Keeping Your Cat Calm and Clean

Working with cats that happen to be fearful can be challenging due to the fact that many times, folks confuse their fear with being aggressive. Does your pet diva hide under the table at every ring of the doorbell? Does she keep hissing at unfamiliar people or attack other pets? While there are normal doses of being cautious, fear that is extreme disrupts a potentially peaceful home and makes your cat feel miserable.

Medication

Veterinarian prescribed behaviour medication can help the storm get calmer. However, these are not magic formulas. They will not transform your fearful feline into a fluttering butterfly. However, medication can help assist your pet and create a better frame of mind that is conducive for learning, helping your pet’s haywire brain chemistry become normalized.

Generally, when your cat gets medication from the vet, this will not be used forever. You can ask for recommended behavioural drugs that will work. You might also want to hire a cat psychologist to help your cat become less fearful. When behaviour modification plus techniques of desensitization is paired with drugs, cats are taught to deal with fear in a better way.

Panic Attack

Your pet cat is not really behaving badly. As a matter of fact, in cats, fear tends to cause their brains to shut down so that they cannot think, literally. When a panic attack overwhelms your cat, she will either strike out with teeth and claws or react by hiding. When working or trying to communicate with a cat that is fearful, keep in mind that this cat is unable to think clearly.

Being Aggressive

Cats that are afraid can also be a target for other cats. When you are a fearful cat among other cats, you might as well wear a sign that says ‘kick me.’ Other cats will turn the fearful cat into punching bags. If fearful cats are not able to get away from threats that she perceives, aggression will be used for defence.

Scared Sick

While you may not be bothered by your pet cat when he keeps hiding, this will constantly increase cat stress. For example, cystitis or bladder inflammation can be aggravated by cat stress. A cat that is anxious will tend to try to calm themselves by increasing their scratching behaviour. This is not unlike the way human beings who are nervous start biting their finger nails.

Do you think you know everything there is to know about your pet cat? Here are a few surprising cat facts that may surprise you.

Unscented Litter

Rather than scents that pet owners love, preference tests indicate that your cat will prefer clumping litter with no scent. Make sure you keep your cat’s litter clean in a cat friendly, quiet location if you want your kitty to keep going to ‘the bathroom.’

The Tail’s Tale

How do you tell the mood of your cat? A cat’s tail tells the tale. Erratic twitching, low tails indicate your pet cat is on the prowl. Unhappy tail tip twitches indicate stop petting your cat’s tail immediately. Languid tail movements in an upright, tall tail indicate for you to continue with the petting.

No Eye Contact Please

Are you serious about getting your cat to love you? When eye contact is something you avoid, a cat will more likely come to you. The fact is that with strangers, cats don’t like eye contact and they will prefer going to the person who is not facing them. This answers the mystery of why a cat will always go to the only person in the room that does not like them.

Kibble Versus Canned

It is recommended by veterinarians that over kibble, cats should be fed canned food. Compared to dry food, there is a higher percentage of fat and protein in canned food. Plus, cat food that is canned has a higher content of water than kibble. Plus, cats with dental problems, elderly cats or finicky cats tend to find canned food more palatable. Talk to your vet about this. For your cat, you might find that better health begins by feeding good canned food in measured amounts than an all-day buffet of kitty kibble.

Running Water

You might be surprised to find out how much cats love running water. As a matter of fact, when it comes to the health of your cat, one of the best investments you can make is a pet fountain for drinking. Cats find it appealing to be near running, cool water. For cats, this behaviour is natural since compared to a stagnant pool, water from streams are less likely to go through contamination. There is a tendency for cats to be dehydrated chronically. To get cats drinking more water, fountains for felines are proven to work. With proper hydration, many health problems that felines normally go through can be alleviated. Plus, it is more efficient and convenient than leaving dripping faucets on as you try enticing your pet cat to drink more water.

By the way, here are a few techniques of bathing your cat:

When your cat is going through flea-infestation, you will most likely want to bathe her. Since your cat will tend to wash herself anyway, you may feel that they won’t need bathing. However, it is always a good idea to give your cat a good washing once in a while for hygiene reasons not just for your cat but for your entire home as well. A bath reduces parasites and will help any allergic person in the house tremendously.

Everybody knows that cats do not like water, much less, taking a bath. Even all the cartoons say as much. But you can’t allow your pet kitten to sleep with you and not be clean. You owe it to yourself to have a clean pet.

Start Them Young

So, how do you go about this task? Expert pet owners advise to start your kitty young. That is, train your little feline to actually like baths. Yes, you can do it. It’s just a matter of positive conditioning. Before you do so though, read up and find out how the experts do so. There are multiple steps to follow when taking your cat a bath at home. Watch and learn. Or you can ask your professional groomer how they do and what areas to avoid.

Enjoy The Routine

For your kitty to enjoy this routine here is what you need to do. In the sink or in your tub, place a towel or mat underfoot. This is to make ensure that kitty does not slip. Run lukewarm water. Do not use cold water. First dampen the paws then work your way up. A small amount of shampoo or soap is all that is needed to create lather. Make sure that the lather does not touch the eyes, ears, and nose of your pet. Rinse thoroughly and completely. Make sure there isn’t any residue left. Remember, your pet will still clean itself after the bath. Kitty cat will eat any residue left and that might induce a tummy ache. Wrap your pet in a towel and dry it off completely with gentle rubbing.

Gentle Massages Work

You can make this more pleasurable for your pet by simulating a gentle massage on its body. Keep your kitty away from drafts till you are sure she is dry. A once-a-month bath is just right as a routine. If kitty really doesn’t like the bath, you can always finish the session with a treat or two as a reward for behaving. The earlier you condition your cat, the better for you both. Remember not to skip the routine. Just follow through monthly and you’ll both be fine.