My territory smells of me.. better keep off!

Spraying is a cat’s way of marking her territory. It is a natural and common behaviour in kitties, and also different from urination (relieving full bladder). But incase our fastidious kitties are spraying highly inside the house, then there’s a problem.

Kitty cause!

Kitties are just like kids; they want our attention and care all the time and hate sharing these with anyone. Seeing a stranger or a new pet in home causes anxiety or stress in kitties, which eventually increases spraying. Schedule changes, like moving to new home or place, spending less time with cats, or lack of proper care also cause spraying. Besides these, one has to closely observe the activities going around, so as to find out what’s bothering our feline friends.

Cure ‘n’ control!

To control spraying, the best approach would be to avoid all such conditions, which trigger fear, anxiety or stress in cats, as it is natural response of cats to spray to reaffirm their dominance.

If cats are spayed or neutered before 6-months, there are very bleak chances of spraying, it is an effective measure in stopping this behavior (90% in male cats and 95% in female cats). If your cat repeatedly sprays at one spot, clean up the area with 10% solution of washing powder, rinse and then dry to remove urine odour. Do not expose cats to loud noises or too many activities, instead pat and comfort her. Most importantly, consult your vet for proper treatment.

Diet chart for an adult kitty

As cats are natural carnivores and are unlikely to willingly forego meat from their diet, it is advisable not to feed cat on vegetarian diet alone. In addition to Taurine, Arachidonic acid, Vitamin A, Vitamin B12, Niacin, Thiamin and protein are the critical nutrients that should be ensured at adequate level in the diet of cat. Whilst cats may enjoy certain plant foods, vegetarian diets high in fibre and polyunsaturated fatty acids may be detrimental to a cat’s health. High fibre foods can fill the cat’s digestive system without providing the necessary nutrients in sufficient concentrations. Following is the diet chart for an adult cat

Liver	50 g
Milk	100 ml
Fish	50
Chicken/Beef	150 g
Rice	50
Vitamin A, D & B complex	+
Minerals	+
Salt iodized	1 g
Taurine	+

Dr. V. Balakrishnan

Dont hate but love me as i love you

If the cats can... they would have whispered these words to everyone. The mindset of people is different from one another. Some may love cats, some may be indifferent to them, while a few may be scared or even hate them. Most of the fear and hate, that cats have to face from humans, come from baseless superstitions that associate them with bad luck and evil. Your heart breaks when you witness your beloved ones to be chased, shouted at or abused by somebody. So it is important for the cat lovers to take the responsibility for spreading good things about cats - their love, companionship and cat-human relationship. They are independent but unobtrusive. They should not be discriminated but be loved.

As a cat owner, I have realized that when confronted by negative behaviour towards my pets, getting on the defensive does not help. One needs to gently change attitudes and get more people converted into the catfold! I have eight felines and I try and allow as many people, especially children to interact with them. The children learn that if they are gentle and still, the cats come up to them to make friends. Even their mothers treat them with respect and dignity. Sure, love dilutes hatred!

Himmies ravishers...meowing all the way to glory

Energetic, playful, chirpy, loyal... words will definitely fall short for our sweethearts’ description - Himalayan kitties. When best come together, the result is always stunning...so is the gorgeous Persian with a beautiful Siamese colouring, i.e. our Himmies. Here’s little more about these stunners...better known as colorpoint Persian.

Looking like an angel!

The Himalayan is a medium-to-large sized, heavily boned and well-balanced cat. Her coat is long, rich and flowing, and varies from fine silky to thick cotton and colour varies from blue, flame (red), cream, chocolate, lilac, blue - cream , chocolate-tortie, and lilac-cream. Her sapphire eyes give her an angelic look, which completes her eternal beauty.

Sweet ‘n’ playful

“Himmies,” as we call them, are very gentle, calm, sweet-natured and social cats. They are not boring cats but very active and funny, too! The Himalayans are slowly maturing cats, so you can enjoy their kittenlike personality for a long time. Healthy, beautiful, lovable and playful, the Himmy is a perfect indoor feline companion and adjusts to most environments easily, which makes her an excellent apartment cat.

Looking great... all the time

Known for their rarity and fluffy fur, they are stunningly beautiful and require a lot of attention. Grooming is essential for them. They should be brushed daily, nails should be clipped and eyes and ears should be cleaned regularly, failing which would result in a “greasy” kitty with lots of mats in fur and stained eyes. Grooming on a regular basis will not only help avoid these problems, but your fluffy friend will also enjoy it as a form of quality interaction with you. (Eugenia Birkine is an active Himalayan breeder and owner of FELINART Himalayan cattery in USA, California. For more info about these loving kitties, log on to:http://www.geocities.com/felinart)

Teach your kitten how to play nice

A kitten’s life is all about play, and play is all about prey. Soon after they open their eyes and hoist themselves up on their teeny paws, kittens start to play. But if you look closely, you’ll notice that you have an itty-bitty hunter in your house.

Every race down the hallway, every pounce from behind a door, every swat and nip is a display of a kitten’s hunting skills, instincts that are just as strong in today’s housecat as they were in her ancestors thousands of years ago. To a kitten, everything, and we mean everything, in the house is potential prey, including you.

Learning to play nice

A kitten’s first playmates are her mother and littermates, and from them she learns how to inhibit her bite. A kitten who is separated from her family too early may not have learned that lesson well enough and doesn’t know when to stop. Acceptable behaviour can quickly escalate.

In addition, if people use their hands and/or feet instead of toys to play with a young kitten, the kitten may learn that rough play is okay. In most cases, it’s not too difficult to teach your kitten or young adult cat that rough play isn’t acceptable.

If playing with your kitten evolves from peek-a-boo to professional wrestling in a matter of seconds, follow these tips to keep playtime interesting and reduce the number of trips to the first-aid kit.

• Don’t let your kitten play with your hands or feet (or any other body part). This sends the wrong message.


• Use a toy when playing with her. Drag a toy, preferably a fishing pole-type toy that keeps your hands from the kitty’s mouth and claws, along the floor to encourage your kitten to pounce on it, or throw a toy for her to chase. Some kittens will even bring the toy back to be thrown again.


• Give your kitten something to wrestle with, like a soft stuffed animal that’s about her size, so that she can grab it with both front feet, bite it, and kick it with her back feet. This is one of the ways kittens play with each other, especially when they’re young. It’s also one of the ways they try to play with human feet and hands, so it’s important to provide this type of alternative play target.


• Encourage play with a ‘wrestling toy’ by rubbing it against your kitten’s belly when she wants to play roughly—and be sure to get your hand out of the way as soon as she accepts the toy.


• Don’t hit or yell at your kitten when she nips or pounces. This will only make her fearful of you and she may start to avoid you. The idea is to train her, not to punish her.

Discouraging ‘bad’ behaviour

Playing is not bad behaviour, but you do have to set the rules for your kitten: no biting. Everyone in the household has to be on the same page, too; your kitten can’t be expected to learn that it’s okay to play rough with dad but not with the baby.

Equip yourself with the right training tools: toys, toys, toys, and a water pistol.

A gnawing problem

As we said, you shouldn’t let your kitten play with your body parts. But if you’re petting her and she starts gnawing on you, immediately say ‘uh-uh’ and carefully take your hands away. Give her a toy to play with instead, but be sure she’s not gnawing on you when you give her a toy or she’ll think she’s being rewarded for gnawing. Don’t try to pet

her again until she’s tuckered out and no longer tempted to ‘kill’ your hand.

You can also make your hands unattractive to your kitten by putting a bad-tasting, but harmless, substance on them, like Bitter Apple or Tabasco sauce. Kittens will catch on quickly, but be sure she’s not scratching or biting your hands when you give her a toy or she’ll think she’s being rewarded for scratching and biting.

Gimmie that!

Kittens always seem to want to play with whatever you’re using—knitting needles, pencil, telephone antenna. If your kitty starts ‘attacking’ your utensils, sharply say ‘uh-uh’ to disrupt her behaviour. Then give her one of her own toys. Be sure she’s not attacking when you give her a toy or she’ll think she’s being rewarded for biting.

On the hunt

Kittens also like to ‘hunt’ you while you’re walking around. They’ll jump out from behind a door or under a chair and pounce on your ankles. If she doesn’t pounce, praise her with ‘Good kitty.’ If she does pounce, use your sharp ‘uh-uh’ to distract her and interrupt her behaviour and offer her an acceptable toy. Be sure she’s not pouncing on you when you provide the toy or she’ll think she’s being rewarded for pouncing.

Pay no attention

Withdraw attention when your kitten doesn’t get the message. If the distraction and redirection techniques don’t work, the most drastic thing you can do to discourage your cat from rough play is to withdraw all attention.

The best way to withdraw your attention is to walk to another room and close the door long enough for her to calm down. If you pick her up to put her in another room, then you’re rewarding her by touching, so you should always be the one to leave the room.

Remember, your kitten wants to play with you, not just toys, so be sure to set aside time for regular, serious, and safe play sessions.

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