Cats & Cat Health

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Just been reading an interesting article about feeding cats fish. Seems the story about fish being a cat’s delight are illinformed. The cat nutrition site lists 8 reasons why fish are bad for your cat. These are the reasons gi

• Destroys Thiamin , which is a B vitamin
• Calcium levels are too low
• Can cause urinary tract problems
• Cats adore it and get addicted
• Heavy metals in fish
• Linked to hyperthyroidism
• Can cause vitamin E depletion leading to a painful disease called steatitis
• Fish can cause allergies

Strange that cats love the stuff when it is so harmful to them. Also what about those Egyptian ( I think) fishing cats that dive and swim to catch fish. Are they getting sick? To read the details go to the cat nutrition site.

Talking of cat food, I am on my second month of feeding my cat Alfie a raw food diet. Well I have always added raw to his diet bu this was supplmented by kibbled Nutra cat food. That way I didn’t worry about him missing some vital component of his diet. But since a couple of months ago I have been doing the complete raw diet. Big responibility

It is going well. I use chicken with bones minced finely, add some venison which the pet butcher sells minced and add some hearts and liver and some egg yolks and vitamin and mineral supplements. Basically it is the recipe that I have given here beforeb but I make changes to the muscle meat component depending on what the butcher has. I make up 2 weeks supply, divide into 6oz portions and freeze it.

He is very healthy on it and his coat is even more shiny and beautiful than it was before, plus he loves it. It is so little trouble that I can’t even say I am slaving away like a neurotic old cat lover!

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Its important to have your pet neutered. If you take a cat from an animal rescue centre or SPCA they will insist that you agree to have the kitten spayed as soon as it is old enough. If you could see all the sad cases that come to the attention of the rescue centres you would agree that this is the humane way to prevent the proliferation of strays.

A while ago we lived next door to some rather eccentric old ladies. They had a huge old house and they never went out. They even asked us not to call! They had dozens of cats that had probably been strays, that they collected by feeding them.

These cats gave birth to kittens galore which often arrived in the world on our side of the fence. They favoured our compost heap which was always nice and warm. But the kittens were sick. They had infected eyes running and sore. I don’t even think they could see and they didn’t play. It was so horrible. We saw first hand what happens when cats go feral and are never vaccinated or spayed.

Feral cats are often actually unaltered pet cats and there offspring that were abandoned by their owners . A colony of feral cats can spread diseases to pet cats and dogs in the area. Even when the cats are fairly healthy, they are often infested with fleas. When female cats are in heat, the colony can literally keep people up all night with their fighting and crying. Hungry cats will raid the trashcan and playful kittens will destroy shrubbery and soil lawn furniture.

Besides reducing the number of unwanted kittens, spaying and neutering cats provides several other important benefits. Have you ever been kept awake by the racket caused by a cat in heat? Soon the sound of your female house cat mewling pitifully at the door is joined by the yowling and fighting of every tom cat in the neighborhood. Un-neutered tom cats have a tendency to roam far from home if they are outdoor cats. Both indoor and outdoor tom cats will mark every new object with their odorous spray.

Unaltered cats are also more prone to certain types of cancer than altered cats. These cancers of the reproductive organs are very rare in cats that are altered by one year of age. In addition, unaltered cats can develop several contagious reproductive diseases.

Cats can be altered at quite a young age. Some humane societies will alter kittens as young as eight weeks. However, most veterinarians agree that it is healthier to alter kittens at five to six months.

Although cats rarely have problems after being neutered, sometimes their incisions become infected. Check your cat once a day to be sure the area has not turned puffy and red. If you notice your cat licking and chewing at the stitches from the surgery, you may need to talk to your veterinarian about using a surgery collar to keep the cat from being able to reach the stitches. In addition, while male cats can be active and bouncy without injuring themselves, female cats will need to be confined indoors for three to five days after the surgery

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Bravo! announces a voluntary recall of select tubes of three of its poultry products for cats and dogs. The pet food is being recalled because two of the products have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes, while the other product has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes

Both Salmonella and Listeria are organisms which can cause serious infections in dogs and cats, and if there is cross contamination, in people, especially small children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Healthy people with Salmonella infection may only suffer short-term symptoms, such as high fever, severe headache, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.Long term complications can include arthritis and other more serious ailments.

Healthy people with Listeria infection may only suffer short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women…

Recalled Cat & Dog Food:

Product: Bravo Original Formula Chicken Blend frozen raw food
Product Numbers: 21-102, 21-105, 21-110
Sizes: 2 pound, 5 pound and 10 pound tubes
Batch ID code (on hang tag): 236
Reason for Recall: Salmonella, Listeria

Product: Bravo Original Formula Turkey Blend frozen raw food
Product Numbers: 31-102, 31-105, 31-110
Sizes: 2 pound, 5 pound and 10 pound tubes
Batch ID code (on hang tag): 236
Reason for Recall: Listeria

Product: Bravo Basic Formula Finely Ground Chicken frozen raw food
Product Number: 21-212
Size: 2 pound tube
Batch ID Code (on hang tag): 226
Reason for Recall: Salmonella, Listeria

read the rest of this press release

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“Given a houseful of carpets, shelves,cushions, chairs, window sills, any cat will choose to sleep on the document you are using.” Dominic Courcel

“One small cat changes coming home to an empty to house to coming home” Pam Brown

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Hi folks. I just posted another cute kitten video. You can find all the videos on the video page, under “Pages” in the sidebar.

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When you go on your summer holiday who looks after your cat? It isn’t always easy to find a reliable sitter who you can with your cat’s complete care.

Each time we go away I have a tug of love with Alfie. He just hates those catteries but if we go away for more than a week I feel I must put him into one. Less than a week our neighbour feeds him, but I don’y like to bother him for longer than that. We do go away for up to 6 weeks because our daughter and her husband plus one grandchild on the way live in England, which is 13,000 miles from NZ where we live.

I am planning to get a house sitter for our next trip, if I can find one. I searched online and found the National Association of Pet Sitters. This is what they say about hiring a pet sitter:

Hiring a pet sitter is a serious process. Make sure the person you choose is trained and professional. He/she will not only be responsible for your pet, but also will have regular access to your home. We recommend that you choose a NAPPS pet sitter.

Once you have identified a potential pet sitter:

• Develop a set of questions and conduct a thorough interview
• Ask for references
• Request proof of bonding and liability insurance coverage
• Make sure he/she interacts well with your pet

Services and fees can very widely. Be sure to determine:

• What your needs are
• Exactly how much services will cost
• Whether the prosective sitter will visit and meet you and your pet before you sign her up?
• Is the attitude and approach exhibited by the pet-sitter during the initial
  meeting with your pet positive?
• Does the pet-sitter seem comfortable and confident?
• Does the pet-sitter have regular office hours? Does he or she return
  customer inquiries promptly?
• Will the pet-sitter or pet-sitting service telephone to determine if the
  client has returned home as scheduled, or is the client required to
  notify the company or pet-sitter of his or her arrival home?

I would also ask if the sitter has a cat of her own or has had catsin the past. If she doesn’t have one now why not?. You need someone who loves them.
That is a useful check list but if you don’t have a pet sitting service in your area its not so easy.

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I am warning you, this is a horrible story and wil upset you. It seems that in China’s Changchun the restaurants are serving the cat of your choice to diners. I am only reproducing this article so you can protest about it. The article comes from here: China View

BBQ cats have become a popular delicacy in China’s northeast city of Changchun. Despite health warnings from the Animal Disease Control Center, many restaurants provide live cats for customers to choose from, and then cook them on the spot.

According to City Evening report, several cats were locked in a cage in front of a BBQ shop. A waiter showed the cats to a customer, which were then killed and cooked on the spot, fetching about RMB 100 yuan each (approximately US$13).

BBQ cats have become a popular delicacy in China’s northeast city of Changchun. Despite health warnings from the Animal Disease Control Center, many restaurants provide live cats for customers to choose from, and then cook them on the spot.

According to City Evening report, several cats were locked in a cage in front of a BBQ shop. A waiter showed the cats to a customer, which were then killed and cooked on the spot, fetching about RMB 100 yuan each (approximately US$13).

According to cat vendor Lao Zhou, people eat cats, but currently no one is in the business of raising cats for slaughter; cat vendors normally collect them from households, paying 20 to 30 yuan for each.

Aside from being served in restaurants, cats are also sold in the pigeon market on Taibei Ave, Changchun city. BBQ stalls are set up in close proximity to the cat stall. According to a chef that specializes in cooking cat meat, customers first pick out a cat from the market and then bring the slaughtered animal to him. He will cook the cat for a fee of about 10 yuan (approximately US$1.50).

According to the local Animal Health Supervision Institute, all animal or poultry products sold in markets or restaurants should be killed in a designated location that meets sanitation standards and passes the food safety inspections. Currently, there is no designated area for slaughtering cats because killing cats for sale is unlawful.

According to Mrs Li Xiuyun, Chief of the Changchun Animal Disease Control Center, people are misled by the myth that eating cats is beneficial to one’s health. On the contrary, cats can be infected with many types of parasites, which can be passed on to humans if they eat an infected animal.

Let’s hope they all get a good dose of a nasty parasite. This is on a par with the dancing bears. I don’t know what can be done- any ideas on how we can protest about this?

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I love this cat picture don’t you?

A Sweet Cat Picture

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What do you think about the current campaign by PETA against cat & dog breeders?

PETA believe that cat and dog breeders are a problem because they add to the cat population when there are hundreds of cats in shelters that are killed because there is no home for them. If cats were not bred the homeless cats and kttens could be saved.

I have never thought about this issue before and am not sure what to think at the moment. So I would love to hear what you think about it.

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