Pets Are Wonderful

Buying a cat- what you need to know.

So,you’ve decided that you want to have a pet cat. However, before you shop for your kitten, you may need to consider a few important things. After all, finding out that a cat is not for you after you’ve already grown attached can be heart breaking.

The main reason that people have to find their cats new homes is that they are allergic to cats. If you’ve never spent much time around cats, be sure you can spend a few hours in a home with cats without developing an allergy attack. Also, check with friends and family to be sure none of them are highly allergic.

Next, you may want to consider your lifestyle. Although most different cat breeds need less interaction than dogs, your cat can still become lonely and bored if left alone all day. A bored cat is often a bad cat. If you work long hours, consider getting two kittens so that they can keep each other company.  

Don’t forget to take a look at your home and be sure you can fit in a cat and all of his accessories. Cats need litter boxes, food dishes, toys, and a scratching post. If you have children, the litter box will need to be placed in a place that your children can’t get to, but that your cat can access easily.

Once you decide that a cat will fit into your household, you will need to decide whether you want a kitten or an older cat. Most people take one look at that cute, fluffy kitten and fall in love. Since kittens have not developed bad habits, a kitten is the perfect choice for people who have time to litter box train their new pet. Most kittens have not yet been altered or declawed and must receive a series of immunizations to protect them from infectious cat diseases. Older cats are a good choice for people who want a slightly less energetic pet and do not have time to train their cats to use the litter box. Most older pet cats have already been altered and will only need to take booster vaccinations.

Now that you know whether you want a cat or a kitten, you will need to find out where to buy your new cat. If you just want a great pet and aren’t concerned with owning a specific cat  breed, the best place to look is your local humane society or animal rescue. These organizations are usually overrun with healthy, sweet cats and kittens. If you are looking for a specific cat breed instead, a cat show can be a wonderful resource. Many exhibitors bring along a few kittens that are for sale. Even if you can’t find kittens of the breed you are looking for at the show, you can ask exhibitors to place you on a waiting list for one of their kittens.  

Once you bring your new pet home, don’t be surprised if your cat takes several days to settle in. To help your cat adjust quickly, be sure you have a bed, litter box, and food dishes set up in a permanent spot.

Cats can suffer from arthritis just as we humans do, and it mostly affects older cats. There might not be any cure (depending on the type of arthritis), but there are always treatments. Most cats are naturally exceptionally nimble and athletic animals, but as you might expect their joints, ligaments and bones are susceptible to accidental damage, and to the wear and tear of everyday life. On the other hand, giving thanks to their buoyancy, sense of balance, ability to land on their feet and built-in shock absorbers - their forelegs are not connected by bone to the rest of their skeleton, cats do not suffer from as many orthopaedic troubles as they might if they didn’t have all of these great qualities. Arthritis conditions in cats take place most generally as an end result of accidents.

Cats can suffer from different kinds of arthritis, which plainly means joint inflammation. However, arthritis is much more compound than a simple inflammation, so this plain name is relatively confusing. For example, check out the wide range of signs of arthritis in cats:

·    Stiffness
·    Limping
·    Favoring One Limb (especially after resting)
·    Not Wanting to Climb Stairs or Jump
·    Noticeable Pain
·    Different Gait than Usual
·    Nervousness
·    Aggression
·    Depression

If you notice more than one of these symptoms in your cat, you should make an appointment with your veterinarian as soon as possible. Usually, as the owner, you notice these things right away and know that something isn’t quite right.

Causes

Many things can cause arthritis in cats. Main reasons are old age, trauma, infections, immune system disorders and even developmental disorders.

Cats most commonly suffer the following two forms of arthritis. One is traumatic Arthritis and this may be caused by a sudden injury to a joint, such as following a vehicle accident, the consequence of a fight or play with another cat or animal, or because of an awkward fall.

The second is called osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is well thought-out by professionals to be the end result of a joint failure that can occur for nearly any reason. Cats’ shoulder and elbow joints are those most regularly pretentious in older cats. Common causes are repeated episodes of traumatic arthritis, and also joint dislocation or fractures involving joints that occurred in the past and made the joints more vulnerable to disproportionate wear and tear.

What to Expect During Your Trip to the Vet

Your vet will conduct a regular examination, and comments from you on your cat’s problems. Your vet might take some tests to rule out anything else such as blood tests, radiographs, ultrasound, etc.

Treatments 

If your cat is diagnosed with arthritis, there are many treatments available. Some you can do at home such as gentle massage, weight control, exercise, and warmth. Some medications may be prescribed for your cat such as Glucosamine and Chondroitin, Corticosteroids, Vitamin C, and/or NSAIDs (Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs).

There are numerous different kinds of joint diseases that your cat could have, too. These include:

Feline progressive polyarthritis (which affects more than one joint)
Dysplasia
Bacterial Arthritis
Oseoarthritis (Degenerative Joint Disease)
Ruptured Anterior Cruciate Ligament
Luxating Patella
Hip Dysplasia
Intervertabral Disc Disease
Hyperparathyroidism

Although most forms of arthritis has no cure to rid your feline of the disease, there are plenty of treatments available. Your cat can live out the rest of his or her life with less pain, more activity, and just being generally happier!

When humans experience any pain in there bodies, they can just tell somebody they are feeling ill or are in pain and the person they tell, will either call a doctor or take them to a hospital, Cats plainly are not able to do this, but by watching them you can tell you lots of things about there health. This is why pet owners should apply cat care and be alert of any symptoms that may arise.

Discussed below are a few diseases and their symptoms you should look out for.

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is the most feared disease and in fact is the leading cause of death among cats. It is caused by a coronavirus infection and the worse part is that the symptoms are very common with other ailments, so it is really hard to tell if your cat has this.

There is also Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) that is similar to HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). Just like the version in humans, it is a life long infection that advances slowly and kills the cat.

Cats may as well be infected by Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV). This is a is a retrovirus that causes fatal cancerous and non cancerous diseases. Fortunately, it can be easily treated by using some household bleach and detergents, also your pet must be kept warm. This disease is carried through the saliva, tears, urine and feces of other cats that are infected. unlike the other two diseases, it cannot live that long in the environment. Thus, it is only transmittable when the infected cat stays with some other cat for any period of time. 

Worms are another threat to cats and this is caused by a fungal infection that is spread through spores.. Since this disease is self limiting, you will not have do anything to make it clear up. It will in time clear up on its own, but it may take a few months to do so.

If you have a overweight cat, then the chances are it will already have feline diabetes. The symptoms of this disease are pretty simple to see and are excessive urination and thirst as well as weight loss or gain. Veterinarians are of yet unsure what is the cause of this, but recent research studies that have been done, have established that there is a link between pancreatic disease, hormonal imbalance and certain medications.

The symptoms of most of the above diseases mentioned are very similar. These include diarrhea, vomiting, lameness lasting for more than five days in one leg, a reduction in sight, excessive panting, a seizure, blood in the stool or urine, hair loss, persistent coughing or gagging and breathing heavily or rapidly while at rest. In order to find the answer, your cat will have to undergo some tests, at your local veterinarians.

The veterinary will take some blood, urine and feces samples. Any input that you have observed and give will also be helpful. When the tests come out, only then will the proper treatment be administered to the cat as every case varies, so what worked for one cat may not have the self same positive effect with yours.

Your cat will always be healthy if you give it constant attention. This is done by giving it high quality natural food, giving it fresh water everyday, allowing it to exercise, proper grooming, making certain it stays inside and taking it for regular visits to your veterinarian.

If you have missed any of these simple steps, something wrong is sure to happen and you will soon detect a change in the behaviour of the cat and doing nothing about it, it is just going to make matters worse. So keep proper cat care and look out for symptoms.

For further Free information on Long Term Cat Care try visiting Caring For Your Cat Help.