50 Simple Ways to Pamper Your Cat - Week 4

Is There a Veterinian in the House?
You can shield you cat from disease and injury and can be treated if discovered early.

HealthyHabits

When petting your cat, observe his eyes, ears and mouth. Your observation may help catch a disease in it's early stages.

If your cat must take medication in the form of a pill, insert it into a ball of moist food and give it to your cat as a treat. Most cats are too smart and will eat the food and leave the pill behind. So you might need to hold your cat on your lap and open their jaw wide and drop the pill down his throat as far back as possible. Then hold their jaw shut and massage his throat. Sometimes you might even need to blow a small puff of air into their face so they'll swallow the pill.

Never give your cat aspirin - a single dose could kill your cat.

If your cat likes to eat wool or other fabrics - they might be suffering from pica. This is a when the cat is repeatedly craving for and ingesting non-food items. Make sure to take your cat to the vet right away if you notice this.

Signs of poisoning: listlessness, abdominal pain, vomitting, diarrhea, muscle tremors, lack of coordination and fee.

I hope that no one ever experiences this, it quickly becomes life threatening and should not wait for the symptoms to run their course - it may be too late.

(Boy, this was kind of a depressing one today - protect your cats and all pets for that matter.)

50 Simple Ways to Pamper Your Cat - Week 3

Make Your Home Fit for a Cat

Your home is your cat castle and you are the servant and you probably didn't realize that you cater to your cat. You laugh now, but read through the list and see if you are a servant to your cat (or dog).

* Keep your closet doors open, because your cat likes to nap in there.

* Let the sink faucet drip lightly, so they can take a drink.

* Different sized kitty homes/beds in various rooms in your house.

* You've placed a cat bed in a tucked away area in a room so that they can seek refuge but still see what's going on.

* You open the blinds to allow sunshine in but mainly so your cat can look outside.

* Drape throw blankets or sheets over the sofa/recliner so that your cat can nap without leaving lots of cat hair behind.

* Have a garbage can with a lid to eliminate temptation of what's inside.

* Keep a toy chest for all your cat's play things.

Yikes - I'm doing all of these things...

50 Simple Ways to Pamper Your Cat - Week 2

Do you know why a cat rubs her checks against your leg?

She's marking you and letting others know that you are hers! This isn't the same as a cat urinating, only other animals can pick up the scent on you from the rubbing.

So what does it mean when two cats rub together?

The message is "strength in numbers, let's create a group odor."

Other Cat Clues

Tail - If the tail is straight and upright while walking around, your cat has confidence. If the tail flicks toward you, they are saying hi. If the tail is moving side to side or thumping on the floor - your cat is agitated. A light twitching means they are in relaxed alertness. And if you've ever seen a cats tail when it puffs up - they are really scared!

Eyes - Cats can't really see in the dark, but they can see better in the dark than we can.

Ears - Cats ears contain more than 40K nerve fibers, which helps them to hear very high and very low frequencies. Back off your cat, if her ears are flattened against her head, in a defensive stance or ready for a catfight. If the ears are pointed forward and slightly outward, your cat is relaxed.

Whiskers - Cats have 24 whiskers spaced in four rows on each side of hte face. Whiskers are used to protect their eyes and help side up the width of entries. If the whiskers clear the space, the entire body can get through. (This must happen after six months, my cats are always pushing their way into a empty cardboard pop holder.)

Nose - Important organ - when cats sniff another cat's scent - they learn a mini-bio - the cat's gender, whether they should interact or not, it's age and it's health status.

50 Simple Ways to Pamper Your Cat - Master