So after a month or so of trying and bleaching my carpet all up, I decided to head to the pet store, petco.com

I  was  browsing the  store in search of a topless litter box but put something over it so the litter does not fly everywhere. I found this mini white tarp cover for large topless litter boxes that I had to have! I just hoped that my little picky miss priss would poo in it! I almost considered giving her up because it got so bad. She would just constantly go everywhere, unless I could catch her in the act. If I put her in there she would go.

Anyway I tryed the new box and presto! She stopped going outside on the carpet! I was so happy that I did not have to wake up every morning to a big present in the corner somewhere.

Cat And Kitten BootCam

Training : Make sure to get the right litter box and litter for your cat or kitten. Watch out for the signs that they are unhappy with it.

When I first got her, she was a fiesty one, mostly biting me all the time and playing. She still bites whenever she does not want to be touched or bothered. Although, when she is tired, get ready for cuddling and purring. She is the nicest little angel ever. Yet when she is up and ready to go, watch out! Miss priss will bite you!

Cat And Kitten BootCamp

Training : Learn the kittens moods or else you will get bit.

We get all googley and go aww, look at the cute kitty kitty… We tend to mock everything they are saying and doing to a point that they have us talking a new language. Their body language is interpreted into human actions as we see it, in a very cute way. For example, when a cat licks you it’s considered kissing you. Right?

It’s all very cute, until you realize someone is watching you do these things and starts to poke fun! When they meow at us we meow right back thinking we know what they are saying to us. I can be in my computer room typing away and bubbles, will start his yelling at me to come over to where he is just so he can get a good scratch on the head and a firm pat on the bottom. He knows that I will awknowledge him every time he does this no matter what. Not to mention it is very hard to resist.

Cat And Kitten BootCamp

Training : Act when spoken to.

Every morning, it never fails, my cat Foo Foo Munkins always likes to yell at me from the other side of the door. Now I let all three of them in during the night but they can get to bugging me with all their rustling about in my bedroom. I then have to play chase in order to get them out. Sometimes I have to resort to the squirt bottle!

I’m sure many of you know what I’m talking about. I will be sleeping and all of a sudden I awake to a fumble and rumble from the side of mt head. It’s one of my boys being bugga boo’s. Now I am trained to get up around 3:oo am to just go ahead and let them in after I already kicked them out because if I don’t, he will yell and bang on the door until I do.

BootCamp : Week 20

Training : Wake up to let the cats in the bedroom.

Aside from the very real feline overpopulation problem, there are some valid health reasons for spaying female cats.

• Decreased Risk of Mammary Cancer
  Ideally, to give a female cat protection against mammary cancer, she should be spayed prior to her first heat. Each subsequent heat brings a greater chance of mammary cancer at a later time.
• Eliminates Risk of Ovarian or Uterine Cancer
  Spaying a cat involves the removal of the uterus and ovaries. No organs: no cancer; simple as that.
• Eliminates Chances of Pyometritis
  Pyometra is a virulent bacteria that attacks the uterus of cats, usually a week or so after estrus, and is a potentially fatal infection.

The old adage that “if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem” is particularly applicable to unwanted pregnancy in cats.

Sometimes there’s just too much of a good thing… then there’s a problem.

Cat And Kitten Bootcamp

Training : Spay and neuter your pets.

Well I already own two male cats that are about a year and a half old. I bought them through an ad I found in the paper for $15 each. They had already got thier first feline distemper shot; thats why they cost that much at about 6 weeks. So I was ok with that. So as time went by I was missing a girl in the family. My friend and I went to the local shelter and was looking around at the many kittens they had for sale. Like I said before I don’t like going in to those places seeing all those lonely and sick cats. After about a half hour of looking at the adorable kittens, we kept being drawn to a particular little LH tabby kitten. She was very fiesty, jumpy and she bit most of the time. Which was fine with me!

I did notice that she had a skin problem and the first thing I thought of was the vet prices to get her healthy. I knew it was going to be costly going into getting another kitten. I really wanted her, we only live once, so I got her and took her to vet immediately. The vet fee for the visit and consultation was $30. Oh yes,I paid $40 for her to begin with and was told that when I got her spayed, I would be refuned the money plus get $40 back. So I would basically get her free. Well, she ended up having a skin virus caused by a bug that was making her skin peel and look flaky. It was very contagious so I had to quarantine her in the bathroom for about a month so my other two cats would not get it. Her total bill then, for that first visit was $121. The skin scrape and medication were expensive. Nothing new to me that I would be spending that much but some people don’t realize the cost.

A month passes and she seems to be fine until one night she starts that awful sound of the “throw up”. She began to do it for a couple nights until she finally threw up some long white coils. The worms! She had worms… I didn’t plan on getting her the normal shots until a little while later but I guess she was telling me something. I ended up getting a “kitty plan” for all her shots, which consisted of:

1 Comprehensive Exam
3 FVRCP Vaccinations
1 Feline Leukemia Test
1 Feline Leukemia Vaccination
1 Fecal, 2 Wormings

You can also get the AIDS tests and vaccinations but I didn’t really need to at that time.

The total costs for that visit was $153.
The three follow up visits were $100 each time.

Then I got her spayed a couple months later, costing me $100.88
They charged me for heat, to keep the kitten warm!

Inbetween that time she started to eat my adults cat food here and there.. I did seperate them when eating but sometimes she would sneak away and start to eat the adult food. Well, I made the HUGE mistake of changing her food to a different brand. Money was tight and I just could not afford the good stuff anymore. Some advice to you when feeding your cat. GET THE GOOD STUFF. She did not take well to it at all and developed Gastroenteritis and everytime she would eat, it would come right back out of her mouth! She started to lose weight and get very sick. So I took her in and and had all kinds of tests done…. The bill for the medication, treatment, visit and tests was $214. She was a handlful and I learned so much about cat health in general.

I shared this experience just give you an idea of what a kitten can cost in the long run. Now don’t forget that they they still need their yearly shots as well!

Avoiding Snags

Scratching Post Options

Cats need to scratch! It’s an urge that’s programmed into them and doesn’t change, no matter how many years they live in a cozy home far from the wild. Providing your pet with a scratching post will let her express this natural urge while sparing your furniture from damage. It will also give your pet some extra exercise, especially for the upper body, and promote the natural shedding of the outer sheath of the claws.

Scratching posts come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes, and may be made of or covered in several different materials, including:

• Attract your cat’s attention by holding a favorite toy and running it over the post. If the cat comes over and bats at the toy, her claws may end up grazing the post’s surface — and with any luck, she’ll like the feeling and want more. If it’s a standing post with a ball finial on top, you can tie the toy to it, using a sturdy piece of sewing elastic.

Declawing

Declawing is a highly controversial procedure, and understandably so. It entails not only removing the claws themselves, but also cutting off the terminal bone of the toe. This is an extreme measure and should not be done lightly. A cat’s claws provide her main means of defending herself, and should be preserved if at all possible. If scratching is a problem, you should explore every other available solution before deciding on declawing. In most cases, simply keeping the cat’s claw tips trimmed will go a long way toward limiting the amount of damage she can do to the furniture.

Cat And Kitten BootCamp

Training : Learn how to clip cats claws while they are sleeping.

Cats are naturally neat and intelligent, so it’s generally not hard to teach them how to use a litter box. Some kittens will have learned this skill from their mother, but if yours hasn’t, don’t worry — all it takes is a little practice on your pet’s part and a little patience on yours.

If you are housebreaking an adult cat, the guidelines are the same, though it may be more challenging and take longer to change her ways.

Training Techniques

Most cats who are provided with a clean, well-filled litter box will gravitate to it rather than use other surfaces in the home (with the possible exception of the soil in plant pots). You can help your kitten get the hang of using the box by doing the following:

• Be aware of the times your kitten is likely to need to use the box. These include after waking up, after eating, and whenever you see your cat sniffing around or squatting. At these times, gently scoop up your pet and carry her to the litter box to demonstrate the proper place to go.

Pick up the mess with a paper towel, and place the paper towel in the litter box to indicate where it belongs. Holding your kitten, gently “scratch” her front paws in the litter. This will convey the idea of pawing the litter to bury droppings.

Troubleshooting Tips

Once your kitten learns her litter-box lessons, she is unlikely to soil other parts of the house. If a house trained cat starts avoiding her box, one of the following is usually to blame:

• Did you change litter type, scent, or brand? If you must introduce a new litter, start by mixing a little of the new filler in with the old and gradually increasing the proportion of the new kind.

Q. What kind of food can I get for my allergic cat?

My cat is allergic to beef, rice, wheat, and chicken. The cat food given by the vet which is venison, my cat refuses to eat. Is there a good brand of cat food that does not have these ingredients?

A. “Limited ingredients” cat foods were developed to help cats with food allergies. They are generally used for three purposes:

1. For purposes of eliminating allergens to discover which ingredients cats are actually allergic to.
2. As a long-term diet for cats with IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease)
3. As a long-term diet for cats with food allergies

The brand with which I’m most familiar, because one of my own cats has eaten it, is IVD (Innovative Veterinary Diet), manufactured by Royal Canin. IVD foods contain a single protein source (duck, lamb, venison, rabbit) and a single carbohydrate source (whole green peas and green pea fibre). These foods are also supplemented with “Omega 6 and 3 EFAs to provide the optimum in anti-inflammatory effects these nutrients can provide,” according to the manufacturer.
If your veterinarian does not stock these other products, they can be ordered, but only by prescription. Nature’s Variety also makes a number of canned cat foods that contain none of the ingredients you mentioned. Nature’s Variety also makes several dry cat foods, although some of them contain rice, which is an allergen for some cats.
Hopefully, your cat will find one of more of these foods palatable, and he will be on the road to good health soon.

Q. If you feed cats dog food, can it cause them to go blind?

I know it’s a strange question, but I’ve read that dog food is harmful for cats. It looks and smells much like cat food and my cats seem to like eating it when we run out of cat food.

A. It’s not a strange question at all. There’s nothing in dog food that will directly harm a cat within a short period of time, but the point is what is lacking. Simply put, dog food does not provide the nutrients required by cats. Eating a little bit of dog food won’t kill a cat. But a cat fed exclusively on dog food can not only go blind, but can develop a heart condition, called feline dilated cardiomyopathy.
The difference primarily is taurine, found in muscle meat, heart, and liver. Studies have also been done that showed pregnancy failure in queens with long-term taurine depletion, including increased resorption of fetuses, reduced litter size, and increased incidence of stillborn kittens.
Taurine supplement has been added to commercial cat foods for several years, for these reasons.
I would never suggest feeding cats dog food, but rather food specifically formulated for their own, unique nutritional needs.

Q. How much food do I have to feed to meet an adult cat’s daily requirement’s?

A. Unfortunately there is no hard and fast answer to your question. Nutritional requirements for cats vary, even for cats of the same age. Factors that may affect nutritional requirements for cat food include:

• The Cat’s Weight
  A 17 pound cat with a muscular build and large bone structure will require more calories and associated nutrients to maintain his weight than a nine pound cat with a more slender build. Likewise, a cat who needs to gain or lose weight will need differing quantities of food.
• The Cat’s Activity Level
  Likewise, two identical 17 pound cats as described above will vary in their requirements, depending on their activity. A three year old cat who races around the house may require more than an eight year old who sleeps most of the day.
• The Cat Food Content
  Fish flavors in particular, should be fed in minimal amounts.
• Although most cats love the taste of fish, an exclusive fish diet has the potential for harm. The Cornell Feline Health Center says, “Diets containing large quantities of fish can cause yellow-fat disease (steatitis), a result of vitamin E deficiency.” This is especially true with the lower quality fish protein often used in cat food. If your cat enjoys fish, try eliminating fish-flavored cat food; instead, give him a small treat of human-quality albacore tuna occasionally.
• Quality of the Cat Food
  As a rule, many cats fed a high quality premium cat food will eat less than they did on poor-quality “grocery store” food. Their bodies have an innate ability to judge when they have reached the proper nutritional level, and they will stop eating when they reach that level. As a result, feeding these high quality foods has the added result of making them actually more economical.
• Supplemental Dry Food
  Cats that are “free-fed” with dry food in addition to their regular meals of canned food, will eat less of the canned food.

To make it easier for you, most cat food cans and packages give you a feeding guidelines printed right on the package. Alternatively, you can check the web sites of the food manufacturers. PetSmart has a calculator for the basic foods it sells. You can input the cat’s age, weight, and activity level, and it will give you the results for your specific cat.

Generally, if your cat seems healthy and active, and is not constantly begging for food, you can assume that he is getting the proper amount of food, especially if the quality of food is superior.

Q. Is Milk ok for my cat?

My cat enjoys milk, and I give her a small amount two or three times a week. Will this help or harm her? I’ve read somewhere that milk is not good for cats.

A. Generally speaking, milk is not recommended for adult cats, as many of them are lactose-intolerant, and have problems digesting it.

However, If she’s not throwing up or having diarrhea, she’s probably okay with it. Some experts advise that cream is better than regular milk if you must give it to cats, probably because cream has less lactose than whole or skim milk. But again, a small amount of skim milk seems to be okay for your kitty, so I wouldn’t worry about it.

Also, recently, several new lactose-free milk substitutes for cats have been developed, such as CatSip, which may also be found in some food stores and most large pet supply stores. If your cat enjoys milk, she may like these products too.

Q. Why does my kitten paw the floor after eating?

A. The rest of the story:After my kitten eats or drinks, he paws the floor as if he is digging or burying something. Since I have never had a cat before I have no idea what he is doing or trying to tell me. Do you?

The pawing and digging your kitten is doing is an amazing exhibit of instinctive behavior (in that he probably didn’t learn it from mom-cat). In the wild, cats often bury their food remains (as well as their feces) as a protective measure so their enemies can’t track them. Conversely, they also spray their territory with urine as a warning to other predators to stay away.

Your little kitty is demonstrating this wonderful instinct, and it’s a very positive sign that he is making your home *his*. Be sure to have him neutered at an appropriate age, so he doesn’t follow through with urine marking.

Q. How can I keep a kitten out of the adult cat food and vice versa?

A. You are correct that kittens and adult cats have different nutritional needs, and that it is important that kittens get the nourishment specifically found in kitten food.

A new kitten should be separated for awhile with its own food dish and litter box. You may find that by the time you’re ready to introduce the newcomer to your existing cat, they’ll each gravitate to their own food dish. If not, you might want to put the older cat’s dish in a high place so the youngster can’t get to it. If the older cat wants to sneak a bite of kitten food now and then, it certainly won’t hurt her (just be sure the kitten gets its own daily requirements.) The extra exercise the older cat will get by playing with the kitten should keep excess pounds off.
With canned food (which is really better for all ages than dry food), you may have to either feed the two in separate rooms, or feed the kitten first, with the older cat confined in another room. After 20 minutes, take up the kitten food and discard it. Then, switch places and feed the adult cat, also discarding the remainder after 20 minutes.
Another option is to use a premium food formulated for all ages. Felidae is an excellent choice in this category.

I hope this information helps with some of your questions, there are so many more questions that are asked but these are the ones that I found around to be the most asked.

Source Of Information: Franny Syufy