Dogs for Adoption

Cat Care Secrets For The New Owner

There are two types of “new” cat owners. The first will appreciate that they are in effect bringing into their home a strange animal, whose nature they do not fully understand. This group might do a little research beforehand, and buy or borrow a cat care and training guide. The second group may just assume that the new cat or kitten will very quickly pick up and obey the house rules, and it is this group who are more likely to get angry and frustrated, and maybe resort to smacking or shaking the cat.

For a start, any physical punishment is self-defeating – the cat will simply learn to fear you, and make any further training even more difficult. A very effective alternative to physical punishment is to keep a spray bottle of water handy – if she misbehaves, a little spray will let her know you are not pleased.

The surest key to success with your cat house training is to try to understand how your cat thinks, why she does the things she does, what motivates her. If you expect her to do something that goes against her nature, then you better be prepared to make it worth her while. If you want to make the most rapid progress, a modest investment in a decent cat manual or guide will be richly rewarded, and you will at a stroke begin to understand “cat think” and cat care in general, and also avoid the most common mistakes.

You will find that the most rewarding approach is to encourage good behavior, either by kind words combined with gentle stroking, or some food treat. The cat will quickly learn what she has to do to earn that “reward”, and if the reward is not forthcoming, she will assimilate the knowledge that she has broken some rule.

Cats are known for their short attention span, so your training sessions should be fairly brief, ideally around 10 minutes. You want to eliminate any distractions during these short sessions, so you maximise the chances of gaining the undivided attention of the cat. The perfect location is a small indoors room, with no view outside, and no disturbances.

The essential training exercises that concern most new cat owners are to do with urination, scratching, jumping and biting.

No cat will easily take to using a litter box – it is contrary to their nature – so it is essential that you are very determined and consistent in rewarding the cat when he performs properly.

The second biggest concern is with cat scratching, a behavior that is an essential part of the animal’s nature. The provision of good scratching posts in strategic places will alleviate the problem, and spare your furniture and curtains. The surgical removal of the cat’s claws was until recently seen as an easy and permanent solution to the problem, but in a more humane age this is seen as quite a barbaric act to perform on a Cat, and one that upsets the whole balance mechanism of the cat, and is really traumatic.

A cat will not expend unnecessary energy, so if she jumps there is a reason for it. Most often, she will jump onto the window sill to view the outside world – if you want her not to jump on a particular sill, block off the view for the first 15 inches, perhaps with a piece of fabric. If there is no view, she will soon go elsewhere. Jumping onto counters or worktops or tables in the kitchen should be completely discouraged from the beginning – it might simply signal that she wants feeding.

Biting is unfortunately often encouraged in a kitchen – children in particular enjoy being bitten by young kitten teeth, and will often playfully provoke it until it bites. But that “trains” the cat that biting is acceptable, so it should be avoided. If the behavior persists, you might discourage it with a spray from your water bottle.…

General Articles

Checklist For Bringing Home Your Ragdoll Kitten

Checklist For Bringing Home Your Ragdoll Kitten

Whether you are going to the next town to get your new Ragdoll kitten or if you are having your kitten flown to you, here are some items you might want to make sure you have before you bring home your Ragdoll kitten.

o Pet Carrier – If your kitty is being shipped, then your kitten will come with one. If not, then you will want to get one to bring your kitten home in as well as use when going to the vet. Be sure carriers are large enough for when kittens get older- Medium size should be fine. If you are looking at carriers for their size, then you want to get one that is for about 20 lbs. And this is something you will have the entire life of your pet, so don’t worry too much about spending a lot because you’ll have it for a long time!

o Towel – Have a towel absorbent cloth for your kitty to rest on, and in case of a potty accident, if he is in the carrier for a long time.

o Food – Get whatever your breeder recommends or is feeding them now. If you do not like their choice in food, you will still need to have the food s/he is used to and then you can switch to what you want later. There are guidelines on how to transition cats to different foods and it’s very important to follow them.

o Water and Food Bowls – I recommend stainless steel or ceramic ones for easy cleaning. Plastic ones have been known to cause acne in cats, so best to avoid them altogether.

o Litter Box – Might as well get a big one since your kitty will need it when s/he grows up.

o Litter – You will want to have the litter that your breeder has been using, so that your kitten recognizes it immediately and wants to use the litter box. Of course, you can also transition to another litter later on – but starting out, you want the same kind your breeder is using.

o Cat Toys – Think about getting cat wand toys, catnip cat toys and even interactive cat toys – here are some to consider:

– Neko Flies

– Yeowww! Catnip Banana

– Bergan Turbo Scratcher

o Scratching Post – Again, see what the breeder has in their home and then see if you can find something similar. This allows your kitty to scratch vertically.

o Scratcher – A horizontal scratcher, like a cardboard one, allows your kitty to also scratch down, rather than up (vertically) – there are many toys out there that are multi-purpose in that they are a scratcher as well as a toy like the Bergan Turbo Scratcher

o Brush and Comb – Many Ragdoll cats don’t require a considerable amount of grooming, but it is important from a young age to get your kitty used to being brushed so that when they are 19 years old, then don’t hate the feel of it. Brushing your cat creates an excellent opportunity for pet owner and cat bonding time as well.

o Nail Clippers – Your breeder might have a recommendation as far as which kind of nail clippers to get. It is important to get them used to nail clippers and the feel of having their nails cut from a young age.…