Cats and Kittens

The History and Care of the Domestic Cat

One of our truly beloved house pets is the cat. It all started millions of years ago when the ancient Felidae family began it’s evolutionary trek into the Felis Genus, which now includes all felines, (tigers, cougars, African lions, jaguars, and many other varieties of cats).

The first evidence of the cat being domesticated came about with the Egyptians, over three thousand years ago. It is assumed that they were the result of both inbreeding and crossbreeding between the smaller jungle cats. These cats were revered and adored by their owners.

Soon, during the ninth century, the enthusiasm of the domestic cat grew. And their traits as excellent mousers and ratters were then fully appreciated.

So now, in 2006 about five thousand years later, we have our wonderful and much diversified domestic cat!

So, is a kitten or an adult cat the right pet for you? Well, let’s consider the habits and makeup of most felines. As we know, they are individualists. They are also independent and dignified. And their intelligence varies from breed to breed, as with any animal.

They tolerate us humans, and somehow seem to run our households with our acceptance!

Is that adorable ball of fluff still right for you? Remember that they will grow up in no time! They need food, water, shelter, care and training. If you decide to adopt an older cat, you won’t have to be too concerned with litter training, as the cat will already have been experienced in this area. But you will have to show your new kitten where the litter box is located. As a bonus with an older cat, she will locate and use the litter box quickly, and you will be able to understand his or her personality fairly soon as the cat starts to live in your home. A new kitten on the other hand, will take a little bit more time and T.L.C.

As for feeding a kitten, a good brand of kitten chow, along with a supplemented soft canned kitten food is recommended. You may want to soften the dry food with a small amount of water. Always have fresh drinking water available! Older cats do very well eating dry cat chow, but they do like the canned food as treats! As always, water needs to be provided 24 hours a day.

Your new kitten will love to play, so make sure you have plenty of toys to keep her occupied and happy! And also make sure that your cat sees the veterinarian for his/her necessary shots, and most importantly, a rabies vaccination at about 6 months. Also, consider having your feline spayed or neutered. Tabby will make a much better pet, and you won’t have to worry about him roaming, spraying on furniture, or unwanted kittens. Most vets run specials on these operations for your pets. They usually place their ads in the various local newspapers.

Have your pet licensed with the local licensing bureau in your town especially if your cat spends time outdoors. Then enjoy the fun and antics of your new, happy and healthy feline friend!

The ragdoll cat is a large breed of cat, best known for its easygoing and mellow nature. They have long, thick fur coats and markings that resemble a siamese. Caring for your ragdoll cat should involve a regular feeding and grooming schedule, along with regular visits to the veterinarian for checkups and vaccinations. If you take good care of your ragdoll cat, they will be healthy, happy, and a better active pet for you to enjoy.

Feeding

Fresh food and water is an absolute necessity for your ragdoll. It is recommended that you always have a bowl full of dry food available for your cat, as well as a bowl of clean water. Wet food is probably not necessary on a daily basis, but it is really up to you, and what your ragdoll prefers. You may need to experiment with different brands and flavors of wet food. It can provide extra nutrients and add variety to your ragdoll’s diet. We recommend feeding your ragdoll one of the premium brands of food, as the quality is usually better. Usually kittens should have a special formula of food, so check with your veterinarian or local pet store if your not sure.

You should try to clean the water bowl daily, and the food bowl as much as possible to prevent germs and bacteria from building up.

Grooming

Ragdoll coats can vary in thickness and hair type. The average ragdoll hair is fairly thick, and very soft to the touch. The length of the fur can be medium to long.

They usually do a good job of grooming themselves, and don’t require excessive brushing. It is a good idea to brush them strenuously a couple of times a week to prevent matting of the fur. The other reason for brushing on a regular schedule, is if you happen to find a knot forming, you can easily brush it out before it gets out of control.

Ragdolls tend to enjoy grooming and make it easy for you to brush away!

Bathing

Bathing is not really necessary if regular grooming is done. It may be beneficial to give your ragdoll a bath a couple of times a year, to clean the coat if really dirty or if they have gotten into something that can not be brushed out.

Make sure that you use a shampoo and conditioner that is formulated especially for cats, as regular human products may be harmful to your ragdoll.

Claws

Declawing a cat is a controversial subject, and one that brings many different opinions. We generally don’t recommend declawing a ragdoll unless it will help with the safety within a household, specifically with children. Clipping the claws can be done on a regular basis to avoid damage to your furniture or other items in the house, so if that is your only reason for declawing the cat, your decision should be weighed carefully because it is not reversible.

Keep in mind that if a ragdoll cat is declawed, it should be limited in it’s exposure to the outside world. Without front claws, a ragdoll doesn’t have much of a defense against other animals or threats that it might encounter.

Litterbox

The litterbox should be kept in a fairly secluded area to allow for privacy, but not so out of the way that it is difficult to access for cleaning. Usually a laundry room or other spare room serves as a good location.

We recommend scooping out the inside of the box at least once a day, and actually replacing the litter weekly. If you have more than one cat, then it may be necessary to clean the box twice daily, morning and night for example.

There are many different brands and types of litter out there, it is just a matter of preference. The main thing is to find something that your cat will use, is easy to keep clean and affordable for your budget.

Veterinarian

You should take your ragdoll to a veterinarian on a regular basis according to what they recommend. You will want to get vaccination shots and any other treatments that will keep your cat healthy and safe.

There may be special considerations if your ragdoll spends more time outside, such as pest control and a higher susceptibility to disease. Make sure you discuss this with your vet and work out a plan that makes sense.

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The world of cat food can be a dizzying one – there are hundreds of options, each claiming to be the best, the most natural, and the tastiest. Since none of us feed the ideal diet for cats (live rodents, birds, and insects), we all have to decide where our comfort level in feeding our pets exists on the ‘cost’ axis, the ‘ease of feeding’ axis, and the ‘ingredients’ axis. This guide will give you some tips on navigating the ingredient label on your cat’s food in order to help your cat eat as well as possible.

The best food for your cats is the one that they eat and do well on. You cannot starve a cat into eating what you want them to; many cats will literally die before eating something they don’t want. Diet certainly plays a part in health, but just like some humans live to be a hundred and ten while eating fatty foods, drinking whiskey, and smoking cigars while others die at seventy eating lean proteins, lots of veggies, drinking little and never smoking, some cats will live to be 20 on low-quality food while others will die at 10 on an ideal diet. Genetics play a part, but choosing a good cat food can help you stack the deck in your favor.

1) If you are feeding dry, look for source-specific meals to be in the top five ingredients. Meals just mean that the water has been removed from the meat before processing into a dry kibble. Since meat is around 70% water, if you see ‘chicken’ on a dry food instead of ‘chicken meal’, 70% of the weight of that ingredient has been lost in processing. By law, ingredients must be listed on labels by pre-processed weight – so there’s a lot less ‘chicken’ in the dry food with ‘chicken’ instead of ‘chicken meal’

2) Don’t be fooled by ingredient splitting. Makers will be sneaky and use differently processed types of the same ingredient to lower its position on the top five. Adding all the types of corn together might mean that corn becomes the number one ingredient on that label, something manufacturers know won’t sell. On the same note, if there are more grains than proteins in the top five, be wary – just because it’s corn *and* rice doesn’t mean it’s any less grain-based and any less unnecessary for our pet carnivores.

3) Don’t get sidetracked by fashionable ingredients. If you see ‘pheasant’ or ‘quail eggs’ in the ingredient list, it’s usually halfway down, which mean that there is not a significant amount of that pricey ingredient in there. Manufacturers put tiny amount of luxurious or fashionable ingredients

If one cat is fun, just imagine how fun two cats would be! If you are considering getting another cat to your household there are some facts you should know and a simple method for easier, and safer, introductions.

First select a cat similar in age to the one you have now. This makes feeding much easier. Kittens need kitten food, adults need adult food, and seniors need senior food. Since cats need access to their dry food all the time it is darn near impossible to make sure either is eating their own food only. So, the easiest solution is to have your cats all around the same age.

If your current cat has been alone for some time it will be harder for it to accept a new comer, especially if your current kitty is over two years of age. However, it is not impossible. If you already have a household of cats, the new one will disrupt their social order, you may find old friends fighting amongst each other for a short period of time.

Having cats that are already spayed or neutered will help you greatly, as this lessens their territorial behavior, such as spraying or fighting. Also your cat should be up to date on his or her vaccinations.

Select a kitty who is also medically healthy, vaccinated, dewormed, and vet checked. Bringing in a kitten right off the farm is opening your cat up for problems even if yours is vaccinated, things like ear mites, and fleas that can come home on cats who have not been treated.

I always support adopting cats, or kittens, from a shelter, such as the SPCA. A vet in your area will know who adopts cats and kittens out. Most shelters offer health guarantees and have a wide selection of pets to pick from. Since the cats are exposed to so many other cats, they are often less territorial. Free cats are only a good option of they are already vaccinated and vet checked, other wise the expense could add up if you bring home a sick cat to infect the one you currently have. Remember, vaccinations are not a 100% guarantee against disease, so even if your cat is vaccinated it is still vulnerable.

Set up your home in advance of the new comer. You will need a second litter box, as a rule of thumb you should have one litter pox per cat. The new kitty will need to live in a small room by itself for two weeks, it will need its litter box, food, and water, in that room. The cats will meet by sniffing paws under the door. The new one should be fed its current cat food mixed with what you feed your cat. Doing a slow change in diet, so that everyone is on the same food, is best.

After the initial two week period you can bring the new cat out for short periods of time, allow for some fights because they will have to establish dominance. Any bad fights can be broken up by squirting them with water or putting your foot in between them. Return the new cat to the room at night or when you are away. This may continue for another two weeks.

Finally the two should be alright together, maybe not the best of buddies, but not the worst of enemies either. When kitties are younger it is easier to introduce a friend, if they are older they may not ever be pals, but will learn some level of tolerance. You can help by tossing treats when they are together, so they associate being together with getting rewards. Good luck with your new kitty.