Summer 2009 Mews Letter


Tips for a great cat-to-cat introduction
  • Before you bring your new cat home, set up a separate room for him-away from your current cat's favorite spot.
  • Cats should be kept separate for the first few days, but allowed to sniff and play with each other under a doorway.
  • During the first few days, take towels or bedding from the new kitty's room and set out for current kitty to smell, and vice versa. Cats react better to each other if they are first introduced by smell.
  • When hissing has minimized, place the new cat in his carrier and allow your current cat to enter the new kitty's room. Your current cat will sniff everything out-and may ignore the new kitty. Let her proceed at her own pace. Repeat this a few times until the current kitty seems to recognize the new kitty.
  • Use treats as a reward for good behavior for both cats.
  • After they've had a few protected introductions, try letting both cats roam free at the same time, but be sure to monitor them. If hissing is kept to a minimum and there appears to be no serious threat of a fight, things should be on the right track to a healthy friendship. Confine pets separately at night and when left unattended until you are sure they are amicable.
  • Keep both kitties' food and litterboxes separate for a few weeks until you notice cats are using both areas. Once the cats are using both food areas you can go back to having one food area, but be sure to keep at least two litterboxes for them. The best recommendation is you have one litterbox per cat, plus one. Cats are particular about where they relieve themselves, and it's best to avoid litterbox problems by providing at least one per cat.

  • Please note that this process can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks-it all depends on the personalities of your cats. But over time, it tends to work out. With patience, your kitties should become great buddies, playmates and companions!


    Myth: Indoor cats cannot get diseases.
    Fact: Cats still are exposed to organisms that are airborne or carried in on the owner's shoes or clothing. Even the most housebound cat can venture outdoors at some time and this exposes them to diseases and parasites through contact with other animals and their feces.
     


     

    Litter Box Blues

    One in every 10 cats will have a litterbox lapse in his or her lifetime. The 20 most common reasons are: 

              The cat is suffering from a medical problem in volving the urinary tract.

              The cat experiences a bout of geriatric constipa tion. 

              The caretaker does not keep the box as clean as the cat wants it to be. 

              The owner changes the brand or type of litter. 

              The owner changes the location of the litterbox.

              The owner switches to deodorized or perfumed litter.

              The owner buys a new box and throws out the old one.

    The owner cleans the litterbox with too harsh a cleaning product.

    The location of the litterbox is too busy or not private enough for the cat.

    The home is too large for just one litterbox.

    The cat inadvertently gets locked out of reach of the litterbox.

    The cat is kept from using the litterbox by another animal in the house.

    There are too many cats and not enough litterboxes.

    There are too many cats and not enough territory.

    Stray cats can be seen/smelled near the cat?s territory.

    The unneutered male cat has come of age and is marking his territory.

    The unspayed female is in heat and advertising for suitors.

    Over time, the cat has developed an aversion to the texture of the litter.

    The cat was never properly trained to use the litterbox in the first place.

    The cat is stressed by a change in routine or environment, including a new baby, new furniture, work schedule changes, vacations, overnight guests or a move.

     




     

     

    Feline Events

    5/16/09 SP Garage Sale and food

    5/22/09 OARS Garage Sale

    5/27/09 OARS Chickenfest

    5/29-5/31 OARS Garage Sale

    6/6/09 Bark in the Park FVHA

    6/13/09 SP Parade

    9/12/09 OARS Shelter Trek

    Fun Facts!

    The cat's front paw has 5 toes, but the back paws have 4. Some cats are born with as many as 7 front toes and extra back toes (polydactl).The domestic cat is the only species able to hold its tail vertically while walking. You can also learn about your cat's present state of mind by observing the posture of his tail.If a cat is frightened, the hair stands up fairly evenly all over the body; when the cat threatens or is ready to attack, the hair stands up only in a narrow band along the spine and tail.
     

    Countertop Jumping


     

    This problem can be solved with some simple aversion techniques.NEVER leave enticing bits of food on the counter, especially when you are gone from home.

    Use only remote corrections to keep cat off countertops. If you use a squirt bottle with water you will teach your cat to go up there when you are away.

    Remote corrections that effectively discourage countertop prowling are: 

    Overlapping cookie sheets or long pieces of cardboard along the edge of the counter where the cat jumps. (This makes the surface seem unstable and not a good place to jump up.) You can place empty soda cans on the cookie sheets to make noise when falling off the counter top.

    Place a mini-motion detector (available at Radio Shack) on the countertop when leaving home for the day. Something that will make an un-pleasant noise

    Take a plastic carpet runner and turn the pointy side up, so when you cat jumps up it will be un-comfortable.

    If all else fails, you can try a Scat Mat. You put these Mat?s on the counter and when your cat jumps up it receives a static electricity like shock.