The emotional life of cats, in some ways, may even be richer than a person’s, because they have no inhibitions about what they feel. In a short period of time, a cat can go from contentedness to anger to desire to affection. True, studies show that people with pets live a bit longer and have better blood pressure than non-owners cat food, but in the literal sense, we don’t really need all those dogs and cats to survive.
One of the things we love about cats is watching them play. Kittens love playing but don’t know yet how to control their sharp claws and teeth. Also children can unknowingly be a little rough with a kitten and may cause it harm. Kittens that are obtained after 12 weeks may be more difficult to manage. The experiences of kittens during their first few months of life are important in helping to shape their temperaments and personalities as adults. Your kitten will need time to adjust to her new environment, and understanding this is the first step in getting off to a positive start.
One of the things we don’t love is hair shedding but hair shedding is considered a sign of health in the cat, because sick cats do not shed. It happens for different reasons, but basically it depends on the time your cat spends outdoor or whether your cat is purely an indoor cat. Hairballs can be prevented with certain cat foods and remedies that ease elimination of the hair and regular grooming of the coat with a comb or stiff brush. Cats expend nearly as much fluid grooming as they do urinating. Long-haired cats obviously are more high-maintenance than its short-haired counterparts. You’ll need to at least bath them once a week and brush their long manes frequently. Owners should wipe away the moisture that is emitted from the eyes at least once in the morning and at least once in the evening hours. Persians should also be bathed frequently.
Hunting is something you may or may not like about cats. Cats are fun to watch as they pretend to hunt by attacking toys, each other, or miscellaneous items and this is something we like. They may hunt for real and present you with a dead mouse “trophy” and this we have mixed emotions about. On the one hand we are glad to have the rodent eliminated, but then and again, we don’t want to know about it. Hunting has become central to cat’s behavior patterns, even to their wild like playing for short bursts of intense exercise punctuating long periods of rest. Hunting mothers generally pass all their hunting abilities, including the ultimate killing of their prey, onto their kittens. Non-hunting mothers, by contrast, often pass along the hunting skills except the ability to kill.
Scratching is another thing about which we may have mixed emotions. On the one hand, scratching behavior seems enjoyable to the cat, and even declawed cats will go through elaborate scratching routines, with every gesture of great satisfaction, despite the total lack of results. Then again, without a scratching post your furniture or draperies may suffer. If you are like most cat owners, you simply adore your precious kitty. Therefore, you want to do everything you can to keep your feline friend happy. If you are planning on keeping your cat indoor, you will find that it generally doesn’t take a whole lot to keep your cat feeling great. In fact, all you need to do is keep a few simple items on hand. Here’s a look at what you will need.
Purchasing a quality litter box will help keep both you and your cat happy. Not only does a littler box provide your cat with a comfortable place to go to the bathroom, purchasing a quality litter box will make it easier for you to keep the box and the surrounding area clean.
In order to keep odor down and to encourage your cat to use the litter box regularly, make certain to scoop the box clean every day. You should also change out all of the litter once per month and you may even want to consider replacing the entire litter box once or twice per year.
Cats instinctively want to stalk, pounce and play, so be certain to give your feline friend plenty of time for play. You may be surprised by the variety of different cat toys available on the market. Some of these include toys that roll, toys with catnip, toys on strings, toys with feathers and more. You might need to experiment a little with a variety of different toys in order to find the type of toys your cat likes the most.
Some cats are perfectly happy without a scratching post, but most would prefer to have one – and having one inside can help prevent your cat from damaging your furniture and other indoor items. Even a cat that has been declawed will generally enjoy having a scratching post available. In order to encourage your cat to use the scratching post, be certain to place it in an area of your home where your cat enjoys spending time. If the scratching post is an eyesore, you can gradually move it to another area of the home.
Although your cat certainly appreciates the warmth and comfort of living indoors, it still enjoys looking at what is going on outside. So, be certain to provide your cat with opportunities for outdoor visual stimulation by creating a window bed or window seat where it can relax and watch what is going on outside. You can further increase your cat’s enjoyment by placing a bird feeder outside of the window so it can watch the birds as they come and go.