Four Fantastic Tips to Prevent Urinary Blockage in Cats

By Jeffrey Grill

Cat urinary infections, as any cat owner will tell you, is something to be taken seriously. It is surprising to see the number of cat owners who have no idea about cats urinary infections. They all seem to think that urinary infections in animals are not as serious as they are in humans and can be treated easily with antibiotics. If you think so too, you need to read this article fully.

First of all, let me make something very clear. Urinary blockage in cats is as common and as dangerous as it is in humans. So, you should observe your pet closely and look for symptoms of this problem. If you do, you should immediately take it to a vet and get it treated properly. If not, this problem could be fatal.

When you suspect that there is something wrong with your cat, you can take it to a vet and treat the problem accordingly. Still, it involves a lot of pain and suffering for your cat and a lot of mental agony for you - the cat owner. So, what I am saying is very simple. Why wait for a problem to occur and then treat it? Why not prevent it completely? That's right ; you can take steps to prevent cats urinary infections. While not certain, it will help. Let me explain how you can do that.

1. Your cat's diet is the most important factor that decides its health. The food that your cat eats should have high water content to keep it hydrated. The food you feed your cat should be high quality and contain organic or at minimum ingredients that you recognize.

2. Make sure your cat drinks plenty of clean water. Dehydration is the cause of a lot of health problems in animals. So, you should always make sure it stays hydrated.

3. Clean your cat regularly. There are special shampoos and soaps available exclusively for gentle animals like cats. You should use them and keep your cat clean. This will reduce the chances of infections considerably.

4. A popular way to prevent urinary blockage in cats is by giving a small dose of homeopathic supplements regularly. These supplements are extremely powerful and can prevent urinary tract problems in cats. They can also boost your cat's immune system amazingly well. By making these supplements a part of your cat's regular diet, you can make sure your cat stays healthy and active for a long time.

Just try to follow the tips I have mentioned above and you will be surprised to see the results. Like I already said, preventing cats urinary infections is very easy - you just need to give your cat the right kind of food and the right supplements. So, take action today and take good care of your cat.

Cats Feel Emotions Better Than Humans - And They Are Intuitive Too

By Dilani Mallikarachchi

Understanding your cat will help you to lesser the conflicts you have with your loveable pet. Cats are really intelligent creatures. As they live side by side to us, they are much aware of our emotions and feelings too

I once read in a newspaper article, about a cat that lives in a hospital. It can feel when some one in the hospital is about to die. It has been stated that he would silently sleep on the patients bed, who is about to die. And even much educated people like doctors couldn't figure out how he felt that. But I think it is a pretty good example for cats understanding our feelings. In an incident like loss of a family member, they grieve as much as we do.

But we got to admit that they are not humans, so, we can't teach them anything in the way we teach our children. Cats would not ask questions and they act upon facts, the way they understand. Sometimes it will be something totally different from what you meant.

You don't have to be a cat to understand your loving cat. Your cat loves you, adore you for the way you are. If you spend little time with him, he will teach you lot of things about him. So you will be the teacher and same time the student.

Always try to be reasonable as we have the upper hand in strength, it doesn't mean we can always use it in a relationship. Be patient, never punish your pet. When your cat displayed a bad behavior, associate it with a negative consequence like a huge noise. Don't associate the negative incident with yourself by punishing. Otherwise it may send a wrong message to your cat that you are a scary person. Scratching biting and hunting are complete normal behaviors for cats. Their mothers taught them those. So, they look at you if you are insane to get upset for such thing. Provide them alternative to play or scratch without hurting yourself or damaging valuables.

A cats' mother will bring dead animals to her kitten to show that it is their source of survival. So, next time when your cat bring home a dead mouse or a bug, instead of being mad and picturing your pet as an evil cat in cartoons, think that he is trying to teach you the way of survival(for poor and helpless humans right).

Bad behaviors of cats are easily avoidable after knowing the tactics. Be sympathetic of your cat. After all he is living in a man made artificial world in the way we want. Nature hasn't gifted them many instincts about the world we human created. But they are willing to learn. So, teach them and make sure it is taught in a way they understand.

By understanding your cat you could have a greater relationship with your pet. And most importantly, he will have the most satisfied time with you. So, I wish you all the best.

You Can Toilet Train Your Cat!

By Justin Mann

It's not difficult to learn how to toilet train your cat if you have the patience to go through every single step. Actually, it's rather simple. It may take only a couple of weeks or at most a few months. The more slowly you go through each of the requisite steps, the better the chances are that your kitty will master this new accomplishment.

This is certainly something you ought to at least attempt. Toilet training your cat will save you much money, will get rid of unacceptable odors arising from the litter box, and is among the most environmentally friendly decisions you can come to. The following are a few simple steps for those who would like to give this a try.

The first thing you must do is to shift the litter box gradually so that the cat learns to do its business in a new room. Thus, you want to shift the litter box in increments. This may take you a fair bit of time, but it's essential for your cat to figure out that the bathroom is where it now has to go to relieve itself. You can move the box an inch at a time or you can do it in smaller or bigger increments, whatever works best for your cat.

After the litter box is located right beside the toilet, the next step is to elevate it. Slowly build up the base so that the litter box is eventually the same height as the toilet. Make certain that when you do this that you also securely fasten the box to the base because your kitty will now have to jump in order to do its business, and you don't want to have to clean up any accidents. Phonebooks and cement bricks are good options for this foundation. After the base is at the same height as the toilet and the cat is accustomed to utilizing the box at this height, you want to shift it nearer and nearer to the toilet, and then gradually slide it over until it's on top of the toilet. The entire time, you should be reducing the quantity of litter progressively so that there's only about an inch of it remaining.

You're now ready to move to the last step of this operation. Substitute the litter box with an aluminum pan that you fasten to the toilet. Eventually, you'll get rid of the litter entirely and cut a small hole in the bottom of the tray. Gradually increase the size of the hole until all the cat is using is the toilet itself!

There are lots of reasons why you should learn how to toilet train your cat. Visit Cat Toilet Training to find out why and how you can easily teach your cat to give up its litter box and use the toilet instead!

Incontinence in Older Cats

By Robert D Hawkins

Incontinence in older cats is a somewhat unpredictable condition that may place a cat owner in the awkward position of having to make difficult quality of life choices. While some causes primarily seen in very young cats can be ruled out, others cannot. In this informational pet care article title "Incontinence in Older Cats" we will briefly cover six of the more common conditions that could lead to incontinence in cats and one that is often misinterpreted as incontinence.

*Urinary Tract Disease - Urinary tract disease is a broad topic that many require more research on your part. The good news is that if recognized early enough UTD can be treated effectively. The two most common areas of UTD as it applies to incontinence are urinary tract stones and bacterial infection.

a)Urinary tract stones can occur anywhere in the urinary tract and can produce incontinence. These stones are generally a combination of calcium and/or magnesium and can cause partial or total blockage of urine. If the urine backs up into the bladder leakage is a common symptom. In older cats stones can produce the added risk of infection due to an aging immune system.

b)Bacterial infection - Once bacterial gains access through the urethra infection is likely to occur in older cats. Once the infection starts to spread throughout the urinary tract your cat may start to urinate in inappropriate or unusual places. Also, urination may become painful leading to failure to completely empty the bladder thus producing incontinence or leakage problems.

*Bone and joint pain - Arthritis is common in older cats. They just can't quite make it to the litter box. Some simply feel it is more important to avoid the pain than to make it to the litter box. Additionally, this factor should be considered when purchasing new more easily accessible litter boxes

*Memory loss - I know it is hard to believe but many cats over the age of 14 have some memory dysfunction. They forget where their litter boxes are located or fail to remember how long it takes to get there.

*Tantrums - Often time's older cats develop an attitude. They are use to being fed at a certain time or receiving special treats. If things don't go as planned they become agitated and feel the only way to get your attention is to let the urine fly. While this is not urinary incontinence sometimes cat owners mistakenly make that assumption, particularly in older cats.

*Disease - Certain serious disease such as feline leukemia will lead to incontinence in cats. If none of the more obvious signs are apparent a visit to veterinarian should be considered.

*Urethral fatigue - Sometimes the urethra just wears out. It fails to open, close and retain urine as well as it once did.

In closing, incontinence in older cats can be caused simply by age or something more serious. Ultimately your veterinarian is probably your best source for determining and treating the specific cause.

Additionally, many pet owners are opting for natural supplements for urinary tract health to both prevent and treat many of the common causes of incontinence in older cats.

Healing Bladder Problems in Cats the Natural Way

By Laura Ramirez

Bladder problems in cats can be painful, chronic and life-threatening. Sometimes, the drugs given to treat this condition can make them worse. In this article, you'll learn three practical steps you can take to help your cat get better and stay that way.

First, you need to understand why drugs, antibiotics in particular, are not always the best solution for bladder problems in cats. When people think about using antibiotics to treat a condition, they assume that drugs will heal the problem, but this is not the case. Drugs do not heal anything; they only mask the symptoms, while the body heals itself. The fact that some conditions become chronic means that drugs don't always work.

Beyond this, drugs are hard on the body. Antibiotics have side effects that can worsen your cat's suffering and even prevent the body from healing itself. They also kill good bacteria that ward off infection. Worse yet, antibiotics can interact with medications your cat is taking for other conditions.

So what's the alternative? Long before drug companies existed, homeopathic remedies have been used to heal infections in humans and pets. As more and more pet owners become aware of the harsh effects of drugs, they are using holistic remedies on themselves and on their pets for things like urinary tract infections and bladder stones in cats.

The reason more people are using holistic remedies is clear. First, these remedies actually heal the conditions that caused the infection or bladder stone in the first place by giving the body the nutrients it needs to heal. Second, these remedies restore a proper pH to the bladder, so infection cannot grow. Third, they have no side effects and fourth, they will not interact with any other medications your pet might be taking. Holistic remedies are an effective, inexpensive solution for bladder problems in cats, whether your cat has an infection or bladder stone.

In addition to giving your cat a natural remedy, make sure your cat gets lots of love and attention, healthy, organic cat food (the chemicals in processed food can upset the pH of the bladder) and lots of fresh, clean water.

Stressed Cat? 6 Main Causes of Stress in Cats

By Luke Blaise

Do you have a stressed cat? Cats can experience stress just like people, and just like us they really only have a few ways of coping with stress. Here are the 6 main causes of stress in cats.

1. A new member of the family: This new member could be a new cat, dogs, baby, or some other being.

2. A sudden change in their schedule: If you get a new job with different hours, travel frequently, or change their feeding time, it can really stress a cat out. Cat's like routines, and changes in them results in stress.

3. Rearranging your furniture: Cats like to mark their environment so they feel safe and they know it is theirs. If your cat finds furniture moved or new furniture it can make them feel helpless.

4. Moving to a new home: This again makes the cat feel helpless, because nothing smells familiar and it will take some time before the cat feels safe again.

5. Death of a family member: Cats can sense when a human or pet has died or at least the pick up on feelings of grief.

6. Fear of dogs or other pets: New cats or dogs in the house, or even animals outside the window can cause a cat to feel uneasy.

These are the 6 main things that can disrupt your cat's life. One way a cat expresses itself in these situations is through behavior problems, which is only when most owners realize the stress their cat might have felt. If you think you have a stressed cat, figure out what has changed recently in the house.

Ouch! Why Does My Cat Bite Me?

By Dilani Mallikarachchi

Main reason for your cat to bite you when playing or petting is, because he is not made aware that it is wrong. So as the owner, you can easily avoid such a thing by using simple tricks.

If your cat bites you all the sudden for only single time, most of the time you can ignore that as he may does that when he is feared or confused by another intruder cat etc.

First of all, if your cat bites when playing or petting, don't drag your hand out as it can make him bite harder. If he bites, freeze your self and then slowly pull your hand towards him, so he will get confused and loosen up. After your cat biting you, just stop whatever you do with him for about five to ten minutes and let him know that biting takes away all the fun. Never punish, as punishing will make him misunderstand that you are someone to be feared. So, he will run away when he sees you. If course you don't need that to happen.

Make a huge noise by slapping a shoe on the floor or any other way, so, your cat will reconsider before biting you, whether he wants to hear that huge noise again or not. Sooner he will stop biting.

There is much genuine way too. When he bites shout much painfully as possible. He will be amazed because he loves you and hasn't got any intention to hurt you. He will stop biting you,HAVE A PLEASANT TIME WITH YOUR CAT.