Tag Archives: cat

Cats, The Pet Professionals

Cats and the cold

As winter is fast approaching, we would like to take some time to talk about our cats’ relationship with the cold and the different ways that it can affect their comfort.
If we had to point out some of the most common features of our beloved domestic felines, we’d probably have “love warm spots to sleep on!” quite high on our list. This would be right next to purring and also their capacity to effortlessly charm us into forgiving them for tossing random things onto the floor.
Despite their luxurious coats, cats generally are not adapted as well to the cold climates as dogs. Most breeds lack the thick, insulating fur that makes freezing temperatures bearable for dogs like Huskies or Samoyeds, with the added issue that they are incapable of retaining body heat when their non-insulating coat is wet.

As temperatures continue to drop, how can we make sure we are well prepared to help our furry friends?

  • Make sure you don’t shut your cat out during the night or for long periods, especially when the weather is wet and cold;
  • Drafts make up for an awful sleeping experience, so position their beds in places that are far away from cold air currents;
  • Your pets will thank you if you add warmer bedding to the areas they usually sleep on;
  • If your cats seem to be restless or if they are starting to sleep in odd places like the inside of closets or on top of laptop vents, it might be a sign they are having difficulty keeping warm;
  • When fostering feral or semi-feral cats that live permanently outside, it’s very important to ensure there is an accessible, warm, dry shelter that is away from freezing wind so that they can protect themselves from the cold.

Not all pets experience the cold in the same way! Depending on their age and some health issues, some cats can be more sensitive to extremes of temperature than others.
Elderly and sick pets tend to be much more vulnerable to lower temperatures because they cannot adapt to them or retain enough heat in their bodies. Chronic conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease and hyperthyroidism will also require that you pay special attention to your pets’ needs during this winter time.

If your cats run away during bad weather and get stuck outside for several hours, time is of the essence! Bring them in as soon as possible, make sure that they are dry and keep them warm. Call your vet and tell them what has happened and ask for further advice, as your pets might need medical assistance due to issues like hypothermia and even frostbite.

Would you like to know more about cats? Check our Feline Courses:

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Cats, The Pet Professionals

The cat attack – Why is my cat being aggressive?

Particular as they may be, cats have wonderful personalities and make great companion animals and furry friends.

However, sometimes cats can show aggression towards their owners and other pets, which can be very detrimental to the bond between them and the home environment, and even dangerous in extreme situations.

Some aggressive behaviours are natural and even essential when it comes to hunting and personal defence, but these are definitely not wanted or needed in the security and comfort of our homes.

So, assuming that our cats are fed, well, that they don’t need to hunt to provide for their next meal, and that they have the whole house to claim as their territory, what can be causing our cats to act aggressively?

To answer this question, we need to go back to the kittens first weeks of life. Approximately between the second and ninth weeks of age, there is a very important phase in a kitten’s development, also known as the socialisation period. During this period, the kittens should be with their mother, so they can learn a number of normal cat behaviours, such as hunting and grooming, for example, skills that they are going to need and use throughout their lives. This is also the ideal timing to introduce the kittens to different experiences and stimuli, so they can get to know what to expect of a situation, what to fear, what to be careful with, and what is safe, gaining the foundations to grow into healthy and confident adult cats.

When a kitten is not adequately socialised, this can result in the manifestation of aggressive behaviours later. However, aggression is often the combination of various factors and not the result of a single event. Another common cause of attacks is a response to stress, which can, in turn, be associated with interactions with people (which can be as simple as petting), or with other animals, changes in the environment, fear, pain, and even health conditions.

Hyperthyroidism, infectious diseases, osteoarthritis and idiopathic cystitis are just a few examples of medical conditions that are commonly associated with feline aggression. As such, if your cat is acting aggressively, it is very important to seek veterinary assistance. Your vet will be able to perform a thorough check-up to make sure no health issues are causing these behaviours, as well as devise a treatment plan matched to your cat’s case.

Treatment strategies can be as simple as modifying the cat’s environment or the way you interact with your cat, but most cases usually require a multi-modal approach. Also, keep in mind that altering a cat’s behaviour is something that takes time and patience. Make sure you discuss with your vet all the concerns you may have and do not try to solve this type of problem without the help of a qualified professional.

Would you like to know more about cats? Check our Feline Courses:

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Cats, The Pet Professionals

Routines are vital for feline wellbeing

Cats may seem to be whimsical pets who enjoy doing all sorts of random things (usually involving pushing fragile objects off the shelves!) but, the truth is, they are animals that rely on stable routines to feel confident and safe.  

They like to know who will be home (and when), at what hours they can expect your full attention, and to have the best places available to nap when the mood strikes. Does this sound familiar?  

Because most of us have altered our routines in one way or another due to the current Coronavirus pandemic, it’s important to be aware of how these changes can affect our pets. Not only may we feel a little more stressed sometimes, which pets can be sensitive to, but domestic organisation may also have been thrown into complete disarray.  

If your purring pal seems a bit unsettled or is exhibiting odd behaviours like excessive vocalisation, for example, it may be a sign that they are trying to adapt to change and develop new habits. 

Help them along during this time by reviewing if your home is still a cosy cat corner:  

  • Is there a place where your cat can retire to if he or she needs to be away from people or other pets?  
  • Are you taking the time to play and have meaningful interactions with your cat?  
  • Do they have enough ways to stave off boredom, for instance with toys, unobstructed windows or a place to hang out with you while you work?  

Some cats will be more troubled by this than others, but with disruption comes increased anxiety, which can originate odd behaviours, as we have mentioned, or even a decline in overall health.  

Cats, in their normal state, are masters at hiding pain and discomfort. With all of these sudden changes, it can be easy to dismiss signs of illness as being something your pet is doing because their routines have been altered!   

It’s vital to keep a keen eye on them during this time to make sure they feel comfortable and to detect any problems that may arise. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact your vet for advice.

Would you like to know more about cats? Check our Feline Courses:

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Cats, The Pet Professionals

Dental health care for cats

Have you had a look at your cat’s teeth lately?

It may sound like a weird question, but given that oral disease affects up to 80% of cats from only two years of age and as it can be easily overlooked, it is a really good idea to keep a close eye on your cat’s mouth!

February is pet dental health month, so we feel that this is a great opportunity to talk to you about dental health and cats.

Did you know that it is recommended that you brush your cat’s teeth?

Plaque and tartar accumulation will happen sooner or later, so setting up a toothbrushing routine, preferably while your cat is still young, will help you keep these bad guys away for as long as possible.

With cats being cats, it might not be easy to get them used to the toothbrush, but it is only a matter of time and habit! Start slowly by getting them used to manipulation of the lips and touching their gums, and then gradually introduce a cat-appropriate toothpaste and toothbrush.

Proper nutrition also plays an important role in feline dental health – dry kibble will have a mechanical, abrasive effect on the teeth, helping to prevent plaque accumulation. The same is true for dental treats, but these must be given in moderation as they can have a high-calorie content.

Finally, taking your cat to a routine veterinary appointment will give your vet the chance to make sure your cat’s teeth are properly clean and identify any issues that need to be addressed. For some cats with advanced dental disease, teeth cleaning or tooth extraction under general anaesthesia may be recommended. It is very important to treat existing dental disease as this will only worsen with time and can become very painful to your pet. Dental disease can also lead to other problems throughout the body such as heart or kidney disease.

If your cat has bad breath, doesn’t seem so eager when mealtime comes around, is eating less food than usual or shows discomfort whilst eating, these may all be signs of oral disease. Book an appointment with your vet to make sure that everything is ok!

Would you like to know more about cats? Check our Feline Courses:

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Cats, The Pet Professionals

Winter, osteoarthritis and cats

With the cold weather settling in, we tend to see our pets enjoying longer naps and not seeming as interested in going outside for their exercise as usual. Even though the poor weather can be a significant contributor to this change in their disposition, it is important to make sure that your cats are happy and healthy.

Did you know that cats can also suffer from osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease, is a progressive condition that affects the joints. As this disease causes mobility problems, it can have a significant impact on our pets’ daily routines and quality of life.

As a result, you may notice your cats are less willing to go outside or play, show less energy overall and spend more time napping. Also, you may see that they don’t spend much time on their favourite places anymore if it requires jumping or climbing. In more severe cases, cats can even have swollen joints, limp or have a stiff gait, and osteoarthritis can be a very painful condition.

As you are well aware, cats are experts at masking signs of disease, so there is no one better to detect early signs of discomfort than an attentive owner.

If you recognise any of the signs mentioned, don’t hesitate to book an appointment with your vet. Even though there is no cure for osteoarthritis, this disease can be managed with medication, household modifications and complementary therapies.

There is no need for your cats to suffer in silence!

Also, keep in mind that, as for people, it is common for clinical signs to aggravate during the cold season. So, again, if you feel that something is not right, seek professional advice.

Don’t let the bad weather fool you – there is nothing better than a nap under the warm, cosy blankets, but make sure it is because your cats want to and not because they’re in pain!

Would you like to know more about cats? Check our Feline Courses:

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Cats, The Pet Professionals

Healthy ageing in cats

The advancements made in veterinary medicine as well as owners being more actively invested in making sure their cats’ needs are met have made it possible for cats to live longer lives. As a result, a growing number of cats are reaching their golden years, and it is up to us to make sure they spend them happy and healthy.

Ageing is associated with changes that lead to decreased vitality and make our cats more vulnerable to illness. Unless they are due to disease and affect our cats’ health and wellbeing, these alterations shouldn’t be seen as negative or positive, they just represent a normal transition to a different life stage that requires some adjustments.

You may notice changes in your cats’ behaviour, such as sleeping for longer periods, changes in their appearance (like finding little ‘freckles’ in the coloured part of their eyes) and changes in the way they move about and react, such as being less mobile and seemingly less aware of their environment.

As you start noticing your cats displaying these changes, there are some things you can do to make their lives a little easier and promote healthy ageing.

 

 

  1. Acknowledge that your senior cats have different needs

Recognising that your cats will have different needs as they age and that these will change over time is the first step towards you helping them. By identifying what and how things are changing, you can provide adjustments in your cats’ daily lives that are suited to their life stage. After 7 years of age, cats are usually considered mature and at 11 years old, senior. However, keep in mind that not all cats age at the same pace, so it is important to keep a close eye on them as they grow older to look for age-related physical changes but also changes in their habits.

 

  1. Visit your vet regularly

Regular check-ups will help diagnose any problems at an early stage which will usually make treatment more effective. A number of diseases are frequently diagnosed in older cats, such as diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and kidney disease, for example. Unfortunately, we all know cats are great at hiding that there’s something wrong with them and these visits will help make sure everything is ok.

 

  1. Provide good nutrition and hydration

Again, a different life stage means different nutritional requirements and proper nutrition is one of the most important factors in keeping your cats healthy. There are diets specifically formulated for senior cats; however, you should consult with your vet to understand the best option for your them. If your cats have a medical condition, they might benefit more from therapeutic prescription diets than from a normal senior diet.

Encouraging drinking behaviour is also essential to keep them hydrated and promote kidney health as cats tend to neglect drinking even more as they age.

 

  1. Monitor your cats’ weight

As cats are great at hiding signs of disease, carefully monitoring their weight becomes vital as sometimes weight variations will be the first (or only) indicator that something might be wrong. Gradual weight changes are not easy to notice from just looking at them, so you should weigh your cats frequently, and a 500g loss might not seem like much but, for a 5kg cat, it represents a significant 10% body weight variation.  Keeping a register of your cats’ weight is the easiest way to keep track of these variations and to see if something is wrong.

 

  1. Provide environmental enrichment

Physical and mental stimulation should always be an integral part of your cats’ lives, just make sure you provide toys and activities appropriate to your older cats’ different abilities.

 

  1. Make adjustments to their home environment

Given enough time, most older cats will develop arthritis which will decrease their mobility. If you have stairs at home, one thing you can do is make sure your cats’ essentials are all on the ground floor – feeding area, sleeping area, resting area and toileting area. You can also use ramps to facilitate access to higher spots and lower the entrance to the litter box for easier access. Grooming might also not be an effortless task for an older cat, so that is something where you can definitely help. Providing warmer, padded beds will also be highly appreciated as senior cats don’t have the same capacity to keep their temperature stable as they did when they were younger.

 

We hope you find our tips helpful and that your cats enjoy their golden years 🙂

 

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Frostbite

All of the major festivities have passed but as we take down the glittering ornaments and bright lights, Winter has just started. The gloom of the long nights and the freezing cold weather are here to stay for a while, so we feel this is a good time to remind our community that our pets might suffer from important injuries due to the cold.

Cats in particular might wander around and get stuck in cold sheds or get caught outside without shelter, which puts them at a slightly greater risk than other pets of getting frostbite.

Frostbite is caused by exposure to cold temperatures and the colder it is, the less time is needed for damage to happen. The skin reacts to extreme cold by constricting blood vessels as a way to keep core temperature stable, which works very well as a survival method! The problem with reducing blood circulation to limbs and other exposed areas is that these might freeze over.

When this happens, the cells are heavily damaged, causing tissue death and a lot of problems down the line. Limbs, ears and tail are the most common places where cats might suffer from frostbite.

Frozen tissues can be pale, grey or bluish in colour and brittle. As they thaw, redness, swelling and pain will set in. With time, dead tissues change to a black colour and they might become infected and fall off. Depending on the severity of the frostbite, your cat might require extensive treatment and even amputation of the affected area!

Cats with diseases like diabetes mellitus and heart disease, among other issues, will have reduced circulation and will be more at risk, so pay extra attention to the time they spend outside.

If you suspect your friendly feline might have frostbite, call your vet immediately but DO NOT rub or massage the affected area or try to warm it up with direct dry heat or hot water.

 
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Cats

Could you please stop that?!

Cats are loving animals that utterly captivate us and, let’s face it, we couldn’t live without them! But have you ever thought about the number of things they seem to come up with just to annoy us? We’ve put together a list of the ‘Top 4 Most Annoying Cat Behaviours’, and are going to take a moment to try to figure out if our cats are deliberately trying to make us crazy.

#1: Scratching

If you have a cat and a sofa, you know what we’re talking about. Usually, we scold them and shoo them away to stop. But we shouldn’t be reprimanding them for doing something that comes naturally to them.

Scratching is used for claw maintenance and communication. Cats have special scent glands in their paws, so besides creating a visual mark that identifies the scratched object as their own, they’ll also leave their distinctive scent that reinforces this message.

The best approach to scratching is not to stop them from doing it, but to provide appropriate alternative structures that they can scratch.

#2: Running around at 3 am

Sleeping all day, running around all night; this is the one that might actually make us go insane.!

Again, cats are naturally more active at night. It’s just how they’re biologically designed. But you can teach your cats to be active at different, more convenient hours by feeding them and encouraging them to play during the morning and earlier evening hours.

#3: Dead – or worse, dying – presents

Cats are brilliant hunters. Even when they are properly fed, they still hunt out of instinct. In the wild, cat mothers bring home dead, injured and even live prey to progressively teach kittens how to eat, kill and hunt themselves. Male cats do this too, and it has been theorised that there might also be an element of bonding in this behaviour as well.

The ideal outcome in this situation is if the ‘teaching experience’ doesn’t get dropped on our face!

#4: Always on top…

… Of our heads, if we’re sleeping and miss breakfast time. Well, this one is on us, we can’t blame the cats.

… Of whatever we’re trying to do: this one has a simple explanation. Even though they might not overtly admit it, our cats love us and are just trying to get our attention. Either that or the laptop is feeling warm and cosy, and it is obviously the best place for our fluffy sovereigns to sit on.

… Of the kitchen counters: cats like vertical territory and the kitchen counters/table/bookcase/refrigerator just happen to be higher than the floor. This also comes out of instinct, since cats are both predator and prey and being on higher ground will give them access to a wider visual field.

… Of wherever, knocking things over – specialists haven’t gotten to a consensus on this one, so we guess this is the one that has got to be on purpose! (Or well, maybe they just want our attention and don’t realise how pricey that vase was…)

The bottom line is: no, our cats are not trying to annoy us, these behaviours are deeply rooted in cats’ natural survival instincts and come out naturally for them. We just have to find alternative ways for our cats to express them. If we’re being honest, this is what makes us love them so much anyway.

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Cats

‘Purr’fect Summer Body

Even though your cats won’t be self-conscious about exposing their chubby bodies on the beach this summer, you should be concerned because overweight and obesity, for people and for pets, shouldn’t be seen only as an aesthetic problem. Those extra pounds are harmful to your cats’ health and well-being, as overweight cats are more likely to develop heart problems, joint complaints, respiratory issues, and diabetes among others.

So, what can you do to help your feline friends shed those extra pounds?

There are many approaches to weight loss, and you should always seek veterinary assistance before you start your cat on a weight loss journey. One of these approaches is through taking advantage of a cat’s natural behaviour. If you try to create an environment as close as possible to a cat’s life in the wild, not only will they start to lose weight but they will also be happier.

The first thing you’ll need to address is their food intake. Are your cats eating the right amount of food? How many times a day are they being fed? Is the food you’re feeding them appropriate to their life stage? Are you giving them extra treats? A cat’s natural instinct is to eat small amounts of food, several times a day so try distributing their allowed food into several small portions throughout the day.

The other significant component of virtually every weight loss strategy is an increased activity level.

If your cats are severely overweight, a gentle, gradual start in increasing their activity level is needed. You can do this by making their feeding area a little more difficult to access (e.g. placing their eating bowl in a higher platform), or using a puzzle feeder, adding an extra challenge to an every-day routine.

You can engage in playful activities with your cats by tapping into their predatorial instincts simulating moving prey with different kinds of toys, which will encourage chasing and pouncing and will increase their activity overall.

Having a cat tree or a tall structure that your cats can climb onto is another great way to encourage them to play and stay active, as cats are naturally drawn to higher places which enhance their field of vision significantly.

As cat owners, you’ve probably been awoken several times by strenuous running around at 5 a.m. This is because cats are naturally more active at dusk and dawn and that’s when they’ll be more motivated to play. But don’t let this stop you! You can teach your cats to be more active at more convenient hours.

You’re probably also used to seeing your cat run like crazy for five minutes and then lose complete interest in playing with you or even moving at all. Cats have evolved to move around a lot for short periods of time and then rest for a good while, so don’t be surprised if they don’t care much for playing with you for longer than 10 minutes.

The bottom line is really to get your cat moving, so if you find an effective way of doing so, you’re doing it right!

Keep in mind that weight loss is a challenging, sometimes frustrating journey, but if you keep at it and be patient, you’ll soon see results!

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Cats, Dogs

Pet Passports

Taking our pets on holiday is a growing trend, and there is nothing like having your furry buddy with you on adventures abroad!

But did you know that your dog, cat or ferret will need a passport if they are going to travel with you outside of the UK?

Owners are responsible for ensuring that their pets are fully compliant with the rules of the EU pet travel scheme and, to do that, you’ll need to schedule an appointment with your Vet so he or she can help you meet the requirements.

To have a passport issued, your pets will need to be microchipped, and before you’re allowed to exit the country with them, there are other requirements they’ll need to meet:

#1: They must be older than 15 weeks of age;

#2: They must have a valid rabies vaccination;

#3: Tapeworm treatment if needed.

While some EU countries will allow young unvaccinated pets to travel (subject to certain conditions), the UK does not permit this.

Tick treatment is no longer a legal requirement to travel; however, regular parasite treatments are usually advised whether your pet is travelling or not.

It is crucial to acknowledge that entry requirements vary according to the country you’ll be travelling to and failure to comply with them can mean your pet will be quarantined or sent back to the country it travelled from at your expense, so make sure that you have everything up to date!

If you have any more questions about travelling abroad with your pet, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad.

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