Cat Maintenance

By Karen Mckee

I know some of these things are simple, but sometimes our furry friends need a helping hand. To clean my cats eyes I use a cotton ball dipped in warm water and swipe the complete eye including the tear duct. They can get "sleepy seeds" in this area just like we do, and although they wet their paw and rub the eye, it is still good to maintain this practise on a regular basis. The nails are another area (unless your cat is de-clawed) that should be checked.

Most cats have scratching posts at home and this is how they keep their nails short. It is similar to us using nail clippers when our nails get to long. There are tools on the market that are similar to our nail clippers and work the same way ours do. You need to be extremely careful doing this because a cats nails has a "quick" just like ours. If you cut the nail to short, not only will you get scratched, it may also bleed a bit. Good luck trying to cut the nails the next time! You can also get their nails clipped at a vets if you so choose to but generally a good scratching post will do the trick. Just take a look every now and then to make sure they're not to long. Combing is essential to keeping you cat hair ball free.

Cats are constantly bathing themselves; however, there are places they can't reach easily. Under the chin, and along the spine are two places that come to mind. There are all kinds of fancy cat combs and brushes out there, but I find a fine tooth "human" comb works just fine. When combing your cat always go "with" the flow of the coat and not "against" it as this causes undo stress for the cat, plus it hurts!

My cat "Misty" and I enjoy this time together when I comb her. It is relaxing for both of us and it gets all the hair balls out of the fur. If you do this on a regular basis you won't have as many to deal with. If your cat is and outdoor one, then sometimes they pick up brambles, twigs, etc. in their fur. Rather than struggle with the comb, I usually just cut these out with a pair of scissors. My cat freaked the first few times I did this, but continuing to do it a couple of times a week, she quickly got used to it. I treat her with something special to eat afterwards so she's not stressed. I comb Misty two or three times a week and she knows she's getting a treat afterwards, so as soon as she sees me coming with her comb she jumps up to her grooming spot and is eager to go. This is also an excellent way to see if your cat has ticks or fleas.

There are a wide variety of flea collars, drops, pills out there and are available at Pet stores, grocery stores, vets, etc. This time of year is very important to check you pet for fleas. Fleas are warm blooded and are looking for a free ride into a nice warm place-(like your home). Fleas can be found in your lawn from neighbors dogs, cats, etc. so and can hop onto your pet. They can also hitch a ride on us!!! These are nasty little critters for your pets, and us, so early detection is best for everyone.

The simplest way to eliminate them is to put a plate on the floor with a touch of dish liquid in it. Turn on a small lamp and place it directly over the plate when you go to bed at night. When you wake up in the morning you should find the remains of a few of them. Make sure if you have small children, kittens, puppies, you remove this as soon as you get up. Believe me it really does work! Hope you enjoyed these little tips on maintaining your cat.

Karen Mckee - proud pet owner of Misty

Natural Cat Food - Do it Yourself Easily and Quickly

By Madeleine Innocent

In the last decades of the 20th century, people were generally hoodwinked into believing that processed and prepared food was better for your health and that of your pets.

Happily, people are now realising that this isn't the case. More and more people are looking for a healthy diet for themselves and their pets.

When you search for a healthy diet for your cat, you really can't go past natural cat food. Nature does know best, despite the clamouring of the pet food manufacturers. Of course they clamour - it's big business.

But it doesn't mean that the clamouring is based on fact.

So how do you set about finding a natural cat food? You probably have certain criteria, such as:

• it must be easy as you're busy


• it must be nutritionally complete


• it must satisfy your cat mentally as well as physically


• it must be realistically priced

As the demand increases, businesses will spring up everywhere that offer natural pet food. Some will indeed do their utmost to fulfil this honestly, but sadly, there will always be others who will cut corners on quality and truly natural cat food.

Who do you trust?

The only person you can really trust, when it comes down to it, is you!

But I don't have the expertise, I hear you say.

No, you may not now. But you can learn. And learn quite fast. All you need to do is to follow natural laws.

Lets look at a wild cats diet first, as that's the most natural cat food there is.

A cat will kill and immediately eat small animals up to about their own size. This can tell you five important facts:

• the food is very fresh


• the food is raw


• the food is warm


• the food contains bones


• the food is mostly muscle meat and bones but there are small amounts of offal

I can hear questions forming in your mind - can you really feed cats raw meat? Doesn't that contain harmful bacteria or parasites? Won't the bones splinter and pierce the intestinal tract?

You know, nature doesn't get things wrong. It's had a long time to perfect things. If the raw meat and bones in natural cat food created health problems, cats would have died out long ago. But we all know, that given the right conditions, wild or feral cat populations can grow very large.

So yes, raw meat is the healthiest natural cat food you can give your cat.

And no raw bones won't create problems. It's cooked bones which can splinter and create all sorts of health issues. But cooked bones aren't natural, so it's logical that they have the potential to create mayhem.

So nature has got it right. Natural cat food is the best!

Of course, it's not that simple - nothing ever is, is it? You need to know the right balance, what to supplement and why, how many meals a day, what sort and size of bones are suitable, how to feed growing kittens and pregnant queens, how much offal and what kind, because you can get it wrong and then your cat can suffer the consequences.

And the big question on how to convert an adult cat to natural cat food - and this can be quite a challenge. It's not dissimilar to the concept of raising your kids on fast food, then telling them it all raw fruit and veggies from now on. You're likely to have a riot on your hands!

However, once you get the hang of doing it yourself, it's a doddle. And the best thing about it, is that the health of your cat will steadily improve to the best it's ever been. And the spin off from that is much lower health professions fees.

Don't you just love a win-win situation?

Madeleine Innocent has been a homoeopath, a natural health therapist since 2000. She treats both people and animals and finds that when the diet of her patient is addressed, to one that is more in keeping with natural laws, at the same time as her treatment, enormous strides in the resultant good health are made. To underestimate a good, natural diet is to play Russian roulette with life. http://www.naturallyhealthycats.com

Litter Training My Kitten - When and How Do I Start to Train My Kittens?

By Katherin Towers

Are you wondering when is the best time to start litter training your kitten, and how to go about doing it? Fortunately, cats and kittens are naturally fastidious creatures, and they have a natural tendency to use the litter box. Unfortunately, if they start doing it in the wrong spot, it can be difficult to get them to move their activities to the litter box.

Why? Because your kitten thinks that the place to pee is the place where she smells her urine. So, if the first place she went was someplace inconvenient like your pillow...

This is the reason you should always have a good way to completely get rid of cat urine smells. An enzymatic cleaner like Nature's Miracle is very handy when you start litter training a kitten. Sprinkle cat litter over the soiled spot then wipe it up with damp tissue paper. After that, use the cleaner to thoroughly clean the area where your kitten did its business.

You do not want to immediately throw away the soiled litter. Place the cat poop/pee in your kitten's litter box, then bring her to it. Do not rub her nose in the soiled litter. However, use her paws to gently dig at the litter to show her how to bury her poo. Just be patient and she will eventually get the idea.

The best cat litter to use at this stage is probably sand or a non-clumping clay cat litter. Some cat owners say they have good results with crystal litter, but some people are a bit nervous about using this type of litter for kittens.

When Do You Start Kitten Litter Training?

Generally, you can start to litter train your kitten once she is 4 to 6 weeks old. In most cases, her mother will teach her how to use the litter box. Your kitten might be a fast learner, and learn to use her litter box in just a week. Or she might take more than a month. This is one reason why you should not adopt a kitten less than 3 months old. Her litter training and socialization is not yet complete, and she will likely show other behavior problems in the future.

Of course, you do not always have a choice. For example, if you adopt an orphaned kitten, you may have to take the place of her mother. It helps a lot if you already have an adult cat who is already litter trained. Your kitten will tend to follow the older cat's example.

If you bought your kitten from a breeder, you should ask for some of your kitten's poop and soiled litter. Although it sounds gross, this can be really helpful in litter training a kitten. You also need to get the same kind of cat litter the breeder uses as well as the same kind of litter box. These are just some shortcuts to speed up the kitty litter training process.

Litter training your kitten need not be difficult. However, you do need to be loving and patient with your kitten. You also need to immediately and thoroughly clean up any accidents.

Do you want to learn more about litter training a kitten? Visit http://cattraining.kelvinmart.com/ to learn more about kitten litter training.