Raw Feeding Cats: Don't Engage Your Cat in a Food Fight

There is no getting around the fact that finicky cats addicted to dry food can so stubborn and resistant to that lovely raw food you prepared that you feel like burying them in their litter box. However it is a serious mistake to engage in a food fight with your cat, even though you are genuinely concerned about Kitty's health and well-being. It is my personal opinion that directing frustration and anger towards your cat is more detrimental to its health than the food in its dish.

Cats are very sensitive to emotion
Don't be fooled by those cats who seen immune to your blandishments, and indifferent to your coming and going. Cats are extremely sensitive to emotional atmosphere, and they react badly to disapproval in any shape or form. Someone wrote, and I believe it was Anitra Fraser in her book "The Natural Cat" that cat owners should love and praise their felines into desired behaviors.

When I stared my three cats on a raw food program, Gouda-Buddha, the shy and elusive one of the group, refused to have anything to do with raw food, and furthermore he refused canned wet cat food as well. Since I was cautioned about the dangers of allowing a cat to go more than fifteen hours without food, I had to resort to dry food. As I continued to pick up the untouched raw food and dole out the dry food day after day, frustration and annoyance began to consume my day. Regardless of what I was doing during the day, feelings of resentment about a nine pound little furry creature was dominating my entire day.

it got to the point that I couldn't see Gouda-Buddha as the graceful, playful charmer that he was. All I could see and think was "bad cat won't eat the food that is good for him." He immediately picked up on that attitude and made himself scarce, spending most of his time under a bed. He started regurgitating his food and losing weight.

Fortunately I came to my senses. I was ridiculous to spoil my entire day because a little animal refused my attempts to control his diet. Just because I agreed with the opinions expressed in a book or two, didn't necessarily mean that I was in the right and entitled to force myself on another living creature.

I simply relaxed and allowed Gouda-Buddha to have his dry food, and made special efforts to praise him extravagantly throughout the day. We are friends again, and once again he spends hours playing with his special toys. And I am happy to report that I discovered he does enjoy raw chicken liver. It will take longer than I planned, but progress is being made.

In summary don't endanger a harmonious relationship trying to force your cat to eat what he doesn't eat. Praise, patience and more praise will win the day.

Treating Cats With Diabetes

Treating cats with diabetes is so effective when you understand why your cat has this problem. It is so much more effective (and logical) to address the cause of any problem. This normally leads to the cure.

Diabetes is becoming increasingly common in cats today. Far more common than it was 50 years ago.

The organ that is responsible for diabetes is the pancreas, an organ situated just below the stomach. It regulates the amount of insulin produced. When there is a deficiency of insulin production, there is also a deficiency in glucose and then diabetes can result.

Diabetes mellitus, or sugar diabetes as it is commonly called, can be caused by a variety of factors, including obesity, injury to the pancreas, a pancreatic disease and drugs, particularly hormones and steroids.

Cats with diabetes will tend to have an intensely increased thirst, production of a large amount of urine (usually pale in colour), an increase in appetite and slow healing. A veterinary test will show a high sugar content in the blood and urine.

Later, symptoms can include weight loss, lethargy and weakness, vomiting, diarrhoea, rapid breathing and eventually death.

Veterinarians will prescribe insulin and this can bring the sugar back to normal and allow the cat to lead a normal life. However, few cats enjoy the regular insulin injections, just as few people care to give them.

Another problem with insulin treatment is that it can contribute to sudden swings in insulin levels. When this drops too low, your cat can become hypoglycaemic. Symptoms include shaking, disorientation, staggering, falling, salivating, even seizures.

You may never know this has happened if it occurs when you are out, although there may be some evidence that something occurred.

Veterinarians also like to change the diet for cats with diabetes. This is a must, but their choice of diet is one that is high in carbohydrates. However it is carbohydrates that are converted into sugar, providing the excess amount so common in cats with diabetes. Instead, the diet must be changed to a quality, natural one that is in keeping with their evolution.

The veterinary advice tends to advocate many small meals a day. Cats cannot cope with frequent meals. It upsets their digestion and puts a strain on internal organs. This leads to further complications sooner or later.

It is generally considered that diabetes cannot be cured. However, many cats on daily insulin injections have been cured simply by a change in diet.

Cats Need Playtime For Socialisation And Fitness

Cats have a natural instinct to run, jump, claw, and hunt, and having an indoor cat doesn't eliminate those natural instincts. That's why cat toys are a vital part of a cat's socialisation and fitness. Cats can play with almost anything. Some enjoy store-bought toys like catnip balls and feather swishes, while others are happy unrolling a tube of toilet paper and shredding it all over the house. In fact, if you don't provide your cat with some sort of entertainment, you'll find that they can easily create their own fun using things around the house.

Sometimes this works out, like when you get one of those cute pictures of your cat peeking out from a brown paper bag. Other times, the form of fun they choose involves attacking the furniture and clawing it to shreds before you have a chance to stop it. With all of the toys available at pet shops, you should be able to find at least one or two toys that become your cat's favourite.

Play Time Is for Cat Owners Too

Entertainment isn't just for your cat. By playing regularly with your cat, you encourage socialisation but you also get to enjoy their fun antics. Playing also helps your cat bond with you and gives you an opportunity to get to know your cat's personality. Kittens especially love to play, and kitten toys can distract them from damaging your furniture or trying to escape outside for entertainment.

Since you should enjoy play time as much as your cat, make sure you choose a variety of interactive toys. Provide your cat with toys that roll, squeak, jingle, and dangle. Cats like carrying toys, batting them back and forth, jumping on them to hear them squeak, and wrestling and attacking them like prey.

Mix Cat Food and Toys

The next time you're out shopping for pet supplies online, remember to pick up a box of smaller cat food bites. These can be treats or your cat's regular food. Certain toys are designed to be stuffed with treats or small pieces of food. These toys usually roll, and your cat is rewarded when they roll the toy just right and a bit of food pops out. Since cats are naturally curious, this type of toy is great during busy times when you don't have a chance to interact with your cat or are going to be gone for a few hours and don't want your cat to get bored. No matter which cat toys you choose, your cat will love the extra attention and time you spend playing together.

Variations Of Ragdoll Cats

Ragdoll Cats come in six basic colors, three patterns, four types, and with two variations. Please see the list below for the full list.

Ragdoll Basic Colors:

• Seal (Black) - shades of browns and cream through the body and deep Seal (almost black) coloring on the ears, tail, and other areas of the body as designated by the pattern of the Ragdoll

• Blue - light silvery blue greys through the body with deep Blue Grey on the points

• Chocolate - light creams and milk chocolate browns through the body with deep brown or close to seal on the ears and points with a light chocolate cream color on the tail

• Lilac - almost white on body with light lilac blue (hint of tan in certain lighting) on the points

• Red (Flame) - cream colors on the body and "hot" red orange coloring on the points

• Cream - almost white on body with peachy cream coloring on the points

Ragdoll Patterns:

• Point (Pointed, Colorpoint, Colourpoint)

• Mitted

• Bicolor

Ragdoll Types:

• Traditional - normal blue eyed Ragdolls

• Mink - richer colored than traditional Ragdolls, 95% have Blue Green Aqua Marine colored eyes and often have a thicker and plusher coat than their traditional siblings

• Sepia - extremely rich and dark colored Ragdolls with an extremely plush coat and any colored eyes, including jeweled, are possible. Blue Grey and Green Grey are very common Sepia eye colors. Blue Eyed Sepia's are rare and with their rich shaded coats and stunning blue eyes are quite breathtaking.

• Solid - full color Ragdolls with deep rich coloring and no shading to the coat color(s) and any colored eyes, including jeweled, are possible. In addition to the colors available in the other three types of Ragdolls, Solid White Ragdolls are also possible with Blue Eyed Whites being the most rare.

Ragdoll Variations:

• Lynx (Tabby) - means they have tabby striping over top of their other pattern

• Tortie - female ragdolls can also be Torties. This means the Seal, Chocolate, Blue, or Lilac female ragdolls can also have a peachy cream or red spotting or shading mixed in with the other color. These tortie markings can be very subtle or extreme. Blue and Lilac Torties are also often called Blue Creams or Lilac Creams

Learning all the possible types of Ragdolls is challenging as there are over 240 different variations. However, most breeders only deal in traditional Ragdolls though a good number have now added Mink to their breeding programs. Very few breeders have Solid and Sepia programs, so these still remain very rare types of Ragdolls.

Drinking More Water Can Help Prevent Urinary Tract Problems in Cats

Feline Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC), also known as Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) and previously known as Feline Urological Syndrome (FUS) is one of the most common reasons cats, especially younger male cats, come to the veterinarian.

FIC means irritation of the bladder without an identifiable cause. FLUTD is the catch-all name for a collection of problems including stones, infection and urinary blockages. The result is painful irritation of the bladder wall and lower urinary tract and an cats show signs directly related to this painful condition. The overall incidence of FIC is about 1% of all cats, but recurrence rates are as high as 67% especially if your cats is less than 4 years of age.

We veterinarians used to think that FIC was most directly related to crystals formed in the urine caused from high mineral content (ash) in food. We now know that although crystals play a role, they are probably not the direct cause of FIC.

"Idiopathic" means we do not know the underlying cause of the bladder irritation. Treatment is aimed at reducing the inflammation and the symptoms, however, in many cats, the episode lasts a few weeks regardless of treatment. Episodes often recur but veterinarians have found more success with prevention of future episodes. Environmental stress seems to play a role and cats that are very sensitive to environmental stress are more prone to these painful episodes.

The most common signs of FIC and FLUTD are:

urinating in unusual places, often the amounts will be small and can be bloody

straining to urinate

crying during urination

frequent, small urination with or without blood

inability to urinate - most common in male cats and is a medical emergency also known as being "blocked"

licking the urinary tract opening

One of the simplest ways you as an owner can help to both treat episodes of FIC and FLUTD and to prevent future episodes is to get your cat to drink more water. The extra water dilutes the urine and distends the bladder, helping to flush out all the painful inflammatory byproducts. It also will help neutralize the pH of the urine so it is less painful on the irritated bladder wall. Also, if there are crystals present, it will help flush those out, further reducing irritation.

Cats can be very finicky about their water but luckily there are ways to help your cat take in more water. First, switching your cat to an entirely canned food diet will help immensely as canned food is up to 80% water. The second way is encouraging your cat to drink more on their own. One common recommendation by veterinarians to help you accomplish this goal is to buy a cat water fountain.

Not every cat will like a water fountain, however, most cats are naturally attracted to the flowing water of a fountain. In the wild, many cats will only drink from running water sources, and fountains mimic the cat's natural environment. Many cats like to play with the moving water, dipping their paws in and then licking the water from their toes. The constantly moving flow keeps the water fresh and oxygenated which is very important for these smell oriented creatures. The pool of water allows cats to lap water without whiskers touching the sides (very important for many cats) and the waterfall feature is fantastic for those cats that love to drink from a tap.

Since environmental stress plays a large role in the development of FIC, it is important that the water source be in a quiet area where your cat can relax and focus on drinking. This area should be away from other pets, have an easy escape route (so your cat feels safe being in there) and be free of loud or startling noises. Some studies have shown that cats will drink immediately after eating so the recommendation is to keep the water and food bowls close to one another. However, some cats are finicky about having food and water too close together and these cats would prefer to have them separated. You may need to experiment to see what works best for your cats.

If, (like me), you have multiple cats, the hierarchy in your house can cause the cats lower on the social totem pole to to be restricted from access to food and water. In this case, multiple water and food sources scattered around the house will help ensure there are enough resources for every cat. If you have multiple cats, placing two or more drinking fountains around the house will help ensure every cat gets the amount of water they need.

In summary, FIC/FLUTD is a very complex problem which is painful for your cat, hard on your household, and expensive when needing veterinary treatment. Drinking more water may help cats at risk for FIC by preventing or at least reducing the severity and frequency of episodes. A water fountain is a great (and inexpensive!) tool to help our well-loved felines to have healthy urinary tracts.

Raw Feeding Cats: Ensuring Adequate Taurine in the Diet

You must be sure that your cat gets adequate taurine in his food whether you are feeding canned commercial food, home cooked food, or raw food. Taurine is an amino acid essential for your cat's good vision and healthy heart.

From an article in Wikipedia as well as articles on web sites devoted to animal welfare, almost all animals manufacture this amino acid as part of their metabolic processes. Cats cannot do this; they depend entirely up their food to provide the necessary amount to maintain health.

The articles I have researched on this topic all concur that insufficient amounts of taurine eventually result in retinal degeneration leading to blindness. Gradually weakening of the walls of the heart muscle is another serious health issue directly related to a lack of this dietary substance.

Since taurine plays such an important role for the healthy cat, you need to evaluate your feeding program to you ensure your cat gets the required amount of this vital ingredient. Frankly, the web sites dither about the exact quantity considered as the minimum requirement. The recommendations range from 1000 grams per two pounds of meat to "a pinch for each meal." Personally speaking, I go with the pinch per meal as high end equals about four cups of the stuff and far more appropriate for the big cats.

Muscle meat, including heart muscle, is the source of this amino acid and there are higher levels of it in dark meat than white meat. The catch-22 is that heat destroys large amounts taurine. The temperatures used for processing commercial cat food are so high virtually all nutrients are destroyed and subsequently added in again as a final stage of processing. Home cooking also destroys a substantial amount even though the temperatures used are much lower. One veterinarian suggests that freezing temperatures may also reduce the amount of this amino acid, so there could be some deficiency in raw food as well.

The good news is that supplemental taurine is readily available in both powdered and in capsules. I paid approximately eight dollars for an eight ounce container that is the equivalent of two hundred and twenty-seven grams of pure amino acid. That is relatively inexpensive unless you are feeding a pride of lions.

By the way, this supplemental amino acid is absolutely tasteless. Therefore it is easy to incorporate into the daily diet as even the most finicky of your cats will not detect that it is mixed into the food.

Raw Feeding Kittens

As soon as they are weaned, healthy kittens should be started on raw food by feeding them chunks of meat, or even giving them a meaty poultry bone and letting them tear the food off, eating the cartilage and a bit of bone.  This statement is a correction to what I wrote in an earlier article in which I recommended starting kittens on ground meat.

This morning, I reviewed a web site called pet-grub.com that is one of the many good reference sources about raw feeding. The owner ran a shelter for cats in the Philippines for a number of years and has a lot of expertise in the area of cat nutrition.  That site posted a photo of a kitten easily devouring an entire fish. From there, I found a number of videos showing kittens easily dealing with large chunks of various types of meat.

Seeing those videos jogged my memory about the time that I hand fed a litter of six kittens whose mother mysteriously vanished one night and never returned. They were close to the weaning age, and so I only bottle fed them for about a week before they were ready for supplements of solid food.

Kittens in good health are voracious little monsters. Although tiny, nature has compensated for size by equipping them with teeth and claws that are needle sharp and well adapted to surviving that crucial period between kitten and adult cat. Anyone who has had a kitten climbing up their leg can attest to that. Although their capacity for food at each meal is limited, they do eat four to five times a day, managing to consume quite a bit of food.

The great thing about kittens ready for weaning is they are wide open to all kinds of food. Now is the time to introduce them a range of food so they will happily accept a range of foods when they are adults, instead of turning into finicky eaters who are addicted to a single type of food.

Raw chicken is a great starter food for kittens. Good quality chicken is easy to obtain and relatively inexpensive. You can give the kittens a raw wing, thigh, or drumstick and let them drag it around and gnaw on it as if it were prey. Chicken necks, being more cartilage than bone, are relatively soft for kittens to chew. They won't get much meat by they will get calcium while cleaning their teeth and gums.

I will end this article with the caution that cannot be overemphasized; never give you cats, cooked bone of any kind. Cooking hardens the bones in a way that makes it impossible to digest and can severely damage the digestive system

Cat Kidney Disease - Natural Ways to Overcome the Problem

Cat kidney disease more often affects older cats than younger ones, although these are not immune. Since kidneys are responsible for eliminating waste from the body, their healthy function is critical to a healthy cat. By using a system of natural cat health care, you can cure the current problem and prevent it happening again.

There are several causes of kidney malfunction. A lack of natural nutrition is a major one. Pesticides in the food your cat eats can be a cause. There are many veterinary drugs that cause kidney malfunction - antibiotics, anti-parasitics, anaesthetics and many others.

Cat kidney disease can also accompany other diseases, such as diabetes and hyperthyroidism.

While most cats are pretty savvy when it comes to rejecting harmful foods, the common practice of feeding the chemical laden commercial cat food has dulled their natural abilities. This means they may find a tasty morsel of food in the vicinity of a recently pesticide sprayed garden.

Kidneys have a large reserve capacity. This means that you are unlikely to notice any problem exists until three quarters of the kidneys are damaged. So it's much better to avoid all potential hazards.

The earliest signs will be increased thirst and urination. The urine will be pale, rather than yellow. As the problem escalates, toxins that can no longer be flushed away, start to build up in the body. This can produce a variety of symptoms, such as a lack of appetite, vomiting, bad breathe, lethargy, depression and destructive symptoms such as ulcers. Seizures are likely to develop eventually.

Veterinary diagnose of kidney disease in cats comes from urine and blood tests, palpation, X-rays and ultrasound tests.

Dehydration can become a real and ongoing problem.

Veterinary treatment will normally consist of a low protein diet and medication, which is likely to cause further damage to the kidneys over time.

Cats evolved on a high protein diet, so feeding them a low protein diet may keep the condition under control, but it is not addressing the cause of the problem. Your cat is also more likely to be very hungry. A low protein diet is also more likely to be deficient in nutrition.

Most commercial cat food contains low quality food and is high in chemical additives, despite any claims to the contrary. By feeding your cat a quality, natural diet you can reverse kidney disease and prevent it happening in otherwise unaffected cats.

While many common and frequently over-used veterinary drugs can damage the kidneys, if you use natural therapies such as homeopathy, you is possible to reverse the damage. Using a system of natural health care to prevent cat kidney disease is economical as well as preventative.

Raw Feeding Your Cat: Observable Benefits

Two of my cats are young and full of bounce, the older female is also healthy so I can't speak from personal experience about the positive benefits of raw feeding for cats with chronic illnesses such a diabetes. However, there are two things I can attest from personal experience: my cats have fabulous coats that smell good, and odor has disappeared from the litter box.

Changes to the Coat
Sassy, a tortoise shell female is about seven years old. She is short haired, but the fur is very thick; it reminds me of the double coat found on a Russian Blue. When she first knocked on my door for a visit, her coat had an oily feel, there were white flakes toward the tail that looked like dandruff, and I noticed a faint unpleasant smell to the fur. About once a week, her previous owner cleaned the fur with a chemical wipe from the pet store.

When Sassy's care transferred to me, I added wheat germ and yeast to the canned cat food, and then gradually added raw meat. If you visited this cat now, you couldn't keep your hands off her. The coat feels like velvet plush, it is never oily, and it always smells fresh.

Alvin and Gouda-Buddha are run of the mill short-haired brown tabbies. When I brought them home from the shelter, they looked scruffy. They were healthy but they were scrawny and their coats felt harsh to touch. Alvin often smelled very bad because he excreted from the anal gland.

Six weeks after I brought them home, I switched them to raw food. "The boys" have muscled up, losing that scrawny look. And both of them have that plush velvet coat, that smells fresh and clean. Alvin always smells good now as the problem with the anal gland secretion cleared up spontaneously.

The Litter Box Effect
Litter box odor is one of the issues that many cat owners contend with. There is a lot of shelf space in pet stores devoted masking or eliminating the smell. My sister is super sensitive to odors. When she visits, she always comments that she can't detect the slightest hint of litter box odor.

To give credit where credit is due, I discovered an absolutely fantastic litter that lives up to its claim of absorbing odor. However, there was a time, when the cats were actually dumping in the box, that an unpleasant smell tinged the air briefly, before they covered up. Even that initial wisp of odor has disappeared since they have been eating raw food.

In summary, if your cat does not have a beautiful coat, or if you are spending a lot of money on products to control the litter box smell, get your cat off food with grain, and onto pure raw protein.

Raw Feeding Cats and Litter Boxes

Walking into a room that assaults your nose with litter box odor is unpleasant, and cat owners spent a lot of money for products to combat the problem. Raw feeding your cat definitely reduces the initial "fragrance" of excrement, and that combined with proper management of the litter box keeps your household smelling fresh.

I want to tell you right up front that the information about litter box management is based on the informative book "Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life" by Elizabeth Hodgkins DVM. Here is the condenses version of her strategy which I can testify absolutely work for my three cat household.

Multiple Litter Boxes

There is no getting around the fact that you must have multiple boxes in your home. You must have a least one for every cat. And my personal recommendation is to have two boxes even if you only own one cat. Two litter boxes in different rooms is a good idea just in case access to the favorite box is blocked off by accident.

Super Large Litter Box

Your local pet supply store has a variety of lovely litter boxes designed to be neatly stashed in a corner, or to blend in with your home dcor. Even the largest of those boxes are simply too small. In a central location with easy access, you should have at least one super large box: a large plastic storage box with the sides low enough to slide under the bed is a good choice. This box must be large enough to hold between twenty and forty pounds of clumping litter. Don't panic; with proper litter box technique, you'll find you won't have to change the litter very often.

The Right Litter

An effortless litter box routine calls for the right litter. Stay away from clay litter, or silicon litter. That stuff will cling to cats' paws; when they lick it off, it tends to accumulate in the gut and as you can imagine cause all sorts of health problems. Get an organic biodegradable litter. I found two products made from wheat that are fabulous for odor control. Yes, it is more expensive initially, but if you clean the boxes daily, using Dr. Hodgkins procedure, you rarely have need a complete change out of litter.

Litter Box Tools

The tools you need for daily box maintenance are: disposable latex or latex free gloves, a good sized litter scoop, a plastic container with sealable lid at least a gallon size, some small trash bags, and a little bit of cooking oil. Don't bother with litter pan liners-many cats don't like them and shy away if they find them in the box

Easy Litter Box Process

Before you fill the litter box, cover the bottom and sides with a very thin coat of cooking oil to prevent waste from sticking. Fill your litter pan with four inches of clumping litter. For your oversized litter pan the initial fill may require a forty pound bag.

As your cat uses the litter pan, the waste will clump and quickly dry into biodegradable lumps. At least once a day (several times is better), scoop through the litter and dump the lumps into the plastic container that you have lined with the trash bag. Close the bag, and close the lid on the container, until the either the bag is full or you are ready to make your daily trip to the trash.

If you follow this procedure at least once a day, it takes only ten minutes to clean the boxes. As the level of the litter drops, simply replenish it with a scoop or two of new litter. As long as this simple task is completed daily,your your litter boxes will be clean and odor free. There is no excuse for dirty boxes.

A Cat Scratcher to Encourage Fitness

Have you ever thought about the advantages of presenting your feline with its very own cat scratcher? Are you the kind of owner who feels that this equipment is simply a luxurious item, which will offer you and your friend few benefits at an extremely high expense? If this is so, then you will be surprised to learn about every component of this furniture, which is specifically built to satisfy a particular purpose. In terms of fitness, you will be pleased to realize that this product can also make your pal look more beautiful by encouraging it to stay fit.

First of all, a cat scratcher is made from premium-grade materials, which assure you of its durability and quality. This equipment usually utilizes sisal rope, which has a tough consistency that prevents your friend from destroying it, regardless of how long or hard your pal keeps gnawing and scratching it. This tool can be divided into three parts: the base, the body, and the platform. You will be amazed to learn that most brands prefer to use different materials to cover these components, contributing to the product's comfortable and tough body.

Unlike the cat collars, the scratching post usually comes at a high cost because it is an equipment, which is designed to be used forever. In fact, a feline will only need one to two of these tools in their lifetime. However, in the similar way that the neck piece is utilized for training purposes, this furniture can also be employed to encourage your pal to pursue fitness. Its tough and rough body offers your friend the perfect material, which can accommodate and ultimately sharpen its claws. The body is also high enough to permit your pet to stretch and bend into any direction to exercise its flexibility.

A cat scratching post gives your feline a special place where it can leave its scent to its heart's content. Thus, you never have to worry about your pet marking your furniture as its territory, resulting to a cleaner home with intact possessions.

Speaking of personal possessions, presenting your feline with its own cat scratcher automatically gives it responsibility over an object, which will also increase its self-worth, as it will be assured that it has your confidence, enough for you to entrust an object to it. All in all, this type of furniture is a convenient tool to promote good health, a sound mind, and an emotional connection.

Cat Statistics: Shocking Facts About Felines and Their Owners

Cats are interesting animals to have as a pet because of their amazing abilities and their unique personalities. Along with their canine counterparts, cats are one of the most popular animals that people choose to have as a pet. In addition to living in a safe home environment, these cats are being spoiled more than ever. How many cats are there living in the world, and how much are people spending on their pets today? The following statistics will help to answer these questions.

As of the year 2012, there are just over 7 billion people living in the world. Of these 7 billion people, about 3.75% have a pet cat. That means that there are about 263 million pet cats living in the world. Keep in mind, that number is just pet cats. You will have to double that number to get the total population of cats living in the world, which is over 500 million cats. The extra 250 million cats accounts for all of the stray and feral felines living in the world.

Interestingly enough, 166 million of these felines live in the United States. That is about 1/3 of the world cat population to be exact. In regards to pet cats, as of 2010, 83 million cats lived in 37 million homes across the United States.

Despite the fact that pet ownership can be a huge expense, it seems that pet owners around the world will spare no expense for their furry friends. It is interesting to note that during the North American recession in 2008, pet owners chose to cut spending on themselves before cutting out spending on their animal companions.

One of the expenses pet owners continue to incur is the cost of specialty pet food. Although pet food can be costly, North Americans tend to spend an average of $77.00 per shopping trip to buy their pet specialty food. This expense adds up to a lifetime expense per pet of just over $9,200 on food alone.

One would think that North Americans spend the most on their pets, but in fact, Singapore has the highest lifetime spending on pet food, totalling almost $30,000.

The spending doesn't stop with food. Pet parents will buy their animals personalized items such as designer clothing and handmade treats. 3% of American pet owners will even take their cat with them on vacation.

Clearly, people around the world are able to have a unique and special relationship with their pets. Don't hesitate to adopt a feline companion if you have the chance. With over 500 million cats living in the world there is definitely no shortage of felines that can be adopted. Check out your local animal shelter to find your perfect furry friend.

Cats Around the Word: 3 Fascinating Feline Themed Museums

People all over the world love cats. It is not uncommon for felines to be the main attraction on internet websites, in books, and even in movies. However, who would have known that there are museums all over the world that are dedicated to our feline friends. From Russia to Malaysia, there are museums that feature cats as their main attraction. Where are these museums located, and what can you expect from them?

Russia's Hermitage Museum

The first cat-centred museum is located in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Hermitage museum is known to be a home to priceless works of art, but hiding in its basement is a whole other world... full of cats.

Cats have been living in the Hermitage since the 1700s when the building was still a home to Russian Tsars and their families. The Empress Elizabeth became fed up with rodents roaming the halls of her home, and she adopted several cats to guard the home from these rodents. These lucky felines were given the best treatment during their stay with the Russian royals, even having their own servants to take care of their every need.

Despite the fall of the Russian Tsars and the threat of war in Russia, cats have continued to live at the museum. Although their population decreased during the 1900s, today the cats are thriving more than ever. In fact, the number of felines residing in the Hermitage has drastically increased due to homeless animals taking refuge in the museum. The museum now acts as a sanctuary for stray and feral felines. There are several feeding areas for the felines, a clinic, and a relaxation room for them to rest.

Visitors to the museum always have the chance to spot a feline roaming in the museum's courtyard. Because the sanctuary also adopts out a few of the felines every year, some lucky visitors even have the opportunity to own a one of a kind Hermitage feline.

Amsterdam's KattenKabinet

Amsterdam is a world-renowned city that is full of all sorts of attractions. Hidden among the well-known attractions is a smaller, cat-themed museum called the KattenKabinet (or CatCabinet).

The KattenKabinet museum is in a Patrician style home located near the Herengracht canal in Amsterdam. A wealthy Dutchman named William Meijer once owned the home. In 1990, Meijer founded the museum to preserve the memory of his feline friend John Pierpont Morgan. This unique museum is home to everything feline related, with cat artwork, sculptures and books displayed throughout the building. Visitors might even be lucky enough to see one of the three resident cats lounging on the furniture.

Malaysia's Kuching Museum

Malaysia is home to one of the largest cat themed museums in the world. The Kuching museum is 1,035.9 Square Metres, and is located on a hill overlooking the city. This unique museum is home to over 2,000 feline artefacts and cat memorabilia.

The museum has some extremely interesting displays, including a mummified feline from ancient Egypt, and cat statues from all over the world. There is even a small section dedication to cats in advertising and media. This section has cat posters, stamps, and even a display of different brands of cat food.

Although the museum is a strange concept, it is definitely worth a look if you are travelling in Malaysia.

Whether you are in Amsterdam, Russia, or Malaysia, if you find yourself close to one of these museums during your travels, be sure to stop in for a once in a lifetime, cat themed experience.

Domestic Cat Behaviour: How Do Cats Purr?

One of the most heartwarming sounds a person can hear is the sound of a cat purring. Cats tend to purr when they are in a content mood, which is often when they are about to fall asleep after a cuddle session. Felines are not only able to put themselves into a sleepy trance when they begin this domestic cat behaviour, but they can also put their human companion into a state of relaxation. In fact, it has been noted that hearing the sound of a cat purring can help to lower a person's blood pressure, and even ease depression. The healing effect of the purr is one of the many reasons that felines take up residency as therapy animals in hospitals.

How do felines demonstrate this remarkable behaviour?

The answer to this question has been highly debated with several theories arising over the years. Today the most common theory about what causes cats to purr is that it is from air passing through their voice box.

When your feline friend begins to purr the diaphragm in her voice box starts to open and close quite quickly. With the diaphragm twitching at this rapid pace, any air that passes through it begins to vibrate. The vibrations in the air passing through the voice box are what cause the purring sound. In fact, the diaphragm twitches so quickly that felines have the ability to purr from 25-50 times per second. This purring frequency is the same as an idling diesel engine in a vehicle, which is likely why people say that kitties have little motors inside of them.

Have you also noticed that your feline friend continues to breathe the entire time she is purring? Your kitty does not have to stop to catch her breath in between purrs because the air is passing directly through her voice box during both inhales and exhales. This is the air that helps your kitty to purr.

Another interesting fact about this domestic cat behaviour is that some cats purr differently to influence their human companions to do tasks for them, such as to wake up and feed them. The purr that a feline will use to wake up a human has a frequency similar to a baby crying. That sound will definitely get a person out of bed in the morning.

Remember this information the next time you are lucky enough to hear this phenomenal domestic cat behaviour. You may even be able to tell if your feline friend is just being nice or if she is looking for someone to feed her.

How to Get Your Cat Healthy

To have a cat strong and healthy, it is essential that you are fed properly. Gone are the days when being an animal is fed with leftovers, and our cat has special requirements to be healthy.

It is true that cats are a bit demanding when eating. Anything, as leftovers, eats them only rarely and on a whim. This is mainly due to their nutritional needs. Our cat is a very careful eater, who refuses his food if it smells good, or is not served at the proper temperature. Your senses of smell and taste, you can detect if the food is not fresh.

One of the first things we learn as owners of these gourmets is that you need to feed every day at the same time.

It can happen to our cat, in his nocturnal escapades, supplement their diet by hunting and eating small prey, which in no way means that you are hungry or increasing you ration food, and avoid this. The cat hunting instinct, even the best fed a mouse hunt, if presented the opportunity.

Nutritional Requirements:

The cat, not a vegetarian and mandatory nutrient needs of animal origin and is unable to survive long on a diet completely free of meat.

The best way to ensure that your cat enjoys a balanced diet, is offering food prepared specifically for them, either canned or dry food or semi-dry, which contain the nutritional elements necessary for nourishment. In addition, you can give fresh food once or twice a week, to provide variety and interest to your diet. These foods can be cooked beef, broiled, grilled, or with some vegetables, canned sardines, chicken, fish stew, etc., taking care to remove all the thorns and bones.

Always bear in mind that food should be fed with specially formulated for cats, for example, should not be formulated to feed the dogs, because the cat needs 20% more protein than dogs, and require certain animal fats encuenran only in meats and fish (such as tureen).

Dry foods, be used as part of the diet, given that this type of food, increase the water requirement of the animal. It is best to alternate them with canned and fresh foods to make more balanced diet.

Whatever type of food you use, your cat should always have fresh water, so that you can eat according to your requirements.

A normal adult cat should weigh between 4 and 5 Kgs, but the weight of a cat varies according to the complexion of the race.

Eating well does not mean overweight. An overweight cat has a large abdomen that hangs down, breathing heavily and becomes less active. That excess kilos on requires the heart and makes you more prone to arthritis and other diseases as they age. Sometimes you can try a hormonal problem, but usually a fat cat, because they eat much more than you need.

If your cat is overweight, check with the vet if not the result of a medical problem, if not, the specialist can advise which is the best diet for your cat to lose weight, taking into account race, age, physical condition, and naturally, their own tastes and preferences, and remember, a cat overweight, has a much lower life expectancy than other cats.

Cat Dehydration Is Serious And Deadly

What is dehydration and why is it so serious? Dehydration in any animal is serious but with cats it is even more concern because cats are not big drinkers. Cats in the wild depend on majority of their fluid intake from prey and just are not instinctively big drinkers. Domesticated cats tend to have the same instinct and behavior. Because of this, they are more prone to serious dehydration than other animals.

Why dehydration is deadly is because the cat often does not show there is a problem until it is very serious. Cats may lose ten percent or more of their internal fluids before the symptoms become obvious. There are cases were the fluid loss is more and unrecoverable because the vital organs have shut down.

There are many reasons why your cat can become dehydrated. Some due to stress such as heat exposure, moving or riding in a vehicle and another is the food we feed them. Dry food is usually twelve percent or less in moisture and canned cat food is around eighty percent so it is obvious that a cat fed only dry food requires a higher water intake. Other reasons are due to food poisoning causing excessive vomiting and diarrhea. Then there are the classical clinical reasons like kidney failure, diabetes, cancer, and hyperthyroidism to mention a few.

Dehydration is so serious that it is deadly and not paying attention to some of the general symptoms can lead to death of your cat. Here is a list of the more common symptoms a cat will show when severely dehydrated:

Exhaustion or lethargic more than normal

Eyes seem sunken into the sockets

Thick sticky saliva

Loss of appetite

Dry Mouth

Elevated heart rate

Panting

Loss of skin elasticity

Excessive vomiting and or diarrhea

Constipation

Depression

Here are two simple tests you can do at home for dehydration. First, check for skin elasticity by grasping your cat by the fur on the back of its neck above the shoulders and gently pull it. If the skin snaps back instantly, then your cat is not dehydrated but if the skin takes several seconds or more to flatten down to the neck there is a problem. The second test is to press your fingernail into the cat's gums by lifting the upper lip. There is a white spot were the nail has depressed into the gum and count how many seconds before the gums return to normal color. A hydrated cat should take only a second or two to return the color.

If your cat has the signs and symptoms of dehydration, you should go to your veterinarian so they can give the cat water and electrolytes with an IV bag. Forcing water down its throat is not a good idea but we should always make sure that plenty of fresh water is available daily in a clean bowl.

Clinical diseases will cause dehydration so taking your cat to the veterinarian to find out what caused the problem is the proper thing to do. Early treatment on the diseases will extend your cat's lifespan. Also, pay attention to diet as mentioned earlier the dry cat food cat be the cause of the problem and long-term feeding of dry food causes stress to the kidneys and liver.

Older cats, kittens, and cats with clinical ailments are more prone to dehydration and you should watch their intake of water and output of urine daily.

Cat Sanctuaries: Unique Feline Shelters Around the World

Cat sanctuaries are located all over the world, and are often thought to be an average building to house feral and stray cats. However, there are several unique and interesting cat sanctuaries located in Europe and North America. These sanctuaries range from ancient ruins to miniature political buildings. Where are these sanctuaries located?

Parliament Hill, Canada

The Parliament building in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is typically thought of as a beautiful building where the Prime Minister spends his time. Although this assumption is true, there is an even more remarkable, miniature parliament building located on the hill where stray cats spend all of their time.

A colony of stray cats has been living on Parliament Hill since the 1950s. This colony was given a proper shelter in the 1970s thanks to a woman named Irene Desormeaux. This sanctuary was upgraded in 1997 to look like the Parliament building, and now has room for 10 to 20 felines per house. The cats are able to freely roam the area, which is a delight to visitors to Parliament Hill.

Stanford University, United States

The Stanford University Cat Network was founded in 1989 due to the large amount of feral cats living on campus. The Cat Network chose to use a Trap, Neuter, Release program to control the population of cats in a humane way. Trap, Neuter, Release is a proven way to reduce the population of feral cats by safely trapping feral cats, neutering or spaying them, and releasing them back into their home environment.

In addition to caring for the cats on a daily basis, the Network has been working to educate people on the importance of Trap, Neuter, Release as a positive choice to help with cat overpopulation concerns.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam has a very unique sanctuary located on the Singel Canal. The sanctuary was created in 1966 with help from a woman named Henriette van Weelde. Henriette was a cat fanatic, and always loved caring for stray and feral cats. She began bringing home stray cats to give them shelter in her home, and soon her house was so full of cats that she had no more room for new cats.

In 1968, Henriette decided to purchase a houseboat on the Singel Canal to make room for more felines. She renovated the interior of the boat so that it was feline-friendly, and she soon began housing cats on the boat. Henriette was able to recruit several volunteers and soon had a perfect home for the stray felines.

Today, there are two boats on the Singel Canal. They have been renovated over the years to meet the legal requirements for an animal sanctuary, but still serve the same purpose as a cat sanctuary.

Largo di Torre Argentina, Rome

Roman ruins would not be the first location someone would imagine as a cat sanctuary. However, some of the most famous Roman Ruins are just that. The Theatre of Pompey, the site of Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC is also the site of the cat sanctuary, Largo di Torre Argentina.

Largo di Torre Argentina is a home for over 250 cats. If you look close enough, these felines can be spotted lounging on the Roman Ruins in the area. Cats began taking up residence in the area in 1929, shortly after the area was excavated. For over half of a century a local woman cared for the cats, and not until 1994 was a safe building built for the felines. Today, Largo di Torre Argentina is run by volunteers 365 days a year to ensure that the felines are healthy and happy in the shelter.

The Pyramid Cat Colony, Rome

Largo di Torre Argentina is not the only cat sanctuary in Rome. In fact, the Pyramid Cat Colony is only 15 minutes away from Largo di Torre Argentina.

The Pyramid Cat Colony is located just outside of the Protestant's Graveyard in Testaccio, Rome. This colony was founded in 1850, though it was not officially recognized until 1984. The colony received proper recognition thanks to a woman named Matilde Talli who fought for years to get into the archaeological site to build a proper shelter for the cats. Today, the graveyard acts as a sanctuary for over 200 abandoned and stray cats.

As you can see, cat sanctuaries all over the world not only play an important role in caring for feral and stray cats, but they also do so in their own unique way. Most of the sanctuaries do allow visitors, so if you are in one of these areas perhaps you can stop in to see these incredible shelters and their cats.

Cat Cafes: Unique Feline Focused Businesses in Japan

Every city has a go-to coffee shop or cafe where residents of the area can feel at home. These cafes tend to offer customers a relaxing atmosphere, delicious food and drink, and even free internet. These offerings are all well and good for the typical coffee shop customer, but what if you could go to a coffee shop that offered all of the above, plus the chance to visit with adorable felines? Japan is home to several Cat Cafes that offer just that.

Cat Cafes are small businesses that allow people to visit with the resident cats for a small fee. These cafes started popping up around 2006, and today there are about 79 Cat Cafes all over Japan. Generally, these establishments charge by the hour ranging from about $7 to $10 per hour, with fees increasing on weekends and holidays. In addition to cats, the cafes also offer visitors food and drink, computers, books, and video games.

The resident felines in the Cat Cafes are treated with great respect. Before and during their stay, visitors must follow a list of rules including washing their hands before and after playing with the cats, removing their shoes, and not taking pictures with a flash. Interestingly, some cafes do not let visitors pick up the cats. The only exception to this rule is if a kitty voluntarily decides to jump on a customer's lap.

These cafes are not just an attraction for tourists to Japan, but are actually quite popular with locals too. Why are Cat Cafes so popular with the locals in Japan?

As of July 2011, the human population in Japan was estimated to be 126,475,664 people. Of this population, only about 13% of these Japanese households owned a cat, and about 5% of the total Japanese population had a pet cat. These low pet cat numbers are due to strict housing legislation that does not allow certain homeowners in Japan to have a pet. Specifically, single individuals between 20 and 30 years of age living in apartments or condominiums cannot own a pet. For this reason, few Japanese homes actually own a pet, which makes the idea of Cat Cafe very appealing to locals.

Cat Cafes offer tourists and locals in Japan the opportunity to spend quality time with friendly felines in a comfortable atmosphere. If you are a cat enthusiast travelling to Japan, be sure to stop in to one of these unique Cat Cafes for a once in a lifetime experience visiting with the local felines.

Cat Island: A Fantasy Travel Destination For Any Cat Enthusiast

Cat Island definitely sounds like a fairy tale land, but it is actually a real island off of the coast of Japan. Cat Island, or Tashirojima Island as it is referred to in Japan, is an island that has a larger cat population than human population. These cats are not owned by anyone on the island, and are instead the main residents of the island. Although these felines are not anyone's pets, they are treated with the same love and respect as if they were. The island is completely dedicated to felines, which is shown by the cat shaped buildings and cat memorials on the island.

How Did This Remarkable Island Come About?

In the early 1900s, silkworm farmers mostly inhabited the island. Unfortunately, because these silkworm farms were so delicate, pests and rodents began to threaten the silkworms. The farmers decided to bring in cats to control these pests, which is when the cats began to play an important role on the island.

Cats have been residents on the island since this time, and as the feline population has risen, the human population has dramatically declined. The 1950s was the peak of growth for the human population at about 1,000 residents, which was mainly due to the island's growing fishing industry. Today the population of people on Cat Island is just below 100 people, with all but one person being over the age of 65.

Visiting the Island

Visitors to Cat Island must take a 40-minute ferry ride from Ishinomaki, Japan, because there are no roads or airports that go to Cat Island. If you are visiting the island and would like to stay overnight, you have the option to stay in one of several cat shaped hostels, which were built by the residents of the island to accommodate travellers.

Travellers who are interested in exploring the island will not be disappointed. Along with the hundreds of friendly felines on the island, there are historical and unique places to explore too. Visitors will find a large shrine with all types of cat shaped offerings to honour the cats. The legend behind the shrine is that it was built by a fisherman who accidentally dropped rocks on a feline who was below him while he was fishing on a dock. The fisherman felt terrible about harming the cat so he buried the feline and created a cat memorial where the shrine currently stands. Not only can travellers to the island view the shrine, but they can add to it by bringing their own cat shaped offerings to the island.

If you are a cat enthusiast travelling in Japan, be sure to visit Cat Island, one of the most unique places in the world.

Black Cats - Myths About A Misunderstood Feline

Black cats are a misunderstood type of feline that is often feared by people because of the reputation that they bring bad luck. Although they have a bad reputation in society today, it has not always been that way. In fact, black felines used to be a sign of good luck all over the world. So how did these beautiful creatures gain such a negative reputation?

To find out the answer to this question it is best to go back to the first mention of these cats in history, which was around 3,000 BC in Egypt. Black cats in ancient Egypt were actually viewed with respect and honour. This is because they were associated with Bastet, an Egyptian goddess that resided in the form of a black-furred cat. Egyptians adored Bastet and would always pray to her, asking her to bless their homes with good fortune.

Egypt was not the only place that thought black cats brought good luck. In fact, people all over the world had a positive view of these dark-furred felines. For example, in Japan, Scotland, and England, people believed that:

If you find one on your porch, you are blessed with good fortune.

If a black kitty walks into your home, you are truly lucky.

A black cat that crosses your path brings good luck.

A black cat walking towards you brings good fortune, while one that's walking away from you brings your fortune with it.

If black cats were viewed as such lucky animals, then how did people start believing that they were unlucky animals?

It all began in America and England during the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages were a time of great superstition in these areas of the world. With the idea of witches and witchcraft posing a threat to the well-being of people during this time, people became sceptical of anything mysterious or dark in colour. Black cats were soon believed to be witches' familiars, meaning the cats helped the witches carry out their wicked deeds. In addition to being familiars, people believed that witches could also disguise themselves as these darkly coloured cats.

This scare led to the loss of many innocent human beings and cats in America and England. Strangely enough, with no cats to control the rodent population, England became over-run with rats, which caused the Black Plague to spread across the country. This was an unfortunate result of the destruction of cats, though perhaps it provides a lesson about how important cats can be.

The Middle Ages were a turning point for the reputation of black cats. Although these felines were once viewed as a sign of good fortune, this period in history made people believe that they were bad luck. Don't be fooled by these old superstitions. Black cats may look mysterious, but they are actually one of the kindest, most loving types of feline.

Celebrating the Family Cat - Pet Urn Ideas for Feline Friends

Oftentimes, a family is comprised of more than simply a mother, father and children. Sometimes we add a dog or a cat to our family and they seamlessly become integrated into our daily lives. When your pet cat passes away, you can feel the loss just as strongly as you would any other member of the family. If you make the decision to cremate your family feline a cat pet urn is a great way to memorialize your family pet's remains. There are many types of cremation urns that you might want to look into.

Ceramic
A ceramic cat pet urn is a great way to memorialize your family's feline. The material allows for a wide range of designs and finishes. You can choose between a beautiful mural of cats at play painted on the urn or an iridescent finish that shimmers when the light catches it. While they are more fragile than other materials can be, a cat pet urn made from ceramic materials is more cost effective than, say wood or glass, and it can be just as beautiful.

Metal
For lasting durability and as well as a thoughtful memorial, take a look at a metal cat pet urn. These urns are sleek and solid and can be emblazoned with a cat's paw print on the outside. You can also get a cat pet urn that's more ornate, with intricate metal detail and scrollwork. While some might consider metal to be a somewhat cold material for a cat pet urn, you would be surprised at the amount of sentimentality that a beautiful brushed silver or pewter urn can produce.

Glass
Here's a unique idea to memorialize your cat after they've passed: have some of their cremains used in a blown glass globe. This is a pet cat urn idea that's both beautiful and functional. Each globe is handmade, using just a fragment of your family cat's cremains incorporated with brightly colored glass in the center. Glass urns are a beautiful way to memorialize the feline that enriched your life for so many years. While they are delicate and require that they are kept out of reach from curious little hands, they truly create a wonderful statement of love and memory.

While there are many options to choose from, the right cat pet urn is a decision that your family will make together and when you do, you can display it with pride in your home for the years to come so that you can always remember the pet that brought so much joy to your family for so many years.

Prevention of Heartworm Disease In Cats

Heartworm disease is a serious, potentially life threatening disease in cats. The disease is transmitted by infected mosquitoes that bite the cat and inject the larvae of the heartworm parasite. In the cat, these larvae mature into heartworms in about 6 months. This transmission has to happen through the mosquito to the cat, not from cat to cat. The worms infect the blood vessels of the lungs and heart, causing damage.

There is no treatment approved by the FDA in the United States to treat heartworm disease in cats. The only therapy is supportive, in an attempt to help the cat survive the disease, which lasts 2 to 3 years.

The FDA has approved 4 treatments to prevent heartworm disease in cats: Heartguard for Cats, an oral tablet by Merial. Interceptor, an oral tablet by Novartis. Revolution, a topical by Pfizer. Advantage Multi for Cats, a topical by Bayer.

These 4 treatments do not prevent the infection of the cat by the larvae from the mosquitoes. The treatments kill the larvae in the cat when they are in a particular part of their 6 month life cycle, before they mature into heartworms. Ideally heartworm prevention should be given all year, since the success of the medication depends on killing the larvae at a particular part of its life cycle. Also mosquitoes can survive the cold months indoors and carry the infection to indoor cats even in the winter.

Giving the cat the heartworm prevention monthly should be as easy as possible.

The tablets need to be given with food so they can be absorbed and ideally they should be chewed up. The tablets can be divided into 4 pieces and mixed in with food. Usually reducing the amount of food at that meal and making sure the cat is hungry will let the medication be eaten without being noticed. Some cats like the taste of the tablets and look at them as a treat but they still need to be given with food. If the cat would vomit the meal, contact your vet for instructions on when to give the cat another dose of heartworm prevention.

The topical medications are placed behind the neck. This requires pushing back the fur and squeezing out the liquid directly onto the skin. The manufacturers recommend not getting the liquid on your hands or touching the cat for 2 hours. The medication is placed behind the neck so the cat cannot groom the area. If you have multiple cats, the cat getting treatment must be isolated from the other cats for 2 hours. This prevents them from grooming each other. These topical medications have the advantage of protecting against many other parasites other than just heartworms.

Heartworm disease in cats is widespread, life threatening, and preventable. Please protect your precious companions!

The Feline Diet - Why Adult Cats Should Not Drink Milk

It's true that cats love milk. Most cats will drink it if you let them. And who hasn't shared a little milk with their feline friend now and then? So, what's the problem?

Cow's milk is not a natural food for any cat. Even kittens, who naturally drink nothing but milk for the first few weeks of their lives, specifically need milk that is higher in protein, certain fats, and other nutrients, than the stuff we get from dairy cows. In other words, the only milk they need is the milk that their mothers provide.

Once kittens are weaned (at 8-12 weeks of age), they often lose their ability to digest milk. Many adult cats are lactose intolerant, and can develop an upset tummy and diarrhea from drinking cow's milk.

There are other problems with cow's milk, as well. Much of the milk we can buy at the store comes from cows that have been injected with a growth hormone, called rBGH. This hormone causes changes in the milk itself, including elevated levels of another hormone, IGF-1, which is known to promote cancerous tumors. Milk from rBGH-treated cows is also different in the types and amounts of fatty acids and proteins it contains.

rBGH also causes higher rates of painful mastitis (inflammation of the udder) that must be treated with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs. This increases the chances of chemical residues in the milk that could harm your cat. While there are laws preventing dairies from selling milk with illegal levels of certain drugs, inspections are often inadequate. Other drugs are not even tested for. Chemically contaminated milk can still end up in your refrigerator.

Even without rBGH, cow's milk is full of hormones, including estrogens, which are linked to many health problems. Milking cows are kept pregnant 11 months of the year; and all those pregnancy hormones flow right into the milk. Milk may also contain traces of pesticides and other contaminants of the food the cows are fed.

Unlike the milk produced by nursing queens (mother cats), which kittens drink in its natural raw state, store-bought milk is pasteurized. Pasteurization is necessary to kill harmful bacteria that are rampant in high-production dairy facilities. But it also destroys much of milk's natural vitamins A, C and some B vitamins; it makes calcium less absorbable; and it deforms (denatures) proteins and enzymes. Such altered proteins may cause allergies. Additionally, casein, the major protein in milk, may itself cause allergies. Dairy products are one of the top allergens in cats (the other most common allergens are chicken, beef, fish, wheat, and corn).

So, even though she may love it (don't we all love to eat things that aren't very good for us?), cow's milk is definitely not a good choice for your cat.

How to Prevent Your Cat From Getting Fleas

Preventing fleas on your cat is a very important concern, as these bloodsucking pests can cause your beloved Fluffy a lot of pain and discomfort as well as spread to your furniture and bedding. Fleas can also cause your cat serious health problems, such as skin infections and parasitic worms. If your cat does get infested with fleas, it is easy enough to use Frontline for cats to treat the problem quickly. However, the best thing to do is to avoid flea infestation all together and keep your cat from getting fleas in the first place.

Your cat cannot prevent fleas by itself, so it is counting on you to help take care of its health and save it from its discomfort. How can you reduce your cat's chances of getting fleas? Here are some tips which will prevent your cat from contracting these nasty parasites:

Use Treatments All Year Round

Frontline for cats is very successful at taking care of flea problems and it can be applied every three or four months to prevent fleas from settling on your cat's fur. It is important that you continue the treatments because otherwise the product will wear off and your cat will be vulnerable to catching fleas.

Frontline for cats contains fipronil, which is a powerful ingredient that will stop the spread of fleas before it starts. Make sure that you use the Frontline for cats product and do not use any flea treatments which are designed for dogs on your cat. Once you apply Frontline for cats, any fleas will be killed within 24 to 48 hours.

Avoid Other Pets That Have Fleas

Fleas are incredibly easily spread from one animal to another, so if your friend's pets have fleas, be sure to prevent your cat from having any contact with them until they are treated.

Wash and Vacuum Regularly

When is the last time you washed the cat bed where your pet sleeps, or the sofa where he likes to sit during the day? Washing and vacuuming regularly is a great way to prevent the spread of fleas. If any fleas have started to develop they will already have deposited eggs or larvae in these places and washing or vacuuming will get rid of them. Make sure that you use the hottest setting on your washing machine and a good detergent. If you are vacuuming, make sure that you take the vacuum bag outside to empty it so that you will not spread the fleas elsewhere in the house.

It takes a bit of work and special care to prevent your cat from getting fleas. However, with products such as Frontline for cats you will be able to ensure that your little furry friend is saved from the discomfort and health problems that these nasty bugs can bring.

All About the Siamese Cat

The Siamese cat is one of the best known cat breeds in the United States and around the world. It is not a breed that is native to the US. It originates from Thailand, which was called Siam until June 23, 1939.

The first documented Siamese cat to reach the shores of the United States was a gift to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878.

This breed is very graceful and quite slender. Oval shaped feet sit at the end of their slim legs. The distinctive markings on the coat are known as points. These shaded patches are found on the muzzle, ears, tail, and feet. Breeders have produced several variations of the points. Some of these are the Blue Point, Seal Point, Chocolate Point, and Lilac Point. These names refer to the color of the markings and other fur. When Siamese kittens are born, they are completely white. They will remain white for several months before their points start becoming visible. To determine the color points before they are visible on the fur you can look at the pads of the paws. Gray pads indicate Blue Point, light brown pads indicate Chocolate Point, and pink pads mean you have a Lilac Point on your hands.

The Siamese breed is known for being slightly more demanding than some other breeds. They are very intelligent cats and attempt to impose their will on their owners. Some Siamese cats are extremely noisy and mischievous. A Siamese in heat can produce quite a concert.

Despite their demanding personalities, Siamese cats yearn for interaction and companionship. They do not do well with being alone for long periods of time. This is why you will often see Siamese in pairs. If you own this breed you can expect to be in the constant company of your feline friend. Whoever first said that people don't own cats because cats own people might have been referring to a Siamese. This will become more obvious as your reading and relaxation times are interrupted by someone wanting to be petted.

They have a love for high places and a curiosity that can get them into precarious predicaments. If you cannot find your Siamese kitty, you should check on top of cabinets or shelves and inside of cupboards and closets.

Even though they can produce a lot of noise, the Siamese isn't particularly fond of external noise. Loud noises like vacuum cleaners and washing machines tend to send these cats for hiding. Even a roll of foil can be enough to induce a panicked run for cover.

Raw Feeding Your Cat - How to Handle Raw Meat Safely

Many people shy away from raw feeding their cats because they have concerns about the safety of handling raw meat. An easy and inexpensive method for handling raw meat safely is sanitizing both the meat and the counter top work surface with food grade hydrogen peroxide at a seventeen percent dilution.

Before going further, I want to emphasize that the meat you feed your cat should be the same fresh and certified meat that you buy at the supermarket. Don't feed them spoiled meat, contaminated meat, or meat that has not been processed according to USDA standards for human consumption.

You will need the following kitchen tools to prepare the raw food for your cats: one or two sharp knives that are flexible enough to slice meat off the bone; a cutting board, either wood or plastic, that is dedicated to meat; a spray-bottle of any size that you find convenient; food grade hydrogen peroxide in a dilute solution of 17%; glass canning jars with reusable lids in the 4 oz size; a bottle brush for cleaning hard to reach areas that can be washed in a dishwasher

Useful but optional kitchen tools the make the preparation of raw food easy are: disposable rubble gloves, and a small meat clever for cutting bones. Last but not least, it is nice to have an electric meat grinder strong enough to grind raw bones.

Thaw frozen meat in the refrigerator; thawing it on a counter top overnight warms the meat to a temperature that opens the door to increased bacterial activity. If you need the meat in a hurry, you can thaw it in a microwave, or drop the meat into a pan of warm water.

If you choose to use rubber gloves, now is the time to put them on. Make a "bath" of one part 17% hydrogen peroxide and four parts water. Soak the meat in this solution for several minutes to destroy surface bacteria. While the meat is soaking, fill a spray bottle with one part dilute hydrogen peroxide (17%) and three parts water.

Remove the meat from the bath and rinse it thoroughly in cool running water, then dry it with paper towels. If you are feeding chunks to your cat, place the meat on the dedicated cutting board. Cut the meat off the bone and then hack it into chunks. Set aside bones, cartilage scraps, and any skin if you plan to make slurry with your grinder. If you are weaning a kitten, feeding sick cat, or transitioning your cat to raw food, then dice the meat fine. Last, if you are making slurry, run skin, bones, organs and some meat chunks through your meat grinder.

Begin your clean up by rinsing the knives in hot water. If blood has congealed on the knife, spray it with your hydrogen peroxide solution and let it sit a few minutes. The peroxide will foam, lifting the blood. Wash the knives in hot soapy water, rinse, dry and then spray the knives with the hydrogen peroxide solution.Let them sit before drying them and putting them away.

If you ground meat, disassemble the meat grinder following the manufacturer instructions. Rise all parts in hot water using a stiff bottle brush to clean meat scraps caught inside the cylinder and the cutting disk. Wash all parts in hot, soapy water, then rinse them, and dry them. Spray all parts with your solution of dilute hydrogen peroxide and let them sit a few minutes before drying.

Clean the cutting board and the counter top workspace with hot soapy water. Dry them with disposable paper towel and then spray the surfaces with hydrogen peroxide.

Food grade hydrogen peroxide is generally sold in a thirty-five percent (35%) solution. However, the government considers hydrogen peroxide in a 35% solution as hazardous material. That not only makes shipping costs prohibitive, it requires special storage facilities in your home. The good news is that food grade hydrogen peroxide at 17% is available from online sellers. That solution is strong enough to sanitize bacteria, and yet be shipped as non-hazardous material stored conveniently under your kitchen sink.

Cats Scratching Furniture and Peeing in the House: Two Big Problems With a Common Cause

If your cat is shredding your furniture and peeing all over the house, you may assume you've got your work cut out for you solving two separate problems. In reality, though, the problem could be simple to solve. These two major behavioral issues often have the same root cause and the same solutions.

Inappropriate scratching and urination are often signs of stress. If you've lived with cats for a while, you know how sensitive they are to stress. Big changes like moving to a new home, a new person in the house, and holiday hustle and bustle can all make cats anxious and influence their behavior for the worse.

What many cat lovers don't realize, though, is that even seemingly minor issues can upset a cat. A change in your daily schedule, a new piece of furniture or even a week of stormy weather can all do it. When cats become stressed, they try to take control of their environment any way they can. That often means scent-marking their territory to ward off any perceived threats, strange new couches and storms included.

When Scratching Indicates Stress

Although an important form of exercise, scratching is also a way cats mark their territory. Scratch marks serve as a readily visible sign that the spot is already claimed and would-be intruders should beware. What's more, scratching leaves behind scent oils from glands on the undersides of the cat's front paws. Other cats smell this odor and know to stay away unless they want trouble.

Not all scratching is a sign of stress, though. Scratching on horizontal surfaces like a carpeted floor is usually just the cat's way of stretching and exercising his paws and claws. It's a natural, healthy behavior and not typically a sign of stress. Vertical scratching is what you want to look out for. Scratching on the sides of furniture, door frames and walls is often a territory-marking behavior that indicates your cat feels stressed and threatened.

Is Your Kitty a Stressed-Out Puddle Machine?

Urine, cat urine in particular, is by far one of nature's most potent scent markers. A cat's marking behavior doesn't always involve tom-cat-style spraying, though. Cats realize sitting down to pee gets the job done just as well.

There are, however, some differences in the urination habits of stressed cats versus anxiety-free cats. A cat who's merely avoiding a litter box she dislikes is apt to wet in a secluded area like behind the sofa or in a corner of a spare room. A cat who's peeing to mark territory will often do so in a very visible area, such as near doors and frequently used pieces of furniture. She may also pee on any "threatening" item like a new piece of furniture or items belonging to someone new in the home.

Inappropriate urination due to separation anxiety also has a distinct pattern. In this case, a cat will seek out items belonging to the person she misses and pee on those items. The mixture of the person's scent and the cat's scent calms the cat and helps her feel closer to the absent person.

Simple Solutions for Exasperating Problems

If you think stress is the reason your cat's scratching the furniture and peeing in the house, your first step is to identify the source of the stress. If you can eliminate it, great. Even if you can't though, there are some easy ways to help your kitty calm down.

Create a secluded "cat getaway" area with a raised bed where your cat can escape from the noise and activity in the rest of the house. This could be as simple as a comfy bed and a food bowl on top of a book shelf in a spare.

Try a cat pheromone diffuser or spray. These products release natural chemicals that help cats feel more secure, so they have less desire to mark by scratching or peeing.

If you have multiple cats in your home, provide a litter box for each and watch closely to make sure there isn't any bullying or aggression going on.

Stress from boredom can also cause peeing problems. It's not that cats make a game of finding new and interesting places to pee for entertainment, but that the stress drives them to out-of-character behavior. To help your cat mellow out, hold at least two 15-minute play sessions a day with her.

Naturally, stress isn't the only thing that causes litter box trouble. An unappealing litter box, bad habits from kittenhood, and a number of other issues can also keep your cat from using the box. Medical problems are another possible cause. If your cat has suddenly stopped using the litter box, take her for a vet check-up to rule out any medical issues.

Air Cleaner For Cats - Three Crucial Features To Have

Using an air cleaner to help you keep the air of cat hair, fur, dander and urine odor is an effective and continuous solution to clean air. Here are 3 features to look for in a cleaner that will insure it will be able to eliminate all that you need it to.

Carbon Based Filter For Odors---Cat odor from the litter box and/or inappropriate elimination can cause your home to have an eye-watering stench. You shouldn't have to put up with that just because you love a cat that occasionally makes mistakes.

Carbon filters are well known for their effectiveness at removing gaseous pollutants like odors. But the ammonia in urine is incredibly potent and even carbon needs a boost to enhance its ammonia-eliminating abilities.

Ammonasorb has proven to do just what its name implies---help the carbon absorb the ammonia fumes that can become so overwhelming.

Multiple Filters For Particles---All warm-blooded animals shed dander. It is similar to human dandruff. Older animals tend to shed more than younger ones.

But this process is a natural part of growth and development and is the body's way of replacing older skin with new skin that is more able to protect the body from disease and infection. So dander will be a part of life as long as you have your cat.

It is the protein in these dead flakes of skin that can trigger flare ups for those who suffer with allergies and asthma. These microscopic particles can and do remain airborne for hours, which means they remain available to be inhaled and cause symptoms that can range from aggravating to debilitating and even life threatening.

So it is important to have a high efficiency particles arresting (HEPA) filter that can trap these allergens. By definition a this type of filter must be able to eliminate 99,997 out of every 10,000 particles that are.3 microns or larger. And even as small as dander is it is easily trapped by this type of filtration.

The other particles should be able to trap larger particulates so that the finer filter is saved for those that measure in microns. These cheaper filters should be the first line of defense for big particles that can be seen such as hair and fur and even other more normal indoor particulates. These filters are called pre-filters and are worth their weight in gold.

They can be replaced easily and inexpensively and will add years to the life of the more expensive HEPA. Look for them in the technical specifications of the owner's manual. If they're there, you've got a winner.

Split Capacitor Motor---You might be asking yourself, who cares about the kind of motor a unit has. This is one of the most pivotal features a purifier can have.

Clean air depends on being able to keep air quality high consistently without interruption. A split capacitor motor is designed for continuous high revolutions per minute, and can operate safely and efficiently 24 hours a day.

Compare this to a unit that does not have this kind of motor, and you will need to cut it on and off for certain periods to allow the motor to rest. Each time you stop filtration, pollutant levels rise, and even after you start filtration again, the unit is playing catch up.

Eliminating particles and odors 24 hours a day is the secret to having a home that smells fresh and clean even though you have a cat. By choosing a purifier with these features, your guests won't know you have a cat until they see it.