Cat Info Center

The Expected Lifespan of a Cat

Depending on the breed of the cat, their lifespan can vary quite considerably. An overweight cat, as with the human, will tend to have a shortened lifespan as they can develop health problems of diabetes or breathing problems, and the extra weight places additional strain and stress on their limbs and organs.

A cat that is well cared for, and has had good nutrition throughout its life will usually live comfortably into its late teens.

As the cat ages regular dental checkups will ensure that it will live longer by avoiding problems with gum disease and infections that can do damage to internal organs.

Cats are quite durable animals, and they do try to look after themselves where possible by eating the right food. Their keen sense of smell helps them to avoid eating food that can cause illness, and often the cause of early death in domestic cats is due to their owners feeding them the wrong food.

Giving a cat a variety of food in its diet will ensure that it is getting all the necessary nutrients to maintain good health. It is not wise to assume that your cat can survive well by feeding it the same dried food every day and not keeping a fresh supply of water constantly available.

Cats will go out hunting, and they will eat what they catch, even if you have been feeding them a nutritionally balanced diet. If the diet is deficient they will be more inclined to hunt and find food that can maintain their health.

Giving your cat a warm, safe, stress-free environment, will extend their lifespan, and help them to be healthy enough to enjoy the geriatric years. Regular exercise will help maintain good health for a domestic cat that will commonly sleep most of the day.

And don’t be surprised to learn that there are many cats that have lived well into the early 20s.

Cats Natural Instincts

Kittens love to play and they appear to have boundless energy. They are very inquisitive creatures and love to explore and giving them things to play with and look at will help to keep them occupied and out of trouble as much as possible.

There are lots of different excellent toys available to keep young kittens happy for hours on end, but there is nothing better than the time that you spend to interact with your kitten and develop a relationship that will ensure you have a lot of fun for its entire lifetime.

Kittens will go through various stages in the first weeks of their life, and they will learn about their surroundings and how to interact with other pets and people in the house, and more importantly how to interact with you.

Playing with your kitten will teach it a lot as it develops all the natural instincts from playing around to hunting. You will find that after about six weeks the cat will begin stalking and hunting and often jump out from behind things to attack your leg as you walk by. This is a natural instinct that needs to be developed for you to have a healthy happy cat.

If you find your kitten is jumping out and attacking you or others in the house it should not be reprimanded otherwise it will get confused about something that is only natural.

It won’t do you a lot of harm but it will do your kitten a lot of good to develop these instincts.

Naturally you will have to stop it from misbehaving, and that is something that it needs to learn as well as all its other natural instincts, but common sense will let you know what it should and shouldn’t be doing.

Just like children, kittens will test the boundaries and if left unchecked you can have a cat that is very difficult to manage as it gets older.

Helping Your Cat Stay Healthy

To keep your cat healthy a majority of time, all you really need to do is give him good shelter, food, and plenty of water. Like other living things however, cats can get sick from time to time no matter what you do.

As a cat owner, you’ll want to ensure that you feed your cat only the best. Premium cat food is the ideal for cats, as the food is designed to keep your cat happy and healthy. You’ll also need to pay attention to his behavior, so you’ll know when he’s sick and when to take him to the vet. Most of the more common ailments and sicknesses are minor, although there are some cases where a vet can be the determining factor between life and death for your cat.

Your cat’s behavior will be one of the most critical factors when you are trying to determine whether or not he is under the weather. Acting sluggish, laying around all the time, lack of energy and not eating are all signs that you need to take him to the vet immediately. His coat is also a good thing to watch as well. If you notice his coat dull and patchy or notice him shedding abnormally, you should contact your vet as soon as you possibly can.

Diarrhea and vomiting are sometimes common, even with basic sickness. On the other hand, if your cat seems to be doing either one of the two for more than a day, you should contact your veterinarian. Coughing is common as well, simply because coughing will cats dislodge hairballs. If your cat seems to be coughing for another reason, you should have him checked out as soon as possible.

To ensure that your cat isn’t subjected to various diseases, you should always make sure that he stays up do date with his vaccinations. There are several diseases out there that require vaccinations, including rabies and feline distemper. Feline distemper is one of most devastating diseases a cat can get, yet it is also one of the easiest to prevent as well. The disease strikes cats very fast, and leaves you as an own very little time to seek treatment.

Feline leukemia is another disease that is very deadly, yet can be prevented early on with the proper vaccinations. Although the disease isn’t possible for humans to contract, it can be spread quickly among cats. There are vaccinations that can treat the disease these days, although you’ll still want to be careful and not expose other cats around a cat you know has feline leukemia.

Another problem, which is very common with cats that stay outdoors, is worms. Cats that have worms will normally have a lackluster coat and little to no appetite. There are several different types of worms, including ringworm and hookworm. Worms can come from fleas, lice, or even the organs of dead rodents that cats consume. Normally, the cat will digest the eggs which will later mature and attach themselves to the walls of the intestines. If you feed your cat garlic frequently during feedings, it can help to protect him against worms.

If you take care of your cat, chances are you’ll keep him healthy for years to come. You should always make sure he has quality food, and doesn’t miss any of his scheduled checkups with the vet. If he gets the proper vaccinations when he is required to get them, he should be safe against numerous pests and diseases. Taking the proper steps with your cat now will prevent anything from happening in the future.

Common Meanings Of Cat Behavior

A lot of people think that cats work on their own agenda, not paying much attention to their owner – provided they have clean litter, food, and water. Cats can behave in odd manners at times, which can easily confuse their owners and make it really hard to determine what the cat wants. As much as cat behavior can be confusing, there are some ways that you can solve common cat behavior mysteries.

A common behavior that almost all cats do is push their heads into any type of object that will allow them to do it. You’ve probably seen your cat do this before, probably against table legs, TV stands, or another object. This can be noticed more when you have other people who own animals or those with allergies over at your house. When a cat notices this, he will rub his head against the person. In doing so, he will put a touch of saliva on the individual. In a cat’s mind, he owns what he puts his saliva on.

By putting his saliva on something, that object or person will have a familiar scent. Although this can be very annoying, you have to understand that other people in your home are seen as odd or weird to your cat. When a cat does this, he is simply trying to make the visitor belong. When he brushes up against them and puts his saliva on them, he is trying to put his scent on them – which in his mind will mean that they belong in his territory.

Even though marking someone or something with saliva is beneficial to the cat, saliva is one of the most common forms of pet allergies. When someone wipes the saliva off of them, the scent will be gone and the cat will go back and attempt to do it again. Even though it may appear that cats target those with allergies, cats are actually just trying to make the visitor belong at the house. If the guest simply cannot take the saliva, allow the cat to rub himself on their pants leg a few times. Normally, this is all takes for a cat to leave the person alone.

Those of you who an indoor cat should expect the cat to spend quite a bit of time lying near windows. During this time, you may hear your cat make very strange noises or weird movements. You shouldn’t fear though, as he is simply acting out his hunting instincts. Whether it’s another cat or object outside moving about, the cat will see it and simply go into his native hunting instinct.

As most already know, cats love to play. They love to be played with, especially with toys. They will pounce on things on occasion, which should always be expected. If you try to prevent this type of behavior, your cat will take a very negative approach and you’ll end up with a lot of broken things in your home. You can always play with your cat using a string, as he will love to chase the string around the room.

The longer you own your cat, the more odd behavior you’ll see him exhibit. Cats behave in strange ways, although they always have a reason for behaving the way they do. If you can understand why your cat behaves like he does, you’ll have no problems keeping him healthy and happy. If you simply pay attention to your cat and the way he behaves at times – you’ll be able to understand him better than ever before.

Don’t Feed Your Cat These Foods

There are several foods that you should never feed your cat, as they will not only make it feel unwell but in some instances can be extremely detrimental to its health and well-being.

One of the biggest problems people have is when there is a dog in the house and the cat eats the dog food. Dog food is nutritionally undervalued for cat’s requirements, as it does not contain enough protein or taurine to meet the cat’s nutritional needs. If the cat eats dog food on a regular basis it will become unwell.

Many people will also feed their cat the scraps from their own dinner and once again the food that we eat is not of the correct nutritional balance that is sufficient to ensure that the cat has optimal health.

Just as chocolate is toxic to dogs, the same applies to cats and you should ensure that you never give your cat chocolate to eat otherwise it could become very ill and even die.

Don’t give your cat bones as they can splinter and get caught in their throat and intestinal track. This can cause a lot of damage or serious injury.

It is well worth investing your money in your cat’s health by giving it a recommended and nutritionally balanced diet that will have the right proportions of protein and other vitamins and minerals that are required for it to stay healthy.

There should always be a supply of fresh water available for your cat to drink, particularly if you are feeding it dry food where most of the moisture has been taken out. Cats will need fresh water to replace this moisture after having eaten dry food. It is better to feed canned food that is a lot moister and reduces the incidence of constipation.

Cat Naps and Sleeping

Cats are one of the most relaxing pets on earth and they are also one of the most relaxed animals with their ability to sleep almost anywhere at anytime of the day or night. Cats can spend over two thirds of their life sleeping but while they may seem to sleep for many hours at a time, they will rarely sleep deeply for more than about 10 minutes at a time.

They have the ability to sleep for a short period, commonly called a cat nap, and then awaken in an instant totally refreshed and alert.

For the short periods of time that a cat does go into a deep sleep, its basic senses are still highly alert to any danger that might be around them. This allows it to wake in an instant if necessary and get out of a dangerous situation.

A domesticated cat that feels comfortable and secure in its surroundings will not be so ‘on edge’ all the time and will be able to sleep in a more relaxed manner. In these situations the cat can often be a little sleepy when it awakes and even disorientated for short while. This is a more common occurrence with older cats, and particularly those who have lived in the one house all their life.

Once they see familiar surroundings or people they are less likely to feel anxious, as this anxiety can sometimes cause them to bite or claw someone before realizing where they are.

When the cat is in a deep sleep its feet, tail and whiskers can twitch periodically as they are in a state of REM (rapid eye movement)

If the cat is lying in a hot sunny position it can go into a deep sleep and take a little longer for it to become alert after awakening. On awakening it will generally yawn and stretch and often sit for awhile until it is ready to move about again.

Unless there is a very good reason, the cat will never feel rushed.

Is It Better To Have One Or Two Cats?

Most people who are thinking of getting a cat will usually only consider getting one kitten. People are of the belief that cats enjoy their solitude, and while this might be the case a lot of the time, they also enjoy interacting with other cats and people. And in fact, cats can also enjoy the company of dogs if they are brought up together and provided the dog has a personality that is acceptable to the cat.

The benefit of getting two kittens rather than one is the fact that a good portion of most people’s day will be taken up with work and other activities in the weekend. By having two kittens, they can keep each other company, playing and learning from one another.

They won’t be as inclined to get bored, and they won’t be as demanding of your attention when you come home after a tiring day at work. Additionally, at those times when you want to go on vacation, the cats will have companions and won’t feel as though they’ve been left alone.

Also, if you need to use the services of a cat boarding home, there will be less stress involved if the cat has its everyday companion with it in the boarding home.

Cats do in fact live in communities in the wild so this is a natural state for them to be in. Many people find that having two cats helps them to remain more contented and less likely to wander onto other people’s properties.

While there will be an additional expense with owning a second cat, the benefits might outweigh those costs and it is something that is well worth thinking about if you are deciding on getting a cat.

Usually cats of a similar breed will interact with one another better than a combination of two different breeds. This is not a rule that is set in stone as anything and everything changes according to a cat’s personality.