Some cats, including those with joint problems, may benefit from a food with added supplements, like glucosamine. Or you can buy these separately and add them to their food as required. In 2007, she was one of a small group of journalists credited with breaking open the pet-food recall story, leading to her and her work being the focus of prominent features in USA Today and the Los Angeles Times. Finally, consider the matter of time. An adult cat does quite well on her own alone in the house while you work — most of the time she’s sleeping anyway. A kitten needs your time, for raising her and for watching over her to keep her out of trouble. Photo depicts the kitten, in which those eyes shows the promise of a lifetime of companionship. Try to limit exposure to other allergens. Avoid cleaning solutions, aerosol products, cigarette smoke, and strong perfumes and consider using a mask while doing yard work and housework, especially at the height of the pollen season. Better yet: Get someone else to mow the lawn, do the vacuuming, and clean the litter box. Again, keeping all allergies under control can help your body handle your cat more easily.

Welcome to the third edition of Cats For Dummies, the most easy-to-use, up-to-date reference available on one of the world’s most remarkable animal companions, the cat. We wrote this book out of love for our cats as well as respect and admiration for all cats. And we also wrote it to make a difference for cats and cat lovers everywhere. People: Some people hate cats and go out of their way to hurt them. Others — such as gardeners — feel justified taking action against cats who foul flower beds and vegetable gardens. These people all pose a grave danger to your pet. Although cats do need care, they are still low maintenance compared to a lot of other pets. Cats are wonderful pets for people who work, people who travel, and people who just want the easygoing companionship a cat can provide. Your cat always keeps up his end of the bargain — make sure that you keep up yours. You've taken everything into account: Your home. Your time. Your finances. A cat is in your future, beyond a doubt, but what kind? Even as more people than ever before have come to appreciate cats, one group of cat lovers keeps its distance — and wishes they didn’t have to. That’s because one of the biggest barriers to keeping a cat is allergies. More people are allergic to cats than to dogs, and cat allergies are oftentimes more severe as well. For people — and especially children — with asthma, cat allergies can be life-threatening.In fact, Schrödinger created his famous cat thought experiment to show how absurd the Copenhagen Interpretation was for larger objects. Rice? Wheat? Corn? What gives? Are cats carnivores or aren’t they? Yes, but not all their needs must be met by animal-based food, as they would in the wild. The commercial pet-food industry has managed to provide a diet with a high percentage of plant material that, nonetheless, keeps an obligate carnivore well fed. This balance of convenience, nutrition, and aesthetics (appealing to both human and feline tastes) has to be considered one of the great marvels of living in a modern age — and it keeps getting better, as our knowledge of nutrition increases. The cat is civilized — but never fully. As the velvety paws of a cat hide her razor-sharp claws, the sleek body, purring in contentment, conceals the wild spirit that lives in every cat ever born. The cat gave her companionship to us so that we may caress the tiger, as the saying goes, and on some level, that must surely be part of the charm. Our lives today are so far from what we were once — a people involved in the daily struggle for survival, hunters and seekers, both predator and prey. If we’re haunted by our primeval memories still, our cats are not. They live theirs every day. And we share those memories a little whenever we welcome cats into our homes. Nonjudgmental listener and ever-affectionate companion, the cat makes a difference in many lives — and with relatively little investment of time and money. Truly, the cat has found a niche again — this time, to stay. One other thing made the transition of the cat from pest control to pet possible — or, rather, one person: Edward Lowe, the inventor of Kitty Litter.

The important thing to know about vitamins and minerals is that your cat needs the correct amount — but not more. The notion that “if a little is good, a lot must be better” simply doesn’t apply in the case of vitamins — or most other nutrients. Water and cats A happy, healthy cat and a happy cat owner: We ask for no greater legacy for our work. About This Book A lot of different elements (about 60) go into keeping your cat healthy. These nutrients each play a role in keeping your cat’s body functioning well. The following sections explain the most important components of the feline diet. Protein, essential for a cat’s diet You may think you know all you need to know about cats, but we’re guessing that’s not really true. You may think you don’t need to know anything more, and we know that’s not true. That’s because we know how much you love your cat, and how much you will benefit from the information provided by some of the very top experts in feline care. Feline Leukemia Virus (FelV). This transmissible virus weakens the immune system and can cause a range of secondary illnesses. Some cats may show no signs, but symptoms including jaundice, respiratory infections, fever, and loss of appetite can sometimes be present. A vaccine is available, and it’s recommended to speak to your vet about whether to vaccinate your cat.The cat chose domestication on her own terms and chose our companionship the same way. We’re only now starting to understand fully what a wonderful gift we’ve been offered. From Humble Beginnings: How Cats Became So Popular Things You Need Before Bringing Home a Cat - even if you've already brought home your new cat, it's never too late to listen to this podcast and get the things you need: https://www.catbehaviorsolutions.org/podcast/episode/4683266c/10-things-you-need-before-bringing-home-a-cat With the evolution of the cat from semiwild hunter to loving companion animal has come a change not only in how cats are loved but also where cats are kept. Increasingly, more cats are living indoors (see Figure 1-4).

Indeed, that is why we proclaimed previously in this article that one could not physically conduct this experiment, even if they so desired. Remember, too, that what’s a fault in the eyes of some is a virtue in the eyes of others. The overexuberant affection of a bouncy big dog isn’t for everyone, believe us. We hasten to add that while most cats aren’t as overtly interactive as dogs, some really are happiest when in your face, and it’s not unheard of to have a cat who likes to play fetch. You’re not going to get a definitive answer out of us on this one, even if we had one, which we don’t. Males and females make equally good pets, under one very important condition: altering. Do not use cancer or allergic reactions as a reason to avoid getting your cat vaccinated. You are much more likely to lose your unvaccinated cat to one of the diseases you should vaccinate against than you are to ever see a tumor in your cat because of vaccination. Cats need their contemplative moments (see Figure 1-3), of course, as do we all. A cat needs time to think — about how much she loves you … or how tasty that little mousy would be. But anyone who has lived with a cat will vouch for the sincerity and constancy of a cat’s affection.Warning There are things out there that put feline lives at risk, and we want to help you avoid them. Make the bedroom completely off-limits to pets at all times. Although there’s not a pet lover alive who doesn’t enjoy a purring cat on the bed, keeping the bedroom allergy-free is probably a necessary compromise for allergy sufferers. Enough accidental and deliberate threats are out there to make keeping your cat inside seem like a very good idea. But consider things, too, from the angle of your responsibility. Are you really being fair to your neighbors if you let your cat relieve himself in their yards because you don’t want to deal with a litter box? If your cat carries a disease such as feline leukemia, is letting him out to infect other pets the right thing for you to do? And if you haven’t spayed or neutered your pet, doesn’t allowing her (or him) out to breed make you partially responsible for the surplus kittens and cats killed by the millions each year? First, no one who ever owned a cat was a dummy. Cats are delightful, social creatures who can bring much joy to your life. However, when behavior issues happen, the joy is hard to find. So for first time cat owners, it's important to learn about the species and how to provide for them in ways that will help prevent behavior issues.

Behavior issues are a main cause of shelter surrender - and shelter euthanasia is the number one cause of death in cats - so it's important to learn how to provide an environment your cat can thrive in. The possible disadvantage of adopting an adult cat is that you may be choosing a pet with behavioral problems — not using a litter box, for example. A good shelter, rescue group, or breeder practices full disclosure of any known health or behavior problems with the animals up for rehoming. Remember, however, that many animals are given up for behavior problems that can be resolved or aren’t their fault — such as the cat who’s looking at a filthy litter box every day and decides to do his business elsewhere.Even people who profess to dislike cats can’t look at a kitten like the one in Figure 2-1 without saying awwwwwww. Baby animals are all adorable, but kittens seem to have something special going for them. Maybe it’s those large eyes, following every movement intently. The oversized ears, twitching to and fro. The playfulness, chasing and pouncing on everything that moves, be it your fingertip or a piece of kibble batted across the linoleum. The tousled fur a kitten can’t quite seem to groom into the sleekness every adult cat considers her duty to maintain. A kitten is all these things — and more.