Kittens 'n Things

Like you, your cat “needs” certain things to help with his growth and development; although kitty’s actual needs might not specifically coincide with yours.

For starters, you and your cat need food.

Thus, it is up to you to watch not just what you eat, but to also make sure kitty has a healthy diet.

And if you’re not careful, you might find your kitty is a bit greedy when it comes to eating that fish morsel.

If that’s the case, you’re the one who has to “put on the brakes” when kitty “comes to the table!”

For instance, if your kitty is younger than 12 weeks, he needs to have 4 small meals.

But, when your kitty is more than 12 weeks, you could really gradually cut kitty down to 2 meals a day. Although that doesn’t necessarily happen around here with “The Boys.”

Also, be sure you have plenty of water for your kitty. Which, by the way, any one of our kitties will say to be sure to make it “fresh water,” while you’re at it!

And no milk; it’s just not good for the digestive tract! Although if you give your kitty grass from time to time, it will help with his digestion!

Yours in supervising what kitty eats,

P.S. Tomorrow, I’ll share a couple more “take care of your kitty” tips!

This is the final of our three-part series on why kitty might be inclined to drink a whole lot of water!

If you missed any, you can catch up with part 1 and part 2.

As indicated in the other discussions, there are quite a few reasons why your kitty might have an increase in his water intake.

Those reasons might include but not be limited to:

• Kidney problems
Problems with kidneys, as in kidney disease, can also cause kitty to hit the “drinking fountain” more than usual.

• Liver disease
The more you’re around your kitty the more you may realize he often has some of the same health concerns that you do. Which means, in some instances, your kitty could have liver disease that could cause him to spend his days and nights in front of the water dish.

While many of these issues may pose a serious health issue for kitty for an extended period of time if he is not diagnosed quickly and properly, and because none of these ailments can be determined by just looking at your kitty, your best course would be to get kitty to the vet as quickly as possible.

Once there, a blood test and other tests, will likely determine the course of action for you to take to get kitty back to his usual playful self.

As your kitty’s keeper, it’s up to you to keep him well so he can live a long life of giving you a lot of purrs and kitty love!

Yours in keeping tabs on kitty’s health,

P.S. This post concludes our three part series on the “cat water hog!” Thank you for stopping by. We’ve read all your comments and suggestions for taking care of kitty. We also appreciated your thoughts.

When we got Snowflake (who was in our “first kitty family”), she came to us from a barn on a farm–so she brought fleas and a few other critters with her that we needed to rid her of.

So we learned early-on that bath-times may be a bit challenging!

Since cats are not big fans of water, they might display ungrateful, to your way of thinking, behavior, such as fighting, clawing, scratching, hissing, and a strong will to hang on for dear life when you’re trying to lower kitty to the water.

In fact, some kitties will make an almighty noise as they struggle to get away. Just the right activity designed to keep you from adding shampoo or from rinsing out what’s already there.
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By Dr. Ellen Friedman
For the Times Herald-Record

Do cats get high blood pressure? Yes, they do, and it is a condition we see frequently in older felines.

There are several different causes of this disease in cats. The most common include kidney failure, hyperthyroidism and certain types of cardiac disease.

What are the signs of hypertension? Is there something I need to look for?

If your cat has been diagnosed with any of the above contributing conditions, your veterinarian will check your cat’s blood pressure. Yes, this is done by putting a tiny little cat-sized cuff around your cat’s arm (or in some situations, her tail), and getting digital blood pressure readings.
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by JaneA Kelley, Cat expert and animal communicator, Paws and Effect

Shots and spaying/neutering are not the only reasons to take your cat to the vet.

An annual “well cat” exam is a crucial part of your cat’s life. Although your cat may not need to be vaccinated every year, there are two very important reasons to take him to the vet on a regular basis.

Annual well-cat exams help to establish “normal” for your cat. If your vet has an ongoing record of your cat’s weight, for example, she will notice early changes that could spell trouble for your kitty.

By the time your cat is one year old, he’s 16 in human years!

After that, he ages at a rate of about four human years for every cat year. Major issues can develop quickly in a cat that grows and ages at this rate, which makes the yearly check-up even more important.

Some vets recommend that senior cats (those over 10 years of age) get twice-yearly exams.

The annual exam also gives you a chance to establish a relationship with your vet. If your cat gets sick or is seriously injured, you’ll be glad you know your vet well enough to trust her with your cat’s care in a crisis.

Your vet will be glad to know you and your cat well, too, so she can communicate with you as clearly as possible during a difficult time.

Cat expert and animal communicator JaneA Kelley is the webmaster and chief cat slave for Paws and Effect, a weekly cat advice column by cats, for cats and their people.

Recently, I wrote an article that included several ways on how to “NOT” transport a cat…well, they were ideas best to not use–especially for long trips–since one of the mentions included letting a cat have the run of the vehicle.

So, how do you get from here to there with a cat in tow?

A cat carrier is an excellent mode of transportation for a cat while in a car…on the way to the vet, long trips, etc. Ideally, though, not just any carrier.

Here are some things you might consider and/or look for when deciding upon a carrier for your cat:

1. Comfort
Stand up, sit down; turn around. Kitty needs to be comfortable in the carrier, especially if you are taking her on any extended trips. So, can she stand up, sit down; turn around with enough head-room and leg room?

When you ride for any length of time, you like to have plenty of room to move around in; so, so does kitty!

2. Safety
While cardboard carriers might cost less and cloth carriers will easily fold up and look smashing on the shelf, or tuck away easily when not in use, their sturdiness for any length of time might not be so cost-effective in the long-run.

Kitty could easily chew a hole in the cardboard, and the cloth carrier could swallow up a restless kitty, much like one of those hide-a-way beds.

A plastic carrier, then, would be the ideal selection—based, of course, on your wants and desires and kitty’s measurements.
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Where is the best place to put a scratching post? You need at least one good scratching post in the house.

Where you put it often affects how much your cat uses it, instead of your valued furniture or carpets.

An optimal spot is in a corner, with the base wedged in against the two walls so that it cannot move around when the cat puts its full weight into stretching up and digging in.

Yours in knowing where to put a scratching post,

P.S. The Romper Room is a good place for your kitty to “hang out!” Instead of an ole crazy fence like that!

Source: The Daily Cat Tip Radio show host and pet expert Tracie Hotchner is the author of The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible. in our “Reading Room!

Doing a bit of web surfing today, an article by Amy W.B. at EzineArticles about “Cat Whiskers” caught my eye. I’m sharing it now.

Amy begins:

Cat whiskers are known to serve as measuring tools for cats. They use the width of their whiskers and sides of their face to help them navigate through tight quarters.

This explains why a larger sized cat is usually equipped with longer whiskers. However, not all cats rely on their whiskers to get through a small entrance.
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The following tips are not intended to take the place of the advice of medical professionals and nutritionists, nor are our snacks or feeding regimen a substitute for any meal plan you devise for your cat family. Instead, they are tips to make you aware of some eating issues that may cause problems for your cats and kittens.

Food for cats is, of course, one of its most important needs, and for indoor cats, it has to be provided by you, its owner.

In fact, I think everyone agrees this is the number one need of your little four-legged friend. Not only that, the kind of food you feed her also reflects the nutritional contents of the food intake.

Three of “The Boys” in our household are mostly 12 (one will be 12 this coming March), and for at least 10 of those 12 years, not one scrap of “people food or drink” passed their little lips.

‘Tis a pity that changed somehow because now when it’s time to fix their meals, it’s a bit like feeding “baby birds;” you turn around from the counter and there are all (we have four) these little faces with open mouths looking up at you.

It is important to feed your pet with the most nutritious food so she’ll stay free from illness. There are guidelines to remember to help keep her from sickness, such as giving your cat a balanced diet as much as possible and making sure there is plenty of drinking water.

What then are those other reminders? Those tips that let you overcome incorrectly feeding your cat?

• Avoid giving your cat meals that have By-products,” like “meat and/or bone meal,” “animal digest,” and most other descriptors with “digest” or “meal,” and any added sugars. These won’t be good for your cat, and will be of no use in its daily growth/maintenance either. (There goes the ice cream, I suppose.)
• Do not give food that includes corn meal as filler.
• Avoid meals that contain almost 50 percent of carbohydrate fillers. And
• Food with too much preservative is highly-discouraged.

Make note of these tips because if you get stumped as to what to buy for your cat, you could end up running the risk of giving the wrong food.

What then could be good for cats?

Do always keep in mind as much as possible the basic nutritional needs of your cat. Which can include:

* Protein from a meat, fish, or poultry source
* Taurine, an essential amino acid
* Certain other vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and fatty acids
and of course
* Water

Does your cat need carbohydrates?

Well, she does not need it as much as you do; your cat could not get away from carbohydrates fillers especially in canned cat food, and you want to ensure her food does not reach or exceed 50 percent of fillers.

Another big tip is to feed your cat a variety of food from time to time; cats can get easily bored if they eat the same food all the time. The trick, of course, is to find a healthy balance with a reasonable amount of variety.

A good barometer of this is to take a look at our “cat pantry.” It makes the shelves in the pet store look puny!

So these are some of the bits and pieces to keep in mind when it comes to “feeding your cat healthy food.” These important tips pertain to the right food for your cat. On the other hand, like people, each cat’s likes and dislikes are often different, too.

As a result, the flavors yours like will be considerably different from what ours spend hours in the food line for.

Yours in helping your feline friends grow “long and tall,”

P.S. If you haven’t already done so, take a look at the box over to the right; leave your name and get a complimentary copy of Choosing and Caring for A Cat Naturally. You’ll also join our list to receive periodic “kitty news” emailings.