Archive for August, 2007

Before bringing home a cat, there are certain things you need to look out for on selecting a healthy cat or kitten. Whether you decide on a purebred or a mixed breed cat, and whether you buy from a pet shop, adopt from a shelter, these tips will give you an upper hand when selecting a cat.

1. The cat should possess good muscle tone. The cat should have bright clear eyes with no discharge in the corners. The cat should also be alert and friendly with a curious or playful attitude.

2. Check the cat’s ears. It should be clean and free of dark, crusty wax.

3. Check the cat’s anus. It should be clean and free of any signs of diarrhea.

4. Check the cat’s ears for signs of mite or other infection at the ears.

5. Check on the cat’s living environment. It should be kept clean and free of pungent animal odors.

6. The cat’s coat should be clean and free of fleas. One way to check for fleas is to rub your hand against the fur and look for fine grains of black dirt. This so called flea dirt is actually dried flea excrement. Problem areas to look out for include behind the ears, on the back, and at the tail base where the cat cannot easily reach to lick clean.

7. Test the cat’s personality using a feather or ribbon and gauge how playful and relax it is around strangers. Depending on your personality and lifestyle, you may choose one that suits you.

8. Ensure that the kitten you are bringing home is fully weaned and litter-trained. Around this time, it should be feeding on solid food. Ideally, a kitten can only leave its original environment between 8 -16 weeks old. For many breeders of purebred, they will only release them when they are at least 12 -16 weeks old.

9. If buying a purebred, try to get it from a private, small volume breeder. Most of the time, you will be able to see the parents, giving you a good idea of your kitten’s appearance and temperament when grown. Besides that, you have the opportunity to establish a relationship with someone who can share experiences in raising and showing that particular breed.

Once you have selected a cat, check out its medical records and the type of vaccination it has already taken. If the cat is not tested yet, you may want to make sure that it is free of any disease before bringing it home. You should send your cat for a checkup within a day or two to ensure you have picked a healthy one.

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If you are interested in breeding purebred cats for monetary gains, you have to consider the pros and cons first before going down this road. While the rewards are generous and rewarding, cat breeding is not for all. People have this mistaken perception that cat breeding is as easy as just letting cats mate. In fact it’s just the opposite. While earning money is part of the plan in breeding, it should not be the main motivating factor.

As a cat breeder, you must be responsible for the welfare and well being of your cats. Contingency plan should be in place to cater for unexpected changes. In the even of the owner backing out of a deal, you should have a ready place to keep the cat.

Besides having a sense of responsibility, you should also educate yourself well before going into breeding. Breeding purebred cats requires a great deal of knowledge about the written breed standards and general cat care. You need to find a seasoned mentor to work with, someone who has had prior experience with showing and breeding cats in order to become a successful breeder.

Breeding is also an expensive, time consuming and labor intensive activity, regardless of your chosen breed.

The food isn’t the only thing that’s expensive, as the vet bills can also get expensive. Even though you may go through the entire pregnancy without going to the vet, you’ll still need de-worming and vaccination medicines as well.

Another factor to consider before breeding cats is whether you have enough space for breeding. If you have a small apartment, you shouldn’t attempt to breed a cat.

One last thing to take note is whether your family is agreeable to the idea of breeding cats. If you family objects, it’s going to take a heavy strain on your relationship with your family if you don’t have their understanding and consent.

After learning about these things, it can be concluded that breeding is an arduous task indeed. However, for those who are cat breeders at heart, all these hardships are worth the kittens they bred (not produced)! A cat’s life is more important than money. And it is more rewarding to see the kittens grow. The money earned is just an additional reward.

Breeding is not just about having many cats. It is about taking care of all of them.

In short, there are a lot of factors to consider where breeding is concerned. If you have already set your mind on it and you want to breed, you should be certain that you have the proper knowledge and everything you need before hand. You should always be ready to handle anything associated with breeding – and prepare yourself for the worst possible scenario.

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Before making any decision to get a cat, you should look into whether you and your family members are allergic to cats. Many people are allergic to cats, some more so than others. Too often, people bring home a pet only to find out later that they or their children are allergic to cats.

Although pet allergy symptoms can be keep under control, in many cases for some allergy sufferers, the various sneezing, stuffy nasal passages and itchy, watery eyes become too much to bear. Eventually, it becomes virtually impossible for them to stay with the cat.

As a result, many cats are sent to animal shelters each year as their allergic owners can no longer bear the severity of their allergy symptoms.

Even if you do not suffer from cat allergies, consider others close to you who may no longer feel comfortable visiting your home because they are allergic to cats. It would be very unfair to the cat later on if you had to give it away just because your social life declines.

For those who are mildly or sporadically allergic to cats, you can follow these strategies in order to have cats living in the same household. As you know, most allergies occurred due to the presence of danger particles in the air, and to control these danger particles, just follow the strategies below:

1. Apply cat safe, anti-allergy wipes or sprays to the cat’s fur recommended by your vet

2. Use vinyl or leather furniture instead of upholstered

3. Replace carpets with hard floors

4. Prohibit your cat from entering your bedroom

5. Clean your air-con filters, furnace and ductwork regularly

6. Use an air purifier to eliminate the danger particles

7. Use hot water to wash your bed linens regularly

8. Wrap mattresses and pillows with plastic covers to prevent dander from settling in the bedding

9. Use distilled water to bathe the cat once a month

Allergies should be treated immediately to prevent weakening of your body’s immune system. Prolonging your treatment will lead to other problems, such as bronchitis, asthma, or sinus or ear infections. It may even lead to life threatening cases if allergic responses are severe enough.

If you are experiencing symptoms that would not go away, you should consult a doctor to determine the cause. A test can then be perform on you to determine the exact allergens that are causing your symptoms so that an appropriate treatment can be administer on you.

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