Cat in heat despite castration?

If your cat shows signs of being in heat despite its castration you as care giver should observe your cat's behavior closely.

False Alert

Lots of cat owners tend to worry too much as soon as their cat behaves slightly different than usual. But different behavior doesn't necessarily mean that the cat is in heat.

Quite often cats act like "mad" when, for example, a new cat invades the neighborhood, the weather changes or because you are acting differently. Sometimes even cats just wish for a little attention and want to make you know it.

Play it safe

Therefore make sure that your cat's unusual behavior is also "in-heat-behavior" before you see the vet immediately. When you still aren't sure after a few days you can take your cat to the vet and make him take a vaginal swap. With that vaginal swap vets can find out about your cat's hormone balance and if she's probabyl really calling.

Go, see the Vet

As soon as you are 100% sure that your cat is in heat despite its spay or castration you have to go to your vet immediately, because in most cases cats like that still have hormonal active ovarian tissue inside their uterus.

This ovarian tissue triggers hormone releases that make the cat think that it's in heat.

"Lost" unfertilized ova can lead to the forming of cysts inside the uterus and terrible infections that can cause a lot of pain and - in the end - even death.

Two Methods

Hormone Therapy
The vet has two methods to help our cat. The first one and seemingly easier one is to give your cat hormones via pills which make the cat think it had been served. This triggers the ovulation and "ripe" ova are harmless to the cat because they can leave the cat's body.

This method, though, isn't foolproof because hormone therapy never is totally reliable.

A cat getting this therapy will still be in heat twice a year and have to be treated with the pills the rest of her life.

Surgery
The second, seemingly more dangerous, method is to make your cat have a surgery in which the remaining ovarian tissue has to be found inside the uterus and removed. It is indeed a fiddly task for your vet because the tissue can be scattered all inside the uterus.

We, of course, wish you and your cat a lot of luck and hope that it's just a false alert!

Picture CC 2.0 by slowdown

Teach your Cat to live with a Dog

"Time is a great healer. But a bad beautician." - Mark Twain

Generally it's fair to say that it's easier the younger the two pet are and that it takes a lot of patience and love in the first place to teach them to live together in harmony.

How can I get my Cat and Dog to get used to each other?

Subsequent we listed a few tips and tricks that you should take into account when you want your cat and dog to get along.

The Dog has to match the Cat

Compatible minds are a basic requirement for a peaceful life with both cat and dog beneath your roof.

If you have a dominant senior tom cat with a healthy self-esteem the dog in contrast should be devote. That way no fights for the leading position will be fought in your home.

A shy and anxious cat on the other hand fits best with a calm and older dog who won't corner the cat through playful hunting and barking.

In most cases the wisest thing to do is to get a pup to give your cat the opportunity to get used to the dog slowly and without distress. Your cat will recognize that your new dog is still a baby and will treat it that way in a softer an forgiving manner.

A pup also will never go for your cat's throat since he hasn't learned yet that dogs usually hate cats... ;)

Divided Environments

Regardless of how nice you think it will be when your future dog shares its sleeping-place with your cat and eats from the same feeding-dish, during the lead time both cat and dog have to have enough places for a fallback procedure.

That means that especially the cat's feeding and sleeping places have to be at a height that the dog can't reach them. Also the litter box should be put into a higher place (at least as long as the lead time takes) because especially young and agile dogs tend to disrupt a cat during its use of the toilet or even eat its dung.

And a cat that's being disrupted all the time when she wants to go to the toilet will look for other places very soon - for example the garden or even your bed.

Give enough Attention

As soon as a new pet is introduced to its new home all attention is naturally and automatically given to the new one. The old (and probably boring?) cat therefore feels alone, unloved and even insulted.

Think about this: In most cases a cat isn't moody because a dog is in the house now but because it feels neglected by you! Therefore if you spend attention to both your cat and your dog both pets will feel loved and will have an easier way of becoming friends with one another.

A few Marginal Hints

To teach your cat and dog to live together there are a tricks and knacks that will help you to deal with the task.

Mark their territories
It's a common trick to keep the dog in only one room for the first week or so. Don't close that room's door as usual, though, but with an approximately 1m high panel that won't leave the dog out but allow the cat to jump into room. For small dogs like a Yorkshire Terrier the panel can be less high, of course.

The cat who loves to decide on its own when to meet the new roommate will chose the right time to jump over into the "dog-room" and also has the freedom to leave it again when it thinks it's time. This approach is a good method - especially for anxious cats!

That way the cat also doesn't feel displaced from its territory and can slowly get used to the though of having to share its home with a dog.

Leash the Dog
If you're the owner of a brave and curious kitty you can assume that your wants to know from the beginning who the new roommate is. Instead of creating a barrier with a panel you can also put the dog on its leash and wait for the cat to get near the dog.

Not to force the cat is - again - essential here.

Lure your Cat
If your dog is living with you already for one or two weeks and your cat still didn't have the courage to meet it you can try to feed those two furry noses some special treats (like boiled chicken) at the same time.

You should start with both pets being apart from each other for about 10 to 15 meters and bring them closer each day.

Good luck (and love and patience) bringing your pets together!
Your Healthycat-Team



Picture CC 2.0 by Patti Haskins

Attune your Cat to Outdoors

Cats are freedom loving creatures who enjoy their freedom - preferably alfresco. Therefore cat-owners with outdoor-cats have far healthier and smoother individuals than owners who keep their cats inside all day long.

But before throwing your kitty outside there are some points to be taken care of.

1. Is your Cat vaccinated?

Cats, as well in Europe as in the USA, should be vaccinated against a plethora of illnesses. Among those illnesses are for example cat flu and the rabies.

The anti-rabies-inoculation, however, won't be given "automatically" to your cat in most cases like all the other vaccinations. You will have to tell your vet yourself when the anti-rabies-inoculation should be given. And that is not necessary until your cat is about to go outside.

The inoculation is potent as soon as it is given but cautious cat owners and vets advice to syrenge two vaccinations and not to leave the cat out until the second one was given. The second shot needs to be dosed 4 weeks after the first one. Therefore it needs a little planning on when you want your cat to be confronted with the great outdoors.

2. Is your Cat castrated?

Especially owners of female cats should make sure that their cat gets an appointment with its vet as soon as as it becomes sexually mature. Unwanted kittens are unfavorable for the mother, the owner and - above all - for the young ones.

But also tom cat owners should more than just think about it : Castrated toms are less dominant, don't "spray" anymore (don't mark their territory) and don't lead to unwanted pregnancy in the cat neighborhood.

Nowadays quite some cats become sexually mature with just 4 months - Therefore you should make an appointment with your vet early enough, because early castrations on young cats are easier to do and also more facile for the cat.

3. Does your cat like your home?

If you want to make sure that your cat comes back after her first visit in the nature you should offer a lovely, preferably quiet home with regulated feeding-times, a cozy napping place and a lot of love.

If a cat however, doesn't like her current home (which is a rare thing to happen luckily) it might run away in order to look for a better place.

It's advisable to keep a cat at least a month inside her new home before leaving her out - especially older cats need that much time to get accustomed to its new home.

Kitten constitute an exception in this. You can attune your cat to the world beyond your threshold after 2 weeks already. For young cats not the territory is that important but their caregiver. And that would be you.

4. In what kind of Neighborhood are you Living?

Aside from the fact that there should be no outdoor cats at all in the city or near a freeway you should go for a little walk around your block and have a look at how many dogs there are running around, if there lives an alpha-tom directly next door, or even if there is a cat hater living close by who would probably poison your cat.

In case of dogs running around off-leash you should have a word with the dogs' owners and arrange an afternoon with them when they will leash their dogs. During that time you can explore the outdoors with your cat undisturbed.

The alpha tom, as a rule of thumb, is harmless to young cats and kitten. They become a menace for him, though, when they come of age and threaten his territory. Therefore it certainly is important to know where that stray cat lives and when he is active.

Sad but true: You can't do anything against cat haters except pressing charges against that person when it's too late already. It could help, though if you asked all your neighbors to help you have a stern word with him.

Attune your Cat to the Outdoors

Subsequent there will be listed a few things that you need as well as thing that you won't need at all:

The Catleash:
We all agree that the Catleash is of more use to you than to your cat. You want to fight your fear with that leash that your cat might run away or will be overrun by a car.

Trust your kitty to come back to you. Even if your cat runs away on its first day outside - it will come back as soon as its tummy begins to rumble.

An open door:
An open door is very advisable to attune your cat to the Outdoors. That way your cat will be able to hush back in whenever something scares it which means that your cat has a much better feeling outside since it isn't excluded from its home. A catflap can also be a useful thing if you don't want to run every five minutes whenever your cat decides that it wants out/in again.

Treats:
Treats can be a useful thing when you want to teach your cat to come when you call its name or when you want your cat to come back if it ran off a little too far.

A good relationship:
Leaving your cat outside without leash and cage takes a whole lot of trust. Especially from your side. A good relationship is therefore the most important thing that you need to attune your cat to the outdoors. You are in the main role here, though, because your cat depends on you and not the other way round!

You should therefore tread your cat with a lot of love and a good deal of care!

Tenderly attune your Cat to Outdoors

Cats are exploraholics by nature and won't "need" you as caregiver after their third time anymore. Most (young) cats are thankful for the company, though, because it makes them feel more secure.

An established method to attune your cat to outdoors is to feed it less than usual the day you want to leave it out the first time.

The hunger will make the cat come back - even if all the new mysteries outside would make her stay outside. You therefore don't need to worry so much and you cat has the freedom to go everywhere it wants without being on an (embarrassing) leash.

After your cat was outside for an hour or so and you want it to come back you go outside, call her name and perhaps even show her some treads. After your cat saw you and your treads you just go back inside and leave the door open. Your cat won't feel forced to come in that way.

But most cats on their first run outside won't even feel to stay outside too long. Most cats will do a few steps, seek your eyes (and their reasurement) and after that maybe go some more steps.

When your cat is too far away for your taste just call its name and give it a treat.

But by no means run after it to catch it! That will make your cat run away further because it feels either chased in a fun way or it is scared by your unusual fast movements which could mean danger.

PS: Cats are wired differently!

Please note that every cats reacts in a different manner to their first impressions of the great outdoors.

Anxious specimen and young cats might have "enough" after 2 minutes already and hurry back to their safe home. But even very cautious cats will have the self confidence to go outside on their own after a few tries when they know the environment a little better.

True tigers on the opposite might dash away on their first run already and spend even an hour or two outside all on their own. We know that that hour might feel like it will never end, but trust us (and your cat) - it will come back!

Picture CC 2.0 by Hans Pama

Is Catnip dangerous for Cats?

A long time ago the first human beings discovered the astonishing effects that catnip has on cats. Delighted by the amusing behavior of a cat being "high" on catnip they created toys filled with that herb. Those toys are nowadays pretty common and almost every cat has its own "dope" at home.

A small Documentary about Catnip and its Consequences

Catnip belongs like the common peppermint herb to the mint family. Its a native resident in southern Europe, Africa and Asia.

Neither the catnip that's filled into the toys nor the catnip that grows on our balcony or garden is directly noxious for cats. (But beware: There is one exception: The Matabi plant is related to common catnip and causes a strong addiction that makes cats stop eating and drinking until they die in some cases. The Matabi plant, though, only grows in certain parts of Asia and is not for sale in Europe or Northern America.)

The component that's so incredibly attractive to cats is the essential oil within the catnip plant. Cat's can smell and find it from kilometers away. Just like peppermint oil the pure oil of the catnip plant in high concentrations leads to skin irritations of both cats and human beings.

The concentrated oil, though, is usually nowhere for sale and so rare that it isn't dangerous to any cat and its owner at all.

There is another point, though, that's got a more dangerous character than the possible irritations catnip oil can cause (especially since almost every essential oil causes skin irritations used in a high dosage): It's the condition a cat is transferred to when confronted with catnip.

Catnip seems to be a Hallucinatory

Catnip causes trance-like conditions for approximately 50% of the cat population. Those conditions can be compared with trips human beings get on LSD.

A usual catnip-"trip" takes between 5 and 20 minutes - depending on the dosage of the herb or its oil, the age of the leaves (fresh catnip makes higher than dried leaves) and the kind of catnip.

The cat incessantly sniffs the catnip, licks the leaves, gnaws them, rolls over them and rubs its fur on the plant. The cat is in a condition far away from reality. It knows nothing but the plant as long as the trip takes.

Some cats even seem to have visions impassively staring into the void, haunting imaginary prey or cutting capers.

Catnip in Moderation is Harmless

You as a cat owner should overthink your attitude toward catnip. It's more than a mere toy. It's a druglike device that can lead to negative consequences like the loss of reality. Or would you hand out marihuana or LSD to people you like for your own amusement if it was legal? Think about it!

On the other hand cats don't seem to get abstinence syndromes (like a headache) after a catnip-"trip". Therefore the occasional play with a catnip toy is neither dangerous nor reprehensible.

Allowing your cat to have a "trip" once a week, can't really be harmful. Most of us can openers also drink a glass of vine or beer on our weekend!

My Cat bites while being Petted

Quite a lot of you cat owners will be able to relate to the following situation: Your cat mews after you, strokes around your legs purring and seeks your eyes with that expectant look in its face.

Touched by that love your cat shows you, you take her up on your lap and start stroking her. She rubs her head against you, purring passionately and then, all of a sudden, she bites your hand and beats you up with her claws.

You are now totally confused, after all you were just stroking the cat and not maltreating it. "Why", you are asking yourself, "is she biting me?"

This kind of scene most of all happens to owners of young cats. A cat biting while being petted can have different reasons for that. And you as a cat-owner have different possibilities to react to your cats moods.

Reason No. 1: Young Cats don't know their Limits

The swift shift between cuddling and playing is something kittens do quite frequently among themselves. Cats, even the younger ones, don't feel the playful bites because of their thick fur.

Therefore your cat doesn't even know she is hurting you.

Cats who bite your hand just for the devilment do it with cocked ears, eyes wide open and a pugnacious posture. Cats who are like that also won't bite just once if you let them but "hug" your hand with their forepaws and kick it with their hind paws.

Just shaking the cat down will neither make it feel dismissed but, much more, make it want to play even more.

Your possible solution: You have to show your cat its limits: Be consistent don't allow her ever to bite your hand again.

It's important, when your cat start biting your hand while you were petting it, that you just let your hand rest limply and motionless on your lap. This will lower your cat's fighting spirit while pushing it back raises it. 

Further information might be found here: How to Engage your Cat.

Cats are reasonable... Sometimes

In our opinion the easiest way to make your cat understand that you are hurt by its attacks is to tell it so in cat language. That can be done by hitting directly into her face. We know, it takes a little guts at first but it's totally worth it!

Just get face to face with your cat as soon as it bites again. The distance between you and your cat should be around 10 to 50 cm. Hiss directly into her face and make her feel gust. Usually a cat is very confused after such an attack and ceases her own attacks. If it goes on, though, hiss again - in a louder and more aggressive manner.

If your hissing doesn't work (after 5 hisses) poker it softly (!) into her ribs while hissing and make her leave your lap (by standing up).

Ignore your cat after it bit you

Another, time consuming, approach is the method of ignoring your cat. Every time your cat bites your hand while you pet it you just get up and ignore it for the next 20 minutes. But just to warn you: Cat, especially those with a high self-esteem, are not as uptight about a human-being ignoring them as a dog would be. It takes at least a month to teach the cat that you ignoring it has something to do with its biting.

Cats are definitely brighter than dogs but also much more stubborn when someone else whats to teach them something. Therefore you will need at least a week to teach your cat not to use your hand as a toy.

Reason No. 2: Your Cat is moody

Every cat has its own character. Some get angry pretty fast and some seem to be cheerful all the time - we human beings are not that different...

Cats like that don't bite your hand because they want to play but because they don't feel like being petted from one second to the other. A moody cat just bites once usually - with a sour face and a tensed (sometimes regretting) posture. Cats like that don't want to hurt you, they just want to tell you that you petted them too long or too hard.

Solution: Become more acquainted with your cat and its behavior. This kind of biting can't be reasoned with because the cat won't see its fault but only yours.

You can learn, though, to prevent bites in the future by studying your cat's body language. That way you will soon know when she's even slightly testy and can stop petting her before the cat stops it for you.

Tipp: As soon as the you cat's tail tip starts twitching, the ears are shifted nervously or the whole body is tense it's time for you to leave your cat alone.

Reason No. 3: Your cat has an Injury (e.g. a bruise)

Sometimes cats come home with a bruise or two that we can openers, of course, won't see below that thick fur.

Signs for a cat that bite because of their pain are, for example, those:

- Your cat usually never bites you.

- It just bites when you touch a certain area.

- The change of mind is very sudden and without warning.

A cat that mews very aggressively or seems to be very exhausted and shredded should probably see the vet.

Picture: CC 2.0 by kniemla

Help, my Cat cries all the Time!

Your cat is crying, meowing or even moaning as soon as you enter the room? And she's so loud that you're afraid that even your neighbors complain about it?

Some cats (by race or no obvious reason) just have a loud voice. Owners of siamese cats, for example, can tell a thing or two about that issue.

If you want to break your cat's crying habit you should try to understand first why she moans all the time.

Your cat is crying of Hunger

Cats who are hungry strike up a very individual song: She has a erected ears and is trying to catch your eyes all the time. She often already runs to the place where her (empty) feeding dish is waiting. As soon as the cat is fed she stops moaning and keeps quiet for the next hours.

This type is easy to get happy again. Just feed her. If your cat, however, is too fat anyway or frequently hungry you should offer alternative hobbies to eating. Cat nip, cat activity boards, share of kindness and affection or a new toy do the job.

A cat that's not bored also doesn't cry!

Your cat is in heat and therefore mewing

Especially toms in heat love to call very, very load and penetrate for potential takers. You can't change this situation immediately unfortunately. Just wait till your cat's out of heat and the ole lad again.

A cat crying on heat is more like a long and loud yowl that makes your bones shiver and wakes you up at night.

The only thing to keep your cat from holding your eyes open at night in the future is giving it a castration. The surgery has its pros and cons, but, believe us, there are more positive than negative aspects about it. Toms can get a castration for 50 to 80 Euro in Europe. Female cats are a little more expensive because the vet has to do a real surgery for them. Their price is around 150 Euro.

Your Cat cries for your Attention

Think about this: Have you been away from home a lot any time recently und left your cat all on its own? Cats do feel alone - Especially if they usually always have someone around.

A squalid cat mews with a slightly expecting tune, accentuated with purring and prowling around the legs. 

A cat longing for attention can be easily satisfied by spending more time with her than before.

If your cat perpetual calls for your time or you just have not as much time as your cat would like you might want to think about getting another cat.

Your Cats mourns when she's in Pain

Most cats are calmer and "slower" when they are in agony. Some, on the other hand, cry out their pain into the world. That's a positive thing for us cat owners because that way we know when our cat's in pain and can call the vet sooner.

A cat in agony cries in a miserable and pitiful way. When she's suffering for a longer time her cries might be also feeble and low. The cat usually puts her ears back and either lies there or is in a crouched posture.

When your cats mourns like that, don't hesitate to see the vet!

...Or your Cat just likes Talking

Last but not least we like to remind you of some people that like to talk all day long - even if nobody is listening.

Some cat's aren't different. They mew, yowl and tell whole stories to you, because you are a person who's close to them. Cat's like that shouldn't annoy you, however, but amuse you. Speciman like that are rare and you should be glad that you are an open-minded cat's owner.

Cats like that need a lot of love and like you to talk back to them. They like it even more if they are allowed to answer you!

How you can cook Cat Food Yourself

There are a lot of reasons to switch canned and dry cat food from the supermarket for your own self made cat food.

Be it that you want to cater a new kind of taste for your cat or that you are suspicious of a product that's entirely made of offal in times of avian and pig flu.

Even cat's that are refusing to eat their usual food (e.g. when they are sick) sometimes react very positive to self made food.

Lots of studies indicate how superior self made cooked or raw food is compared even to the most expensive cat food. And, believe us, your furry nosed friend will also know the difference!

Alternative Cat Diet: B.A.R.F.

The so called natural diet BARF (it means both Bones And Raw Food or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food depending on who you ask) which was originally used by dog breeders has also swapped into the cat owner communities. Today a lot of cat breeders feed their cats appropriate raw food which keeps their cats stronger and healthier than with canned food. Barfing is more than a mere trend: More and more vets advice their patient's owners to try the new diet because raw food is so much closer to the original diet wild cats ate before they were domesticated.

Of course, a grown cat who ate dry and canned food all her life won't eat raw meat from one moment to the other - no matter with how much love you cooked it. The changeover from normal cat food to B.A.R.F. takes time and patience.

Therefore we advice you (especially if you only want to cook cat food as a variation to her usual food) to feed your cat diligently cooked meat enriched with some other things.

A Cat Food Recipe that you can cook Yourself:

Here is a good recipe that you can easily follow and even change on your own depending on which ingredients you have:

Ingredients (for 4 serving or 2 days):

- 200 g raw, natural (free of salt and other spices) chicken
- 10 g vegetables (for example broccoli) or (soaked) wheat bran
- 4 salmon oil capsules (for each dish one)

Preparation:
Cut the chicken into medium sized cubes (approximately 1-2 cm edge length). Remember: You want your cat to chew it and not to gobble it down.
Put it together with the hackled vegetables or the wheat bran into a pot and cover it with as little water as possible.
Heat the pot and let it boil for 5 to 10 minutes until the chicken is done. Pour off the water carefully and fill one fourth of the cat food into a clean feeding dish (The remaining three fourth of the food should cool down and be put into the fridge until you need them.).
Wait until the food is tepid. Now break the salmon oil capsule and mingle the oil with the food.

It's done. Call you cat!

PS: If you aren't disgusted by it you can also cook the giblets for your cat. Giblets and other innerts are abundant in vitamins and trace elements and also very popular among cats. So if you've got 50g of giblets you, of course, only take 150g of chicken instead of 200g.

This recipe can be changed easily. For example you can take fish instead of chicken or a different kind of vegetables.

You cat will love it!

Picture: CC 2.0 by Kai Hendry

Cat won't eat after Castration

Today almost every cat - male or female - should be castrated. It doesn't only protect cats from countless infections and illnesses, it also preserves civilized countries from a cat siege that wouldn't only be bad for us human beings but even more for the cats themselves because they suffer from serious stress when they have to live with a lot of cats around.

Castration is a (relatively uncomplicated) surgical intervention. Tom cats lose their testicles in this and female cats get their ovaries cut so that they are not able to give life to any new kittens.

Testicles and ovaries are gonadals that control, together with certain brain areas, the cats' sexual drive by means of hormone releases.

When those gonadals are being removed or disabled from one day to the other without a word of warning to the cat. That, of course, is pretty confusing for the cat and the hormonal balance.

The change of the hormonal balance usually leads to an increased appetite. The first two months after the castration are here the critical time in which some tom cats who are living with careless cat owners take on a third of their original weight. It doesn't seem much at first when a cat gains a weight from 8 to 12 pounds, but on the other hand a human who gained weight from 120 pounds to 180 seems quite fat to us afterward.

But the opposite of this scenario also happens in more cases than one would think: Some tom cats (female cats are much more "immune" to it) show an alarming loss of appetite after their surgery. That also is caused by the unbalanced hormone status that confuses both the cat and also its entire body.

In most cases this lack of appetite is harmless. If a cat, though, doesn't touch her water, is vomiting frequently, shows a strong exhaustion or doesn't eat for two days you should see the vet another time, because the surgical scar might be infected.

The general lack of appetite should be gone after two months usually and your cat will have a usual lazy cat life.

You might also be interested in the following articles: My cat doesn't eat anymore, Encourage your Cat to eat again, Force feed your Cat.

Picture CC 2.0 by pmarkham

Get rid of a cat - How and by what means?

If it's the neglected cat from next door using your garden as cat litter or the alpha-tom from your block who gives all the other cats around a hard time - some cats are just annoying and need to learn where they belong and where to keep out.

Unfortunately cats strongly hold on to "their" territory. Therefore a simple "Keep off!" won't make them keep off forever. Especially alpha-toms with a high self esteem can be a tough nut to crack.  Fortunately there are several possibilities to make cats realize that's it's your ground and that it's none of their business there.

Annoy the cat's scent

A cat's nose is able to smell scents we human beings aren't able to perceive slightly. If you want to get rid off a cat on your ground you should take advantage of that fact, because some scents that you can't smell are unbearable for a cat.

A lot of ground keepers were for example able to stop a cat siege in their garden by planting some scraredy cat plants (Plectranthus caninus). However, this simple step doesn't work with all cats since some cats seem to be impervious to these plants.

A higher success rate was reached by people who clipped aromatic smelling shrubbery that contain essential oils (such as common juniper or basil) into smaller pieces and spread it in their garden. This also works with the skin of citrus fruits like oranges, lemons and grapefruits. Those smells are often too strong for the sensitive nose of a cat which makes them avoid your garden.

Another popular and well working step is to strew black peppercorns or vinegar.

By annoying the cat's scent you as a ground owner can wonderfully mark your territory in a way that doesn't hurt a cat.

Shoo the cat off and scare her away

You can also get rid of a cats by taking advantage of their jumpiness. In unfamiliar and dangerous seeming situations a cat will do a runner pretty fast and usually won't come back until everything is back to normal again. And if a cat knows that in her favorite litter-box garden there is nothing but unfamiliar and scary situations it will most probably never come back.

Unusual harsh garden keepers sometimes betake to air rifles and bobby pistols to beware their patch from cat's dung, but a cat directly hit by rounds (even if they are no "real" ones) can lead to serious and enduring injuries (like blindness and deafness). That's why we advice you to shoo the annoying cat by other means.

Always keep this in mind: Cat's don't leave their heaps in your patches because they want to annoy you but because - from their point of view - your garden is very well suited as toilet.

Instead of air rifles you can build a noise-machine yourself from an old coke-can filled with coins and gummed up afterward.

When you see the cat on your ground, you throw the can in front of it (not on it) and the noise will scare it away immediately.

Water guns have a similar effect and can make your garden look pretty unattractive to your neighbor's cat.

Apply high fences

The average cat can jump 2 meters high without batting an eyelash. They also sense electricity with their highly sensitive whiskers. If you therefore apply an electric fence around your patches (or even all your garden) it just doesn't matter to the cat. Fences will only help in very few cases. (If you want hedgehogs, dogs and rabbits to keep off, the fence works very well, of course!)

A dog for your garden

A success quote of 95% against unwanted cats on your ground is a dog. A big, grown, cat-hating dog. Cats are in most cases afraid of such specimen and look for another garden instead.

On the other hand nobody should ever get a dog just to get rid of an annoying cat. Dogs need a lot of attention, love and care - and also a potent pack leader. A dog that's not reared can do more harm to your garden than 10 cats.

Exercise tolerance

If you are not that badly annoyed by cat's dung between your potatoes there is a nice and efficient method to get rid of all the tensions with the cat-owner:

Just apply a cat litter next to your patches. A clean cat littler will in most cases lead to a cleaner garden of yours.

Picture CC 2.0 by gagilas

Force Feed your Cat?

When your cat doesn't eat anymore you shouln't force feed her before every other possibility has failed. See also: Encourage your cat to eat again.

There are two means to do that: A softer method and a more drastic one.

The first Method:

Gently press thumb and forefinger together in the area where her upper and under jaw almost meet. You can also test it out on yourself. You'll notice that you can't really help but open your mouth a little although it doesn't hurt a bit. Be careful, though, while doing it on your cat. She is sick and weak already and won't fight against it much - so no reason to use more force than really needed.

With your second hand you should put small pieces of an easy digestible food (poultry for example) on or under her tongue while her mouth is open.

Some cat owners like to draw up mashed cat food into a syringe and squirt it into their cat's mouth. That seems like a good idea at first but if the food comes out with too high pressure it can get into the cat's airways and weak as she is she probably won't be able to cough it up again. Therefore we advice you to not squirt food with a syringe directly in your cat's mouth.

If the first method fails to force feed your cat, you can move on and try the second method.

The second Method:

For this try you need mashed cat food or other sorts of mashed treats your cat likes. A good alternative for example is kitten nurturing milk which is easily digestible and also has a lot of nutrients in it that your cat needs in her condition.

The mashed food or milk should be drawn up into a thin syringe (without a needle, of course). You can purchase syringes in pharmacies usually for a dollar or two.

Gently push the syringe into your cat's mouth. It's important here that you don't head into the usual direction (tongue and throat) but for her cheeks. You can also pull up one of her lips for that. That way you don't have to force her to open her teeth. Pointing towards her cheeks you press out the food with very low pressure.

Usually a cat can't help it but swallow it now.

Make sure you don't give her too much at once. Having her tummy filled up with too much at once can make her throw up everything again!

You can feed her two to three syringes every two hours. If it works she will be strong enough to eat again after a few days.

If your cat throws up all the food you give her, however, no matter how careful you are you should go and see the vet immedietely. Your cat probably has a more serious sickness than you thought at first. Your vet isn't only able to say what your cat's illness is, he can also drip-feed her with important nutrients that will make your cat strong and fit again.

Picture: CC 2.0 by quinn.anya

Encourage your cat to eat again

Most cat-owners experience a time in their cat's live when she, all of a sudden, won't eat anything anymore and will think "God, my cat's appetite is gone". But keep calm, in most of the times your cat isn't dying of cancer, a rare virus or food poisoning. A cat's lack of appetite can have many, many (harmless) reasons.

Generally you can say that a cat that hasn't eaten for 36 to 40 hours should visit her vet. If your cat's a kitten or also hasn't touched her water, you should go see the vet after 12 hours already!

Usually the vet will give your cat, independent of his diagnosis, an appetizing compound that has an "irresistible" smell for cats.

Cats, however, don't think it's irresistable in quite a lot of cases and will also refuse to eat it. Of course, one reason for a cat to refuse it is that it doesn't only smell like meat, honey and poultry but also like a vet they surely don't like. :)

So how can you make your cat eating again of her free will?

1. Encourage your cat to eat of her free will

Cats are independent creatures who hate being forced to do something. Therefore forcing food into her should be the last of all possibilities and only be used if nothing else helps and your cat is rather weak already.

If your cat doesn't touch her feeding dish on her own you can put her food directly in front of her nose. If somebody brings you chocolates right to your bed you also wouldn't refuse to eat them, right?

Serve your cat's favorite food. All cat's have different tastes and decide on their own which food they like best. After you tried bringing her the usual dry and wet food you might try it with hacked tuna, cooked chicken, fish food (an often unknown favorite), pieces of young cheese and so on. As we said: Every cat is different. Some even like crisps, chocolate and baby food.

See also: Natural Cat Diet (BARF)

Another idea is to give your cat nurturing milk for kittens. This milk is very tasty for your cat, has no lactosis in it and is very substantial.

Please make always sure that her water dish is in direct reach and filled with fresh water. Dehydration is often worse than food deprivation!

2. Grease food around her puss

A well-known and popular method is to grease the cat's mouth with food to make her lick it off. It's a potent method that should be used only if the cat refuses to eat - even if you are holding it directly below her nose.

There is a special nurturing puree that vets as well as some trader sell. This puree is very fine (very expensive) cat food that can be used for this purpose. Cream also works, of course, has a too high fat content, though. Other possibilities are cottage cheese, baby food, liver sausage and so on.

Just mash the chosen food with a spoon's back until it's an almost uniform mash.

It will, of course, work best if your cat has a marked preference for the mashed food.

This method takes a long time because you can only smear half a teaspoon around your cat's mouth each time. You therefore often loose track on how much you fed her already and howw much is to go into her mouth still. That's why you should make small portions before you go feed her. One portion should be around two to three big spoons full.

At the beginning less (and in return more often) is more. Feed your cat once every two hours. Regular ingestion is better in such cases to make the cat's metabolism work better. Small amounts of food are just easier to digest.

PS: In some (extreme) cases cat's have to be force fed. Your vet will surely help you with your situations and will be able to give you helpful suggestions.

Picture: CC 2.0 by Daniel Dionne

My Cat doesn't eat Anymore

Cats that all of a sudden stop eating or are having less and less appetite is a common problem among cat owners.

But please read through our checklist first before running straight to your vet who probably won't tell you more than: "Seems like your cat has less appetite than before, 50$ please." 

There are a lot of criteria that lessen your cat's hunger without being dangerous at all. In fact, chance is on your side and your cat is more likely to be just "not hungry" instead of sick.

Is it hotter than 77°F / 25°C?

A lot of animals (including you, dear human-being) don't have as much appetite on hot day than usual. Therefore a cat that doesn't completely scrapes her plate in midsummer is nothing unusual. 

If your cat doesn't eat at all for 48 hours or doesn't touch her water for 20 hours its time for you two to see the vet.

Look at your thermometer: Is it hotter than 77°F or 25°C?

Is your cat cheating you?

We know more cases than you would think when a cat betrayed her owner by eating the more tasty food of a neighbor. Of course those cats didn't have much of a hunger left when they came home which resulted in an untouched feeding dish and a worried cat owner.

You should ask yourself: Where in my neighborhood can "open" feed dishes be found? Which neighbors are likely to leave a "strange" cat into their homes to feed them?

Is your food good enough for your cat?

Cat's are gourmets - even if we human-beings think different of that smelly cat food. Cats have an incredible sensitive nose and know right away if the stuff inside their feeding dish is good enough for them or not. Therefore a cat doesn't touch food that is even a slight bit bad for her. She just won't eat it.

Also, tastes are different. Also among cats. Some cats love beef, other cats hate is and only touch poultry-food. They also distinguish food by brands. Some cats just don't like the expensive food and prefer the discount food much more.

Cats are even that sensitive that they are able to dismantle recipe changes. A cat knows what her food is made of. And she won't touch it if she doesn't like the changes.

You should ask yourself: Did I buy different food? Did the food-producers probably change the recipe? Or is it older than expected?

Is your cat weary of her food?

If you would have to eat chicken tikka masala for breakfast, lunch and dinner, how long would you be able to stand it? Two days? A week? Or even a month? No matter how long, some day you would be just sick of it and rather eat nothing at all than single spoon more of it.

Your cat isn't that different from you. A lot of cat owners buy cat food once a month and feed the same food every day to their cats. Even if it's the most expensive brand with the best ingredients for shiny fur and whatnot your cat will probably eat it for a week or two but refuse it after a month! 

If your cat doesn't eat anymore after you fed her the same food for one month you probably know now what you have to do to get her tummy filled up again... ;)

Is your cat in love?

Male and female cats in heat are producing different hormones than non-calling or neutered cats. Those hormones can cause a lack of appetite that stretches over 3 to 4 days. This kind of a lack of appetite is completely harmless. (By the way: Freshly neutered tom-cats also eat less than usual after the operation: Their hormonal balance hasn't switched to the new level yet and they have to get used to it for a week or two.)

Look into your cat's face and tell me: Is he/she in love?

Conclusion: In many cases a lack of appetite is harmless

As you can see in most cases when a cat won't eat anymore spontaneously it's totally harmless and a little patience and maybe a little change in the feeding rituals can fix the problem. You very rarely need to encourage your cat to eat but wait and trust nature.

As most animals cats just know how to treat themselves. A stressful, expensive and sometimes even unnecessary visit at the vet should only be done in the urgent cases.

More tips can be found in our next article: My cat refuses to eat!

Picture: CC 2.0 by law_keven

Your Cat is Missing? - What you can do to get her back!

Cats like to be on the move - sometimes even for several days. In some cases, though, the beloved cat doesn't come back (alive) ever again. To miss a cat is bad but not knowing if she will ever return is unbearable: Was the cat abducted, run over or is she just away for a few days chasing after some other cat she is in love with?

Many cat owners ask themselves sooner or later what they should do to get their kitty back when they suspect that their cat can't make it back to them on her own.

The following tips have been carried together to help you when you need it and (hopefully) help you to get your cat back.

My Cat ran Away - What should I do Now?

1. Stay calm. Cats love to get lost once in a while straying through the city or the forest exploring areas they never saw before. They are as curious as we are ourselves and want to undergo adventures as well. Especially young cats that have never been missing before for a single night are the ones that cat owner's worry about. But just imagine: How were you when you came of age? Weren't you also straying around the one or other night chasing after other teens and giving your parents awful sorrows?
   
   Therefore: If your cat is a young one and just missing for 20 hours it is most likely that she will return in a few hours with an empty stomach and the desire to sleep a whole lot!
   
2. Pick up the scent. Where does your prowl around? Where does she go after she ate something? Where is her favorite tree (from which she probably can't get off)? Do you know how far your cat's territory stretches? Is there a new cat on the block that scared her away?
   
   After two days of not coming back home you as cat owner are finally allowed to worry about your cat. Fill your bags with tasty treats and look for her in her "inner" territory one to two miles around your house. Please don't be afraid to shout her name loudly. Nobody (except of idiotic teens) will think of you as an idiot when you are trying to get your cat back!
   
   Many cats will come back as soon as they recognize their beloved can opener's voice.
   
3. Contact your neighbors. In quite a lot of cases cats don't feed of just one feeding dish (that would be boring, right?). So it might be that she came over to one of your neighbor's dishes and decided to stay there for the holidays.
   
   Apart from that: A lot of neighbors notice cats being on their ground and will tell you if they saw your cat. (You might want to show a photo of her if she's a hard to describe cat.)
   
4. Call animal shelters. The internet as well as the telephone book are of great help here. They will tell you where in your area animal shelters can be found. Those animal shelters take care of straying (or hurt) animals because a lot of people who find lost-appearing pets on their way hand them in. Those shelters can and will help you! Even if they don't have your cat they might give you further tips.
   
   Hang up posters. A very good method to find your cat is to hang up posters with (good) pictures of your cat and some basic information about you and her. You should at least write down your phone number, describe your cat and tell her name as well as other abnormalities. It can even be helpful to mention what kind of character she has.
   
   Sad but true: A lot of people just don't care about your personal loss as long as they don't see a profit from helping you. Therefore a finder's reward is highly motivating for people like that to help you with the search. Everything below 100$ is in most cases not enough for people to even lift their eyes upon your poster. But well, neighbor's children will always help you for a few bucks. If you want more people to help you, though, your reward should be higher.
   
   It's very helpful if you put little stubs with your number and name as well as your pet's name to the bottom of the poster. That way more people will help you because it's less effort to them to write down your number.
   
   The poster should be at least in A4 and you should make at least 20 copies (up to 100) to ensure that everyone sees that your cat is missing.

Good luck!

Picture CC 2.0 by markhillary