Home Features FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS WHEN A CAREGIVER DECIDES TO ADOPT/ ACQUIRE A CAT...
I must reiterate that cats are mainly house creatures, and require love and attention. They enjoy clean and peaceful surroundings. If anything displeases them, they are likely to leave, and may not return.
Cat bed
As cat owners must know, cats would sleep for as many as fifteen hours a day, and much of that sleep takes place in the daylight hours. They are not deep sleepers – hence the term “cat nap” – having perfected the art of light sleep while still getting rest. They do appreciate comfortable sleeping quarters. You should initially earmark a draft-free corner for the cat bed, which could be a towel; a soft, flattened cushion; or one of the many options that are available on the market. Do not be perturbed if, after all your effort, he/she prefers to sleep elsewhere.
In choosing a cat as a pet, you have agreed to live with Mr/Ms Independence! Eventually, he/she would identify with a favourite spot, and the bed could be positioned accordingly. Cats instinctively seem to like high places to sleep.
Urinating and defecating in the house
Are you prepared to have your feline ward defecate/urinate in the house? An important need for the housecat is its litterbox. We are lucky here. Because cats are so clean, they naturally migrate towards the litterbox. In other words, they are easy to train.
The litterbox could simply be a flat pan lined with newspapers, on top of which you may place clean sand/ straw/sawdust to serve as litter. It should be close to double the length of the animal at adulthood. Of course, the commercial market also offers litter box/litter options and those you may find more suitable to the management of odour and urine absorption.
After a meal, you should place the animal in the box, and move its front legs in a scratching motion, the same movement that cats make after they defecate. It is a simple and straightforward approach to house training your new kitten/cat. If you have chosen to make a litterbox, keep it clean, and change the litter daily, or even after every usage. If you have purchased a litter box and litter, then follow the instructions for cleaning.
Washing the pan regularly and disinfecting is important. Please dry the pan to remove the disinfectant scent. Cats do not seem to like the smells of soap/bleach/jeyes fluid/pine sol.
Scratching the furniture
Are you prepared to accept the scratches on your furniture? Let us acknowledge that all cats in “catdom” love and need to scratch, due to the genetically anchored need to sharpen their claws. But should we be offering our prized (and expensive) furniture to fulfil our cat’s needs?
At the outset, let me tell you what you must not do. You do not try to stop the cat from scratching by using some unacceptable, cruel methods. You do not beat the cat, or try to hurt its paws. You need to train your pet as soon as you acquire him/her. A simple and successful regime involves the construction of a scratching post. Tack a piece of carpet onto a one- or 2-foot-high post that is firmly fixed to the ground. Show the cat how to use the post by holding the front legs and moving them down the carpeted post. You may even decorate the post with a toy, that bobs up and down, which would serve as playful distraction.
There are several types and styles of commercial scratching posts that you may consider, instead of constructing your own.
May I also suggest that you begin the training exercise while the animal is a kitten, or before it begins to get into the habit of scratching the furniture? If the cat still seems to prefer your furniture to the scratching post, then place some naphthalene balls near to the predilection spot (e.g., on the furniture legs or on the flat surfaces of the bed, wardrobe, cabinet etc.), but out of reach of the cat. The smell would act as a deterrent.
Another option, though not preferred, is to surgically remove the FRONT claws. This procedure must, of course, be done by your veterinarian, and to be considered only in those obstinate cases. Your veterinarian would guide you in making this decision if he/she considers it as the only alternative to having to get rid of the cat from your home.
Cat fights
Cat fights also represent a big problem that cat owners must acknowledge. Usually, the fights are between males. Most of the time, these fights take place during the mating season, and may involve cats that you own, or your cat and one that is roaming in the neighbourhood. Cats fight viciously and without remorse. The injuries are sometimes life-threatening. And it is not easy to part the fight, not so much because it is dangerous to the persons who interfere, but because the fight does not take place in one spot. They may begin fighting on your property, but the continuous fight could end up in the yard of your neighbour twice removed.
So, what can you do? Saying “Shoo, kitty! Shoo!” will surely have no impact. Pulling the tail of one cat away to dislodge his jaws/claws from his adversary might result in a serious laceration on your hand. Cats are that fast.
I suggest you make a loud noise to distract them, or douse the fighting pair with water from a water-gin, bucket, or garden hose. That sudden intervention would perhaps give the cat that is not faring too well enough respite for him to beat a hasty retreat. You may also consider neutering the animal, as intact males are more inclined to aggressive behaviour. Unfortunately, there is really no proven successful way to separate fighting cats. Please be careful when you intervene, but intervene if you should.
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