Cats | Pet Lover Blog

Playing reinforces the bond between you and your cat.

Playing with your cat is the best possible way to build up a bond between the two of you. Do you want your cat to think of you as more than someone who is there to provide food, shelter and warmth? Then regular play sessions will go a long way to ensuring that your feline friend sees you as an object of his or her affections, that you are someone to greet when you arrive home.

Do not let your cat think that your hands are playthings. If your cat gets the message that it is OK to scratch at, or bite your hands, you will have the devils own job of curing him of the habit.

Playing will help preventing your cat from becoming overweight.

The best way to ensure that your cat does not become overweight is by feeding him correctly with a balanced diet, but exercise also plays a part in keeping your kitty healthy. If yours is an indoor cat, then playing with you may be his only opportunity for exertion and staying trim. Don’t overdo it though, limit play time to about 15 minutes.

Playing will help your cat to become confident.

Kittens learn how to relate with their siblings and other cats through play, it is their social education, how they learn their place in the world. Help you cat to continue this enlightenment by playing with him.

Also regular play periods, coupled with petting sessions, will get your cat used to human interaction, he will be less likely to shy away and hide, when visitors call.

Playing will help your cat develop his hunting abilities.

Hunting is a natural instinct for all cats, a cat confined to indoors usually has little chance to express and develop this instinct. Enjoy some of your play times using an interactive cat toy, the kind with a catnip mouse on the end of a cord are good. Encourage kitty to chase the toy mouse, allow him to pounce for the ‘kill’.

Have a selection of cat toys but use only three or four in one session, next time amuse your feline with a different choice. Keep some toys only for play sessions, put them away between times, so that they remain interesting to your cat. Toys like catnip mice can be safely left out for kitty to amuse himself with, but be aware that small objects can, and do, get swallowed by cats. Never encourage playing with buttons, pieces of string, small bells etc. Plastic bags are as dangerous for cats as they are for children, and are not playthings.

Playing will help your cat release aggression.

Cats often display aggressive traits through boredom. Tutor your cat not to scratch, bite or attack you with play sessions. Use praise to reward your cat for playing gently, as soon as he shows any sign he is about to use his teeth or claws - end the play session. This will teach your cat that aggressive cat behavior is best directed to his toys, and not you!

Playing is ‘Fun’ for your cat!.

Cats need fun in their lives, just like humans need it. Relieve the monotony of eating, snoozing and using the litter tray by putting a bit of fun in your cats life. You will have a happier, more confident and less aggressive kitty.

Playing is ‘Fun’ for you!.

And finally, it is fun for you to play with your cat. A cat is a wonderful pet just to have around the place to admire its beauty and for its company. But how much better for you to enjoy a little fun by playing with your cat. Cat playtime, good for your cat, good for you!

About The Author

If you have a pet related web site and you wish to reproduce the above article you are welcome to do so, provided the article is reproduced in its entirety, including this resource box and live link to http://www.best-cat-art.com/cat-breeds.html

Information about your favorite cat breed.

Share This

Why paint your cat? After all cats are beautiful creatures if you want to appreciate the appearance of a feline, you look at the cat not at a painting.

Some of the reasons that you may want to paint your cat are:

To capture your pet at a particular age, in a particular pose, in a particular place. To have a permanent reminder of your companion when she has moved on to feline afterlife. To give as a gift to a fellow cat lover.

So you figure how hard can it be to turn out a pleasing semblance of your moggy? You are no Van Gough, but you know how to handle a paint brush. You have all the materials that you need in order to paint your cat, the paints, brushes, stuff for cleaning, you even have a home made easel. Boy, it sure is going to be fun to paint your cat.

There she is, curled up asleep by the window, a look of cat contentment upon her face and the sunlight giving her coat an extra gloss. What a magnificent painting of your cat you are going to produce. Quietly you set everything up, you have your canvas propped on your easel and your paintbrush in hand. You turn to face your subject, and…

She’s gone. Your little darling had been snoozing in that spot for most of the morning and now that you are ready to produce your masterpiece, she decides that someplace else is where she needs to be! Well, she is not going to get away with it, you have decided to paint your cat, and that is just what you are going to do.

You search for her. Eventually you find your feline subject siting at the top of the stairs without a care in the world. Scooping her up, you carry her back to the sunlit window so she may cooperate with you and resume her pose. But cats don’t cooperate. She paces up and down, and you know that the only thing stopping her from making a bolt is the fact that you are betwixt her and the door. The fact that you want to paint your cat is of no importance, the only thing that is of any concern to your cat is what she wants!

You consider for a moment the possibility of restraining her, like Guliver lashed to the ground by the little people. No chance, no chance whatsoever. So what to do? Of all the creatures on this earth the cat is the last one to be told what to do.

You conclude that the only thing that you can do to paint your cat, is to forget about producing a detailed precise painting. You will paint your feelings about your cat. This will not be a long drawn out process, get it on the canvass, let your subconscious communicate the essence of the feline! Looking at your cat and not your canvass, you start to paint. Rapidly you slash with your brush, you don’t worry about the colors that you use corresponding exactly to those of you cat, it is the feelings that they represent that is important.

Meanwhile, your cat looks on bemused.

At last you are finished. Time to inspect your art work, you turn and look and your jaw drops. Well it could be some kind of animal, those lines in purple do seem to represent a tail. And that is an eye, no mistake about that, but whatever eye it is, it’s not your cat’s eye!

Ah well! At least you tried to paint your cat. Don’t think of it as a failure, after all you did produce something, and who knows, your cat at least, may have enjoyed the experience! Meanwhile, your cat has resumed its perfect pose, asleep by the window.

About The Author

Larry Chamberlain is a lifelong cat lover and webmaster of http://www.best-cat-art.com - Cat art posters, art prints, cat calendars and cat collectibles. Great cat gifts for yourself or your cat loving friends; Larry@best-cat-art.com

Share This

“Where’s the harm? My cat seems to enjoy chocolate and it’s only a small piece.”

Just because certain foods, such as chocolate, are enjoyed by us humans and are perfectly safe for us, it does not mean they are suitable for cats. Chocolate contains chemicals which rarely cause problems for humans, but for cats and other domestic pets, these chemicals can, in rare cases, be deadly.

One problem is that cats in general find chocolate very tasty and so, it is important not to feed it to them, otherwise they will eat what you give them up to the point where it poisons them.

Chocolate contains the compound theobromine which is a diuretic as well as a cardiac stimulant. This can cause the pet’s heart rate to increase or it may cause the heart to beat irregularly, both of which can be dangerous to the animal. The level of theobromine present in chocolate varies depending on the type of chocolate. For example, dark chocolate contains higher levels than milk chocolate and so could pose a greater risk to your pet.

There are many problems that can result from feeding a cat chocolate. Chocolate is relatively high in calories so it can contribute to the development of obesity in your cat. A cat can lose its appetite for it’s normal food if it eats chocolate. The largest problem is though the fact that chocolate contains the chemical theobromine as mentioned above. If this chemical builds up in the cats system, it can be potentially lethal, and one reason for this is that cats cannot clear theobromine from their bodies as quickly as people can.

Many cat owners would simply expect their pet to develop an upset stomach after eating a large amount of chocolate but few realize its lethal potential.

Further problems which can arise from chocolate poisoning are Diuresis (increased urine production), diarrhea, lethargy, vomiting, depression, and muscle tremors. These are signs which must be recognized by any cat owner so that the cat is not fed too much chocolate.

Treatment for chocolate poisoning in its advanced stage can be very unpleasant for both the cat andthe owner of the cat, so it is much better to be safe and to cut down chocolate consumption of your cat to a minimum. If you do have worries that your cat has consumed large quantities of human chocolate it would be wise to consult your vet - pronto. Spotting the symptoms early on can be very beneficial and can give the cat a much better chance of surviving any poisoning which may have occurred.

If you wish to feed your cat chocolate, there are alternate “chocolate” treats for cats which are produced by some pet food manufacturers. They will either use a vegetable substitute made to taste and look like chocolate, or they will take out the theobromine, or use greatly reduced, safe levels in the chocolate treats they produce. While a very small amount of chocolate may not be harmful to some cats, it is always safest to avoid giving any to them at all.

About The Author

If you have a pet related web site and you wish to reproduce the above article you are welcome to do so, provided the article is reproduced in its entirety, including this resource box and live link to http://www.best-cat-art.com. Cat art posters, art prints, cat calendars and cat collectibles. Great cat gifts for yourself or your cat loving friends. Larry@best-cat-art.com

Share This