Teaching Your Cat Tricks

Although some cats will respond to positive reinforcement, most cats generally do better if they are working for food rewards. If you use soft moist cat food or dry food as a treat, you will lessen the chance of disturbing a properly balanced diet. If your cat has performed a certain task you have asked of her, make sure you not only reward her with a food treat but with verbal praise as well.

You will have more success if you work with one command at a time. As with any kind of training you have to be consistent and let your cat work at her own speed. When you see even the slightest glimmer that your cat understands the behavior you are trying to teach, reward her enthusiastically. Here are a few you may want to try.

Come
Try teaching this one at mealtime. Use your cat's name followed by the command "come." If necessary, tap on her food bowl to get her attention. When she comes, praise her lavishly and then give her the food. Eventually, your cat will associate the food with the command and then you will be on your way to owning a trained cat.

Shake Hands
With your cat sitting in front of you, touch her paw and say, "shake." As soon as she reacts and lifts her paw, shake it and give her verbal approval along with a treat. Remember to be consistent and repeat the command the same way each time.

Sit-Up
Place your cat into sitting position. Hold a treat over your cat's head and say "sit-up." Do not give her the reward if she stands or grabs at the treat, just repeat the command and wait for her to try. When she does accomplish the desired behavior, give her the treat right away and repeat the command several times.

Wave
Swiping at a morsel of food is a natural behavior for a cat. Hold a treat in your hand. Place it in front of the cat's nose but just out of reach of her front paws. Then, move it back and forth with your hands in a waving motion while telling your cat to "wave." As your cat reaches out for the food, it will appear as if she is waving. Once her motion simulates the waving behavior, praise her and give her a treat.

Being A Good Pet Neighbor

As you enjoy your pet's companionship, a little extra effort on your part will teach her to be a good neighbor.

Most communities require each cat in a household to be registered and some have limits on the number of cats one household can own. Keeping your cat indoors avoids problems with neighbors and protects your cat from being hit by a car, encounters with unfriendly dogs or attacks by other animals. If your cat is allowed outdoors, train her to wear a safety collar with an expansion device and a tag that gives your cat's name and your telephone number to distinguish your cat from stray cats. Proper identification enables someone to contact you if your pet wanders far from home.

Cats who are allowed to roam may damage neighbors' gardens or use planters as litter boxes. If you allow your cat outside, keep a watchful eye on her. If she leaves to visit a neighbor, bring her back to her own yard.

A cat who is not neutered or spayed may become an undesirable neighbor. Female cats come into their first heat cycle between five and seven months of age and may have several heat cycles throughout the year. Spaying eliminates the problem of a female in heat who attracts male cats and annoys the neighbors. A male cat who is not neutered can be prone to roam and fight. He also sprays urine, which has a strong, unpleasant odor.

Keep your cat well nourished by feeding a nutritionally complete and balanced quality pet food. Take her to your veterinarian regularly to keep her vaccinations current and to be certain she is free from internal and external parasites and in general good health.

Caring For Your Older Cat

Maturing — Aging
How can you tell when your cat is getting old? On the outside, she may look much the same, and she probably still loves to bat her toy mouse around the kitchen floor and take naps sprawled across your hand-knitted heirloom afghan. But inside her body, time may be taking its toll.
The Middle Years
You may barely have noticed the subtle changes your cat went through after the first year of her life, but when she approaches her equivalent of human middle age - somewhere between the ages of 8 and 12 - start paying extra attention. Your veterinarian may recommend that you modify your cat's diet.
The Later Stages
Some veterinarians believe that cats reach their geriatric years around age 12. Other experts are more generous, categorizing cats as being "old" at about 15. When your cat is between the ages of 12 and 15, be on the lookout for behavioral changes. You may notice that she catnaps a lot more. It's normal for some old cats to sleep more than 18 hours a day.
As a cat ages, her joints may stiffen and become difficult to move, making her lethargic about many types of activities, even her grooming ritual. But before you decide to do a thorough brushing for her, ask your veterinarian to make sure your cat's not seriously ill -- a lack of desire to groom can also be a sign of sickness.
However tempting it may be to treat her to table scraps, it's really not wise. Overfeeding a cat at any age -- especially with fatty foods -- is actually setting her up for obesity and related health problems in the future.
Above all, you'll need to start watching your geriatric cat very closely for hints of illness. After weeks of seeming healthy, a cat suddenly may display signs of being very ill, catching you, the owner, off guard. Too often, pet owners hope a small problem will go away, only to seek their veterinarian's advice when their cat is beyond help.
The best thing you can do is watch for signs and, if you spot anything amiss, visit your veterinarian.

Welcoming Your New Kitten

The thought of bringing home a new kitten can be at once exciting and overwhelming. Here are some kitten-specific suggestions that will help make your new friend's welcome a warm and lasting one.
Kitten-Proof Your Home
Keep small items such as tinsel, rubber bands, buttons and beads out of reach–your kitten could choke on them. Place all electric cords out of reach. Also be aware of those household products and plants that may be harmful to your new kitten.
Cat Carrier
Bring your new kitten home in a cat carrier. Cat carriers are a safe and familiar place for your kitten when you visit the veterinarian or travel, and can keep your curious kitten out of trouble when need be.
Litter Box
You can help your kitten to understand what is expected by placing her in the litter box after feeding. Kittens do not need a full-size litter box and might do better in a box with lower sides (about 1 inch).
Litter Box Training
Watch your kitten closely. When she begins nosing in corners or squatting, place her in the litter box. Gently scratch the kitten's front paws in the filler, so she begins to learn that this is the place to deposit and bury waste. If your kitten has an accident, wipe it up with a paper towel and place the paper towel in the litter box. Then place the kitten in the litter box and repeat the process of scratching with her front paws. Do not punish your cat for having an accident. This won't help her to learn to use the litter box, it will only teach her not to eliminate in front of you.
When your kitten begins to understand, don't take her good behavior for granted. Continue to praise her for using the litter box.
Grooming Your New Kitten
It is important to make your kitten feel comfortable about grooming from an early age. Look into her ears, eyes, nose and mouth regularly. Look at her paws to prepare her for claw trimming when she needs it. Brush or comb your kitten regularly.
Diet/Nutrition
Kittens can benefit from a different kind of diet than adult cats, as their stomachs are smaller and their nutritional needs somewhat different. Feed your kitten a kitten food that is specially designed to meet her nutritional requirements. Feed her in small amounts, several times a day.
Socialization
The most desirable age to adopt a kitten is between 8 and 12 weeks of age. Kittens obtained after 12 weeks may be more difficult to manage. The experiences of kittens during their first few months of life are important in helping to shape their temperaments and personalities as adults.
Your kitten will need time to adjust to her new environment, and understanding this is the first step in getting off to a positive start. Place your kitten in a small, quiet place with food and a litter box. As she becomes more comfortable, you can gradually allow her access to other rooms in the house. Talk quietly to your kitten and gently pet her. Set a regular time and place for feeding your kitten.
A kitten separated from her litter-mates and deprived of play activity may demonstrate some behavior problems in later life. Play helps introduce her to her environment and is very important in her behavioral development. Stalking and pouncing on imaginary prey aids in a kitten's neural and muscular development.
Your kitten’s socialization can be enhanced by frequent petting and handling, as studies show that petting a young kitten can make her more responsive as an adult cat.
Exposing kittens to as many people as possible is important in helping to lessen their fear of strangers as adult cats. Kittens should also be introduced to children. Show children how to pet the kitten. A kitten not socialized with children may reject or even bite them after she has matured.
Introducing Your New Kitten to Other Pets
Keep your kitten confined to one room of the house for the first few days, giving your other pet(s) a chance to grow accustomed to her smell. Make the first introduction short and sweet, removing the kitten after a few minutes. Most pets will work things out in their own way, which may take about a week. If your pets are having more difficulty adjusting, supervise their time together and be patient. Offer both pets a place to go when they want to be alone.
Introducing a new kitten to an older animal can be very stressful on the older animal. Lavish most of your attention on the older animal, not the kitten, making sure that the old-timer doesn't feel threatened by the newcomer.
Holding and Carrying
Place one hand under your kitten’s chest and use your other hand to support the rear. Gently lift the kitten into the crook of your arm.
Sleeping
Your new kitten will sleep up to 16 hours a day. Establish a sleeping place for her right away, but think twice before you make that spot your bed. Once she gets comfortable, your kitten may sleep there for the rest of her life.
Playing
It's not a good idea to use hands, fingers, feet or clothing when playing with a kitten, as your cute little kitten will eventually grow into a healthy-sized cat and you do not want to encourage aggressive behavior. Providing appropriate toys for exercising her natural predatory instincts of pouncing, stalking and chasing will ensure she has a safe and healthy outlet for these behaviors. Do not use toys that are too heavy for the kitten to move or that are small enough to be swallowed.
Scratching Post
A scratching post is an excellent investment for your new kitten. It will allow your kitten to scratch, stretch and exercise all at once.

Comparing Cat Foods

Types of Cat Foods
The three main types of cat foods are dry, soft-moist and canned products. With today's advanced technology, all types of cat food products can be formulated to provide complete and balanced nutrition for your cat.
Dry Diets
Dry products consist of crunchy kibbles, which help reduce the build-up of plaque and tartar on a cat’s teeth. Dry foods also have the advantage of staying fresh longer than soft-moist and canned products once the package is opened.
Soft-Moist Diets
Soft-moist cat foods generally offer higher palatability as compared to dry diets, are convenient to serve and store easily.
Canned Diets
These diets generally offer the highest palatability when compared to the dry and soft-moist products. Once a can is opened, unused food should be stored in the refrigerator.
Comparing Label Guarantees
The difference in moisture content among the various types of cat food impacts the nutrient density of the products or the amount of nutrients per ounce or pound of food. As the water content of the diet increases, the amount of protein, fat and other essential nutrients decreases. That means the cat must consume a larger portion of the high moisture products to receive the nutrition they need.
This difference in moisture and energy content also prohibits a direct comparison of the nutrient content of one product type to another. For example, you cannot compare the 12% protein content of a canned cat food to the 21% protein level of a dry cat food and conclude the dry food will supply more protein. You can, however, make a fair comparison of the 21% protein content of one dry cat food to the 30% protein content of another dry cat food and conclude that the cat will receive more protein by eating the higher protein product. The higher protein product, however, is not necessarily superior; that depends on the life stage and lifestyle of the cat to whom the product is fed.

About Flutd

Feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) is not one disease, but a set of diseases affecting the lower urinary tract of the cat. It afflicts a small percentage of the cat population. The reported rate of new cases each year is less than one percent of the cat population. Approximately ten percent of the cats that come to veterinary clinics have some type of lower urinary tract disease.

For many years, this set of diseases was lumped together under the name Feline Urologic Syndrome (FUS). Too often this term became associated with a specific disease. However, the affected cat could be suffering from one of a collection of urinary tract diseases that have common symptoms, but unfortunately a diagnosis with an etiology (or specific cause) is not often made.

FLUTD is often subdivided into categories based on specific observations. These categories include

• Those cats with uroliths (urinary tract stones)
• Those with urethral obstruction
• Those with urinary tract infection
• Those with cystitis (bladder inflammation) but without stones, infection or urethral obstruction

In other words, lower urinary tract disease is not a "what is" but a "what are." It is a group of diseases and because it is more than one disease, there is more than one cause. The complex nature of urinary tract diseases requires a complete veterinary diagnosis and treatment.

Why is it that some cats develop FLUTD problems?

FLUTD can occur in both male and female cats, and more commonly happens in cats between two and six years of age. However, cats of any age may be affected. FLUTD tends to be associated with a number of factors, including stress of any kind affecting the cat, obesity, cats housed indoors, urolithiasis (or stone formation), bacterial infections, seasonal weather, genetics or a difference among breeds, anatomic abnormalities, and stone formation in the lower urinary tract. Because male cats have a narrow urethra, they tend to be more prone to complete obstruction by the stones they form than are females, and without prompt veterinary treatment these obstructions can be serious.

How is FLUTD diagnosed?

For accurate diagnosis and treatment of serious feline health problems, you should see your veterinarian first.

Typical symptoms of FLUTD may include:

• Frequent trips to the litterbox
• Failure to use the litter box and urinating in unusual places
• Straining to urinate with little urine expressed
• Blood in the urine
• Depression, dehydration, lack of appetite and sometimes vomiting
• Crying when urinating or licking its genital area excessively

FLUTD can be a serious condition, and following diagnostic tests, veterinarians should recommend a course of treatment.

What can you do?

Steps to take in order to help maintain urinary tract health are:

• Provide drinking water at all times.
• Keep the litter box clean and easily accessible to the cat and locate the box where the cat will have some privacy.
• Encourage your cat to exercise, especially for indoor cats.
• Feed free choice.
• Maintain the cat at its proper weight.
• Minimize stress factors such as sudden changes in environment, exposure to harsh weather conditions and emotional upsets.
• Schedule regular veterinary checkups.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can you determine if your cat will develop UTH problems?
There is no exact way of determining if your cat will develop these problems. However, less than one percent of the cat population is diagnosed with FLUTD annually. Make sure you take your cat in for an annual veterinarian visit. If your cat is exhibiting unusual behavior, schedule a veterinarian visit right away.

Can cats get UTH problems from other cats?
No, UTH problems are not infectious and cannot be transmitted to other cats.

Can ash or magnesium in the diet cause problems with urinary tract health?
No, magnesium and ash do not cause lower urinary tract disease. At one time it was thought that too much magnesium in the diet increased the chance of struvite crystal formation and the risk of lower urinary tract disease. Ash is the measure of the total mineral content of a particular cat food. Ash is a necessary part of any nutritionally complete and balanced cat food because it contains magnesium, among other minerals which is an essential nutrient.

Is gender an issue for FLUTD? If so, why?
Both males and females may be affected by FLUTD. However, due to the male having a narrow urethra (the canal that carries the urine from the bladder), it tends to be prone to obstruction of urine in the bladder. Urinary stones may then become lodged and cause a blockage in the urethra resulting in the need for prompt medical attention.

A Cat's Tongue – Rough, Tough And Versatile

A feeling of rough sandpaper as you are licked by your cat is a reminder that its long, muscular tongue serves many functions, including grooming.

A Grooming Tool and More
A cat’s ability to groom itself is the result of numerous knobs called papillae on the surface of a cat’s tongue. Located at the tongue’s center, the papillae form backward-facing hooks containing large amounts of keratin, the same material found in human fingernails. These hooks provide the abrasiveness a cat needs for self-grooming.

The strength of these hooks also helps a cat hold food or struggle with prey.

Your Help is Needed
Although the abrasiveness of a cat’s tongue helps it to clean itself and untangle its hair, your help is needed through regular grooming. As you groom your cat, you are removing loose and dead hair. Otherwise a cat may ingest this hair and hair balls can form, which can cause vomiting and may cause impaction in the gastrointestinal tract. Longhaired cats need daily grooming; shorthaired cats should be groomed at least once a week.

A Matter of Taste
Studies show that the cat’s sense of taste is keener than that of the dog. This acute sense of taste is the result of two sets of taste buds.

Mushroom-shaped papillae at the tip and sides of the tongue hold some of the largest taste buds. A set of cup-shaped papillae are located at the back of the tongue.

Palatability studies at the Purina Pet Care Center and other studies show that in addition to flavor, a cat’s tongue reacts to the texture or mouthfeel of a particular food. This is one of the reasons dry cat foods come in a variety of shapes.

The cat’s tongue also reacts to temperature and shows a preference for foods at room temperature.

When Cats Lap it Up
A cat’s tongue becomes spoon-shaped to enable it to lap liquids. Notice how its tongue laps under water in much the same manner as an elephant uses its trunk. It flicks its tongue quickly in and out of the water, swallowing after every third or fourth lap.

A cat’s water intake will vary depending on the season of the year, activity and type of diet being fed. Cats consuming canned cat food diets will not drink as much water as those fed dry food. If, for some reason, a cat does not appear to be drinking enough water, more water can be added to the food.

Always keep fresh drinking water in a clean bowl available to your cat. Water is an essential ingredient and is involved in virtually every function of a cat’s body.

Contributing To A Cat’s Sense of Taste
Cats also have a highly developed sense of smell and they notice changes in their food. Some researchers suggest that this sense may stimulate their appetite or cause them to refuse to eat.

A cat’s appetite may be affected by many factors including noise, strange people, changes in routine and even feeding dishes washed with a strong detergent and not carefully rinsed.

However, if a cat refuses to eat for a period of two to three days, a trip to the veterinarian is in order. This continued food refusal may be a sign of illness.

A Cat's Teeth

During its lifetime, a cat has two sets of teeth, a deciduous set and a permanent set. Kittens have 26 deciduous teeth (molars are absent); adult cats have a total of 30 teeth.

Deciduous or “milk teeth” begin to appear when the kitten is about four weeks of age. At six weeks of age, all 26 deciduous teeth are present. From 11 to 30 weeks of age, kittens lose their deciduous teeth. During this time they may eat less because of sore gums.

When the deciduous teeth fall out, they are replaced by 30 permanent teeth. The permanent teeth should be in place by about six months of age.

A cat’s teeth are well-suited to rip and cut. Twelve tiny teeth in the front of the mouth (incisors): six in the upper jaw, six in the lower jaw do some scraping. They are flanked by two upper and lower canines, sometimes described as “fangs," designed to hold prey and to tear flesh. Ten sharp premolars and four molars act together to cut food.

A cat occasionally retains a deciduous tooth after the permanent tooth appears. This deciduous tooth should be removed as soon as possible to avoid displacing the permanent tooth.

Extra teeth are occasionally found in cats. They should be removed by a veterinarian if they cause crowding or injury to soft tissue or other teeth.