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April 9th, 2009
There is a lot of talk going on about what to do with the issue of feral cat population.
Some measures have been proposed which will allow residents to kill what they perceive to be feral cats on their property. This suggestion has caused a bit of a stir, and amongst cat lovers, it is quite understandable. Cats are natural wanderers and a treasured feline may make a mischievous dash out of its home only to find itself hunted quarry in a neighboring property.
There are more humane solutions being practiced right now which entail trapping feral cats, neutering and then releasing them back to their environment (TNR). Critics of this method maintain that the problem of cat predation on local small animal populations still exists after neutering, and that a continuous supply of stray cats are finding their fertile way into these feral communities every day. Thus, any positive gains realized by the TNR program are being constantly negated by the actions, or inactions, of irresponsible pet owners.
There doesn’t appear to be any immediate, cut and dry solution to feral cats except to keep employing the TNR program and educating the public about how to be accountable for their cats. Local laws can be enacted to impose fines on owners whose cats are caught wandering on a frequent basis. Social pressure can be fostered in the form of campaigns that suggest it is absolutely not cool and downright irresponsible to have unneutered or unspayed cats wandering around. This, of course, would not be applied to owners of show and working cats where planned breeding is necessary for their specific breed.
It comes down to the fact that over 64% of U.S. households have pets, and the majority of these pets are considered as family members. Cats are the rebellious, independent members of the family unit. They shouldn’t be left to their own devices nor should they be discarded like disposable lighters. Similar to any wayward teenager of a family, special measures and tolerances have to be adopted in order to get the loved ones through a difficult time in their lives and bring them back into the fold of family unity. Cats are a bit different in that they are “wayward children” for life, however, they can be conditioned to accept a house-bound lifestyle. Having them spayed or neutered (we’re talking about cats now - not teenagers) will help temper their wanderlust a little, and there are some great outdoor “playpens” and containment equipment designed just for the benefit of felines. Some cats can be trained to walk on a leash for nightly jaunts, however, that may not be particularly healthy for you or the cat if there are too many unleashed dogs in the neighborhood.
Do what you can to help alleviate the problem of cats turning feral. The animal welfare organizations and volunteers are doing what they can to deal with the current populations by using TNR, rescuing and adopting of cats. But the flow of new, fertile, domestic cats into the feral communities must be stopped at the family, neighborhood and regional level. This is accomplished through public awareness campaigns, teaching school children about responsible pet ownership, social pressure and individual involvement. It’s a long uphill road, yet it can be accomplished, one or two kitties at a time.
April 9th, 2009
At some time or another even the sweetest cat “misbehaves.” Ironically, a cat’s bad act is usually quite normal behavior for her, but may have a result humans don’t like or want. Screaming at the cat or physically punishing her won’t alter negative behavior. The best way to change undesirable behavior is to eliminate the opportunity and/or distract the cat to an acceptable alternative.
Immediacy is vital: even seconds late may be ineffective. You must do it as soon as the cat starts misbehaving.
Distracting a cat away from an act is not very difficult. A loud, unfamiliar noise will quickly get her attention. Some cat owners use a low growling sound, others imitate the grating sound of a game show buzzer. Keeping the sound low-toned and harsh is important, because you want to save high-pitched sounds for praise and reinforcement of positive behaviors.
One well-known way to distract a misbehaving cat is to give her a blast with a spray bottle. While this works, it has some drawbacks. First, you must have the bottle in your hand at the exact moment the cat is about to act in a way you want to discourage. Unless you follow your cat around all day with a spray bottle in your hand, this is unlikely to happen. The second problem is that this technique seems to lose effectiveness after a while with some cats.
The best way to extinguish negative behaviors is to remove the opportunity. If your cat obsessively scratches the side of your couch, place a loose blanket or hard acrylic panel against it. Both techniques remove her access to the satisfying feel of the fabric. If she climbs your curtains, shredding them as she goes, fold or pin them out of her reach unless you are around to stop her. If she has accidents only when you are not home, only give her free run of the house when you are there. When you go out, close her in a room with food, water, litter box, scratching post and a couple of toys.
Avoid, at all times, any form of physical punishment. It doesn’t matter if your vet or the “cat expert” down the street suggests it; physically punishing your cat will do more harm than good. Some people feel that a “little” tap on the cat’s nose with your finger is an acceptable form of punishment because you are only using one finger. Humane group experts point out, however, that if you look at that finger in proportion to a cat’s nose - a very sensitive body part - it would be like someone hitting you on the nose with a rolling pin.
You can try gently pushing the palm of your hand into the face of the cat. This is best used when discouraging something like biting. Don’t hit the cat, simply push its face back gently.
Inflicting pain has a negative affect on your relationship with your cat. Even the most outgoing cat will back away from your hands, even if they are only reaching out to pet her. If your cat is shy to begin with, physical punishment can have even more deeply negative results.
Keep in mind, too, what you are communicating when you swat your cat. Swatting is one of the main ways cats fight with one another. When you swing your hand at your cat, she very well may take it as a challenge to fight. Constantly provoking her can create a serious aggression problem.
April 9th, 2009
Every year, hundreds of thousands of cats and kittens are destroyed because they are unwanted. Animal shelters that take in these animals and try to find them homes are overcrowded. With so many animals in need, they cannot support all animals indefinitely. The solution is not to open more shelters, but for cat owners to become more responsible about spaying and neutering their pets.
A female cat can have two litters of kittens each year. The average survival rate is about 2.8 kittens per litter. If her offspring are not spayed or neutered, the result is 12 cats the first year, 66 cats in the second year, and at the end of ten years, the total would be 80,399,780 cats.
“Spay” is the term used for the surgical removal of a female animal’s uterus and ovaries. When a male’s testicles are removed, it is called “neutering.” Both procedures leave the animals unable to reproduce. Besides preventing unwanted pregnancies, spaying and neutering of pets has other benefits for cats and their owners.
Benefits of neutering a male cat
* Neutered cats are less likely to spray strong urine
* Neutered cats will lose the urge to fight
* Neutered cats will be less likely to try to escape
* Neutered cats will not suffer the abscesses from fighting
* Neutered cats will be less likely to contract diseases such as FeLV and FIV
* Neutered cats will not be subject to testicular cancer
* Neutered cats will not likely develop “stud tail,” caused by overactive glands in the tail
* Neutered cats have a decreased risk of mammary cancer
Spaying a female cat prevents mating behaviors such as fighting and yowling/hyperactivity in females. Spayed cats don’t roam the neighborhood as much, protecting them from the dangers of vehicles and aggressive dogs. Their tendency to stay closer to home also provides protection against deadly diseases such as FeLV and FIV. Finally, “fixed” pets tend to be more loving, because they are not subject to the erratic effects of hormones.
One of the biggest benefits of spaying/neutering is that it dramatically reduces the cat’s risk of developing cancers of the reproductive system. A female cat spayed before her first cycle, or heat, has a greatly reduced chance of mammary cancer.
Less than a decade ago, conventional wisdom dictated that pets should be neutered at between 5-7 months of age. Recent studies have found that it is not only possible to spay/neuter cats at a younger age, it actually is better for them. Today, cats undergo spay/neuter procedures at about 7 weeks of age. They recover much more quickly than if it was done later, and ensures that a female does not become pregnant with her first heat.
In the past spaying was limited for a number of reasons
* It was better to let a female cat give birth to one litter of kittens before spaying.
* That female cats in particular, might later develop incontinence as a result.
* That certain behavioral problems might result.
However, these theories have since been disproven.
In the past, animal shelters and humane societies sent unaltered cats/kittens to their new home because they wanted them to start their new life as soon as possible. Usually, owners signed documents promising to have the animal neutered. Some facilities took it upon themselves to follow up with phone calls to make sure the owners were living up to their commitment. The overwhelming number of animals coming and going in a shelter today makes this unfeasible. Instead of allowing their charges to add to the overpopulation problem, most animal welfare/adoption groups routinely spay and neuter animals before they are made available for adoption. A number of municipalities have passed laws so that no animal can leave a shelter unless it has been spayed/neutered.
April 9th, 2009
If you’ve ever watched as a cat “flipped” over fresh catnip perhaps you’ve been struck with the question; “what causes Catnip to affect cats that way?” Catnip is indeed an unusual phenomenon among cats, it has the ability to alter your cat’s behavior like nothing else can. So what exactly is the reason for what scientists have coined as “the Catnip effect”?
Unfortunately for such inquisitive minds the exact reason of why Catnip affects cats
in such a manner remains mostly a mystery. There is however much that we do
know about Catnip and cats even if we don’t have the ultimate answer of exactly
“why?” yet answered.
The Science Stuff
Catnip is scientifically classified as Nepeta cataria and is a perennial herb from
the
mint family and is in fact also referred to as “Catmint”. It is a plant indigenous to
Europe but has been exported and is now found all over including the United States
and Canada.
The active ingredient in Catnip is an oil; Nepetalactone, which is found in the leaves
of the plant. This is the reason you are able to find Catnip in a bottle or spray form
in some pet stores.
Other Uses For Catnip
Catnip is not only good to stimulate activity in cats, it can also be used by
humans
as an herb for a medicinal tea which may soothe toothaches, help against coughs,
and may also perform as a sleep aid. Furthermore, Catnip can be used as an herb
on salads or other foods as has been the case for centuries in France. Lately Catnip
has also been garnering favor as a natural insect repellant rivaling the effectiveness
of many store bought varieties of repellant.
Catnip and Kitty
Catnip affects approximately half of all cats. What determines whether or not
a cat
will react to Catnip is a genome that is inherited (or not inherited as the case may
be) at birth. Kittens, regardless of whether or not they carry this genome, do not
react to Catnip until reaching about 3 or 4 months of age and becoming sexually
mature. Older cats are also more likely to have a diminished or non-existing
reaction to Catnip, which leads scientists to believe that the Catnip effect is based at
least partially on sexuality and that the reaction may be something like an
aphrodisiac. Further adding to this belief is the similarity of a sexual pheromone
found in the urine of the male cat to nepetalactone (the active product in Catnip).
Cats that can be traced to regions where Catnip is not indigenous appear to be
unaffected by Catnip. The domesticated housecat is not the only cat that may be
affected by Catnip. Larger cats can also be affected by the Catnip effect, felines
such as the bobcat, lynx, tiger and even lion are known to react much the same way
the common housecat would. It is interesting to note that while Catnip can act as a
stimulant when a cat sniffs it, it can conversely act as a relaxant if ingested.
Therefore, you may see a different, nearly opposite result depending on whether
your cat chooses to eat the Catnip you provide for him/her or merely sniffs it (the
latter being the more typical behavior).
How to Use Catnip With Your Cat
Catnip can prove to be a very useful tool for a few common problems with
your cat.
If you are lucky enough to have a cat that does react favorably to Catnip then here
are a couple of ideas for you and your furry little friend.
Catnip and Lazy Cats:
Catnip can be used to get a lazy cat off his or her butt. Some cats are
notoriously
lazy, choosing to sleep much of their day away in a nice golden patch of sunlight on
the living room carpet, only waking up to eat and gather some necessary attention
from their indulgent owners. If this sounds like your cat, you may soon see (if you
haven’t already) that your cat is becoming more and more round. This is generally
not a good thing. Catnip may be able to help. Presenting catnip to your cat
encourages activity (of course provided the cat sniffs rather than eats the herb).
Many adult cats will respond to Catnip in a manner that resembles their childlike
kitten hyperactivity, jumping, playing and running around as if it was given an
injection of kitty adrenaline, which in essence, is the case. The effect of Catnip on a
cat can last somewhere between two and fifteen minutes. If the latter is the case,
then this is a decent amount of exercise and will help keep your cat a little more
svelte than without a Catnip treatment. Furthermore, if you leave the Catnip out for
a few hours then your cat may return to the herb later (an hour or two after the
effect has worn off) and again react in an energetic fashion. So in this sense you
may consider Catnip sort of like a kitty energy drink.
Catnip and Cats That Scratch Furniture:
If you have a cat that seems bent on the destruction of your furniture then
Catnip
may again be able to come to the rescue. Cats can be frustratingly picky about just
about anything under the sun including where they want to sharpen their furniture
destroying claws. It is not uncommon for a cat to damage or destroy a piece of
furniture just because the owners finally gave up on trying to redirect their cat to
the unused cat scratching post that set them back anywhere up to a hundred dollars
and more. A good way to attempt to change this frustrating and expensive behavior
is to rub some Catnip or Catnip oil on a scratching post that you are attempting to
get the cat to use. Introduce your cat to the newly “Catnipped” scratching post and
see how he/she reacts. If all goes well, your cat will sniff and inspect the post and
then begin clawing at it. After a few times (you may have to re-Catnip the post)
hopefully kitty will be trained to use the post rather than the sofa.
Using Catnip with Multiple Cats
If you’ve never used Catnip before and you have more than one cat it is
advisable to
try it out individually on each cat before introducing it to all of your cats at the same
time. The reason is because Catnip affects some cats in a negative manner causing
the cat in question to become aggressive rather than merely playful. Introducing it
to your cats individually enables you to control the situation and keep a cat that may
react aggressively isolated from your other cats. This of course means avoiding a
possible catfight that could result in broken furniture, hurt kitties (possibly
requiring a vet visit), annoyed neighbors (and probably owners), or a combination of
all of the above.
Growing and Keeping Catnip
Growing your own Catnip can be rewarding as it can save you money, give you
the
satisfaction of doing something yourself and ensuring that you always get fresh,
high-quality Catnip for your cat. A word of caution however; the exact kitty
reaction you want to grow your own Catnip is something to be wary of. If you plan
on growing your Catnip out of doors and other cats can access your Catnip garden
then be prepared for unwelcome feline visitors. This may not be a problem for you
personally, but cats are by nature territorial and if you have a cat that lives alone
without the company of other cats this could prove to be an area of stress for your
cat. Even if you keep your cat inside at all times, your cat may get agitated if he/she
looks out the window to see another cat frolicking in territory your cat considers his
or her own. If you choose to grow your Catnip indoors, be careful to keep it out of
reach of kitty. Otherwise you’ll likely have Fluffy jumping up on furniture even to
the most out of the way place to get access to the tempting herb. Cats are great
jumpers and not really known for respecting precious household knick-knacks. So
if you do decide to grow it indoors for a cat that reacts to Catnip, be careful to grow
it in a place that your cat won’t be able to access it. A room that you always keep
closed to the cat is probably the best solution for indoor grown Catnip.
If you do find that your cat reacts positively to Catnip you should be sure to use it
sparingly so as not to dull the effect which can be the result of overexposure. A
good rule of thumb is to not treat your kitty more than once a week on average to
Catnip.
Given all the positive effects that Catnip may have on your cat you owe it to yourself
(and naturally your fluffy little ball of affection) to see how he/she reacts to this
strange and well known herb. It will provide enjoyment and exercise for your cat
and most likely an entertaining show for yourself as well. It’s a win win situation.
April 9th, 2009
If your cat has recently decided not to use the litter box, this can create a lot of stress for both of you. This frequently happens, and often there is a simple fix for the problem.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself when this happens:
1. Are you changing the litter daily?
2. Is the box easily accessible to your cat?
3. Have you recently added a new cat to your family?
4. Is the food and/or water dish too close to the box?
5. Have you changed brands of litter?
6. Are you using a new litter disinfectant?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, try changing back to the way it was done before the problem occurred.
Here are a few suggestions that may help:
1. If you have more than one cat, consider providing a box for each cat. Some cats don’t like to share.
2. Make sure you haven’t moved the box to a location that may have frightening noises.
3. Experiment with a new litter…cats seem to prefer a sand like texture.
4. If the cat has chosen to eliminate outside the box, and has chosen only one spot for this, move the litter box to that spot. You can gradually move the litter box back to the new location a little each day.
5. If the cat has chosen to eliminate in several locations, try putting dishes of cat food in those locations to discourage them.
6. If you have a cat that stands in the litter box but eliminates outside of it, try using a covered litter box.
7. Check with a janitor supply store for a product called uric acid neutralizer. It contains an enzyme that neutralizes the acid and eliminates the smell.
8. Consider a visit to the vet. Often there is a medical reason for this type of behavior change.
It’s possible there is an emotional basis for the change in your cat’s behavior. Has your cat recently been under a lot of stress? Things like surgery, illness and new pets in the house can all cause stress.
One or more of the above suggestions should help eliminate this problem. Above all, do not yell at your cat or punish him. A calm approach and a willingness to try different things will keep both you and your FurrKid happy!
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