Thought for food…

In the last issue, we gave you tips on how to make your kitty comfortable to his new environment. Here are a few more tips for feeding your kitty:

Why interval feed?

• Interval feeding is important, that is food’s not available at all times.


• Smell of the food and not the taste triggers the cat’s brain sending out the message to slow down the whole metabolism so that the body can concentrate on digesting…this is perfect for digesting the food efficiently, but not a state of affairs we want to continue 24 hours a day. So, while we often think we need to leave the food out for a cat who is finicky and/or needs to gain weight, we are actually achieving the opposite, as the cat’s appetite is not stimulated naturally.


• Recent research states that cats who fall ill with urinary blockage almost always come from homes where food was left available all day long.


• Leaving food available all day long is also the primary cause of the finicky eater syndrome. Slowed metabolism is a cause of several health problems–among them dandruff, obesity and skinniness. If a cat has a poor appetite, the answer is not to leave more food available for longer periods but just the opposite.


• Putting food out identifies you as the source of the food and helps you and your kitten to bond.


• We start training our kittens to come to “Here Kitty Kitty Kitty…” when we feed them. Adding the cat’s name to this sequence, teaches him his own name and to come when called.

How to feed?

• For a 9-12 wks old kitten, try just 1/8th cup three times a day. Call the kitty: “Here kitty, kitty, kitty, NAME-kitty” when you put food out, every time. Let the cat eat and leave. Then after 10-20 min, discard the leftovers where the cat will not smell it.


• If you have more than one kitten, give each his own bowl, which lets you monitor how much each kitten eats and

keep them from competing for food.

• Some male adult cats want more than 1/3rd cup every 8 hours and some females eat barely 1/4th cup total in 24 hrs at 12 wks though this is very low.


• Males eat twice as much as females during their rapid growth phase of five to ten months, usually. Males’ appetites sometimes increase rapidly.


• The ribs should be identifiable as ribs but not countable, having a slight layer of fat over them.


• Use cat food as it has proper supplements and vitamins.


• Dishes need to be wide enough so that he does not need to bend his whiskers when eating off the bottom of the dish, or drinking from the bottom. Cats do not like to bend their whiskers, and will eat and drink less, rather than go through this unpleasant experience.


• Dishes should be ceramic without lead or arsenic in the glaze, or metal or glass, not plastic.

(Kit Humphrey, featured columnist of Cats & Kittens, is a retire physician. From Siberian Gatos Cattery in the US, she is responsible for cattery policies and choices that include a programme to eliminate Corona Virus, HCM, Bartonella, Toxoplasmosis, etc.)

Training your cat

You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. That’s the theory behind positive reinforcement. Don’t punish your cat for unwanted behaviour; instead, reward her for doing something you like. With encouragement and plenty of treats, you and your cat can accomplish great things.

Do this, not that

If you want your cat to repeat a behaviour, reward that behaviour. People frequently reward a behaviour that they don’t really want to encourage. For example, when your cat talks to you, do you talk to her, do you pet her, do you give her a treat? You’re teaching your cat that meowing brings rewards. If you don’t reward her meowing, in other words, you ignore her when she meows, she’s unlikely to become a meower. If you really like a quiet cat, reward her when she’s not meowing.

Crime and punishment

You may be sorely tempted to yell at your cat if you catch her sitting next to a broken vase or clawing the furniture, but punishing your cat after the fact is ineffective. She won’t connect the punishment with something she’s already done and forgotten about. Instead, she’ll think you’re yelling at her for whatever she’s doing at that very moment, which might be welcoming you home from work.

Yelling, hitting, and shaking will only make your cat fearful and confused and could lead to her avoiding you altogether.

Motivation

Motivation is the key to training. Money and love are great motivators for people. Toys, walks, car rides, and praise can do it for dogs. For most cats, it’s food. They care less about “good kitty” than about good kitty treats.

So, to motivate your cat, you’re going to reward her with a treat every time she uses the scratching post, lets you brush her, or brings you a beer from the fridge. Scratch her head and tell her she’s a pretty girl at the same time, but make sure you give her that treat.

Smart cats will soon link that behaviour with getting treats.

Simmer down

Providing a reward can be helpful in training your cat to be calm during procedures she may not otherwise like, such as nail trims, brushing, going into the carrier, or being picked up. But for some cats, discomfort outweighs eating, so it may not work in all cases.

Timing

Timing is everything in training your cat. Cats have short attention spans, so the reward must come immediately (within seconds) of the behaviour or your cat may not know what it’s for.

For example, if you see her use the scratching post, throw some treats her way while she’s scratching and tell her she’s a good cat, but don’t throw the treats if she has stopped scratching and is starting to something else of it’s that “something else” that she’ll think merits the reward.

Consistency

This is an important part of training. Use same techniques each time for each behaviour, and make sure everyone in the family does the same.

Oh, behave!

You can also reward your cat for a behaviour she does naturally, or you can introduce a new behaviour and reward her for learning it.

• Natural behaviour. An example of rewarding natural behaviour is giving treats for using the scratching post (see above) or standing on her hind legs.


• New behaviour. Use rewards to teach your cat a new routine—to come when you call, for example. Call her name and reward her when she responds. Move to another spot, call her name, and reward her when she responds, and so on.

When to train

The best time to train is right before meal time when your cat is most motivated by food. Only train for short periods at a time (15 minutes max) or your cat may lose interest. As soon as she stops responding, stop training.

Weaning off treats

Because too many treats lead to a fat cat, your goal is to gradually wean her off the food rewards and make her settle for emotional ones such as a “good kitty,” a toss of her fuzzy ball, or a scratch under the chin.

Once your cat is displaying the desired behaviour reliably, you can start cutting back on food. Give her treats three out of every four times she does the behaviour, then reduce it to about half the time, then about a third of the time and so on, until you’re only rewarding her occasionally with a treat.

Continue the praise and non-food rewards. Your cat will learn that if she keeps offering desired behaviours, eventually she’ll get what she wants—your praise and an occasional treat.

Don’t try this at home

There are a couple of things you shouldn’t do while training.

• Don’t force a behaviour. Don’t pick your cat up and take her to the scratching post or litter box to get her to use them. She won’t understand what you’re doing and will likely get frightened and run away.


• Don’t turn your cat into a beggar. Use treats only for training. If you give your cat a treat every time she paws you, she’ll quickly learn that pawing is equal to a treat and won’t leave you alone.

(The article is contributed by Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Established in 1954, HSUS seeks a humane and sustainable world for all animals; www.hsus.org)

Kitty etiquettes -Jan 10

A well-behaved cat is simply a darling! Here are a few common behavioural problems and the ways to tackle them.

Toilet training…

Though it is not a common problem for a cat owner but in some cases it may be quite serious. Housebreaking means that cat always goes outside for urination or defecation or uses the litter box for this purpose. Feral cats defecate or urinate at the same places to mark their territory. These cats do not scratch dirt over their faeces or urine like domestic cats and leave the faecal matter exposed. Toms are prone to spay urine over objects within their territory, whenever they sense a female cats in estrous. These cats scatter the faecal material in the nearby areas of original deposits. This behaviour is used as a form of communication by cats. If a domestic cat goes outdoors to defecate or urinate, he may use this material to mark his territory and to make sexual communication.

Tips to follow: (a) Litter box – Indoor cats, who do not have access to outside, should be provided with a litter box. It should be cleaned everyday as cats are clean in nature and they prefer clean areas for defecation and urination. It is recommended that a litter box should be available for each cat and boxes should be kept in the same place in a consistent manner. Boxes should be placed in those areas where cats can have their privacy. The area should be disinfected on a regular basis. Choose from different types of boxes and litter available in the market.

b) Diet scheduling- Diet and timing for meals should be kept consistent as frequent change in diet will result in upset stomach. Sudden change from dry food to canned food will result in indigestion and the consistency of faecal matter. The diet should be changed gradually to avoid the drastic change in the timing of defecation. Fresh water should be available for your cat, specifically if she is on dry food. Discuss this with your veterinarian to develop a diet schedule for your cat.

The bedlam…

Another very common problems pet parents experience is the howling, meowing, crying or screeching of cats. The cat may cry even in the absence of pet parents and it sometimes becomes a nuisance for neighbours.

Tips to follow: Crying behaviour is often a sign of frustration and is an attention seeking behaviour. In such cases, you may take your cat on a lap or pet your cat. It is a highly reinforcing situation for your cat and he may exhibit this behaviour quiet often. In such conditions, you should try to ignore your cat that is don’t look at him, touch him or talk to him.

Heat periods...

During estrous, the female cats may cry or wail all day and night. Likely the toms are equally obnoxious as he will spray urine all over the place to mark his scent.

Tips to follow: Neutering will solve problem of crying and is also a good tool for birth control programme as so many unwanted kittens are born every year.

(Dr Geeta Sharma is MVSc (Surgery and Radiology) and MBA. She has been acclaimed by the ‘Limca Book of Records 2008’ for being the youngest female veterinarian to do the ovariohysterectomy (spraying) in female dogs in shortest span of time. She got training from Australian society ‘Vets Beyond Borders’. She can be contacted at geetasharmavet@gmail.comor 9711144506).

Preventing Toxoplasmosis

If you have a cat at home and somebody in the house is pregnant, beware of Toxoplasmosis…but a little care and awareness can go a long way in preventing it.

Cats can transmit a protozoan disease of human importance, which is a serious disease during pregnancy. If you have a cat at home, I would suggest that all would be mothers should undergo a blood test to find out if they are carriers of this diseases since the titers can tell you that if you have a high titer, it is better to take treatment and then go ahead with pregnancy. Toxoplasmosis can cause serious birth defects. A woman who has acquired it during pregnancy can transmit the infection to her unborn child. And a congenital Toxoplasmosis infection in utero can lead to miscarriage. Almost 9 percent result in death of the fetus and 30 percent have severe damage such as hydrocephalus, intracerebral calcification, retinochoroiditis and mental retardation.

Here are some tips to help you avoid exposure to Toxoplasma during your pregnancy:

• Do not allow your cat to go outside your home where it may come into contact with Toxoplasma.


• If possible, have someone else take care of your cat while you are pregnant.


• Have another family member change the cat litter box and then disinfect it with boiling water for 5 minutes.


• If you must handle the chore of changing the litter box, wear rubber gloves to avoid contact with the litter and wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.


• Use work gloves when gardening and wash your hands afterwards. Cover children’s sandboxes when not in use (cats like to use them as litter boxes).


• Control fleas and cockroach’s, wash vegetables in potassium permanganate diluted in water.


• Wash your hands after touching cats.

Toxoplasmosis is treatable disease and precaution can avoid its transmission.

(Dr M S Hatekar is leading practitioner in Pune. He has learnt Gastropexy surgery from Department of Invasive Surgery, North Carolina Veterinary School of Medicine.)

Ask the expert...Jan-Feb 10

Q: My 9-year-old cat Princy is having trouble urinating. Please help.
– Priya, Goa

 

A: Dr KG Umesh: Such urinary problems can result from behavioural or medical disorders. Behavioural causes are associated with toileting preferences/aversions and marking. Typical aversions/preferences may include substrate, location, cleanliness, and style of box. When there is a toileting issue, the cat typically seeks out a preferred alternative toileting spot. Cats who mark with urine do so for a variety of reasons, including territorial delineation, anxiety, and sexual advertisement, with the basic premise being communication.

Feline lower urinary tract disorders are most common medical cause of such a sign. Feline Lower urinary tract signs (FLUTD) in cats include variable combinations of frequent attempts to urinate, straining to urinate, urinating in inappropriate places in the house (periuria), crying out during attempts to urinate, and blood tinged urine. These signs are not specific for any particular disease; they can be seen in cats who have stones in urinary tract, bacterial infections, cancer, or other mass lesions in the bladder. If investigations (urine analysis, blood tests, radiography, scan etc) are unable to find the cause for the clinical signs, it is referred to as Feline Idiopathic Cystitis syndrome. This may be obstructive and non-obstructive. Appropriate therapy to alleviate life-threatening urethral obstruction should not be withheld anticipating self-resolution. Therefore take him to your vet ASAP for complete examination.

Feline eye facts

Here are some interesting facts about the ah-so-attractive feline eyes.

• A cat’s nocturnal vision is far keener than that of a human. She needs only one-sixth of the light that we humans need.


• A cat’s eye has more rods and fewer cones than ours. Cones are sensitive to high levels of light and rods are sensitive in low levels of light. This means that while we have better colour vision, a cat can detect motion better.


• A cat cannot see in total darkness.


• The pupils of the cat open fully, covering as much as 90 percent of the eye to enable the cat to see in low light situations.


• A cat has a shiny membrane in the back of the eyes, behind the retina called the “tapetum lucidum,” which helps to reflect light back through the retina, enabling the animal to see better in low light situations.


• During broad daylight, the pupils contract to a narrow slit to protect the sensitive retina.


• The pupils can also be a window to a cat’s mood. An angry cat will have narrowed pupils, while an excited or frightened cat will have eyes wide open, with large pupils.


• Cats don’t actually see close objects very well but they have a keen vision for far away objects.


• Cats have a third eyelid called nictating membrane which is found in the inside corner of the eye. If the membrane partially covers the eyeball, it may be a sign of serious illness.

(Sudhersena is volunteer at the Blue Cross since 1998 and an avid animal lover, owns nine cats and three dogs. She is associated with a number of animal welfare campaigns and programmes. For further information, contact: Blue Cross of India, 72 Velachery Road, Chennai –32 or e-mail at bci@bluecross.org.in )

Purring into many a heart…Somali

Attractive, confident, fun-loving, easy to care… a Somali kitty has all those characters which make her a purrfect pet.

The yesteryears…

The Somali is a longhaired Abyssinian. The Abyssinian originated in Egypt and indeed is a descendent of the cat that was revered in Ancient Egypt thousands of years ago. Abyssinians have been bred for many years, but in the 1950’s, longhaired kittens started to appear in litters of shorthaired Aby’s. Understandably, the breeders were most perplexed and quite often secretly gave these kittens away. After many years of campaigning to have these fuzzy Aby’s registered as a separate breed, they were finally recognised and named after a neighboring country to Abyssinia, Somalia.

The traits…

Somalis are sweet-faced, lithe, muscular cats with an overall impression of alertness, intelligence and keen curiosity. A standing Somali should almost give the impression that he’s standing on his toes. The best term for a Somali would be “moderate” -- medium hair, medium size and medium type.

Somalis generally have longer hair over their chests (the “ruff”) and on their hindquarters (the “breeches”). Their tails are full and brushy, almost like that of a fox. Another distinctive characteristic is a black stripe down his back, large ears and a full ruff and breeches. Their kohl-eyes are the result of a dark rim around their eyes. A small amount of white is found on their muzzles and chins/throats.

Somalis come in a wide range of colors, but always with the same coat pattern. The four main colors are Tawny (Coppery Red), Cinnamon (Fox Red), Blue (Slate Grey) and Fawn.

Beauty with brains…

Somalis are active, playful, interactive cats. Like their parent breed, the Abyssinians, Somalis seem to wake up every morning with a “to-do” list. They should be given plenty of room to run, lots of individual attention and play, and a variety of toys. Some will play fetch while others like to be cuddled, sometimes-mischievous Somalis will rush around finding ‘things’ to investigate and play with. They have quiet voices and are quite tolerant and nonaggressive.

People who do not appreciate a lively, attention-seeking cat, will not enjoy Somalis. They are very good with kids and are best suited to families that can offer lots of affection and attention to the cat. Somalis are also great for the active older people as they are great companions. Some are devoted lap cats and are forever following “their” human around. They enjoy the company of other animals as well as people.

Dressed to kill…

The Somali is often referred to as the “wash ‘n’ wear cat” or the “lazy man’s Longhair”. Possessing all the beauty of a longhaired cat, but they do not require the degree of maintenance, which is involved with other longhaired breeds. They require just a quick comb or brush once a week. Somalis are quite easy to bathe and some enjoy the experience.

If you want a cat who is playful and interactive, Somali is the right choice for you.

(Dale Plummer’s cattery is called Shilao Somalis in Australia.)