Cats & Kittens May June 2012 Issue

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  From Russia with love

  
  Long body, wide-set green eyes, long and dense fur, and mild disposition – that’s how a Nebelung kitty is!


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  Kool kitties

  
  Sun is the powerful giver of life but it can be dangerous... especially in summer. Here’s how to keep your kitties cool in summer.


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  Ask the Expert..

  
  Dr KG Umesh (MVSc, MSc (UK)) is a Postgraduate in Clinical Medicine. He is working for WALTHAM as Regional Associate for South Asia.


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  It’s purrfect!

  
  Most cats communicate through a variety of vocal noises, such as purring, hissing, meowing, to name a few. They generally display their own personalities through these vocalisations and most people find them very endearing... sometimes though they can be very annoying.


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  We are carnivores!

  
  Cats are carnivores and they need to eat a meat-based diet. Certain nutrients are available in meat-based diet only and these are lost to the cat if she is fed only vegetarian diet. For healthy growth, cats need amino acids from proteins, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and water.


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  Gulp with a touch of the tongue

  
  


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  What to do if you find a stray pet?

  
  Don’t panic if you see a stray animal - you can help. Here are sensible ways to help.


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  Kitty Facts...

  
  You have probably heard many interesting facts about cats like they have more bones than humans; they can feel with their whiskers, their urine glows in the dark, etc. Here are a few more interesting facts about your cool felines.

Gulp with a touch of the tongue

Ever thought how your cat laps up the water or milk so fast? A research by Pedro M Reis and Roman Stocker of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, joined by Sunghwan Jung of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Jeffrey M Aristoff of Princeton has revealed the secret of lapping.

These four engineers have discovered that the cat’s lapping method depends on his instinctive ability to calculate the point at which gravitational force would overcome inertia and cause the water to fall.

The cat darts his tongue, curving the upper side downward so that the tip of the tongue lightly touches the surface of the water. He then pulls the tongue upward at high speed, drawing a column of water behind it. Just when gravity starts pulling the column down, the cat’s jaws close over the jet of water and swallows it. In fact, the cat laps four times a second — which is too fast for the human eye to see — and his tongue moves at a speed of one meter per second.

Kitty Facts

You have probably heard many interesting facts about cats like they have more bones than humans; they can feel with their whiskers, their urine glows in the dark, etc. Here are a few more interesting facts about your cool felines.

• What’s in a name: A group of cats is called a Clowder, a male cat is called a Tom, a female cat is called a Molly or Queen while young cats are called Kittens and a group of kittens is called a Kindle.


• Snoozing beauties: If you love to sleep for extended hours, here’s competition. Cats conserve energy by sleeping for an average of 13 to14 hours a day. At this rate, a 15 years old cat must have slept for 10 years!


• Sounds for you: A cat rarely meows at another cat…she uses this ability for communicating with humans.


• No sweats: Cats cannot sweat because they do not have sweat glands.


• Dining etiquettes: Ever wondered why your cat eats from clean bowl only? Cats are very meticulous…they like routine…a quiet spot, same time, same place to eat and the bowl clean without any traces of previous meal.


• Not just nose to smell: Besides smelling with their nose, cats can smell with an additional organ called the Jacobson’s organ, located in the upper surface of the mouth.


• No trails behind: Even Sherlock Holmes would be left behind with his head scratching! Cats can be lethal hunters and very sneaky. They can walk their back paws step almost exactly in the same place as the front paws, which keeps noise to a minimum and limits visible tracks.


• Natural pain killers: Cats have an amazing tolerance for pain because they are blessed with endorphins or pain killers.


• Cat with a family: Lion is the only social cat who lives in groups, called prides and has a family life, just like you and me!


• Pseudo-hunting pleasure: Have you ever seen your kitty looking at the bird and then chattering her teeth? This is because she is doing the vacuum activity, where she is performing the killing bite, even though the prey is not in her mouth.

We are carnivores!

Cats are carnivores and they need to eat a meat-based diet. Certain nutrients are available in meat-based diet only and these are lost to the cat if she is fed only vegetarian diet. For healthy growth, cats need amino acids from proteins, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and water.

Proteins

Proteins, which provide the much needed energy, should form part of a cat’s daily diet. The protein requirement of cats is very high when compared to dogs and humans. Cats require at least two grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. Cats derive most of their proteins from animal-based products. Meat, fish and eggs are good sources of proteins. Taurine is an essential amino acid that cats cannot manufacture on their own but can only obtain it from other animal proteins. Depriving a cat of taurine may lead to blindness, deafness, heart failure, neurological abnormalities and poor reproductive functions. Arginine is another essential amino acid in the cat and is essential for removal of ammonia from urine. Lack of this amino acid results in kidney failure and death.

Fatty acids

Cats derive fats from animal-based and plant products. Fats provide more energy than proteins. Also, fats obtained from animal-based products supply important fatty acids and are also carriers of fat-soluble vitamins. Cats need primarily two fatty acids: linoleic and arachidonic. These are found in animal-based food. Fatty acids play an important role in new cell production, reproduction, blood clotting and keeping your cat’s coat healthy.

Vitamins

Vitamins are essential for the healthy growth of cats, but they cannot synthesize some vitamins. Cats need both fat-soluble (vitamins A, K, D and E) and water-soluble vitamins (B vitamins and vitamin C), as part of their daily diet. Vitamin A can be obtained by cats only directly by eating meat. They lack the ability to convert beta carotene to vitamin A. Deficiency of vitamin A can lead to night blindness, retarded growth and poor quality skin and coat. Unlike dogs, cats can get niacin, a vitamin B, only directly from the food they eat. Niacin deficiencies can lead to loss of appetite and weight, inflamed gums and diarrhea.

Minerals

Minerals are beneficial for your cat’s bones and muscles, strong teeth and efficient metabolism. Calcium and Phosphorous are needed the most. Other minerals that cats need are Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium Chloride, Copper, Iron, Iodine, Manganese, Selenium and Zinc. These may be found in the majority of cat foods or in meats, fish and eggs.

Water

Don’t forget to keep a clean bowl of water for your cat daily.

Fresh water is needed to keep organ tissues hydrated, as dehydration will lead to death.

(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)

It’s purrfect!

Most cats communicate through a variety of vocal noises, such as purring, hissing, meowing, to name a few. They generally display their own personalities through these vocalisations and most people find them very endearing... sometimes though they can be very annoying.

Purring/meowing is the cat’s way of getting your attention and this is quite normal. Obviously during mating season, the vocalisation from your cat increases and this can become quite annoying. Siameses are known to have a much louder purr/meow than most other breeds whereas Abyssinians and Persians are generally rather quiet cats.

The various sounds: Cats purring loudly for their dinner is quite different to the cat who meows very loudly in the middle of the night – generally demanding attention. If they do not get the attention they desire, then obviously the purring/meowing becomes louder and louder. Hissing, however, is a totally different situation and the cat is letting you know he is not pleased about something.

Excessive vocalisation: It is, however, difficult to actually describe excessive vocalisation as all cats are different. It really depends on how much ‘noise’ the pet parent is prepared to put up with.

The attention-seekers: A lot may have to do with the time of day... is it getting close to meal time and you are being rather slow to provide their dinner? Do they want you to play with them or do they want to go outside?

Purring in discomfort: It is also wise to make sure that your cat is not unwell or injured and this is the only way they can get our attention to help them... the sounds they make in cases such as that are generally very different to those they make when all is well.

Getting their own way: Pet parents must always keep in mind that cats are highly intelligent animals and they can soon learn what I call THE DRIP SYSTEM – if they keep pestering us for long enough we will eventually give in. It is like a dripping tap that is hard to ignore – we soon stop what we are doing and go and turn the tap off.... cats work on the assumption that we will soon give them the attention they want – regardless of what we are doing.

If a cat learns that her pet parent will immediately pay her attention, then she will soon realise that loud purring/meowing will get her what she wants – even if it is only more attention! It is hard to ignore a cat who constantly seeks attention but like a naughty child we need to limit the time we give her – especially if we are very busy – and eventually the cat will realise.

(Joan E Henderson is based in Australia and she has judged furry felines in many other countries including USA, Bermuda, Malaysia, South Africa, Hong Kong, Philippines and New Zealand)

Ask the Expert.. May June 2012

Dr KG Umesh (MVSc, MSc (UK)) is a Postgraduate in Clinical Medicine. He is working for WALTHAM as Regional Associate for South Asia.

Q: I have a five years old cat (male) and want to get another three and a half months old kitten in. How should I introduce them and take care of both of them? Is it ok to adopt a female cat or should I look at adopting a male cat?
– Sudhakar, Gurgaon

Dr KG Umesh: Whatever your reasons to add another cat to the family, just be aware that bringing in a new cat is a huge change for an older cat - and unless you go about it the right way, it could create a lot of stress. When a new cat is introduced into the household, it is wise to let her familiarise herself with her surroundings before she meets any resident cats or other animals. Here are a few ways you can help make the process of introducing your older cat to a new cat less stressful: All you need to do is rub your new kitten with an old piece of your clothing, one that holds your smell. That way, your new kitten will already have something familiar about her and will be accepted more easily. Since your new kitten is still young, there shouldn’t be any major problems. The pecking order will immediately be determined by the difference in ages. In most cases, the kitten will follow the lead of the older cat, who’ll protect the new and vulnerable arrival. It’s slightly more tricky if an older kitten is being introduced to a younger one, since her more developed self-confidence can lead to minor fights. Tom cats may establish a territory which is ten times larger than that of queens. In this case, start by making much more fuss of the younger kitten and then let the two of them settle. While they get used to each other, make sure that they have separate food and water bowls, and their own sleeping places and litter trays. Feeding old cat first at meal times is a good trick. They’ll soon be completely content in each other’s company.

From Russia with love

Long body, wide-set green eyes, long and dense fur, and mild disposition – that’s how a Nebelung kitty is!

The origin…

The Nebelung cat is a breed from Russia – a variety of semi-longhaired Russian Blue. The word Nebelung means ‘creature of the mist’. This is a rare breed, some breeders can be found in the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Canada, Germany, France and more recently in Great Britain.

The physical traits…

The body is long and elegant. Well-muscled without any heaviness, he can appear more sturdy than truly is due to density of coat. The slightly upturned corners of the mouth give him a sweet smiling expression. The eyes are walnut shaped, rather large, vividly green and set wide apart. The ears are set at an ear-width; the outside is covered with short and fine hair. His legs are long and slim, proportionate to body while feet are small and relatively round.

The disposition…

The Nebelung cat is lively, playful, affectionate, intelligent and good company. He lives very well indoors. Like his cousin, the Russian Blue, he prefers a quiet house. Nebelung cat is aloof with strangers but participates actively in the life of the family. If he is very attached to his pet parent, his human is indispensable.

Play, play and more play…

As all cats, his games are mostly hunting games. He is tireless. Races are endless, which are punctuated by long naps as well...

Being social…

With young children, be careful, they don’t like loud noise. With guests, he will wait a moment to come and see the guests but if it is too noisy he will stay in his place. With other pets, he is quite tolerant.

Grooming…

Weekly brushing is enough and he loves it! He does not lose his hair too much. He is free of genetic diseases.

(Virginie Leroux, AIME Secretary, is a young breeder of Nebelungs)