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An ear mite infestation is misery for your cat. The constant itching and noise as they move around in the ear canal makes cats scratch their ears and shake their heads. The scratching leads to pain and inflammation. If your cat has coffee-ground-like gunk in her ears, she almost certainly has ear mites. The most common treatment for ear mites is a special medicine prescribed by your vet. Anecdotal evidence suggests that spot-on parasite prevention medications containing fipronil can kill adult mites and prevent infestation; ask your vet about this. Because the mites can live outside the ears and sometimes even on the feet, your vet might suggest a special shampoo. Untreated ear mite infestation can lead to inner ear infections and hearing loss.
Cat expert and animal communicator JaneA Kelley is the webmaster and chief cat slave for Paws and Effect, a weekly cat advice column by cats, for cats and their people. |
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When deciding where to put your litterboxes, keep a few factors in mind: 1. Make sure you have enough boxes for the number of cats in your home. The general rule is the number of cats plus one. If you have three cats, you should have four boxes. 2. Place the boxes in multiple locations. If you have more than one level in your home, consider having a box on each level for easy access. Do not place all the boxes right next to each other in the same location: that is just one big box. 3. Ensure that the litterbox locations are easy to get to for the cats in your home. Placing them too far out of the way can make it difficult for your cats to find when they are needed. 4. All locations should allow for a quiet environment to use the box. You don’t want to place the box in a location that is loud or has unpredictable sounds, events.
Miranda K. Workman owns Purrfect Paws Animal Behavior Center, LLC in Western New York. |
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In more ways than one, cats are one-of-a-kind creatures for whom a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t quite work. Thus, it is very important to figure out what the overall space inside your cat’s litter box should be. You’ll want to make sure there is enough room for the cat to defecate or urinate in a couple of areas and still have a clean place to put its paws. If the space is so small that a single deposit in the box uses up a lot of the litter surface, your cat will be discouraged from wanting to step back in there and use it again. What you want to avoid is having one out-of-litter-box event – that can all too easily become a hard to break habit.
Radio show host and pet expert Tracie Hotchner is the author of The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible. Click here to follow her on Twitter and be sure to check out her website. |
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Anywhere that your cat spends a lot of time, dander can accumulate. These areas can (and should) be cleaned by treating them with a dander-destroying spray. That includes a cat condo or cat tree, the backs of chairs and sofas, wall-to-wall carpeting and area rugs, and cat beds (or dog beds if the cats also spend time snoozing on them). A great spray to look for is X-O, a biodegradable organic product that is a cleaner and odor neutralizer, originally designed for use directly on humans in hospitals. It can be sprayed anywhere kitty has left an odor.
Radio show host and pet expert Tracie Hotchner is the author of The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible. Click here to follow her on Twitter and be sure to check out her website. |
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Getting a cat bite or scratch can be a very serious medical issue for people. So if you have a cat that needs a wound medicated or other procedure that would cause him or her to be aggressive, consider a muzzle made just for cats. You slip the muzzle on just for the few moments it takes to do what you need to do for the cat’s own good – and the muzzle keeps you safe.
Radio show host and pet expert Tracie Hotchner is the author of The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible. Click here to follow her on Twitter and be sure to check out her website. |
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The most important quality to look for in a carrier is that it fits the cat. The way you know that a carrier fits your cat is that she can lie down, stand up straight, and turn around. A useful rule of thumb is that a carrier should be no more than one and half times the size of your cat – or, said another way, the length of your cat, plus half as long.
Radio show host and pet expert Tracie Hotchner is the author of The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible. Click here to follow her on Twitter and be sure to check out her website. |
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The covering of the platforms and cubbies in a cat tree makes a difference in whether your cat makes frequent use of and gets pleasure from the tree, or whether she ignores it (and it becomes an imposing dust-covered statue in your living room!).
Soft surfaces are usually the most appealing to cats, which is why most are carpet-covered. Make sure that the carpeting and sisal on a cat tree are well secured – especially if you have a very active cat.
Radio show host and pet expert Tracie Hotchner is the author of The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible. Click here to follow her on Twitter and be sure to check out her website |
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No matter how much you wash them, some plastic bowls will always retain odors. Plastic can also harbor bacteria, which then can irritate the cat’s chin. The best way to feed a cat wet food is to give up the idea of a bowl entirely and serve meals on a nice big saucer so that your kitty cat doesn’t have to press her chin down into a bowl of food, which can often cause blackheads on a cat’s chin.
Radio show host and pet expert Tracie Hotchner is the author of The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible. Click here to follow her on Twitter. |
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At least once a year you should toss out your litter box(es) and get a new one. Even if you have gotten into the habit of washing out your boxes, the plastic absorbs odors and even if you keep it clean, the box itself may become unwelcoming to a cat with a super sensitive nose. The point of super vigilance towards litter box cleanliness is not just for the sake of hygiene but because an unclean box can lead a cat astray doing his business somewhere really regrettable.
Radio show host and pet expert Tracie Hotchner is the author of The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible. Click here to follow her on Twitter. |
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The answer to which litter you choose will depend on your cat’s personality, habits and preferences. By observing your cat’s actions, you will be able to tell whether or not the litter you bring home is the right one. Obviously, the biggest clue is if your cat is not using the box: if you have given her a good sized litter box in a desirable location (and you are keeping it clean) then the cat is most likely avoiding the box because of the texture of the litter in it. This is what is technically called “the sensation of the substrate” – with some cats it takes a bit of experimentation to find a likable litter.
Radio show host and pet expert Tracie Hotchner is the author of The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible. Click here to follow her on Twitter. |
