Getting A Cat
Before getting a cat, it is important to consider a few things.
First thing is whether or not you will be able to afford it. Cats are a lot like babies. They need food, they need health care and they need toys to keep them busy.
Another thing to consider is whether you have time for the cat. If the animal feels neglected it is likely to run away.
Finally, it is important to consider legal factors. This applies when you live in a gated community or an apartment building.
Ensure that before you get the cat you will be allowed to keep it in your property.
This is because there are some building and area leases that include a ‘No Pet’ policy.
If after considering all these factors you find that getting a cat is truly what you want, it is not that difficult to acquire one. Cats are one of the most popular pets world over. It is therefore easy to get them from pet stores in any age.
Cats are also available from animal shelters and animal control centers.
In this case, chances are low that you will have to pay for the cat.
Usually the animals are adopted for free from there.
You can also get a pet cat by rescuing it as a stray from the streets. This happens a lot but carries considerable risk mainly disease.
Caring for Kittens
Most pet owners prefer to get their pets when the animals are youngest. This is because more often than not pet owners outlive their pets with all factors held constant.
As a result, the pet owners would like to spend more time with them. Young pets are also much easier to train and bond with. Cats are no exception to this.
Many people prefer getting kittens to full grown cats. Who wouldn’t? Kittens are damn cute. Their endearing little fury faces make them one of the most popular pets on earth.
All this aside, kittens are very delicate. The first few days after birth they are completely blind as their eye lids have not yet parted.
It is therefore important that at this stage they are kept away from anything that could harm them. It is also advisable to store them in a basket or box on the floor to keep them from crawling out and falling to their death.
Kittens breast feed for about a one to three months. This depends on the mother cat’s temperament and willingness to continue breastfeeding.
It’s important to prolong contact between the mother and the kitten for as long as possible to ensure that buy the time it is under your care, it is strong enough.
By the time a kitten is about two months old, it should be ready for weaning into more solid food. In caring for the kitten, regular vet visits are also vital.
They help in monitoring the growth and health of the animal. Due to their delicate nature, it is important to keep them well fed and warm.
Training your Cat
Yes, you can train your cat. Despite centuries of domestication and coexistence with human beings, training a cat is very important.
All animals are wild in nature and training ensures that this side is not the dominant trait of the animal thus drawing the defining line between pets and non-pets.
Animals are easier train when they are young as their minds are not corrupted by any other lessons. It should be noted, however, that no amount of training can completely get rid of the cat’s primal animal instincts.
Cats are trained to recognize their assigned names. This is not that difficult really. The way to go about it is to call the cat the name you have given it loudly and clearly and make eye contact at the same time.
Doing this repeatedly over a period of a week or two is enough for the cat to recognize the name.
When choosing the name it is advisable to pick a name that isn’t too long. It is a little trickier when you have two cats that you are training at the same time but if eye contact is maintained the animals will learn in no time.
Cats also need ‘toilet’ training. This doesn’t mean that you literally teach the cat how to use the toilet; although is something that some people do. Toilet training a cat means showing a cat where to relieve its nature calls to avoid having their messes all over the house.
A cat is an intelligent animal and instinctively buries its waste in soil. For house cats that are not frequently let out, a litter box is the best option. This is a box of soil and saw dust that the cat will use as its toilet.
It is also important to train a cat to behave itself around the house and not go where it shouldn’t. This includes training it to stay away from electronics, food and some rooms.
Some people have additional training which includes carrying the mail from the door, hunting companionship and opening pet doors. All this depends on the cat owners preferences and ability to train.
There are animal training institutions for pet owners who can’t or don’t have time to train the animals themselves.
Nutrition: Your Cat’s Diet
It is common belief that all cats need is milk. This is a stereotype propagated by movies and cartoons. It is important for cat owners to remember that cats are animals like humans and require a balanced diet for growth and maintenance of health.
For the first few months after birth, it is possible for the kitten to survive on milk alone. After weaning however, a cat should receive a proper balanced diet. Cats can eat human food with a few exceptions or food made specifically for cats.
Cats are predominantly carnivorous feeders. They can, however, be fed vegetables. A huge part of every cats’ plate should be made up of a meat protein.
The best option is beef which has a lot of nutritional value in addition to the high protein content. Other choices are fish and goat meat. This should not be a big financial issue to fuss over as cats are small animals and therefore do not eat too much.
The meat is best served minced and cooked without spices. You can sneak in a very small serving of vegetables.
Since cats are picky, it would be best to mix the vegetables with the meat. It is also vital to keep your cat hydrated. This can be through water or milk.
Before coming up with a food choice for your cat, ensure that the cat likes it and is not affected by it. Do this by giving it a small portion for tasting.
If the cat likes it, it will eat all of it up. If it eats the food and does not react by vomiting or diarrhea then continue with that feeding plan.
If the cat refuses to eat the food or eats it and has a negative reaction, discontinue and find an alternative.
It is important to stick to a feeding time schedule and follow it faithfully. This is because like human beings, cats are vulnerable to stomach problems when they skip meals or have irregular eating patterns.
It is recommended to give a cat at least two meals a day and if possible include light snacks in between the main meals.
There are a few things that you should under no circumstances ever feed your cat. These include onions, garlic, kelp, grapes, alcohol, chocolate, dog food, baby food and mushrooms.
Consumption of these foods has negative effects on the cat’s digestive system and whole body in general. It is also advisable to have variety in the food you choose to give your cat to ensure that it is not getting an excess of one nutrient and deficiency of another.
Coexistence with other pets
How social is your cat? Not to other cats- to other species. Cats are peaceful animals but do not always get along with other pets. There is an unexplainable feud between cats and dogs and peaceful coexistence can only be achieved through training.
Cats are primarily predators. Their instincts around small animals like birds, rats, fish and snakes tell them to attack. It is therefore not advisable to keep these animals together. Cats are however easy to train and can be taught to coexist with others.
Common Health Problems
Not many people know that animals actually get sick. Some assume that they’ll get on just fine like their cousins in the wild. Many of us think that they die because of old age or starvation.
Diseases affecting cats can be categorized as dietary, infections, organ failure diseases and malignancies.
Dietary diseases are either as a result of eating too much or too little of a nutrient. The most common is constipation and dehydration caused by not giving the cat enough water and fiber rich foods.
The next is vomiting and diarrhea. This comes from feeding the cat something that its digestive system cannot handle like dog food, garlic and mushrooms. Also common is malnutrition when the cat is not getting enough nutrients.
Finally, there is obesity. This might be hard to believe but it is a common health problem affecting cats. It stems from feeding the cat too much carbs as in most cat food products.
This coupled with the fact that a cat’s favorite hobby is sleeping are the perfect recipe for obesity.
All these problems are easily diagnosed and can be rectified by giving the cat a balanced diet.
Infections are either bacterial, viral, parasitic or fungal. Cats are mainly infected through the food that they eat. This happens when they eat raw, spoilt or contaminated food.
They can also get infections from wounds received in fights with other animals. Urinary tract infections are the most common type of infection. Symptoms range from diarrhea and vomiting to inactivity and unhealthy appearance of fur. These diseases require a trip to the vet for diagnosis and treatment.
Malignancies include tumors and cancers. Causes of these are usually unknown but exposure to radiation contaminated food and water is a common cause. The main cause of action is surgery and mortality rate for cats with malignancies is very high.
Organ failure diseases are usually a side effect of a disease in one of the categories named above.
A healthy cat can live up to 15 years. It is however important to ensure that the animal has regular and frequent visits to the veterinarian’s office for checkups.
Breeds
There are many breeds of cats available all over the world. The choice will be influenced by a person’s preferences and availability of the desired breed in the person’s area. Below are some of the most popular cat breeds.
1. The Persian
2. Siamese
3. Abyssinian
4. Maine coon
5. Birman
6. American shorthair
7. Sphynx
8. Oriental
9. The Ragdoll
All these cats have their own unique features and advantages. Some are large and fluffy while others lean with short fur. Some are active and athletic while others are more calm and observant.
Cats are generally excellent pets to have. They are loving and very lovable. They are also easy to maintain and take care of.