Popularly know as the BARF diet for bones and raw food or biologically adequate raw food diet, the natural raw feeding diet has been drawing increasing interest in the cat lover community.

One of the many people that support a raw feeding diet is Richard Pitcairn, DVM, PhD, author of “Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to the Natural Health for Dogs and Cats,” Rodale Press. He states that a cat’s health is improved by feeding a raw diet and that many of his clients have been feeding their cats raw meat successfully for many years. Continue Reading »

It’s an increasing concern for many cat owners, how to keep their cats pacified when they leave the home. Unlike dogs, cats aren’t as prone to separation anxiety – but keeping our cats entertained when we’re not home is good for their mental health and provides adequate brain stimulation for them.

Millions of cats watch as their owners leave for work every morning, with only themselves for company until teatime. Too many people are under the mistaken assumption that cats will happily fend for themselves. Cats can fend for themselves but they won’t necessarily be happy doing at all the time. Continue Reading »

The myth about cats having nine lives can be somewhat misleading at times. Especially for the first time cat owner, sometimes they need a little human help in order to keep their impressive reputation in tact. That is why it is useful to have a basic grasp of feline first aid just in case.

Two of the most common feline injuries involve cars and electrical wiring. Cats are inquisitive by nature, especially kittens and can often be found exploring behind the television or on the window ledge. As with most injury related dilemmas, prevention is by far the beast cure. So supposing you have taken all of the precautions you conceivably could and yet your cat still manages to get her teeth round the T.V. cable, what do you do? Continue Reading »

When you watch your cats interacting, pretend you’re watching a nature show about lions or tigers or leopards (and if you’ve never seen a TV show like that, look into it!). Sometimes the play/fights among the babies of the pride can get pretty rough. Now, I’ve never seen an animal parents break up a fight and I’m sure sometimes a youngster or two do get injured, so you don’t want to completely mimic an animal mom or dad, but this background knowledge can help you understand your cats a little more. Continue Reading »

Introducing a New Kitten to your Existing Cat

Cats and kittens in the same household can be the best of friends, or the worst of enemies, and occasionally, both at various times of the day!  One of the main problems is that cats are very territorial and if one cat thinks that a particular part of the room is his alone, he will soon show his displeasure if the kitten should dare to walk anywhere near it.  Continue Reading »

One week in spring, during a routine massage session, I discovered a small hard lump on Sappho’s belly close to a nipple. Since Sappho got a weekly massage (and a general belly rub daily if she could persuade me), I knew that the lump was had developed since her previous massage. Using my fingertips, I could feel that the lump was a hard nodule beneath the skin and was not associated with a flea-bite.

Why Massage?

Massage is an excellent relaxant for cat and owner and once you get to know the ‘feel’ of your cat you can quickly spot anything out of the ordinary that might need treatment sooner rather than later. Massage is regularly used by physiotherapists who can assess the condition of, and any damage to, muscles, ligaments and tendons. Massage can help free up stiff joints and seized muscles and promotes healing by encouraging circulation to affected areas.

I found out just how useful massage is as a diagnostic tool and healing aid after I broke some bones in my foot. Muscle doesn’t show up on X-rays, so a doctor or physio uses massage and manipulation to find out the extent of soft tissue damage.

I didn’t make the mental jump from physiotherapy massage to diagnostic cat massage until I watched the vet examine my cats. He used his fingers to assess the condition of their coats, skin, muscle-tone and abdomen. Sometimes he checked a joint by manipulating it and seeing if he could feel the joint ‘clicking’. He ran his hands over the cat’s fur feeling for fur condition and to see how prominent the bones were – an old or sick cat may lose weight, equally if the ribs can’t be detected at all the cat is overweight.

I realised that I spend a great deal more time with the cats than he does and I get plenty of opportunities to check them over while petting them. In fact I could assess their condition and check for abnormalities at the same time as reinforcing the cat-owner bond. But before I attempted any real massage, I got a friend to give ME a Shiatsu massage and tell me how to use my fingertips for feel for problems! Then I applied this to my cats.

Massage can reduce stress and blood pressure levels in both cat and owner. It stimulates the cat’s circulation and can aid convalescence. It is good at reducing swelling by breaking down fluid which has accumulated in the tissue (it’s a bit like massaging congealed soap until it becomes pliable).

Massage is especially beneficial to geriatric and arthritic cats and, as human athletes know, it eases stiff joints and rubs out muscle knots at the end of a hard day’s activity. Both cat and owner should find the sessions relaxing – if you or the cat falls asleep, then at least one aspect of massage is working, but you’ll need to stay awake a bit longer if you are to use it as a way of checking your cat’s wellbeing.

Cats need to become accustomed to being handled by humans; this normally happens during kittenhood. Massage in later life can improve socialisation in cats which are often aloof. How better to relax or reward a tensed-up show cat or a cat which is stressed out after vet check-up than a quick massage? While you pet your cat, it will show its pleasure by massaging you in return using its front paws.

American vet and qualified masseur, Dr Michael Fox, recommends that owners massage their cat(s) weekly, feeling and seeing with their fingers and comparing what they find with the usual feel of their cat. With practice, I’ve found that you can quickly spot anything which feels different from normal. Dr Fox gives cat owners six basic recommendations, though much depends on how much handling your cat enjoys and how confident you are.

1. Get to know the usual feel of your cat(s).

Once you know what is normal, you’ll be able to detect unusual lumps or bumps. Many cats have harmless skin tags or other minor bumps and scars (your vet will be pleased to confirm which irregularities are harmless). Once you’ve got to know the ‘landscape’ of your cat’s skin you will quickly recognise a new bump or one which has grown or spread. You will also feel any flea scabs or skin conditions and whether the cat’s fur feels sleek and well-conditioned or whether it has started feeling harsh.

Get to know how easily you can feel bones beneath the skin – don’t squeeze or prod, just be aware of which bones you can feel. This will help you work out if your cat is gaining or losing weight. The skin of a healthy cat seems to be attached only loosely to its body. If a pinch of skin is ‘tented’ (gently pulled away from the body) it should spring back quickly. If the skin stays tented or is slow to spring back, then the cat is dehydrated for some reason.

2. Feel for signs of pain, heat, swelling or atrophy.

These are usually signs of injury or illness. You may already know that your cat has injured itself e.g. it has been bitten by another cat or it has a sore leg and it may already be getting vet treatment. Massage can tell you if the injury is getting worse, staying stable or healing. Massage cannot help alleviate chronic conditions and can help get a limb working again after a period of immobility (e.g. a broken leg which has been in plaster will have lost flexibility and muscle tone).

One of my cats seemed to suffer from ‘pins and needles’ or stiffness after waking up. I often gave his legs a gentle rub-down when he got up. Since he always got up to greet me when I returned from work, a gentle massage was a nice way of greeting each other.

3. Check the abdomen

Very, very gently palpate the abdomen. Don’t squeeze it or you could do damage, but very gentle massage will give an indication if the cat is comfortable. If the cat tenses up there may be a problem in that area. If you can feel hard masses, there is a potential problem (it may just be constipation, but it’s not worth taking a gamble with your cat’s health).

If your cat has a known condition, ask your vet or veterinary nurse to teach you about palpating the abdomen and checking for early warning symptoms of trouble,

4. Check the glands.

In humans, we often talk about ‘the glands being up’ during an illness. Cats also have glands in much the same places; while massaging your cat, check whether any of these are swollen or inflamed.

A cat’s glands are situated under its jaw, before its shoulder blades and in the armpit, groin and upper hock areas.

5. Areas to avoid

Unless your cat, and your vet, are happy for you to gently massage areas which have been injured, you should avoid those areas. Avoid areas which are tender because of illness, injury or operation. In particular be careful of sites where the cat has had surgery, you don’t want to pull at stitches or risk damaging muscles or bone which are beginning to knit together and heal. Later on the healing process, the cat may enjoy a gentle massage to stimulate circulation. The vet will advise you of exceptions to these guidelines e.g. where you can use massage as a form of physiotherapy to get a cat mobile again after broken limbs.

The secret is don’t try too much too soon and don’t massage areas which are tender and which the cat doesn’t want touched. If it solicits a pain-relieving massage (such as Scrapper with his pins and needles) then go gently.

6. See the vet

If you find an area which feels abnormal in some way or your cat shows signs of discomfort, get it checked by a vet. You have done your bit by detecting early warning signals. Later on you can help with a therapeutic massage.

Specialist Massage

There are a number of specialist massages e.g. Shiatsu or TTouch which you can learn. These are beyond the scope of this article.

Doing The Massage

I like to start my massage sessions by stroking the cat in the ways it enjoys most. First I feel the coat’s condition and take a closer look at any areas that feel harsh or sparser than normal. By dampening my hands I can use the palms of my hands to stroke out moulted fur. After the initial flat-palmed stroking, I press my fingertips down more firmly to feel the skin as I stroke. That way I can feel if Sappho’s eczema is flaring up, or if Aphrodite has any scabs under her long thick fur which means I need to use flea spray sooner than I thought. On Cindy I thought my fingers had found a skin tag, but it proved to be a small rabbit tick. Later on, that area became permanently hardened due to a reaction to the tick’s saliva. I added this information to my mental map of my cats’ bodies.

After stroking and checking for signs of external parasites or skin troubles, it’s time to start the real massage. I always start the massage with their favourite attention areas, usually the ears, neck and back though all cats have different preferences ranging from belly to paw-pads and even inside the mouth (seriously). The edge of the jaw between ears and chin is often a favourite area. I then work along their sides and down to their belly as by this time they are lying full length on their backs doing Tai Chi with their front legs.

Many of my cats have loved having a belly rub and I love running my fingers through their warm silky belly fur. I wouldn’t belly rub if they disliked it and I always stop if they get overexcited and decide to play-fight my hand. If your cats hate belly rubs or fight your hand then you should move straight on to the paws.

While they’re upside down or lying on their side, I massage each leg in turn, gently flexing the paws and feeling the pads and between the paw pads for thorns or splinters. I also check whether any claws need clipping! Then I go back to the belly until one or other of us gets tired of it though you should go back to whatever bit your cat likes best.

American behaviourist Warren Eckstein recommends you first relax your cat by stroking it and talking gently. Then massage using small circular motions of your thumb and fingertips as you stroke, never losing contact with the cat’s skin. He suggests you start either side of the spine and work along the cat’s back, shoulders, sides and hindlegs. These areas see a lot of wear and tear. Then work from the chest to the belly and finally the forelegs. Massage gently and stop if your cat protests.

No Go Areas And Yes Please! Areas

Many cats are unhappy having a tummy rub – they feel vulnerable and switch between kittenish enjoyment to defensive aggression. Another area to beware of is the back of the hind legs. Relatively few cats are happy being touched here though many can be gradually accustomed to having these areas touched or stroked. Once again, it’s up to the owner and the cat to work out between them what feels good. If the cat decides that one part of its body, e.g. the belly or backs of the legs, is a no-go area, then you must respect that.

With Squeak (my neighbour’s cat who used to sneak in for a regular rub-down) I always had one extra area to massage – she loved to lie with her mouth wide open for a roof-of-mouth massage. I’ve never worked out why, but it’s something she loves and she will lie flat out for ffive or ten minutes for this. If I forget, or I try to skip the mouth massage, she grabs my hand and sucks my finger against the roof of her mouth to remind me.

Some cats enjoy a massage so much that they ask for one if they feel low. Dr Michael Fox’s cat Sam asks for a hindquarter massage to relieve the muscular discomfort associated with his occasional bouts of cystitis. He knows it makes him feel better. Scrapper liked me to soothe away the pins and needles associated with old age and worsening circulation. Sappho and Affy loved tummy rubs. Queenie liked me to massage around her empty eye socket (the eye had been removed due to injury) and even pushed the socket against my thumb; I was always worried about massaging this area but it may have helped with a ‘phantom limb’ type of sensation. Sappho developed a bowel problem and the belly rub probably made her feel good.

Most cats just know how good it feels to be massaged and after a while they will probably pester their owners for more.

Afterword

On the occasion I mentioned at the beginning of this article, Sappho’s lump appeared to be benign though I didn’t ask for it to be tested. Two years later, I discovered that its early detection and removal had probably prolonged or saved her life. Once again, I was massaging her belly (by then a little thinner due to age) and I felt a lump close to where I’d found the original one. Although it was promptly removed, three further lumps developed within a matter of months.

This time I decided against surgery since the cancer was spreading and Sappho was an old cat with several other medical problems (which were being managed). For several more months I kept an eye, or rather a finger, on their progress at the same time as watching Sappho’s general condition and demeanour. The spread of cancer was one of the contributing factors to Sappho’s eventual euthanasia (the others were Inflammatory Bowel Disease – probably one reason she loved a belly rub – and senility); but I’d given her two more years than she might have had.

All my feline family love her their massage session, blissfully unaware of its diagnostic aspect. So go on; spoil your cats with a weekly rub down.

Kindly reproduced from Messybeast.com

Cats can fend for themselves but they won’t necessarily be happy doing at all the time. Cats are animals which thrive on mental stimulation and the company of humans.

Cats often augment their reputation as destructive house pets by doing things out of boredom. Cat owners could prevent this type of inconvenience by simply trying one of many easy and effective methods of feline entertainment from the comfort of your own workplace.

Cats will benifit the most from having companionship all the time. If you are a full time worker and can see no other alternative to letting your cat roam free, why not consider acquiring another cat or even a dog. This will develop the social skills of both parties and will prevent any remote chance of boredom.

If a second pet is not an option for you, an alternative is to place mirrors around the home. Although this sounds not unlike an insult to the cats intelligence, it does provide a very useful function. It will enhance the amount of visual stimulation that your cat will recieve while she is on her own. It will also help or socialisation techniques and prevent her from becoming lonely.

Any movable objects are fantastic stimuli for the active and inquisitive cat. A weighted ball that changes direction is a fantastic and trouble free way of entertaining her, and it will keep her fit. Always ensure, as with children, that there no dangerous components to any of the toys you give to your cat which could be swallowed and cause choking.

Provide areas for the cat to go where she can reach different hights and angles. This will satisfy her climbing urges and will be a safer and more convinent alternative to a sharp set of claws travelling up the side of any valuable furniture. She will be able to experience different temperatures and lights and will be able to get away from the boredom of the house.

Cats enjoy exploring boxes and tubs so any old packaging left for to play with will provide her with lots of new spaces and areas to go into.

Rotate her toys so that she thinks she has a new one each day, this prevents her from getting used to the same challenge. Leaving the radia or television on will also help prevent boredom and will provide a feeling of familiarity to an otherwise lonely house.

If you haven’t already, install a cat flap so that she has access to a garden or yard. If you do not wish for her to have constant access to the outside world you can get flaps that can be locked or fixed so only certain actions can be made through the catflap. ( For your information. Sir Isaac Newton, the man who discovered gravity, is also the man who gave the world the catflap )

If none of the above are possible, at least ensure that she has access to a window so that she can have a look at the outside world.

Cats are naturally careful eaters as their digestive system is not good at breaking down toxins. Because cats are so sensitive to poisons, their senses of taste and smell must prevent them from eating food which could be harmful to them. An excellent sense of smell warns them of stale or contaminated food and if their sense of smell fails, so does their appetite. Unfortunately, the same mechanism which helps cats avoid harmful foods can turn it into a faddy eater.

Faddy eaters may be fixated on one or two types of food. This may lead to an unbalanced diet if its preferred foods are ‘treat’ foods or to problems if the food becomes unavailable. For these reasons, it’s unwise to allow a cat to become a faddy eater.

Unfortunately it’s all too easy to be manipulated without realising it. You avoid one or two flavours because your cat isn’t keen on them. It will eat them once it gets hungry enough, but it knows you will crack before it does. Instead, you stock up on the flavours it eats readily. In this way, you reinforce its food fads until they become firm habits which can be very hard to break.

Before deciding that your cat is simply a faddy eater which is training you to buy only certain types of food, look for good reasons for it to refuse food. Make sure there are no underlying problems before you before labelling it finicky and try to reform it.

Fussy, Off-colour Or Full Up?

Make sure your cat is healthy before you tackle any food fads. A number of medical problems can make cats finicky eaters – like ill humans, they won’t eat unless the food is especially tempting. A cat with a stomach upset won’t eat till it feels better. If a bunged-up nose is the problem, offer pungent foods or warm the food to make it smell more appetising. If your cat’s appetite doesn’t return within 24 hours or it appears ill, consult your vet as there may be a more serious problem.

Cats are highly intolerant of mouth pain. Dental or oral problems including bad teeth, gum disease, sore tongue, wounds inside the mouth or mouth ulcers make it hard to eat and can completely stop a cat from eating. Sometimes the mouth pain may make it difficult to eat certain types of food, but the cat still eats very soft food, giving the impression of finicky habits. If your cat has groomed contaminants from its fur it may have burnt its mouth or throat – it needs urgent medical treatment as it may also have ingested poison. Sometimes a cat requires tube feeding while the mouth heals.

Throat infections can make it uncomfortable for the cat to swallow.

Stress can also upset feline appetites. Factors range from a new baby, a house move or a new cat next-door (spend time reassuring your cat) to the smell of paint when redecorating (feed the cat away from the offputting smell – al fresco if necessary!).

Other factors which can make cats finisky include:
The temperature of the food. Most cats don’t like food which is too cold. Cold food doesn’t smell as strongly as warm food (compare the smell of frozen or chilled fish to the smell of fish warmed on the stove). Serve food at room temperature or warm it slightly to mimic the temperature of fresh caught prey.

The food bowls. Cats dislike deep or narrow food bowls which constrict their sensitive whiskers. Some types of plastic give off smells which, to the cat, smells as though the food is contaminated. Some are allergic to plastic and develop a skin rash from plastic food bowls. Switch to a shallow china or metal dish. Cats may be willing to use narrow bowls to get to a treat food or forbidden food, but not for everyday eating.

Hygiene. Cats don’t like the smell of stale food so use a clean bowl for each meal and keep the eating area clean. Stale food could harbour multiplying bacteria which can cause food poisoning. Stale food may also have visible fly eggs on it.

Detergents. The smell of washing-up liquid on a food bowl can put cats off their food with good reason – the detergent residue could be toxic. Always rinse the bowls well after dish-washing.

Flavours. Even the most undemanding cat may dislike one particular flavour or texture. Faddy cats, however, dislike MOST flavours. Chunks-in-gravy and chunks-in-jelly can be a particular problem as cats lick up the gravy or jelly but leave the chunks to go stale. Gravy/jelly alone isn’t a balanced diet. Either switch to a ’supermeat’ variety or mash the chunks into the jelly/gravy.

Medication. Cats soon learn to avoid their normal food after only a few days of finding medicine in it. The cat’s sense of taste is so good that medication odourless to humans is detectable to cats. Try putting medication in a smelly ‘treat’ food such as pilchard or strong cheese, and vary the treats.

Stale Food. The food might be ‘off’ – tinned food left open on the shelf will go stale. Dry food (kibble) in sacks or boxes can pick up the damp or strong smells. The box may fit neatly beside the washing powder, but cats don’t like Persil-flavoured biscuit. Store dry food in sealed containers (check that the container doesn’t have a strong plasticky smell). Keep tinned covered in a cold place (pantry or fridge) and allow the serving of food (not the whole can) to reach room temperature before feeding it to the cat. If your cat only eats small amounts of wet food, buy small tins or small foil trays. These are more expensive to buy, but there is less wastage.

Not hungry. It isn’t hungry enough to eat the whole serving. Reduce serving sizes rather than encouraging it to clean its plate and become overweight. Some cats prefer to eat little and often; dry or semi-moist food stays fresh longer. Some cats have digestive systems which only accept small amounts of food at a time. Feed small, frequent meals (as you would do when feeding kittens).

Height of foodbowl. This is an odd one for most people. Some cats have problems eating from a bowl on the floor. Sometimes this is a medical problem with the oesophagus (food-pipe) and/or stomach which can also cause the cat to vomit up what it has just eaten. Older cats and those with joint trouble have problems crouching down to eat their food. Place the food (and water) bowls on a raised surface e.g. block of wood so that the cat can eat while standing up.

Hunting and scavenging. Indoor-outdoor cats have the opportunity to hunt and scavenge. perhaps a neighbour is feeding it treats unaware that it is refusing food at home. To avoid hurting any feelings, you could tell neighbours that it is on a medical diet and treats could harm or even kill it. Your neighbour might be getting great pleasure from feeding the cat so another solution is to give the neighbour a small container of its ‘permitted food’ and a allow her to feed it a handful of this each day, but explain that other types of food will lead to high vet bills. One of my cats wears a tag saying she is allergic to milk – she hasn’t had any squitter-attacks since wearing this tag.

Fussy Felines Are Made Not Born

Kittens which receive a variety of foods during weaning develop varied tastes. Those weaned onto a monotonous diet often refuse unfamiliar foods later in life, although some may try new foods after watching what other cats (or humans) eat. Good eating habits start early, and should be reinforced throughout a cat’s life. In laboratory experiments, kittens were weaned onto a potato-based diet (the food contained added nutrients essential for their growth and health) and later on in life they refused to eat unfamiliar meat-based diets.

Certain fishmongers’ cats don’t even attempt to eat the fish because they were never given fish when they were young – they have never learnt that it is food.

These habits can be changed, but it takes time. Aphrodite recognised only two types of food when I obtained her aged 5 months. She ate dry food or canned tuna. She never learnt to eat standard canned food, but over a long period of time we introduced her to a variety of fresh and cooked meats and fish as well as cheese. This was important in order to medicate her. Tablets simply do not mix with dry biscuits.

If a cat eats only one particular cat food, problems occur if that variety is unavailable or the recipe changes. Many owners believe that cats eventually eat what it is offered rather than starve. In practice (such as the laboratory cats fed on potato), a cat may not recognise an unfamiliar food as being edible and a prolonged fast can cause liver damage. Wean the cat onto other varieties by mixing small amounts of the new food into its usual food and gradually changing the ratio of new flavour to old.

Many cats eat the same food for several days then get bored. The anxious owner offers a variety of foods until finding something the cat accepts. The cat soon learns to manipulate its owner and get food which it likes, but which might be nutritionally inadequate. Occasional treats of liver, tuna etc add variety to the menu, but cats can become addicted to treat-foods. If you feed treat-foods to the virtual exclusion of balanced cat foods, your cat risks illness through vitamin imbalances. Rather than giving in to a sardine addict and replacing its balanced breakfast with a dish of sardines, mash a little sardine into the cat food and return your cat to a balanced diet by gradually reducing the amount of sardine mixed into its meals.

Offer a variety of tastes and textures early in a cat’s life so that it gets used to different flavours and types of food. If you acquire a mature cat which is set in its ways, offer it titbits of different foods and slowly build up the variety.

Vary the flavours offered rather than giving the same one every day. Although cats don’t nutritionally need variety (if the food is balanced and ‘complete’), most will get bored of the same food day in day out. A cat which doesn’t get bored of a monotonous diet will pose a problem if you can’t get its usual foodstuff.

Introduce menu changes over a period of weeks by mixing a small amount of new food into the regular food rather than letting the cat manipulate you into feeding it an unbalanced diet. If the regular food has suddenly become unavailable (withdrawn from sale etc), then mix a small amount of a treat food (canned fish etc) into the new food to encourage the cat to eat and reduce the amount of treat food over the next few meals.

Some cats are deterred by an unfamiliar texture. Most prefer their food chopped into lumps rather than mashed to a pulp, although cats with sore mouths may need a softer consistency. When swapping varieties, try to find foods with a similar texture to its usual foods. Start introducing your cat to small amounts of foods which have different textures, if necessary using the gradual mixing technique.

The Problem With Prescriptions

Prescription foods are made in relatively small quantities and usually in only one flavour and texture. For this reason, some cats do not readily accept them. Some tinned prescription foods are very solid and cats may not like the gluey, pate consistency. I found that mixing in a little water (or gravy or tomato juice from a sardine can if allowed) created a more acceptable texture and perhaps a more attractive flavour.

Ask the vet if you can introduce prescription food gradually by mixing it with the cat’s normal food or mixing in a little tomato juice from a sardine can. Always ask first – your cat’s wellbeing could depend on it eating unadulterated prescription diet. If the prescription food comes in both tinned and biscuit form this might add variety to an otherwise monotonous diet. Many cats have distinct texture preferences. Cats bored by restricted diets may beg treats elsewhere. A friend with a cat on prescribed food gave neighbours small tubs of dried prescription food for when her cat goes visiting. Her cat’s collar disc reads “Don’t feed me treats – I’m ill. Treats could kill me”. If the cat steadfastly refuses to eat the prescription diet (and believe me, some cats would rather starve than eat a foodstuff which they find unpalatable or unfamiliar) then ask if there are any alternatives to the prescription diet e.g. home-cooked chicken and rice mix or a similar prescription food from a different manufacturer. Some vets are sponsored by particular food manufacturers and can only supply you with one brand of food from the clinic, but another manufacturer might have something similar which your cat will eat.

If your faddy cat steadfastly refuses to be reformed and you think it may be suffering from a vitamin imbalance, consult a vet. Most faddy cats can be reformed given time, patience and persuasion.

Kindly reproduced from Messybeast.com

The first thing to remember before you even visit the cattery is ‘do I really want a cat?’ You must be a hundred and ten percent certain that a cat is the right pet for you and your family. Can you afford it? Do you have the right home in which to raise and look after a cat? Do you have the time to properly look after a cat?

A pet cat will depend on you, her owner, for the whole of her life. A healthy, well looked after cat can live up to fifteen years so commitment and dedication are essential qualities in a cat owner. The time and effort you put into raising and looking after your cat will be reflected in her temperament and character, and subsequently the enjoyment you will get out of the ownership of your cat.

Upon deciding whether or not a cat is the right pet for, put off visiting the cattery for a little while longer. Because now you have to plan finances and caring for the new arrival. It would be advisable to plan an annual budget, including in it the following.

Annual veterinary bills. These are unavoidable; you will never own a cat that doesn’t require a visit to the vet at some point in her life. Vaccinations are essential if you want a healthy, happy cat. In some areas vaccinations are required by law. Consider them an investment, paying for a vaccination early on will reduce the chances of your cat becoming ill and subsequently requiring treatment, which will cost more than the vaccination itself.

Food. Cat food will constitute a large part of the overall cost of cat ownership. It is important to monitor the health of your cat, especially if you change your food at any point.

Accessories. Items such as litter trays and scoops are essential. Your cat will need certain things to ensure that she does not become bored and as a result, ensure that your furniture does not become destroyed. She will need a scratching post amongst other things.

Insurance. Insuring your pet is highly recommended by vets and insurance companies. The premium paid out over a year to cover a pet against illness or injury is substantially less than the cost of treatment.

After planning your finances you need to ensure that you have the resources to look after your cat to the highest standard. You need to ask certain questions. Are you prepared to have an animal living in the house? You will need to clean the house more frequently and thoroughly with a cat about. This is for hygiene reasons as well as the fact that your house won’t have the cat smell! Cats are notoriously independent animals. They may venture off for days at a time only to return for food. Are you seeking companionship from your pet or are you happy with seeing your cat less frequently than with other pets.

Once you have decided that a cat is the right pet for you and your family you need to decide exactly which cat will fit into your life best. Do you want a male or female? Do you want a long or short haired cat? All of these along with many more are questions which could alter every day of the next fifteen years of your life. So think carefully. It is imperative that you have a clear idea of what you want in a cat before you visit the cattery. This is to ensure that you do not become attached to a cat which is unsuitable for you and your family.

When deciding whether or not to buy a male or female cat it is important to remember that each cat has an individual personality regardless of sex or breed. Unlike dogs, it is difficult to select a breed or sex in order to get certain characteristics. Some cats may be affectionate, others may be shy, so choose type of cat based on practicality rather than temperament because it is very rare that you would know what you were going to get. If you are a house proud home owner perhaps a short haired breed would be more suitable.

If you insist on a purebred then be prepared to pay more than for a non purebred and the difference is not easy to see to the untrained eye.

As equally as important as selecting an individual cat is selecting a breeder. Only use a reputable breeder who observes the code of ethics set to regulate the behaviour of cat breeders. It would be advisable not to use a breeder who advertises in the local paper. This is not because good breeders do not use this medium but because the majority of bad breeders do use it. Choose a breeder who is local, so you can easily go to visit your prospective cat and see it in it’s own environment. This is so you can get a judgement on its character.

Aggression in any pet is an unwanted problem, particularly so in cats. These usuallly placid, affectionate animals can be known to become aggressive, and as Britains most loved pet it is essential that today’s cat owners know how to deal with feline aggression. This resource aims to highlight the reasons behind feline aggression and what can be done to help.

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