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Cats Indoors!


Keeping Cats Indoors is for the Cats...

Each year, millions of cats are run over by cars, mauled by dogs, poisoned and lost. Hundreds of millions of birds and small mammals are killed annually by free-roaming cats. The suffering of both cats and birds is all the more tragic because it is so unnecessary.

Today's cat owners face an important decision: "Should I keep my cat indoors?" For your cat's sake, and that of the birds and other wildlife in your neighborhood, the answer to that question must be "yes!"

The average life expectancy of an outdoor cat is just two to five years, while an indoor cat may survive for 17 or more years. Cats who roam are constantly in danger...

Cars - Millions of cats are run over by cars each year. Seeking warmth, outdoor cats crawl into car engines and are killed or maimed when the car is restarted. Motorists risk accidents in attempting to avoid hitting free-roaming cats.

Human Cruelty - Each year, animal shelters and veterinarians treat cats who have been shot, stabbed, or set on fire. Unsupervised cats may also be captured and sold to research laboratories or used as "bait" to train fighting dogs.

Animal Attacks - Torn ears, scratched eyes, abscesses, internal injuries, diseases, and sometimes death result from encounters with dogs, other cats, and wild animals like raccoons, coyotes and foxes. Overpopulation - Unaltered free-roaming cats are the single most important cause of cat overpopulation. As a result, millions of cats for whom there are no homes must be euthanized each year.

Disease - Cats allowed outdoors risk exposure to fatal diseases, including rabies, feline leukemia, distemper, and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). Vaccines are not 100 percent effective.

Parasites - Cats allowed outdoors are more likely to contract debilitating parasites such as worms, ticks, mites, and fleas.

Poisons and Traps - Exposure to pesticides, rodenticides and antifreeze poisons and kills thousands of outdoor cats each year. Cats are maimed and killed in traps set for furbearing animals.

...And for the Birds

Today, birds and other wildlife face more obstacles to their survival than ever before. Wildlife habitats are destroyed and degraded every day, and many species are declining as a result. Even the impacts of natural predators on their prey is changing based on how humans are altering natural environments. And the presence of an unnatural predator -- the domestic cat -- is having an impact as well. Scientists estimate that cats kill hundreds of millions of birds each year and three times as many small mammals. Most birds killed by cats are members of relatively common species, like the Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco; others are rare and endangered -- the California Least Tern, Piping Plover, Western Snowy Plover and California Gnatcatcher.

Regardless of the status of the species, each wild animal suffers when captured by a cat. By letting our cats outside, we -- perhaps without intent -- place a higher value on the freedom of our pet than on the life of that cardinal, that chickadee or that chipmunk she kills.

"Is it Nature's Way for Cats to Kill Birds?"

A descendant of the wild cat of Africa and southwestern Asia, the domestic cat instinctively hunts and captures prey. However, wildlife in the Western Hemisphere did not evolve in the presence of a small, abundant predator like the domestic cat, and thus did not develop defenses against them. Cats were introduced in North America by European immigrants only a few hundred years ago.

While cats may instinctively hunt wildlife, it is clear that they are not adapted to life in the wild as are our native wild cats like the bobcat and mountain lion.

Outdoor domestic cat populations are most commonly found in and around human settlements; most do not survive without direct or indirect support by humans. They are in this way very different from native predators.

Truths about Cats and Birds

We all know that cats don't have nine lives, but there are three other myths about cat predation we'd like to dispel.

1. "Belled" cats do kill wildlife. Cats with bells on their collars can learn to stalk their prey silently. Even if they don't, wild animals do not necessarily associate the ringing of a bell with danger.

2. Even well-fed cats kill wildlife. The urge to hunt and the urge to eat are controlled by different portions of the cat's brain. 3. Once caught by a cat, few birds survive, even if they appear to have escaped. Infection from the cat's teeth or claws or the stress of capture usually results in death.

Tips for Happy Indoor Cats

Kittens who are kept indoors usually show no desire to venture outside as cats. With knowledge, patience, and time, we can change most cats who roam outdoors into happy indoor pets. These tips will help.

Provide a safe, outside enclosure, such as a screened porch.

Provide window shelves to permit cats to monitor the outdoors from the safety of the indoors.

Play with your cat each day. Paper bags and cardboard boxes are sources of unending delight when you are away.

Plant kitty grass (available from pet supply stores) in indoor pots so your cat can graze.

Clean litter boxes regularly.

Because indoor cats may slip out an open door, it's important to keep in mind the other essentials of responsible pet ownership:

Spay or neuter your kitten as early as possible;

Put an identification tag on your cat's collar- it's her ticket home if she slips out; and

Where such programs exist, license your cat.

For the Sake of All Cats... Support local cat control and protection plans; Support legislation requiring cat owners to register their cats and prevent them from roaming;

Do not feed unowned or free-ranging cats without making a commitment to giving or finding them a permanent indoor home; and Take cats for whom you cannot care to your local animal shelter to give them the best possible chance of adoption into loving, lifelong homes.

More for the Birds

Support efforts in your community to protect wildlife and their habitats. All wild animals have three basic needs: food, water and plants that provide escape cover and nesting sites. If you feed birds in your yard, locate feeders away from windows and brushy vegetation that permits neighborhood cats to hide. Keep your feeders clean and well stocked. Where possible, establish a brush pile for wildlife away from feeders. Avoid using pesticides.

Cats cannot be blamed for killing wildlife. It is the responsibility of cat owners to ensure that their cats are safely indoors. The Humane Society of the United States, American Humane Association, and other groups are working with American Bird Conservancy on "Cats Indoors! The Campaign for Safer Birds and Cats." Through this campaign, we will educate and encourage cat owners to protect cats, birds and other wildlife by keeping cats indoors.

The above is general veterinary information. Do not begin any course of treatment without consulting your regular veterinarian. All animals should be examined at least once every 12 months.

About the author:

Adapted from the Cats Indoors Isn't Just For The Birds brochure, part of "Cats Indoors! The Campaign for Safer Birds and Cats". For more information, please visit www.abcbirds.org.

Linda Mar Veterinary Hospital and its cat-only affiliate, Coastal Cat Clinic, are small animal practices located in Pacifica, California. To find a veterinarian or to learn more about the vet clinic and our staff, visit:[http://lindamarvet.com/]


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Homemade Kitten Food

Do you need a cheap, healthy alternative to store bought kitten food to help wean your kittens off their mother's milk and transition them to traditional canned kitten food? More than likely, they have shown little interest in regular canned food, preferring the milk to anything you might put in their bowl. Dry food will also be too hard on their developing teeth. The best option would be to start them on a food that reminds them of what they prefer, but can be mixed with traditional wet food to help transition them over. This recipe is simple to make, and kittens find it delicious.

Bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat and mix in one envelope of unflavored gelatin. Be sure to mix thoroughly, and do not boil the gelatin. If the water tastes bad or has a heavy chlorine taste when it comes out of the tap, consider using filtered water instead.

Pour this mixture into a blender along with half of a 12 ounce can of goat's milk. Blend just long enough to combine thoroughly. Do not substitute cow's milk because cats tend to be lactose intolerant. Using cow's milk can lead to discomfort, diarrhea, and worse if fed to kittens.

Add the following ingredients one at a time. After each addition, blend briefly to combine before moving on to the next. You will want to use the lowest setting to avoid overmixing. Add: 3 tbsp full fat yogurt, 3 tbsp real mayonnaise, 3 tsp light corn syrup, and 1 raw egg yolk. Concerning the egg yolk, raw eggs carry a small risk of salmonella poisoning. To eliminate any risk of accidentally passing this on to your kittens, use eggs that have been pasteurized in their shells.

You can serve the completed homemade kitten food the way it is, or you can store it for use later. To store for later usage, cover the mixture tightly in a small container. You can store it in the refrigerator for up to ten days or in your freezer for up to three months.

If you are going to use food that you have prepared in advance, you will want to warm it up before serving, especially if it is coming from the refrigerator or freezer. Cold food causes severe stomach upset in kittens. Warming it up will also make it more aromatic, and thus more appetizing to the kittens.

About the Author
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Visit the author's website, http://newbornkittens.net to learn more about newborn kittens, as well as their raising and care

How to Litter Train A Kitten

If the mother cat is still in the home and she is already litter trained, then litter training her kittens is a natural process. Her kittens will simply follow what she does. However, ultimately, each cat should have its own litter tray or else it may create a host of other litter tray problems for you!

For most kitten owners, the mother cat is not in the home if the kitten was orphaned or purchased. But this is not a problem. It is easy to litter train a cat when it's still a little kitten. Cats are creatures of habit and it may not be as easy to litter train once they have become used to their favorite toilet spots.

The key to litter training a kitten is to let it get used to the litter tray as soon as possible. You will need to manually place your kitten onto the tray initially, as it is neither used to it nor is it able to climb over the edge to get in.

Most kittens would defecate soon after waking up and after a meal. You could place your kitten in the litter tray during these times and after a few weeks, your kitten would get used to the routine and it would become a habit.

Just be sure to place the litter tray a reasonable distance away from where the kitten is fed and where it sleeps. Cats and kittens are fastidious creatures and do not like to do their toilet near where they eat and sleep.

When a kitten is still very young, it will not be able to "cover up" very well after its toilet, as most adult cats are capable of. But you don't have to worry about this. Once they are about 1 to 2 months old, they will instinctively know how to cover up their poop.

In the wild or in the garden, cats will scoop soil and earth to cover but in the home, if you provide commercial cat litter, they will naturally scoop the litter to cover up the poop. You will notice, even if you only provide a newspaper for their soiling, your kitten will still scoop at the newspaper in an instinctive act to cover up their poop.

Although you can expect to pick up poop after your kitten in the first few weeks, litter training a kitten is relatively easy and can be 100% trouble-free once it gets used to the routine of using the litter tray.

About the Author
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Cat Behavior Facts Few People Know

Epics, novels and movies have always portrayed cats as unpredictable and moody creatures. Many consider cats as mysterious creatures. However, the truth cannot be further from this. A cat is as normal and predictable as any other animals. The only condition is that we need to know what to expect from a cat in terms of normal behavior.

People consider cats as 'cute' little animals only to give them up at the slightest hint of aggression or litter issues. Most people do not do their homework well before keeping a cat. Cats are different than dogs and that's where people greatly misunderstand cats.

Being distant relatives to the much larger cats we see in the wild, (of course our kitty is much smaller), they are able to eat at frequent intervals. COnsuming anywhere from 10 grams to a quarter of a cup at a time.

The reason for this is that it is instinctual to keep their digestive system in optimal condition. In addition to eating frequently these instinctual creature just like their relatives can go a day to two without eating anything, and as long as they don't seem to be sick this is a very normal behavior.

Cats love to sleep! In fact, sleeping is the main activity on their agenda followed by hunting, chasing and eating. At time it may seem like all a cat does is sleep and eat.

Unlike a dog that sleeps with his ears cocked and gets up at the slightest noise, a cat can sleep through anything. So don't be surprised if your cat finds some warm and soft place and disappears for a while for his catnap.

Cats are a clean creature and like to keep things private. They like their litter boxes to be hidden in a private place. In fact after a cat uses the litter box they bury it in litter covering up and hiding their business. This behavior is a learned behavior that they pick up from their mothers at a very young age.

These are just a few cat behaviors cat owners should know. Now, that you know these behaviors it is easier to know when a cat is being normal and when a cat is acting odd.
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QUICK CAT FACTS

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ARE GINGER CATS ALWAYS MALE?
No. This is a common misconception. Ginger cats can be either male or female although ginger females are less common.

The genetics of ginger is explained in more detail in Tortoiseshell and Tri-Colour Cats (ginger is caused by the same gene as tortoiseshell), but this is a short version for those wanting a quick answer.

The ginger gene changes black pigment into a reddish pigment. The ginger gene is carried on the X chromosome. A normal male cat has XY genetic makeup so he only needs to inherit one ginger gene for him to be a ginger cat. A normal female is XX genetic makeup so she must inherit two ginger genes to be a ginger cat. If she inherits only one ginger gene, she will be tortoiseshell with some ginger areas and some black/brown areas.

The ginger gene is called a sex-linked gene because it is carried on a sex chromosome.

Also, if you look closely, ginger cats have tabby markings though these may be faint or only visible on the face, tail and lower legs. They are also visible in the ginger areas of tortie cats. This is because the gene that turns off tabby to give solid colour cats does not work on the ginger colour.

ARE GINGER FEMALES RARE?
No. They are less common than ginger males, but they are not rare. It is possible to selectively breed ginger female cats by mating ginger males and ginger females together. They will have ginger offspring.

ARE GINGER FEMALES STERILE?
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TOXOPLASMOSIS

Toxoplasmosis (commonly called toxo) is a disease caused by a microscopic protozoan called Toxoplasma gondii. You may have heard about this infection because of the danger to newborn children if a woman becomes infected while pregnant. Another reason cat owners should be aware of toxo is that the cat is considered the "definitive host" of the toxoplasma organism, meaning it is the only animal that sheds infectious toxo in its feces.

All mammals can become infected with toxo. Infection can occur in two ways. One is by ingesting toxo that has been shed in the feces of a cat. This can occur through contact with soil where cats have defecated or through direct contact with a cat or its fecal matter. This is a very uncommon occurrence. The much more common method of acquiring toxo is by eating meat or prey which contains toxo in the form of a tissue cyst. In cats and other predatory animals this occurs commonly when they eat uncooked prey. In people it occurs most commonly through eating raw or undercooked meat since beef, pork and lamb can all contain toxo.

When any animal, including people and cats, become infected with toxoplasma it usually is an inapparent infection with no illness. This is because the body's immune system puts up a defense that stops the spread of the toxo and walls off the organism into a tiny tissue cyst which remains dormant for years. These are the same tissue cysts which if eaten can cause infection.

In people the situation is different if the person who becomes infected has a compromised immune system, such as a person with AIDS or a person on immune-suppressing drugs. In these cases, the spread of toxo may not be held in check and it can develop into an overwhelming and sometimes fatal infection which may affect many organs including the lungs, liver, eyes and brain. The situation is also different if the person who becomes infected is a pregnant woman.

The woman will generally have no apparent illness, but the toxo organism can pass to the fetus and result in damage to the eyes or brain causing congenital disease.

When mammals other than people become infected a similar thing happens. The vast majority never have illness but may carry tissues cysts of toxo for life. Only a few whose immune system fails to stop the toxo will become ill. This holds true for cats as well. A high percentage of cats have toxo cysts but are not ill, but we only occasionally diagnose toxoplasmosis in cats where it causes disease of the eye, lung, brain or other organs.
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PICA In Cats: EATING THE INEDIBLE

Pica means eating non-food items. The behaviour ranges from sucking, chewing and biting through to swallowing bites of items. Pica (from the Latin for "magpie"). It should not be confused with the suckling/nursing behaviour that some cats retain into adulthood. Commonly consumed target items include wool, string, elastic bands, electrical cords, tissues, tinsel and houseplants. Other objects have included cassette tape and the rubber "teat" section of a child's dummy (pacifier). Eating a little grass or herbs is normal cat behaviour; indoor cats may eat houseplants if there is no grass accessible.

Like many obsessive or abnormal behaviours, the cat persists in doing it because the it is comforting or rewarding. The reward might be a nice taste, a full stomach or simply getting attention from the owner. The challenge is to make the behaviour unrewarding and redirect the behaviour into something rewarding for the cat and acceptable to the owner. Sometimes it is a displacement activity where an abnormal activity is substituted for normal behaviour because the cat can't express the more normal behaviour i.e. the normal behaviour is being thwarted.

PICA, WOOL-SUCKING OR PREY-PLUCKING?
Wool-sucking (or fabric-sucking) is a misdirected form of nursing. It's similar to a child's thumb-sucking in providing comfort.. Though sometimes mistaken for wool-eating, the item (sweater, blanket etc) is only sucked, not chewed, bitten or swallowed. Other commonly suckled objects include the cat's own tail, other cats or pet dogs. Behavioural treatment may be needed to build up the cat's confidence so it no longer resorts to "comfort nursing".

In general, the younger a kitten is when it is weaned, the stronger the urge to nurse and the more persistent the comfort-nursing. Usually it decreases naturally as the kitten grows up, but it may persist or resurface in early-weaned or hand-reared cats, particularly at times of stress. More rarely it becomes a compulsive behaviour or progresses to pica.

Some owners provide an old sweater for the cat to suckle on while protecting other garments by storing them away from the cat or dabbing hot chilli sauce onto them.

Plucking the target resembles pica but is a misdirected prey-related activity. The cat holds down the (often woollen) blanket or garment with its paws and uses its teeth to pluck or tear at it. This is the same behaviour found when a cat plucks or tears fur, feather or flesh from larger prey items (e.g. pigeons). The clothing/blanket isn't swallowed anything the cats tears off is discarded. One of my cats, Sappho, exhibited this behaviour towards crochet blankets.

In the case of one Siamese cat, it took a sock to its eating area and plucked at it periodically during the meal (canned food). The owner attributed this to "teeth cleaning" but it was probably misdirected prey-plucking/tearing behaviour as it only occurred at mealtimes.

BREED PREDISPOSITIONS
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Persian - the Facts Every Owner of This Cat Breed Should Know

The origins of the Persian cat are murky, at best. Some claim that the Persian is descended from the Sand cat, but this cannot be proven. It is also thought that somehow Angoras were crossbred with Chinese longhairs or Russian Longhairs, but again, this is uncertain. There is also the suggestion that longhairs came to China as a gift from the king of Persian but there is no proof of this. What is known is that Perisans were recognized as their own distinct breed by the 19th century and came to America at around the same time. This longhaired cat comes in a wide variety of colors that is very thick, making it prone to matting.

A Persians coat is so thick the hair looks as if it is standing on its end. Regular grooming is an absolute must to avoid this problem including regular brushing and bathing. Any matting that is not attended to may result in uncomfortable skin infections.

Described as a sweet cat, Persians are not particularly active. Though they do enjoy running and playing, they will spend a fair portion of the day sleeping.
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History, Temperament of the Maine Coon.

History of the Maine Coon Cat
Maine Coons have been on this earth for many centuries, they were well documented at being in large numbers at American Cat Shows in the mid 1800’s alongside the other popular breed at the time the Persian cat.

There are several theories as to the origin of Maine Coons, the Darwin Theory of an animal’s origin being disregarded and obscured, from being an outcross between a Bobcat/Wildcat and a domestic, coming across as ship cats from Scandinavian countries as Forest type cats and mating with the domestic cats, to Marie Antoinette sending her royal cats on a ship to the safety of Maine, prior to her beheading. Nobody really knows and the cat’s aren’t saying.

Maine Coons are a natural breed of cat or at least the original ones were, and anyone who has ever met one and to everyone who has ever lived with one, the Maine Coon is a very special breed of cat. [1]

Appearance of The Maine Coon Cat
Maine Coons are the largest breed of domestic cat and have a rugged, working cat appearance. They have a lovely semi-longhaired coat of varying lengths and were well built to survive in the harsh North American winters. This coat is very water repellent, but quite soft to the touch. An amazing plumed tail of large proportions finishes off this wonderful coat. They come in a large variety of colours and in several tabby patterns as well as solid and particolours. Brown tabby is the original colouring of a Maine Coon but the rainbow of colours range through blues, reds and creams, silvers tortoiseshell and solid blacks through to solid white.
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Cat allergies

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Cat Grooming - What Other People Are Not Telling You About Ear Care For Your Cats
Good ear care is important to your cat's health, especially as she ages. Check her ears at least once a week, and clean them as needed to prevent ear mites, allergies, and bacterial, fungal and yeast infections from taking hold.

Flushable Cat Litter - a Popular Choice for Cat Owners
No more picking up the litter and carrying it down to the nearest disposal unit! No more putting up with that very peculiar odor all day long! Just get yourself the new flushable litter for your cat!

Understanding Cat's Behavior
Your cat's tail makes a great indicator of your pet's feelings and mood. When his tail is held straight up, this is an indication that he is happy and feeling relaxed. In fact, the higher the tail is held, the happier your cat is. Thus, when your cat greets you with a high tail when you get home, you are sure that he is in a very good mood.

All About Traveling With Cats
If you are planning to travel with your cat, first ask yourself these questions: Are cats allowed at my destination? If so, will my cat adjust to conforming to regulations concerning pets and really be happy away from home? Cats tend to be creatures of habit and it is important that your cat can adapt to change.

How To Properly Store Beans
I always keep a variety of dried beans and other legumes like lentils and split peas around. They are a great source of protein, and keep for quite some time if stored properly. They come in handy when I need a filling meal but don't want to drive to the store.



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Recipes for Festive Yam Souffle and Winter Apricot Compote
As we head into Fall, our thoughts turn to entertaining. It won't be long until Thanksgiving rolls around and a month after that it is Christmas. As Americans, our holiday traditions seem to center around good meals with family and friends. Whether it is up to you to host the festivities or just to take a dish to a friend or relatives house, here are a couple of old-fashion recipes from my vintage recipe collection. Both are great for holiday entertaining or just good sit-down family meals

Zucchini Pancake Recipe
I know that almost everyone has had potato pancakes but did you ever try zucchini pancakes, when I was a child I was a very picky eater and there was very little things that I would eat, my favorite was potato pancakes, I just loved them so much I could eat them every day so one day I came home from school and my mother had potato pancakes or so I taught, I sat down to dinner and began eating my favorite food but something seemed a little strange, I said to my mother these pancakes taste different and she said I used a different kind of potato this time and so I was satisfied with her explanation and kept on eating my fill as usual, when dinner was over she asked me how I liked dinner and I said it was wonderful as usual, then she replied these were a new zucchini pancake recipe that she just got from a neighbor and decided to try it on me. I was never so surprised in my life and since then I have been making the same zucchini pancake recipe and now I am passing it on to you.



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Meow Mix House - Cat Reality Television

My friends at Meow Mix have done it again, they have produced a reality TV show staring 10 homeless cats. All ten cats were chosen from animal shelters from around the country.
The cats are spending their time in a storefront window in New York City. The players are brought to life with the use of voice over and the public votes one of the cats out of the house each week. Sound like something you've watched before?
The best part is when the cats gets voted out of the Meow Mix House they go to an adopted new home and the winner will be the new Meow Mix spokes-cat.
Thanks to Meow Mix for providing great entertainment for us cat lovers.

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CHRONIC RENAL FAILURE
The kidneys of a cat can become diseased in a number of different ways. Cats can be born with congenital kidney disorders or the kidneys can become damaged due to injuries, infections, kidney stones, tumors and toxins (such as antifreeze). While all of these conditions are life threatening they are, luckily, all fairly uncommon. The kidney condition of cats which is very common is a progressive deterioration of the kidneys with no apparent underlying cause that progresses with age. We refer to this as Chronic Renal Failure (CRF). This condition is the most common cause of death in aged cats. When deterioration of the kidneys occurs, they are not able to function normally. The kidneys have several important functions. They help clear toxic waste products from the body, keep several blood chemicals at normal levels, and control fluid balance to maintain normal hydration. They also produce a hormone necessary for the production of red blood cells and are involved in the regulation of calcium and vitamin D

An Owner's Guide to Kidney Failure in Cats
The kidneys are responsible for producing hormones, controlling blood pressure, and removing waste products. Kidney or renal failure in cats occurs when damage is done to the organs. This can occur suddenly or progress over time.

5 Common Causes of Your Cat Urinating Outside the Litter Box:
Have you ever had this happen? You’re a happy cat owner, your kitty is using the box just fine, but one day…you come home and find a giant urine spot in the living room the bathroom…heaven forbid – on your bed! What happened? What went wrong? It

Cat Training Tips:
When starting to train a cat, a couple of things you will want to take in consideration. Learn more about your cat, have the proper tools to do the training and have lots of patience

How To Stop Your Cat Scratching - Get Rid Of Those Fleas:
You know how annoying it can be when you have an itch, but you can't reach it to give it a scratch? Well, when your cat has fleas it's like your problem, just multiplied a hundred times.



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The darn cat is spraying all over the house!
Cats are much more trainable than many owners realize and if behavior problems do arise they can often be dealt with quite simply so long as you take the time to see the world from your cats point of view.

Photographing Your Elusive Feline
When Sasha sees the camera, “she won’t stay still for even a second,” says Formichelli. “It seems that if she’s not lying down, she’s in motion. We tried to get a photo of her on a bench with my other two cats to create a birthday card for a cat-loving friend, and she kept jumping down.”

Adopting A Cat:
Whether or not to adopt a cat is by no means an easy decision. It carries with it huge responsibility. You will have to take care of a cat until its death, which could be in 15 to 20 years. In addition, you should be ready to spend a large amount of your time feeding the cat, grooming it, and playing with it on a daily basise



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