When you adopt a cat you make a very important decision the moment you bring them home. You have the choice to control if they will live a long and happy life, or risk them losing years off their life, with one simple decision. That decision happens when you choose to keep your cat indoors or outdoors.
If you want them to live long and remain happy and healthy for many years, then choose to keep them inside. By allowing them uncontrolled access to the outdoors you allowing then to be susceptible to any number of terrible events.
From being hit by a car, finding their way to a poison such as anti-freeze, being stolen, or even becoming lost are just a few of the accidents and happenings that your cat may become prey to.
There may be many reasons that you do not prefer to have your cat indoors but the underlying facts are always there. If the litter box smells, be sure to clean it everyday to prevent an odor from occurring. If your cat enjoys being outdoors this is fine, keep them under supervision and they will remain safe while enjoying their time outside, but once you put them outdoors permanently you are putting them at risk immediately.
Sun bathing can also be a big trigger for cats to become fond of the outdoors, but allowing a curtain or blind to remain partially open at any window can allow them to sun-bathe while still remaining indoors.
If your feline spends time by the doors or windows meowing loudly this can be a sign of their instinctual urge to mate. If you have a cat that has not been neutered or spayed, this may be a good time to do so, it will eliminate this howling. All of the needs of any cat can easily be met indoors. Including exercise, attention, and even sun bathing.
The average life span of a cat will more than double when kept permanently indoors. The average life span of an outdoor cat is only three years. That is surprisingly low when you understand that cats can easily live to be sixteen to twenty years of age. Think of the health and happiness of your cat before deciding to put them outdoors. You have their health and safety in your hands.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Can You Train A Cat?
The worst possible attention we can give our cats is attention that reflects positively on their bad behavior. Since cats do not learn by instruction so much as by experience the way to pint them in the right direction is by reaffirming the behavior that they present.
Has your cat ever jumped on the countertop only to be gently cooed away? This semi-confusing behavior can not be seen as reprimand and the cat will continue in jumping on the counters. Experience based learners are trained by experience based reward. So be careful that you do not accidentally reward bad behavior.
Make a self appointed rule that you will in no way reward behavior that you deem to be disruptive. Set your own standards. On the reverse side, if you see you cat doing what he/she is suppose to be doing, playing where she is designated, scratching in the correct place, be sure to reward this behavior with exceeding joy. Show them that you are very pleased with the way he/she is behaving.
On the same note if you have a cat which finds their way into the bedroom at five AM do not reward them by feeding or petting them for jumping and waking you. Your best response to the situation will be to either ignore the behavior or to keep them from entering the room at that time of the morning. No cat can learn appropriate behavior when they are continually rewarded for being bad.
When you were a child were you grounded when you went against the rules, or were you given a toy or a piece of candy for going against the rules? This is my point. Just because we can not communicate with words, or physically put our cats in time-out does not mean we can not show them by way of reward or proper discipline.
As long as you are devoted to your cat, you have patience to deal with an rebellious antics, and you have treats on hand to rewards positive behavior you will do a great job at instilling respectful behavior in your cat.
Has your cat ever jumped on the countertop only to be gently cooed away? This semi-confusing behavior can not be seen as reprimand and the cat will continue in jumping on the counters. Experience based learners are trained by experience based reward. So be careful that you do not accidentally reward bad behavior.
Make a self appointed rule that you will in no way reward behavior that you deem to be disruptive. Set your own standards. On the reverse side, if you see you cat doing what he/she is suppose to be doing, playing where she is designated, scratching in the correct place, be sure to reward this behavior with exceeding joy. Show them that you are very pleased with the way he/she is behaving.
On the same note if you have a cat which finds their way into the bedroom at five AM do not reward them by feeding or petting them for jumping and waking you. Your best response to the situation will be to either ignore the behavior or to keep them from entering the room at that time of the morning. No cat can learn appropriate behavior when they are continually rewarded for being bad.
When you were a child were you grounded when you went against the rules, or were you given a toy or a piece of candy for going against the rules? This is my point. Just because we can not communicate with words, or physically put our cats in time-out does not mean we can not show them by way of reward or proper discipline.
As long as you are devoted to your cat, you have patience to deal with an rebellious antics, and you have treats on hand to rewards positive behavior you will do a great job at instilling respectful behavior in your cat.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Cat's Claw
Popular consensus says there are certain guidelines to follow when adopting a cat into your household. First, the essentials: a collar, litter box, kitty food, and hopefully a comfortable little cat bed for Snowball to call her own. Next is the veterinary visit: shots, a test for feline AIDS and leukemia, and possibly a locator chip (in case the cat gets lost and brought to a vet, this implant will indicate who the cat belongs to). Then there are the surgical procedures: spaying/neutering and declawing. This is precisely where popular consensus has misled far too many American cat owners.
One of the leading causes of death for cats is Feline Immunodeficiency Virus and leukemia. It is easily spread and a painful disease to watch the loss of an animal to. Testing for these diseases is a must. To spay or neuter a cat is also in the best interest of your pet. Studies have proven that cats live a longer life if they have undergone this procedure. Spaying eliminates the chance of ovarian cancer in female cats, and neutering removes the possibility of testicular cancer in male cats. It also significantly reduces the risk of mammary cancer in both males and females. So far, so good.
Then there is the encouragement to declaw your beloved animal. It is all too common for domesticated cats to scratch at your sofa, your carpet, or anything it can comfortably sink its claws into. There are a couple of speculations as to why your cat will do this, the predominant explanation being that sinking her claws into a substantial surface allows her anchor herself while pulling back; this permits cleaning the claw and removing the old outer sheath. It is also a great way to stretch your cat’s muscles. As natural predators, all cats whether domesticated or not, still have keen hunting instincts, and they also are apt to prefer climbing to extended heights. Claws are pertinent tools in both of these engagements.
Contrary to many Americans’ beliefs, declawing is not a painless surgical removal of a cat’s claws, nor is it a simple permanent shortening of the claws. It is an amputation. This removal of the cat’s bone is equivalent to removing the last joint of every finger for a human. It is a sad oversight that leaves cats in pain for weeks and even months. Some cats never recover. There have been reports of suffering cats who change distinguishably after being declawed; biting more, walking differently, mood changes, constant pain, etc. This unnecessary amputation is animal cruelty and is not in the interest of your pet’s best welfare. As a matter of fact, declawing is prohibited in many countries outside of North America, including Europe, Australia, Japan, Brazil, and Isreal to name a few. It is more recently becoming banned in some parts of the United States also.
Because declawing is such a malicious practice, it is important that cat owners learn how to work around cat scratching without the extreme punishment of amputation. Patience and understanding goes a long way when teaching a cat to use a cat pole instead of the $3,000 leather sofa. A water gun will eventually teach right from wrong, as will a stern redirection of the cat’s instincts. In the meantime, one may consider double-sided tape or placing a blanket tightly around the sofa for added protection while the cat is learning what the open grounds for scratching are and where they are not. There is even a non-surgical procedure to adhere vinyl nail caps using a nontoxic glue (by brands such as Soft Caps or Soft Claws), and of course, nail trimming.
The point is cats are amazing, loving, vivacious creatures. They are perhaps the most popular pet alive providing us with comfort and joy, and a sense of companionship. These awesome attributes should not be welcomed home by a painful elimination of knuckles. Just as bringing a child into you home calls for major adjustments and preparations, along with new leniencies and understanding, so must we all adapt when it comes to our feline friends.
One of the leading causes of death for cats is Feline Immunodeficiency Virus and leukemia. It is easily spread and a painful disease to watch the loss of an animal to. Testing for these diseases is a must. To spay or neuter a cat is also in the best interest of your pet. Studies have proven that cats live a longer life if they have undergone this procedure. Spaying eliminates the chance of ovarian cancer in female cats, and neutering removes the possibility of testicular cancer in male cats. It also significantly reduces the risk of mammary cancer in both males and females. So far, so good.
Then there is the encouragement to declaw your beloved animal. It is all too common for domesticated cats to scratch at your sofa, your carpet, or anything it can comfortably sink its claws into. There are a couple of speculations as to why your cat will do this, the predominant explanation being that sinking her claws into a substantial surface allows her anchor herself while pulling back; this permits cleaning the claw and removing the old outer sheath. It is also a great way to stretch your cat’s muscles. As natural predators, all cats whether domesticated or not, still have keen hunting instincts, and they also are apt to prefer climbing to extended heights. Claws are pertinent tools in both of these engagements.
Contrary to many Americans’ beliefs, declawing is not a painless surgical removal of a cat’s claws, nor is it a simple permanent shortening of the claws. It is an amputation. This removal of the cat’s bone is equivalent to removing the last joint of every finger for a human. It is a sad oversight that leaves cats in pain for weeks and even months. Some cats never recover. There have been reports of suffering cats who change distinguishably after being declawed; biting more, walking differently, mood changes, constant pain, etc. This unnecessary amputation is animal cruelty and is not in the interest of your pet’s best welfare. As a matter of fact, declawing is prohibited in many countries outside of North America, including Europe, Australia, Japan, Brazil, and Isreal to name a few. It is more recently becoming banned in some parts of the United States also.
Because declawing is such a malicious practice, it is important that cat owners learn how to work around cat scratching without the extreme punishment of amputation. Patience and understanding goes a long way when teaching a cat to use a cat pole instead of the $3,000 leather sofa. A water gun will eventually teach right from wrong, as will a stern redirection of the cat’s instincts. In the meantime, one may consider double-sided tape or placing a blanket tightly around the sofa for added protection while the cat is learning what the open grounds for scratching are and where they are not. There is even a non-surgical procedure to adhere vinyl nail caps using a nontoxic glue (by brands such as Soft Caps or Soft Claws), and of course, nail trimming.
The point is cats are amazing, loving, vivacious creatures. They are perhaps the most popular pet alive providing us with comfort and joy, and a sense of companionship. These awesome attributes should not be welcomed home by a painful elimination of knuckles. Just as bringing a child into you home calls for major adjustments and preparations, along with new leniencies and understanding, so must we all adapt when it comes to our feline friends.
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