If you thinking about adopting a pet, and considering your new family member to be a cat, you need to know the basics of how to take care of a cat. People who have busy lifestyles might prefer a cat rather than a dog because they require less attention than dogs do. However, all animals need a certain amount of proper care to be healthy and happy and before you bring your new kitten home, you must learn what the cat will need.
First and foremost, once you have adopted a cat, the first thing you should do is schedule an appointment with your vet. And if you have other cats in your household, you will need to keep your new cat separate from the other cats until your vet can examine your new cat. Cats can acquire a variety of illnesses that can be transmitted to your other cats via biting or scratching. Your vet will be able to perform some simple, relatively inexpensive tests to make sure your new cat is healthy and free from disease. Once your new kitten has been checked and is found to be healthy and disease free, then you can allow contact with your other cats. Until then, you must keep your new cat away from the others to avoid any personal contact with your other cats. Your cat will also require a poop specimen to determine if it has any worms, and if so medicine will be given to you to eliminate the worms. Worms are contagious to other cats so a separate litter box is necessary to avoid exposing your other cats.
Cats do require some of their own personal belongings. They will need a litter box, and you should purchase one that will be big enough for your kitten to use once it is full grown. I prefer enclosed litter boxes, ones that have a lid, for several reasons. First of all, it helps reduce any mess of litter being scratched out onto the floor. Second, an enclosed litter box helps reduce any unwanted odors. And third, cats prefer privacy when they go to the bathroom and a box with a lid will provide your cat with a private place to go. You should clean out your litter box on a daily basis. This will keep it odor free, and also keep your cat happy and prevent it from eliminating outside the litter box. Cats do not like to use dirty litter boxes and if you do not clean it out on a regular basis, you will more than likely find unwanted messes on your floor. You will find learning how to take care of a cat is not very difficult.
Cats also need toys for stimulation and cat trees or cat furniture that they can play and climb on and use to scratch on. If you do not provide your cat with cat furniture and scratching posts, you may find them scratching on your furniture instead. You cannot prevent a cat from scratching, but you can provide them with appropriate places to scratch which will lessen the chance of the cat ruining your furniture. Cat toys are important for play and exercise. Choose toys carefully and make sure each toy does not have any small parts that can become detached. This poses a choking risk to your cat. If you find any parts of a toy have small parts, remove them yourself and prevent a possible danger to your animal. Toys with catnip in them are great because your cat will absolutely love it. Catnip is a natural herb that cats go crazy for, and they are very entertaining when "high" on this herb. If you find your cat not responding to catnip, but once did, just remove the catnip toys for a while and then reintroduce them in a few days. Cats build a tolerance to the effect of catnip over time.
When choosing a diet for your cat, I recommend talking to your vet about what the vet recommends. Some cats prefer dry cat food, while others prefer wet food. You will have to determine by trial and error what your cat will prefer. I provide both for my cats. It gives them a choice and prevents the cat from becoming bored with the food. Cats require taurine in their diet, which all cat food is fortified with, so if you do feed table scraps to your cat, make sure they still get enough cat food for essential nutrients they need. Always provide fresh clean water to your cat. Some cats prefer a watering system that runs the water constantly. They are attracted to running water and may be more inclined to drink more from running water. That type of system is not necessary though, just make sure you clean the water bowl and provide fresh water every day. Once you learn the basics of how to take care of a cat, the training you want to do with your cat will come in time.
Always keep in contact with your vet for any other questions you have, especially if your cat starts behaving differently, or going to the bathroom outside the litter box or changes in stool, or changes in appetite or energy levels. If your cat has behavior changes, discuss it with your vet as soon as possible to eliminate any illnesses as a possible cause. There are lots of training books available for cat owners and I recommend what I think are the best books available on my blog.
How to Take Care of a CatCat hair in the carpet, fur on the furniture, a wardrobe embellished with feline fuzz ... it's all an old story for cat owners. Most of us count on the heavy artillery (the vacuum cleaner) as our main tool in the war on cat-hair-covered everything, but there are other options.
Start with prevention. Brushing your cat can make a major difference in the amount of hair that winds up on your surfaces, and grooming can actually be a lovely way to show affection to your feline friends. But predictably, cats don't share a single opinion on being groomed: some love it and will purr like an electric motor at the first stroke, and others will hate it so much the very sight of the brush will inspire them to hide under the bed for a week. It's a cat thing .... so be realistic about it. If you and your cat enjoy the experience, go for it. But don't over-groom, and be aware that since a certain amount of shedding is inevitable, you're never going to win the battle with grooming alone.
Here are 16 ways to get cat hair off of floors, furniture, clothing, and more, without getting out the vacuum:
* Wipe with a barely-dampened sponge or washcloth
* Go over area with a lint roller
* Go over area with a rubber shower squeegee
* Go over area with a chamois cloth
* Put on a rubber or latex glove and wipe down the area
* Brush with a rubber-bristle broom
* Sprinkle area with baking soda before vacuuming. The baking soda will help loosen the hair from the fabric.
* Inflate a balloon and run across the fabric. Loose hairs will stick to the balloon.
* Mist area with fabric softener, then wipe or vacuum. The fabric softener will loosen the hairs from the fabric.
* Pat the area with the sticky side of a broad tape, like duct tape or packing tape
* Wipe the area with a fabric-softener sheet.
* Wipe area with a nylon bath puff.
* Wipe area with a lint mitt (available in grocery and discount store cleaning sections).
* If the item can be put into the washing machine, add a cup of white vinegar to the water and the hair will wash off.
* If the item can be dried in the clothes drier, put it in for about 15 minutes with a damp washcloth
* To get cat hair out of a computer keyboard, go around, between, and under the keys with a cheap, fairly stiff small paint brush (the ones sold in multiple packs for children or crafts are perfect).
A sneezing cat will always put a big question mark on your head. There are so many causes to sneeze. Sometimes the causes are very minor and can be ignored while in some cases, the sneezing is caused by something very serious. This cat sickness is common and it is very likely that it will go through some sort of sneezing stage. The cause can be one or more of the following.
Sneezing cat can be caused by a herpes ailment. When it is still a kitten, the veterinarian will give them shots to combat against herpes. If it was not vaccinated in their early stages then there is a chance that they will contract the herpes and start sneezing. If you notice flare ups and breakouts with your cat then you should bring them to the veterinarian as soon as possible.
The sneezing can also be caused by the leukemia virus. Again, this is another ailment that has a vaccine. If they were not vaccinated when they were young then there is a chance that they will contract the illness. When the cat contracts this cat sickness, their immune system will become weak and they will keep sneezing.
The aforementioned causes of a sneezing cat are the more serious reasons. Here are the less serious reasons for sneezing cat. Cats normally use their nose when they check out their environment. There are times where they will keep sniffing on all sorts of things that their noses will become irritated. Sometimes a cat may have inhaled something that is irritating their nasal membranes. When cats inhale pollen and dust they may sneeze a lot.
A sneezing cat may also be causes by a dental problem. If your cat has dental disease then there is a chance that the dental irritants will affect the breathing of the cat which will cause them to sneeze. If you want to find out if the sneezing cat is caused by dental problems then look at their mouth and inspect it. Usually, there will be redness, swelling, and signs of tooth decay.
There are many causes for a sneezing cat and you should be able to spot them. If you are having a hard time determining what is causing your cat to sneeze then you should bring them to their veterinarian for a check up.
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