Cats & Cat Health

Did you know that cats like to nibble on their food and if left to their own devices will have little meals throughout the day? Most people including me are used to feeding their cats two meals a day. But results of feeding studies show that given the choice cats will eat up to 20 times during a 24 hour period. It has been suggested that since a mouse, a cat’s natural prey, gives about 10% of a cat’s energy needs this would require them to catch and eat several times a day.

I have found that since feeding Alfie a raw food diet to which I add a vitamin supplement, he needs fewer meals a day. I think this must be because he is getting the right nutrients which keeps him satisfied with a smaller amount of food. He doesn’t eat it all at once and does like to have a little nibble several times a day. I still put it out twice a day though  and leave him to do the rationing of it.

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I was loaned a book during the Christmas break called “The Cat Whisperer or The Secret of How to Talk to Your Cat” by Claire Bessant. If you haven’t read it you should, you can pick it up at Amazon.com for less than $10 . Its full of stuff I didn’t know about my favorite animal, the cat.

For exampe do you know how to approach a cat that doesn’t know you? She says cats should not be touched or spoken to at close quarters immediately. You should let the cat come to you rather than going to it, because the cat needs to know you are safe. If you stand away from it and speak to it it will come to you. If it doesn’t it is a shy cat and you should let it be.

No wonder Alfie bolts when my friends arrive. They all bend down and try to make friends too fast!

She also tells you how to interpret cat body language and cat vocalization and how to understand the way your cat communicates via sight, touch, hearing, smell, taste. This makes it much easier to learn how to train your cat.

Another new one on me was that cats can’t hear low pitched voices easily. That’s why when you call your cat you should use a higher pitch. I think it might also be why cats often ignore men. With their low voices cats can’t really hear men very well.

One idea you can put to immediate use is how to tell your cat what it must not do, such as scratching your furniture or carpet. I always shout at my cat, but according to Bessant I should hiss. Cats understand a hiss but are simply scared by a shout. This is also why, unlike horses, they hate you blowing in their faces, it feels like a hiss.

I really enjoyed this book and learned a lot from it.

The Cat Whisperer

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