While you know the value of your beloved $5000 sofa, your cat sees scratcing as a natural part of life, and your sofa as the ideal subject. Do you know your cat is actually telling you something important? He is telling you that he needs a good something to scratch!

In the wild your cat would scratch as part of their natural behaviour, and anything would do. Of course, in the wild there are lots of handy trees to scratch on. Don’t take his scratching personally – he just needs to sharpen his claws.

Since you don’t have a handy tree in your home, your cat will just look around for anything else that is wooden, for instance table legs or a door frame. He will keep on doing it for all of his life unless you take some action.

Some people go as far as declawing their cats. In the UK this is not even legal, but also it renders your cat harmless. Which means if you allow your cat outside and he gets into a fight, he is going to lose. He cannot return the attack. You have just let your cat get killed. You may say, well my cat is an indoor cat. But accidents happen and you know your cat could one day just slip out of the door.

So what can you do to protect your furniture?  The answer is simple, you just set up scratching posts around your home. Your cat will easily be trained to use the scratching posts. He will be happy to use them and they are best suited to his needs.

Cats also use scratching posts as a stress reliever. The behaviours that go with scratching will not go if you have him declawed, he will still go through the motions, it just means that his stress levels will be higher.

You cat could be the sort that plays with his scratching post, battling it to the ground until it truly surrenders. If it is too wobbly then he may decide that your nice firm chair leg would be a better scratching post. Your cat may prefer a scratching post that is at an angle on the floor, or you could by a wave shaped scratching post which is more ergonomic for your cat.

If your cat uses his scratching post when you are at home to keep an eye on him, but when you are out uses the chair for his claws, then you need to use his skills against him a bit. Cats have a highly developed sense of smell and if you put a good spray of room deoderizer on the chair then that will turn the cat right off it. You could use a cat repellent hung over the back of it. Anything to turn the cat away from the chair.

Once your cat is happy with his scratching post, put it somewhere where he can play with it as well as use it for scratching. Often cats like to scratch as soon as they have woken up, so it is a good idea to put it near where he likes to sleep.

If your cats scratching post looks a little worn, do not throw it away just like that. Buy a new one and put it near the old one, and when it starts to look as though your cat has used it you can throw the old one away. Cats take a little time to get used to new things and you want to keep your furniture in good condition, so take this advice and keep them looking good.

It is always as well to let your cat express himself and his natural behaviours with a cat scratching post.

Hand-raising kittens is a day-and-night task. If your kitten is just newborn, you could be on the job for a few weeks. You should see to the babies’ eating, urinating and sleeping arrangements. It is absolutely vital that you provide twenty-four hour care at least at first. You should wake up every two hours to check on them. You could always share shifts with a trusted partner or friend.

Kittens: Seek professional advice!

Take any young kitten to your veterinary surgeon. The kitten could need to be wormed and started along an inoculation plan to preclude disease and parasites. Your veterinary could likewise investigate the kitten for other usual issues, such as ear mites, fleas and even dangerous respiratory problems. Cats could be carriers of diseases that are catching to other pets and maybe even human beings. Make sure to keep your young kitten healthy.

Kittens: Mum is best but you can help!

If you have a white furred kitten, a small swab of Vaseline close to the tear duct area of the eye could prevent tear stains.

Newborn infant and young kitten receive the very best nutrition by staying with their Mom until they are six to eight weeks of age. Sometimes a female parent cat leaves, dies or has a medical ground for being unable to breastfeed the kitten. When this occurs, it is important to  nourish kittens with a kitten-only formula, to assist them in getting the nutrients  they must have.

If you can’t find kitten-only formula in a pet shop, or if you require the formula after the pet shop has closed, you can make up your own kitten-only formula from items you can buy in a food shop and drugstore. You can nourish the kittens  with a medicine dropper or syringe with measurements.

Attempt to make the kitten take milk from the Mom again, just one last time. If the kitten does not take moms milk or if the kitten is an orphan, carry on to creating kitten-only formula to nourish the kitten.

As the kitten develops, you can begin to put in soft kitten food. By the time he or she reaches four weeks of age they should be inquisitively trying soft kitten food. You possibly still want to provide the kitten-only formula until he or she is 6 weeks of age and then the kitten should be eating soft or dry food only.

Warm up the milk to a little more than room temperature. Don’t heat it in the microwave oven because it will probably have hot spots.

REGULATE THE KITTEN’S BODY TEMPERATURE BEFORE FEEDING:

Orphaned kitten or those whose mothers are unable to nourish them will need a specific formula that supplies extra nutrients necessary to development.

Frequent worming is an vital aspect of caring for your kitten. If worms are remaining untreated, they can give your kitten grave sickness or death.

Pick a top quality kitten food. Kitten require much more nutrients than cats. Do not ever feed it adult cat food, not until it is six months old or as directed on the packet.

Finding a kitten,  or a few kittens can be a wonderful, moving experience. These helpless creatures would not live without your loving care, thats just kittens.

Before committing to a particular healthcare plan for your kitten, make sure that you collect a number of different leaflets from various companies.  It is a good idea to make a chart of the pros and cons of each company so that you can compare like with like.  You can also leave some space at the bottom of your chart to mention exclusions, things that are not covered by the policy.

Once you know what each insurance covers, and how much the cost, and more importantly what their policy doesn’t cover, you can start to see which policy(s) stand out from the rest as being good possibilities.

When you can see what each company offers and their particular exceptions, the company with the best possibilities will start to stand out to you.  Before you sign up for anything check on the internet for any reviews the company has for its pet insurance.

Even if the company has an excellent record for home insurance or contents insurance, doesn’t mean they are good at covering their pet insurance.   You need to see what other pet owners have said about the company, to make sure that they pay out ok when your kitten is ill.

It is essential that you read the small print.  Will they cover your kitty for the same amounts and same illnesses throughout her entire life, or will it change as she gets older?   When your kitten is older, will the exemptions change, the excesses increase, so it will cost you more when your cat really needs the insurance.

You could decide of course, that you can just insure your kitten anyway, but you are aware of things getting more expensive when she is older. Some people even decide not to insure their pets, and just put the money away in a high interest account, so it is there just in case their kitten needs it.

The fact is that there can be a significant different between one kitten collar and another.It is absolutely vital for the safety of your kitten that you make yourself aware of the differences between the collars, even though they all look very similar.

Buying a small dog collar and putting it on a kitten is no good, because cats and dogs move about in different ways.Because kittens and cats can get stuck on things with their collar, kitten collars have a mechanism to allow the kitten to break free if they do get stuck. Cats and kittens both have the urge to get into small or tight spaces, and then they are risking the danger of choking or getting stuck in possibly fatally dangerous situations. This is a safety feature that is absolutely vital for any cat collar you want to buy.

Small dogs will not do so well with this feature though.This safety feature isn’t so safe for a small dog; she could break free if she put pressure on it while pulling to chase a squirrel. This could be a fatal mistake if you were on a busy street.

Since cats do have a more difficult time adjusting to collars, you will definitely need something smaller and lighter – something to keep in mind when looking at kitten collars. As cats have a difficult time adjusting to their collars, the less heavy and obtrusive it is, the better she will be able to adapt to the new collar.

An ID tag is an excellent addition to the perfect kitten collar.Again, nothing too big or too heavy for your kitten – he might find it pulling on his neck and this will be uncomfortable for him.If you kitten goes outside it is even more important to make sure they have the correct size and shape of id tag, so they can be safe and comfortable.

Pet safety has become more and more important in recent times, so now it has become more easy to find safe but adorable kitten collars for your kitten or young cat.

When you bring your kitten home, try and make sure things are as peaceful as possible, because there will be a transition period for both of you, and the other members of your family. A kitten is tiny, and it’s curious about every little thing and so no matter where you are, at any time the kitten could possibly be appropriate behind you, in front of you, or attempting to climb up your leg! So that you can get through the transition period with out becoming a bundle of nerves, the best factor you’ll be able to do for the kitten and oneself is to produce a secure zone. This is a location where you can put kitten so you realize he’s secure and not going to obtain trod on, and exactly where kitty also knows he’ll be safe from obtaining stood on!

Uncover a large cardboard box, roughly three feet square, plus at least 3 feet high. Organize the inside of your box so that you will find specific areas for particular items, such as a sleeping nook, some papers to go potty on (if there’s space for a short term litter tray in there all the better!), along with a source of fresh water that’s not simply bumped over. Also give the kitten a few tiny toys to play with so he or she doesn’t get bored to tears. This becomes like a infants playpen. It is somewhere you know he’s secure.

As having a young child however, he’s likely to try to get out when the novelty of the box has disappeared and it is been entirely explored. He’ll take a jump for the top of the box, so make sure that you use a box that’s very heavy and won’t fall over if he manages to hang over the best of it – you also do not desire to make it so high that if he does manage to get to the best, and fall out, he’s not going to hurt himself – you could location a cushion at the base of the side most most likely to be the “escape route” just in case. You also really should location the box in a shady region, away from sunlight, and out of the way of drapes simply because if he can, he’ll make a jump for the drapes and escape that way!

Despite the escape possibility, the secure zone will provide you with peace of mind, especially within the early days when you are still adjusting to having him about, and it’ll give him somewhere of his own to retreat to when he’s had enough of the “big” world inside your home. Though he might wish to escape the box, there’ll be other times when it all gets a bit much and he actual sits beside his secure zone – or attempts to jump in! ]]> http://kittencollars.org/develop-a-secure-zone-for-your-new-kitten/feed/ 0 http://kittencollars.org/kitten-collars-facts-you-should-know/ http://kittencollars.org/kitten-collars-facts-you-should-know/#comments Sat, 02 Jul 2011 21:40:10 +0000 http://kittencollars.org/?p=80 Buy A Kitten – Seven Vital Facts You Must Know!

1.When going to buy a kitten, it’s important to recognise that they are very fast growing, much like human babies.  While they
start off looking cute and cuddly and so very innocent, before you know it they are at the “terrible two’s” stage and
getting into everything! Drapes and rugs are just play toys for them!

2. Kittens can be fussy eaters; no shaking a box of standard kitten food for them! Most kittens have been recently weaned
and are not used to a wide variety of flavours – really the most bland food you can find will probably work out to be a
kittens favourite. Gradually introduce the brand that you are planning to use over a period of several weeks.

3.When going buy a kitten, remember that your kitten will grow into a cat with his or her own opinions, with strong likes and
dislikes.  They don’t mind if your antique sofa gets ruined, or your houseplants get chewed and battered, or your childrens
beds are the best places for a quick cat nap!  If your kitten decides that is what or where he likes, it will take concerted
effort on your part to train him out of it!

4.Sometimes, your kittens favourite people are the ones that don’t even like cats. Maybe they are even allergic to cats and
of course your kitten will adore them. Keep kleenex on hand for sniffles!

5. Although your kitten will not want you to know this, it is actually possible to train a cat to do all sorts of things!
For instance, you will be able to use a cats natural instinct to remain clean to train it to use a litter box. This shows
that your kitten is definitely capable of learning.
Just because he is capable of learning however, doesn’t mean he will be willing to do so!

6.A kitten grows so quickly, so it is as well to remember this when he starts habits that are cute in a kitten but would
you want a full grown cat doing that?  A tiny kitten purring on your pillow at night will turn into a full grown cat that
wants that pillow all to himself! He will not be happy to be relegated to the floor when he grows too big!

7.A kitten will find a place in your home and in your heart, and stay there. Make sure you have the resources to look after
him for all of his life. And remember, kittens can be addictive – once you have one it is so tempting to buy another friend
for him too!