If you’re not used to cats because you’ve never had one, then you need to learn a few things first. When you give one a home, you change it’s life forever. Feral cats are pests that can drive customers away from businesses, costing them a great deal of money.
Clip your cats nails regularly. Cats do have to scratch. However, when cats scratch, their nail sheaths come off and their sharp, pointy claws are exposed. Clipping your cat’s claws every two to three weeks keeps them blunt and helps keep harm to furniture, humans, and other pets to a minimum.
Have your cat spayed or neutered. Pet overpopulation is a growing problem, with millions of homeless cats and kittens euthanized every year. Besides the problem of too many kittens and not enough homes, unfixed cats can have a multitude of behavior problems. Males who are not neutered at a young age often start spraying to mark their territory, and females who are allowed to come into heat yowl incessantly as they try to escape to find a mate. Kittens can begin to breed as early as 4 months of age, so get your new kitten spayed or neutered as soon as possible.
Do not feed your cat any kind of human food that contains bones in it. If you are giving your cat chicken or fish, be sure to remove the bones beforehand to prevent a choking hazard. Chop the food that you serve into small bits to make it easier to digest for your cat.
Is your cat constantly destroying your toilet paper? Make sure that your bath tissue is stopping it from rolling over the top. You can also make or buy a toilet paper cover. These covers are not expensive and will save you money if your furry friend insists on playing with your tissue.
Never punish a cat for a mess outside of its box. Usually this is a sign that you haven’t cleaned the box recently. If you attempt to punish your pet, you may cause fear and resentment–and more accidents!
While it is perfectly normal for a dog to pant a lot of the time, you should be alarmed if you notice your cat doing it. It may only be a small case of anxiety, but in some cases it is something much more serious like cardiovascular or respiratory distress.
If you want a cat to come your way, it may be a good idea for you to refrain from looking at them. Cats do not like it when people look them directly in the eye, so they tend to go the other way. This is why it seems as if cats always gravitate toward people who are not really fond of animals.
Although you might find its appearance unappealing, don’t toss a scratching post when it’s getting particular worn and frazzled. To your cat the post is just right. By throwing away an old scratching post and replacing it with a newer one, your cat will likely look for older items to scratch, such as your furniture.
Feed a kitten proper food. A developing kitten survives exclusively on their mother’s milk for the first four weeks, a commercial formula if the mother isn’t around. When moving to regular food, feed them specially formulated kitten food until they reach maturity at the age of one. Kittens need plenty of protein while they are developing.
Make sure that you play with your cat as often as possible. After all, everyone likes to play. Older cats may not have much energy, but they still like to play. Make sure you have fun with the cat whenever you can!
If your cat is not getting trained to use the litter box as fast as you would like, there are sprays available that can make things a bit easier. These sprays have a scent that will attract your cat to the box, which means they will be more likely to go there when they need to use the bathroom.
When your cat is nearly ready to have her kittens, prepare a spacious, but protected area for your cat to give birth. Since there are so many kittens, the birthing process can take a few hours. If it’s been over 6 hours and you think there are more kittens inside, they need to see a vet immediately.
There is no need to bathe a cat since they are able to do most of their cleaning by themselves. The only way that you should bathe a cat is if there is something on their coat that has not come off for a good length of time, like oil and chemicals.
One way a dog shows affection for his owner is to wag his tail. Cats also wag their tails, but for totally different reasons. A cat that is flicking its tail is either feeling threatened or predatory and is considering his next move. It’s especially important to keep an eye on your cat’s tail when you’re holding it. If you see it start to move, it’s time to put your pet down before you wind up getting scratched!
It is a misconception that cats should drink milk or cream after they are weaned. Once a kitten is weaned from its mother’s milk, it no longer needs milk of any kind. In fact, milk or cream can cause digestive problems when given to an adult cat. So, to be on the safe side, skip the milk, and offer your pets lots of clean water instead.
Keep an eye out for places you want the cat to stay away from. Cats can wriggle into surprisingly small spaces. Kittens especially can fit into small spaces. Keep this in mind when introducing a new cat to your home. Any holes that are found should be repaired.
Hopefully, this article has prepared you to treat cats a bit better and deal with them in an appropriate manner. Cats are prone to a number of issues, but with the right knowledge, you’ll be able to handle all of them. Therefore, give your cat as much love as possible. You could even end up bonding with one of the feral cats.