| CAT & KITTEN
CARE TIPS! 1.)
Feed your cat a healthy diet and
provide plenty of water at all times.
Cats can sometimes have trouble with urinary tract infections.
In male cats this can be fatal. Make sure your adult cats have a
food lower in magnesium and ash; try not to give them any food
with seafood in it. If you cat starts to urinate in strange
place, take him/her to a vet. Cats are very clean animals and it
could well be she is trying to tell you something. Also a clean
litter pan ensures a happy kitty and one whose health is not
endangered by a strained bladder.
2.) Make your pet a part of your
family.
Cats, although rumored to be aloof, are social creatures. Just
like humans, they need affection, consistent affirmation, and
entertainment. Offer plenty of toys with which they can play and
both of you will have hours of enjoyment!
3.) Please do not declaw your cat!
Declawing a cat is no more natural than having your fingernails
removed (declawing is tantamount to removing the first knuckle
from a human). Claws are the only way cats can defend
themselves. |
It is also the way they show pleasure and groom themselves.
Please realize that upon adopting your cat through Feline Hope,
one of the provisions in the agreement you sign states that you
will not do this to your cat. Some people feel that declawing
only the front claws will help save their furniture, but it
could well turn your cat into a biter. Scratching posts range
from very inexpensive cardboard to elaborate structures.
Should you adopt a cat who has already been declawed, we ask
that you keep the cat as an inside cat only.
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Please click here to learn more about declawing
cats.
4.) Keep up to date shots and keep tags
and collar on at all times
Although your cat may have been microchipped, the chips only
work if the cat is taken to a shelter that scans them. Make sure
you can easily slip a finger under the collar because a too
tight collar is miserable; especially for growing kittens, the
collar must be loosened periodically. Please make sure it is a
breakaway collar so that there is no danger that your cat will
get hung up on anything. Trying to keep a collar on your cat may
be one of the most difficult parts of having a cat.
5.) Speaking of microchips...
Mail in the fee and information to the microchip company whose
information has been provided. They system's success depends on
your registering your cat's ID chip. This one step may mean life
or death to your cat. Although not all shelters are scanning,
many are coming to realize the necessity and benefit. Call your
local shelter and ask first if they scan for micro ID chips and
second if they work with local veterinarians and other animal
protection groups who use a micro ID chip system. Even if they
don't scan for the brand chip you use, their scanner will detect
a chip at which time they can contact another party with the
correct scanner to find the information needed to get your cat
back to you.
Even now, many pets are stolen and sent to labs for research.
Many reputable labs scan prior to performing lab tests on any
animal they receive. Protect pets! Give them the voice they need
to be retuned home to you if lost. |