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Exercise

A cat will get most of its exercise on its own if it goes outdoors, but will probably prefer to play with you. Your cat may love to pounce on your toes or chase a tissue tied to a string. An indoor cat may have alot more energy in the middle of the night, possibly keeping you from sleeping if it does not get enough exercise in the daytime. While kittens play and play, adult cats may forget to play if they are not stimulated.

It can be quite simple to make a good toy for a cat. Try tying a pipe cleaner to a piece of fishing line and a stick. Your cat will have a lot of fun trying to catch the "prey". If your cat is allowed outside she will get enough exercise but will still want to play with you. As your cat gets older she will not need as much exercise, and may sleep more and more. You may need to encourage her to play and possibly change her food to a low exercise or elderly cat diet so that she does not get overweight.

Diet

Cat’s bodies do not run on carbohydrates like we do. Instead they run on the protein and fats from meat. A cat cannot become a vegetarian because without the particular amino acids and fatty acids from meat, the cat will die. Most dry and wet cat foods have all of the nutrition that cats need to stay healthy. While you might think that your cat would rather have salmon and shrimp flavor what she would really like is a mouse in a can. Wet or moist cat food contains almost the same amount of moisture as natural prey, around 75% water, whereas dry food, which is easier to handle and feed a cat, has only 10% fluid. That is why it is needed to have a water source available to your cat at all time, even more if it is eating dry food. If a cat does not drink the same amount it would in the wild, its urine will form crystals from it being too concentrated and can result in kidney damage or failure. As for the amount to feed your cat, check the side of the package for instructions.

Never feed your cat: chocolate, onions, raw fish, raw poultry or raw eggs, bones and dog food. Especially, don't feed dog food to your cat because it does not contain taurine, an essential amino acid. A diet without taurine will cause blindness. For this reason, the Association of Anerican Feed Control have regulated standards about what is in cat food so that cats will have a safe diet.

Brushing Teeth

This can be a difficult task if you have not started to brush your cats teeth from kitten hood. When a cat is fed on a dry food it does not need to have its teeth brushed nearly as much as a cat fed on wet food. If a cat eats wet food as its main food, tartar will build up on the teeth and can cause infections and inflammation of its gums. To help prevent tartar build up, a cat's teeth should be cleaned about once a week. You can clean your cat's teeth with an extra soft child tooth brush or a specially made cat tooth brush. Cat tooth brushes are made usually as a sort of finger glove with little plastic bumps on them. You can use either cat tooth-paste or a solution of salt and water to clean the teeth. (My cat is a little strange and likes mint flavor, so I brush her teeth with fluoride free toothpaste.) Make sure that you don't use toothpaste that contains fluoride; it is very toxic to cat. Begin by letting the cat have a little taste of the toothpaste so that it is ready for the taste. If the cat is to distressed and will not let you brush its teeth, you can take it to the vet and they will do a thorough cleaning while the cat is under anesthesia.

Washing

Cats do not need to be washed and usually don't like it. If you start washing a cat regularly when it is a kitten it will get used to it. If your cat is long haired or very dirty, bathing can be an option. First, run water into a tub or deep sink. Make sure the water is not too hot but warmer than lukewarm, and not higher then the cats stomach. Put the cat in the water and. use a cup to pour water on the cat's back and a little bit between the ears. Using cat shampoo or baby shampoo rub it into a lather in the cat's fur. Try to get the lather into the under-coat that is close to the skin. This is difficult because a cat's fur has oils in it to make it waterproof. Avoid getting shampoo or water into the cat's eyes and ears. Make sure that you rinse all of the shampoo out of the fur so that the cat does not digest it when licking its fur later. After being rinsed wrap the cat in a dry towel or two and hold it and rub the fur dry. Release the cat into a warm and dry room and give it something to lay on. After bathing a cat will lick itself from head to tail to activate its scent glands and remove the water from its fur. Now your cat is clean even if it doesn't like it.

Innovations to Make Cat Bathing Easier

First: Usually a cat will struggle to get out of the water. You will need to restrain it, but avoid hurting the cat by holding the front paws together while one finger is placed between the paws. One person can hold the cat in the water while the other person does the washing.

Second: Cats calm down if you remove them from the water during shampooing. After you wet the cat's fur, remove the cat from the water. Let the cat stand on a towel, shampoo and place back in the clean water for rinsing.

Tip: Some people think that putting an old window screen diagonally laying down in the bath tub keeps claws clinging to it. Whatever will keep the cat from scratching is a good idea.

Trimming claws

If you plan to give your cat a day of grooming, it is always better to start with claw trimming. Your cat will be nervous so don't raise your voice or panic. A loud voice could make claw trimming even more difficult for your cat. Usually when trimming her front claws she won't be quite as mad as with trimming the back claws. Start by gently pressing on her paw pad to extend the claws. Trim very carefully, avoiding the quick (the pink part in the middle of the claw.) If the cat starts to fight you, blow gently on her face, at he same time saying "no" in a deep voice. If the cat is trying to kick you with its back claws sometimes you can wrap the cat in a towel to restrain it.

Indoor vs Outdoor Life

This is a great controversy between cat owners. While some say that the indoor life is best for a cat others think that this deprives the cat of many natural things that it would have in the wild. Many people also think that the outdoors is best for the cat, so that it can roam about and have contact with nature, but others think it is too dangerous because of traffic,other cats and il wishing passersby. One solution is to have a pen your backyard built out of chicken wire and wood, so that your cat is in closed but is enjoying nature. If that is to expensive then a simple way to let your cat out doors is to put it on a harness with a long leash and then tie the leash to something so that the cat can be out and not straying to far away.

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Bibliography

1. Understanding Cats Their History, Nature and Behavior. Robert Tabor. David and Charles Publishers 1997

2. 101 questions your cat would ask, What's bothering your cat and how to solve it. Honor Head. Quarto Publishing Place 1999

3. The book of the Cat. Editors Micheal Wright and Sally Walters. Pan Books 1980.

4. The Complete Cat Owner's Manual. Author Susie Page. Fog City Press 2004.

5. The Cat, Diseases and Clinical Management, 2nd edition. Robert G. Sherting. W. B. Saunders. 1994.