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TIPS KEEPING YOUR CAT HAPPY Never pick a cat up by the scruff of the neck; you can cause serious damage. Teasing your pet, if only in play is often the start of the pet turning into an aggressive pet. Cats homed as indoor cats must NEVER go out. As you will realize a cat does not know it is an indoor cat so if tempted by an open door or window will attempt to go outside. Or we may be tempted to open the door if the cat keeps crying at the door. However, we must remember we are the adults and we know the dangers out there, the cats don’t. It is also not a good idea to have a harness and lead, many cats have escaped and others have actually hung themselves when left outside alone for a while. Cats homed that are able to go out should be kept in for 2 months and kittens should be kept in for 6 months. NEVER let a cat out once it’s dark and don’t leave it out during the day while you are out at work or have gone shopping. Over 100.000 cats go missing each year, dog fighting; the fur trade and research are some of the reasons. If you lose a cat report it missing immediately, (see lost & found page) this gives a greater chance of getting it back. HEALTHCARE Food and water bowls should be washed after each use and never used twice. It is a good idea to have all cats injected against cat flu and enteritis and for cats that go out for feline leukaemia, at the present time there is no injection for feline aids. Comb your cat every day, this helps to prevent fur balls and is a vital check for flea. Please note that it is just as important to worm and flea indoor cats regularly and the best products are only available at your vets .e.g at Carrick vets you can ring and ask for a free nurse check after that you can purchase the best treatments from them. Also the treatments from vets are cost effective as most importantly they work. Check your cats ears on a regular basis for ear mites, untreated they can lead to serious ear damage. Although we always home white cats as indoor cats if you have one from elsewhere and you let it out they MUST as indeed should all cats with white ears have sun block (Sun E45 is non-toxic to cats) put on them before they go out, indoor cats should also have it on if they sit on the window ledges. Cancer due to the sun of the ears and sometimes the nose is common. If your cat is ill or you suspect something is not quite right please ring a vet immediately, all vets are on call 24 hours a day and a timely visit could save your cats life. LEAVING IT TILL TOMORROW COULD BE TOO LATE. One of the biggest killers of pets is people who do not take them to the vets on timeFEEDING Always leave a bowl of fresh water down, it’s not often drunk, but it is there if the cat needs it. Remember milk is a food, not a drink, and gives many cats loose motions, as does food served straight from the fridge. Indoor cats benefit from having 1 Halibut Liver Oil capsule, once a week.
LITTER TRAYS & A WEEEEE PROBLEM
Almost daily we are asked to bring in cats just because they have a wee problem or spray. Very often this can be resolved with a little time and patience. I am amazed when I ask have you a litter tray and am told no, often a litter tray provided - problem solved. If you know which cat is weeing or spraying it is wise to have the cat checked out by a vet in the first instance to ensure there are no underlying medical problems. CP advise always provide a litter tray irrespective of your cats age even if they are allowed out, if you keep an eye on what your cat is passing, you can spot many problems, e.g. cystitis is very common in cats and needs urgent Veterinary treatment. It is shown up if the cat uses the tray frequently and/or passes blood, something you would never know if you didn’t have a tray. We think the covered litter trays are best and you can even get them in most colours to match your decor. We find that the wood pellets are excellent there is no smell of urine whatsoever and if there was then the cat could need to see the vet as it may have a problem. Another problem seems to be when folks have only one litter and a number of cats. Some cats do not like to wee and poo in the same tray so sometimes it is necessary to provide 2 trays to alleviate any problems, ideally one litter tray per cat is the best option in multi cat households. To remove the smell of the urine and hopefully stop a recurrence we suggest you clean the area thoroughly with a solution of hot water and a enzymatic soap powder, allow to dry then wipe everywhere down with a spirit brandy, gin, whisky, rum (I did purchase some rum in France once and it was so horrid I used that on the carpet and it worked very well) and if that is too painful surgical spirit. Once all traces of urine are removed you could put a little dried cat food down or try Feliway spray from the vets, used daily for a time can be a benefit, there is a Feliway ‘plug in’ however I have found it as much use as a chocolate teapot. No doubt some people must have had some success as been on the market for a while now. My own cat Jeannie used to spray everywhere, up wall, on the curtains, this behaviour stopped within in a very short time after I started to spray with Feliway, only very occasionally now does she have a relapse, it is quickly solved with spirit and a few sprays of the Feliway. In May it was necessary to have Trudie a long term CP cat PTS due to bowel cancer, I would like to think that Trudie's untimely death has not been in vain as a lesson can be learnt from it, and that is the reason why everyone MUST always provide a litter tray no matter how old the cat and irrespective of the fact that it may go out. So many times I am told oh! I have no need for a litter tray my cat goes out now. Had Trudie no access to a litter tray the cancer would have continued to get the better of her and she would have suffered, she looked purrfectly well and it looked like there there was no reason to take her to the vets, the only reason we took her was because I noticed she was going into the tray more frequently than usual and there was blood on most pooos and drops in the tray. None of this would have been noticed had we no tray we don't know what our little ones are putting in the hole in the garden, do we? Which brings me on to trays we have just purchased the electric 'Litter Maid' trays. They are a bit ((well a lot) big but are wonderful. 10 mins after a cats does a weeee or poo a rake goes along and gathers the weee/pooo and puts in a receptacle which only needs emptying or changing occasionally, the tray is then as if new litter had been put in. It is used in conjunction with corn litter. Of course if your cat has a problem you would still notice as there would be loads of little poos with blood on them or if a cat had cystitis loads of little clumps and also you would keep hearing the rake do its job and wonder what was happening. ALLERGIES Do you Suffer from Eczema, Asthma, Hives, Stuffy Nose Itchy, and sore eyes? If anyone in your family becomes
allergic to your cat before you ring us and ask us to take it in and if
you really do want to keep it perhaps you could try Petal Cleanse™ it is
a surfactant based lotion that removes from the coats of cats, dogs and
other pets the allergens that cause allergic reactions in humans see
Have you had
the tests to prove it is George?
IF YOU
FIND WHAT YOU THINK IS A STRAY, PLEASE DON’T WAIT UNTIL IT’S PREGNANT OR
IF A MALE IN |
