Cats | Pet Lover Blog

Cats need only be provided with decent shelter, food and water and they will be quite healthy most of the time. Like any other living thing, however, they can get sick and can come down with anything from a minor cold to a major ailment.

As a responsible pet owner, you want to make sure you feed your cat premium cat food so he can be his healthiest and also watch your cat closely for signs of sickness so that you can get him to a vet right away. Hopefully most ailments will be minor, but in some cases getting your cat expedient veterinary help can be the difference between life and death.

Some things to look for include:

Your cats coat - is it full and shiny or dull and patchy? Is he shedding abnormally? If so get your cat scheduled for a vet visit.

Behavior - is your cat acting sluggish and not eating? Any change in behavior warrants a trip to the vet as it is better to be safe then sorry!

Diarrhea or vomiting - If your cat is doing either of these for more than a day, I would get him to the vet as soon as you can.
Coughing - Some cats routinely cough up hairballs, but if your cat is coughing for no reason then you should have this checked out.

Swelling or lumps - when you pet your cat, take the time to feel around for any unusual lumps or swelling.

To insure that your cat doesn’t fall victim to disease, you should make sure he has all of his vaccinations as recommended by your vetrenarian. The most devastating but easiest to prevent disease that affects cats is infectious enteritis, or feline distemper. This is a virus disease that strikes quickly and leaves little time to enact treatment.

Feline Leukemia or FeLV is another deadly disease that can be prevented through early vaccinations. This disease poses no threat to humans but can be spread between cats. These days, it is treatable and some cats can live a long life with Feline Leukemia although you would want to be very careful to keep them away from other cats so as not to spread the disease.

One health problem in cats, particulary those that go outdoors is worms. A cat with worms usually has a lackluster coat and can either have a large appetite or none at all. There are many kinds of worms, and cats are susceptible to all of them. Cats can get worms from lice or fleas or in the organs of the rodents that the cats eat. Typically the cat ingests the eggs which mature and attach to the intestinal walls. Feeding your cat a bit of garlic every once in a while can protect him against worms.

Keeping your cat happy and healthy is really a simple matter of caring for him properly and making sure he gets the appropriate veterinary care. Make sure your cat gets all the recommended vaccinations and you give him the proper treatments to repel fleas and other pesky pests. These simple steps will keep your cat happy and healthy for a lifetime!

Lee Dobbins writes for ePet Pet Center where you can find lots of articles on cats, dogs, fish, birds and ferrets.

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The most important thing to remember in analyzing the behavior of your cat
is that your pet is not a human. Cats are not rational beings and their
actions are not based on emotion. Changes in his behavior are not stemmed
from any repressed anger with you; your cat is not trying to get revenge on
you for being away from home too much or bringing a new baby into the house.

Negative changes in cat behavior are typically cause by stress or anxiety
for the cat. It is easy to see why pet owners tend to conclude that the
cat’s feelings toward them are causing the behavioral differences; it is
human nature to correlate two unrelated events. In reality, there is a
missing link: your behavior may cause the cat physical anxiety, thus the
cat’s behavior alteration is based on physiological changes in his body.

One common complaint among cat owners is that their cat has suddenly chosen
a new favorite place to deposit wastes instead of his litter box. This
could be a result of a few factors.

First, it may be a medical problem.
Cats are prone to urinary track infections that make it extremely painful to
urinate. Cats then associate the pain of urination with the litter box, so
they do not like to visit their designated urination station. If your cat
has stopped using the litter box, your first step should be to take him to
the vet and have a thorough check-up run on him. Cats also have natural
preferences for certain textures and smells, so if you have recently changed
the type of cat litter you use, the cat may be showing that he does not care
for the new feeling or smell of his litter. In avoiding the litter box, the
cat may have become attached to new textures and locations around your
household, perhaps the soft living room rug or bedroom closet.

The best
strategy is not to punish the cat; he will not understand. Rather, have a
medical check up, switch litters, and continuously reintroduce the cat to
his litter box. Reward him for using it, just like he was a kitten again.

To relieve any anxiety your cat may be feeling, carefully analyze any
changes that have occurred in his life as of late. If a new baby or
roommate comes into the house, your cat may feel threatened, so be sure to
give him extra attention. If you suddenly have to spend more time away from
home than normal, consider getting a second cat so that your cat does not
spend his days alone. Although the cat is not having emotional reactions,
his body feels different due to changes around him.

Be in tune with what may be causing your cat to feel anxious, analyze the situation, and do the
loyal owner duty of relieving his stress.

Keith Kingston is a professional web publisher who offers advice on cat health, cat supplies, and cat names

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Animal welfare organizations and humane societies have been very successful in helping people to accept that their cats are safer living exclusively indoors, especially in urban areas. However, cat lovers still want to give their cats a chance to enjoy fresh air and all the sights and sounds that come with it. One way to do this safely is to create a cattery.

The term cattery originally referred to a facility that kept and bred colonies of cats. Today, the term is being used to describe a sort of pet playpen. A home cattery is an enclosed, outdoor area in which a pet cat can bask in the sun or exercise. The site can be a lawn, a porch or an apartment balcony, and a variety of building plans can be found on the Internet. The important ingredients of a cattery are size, security and access.

How big to build depends on the activity level of your cat and the amount of space available. If you have an acrobatic cat living in your apartment, you might try to build a structure taller than it is wide, with several ledges for her to jump around on. If your cat is more sedentary and you have a large yard, you might create a cattery that has one or two shelves, but has cat grass and catnip planted inside to provide sensory stimulation.

A cattery can be made from wooden posts and wire mesh. Be certain that all sharp edges are covered or made inaccessible to your cat. If you have a door to enter/exit the cattery, make sure it can be latched securely. Check the cattery frequently for holes or loose spots in the mesh. Make sure that the cattery has a roof. It doesn’t have to be expensive - a sheet of strong cloth attached to the sides will do - something to keep your cat in, and anything else out.

If you build your cattery on your porch or balcony, include a cat door so your pet can come in and go out as she pleases. Put some cat toys out for her, and research what non-toxic plants you might put inside to make it like a jungle. Some people hang bird feeders outside the cattery to attract birds for their cat to watch. A scratching post and sturdy climbing pole are just the thing to encourage your cat to exercise.

Keep the cattery clean. Providing a litter box will cut down on the amount of clean up you need to do. Be sure to place a large, clean bowl of water in the cattery so your cat has access to fresh liquid as she needs it. If you have a problem with bugs then you should consider bug-proof food dishes. If you leave your cat in the cattery for long periods of time, don’t forget to stock her with a bowl of dry cat food and make sure she has a way to get out of the sun or rain/snow, or make sure this is an area that is sheltered from extremes of weather.

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