Cat Facts

These facts are taken from numerious booksand websites.

Some of the many good book I have read are:

1. Cats for Dummies - A very good book!

2. Is your Cat Crazy by John C Wright (about a cat therapist).

Nutrition

• Feeding a cat table scraps can lead to a begging cat, which can be very annoying. Table scraps also are not good for your cat because they are not nutritious like their cat food is. Cats do not need table scraps as treats to make them happy. Feeding a cat treats specifically made for cats is a good treat and is a lot better for them then table food.

• Make sure to feed your cat every day at the same time so it can be on a schedule. Make a time that you will be able to meet every day - like after work so they know when their food is coming. Cats do not like to have a fluctuating schedule.

• Cat's can not taste sweets so don't bother giving your cat a taste of your sweet treat!

• Do you have chlorine in your tap water? If so let it sit for 24 hours first. This chlorine irritates the sensitive parts of your cats nose.

• If you can, leave food out for your cats at all times. Cats will graze, eat a little at a time at different parts of the day. All of my cats always have bowls of food out and they are not overweight.

• Try not to feed your cat milk. Cats do love milk but it is not nutritious for the cat. Feeding your cat too much milk will cause diarrhea. If you give your cat any at all, make sure it is a SMALL amount and you do not give it to them often.

Touch

• A cat has approximately 19 million nerve ending in its nose - a human only has about 5 million.

• Are you allergic to cats? You ARE NOT allergic to their fur, rather a protein in their saliva called dander. People believe they are allergic to the fur because they have reactions after they are pet but this is because the cats release this dander onto their fur and when you touch it, it flies around the room causing you to have a reaction.

Sight

• A cat's eyes shine at night because of a reflective layer called tapetum lucidium. This layer contains small crystal like reflective properties.

• A cat depends on their sight more then a dog does.

• Cats have been thought to be colorblind but a recent study says that cats can see red, blue and green. No one my cats loves it's red laserpointer!

Health

• Neutering a cat will extend its life span by approximately 2-3 years.

• A female not fixed will continually look for a mate unless she is pregnant. It releaves a cat's stress level to et it fixed.

Dangers

• Never ever give chocolate, any people medicine (ie. Tylenol), chicken bones or chips to your cat. Chocolate has a high amount of caffeine and can kill your cat. Any medicine that is not meant for cats should NOT be given to cats. Chicken bones and chips can get stuck in a cats throat or the sharp pieces can rip parts on the way down. This is not a good thing to let your cat eat.

• Common houseplants that are poisonous to cats are the: English Ivy, Iris, Mistletoe, Philodendron, and yew.

Litterbox Problems

• Never hit your cat, or rub its face in it's urine if it has litterbox problems! A cat will refuse to use the litterbox for many reasons. Here are some:

• A cat will not use a litterbox that is close to it's food. If both are in the same place, move the food a place well away.

• A cat wants to have a easily accessible place to get to it's litterbox. It does not want to have to go all the way down the steps to the basement, if it's an older cat. Do not put it in a spot where people run past it all day. They want privacy just like YOU do! They also want a spot where it will give them a lot of escape options. If your cat does not have a clear view of its surroundings, it may be less apt to use the box.

• Praise your cat when it does use the litterbox. Never yell sat a cat when it goes in a place your disapprove of it, and then plop it in it's litterbox! The cat will associate the litterbox with BAD.

• Do not put the litterbox in a place where there are loud noises, or it has to go past loud noises to get to it.

• Play with your cat in the wrong places it does eliminate. The cat will start to associate these places with play - not pee.

• Put a carpet runner down under the litterbox. Some cats will go next to the litterbox because the carpet feels good under their feet. A carpet runner will give them a distinction between the good sandy feeling and the cool, flat feeling of the carpet runner.

• Use clumping litters - cats have been shown in studies to prefer this because it feels like real sand.

• Some cats will NOT use a covered pan, others love them.

• Clean that cat pan EVERYDAY! I don't know how to stress this. Would you like to go pee in a toilet filled with your's and everyone else's? I didn't think so. Your cat doesn't like it either. If you don't like it, you can always buy the cat littler box that is automatic, but last I saw it ran around $170 US dollars.

Body/Bones

• A cat's tail provides the cat much needed balance. A cat moving his tail will provide a counterbalance that complements the rapid nervous system.

• A cat's normal body temperature is an astounding 102 degrees Fahrenheit.

• You have probably noticed a cat can climb a tree easily but has a heck of a time getting down. This is because a cat's hind leg muscles can easily push the cat upwards. Coming down, the cat's claws curve the wrong way and it's hind muscles are practically useless.

• A cat has more bones that are loosely connected in it's spine then a human. This is one of the reasons a cat is more flexible and you can see this in it's stretch.

• A cat has 245 bones in it's body. When they get older, their bones fuse together and the number of bones their body contains drops.

• Cat's do not always land on their feet. This is a myth. Many cats that drop from high places will break their bones so make sure you cat is safely away from balconies and windows that are open.

Grooming/Fur

• A cat will spend nearly 30% of it's life grooming itself.

• Some coat colors are linked to the gender of the cat. Most calicos are females, and most orange cats are males.

Sounds

• A cat's ear acts like an echo chamber. It can hear high frequency sounds such as noises from small rodents and other prey. This is one reason a cat can hear their owners footsteps from 100's of feet away and will meet you at the door by the time you open it!

• A cat's hearing is one of the best in the animal world.

Worms/Parasites

• Taking a cat's stool in for a fecal check will spot all worms but the tapeworm. The only way you can find out if you cat has a tapeworm is to examine it's stool. If you see a white moving rice like worm, it is a tapeworm. These are very hard to catch. Your vet will have a pill to remove them and they will pass within 2-3 hours. (Trust me - I know!) A cat with worms will have FOUL smelling, runny stools, bad breath, a bloated stomach and may eat a lot of food to try to get some of the nutrition the worm is taking. If you think your cat may have worms, take the stool into your vet to have it checked and always take notice to your cat's stool in case a tapeworm shows up. Worms are dangerous and could kill your cat by robbing it of it's much needed nutrition. My cat Sasha, had all the symptoms above. We took in two fecal checks that turned out negative. Then once I saw the worms I said something to my vet about seeing the rice like worms and she knew right away what it was. My cat up until then had not gained weight and was eating a ton. 2-3 hours later she passed an 8 inch tape worm - I kid you not! I also made sure I took her in within 4 weeks for another pill to make sure that it didn't have any eggs that hatched. If your cat has worms, make sure that after you first treat it, you treat it again about a month later. If you think your cat has worms and your fecal check is negative, ask your vet to give your cat a pill to kill tapeworms. They are hard to see so you may never see them. This way if you cat does not pass any worms, you know it is ok.

• Garlic will not kill your cat's worms if it does have them. Their are over the counter medicines to kill worms but it will only kill one type, and there are many types out there. You should bring in a stool sample with you each year when your cat gets it's checkup/booster shots. A stool sample should let you know if you cat does have worms and what type they are so it can be properly dewormed.

• Tapeworms come from fleas and eating mice/rodents with the parasite.

Other Facts

• A cat sleeps for 16-18 hours a day. Must be nice, huh? During this time, a cat is still alert to its surroundings. This is why most cats will wake up before you enter a room.

• A male cat wil reach adulthood slower then a female. It takes a male 9-12 month to reach full growth capacity and a female will take 5-8 months.

I am adding new facts every day. I am not a vet and can not give medical advice. I obtain these facts from personal experience, the internet and books. I do have three cats and I am letting you know some of the facts I have learned (the hard way) to try to make it easier on you. Please be patient as I know all the categories are not filled yet. If you have a question or comment, please contact Sp@rkles .