If you use common sense in selecting the new animal so that it is likely to be compatible with your resident pet all should go well. For the first few week however, you will need to keep a watchful eye on the situation. At best they will become firm friends at worst they will tolerate each other.
Alright so it is not the end of the world and it is no reflection on the cleanliness of your cat or your home if your cat gets fleas. All the same you will have to do something about it because otherwise it can become most unpleasant both for the cat as well as you and your family.
A cat that is suffering from fleas will scratch and claw itself in an attempt to get rid of the pests. In bad cases it might even start ripping hair or flesh off of itself. It is not only the cat who will suffer because fleas are quite happy to move off of the cat and attach themselves to humans and their furniture. If you let this go untreated it will not be long before all your family are scratching and friends and relatives stop calling.
If you give your cat regular brushing you should be able to spot if the little varmints have arrived. Look closely at the cat hairs that come off the brush and if there are any fleas you should be able to see them.
Prevention is far better than cure and there are two good methods to prevent an infestation. The first is to get a flea collar for your cat. The have been impregnated with a chemical to control and repel the fleas. They are popular with cat owners but unfortunately not all cats like wearing collars. In fact at the last count my cat had managed to lose 6 collars that I had fitted on him. IT is a fine line between fitting the collar so that it will not slip out of it and having it so tight that the animal has trouble breathing.
Probably the best method to keep your cat free of fleas today is a commercial treatment called Frontline. This is very simple to apply, you simply the vial it comes in and apply to the nape of the cats neck. Ideally you should do this once a month and this will keep your cat flea free. One tip I will pass on is that whilst you can purchase Frontline from some chemists or Vets it is much cheaper to buy online. To find suppliers just go to the search engines and type in the product name.
An older friend of mine tells me that at one time the recommended treatment to rid a cat of fleas was to give it what was called a flea bath. This apparently involved putting the cat into the sink which contained water and soft soap. I do not think my cat would have thought very much of that and I can imagine what a mess there would have been. Thank goodness for Frontline
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