Perfect Litter Boxes

Help for Feline Aggression

• Stop doing the things that trigger the cat.  For example, for cats with petting aggression, don’t pet them.  You can often recognize body signs that cats show when they start to become annoyed.  Their eyes narrow, their ears swivel sideways, they look over their shoulder at the culprit, and their tails twitch.

• Teach the cat to obey a command using the clicker method which is conditionally rewarded with a treat.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q787R2DNDJI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6wgbCmaD8o&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P_XgJpUTis

The following video is for clicker training your cat to go to a mat but you could use the same technique to train your cat to go to another room (say for example when she is showing signs of aggression).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2sKw33iX9I

• Exercise!  Spend at least 15 minutes twice a day exercising the cat with a favorite toy, such as a laser light or feather wand.

Cat Food

Domestic cats originated from the Middle East.  They ate small prey such as birds, mice, rabbits, lizards, and bugs.  They did not eat seafood or larger animals such as cattle or venison. Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning that they require a meat diet in order to sustain their nutritional needs. The ability to synthetically produce nutrients such as taurine has allowed the pet food industry to make cat foods that are high in plant matter instead of meat. We believe this has led to a high incidence of health problems in cats including inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, and diabetes.

The following ingredients have been known to cause a considerable amount of intestinal inflammation in cats:

Wheat 

Soy 

Corn 

Beef 

Lamb 

Seafood

We recommend that cats eat poultry or rabbit because it is similar to what they would eat in the wild. Canned food is thought to be more healthy than dry due to the fact that it is almost always lower in carbohydrates and higher in protein and moisture. A diet consisting of canned food only is more healthy for cats, but due to the fact that we all have busy schedules, it may be more convenient to feed some dry and some canned. In addition, some cats are dry food addicts and will not switch to canned food.

Generally cats should eat between 160 to 200 calories daily. As a rule of thumb, canned foods contain about 30 calories per ounce. Dry foods vary from 300 to 600 calories per cup. You can often find the exact caloric content of a particular food on the packaging or online.

Recommended Canned Foods:

Instinct Chicken Formula (pate)
Instinct Duck Formula (pate)
Evo 95% Chicken and Turkey (pate)
Wellness Core Chicken Formula (pate)
Wellness Core Turkey Formula (pate)
There are also Wellness Core cubed and minced meat for cats that don’t like pates.
Before Grain Chicken (pate)
Before Grain Turkey (pate)

Before Grain Quail and Chicken (pate)
Homestyle Duck and Chicken Stew (meat in gravy)

Homestyle Turkey and Liver Stew (meat in gravy)

The dry foods that we recommend contain less than 10% carbs, and more than 45% protein.

Recommended Dry Foods:

Evo Turkey and Chicken Formula 603 cal / cup 

GO Chicken/Turkey/Duck 473 cal / cup

Many people feed raw diets to their cats. We do not recommend feeding only raw, but rather feeding a variety of canned and raw due to the fact that few studies have been done to ensure that raw foods contain the required nutrients for cats. There is also a risk that raw foods contain bacteria such as salmonella and E. Coli so handling it properly when feeding it is important. Instinct by Nature’s Variety does pressure pasteurize their raw food so it may be safer.

Recommended Raw Foods:
Chicken Formula - Instinct Raw Frozen Diet 

Organic Chicken Formula - Instinct Raw Frozen Diet

10 Signs of Illness in Cats

1Inappropriate elimination A cat that urinates inappropri- ately could have any number of conditions associated with the behavior, including lower urinary tract disease, kidney disease, uri- nary tract infection, and diabetes mellitus. It can also be a sign of arthritis, which makes it difficult for cats to get into the litter box.

2Changes in interaction Cats are social animals, so changes in interactions with humans or pets can signal disease, fear, anxiety, or pain.

3Changes in activity

A decrease in activity is often a sign of arthritis or systemic illness, while an increase in activity can be caused by hyperthyroidism.

4Changes in sleeping habits

If your cat is sleeping more than normal (keep in mind that average adult cats may sleep 16 to 18 hours a day—though much of that is “catnapping”), it could be a sign of an underlying disease.

5Changes in food and water consumption Most cats are not finicky eaters. Decreased food intake can be a sign of several disorders, ranging from poor dental health to cancer. Increased food consumption can be caused by diabetes mellitus, hyperthyroidism, or other health problems.

6Unexplained weight loss or gain Sudden weight loss can be a sign of hyperthyroidism, diabe- tes mellitus, or a host of other diseases. Obesity, on the other hand, can cause an increased risk of diabetes mellitus, joint disease, and other problems.

7

Changes in

grooming

Patches of hair loss or a greasy or matted appearance can signal an underlying disease. Cats who

have difficulty grooming often suffer from fear, anxi- ety, obesity, or other illnesses. An increase in groom- ing may signal a skin problem.

8

Signs of stress

Stressed cats may exhibit signs of depression,

hide more, or spend more time awake and scanning their environment. These signs may indicate a medi- cal condition, so it’s important to rule out physical ailments before addressing the stress behaviorally.

9

Changes in vocalization

An increase in vocalization or howling is often

seen with an underlying condition like hyperthyroid- ism or high blood pressure. Many cats also vocalize more if they’re in pain or anxious.

10

Bad breath

Bad breath is an early indicator of an oral problem—studies have shown that 70 percent of cats have gum disease as early as age 3.

Adapted from healthycatsforlife.com and Dr. Susan Little, DABVP (feline), Bytown Cat Hospital in Ottawa, Ontario

Cat Life Stages

Kitten                      Birth to 6 months
Junior                      7 months to 2 years
Prime/Adult            3 to 6 years
Mature                    7 to 10 years
Senior                     11 to 14 years
Geriatric                  15 plus years

Lucius Found After Jumping Out of Fourth Story Window

He now only has eight lives left.  He jumped out of a fourth story window of her Capitol Hill apartment while the owner was at work and was found 2 1/2 weeks later in the neighborhood.  He is reportedly doing good, wasn't hurt, and is happy to be home.

Interesting facts regarding cats falling multiple stories:

There was a study done regarding reports of cats falling from buildings and approximately 10% of the cats that fell from 2-6 stories died, only 5% of the cats that fell from 7 or more stories died. It is believed that the reason for this is that cats reach a terminal velocity (maximum speed) of 60 MPH after falling approximately 5 stories. Once terminal velocity is achieved and the body stops accelerating, it is believed that the cat relaxes into a somewhat spread-eagled position. This position creates increased air drag and allows the impact to be more evenly distributed.

Sophie's New Lion Cut