Horrible Hairballs

Your cat’s health is important. Your veterinarian can teach you all about the many health conditions your cat could experience, but it is also important to learn about such things on your own. If you want to be sure that you cat is getting the best care possible, you need to watch for signs that something may be wrong with your pet. One common medical condition that affects many cats is hairballs. While hairballs are normal for a cat to some extent, you should contact you veterinarian immediately if you think the problem is out of control.

Cats get hairballs mainly because they spend so much time cleaning themselves. Although cats do not like water, they do like being very clean at all times, and they do so, of course, my licking their fur. You cat probably grooms many times every day. Because cats also shed, they swallow a lot of their own hair. Most of this passes naturally through the cat’s system, but occasionally the hair becomes matted and entwined in the stomach, causing a hairball that is too large to pass through the system. When this happens, the cat vomits the hairball.

If your cat seems to have an abnormally high amount of hairballs, you should talk to you veterinarian. About a quarter of all digestive blockages in cats come from hairballs that cannot pass or be vomited and this can make you cat very sick. Huge hairballs that size of baseballs have been known to form in a cat’s stomach. A hairball of that size can easily kill your cat.

There are a number of signs you will see in a cat having a problem with hairballs. If your cat is retching often, has a change in digestion, or has a swollen abdomen, he or she may have a problem with hairballs. Your veterinarian can give you cat flavored medication that your pet will love. Contained inside are non-digestible oil lubricants that will help your cat pass hairballs easier. Taking this medication regularly will prevent your cat from ever forming such hairballs. Another great way to prevent hairballs from forming is a high-fiber diet, possibly including a fiber supplement. Home remedies, on the other hand, are not a good idea, because they could cause other problems with your cat’s digestive system.

When in doubt, call your cat’s veterinarian. Animal doctors are specially trained to help you help your pets. When you report health abnormalities to your veterinarian, you are able to best keep your cat healthy and safe, no matter how many hairballs may form.

Cat Saliva: Venom or Antidote??

There are a lot of myths swirling around with regard to the supposedly "medicinal" or healing properties of cat saliva, which is thought to be much cleaner than our own. The same story goes for dog saliva as well, often to a much greater extent. This conception arises mostly out of the simple fact that cats and dogs lick themselves (often obsessively) to clean themselves or to tend to wounds. But the simple facts are:

* Yes, cats, dogs, and humans have anti-septic enzymes in their saliva that can help clean wounds and aid healing.

* But cats, dogs, and humans also have enough bacteria in our saliva to make matters worse. The risk of infection outweighs the potential benefits, and because of better veterinary treatments available, we discourage pets from licking their wounds today.

* Cats have a much higher bacterial concentration in their saliva compared to both humans and dogs. Generally, dogs have the cleanest mouths of the bunch!

What makes cat bites problematic is the fact that their teeth are narrow and sharp, and their puncture wounds can be deceptively deep, often causing tissue damage that is not easy to detect from the relatively small hole that is left.

Whether you're dealing with a human or another cat or dog, cat bites should be handled with a level of urgency because of the high risk of serious infection. Over 85 percent or cat bites carry bacteria or pathogens of some kind, and indoor cats are by no means exempt. Bites can easily cause infection, and the resulting symptoms can range wildly from soreness to life threatening complications if left untreated

While it is true that dogs are responsible for the majority of animal bites (over 80 percent compared to 10 percent for cats), the risk of infection is much more serious for cats. Nearly 50 percent of cat bites result in some degree of infection, compared to under 20 percent for dogs. In addition, cats can also infect humans with their claws, as the cat's claws can carry the bacteria from their mouth. This is known as "cat-scratch disease." It usually involves a swelling of the lymph nodes, and can be tricky to diagnose as symptoms can take a week or two or sometimes longer to arise.
Always treat the puncture site with anti-bacterial ointment and/or prescription antibiotics as directed by a health professional. Monitor the bite or scratch for signs of infection, which include redness and swelling. Often it helps to make a mark on your skin where the edges of the redness appear as to track any change. You should take these precautions even if your own cat accidentally scratches you or catches you with its teeth, no matter how cute and cuddly and clean you think they are.

Cats and Stress

Cats may not have to deal with rush hour traffic, a
grouchy boss, or paying the bills - but they still
get stress, just like people.

Many times, a cat's behavior problems are a result of
stress.

You may be wondering, why would a cat get stress?

Cats are creatures of habit, and are very sensitive
to change. Cats are happiest when their lives revolve
around a set schedule and their environment stays the
same.

Here are a few situations that can cause stress in
your cat:

A new member of the family, whether it's a dog, cat
or person.

A sudden change in their schedule.

This can happen if you get a new job with different
hours. Maybe you used to feed your cat in the
afternoon and evening but now you now fill the bowl
early in the morning instead. Cats may not be able to
read the clock on the wall - but they have an
internal clock that they revolve their life around.

New furniture, or the furniture in your house has
been rearranged.

Your cat spends a great deal of time marking your
house each day with friendly facial pheromones.

Those pheromones tell your cat this is a safe,
familiar place. When you remodel and get new
furniture, all of those familiar scents have
disappeared, and your cat has no idea what happened.

(Cats don't know that the environment is going to
change, and there's no way to warn them about it.
Imagine waking up one day in a completely different
house and not knowing where you are, how you got
there or where all of your stuff is)

Moving to a new home.

Same basic idea. Your cat doesn't understand the
reason for being in the new house. All your cat knows
is that it's a scary and unfamiliar place. This is
why many cats run away right after moving - they're
attempting to go back home.

Death of a family member.

Behaviorists and other experts disagree on whether or
not a cat can feel grief. (I personally believe they
do grieve) Regardless of whether or not they grieve
when a family member passes away, there is still a
change in their environment.

A member of the family that was once there is now
gone. On top of that, the rest of the family may be
acting differently because they are grieving, which
causes more stress because your cat doesn't
understand what's going on.

Fear

Many things can cause fear in your cat, from being
chased by your dog or being bullied by another cat in
the household -- to fireworks during a holiday,
construction being done on the house (or even at the
neighbors house), a loud party with lots of
strangers, or running out in the street and being
honked at by a big truck!

Animal lovers are never alone

Early childhood is an impressionable period of life in which children are often dog lovers. Parents have a great contribution in the building of their children’s character by encouraging them to be animal lovers and allowing them to have a dog as a pet. Parents should encourage their young to become animal lovers because this will mean never to be alone, to always have a friend, to be comforted when sad, to be happy and needed, to learn responsibility and, last but not least, to love. That's what an animal friend teaches a child: the most valuable lesson of all.

Seeing dog lovers in parks, on television, in stores and on the streets, one can realize the benefit of having a pet as company. Having a dog or cat around the house will surely bring animal lovers a lot of smiles. Cuddling, big round eyes sending messages of love, cute fluffy ears or tail moving in signs of joy should make any heart melt. Animal lovers are the ones that feel for these helpless beings. A pet is not an object one buys to keep around the house, but a living thing that communicates and interacts with the persons around it. Animal lovers know that and they appreciate every smile a pet brings on their faces.

Dog lovers know that pets depend and need them more than a human ever will. The animals around the house have to be fed and watered and cleaned constantly, just like a child. They need their masters just like a child needs his mother to survive. Having a pet means having a lot of responsibility and dog lovers sacrifice their time, money and effort to keep their beloved company around them. Animal lovers assume the responsibility towards their pets with pleasure and never regret their efforts, because they do it out of love. In exchange, animal lovers receive even more. Animal lovers are never lonely, are always loved by their pets, they never get disappointed and often receive the comfort that a human could not give them. Not to mention animal lovers won't ever feel nagged by their pets, neglected or left aside. Having an animal for a friend is having a true friend for life.

Another reason to why animal lovers are never lonely is the fact that their sacrifices talk a lot about the kind of persons they are: communicative, generous, not selfish, always around to help their friends in need, loving and attentive. There are many people who would want these qualities in their friends or their lovers, so animal lovers are very appreciated and loved by everyone. Single persons that are dog lovers can easily find company not only in their animal friends, but in their human friends also. Not to mention that dog lovers usually find dog lovers also as their friends, because their passion for the same pets will give them a lot of things in common to talk about. A shared passion (of any kind) will always bring two persons together. Imagine a dog lover going out to walk the dog every day. Who is he most likely going to have as a friend? Will it be his female neighbor that can't stand dog lovers? Or will it be the girl that walks her own dog in the park every morning just like him? Animal lovers, because they love life and its smallest proofs (animals) will never be alone and they will always share their pleasure with those that appreciate the same thing as them.

So if you are looking for company, animal and human, don't forget animal lovers and their pets! They will bring you the soul medicine everyone needs: love.

Think before declawing cat.

Declawing is a major surgery known as onychectomy, performed under anesthesia, that removes the tip of each digit (from the first knuckle out) of the cat's forepaws. There is a slight chance of death in the surgery, and a declawed cat may have an increased risk of infection and life-long discomfort in its paws. This surgery is not recommended for an adult animal and is considered an act of animal cruelty in some countries (see below).

People generally have cats declawed to prevent them from hunting and from damaging furniture. Rarely, vicious cats are declawed. In the United States, some landlords require that tenants' cats be declawed.

Veterinarians are generally critical of the procedure and some refuse to perform it because the absence of claws in a cat:

1. Deprives it of its main defense abilities, including escaping from predators by climbing trees;
2. Impairs its stretching and exercise habits, leading to muscle atrophy;
3. Compromises its ability to balance on thin surfaces such as railings and fence tops, leading to injury from falls;
4. Can cause insecurity and a subsequent tendency to bite.

This operation is rare outside of North America. In Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, declawing is forbidden by the laws against cruelty to animals.[17] In many other European countries, it is forbidden under the terms of the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, unless "a veterinarian considers [such] non-curative procedures necessary either for veterinary medical reasons or for the benefit of (the) animal". [18] In Britain, animal shelters find it difficult to place imported cats that have been declawed and subsequently most are euthanized.

An alternative to declawing is the application of blunt, vinyl nail caps that are affixed to the claws with nontoxic glue, requiring periodic replacement when the cat sheds its claw sheaths (about every four to six weeks). However, the cat will still experience difficulties because the capped nails are not as effective as claws.