How to Care for an Elderly Cat

Despite his old age, that does not mean you can ignore your cat that looks cute and lively at first. Instead, he requires more attention and affection. Since old cat has trouble taking care of themselves, fur became matted and dull.

My cat, Bagus

Some conditions that usually occurs in elderly cats:

• Tend to have stiff joints and will be less agile in moving, so he needs a lot of help.
• His teeth also contribute to comb fur, old cat will lose some teeth so he can not comb his hair properly.
• Claws grow too long so needs to be cut because it could hurt him, besides old cat is no longer as active as before.
• Older cats often become more stressful and more needed attention.

How to care for an elderly cat:

• Put a warm blanket on a bed of your cat. Make as comfortable as possible for him to rest.
• You can warm the food before serving. Elderly cats usually do not like to eat, due to the teeth decay and swelling of the gums. 
• The older cat will be more frequent sleep. Do not give him too much food. Since if he's eating too much, he will be more beds. It can make obesity.
• If the cat is too fat, give diet. Consult your doctor for diet cat.
• Check the health of your cat on a regular basis. Examination usually be done in the teeth, gums, blood and vaccination.
• Do not leave your cat alone. If you had to leave, send someone to look after him.
• Wash his ears and face with a wet towel

Give your elderly cat privileges before he died. In return for the happiness that he gave his life for you.

How To Care for Cats To Prevent Toxoplasmosis

Dom and Min

One of the scary thing for the owners of pets like a cat or a dog is infected with Toxoplasma. For that, we need to know how to care for a cat to avoid toxoplasmosis infection.

Some people prefer cats as pets because they are considered loyal and adorable animals, fun to love and play with. But one thing of concern by the owners is a matter of Toxoplasma infection.

Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by infection of Toxoplasma gondii (T.gondii), classified as a coccidian parasite. For people who have a normal immune system function, it may be a mild infection. However, if it infects people who have impaired immune systems, the infection may be more severe and cause symptoms such as fever and enlarged lymph nodes. But in some people, there are no symptoms and are detected during blood tests.

Things that can cause infection by the parasite Toxoplasma are as follows:

1. Touching or direct contact with the feces of animals such as cats or dogs that are infected. Cats usually get this infection if eating mice, birds or other animals that eat raw meat.
2. Eating contaminated meat which was raw or undercooked.
3. Not clean in washing fruits or vegetables that have been contaminated by manure.
4. Children whose mothers contaminated with Toxoplasma, this is because the parasite can pass through the blood stream and infect the fetus.

Generally, Toxoplasma excreted from the body through feces and not from cat fur. In addition, most cases of toxoplasmosis caused by eat raw or undercooked meat that are already infected.

This does not mean you do not need to maintain the cleanliness of the cat. Therefore, you need to know some important things in how to care for cats to prevent toxoplasmosis, as follows:

1. Avoid direct contact with feces, if you want to clean the litter box, you should use gloves and wash your hands afterwards. Clean the stools 1-2 times a day and use a special sand for cat litter.
2. Give dried or wet food that is specifically for cats and avoid giving raw food such as fish or meat.
3. Keep cats indoors to prevent him eating mice or other animals that may be contaminated.
4. Bathe your cat at least 3 times a month or once a week using cat shampoo, and dry his fur.
5. Give vaccines for cats according to age. Give toxoplasmosis vaccine and rabies vaccine for cats.
6. If your cat shows signs of illness such as loss of appetite, more silent or less agile, colds or diarrhea, immediately consult a veterinarian.

Do not forget to wash your hands every time you play or contact with cats. By maintain the cleanliness of the cats and their cage, cat care will be safer for health.

How To Train Cats To Use The Toilet

Blacky

As many people know that cats are clean animals. Cats will dig the sand and throw dirt into the sand pit and then buried again. Unlike the dog that did not do it.

If you have additional toilets will be very useful for use in the training, and the toilet can be used also as a special cat toilet you later. However, if no additional toilet is not a problem, the cat could share toilets with their owner.

Kitten is easier to train than an adult cat, but with perseverance, you can do it. Make sure the kitten is big enough so that he will not fall into the toilet.

You can start by moving the box of sand / cat litter beside the toilet. Take your cat to the sand box and let a few days until the cat get used to the new location of the sand box.

Then lift the sandbox little by little until the height of the toilet. Use something safe to hold the sand box so that when the cat jumps in it will not fall.

Next, move the sand box at the top of the toilet seat, use the duct tape so that the sandbox is not falling. Now you can gradually begin to reduce the amount of sand to be a thin layer.

At this stage, make sure you dispose of cat feces in the sand box that has been placed over the toilet. Let your cat get used to the sound of water and the atmosphere toilet. If the cat is accustomed to, you could perforate the sandbox about 10cm diameter. Enlarge the hole a few days and then gradually until remaining side of the sand box. If your cat is accustomed to defecating there, you can begin to move the sand box of the holder / the toilet.

At this stage your cat will have difficulty standing on the toilet because of slippery, because it is already used to using the sandbox. You can make a handle of wood placed on the wall for a while until the cat accustomed to.

If you find your cat poop in the toilet, praise him with stroking or gently pat his back. Conversely, if he did not do it, do not scold him.

How to Care for Cat Wounds

My cat, Golden

Of course you will be very worried when you saw your cat wounded. Although it is not considered as disease, but it can be fatal for your cat. Even just a minor wound.

Cats, by nature have been given the ability to care for their own injuries. They will instinctively licked clean by of any injury. But that does not mean we should not loose responsibility.

If your cat suffers only minor injuries, you do not need to worry. You can take care of yourself. How? scissors fur around the wound and clean the wound with hydrogen peroxide 3%. If not, can be replaced saline solution. 

After that, let the cat take care of the wound itself. Your task is to watch it, just in case of infection. If injuries occur, you have wrapped it with a bandage and bring your cat to the doctor.

If your cat get injured that makes him uncomfortable,try these tips:

• Clean your cat wound with clean water.
• Apply antiseptic then cover with a bandage so that the cat can not lick the wound and make sure the antiseptic does not seep through your bandages.
• After 2 days, remove bandages and clean the wound again.
• If the wound is not bleeding, just let wound open,  this will result in the cat's wound will dry quickly and allow your cat lick the wound, it will also speed up the healing process of your cat.

Well, that's how to deal with minor wounds on your cat, however, attention can not be reduced. Check it out because if the wound continues licked could possibly happen infection or even skin diseases. If that happens you must keep the bandage, and then every 2 days you have to pay attention to the cat's wound if it has dried up or not. Keep an eye on your cat so that he does not hurt.

How to Bathe a Cat

For those who not familiar, you maybe debts to bathe your cat personally, but the cat is very like bathed. And keep in mind that cats are animals who love cleanliness the most compared to other animals. 

Actually it is not difficult to bathe a cat (or cat grooming). Indeed, we should familiarize ourselves bathe your pet without having to go to the pet shop. We can save energy, save money and save time, and our cat hygiene also more secure. In addition our cats will also close and dear to us. From now on do not hesitate anymore to get used to bathe your pet.

My cat, Blacky, playing in garden

Preparation, tools and materials

1. Hot / cold water
2. Fluffy towels
3. Special teeth brush for cats 
4. Cat fur dryer (hairdryer)
5. Cat brush comb
6. Cat shampoo or medication shampoo (anti-lice shampoo, anti-fungal or anti-bacterial)
7. Cotton
8. Specific cat perfume

Directions

Before bathed, check around  the parts of cat's body, since there might be a sore. Fungus usually attack the chin, armpits, inner thighs, soles of the feet, tail and base of the tail. Scabies mites most often affects the outer ear and the ends of the inner ear. Lice fleas often attack the top of the head, chin, armpits and groin folds. Remember the sore part, because your cat need shampoo and combed when bathed. 

Once everything has been completed, and the whole cat's body has been examined, we began to seal the cat ears with cotton. Make sure the water can not enter into his ears while being bathed. 

Pour cold / warm water to whole body cat (small cats should be bathed with warm water), scrubbed gently so the water can seep up the basis of his skin. Make sure the water around the fur get wet skin. Medications will not be effective when the water and shampoo is not reach the skin. In cats with long fur and thick you can easier sprayed using high pressure water. 

Then give the cat specific shampoo throughout the body from head to tip of tail, while massage / combed  with finger. Be careful when giving shampoo in the area around the eyes and nose (face). Make sure shampoo does not get into eyes. Afterthat felling, brush and clean the parts that are sore with a toothbrush. Be careful when combing the wounded. Make sure the shampoo in for 5-7 minutes for body lice, fungus and bacteria that cause disease die struck shampoo medication. 

Rinse / flush the entire body with water to clean cat. Check back the parts that sore. Apply shampoo once again, while cleaning / brushing back the parts that wound. Flatten shampoo and let back 5-7 minutes, then rinse until clean, and make sure there is no shampoo left in his fur. 

Dry cat with a soft towel, then dry cat with a hair dryer as combed. Aims to eliminate sweeping hair loss and accelerate hair drying. 

Make sure the fur and the whole body dry reaches the cat skin, especially in areas with dense fur and a relatively difficult as abdomen, hind legs, the area between the back legs, tail and foot. 

Incomplete drying and moisture will create an environment suitable for the growth of fungus. 

Once the cat fur really dry and neat, then the last spray a bit of perfume specifically for cats. 

How to Take Care of a Newborn Kitten Without a Mother

My cat, Dom

A kitten may require special care because their mother died, sick, rejected, or abandoned kittens. Actually, if possible, kittens should not be separated from its mother before the age of 5 to 6 weeks. The longer a mother cat nursing care for the kitten, the more healthy kittens.  Here are some steps you can follow to take care of a newborn kitten without a mother.

As soon as you find the kitten, protect him from the cold. During the first week, kittens should be kept in temperatures between 31 to 33 degrees Celsius. Over the next two weeks, they still require a temperature of about 27 degrees. When they reach the age of about 5 weeks, they were able to survive at temperatures below room temperature.

If possible, take the kitten to the vet to check the general condition and the possibility of dehydration. Kittens who are dehydrated because of lack of fluids or diarrhea, will have little energy or appetite, so it's important to take care of immediately. The bed should also be checked to see if there was a worm or parasite. The vet can give you lots of advice on how to raise a kitten and what things that may be required. 

When you have brought the kitten home, you should still keeping warm. Find a warm, wind-free and closed place in your home.`

Giving milk can be done using eyedrops or treatment bottle (available at the vet). If you use eye drop tool, be careful not to force put milk into kitten mouth. Let kitten suck the fluid at their own pace. If a kitten is old enough to feed themselves, the milk should be put on the bottle. Remember that all equipment to be used must be sterilized first.

For feeding your cat, place her stomach on a towel or textured surface. Open mouth with your fingertips gently, then slide the tip of the bottle nipple between its jaws. To prevent the entry of air into the cat's stomach, hold the bottle in a 45 degree angle and push pull bottle slowly.

Milk should be warmed to body temperature and conform to the kitten, given every 3 to 4 hours. As they get older, give milk every 6 to 8 hours. Check the milk packs to determine the amount and frequency of feeding is recommended. A kitten usually takes about 8 cc of milk for every ounce of body weight per day. When a kitten has gained sufficient milk, there will be air bubbles around the mouth and stomach will look round. Each finished eating, help the cat to be burped by carry over your shoulder and pat her back slowly. Do not give too much food for kittens because it can cause diarrhea and other problems.

Kitten's weight should be weighed regularly to ensure they grow well. You'll soon know when your kitten is healthy, they grow up very quickly.

Mother cat is also caring for their kittens both organs, the mouth and anus. With a belly lick, a cat pushing dirt in the stomach and clean it up later. Foster mother cat should also rub cat's stomach and buttocks gently using cotton balls or tissue dampened with warm water. This will encourage the disposal of kitten feces and keep the baby clean. 

When you feed and clean the kitten, wash their fur with a warm wet towel. It will help in cleaning the fur, teach them to clean their fur, and gave him a feeling of attention.

Cat's fur need to be cleaned and exterminated from fleas. Anemia caused by fleas can hinder efforts to rescue the cat. Additionally fleas often carry worm eggs. Your veterinarian will use a flea spray suitable for kittens. Always check the instructions for using the product to be used on kittens. After using the spray (as described in the bottle), put the kitten on a towel that can be moved along with the dead fleas, 20 to 30 minutes later.

After successfully kill fleas, bathe the kitten with a mild soap. Kittens aged 1 to 3 weeks may be dried carefully using a hair dryer (not pointing to the face of a cat). Kittens are more often frightened by the blast and the sound of it, so dry them with a towel as you can and put them in a warm box.

If required you can start weaning when the kitten is 4 weeks. Begin by giving him milk in a bowl. Then slowly give solid food. You can also dry cat food moistened with milk or water. Do not expect kittens can be weaned in one night. When he began to eat from a bowl, cut through bottle-feeding.

Canned cat food can also be used to introduce solid foods to cats. Young kittens can not chew dry food without any water. Check the instructions on the packaging of food delivery and buy high quality cat food. 

Changes in diet can cause diarrhea, so always pay attention. This is because diarrhea can be fatal for young kittens.

4 weeks of age is a good time to introduce the kitten litter boxes. Put the kittens in the box after each meal. You need to take a walk and teach kittens scratching to cover the dirt. Usually kittens can learn quickly.

In addition to food and warmth, kittens also need emotional closeness. Some experts believe that cats are treated with care tend to be more intelligent, loyal, and have a deeper affection to their owners. Coach cats also recommend the same thing even swear that the love and attention they facilitate the training process.

Caring for orphaned kittens can be very difficult and foster parents may even lose nursed kittens. If a kitten dies, foster parents should not blame themselves. 

A kittens often die at birth, in the first week, or when the weaning process. However, with common sense and the ability to care for (accompanied by accurate knowledge), you have a wonderful opportunity to raise orphaned kittens to allow him to be adopted.

How to Care for a Cat with a Fever

My cat, Waffle

Cats will have fever when she response or reaction to an infection or disease attack also known as' pyrexia '. Cat's normal body temperature is 100 - 102.5 ° F (37.7 - 39.1 ° C). For measuring / take a cat body temperature may be difficult to the less skilled. However cats will show some signs of fever as follows:

• Fatigue. - Your cat is not active as usual and ignore his favorite game.
• Loss of appetite. - your cat will not eat and drink.
• Breathing with a constant speed. - Breathing seemed short of breath.
• Chills. - High temperature causing your cat uncomfortable and can cause tremors.
• Show pain when held / touched even lightly touch held.
• Showed no response or to be reckless things always take attention. For example, often it is love 'catnip' but not when he had a fever.

When your cat's body temperature rose 102.5 ° F (39.1 ° C), you should always keep an eye on your cat regularly check your cat's body temperature. Always provide a cool drink to prevent your cat from dehydration. Lower the temperature in the room / rooms of your cat by installing a fan or aircond. Never bathe your cat when the cat is cold as this can only worsen state.

If your cat's temperature rose to 105 ° F (40.5 ° C) quick take your cat to the nearest vet. Cat fever for several reasons including frequent: -

• Infections
• Boil 
• Dehydration
• Is receiving treatment hormonal balance
• Diarrhea
• Many serious diseases such as FIP cats, FELV and others.

Note:  Each time after you bathed cat, your cat's body temperature will rise and the cat is not strong antibody will cause your cat's body temperature . Prevent your cat will be entirely from the hit " Heat Stroke "where the entire internal organs such as the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and the brain stops working due to a too high body temperature.

How to Take Care of a Pregnant Cat

My cat, Waffle and her kittens

When we begin to realize that our cat was pregnant, of course we started anxiously. It felt so glad to have little kittens, but also anxious because we do not know how to take care of a pregnant cat. Moreover, we are concerned how the cat gave birth later.

Keep in mind that the cat is pregnant for about 2 months or about 55-65 days. It's important to know when our cat was mating, to be able to know how long she was pregnant.

The age of cat is also very important. Cat that have been aged 18 months will have a much smaller risk than those younger one. Apart from that, the selection of suitable males should also be a concern, choose males that his body is not too big, so the size of kittens are not too big, because later may cause trouble once born.

To find out if our cat is pregnant or not is not an easy thing. Your veterinarian will usually recommend to perform ultrasonography examination in gestational age of more than 3 weeks. Although it can estimate the pregnancy by touching the back of the cat's abdomen, ultrasonography is obviously much better and accurate. After a gestation cats over 6 weeks, can also be done radiography or x-rays to estimate the number of baby cats.

When cat is pregnant, she has different nutritional needs. Pregnant cat requires a higher protein, like a kitten. Therefore a pregnant cat can be given kitten food until two months after giving birth. A comfortable and safe rooms should also be given. Do not let our pregnant cat too much running or jumping. During pregnancy, cat should not be given any drugs or other chemicals that can interfere with her pregnancy.

If the cat has entered the final stages of pregnancy, we must prepare the appropriate place of birth. Using a modified cardboard and covered with cloth or newspaper can be helpful. This place will also be used to keep the kitten.

We also need to know the signs of cat ready to give birth. When approaching birth, the cat's breast enlarge and usually begin issuing milk when palpated. Cat would rather be alone and looking for a darker and secure place. Cat appetite usually decreases and her body temperature will drop. 

For cat who have been given birth before, the cat's habits should be noted, such as the length of pregnancy and birth process. In this case, if the pregnancy is longer than previous pregnancy, the cat should be taken to the vet to do radiography to see position of the baby cat. Your veterinarian will decide if the cat will be given an injection of an incentive to give birth with caesarean. 

Normally, if the kitten is more than one, birth process is usually range within about 30 minutes to 1 hour, and varies up to 4 hours. If it is too long or the next kitten did not come out, cat should immediately be brought to the vet.

Some mother cat can not give birth properly without human assistance. For this cat, the owner must know how to help a cat give birth. Cloth, vacuum, scissors, thread and place for kittens are a few things to be prepared. Shortly after the kittens came out, we had to open up the placenta kittens then cut the umbilical cord. Make sure that there is not much blood out and wipe carefully. The vacuum is used to suck fluid from the kitten mouth and nose. Then rub the kitten's body until she was breathing and cried. After making sure the kitten crying, she can be brought closer to her mother to get milk.

How to Care for Your Sick Cat

My Cat, Blacky

Is your cat sick? It's a pretty distressing for owner and cat lover. For those of you who are experiencing this, do not panic! Learn how to take care of your sick cat in this post. 

So, how to care for your sick cat? The easy way is take him to the vet. However, you should also be able care for a sick cat at home. This time, I will share about how to care for a sick cat at home. Here are ways how you can do if your cat is sick:

• Of course if you are not a vet, it is recommended to bring your sick cat to the vet. Follow the instructions given by the doctor. If necessary, you can write all the restrictions that are given to your cat sick.
• Provide a special area for your sick cats, sick cat put you in a place away from the crowds, for example corner. Give the cat blankets on their beds and other supplies, such as litter box.
• Pay attention to the cat's food, write down the advice of your vet, sick cat should be given foods rich in protein, vitamins and minerals for good health. 
• If a sick cat looked weak, he should be fed a soft or liquid diet, give the cat food with your hands. The liquid can be placed in a plastic bottle. Gently caress your cat, this way is expected to increase the appetite of your cat sick.
• When you live in an area with cold temperatures, you can provide heating. Use a thermometer to determine the temperature of sick cat, you need to check the body temperature of  cat at least twice a day. You can do this in the morning and afternoon or evening.
• Check the pulse of your sick cat. Place your fingers on the inside of the thigh cat, and count the number of beats per minute. The normal pulse rate is between 110 and 130 pulses per minute. Heart beats between 90 and 100 times per minute.
• Replacing bandages. You can do this only if instructed by your veterinarian.
• Keeping records. If your cat is recovering from surgery or have a serious illness, you must keep track of recovery. Record your cat temperature; how much he ate and drank; frequency of urination and bowel movements; times and the amount of drug administered, and changes in his condition.
• Contact your veterinarian. If you find things that seem odd, to ascertain the cause your cat sick. Contact your veterinarian if your cat having diseases such as anorexia or inappetence, coughing, dhiscencee, depression, diarrhea, discharge and odor, fever, bleeding, swelling, pain, fever, pale, regression or vomiting.

Warning

• Always tell your veterinarian if there is a change in the condition of your sick cat.
• Make sure you have enough medication for your cat.