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Cats Skin & Coat Care.....

By following basic guidelines, you can easily care for your cat's coat and skin. Certain general principles apply to the care of all cats.

1. The coat and skin reflect your cat's general health. A healthy cat has far fewer skin and coat problems.

2. Parasites, such as fleas and intestinal worms, affect the skin and coat.
Follow the doctor's suggestions for parasite control.

3. Proper nutrition is essential for a healthy skin and coat. Discuss your cat's diet with the doctor.

4. Routine grooming not only prevents skin and/or coat problems, but also enables you to detect problems before they become extensive.

5. Most cats seldom require bathing. If bathing is necessary, use a mild shampoo, rinse well and dry quickly with towels and a hair dryer.

Dos

1. Do train your cat to accept regular grooming, beginning when it is a young kitten. Make the experience as pleasant as possible for the cat by being gentle but persistent.

2. Do keep the nails trimmed, check the teeth for tartar and examine the ears, eyes, and region and skin while grooming your pet. If you find problems, consult the doctor.

Don'ts

1. Don't lose your patience while grooming. If the task becomes trying, stop and begin later. Your cat will resist being groomed if you become angry and impatient.

2. Don't neglect mats in your cat's coat. Tease the mat apart gently and comb it out with as little pulling as possible. Always remove mats before bathing, as soaking a mat will only tighten it. If a mat must be cut out with scissors, be very careful not to cut the cat's skin. Sometimes long-haired cats become so matted that the entire coat must be clipped.

DeClawing Your Cat.....

Scratching with the front claws is normal, instinctive behavior for cats. The purpose of this activity is to remove old, worn fragments of nails. Though scratching is normal for cats, this behavior can be destructive and costly in the home and the bond between the owner and the cat may be permanently stressed. Also, some cats are aggressive to others and children and run the risk of injuring people or transmitting viruses. It should be said that declawing should be the last option for a pet owner since it is not just like trimming a nail. It is the amputation of the last joint of the cat's paws.

This article is not to deal with the morals of the decision but the candidacy, medical procedure and aftercare of a declawed cat. If you do choose to proceed it is important that you understand the whole procedure and how to care for your cat following surgery. Remember, you must take responsibility for your cat's protection and your decision. It is a decision that should not be undertaken lightly but well thought out.

It is a must that a declawed cat be confined indoors, since the claws are its primary means of defense. Many times a veterinarian will have to deal with severe injuries to a declawed cat that "just slipped out" and got attacked by a dog because they will, based on individual personality, choose either to fight or run- with or without claws.

Surgical Procedures

Declawing (onychectomy) is performed under general anesthesia and consists of surgical removal of the nail bed (basically the last joint).
Kittens should be over 3-4 months old. The feet are usually bandaged, and the cat may be hospitalized briefly. After the bandages are removed, your pet will usually be able to walk, though tenderness may be evident for a few days. Some cats especially older ones will require more time. It should be known that some cats cannot psychologically deal with the procedure although incidents are rare since cats by nature are resilent.

Kittens heal more quickly and hospitalization is usually overnight but cats over 8 mos of age may require 2-3 days of hospitalization increasing the veterinary fee considerably. Also this procedure is not advised for older cats since, as said before, cats claws are attached to the last joint therefore the whole last joint is removed.

Home Care

1. Exercise: Restricting exercise is difficult. However, you should prevent your cat from jumping as much as possible for the first 5 days.

2. Bleeding: More than occasionally a cat breaks open one of the small scabs where the nailbed was removed. A few drops of blood followed by rapid cessation of bleeding is normal this may appear like a great amount especially if the cat shakes his paws about and the blood spreds. Confining him in a dark room in a pet carrier usually stops the blood flow after 20 minutes. Call the doctor if bleeding persists.

3. It is usually recommended that normal clay or sand litter be replaced by stripped newspaper for 7 days so not to embed in wound. Some cats may not like the transition and may seek an alternate spot. This is usually temporary until the normal litter can be used again.

Notify the Doctor if Any of the Following Occur:

* Your cat's feet appear swollen or bleed frequently.

* Your pet is reluctant to walk at all even after 24 hrs.

* There is a change in your cat's general health or behavior.

You alone must weigh the advantages and disadvantages of declawing a cat but if it is a kitten don't take to long to make your decision -the earlier the better(between 3-5 mos old is usually recommended).

If you have time or are still debating, try a scratching post, it may just do the trick and as you know cats, different types may appeal to different cats. Also some veterinarians offer a plastic covering over the nails. This will have to be redone though when the nails grow out. And as always some cats will keep them on and some simply hate them and pick them off. Passive cats are best suitted for this procedure.

Try not judge people for decisions made as long as they were thought out and without malice or cruelity involved. There was a man who loved his cat dearly and the cat would play fight him. Unfortunately, this man had AIDS and risked serious infection with the slightest scratch. It was an older cat and being mean spiritted was not a candidate for adoption. He chose to declaw the cat and the cat recovered well and he continued to play fight with his owner.

I personally do not have any declawed cats nor believe in it but, there are many incidents similar to the one above or have the same mental stress involved that I have wrestle with what is right for the owner and the cat.
It is only those who take it callously that I question.

Remember, declawing is not a natural nor health saving process, though it may be the only way for you and your pet. And it is harder on the cat.

Feeding Orphaned Kittens.....

There are several possible reasons for hand-raising kittens: death or illness of the mother, inadequate milk supply and rejection of the kittens.
Hand-raising kittens is not overly difficult and is very rewarding.

Kittens need a warm, draft-free environment during the early weeks of life.
Air temperature in the immediate vicinity of the kittens should be 85-90 F for the first week of life, 80 F the next 3-4 weeks and 70-75 at six weeks.
The higher temperatures during the first few weeks may be maintained with heating pads, light bulbs or heat lamps, but great care must be taken not to overheat or burn the babies when they are too young to move away from the heat source.

Clean paper or cloth is suitable for bedding. A tall-sided cardboard box makes a safe nest and keeps the kittens inside until they are several weeks old.

Constant crying by the kittens indicates something is wrong.
Contact your veterinarian. Consult the doctor if the kittens fail to gain weight.

Feeding

Kittens may be fed by bottle or stomach tube. The stomach tube is faster, but many people enjoy bottle-feeding kittens. Your veterinarian or clinic staff can instruct you in either method.

Newborn kittens should be fed 6-8 times daily. The frequency should be gradually reduced to 3-4 times daily by 2-3 weeks of age.

Kittens must be helped to urinate and defecate by gently stroking the genital area with a cottonball or tissue moistened with warm water after each feeding.

Constant crying and failure to gain weight indicates a problem.
Call the doctor.

You can determine how much to feed an orphan kitten by considering its daily caloric requirements. The general total daily caloric requirements for kittens under 4 weeks of age are:

1st and 2nd wk of age 6 calories/ounce of body weight daily 3rd and 4th wk of age 8 calories/ounce of body weight daily

Example: You plan to feed a 1-week old, 2-ounce kitten 6 times daily. The kitten requires 6 calories/ounce body weight x 2-ounce kitten=12 total calories needed for 1 day. You plan to feed 6 times daily. Therefore,
12/6=2 calories are required each feeding. Your milk substitute contains 1 cal/ml. Therefore, you should feed 2 ml each feeding.

Solid foods should be introduced as a thin, pan-fed gruel at about 3-4 weeks of age. Over the next 2 weeks, the gruel should be gradually thickened, reaching normal, solid consistency when the kittens are 6-8 weeks of age.