Cats Rule. How To Select Your New Master

When adopting a cat, whether to choose an adult or a kitten is a big question. Many people go for kittens because they are so cute, however, kittens are just like human babies -- you have to give them extra attention, extra care, and most importantly, extra patience.

Kittens are so energetic and vigorous that sometimes they can be destructive of your furniture and appliances. You'll need to train them to scatch on appropriate things, not your furniture.

Kittens can be nice pets for kids as they can play with each other. Having said that, I must add that you need to really watch them when they play together. Make sure that your child, if old enough, knows how to pick up or hold the cat properly -- NOT by the neck! You may laugh, but I've seen it many times.

Adult cats are usually already trained when you get them. They can also adjust easily to a new environment. Just give them enough food, shelter, and love, and they will make great pets.

We Come As A Pair - Take One, Take Both

Male Kittens In my experience fostering kittens, I've found, that most male kittens are more aggressive than females. However, that's not always true. I've had extremely calm males and playful females. To really know their personalities, you need to watch and play with them.

Adult Males The adult males are also generally more aggressive than adult females. Again, I've found many exceptions in the adult cats I've fostered or lived with.

For example: 2 of my 8 cats are males. Bruce "Kamikaze" Lee is (pictured here), as his name says so well, is quite confrontational. He is a long-haired fat cat - weighing 18 pounds but not that long. He was neutered as a kitten, but we think his testosterone level has increased lately. He is a lover boy who loves to be held, brushed and petted, however, he likes to play with our other cats, sometimes even when they aren't in the mood.

Pictured here is Hawk (of Spencer fame) who is a very shy, calm cat. He is a large Russian Blue and weighs almost 19 pounds. Although he weighs 1 pound more than his brother, Lee, he is much longer and is definitely not a fat cat. He loves to knead me in bed at night, going back and forth between my husband and I.

All of our cats adore him. He'll walk up to another cat, bow his head in front of their faces and expects them to lick his head -- AND they DO! One night he patted me on the shoulder until I woke up. When I did, he bowed his head a couple of inches in front of my face! I woke my husband up with my laughter!

All Males Do NOT Spray, And Some Females DO My husband and I never adopted a male cat because we heard that all males spray. Well, all our cats are indoor cats and spraying was not something we wanted. However, in 2000, I fell in love with Kamikaze Lee while socializing cats at the local Humane Society and had to adopt him. He has never sprayed and neither has his brother, Hawk.

However, our alpha cat, Kira, spays the back of our 2 leather recliners. (Thank goodness those are the only places and I can clean them easily.)

We now know that we shouldn't pick a cat by gender - males or females, they all have unique personalities.

Complete Cat Care Book

Designed to be the easiest-to-follow system for learning everything that you could possibly need to know about cats.

Jam-packed with information, including tons of cat pictures, litterbox training, cat behaviors (and why they do it!), fixing common cat problems such as scratching, destroying your chairs, howling, etc.

With this powerful insider information, you'll discover the best ways to care for your cat... Complete Cat Care

Having your cat spayed or neutered will stop the overpopulation and the killing of cats. Millions of cats are killed at shelters each year due to overpopulation. Keep in mind, if your cat has 4 kittens, even if you get homes for those kittens, 4 others are killed because they could not get homes.

This wonderful animation was created by David Booth of Cabin Fever Art. Check out his site to see all his wonderful cartoons and other goodies. He also provides the weekly cartoon for Are You Polar Bear Aware?

ASPCA has a special link for you to find low-cost spay/neuter programs in your community. Simply go to Low-Cost Spay Neuter Programs and enter in your zip code and you'll get a list of the programs in your area.

When deciding on your cat's place keep in mind that Indoor cats live an average of 15 to 18 years. A indoor/outdoor cat an average of 7 - 9 years.

Outdoor
A cat that is only an outdoor cat will not be as safe nor as happy as one that is allowed indoor with his family. Cats need to be able to come inside at least when the weather is bad: rain, snow, high winds, or heatwave.

If the weather is not good enough for you to go out in, then it's not good enough for your cat. They cannot stand extremely cold or hot weather either.

To keep outdoor cats socialized and to ensure that they will come home, you need to bring them inside and love on them. Let them know their family members and teach them how to behave indoors.

With an all outdoor cat, it will be difficult to know when they are sick or hurt as cats usually will hide when they are not well as a survival instinct.

Indoor/Outdoor
Most people think that this gives cats the best of both worlds. There are several things to keep in mind any time a cat is allowed outdoors:

1. Cats are territorial, so they may have to protect themselves from outdoor-only or feral cats who claim the same territory.
2. They may not come home a night or two and worry the heck out of you.
3. They are exposed to other cats who may be carrying disease.
4. They may get ticks, more fleas.
5. They are exposed to raccoons and skunks that are the most common carriers of rabies.
6. They'll roll in the dirt and horse dropping (I've seen it) and then they come in and lay down on your couch or bed.

Indoor Only
All shelters and humane societies will recommend that you keep your cat indoors at all times because:

1. They live longer.
2. They are safer.
3. They aren't exposed to feral cats, raccoons, etc.
4. You can tell when they are sick faster (A) by their eating habits; (B) by their litter box (amount, frequency and consistency of urine and stools; if they drag themselves across the floor on their butts which may mean worms; if they're hiding more which usually a sick or injured cat will; their moods)
5. You know what they eat, when, IF they stop eating.
6. They can be trained to not scratch your furniture and being "house-broken" will be more adoptable if something happened to you and they needed a new home.

I Hope She Doesn't Make Me Drink Like This Every Day!

Declawing a cat is major surgery.

Declawing is actually 10 separate, painful amputations in which the last joint of each toe, including the bones - not just the nails - are cut out. This procedure, at it's best, makes a cat's life miserable and at it's worse, can actually kill the cat. Here's why:

1. Declawing involves general anesthesia and some cats may have an adverse reaction to the anesthetic.
2. When the surgery is over, the cat will need to relearn to walk.
3. The cat can get gangrene, which can lead to limb amputation.
4. Other possible medical problems include, permanent nerve damage, persistent pain, scar tissue formation, Sequestrum (bone chips) requiring additional surgery, and skin disorders.
5. A declawed cat will experience a weakening of her legs, shoulders, and back muscles because she used to scratch objects, which stretched all of her body. And, this will also cause a problem with her balance.
6. Some cats will stop using the litter box.

Other Problems Created
Declawed cats may have a change in personality. They may become morose, reclusive, and withdrawn or irritable, aggressive, and unpredictable. Furthermore, since claws are a cat's first line of defense, they may start to bite.

In a study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) it was reported that 33 percent of declawed cats, developed at least one behavioral problem and 80 percent had more than one medical complication.

Declawed Cats More Likely To Be Dumped
According to PETA, declawed cats are also more likely to be surrendered to shelters. So, the people put their cats through this horrible amputation ordeal, then when they can't handle the personality change THEY caused, they get rid of her.

Some Vets Will Not Declaw
Many vets will refuse to declaw a cat. They look at it as inhumane and not in the best interest of the cat. In fact, there are many countries that ban declawing. Amen!

PART 2 - Alternatives to Declawing
In my next entry, I'll cover alternatives to declawing and give you lots of resources. While you're waiting for that, check out Why Cats Scrath for articles on why cats scratch and how how to train your cat and for some great cat trees, scratching posts, and other cat things.

I wouldn't chew them if I had something to eat.

According to PETA, "Cats and dogs are being killed in animal shelters and on the streets for two reasons: Because irresponsible people, intentionally or unintentionally, neglect to sterilize their animals and because people buy animals from breeders and pet stores instead of adopting. Join our Animal Birth Control campaign to be a part of the solution to the animal overpopulation crisis. It's as easy as ABC-always adopt. Always spay and neuter."

Click to see short video: Animal Birth Control

All cats need a cat tree and a cat bed. You'll find a wide variety of cat trees, condos, beds, perches, and other pet furniture on at Cat Trees: The Ultimate Cat Furniture For The Pampered Cat Save your cat from having to sleep on a radiator!

I Wish I had Some Place Soft To Sleep!

Best Friends

Many people think that it's impossible for cats and dogs to get along. However, just look at all of the wonderful pictures and stories of dogs and cats living together not just peacefully but joyfully. (See picture in section "Who Says Cats And Dogs Don't Get Along?)

By nature, both dogs and cats are predators that tend to chase things that move quickly and are smaller than them.

Environmental Influence
During the first 2 to to 3 months of an animal's life, it learns who its friends and its enemies are. Therefore, a puppy raised with cats will most likely tend to get along better with the cats. The same foes for a kitten raised with dogs.

Training
The best way to train cats and dogs to live together is to have them spend time together while you are with them. The more time animals spend with one another, the more tolerant they become of the other.

If, however, your dog has been cruel to cats in the past, it is NOT a good idea to have the two in the same household. Even if a dog chases a cat and doesn't cat it, it is still very stressful for the cat.

If you have the time and patience, the dog can be leashed with a training collar. Another person can bring the cat increasingly closer to the dog. If the dog sits still it, should be praised. If it attempts to lunge after the cat, the leash should be pulled and the dog should be told "No. Leave it!"

Another approach uses positive association. Each time the dog is in the same room as the cat, it is provided with extra attention and treats. In this way, it positively associates the cat with things that it desires - affection and tasty treats!

Feeding Time
Even cats and dogs that get along might start fighting during mealtime. Most animals are very protective of their food. In addition, they tend to be quite curious about the food the other animal is enjoying. For this reason, it is best to have separate feeding stations for cats and dogs.

It is best to place the cat's food in a high, hard to reach area. Otherwise, the dog will have a tendency to eat the cat's food. Of course, the food should still be placed in an area the cat can easily reach and eat comfortably. Cats won't generally try to eat dog food. But, in the case of a cat that does, this behavior should be discouraged as cats and dogs need different nutrients.

The best way to do this is to feed the two animals at the is to feed the two animals at the same time, but in different places.

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