Cat Behavior
When you first take a glance at this you may think to yourself, feline training, is that even possible? Well, the answer to that is yes!
We don’t approach it from the same sense we do for dogs though, and we don’t obviously hold formal training classes. Generally the type of training I do is mainly through communication with the client.
It’s surprising just how little many people know about the behavior and care of cats. This section is to help provide information to assist you in knowing what to do and what to expect in certain situations.
The new kitty or cat has a home, now what?
What do I do when I bring home a new kitty or cat? First of all, your new friend needs all the basics such as good food, plenty of fresh water, warmth, a place to sit, a litter box, and lots of love.
What do I feed my feline friend?
Let’s talk about food. If it is a kitten (under 1 years old) you should feed a good quality kitten food. Kitten food has more protein for growth. If the cat is an adult (over 1 years old) adult food should be fed. I recommend feeding a high quality food. I don't recommend using the cheap brands especially store brands, as they are not a
good as the better ones. Canned or dry? I use both. I prefer dry only because it does help keep their teeth clean. Canned food has more water In it so it does help
hydrate them. Most cats like canned food but not all cats. It just depends on
their individual tastes. Remember, no two cats are alike! In some cases, your
veterinarian may recommend a special diet.
Your cat should have access to plenty of fresh water, and I don’t recommend the toilet bowl although some cats will be insistent upon playing in it. BEWARE, small kittens or cats can fall into the toilet bowl and possibly drown. I recommend keeping the lid closed. Same applies to washers and dryers.
The kitty including older new cats should be seen by a veterinarian for a health exam, deworming, and vaccinations. The necessary vaccinations depend upon whether or not a cat is indoors only or goes out into the big outdoors.
Indoor vs.
Outdoor Cats
Many people believe it to be cruel to keep a cat indoors. I myself do not believe this to be true. They can live a very satisfying, happy, and adventurous life indoors if us humans provide the way and means. Indoor cats encounter less injuries and diseases overall which lessens the overall veterinarian costs.
Litter boxes
How many litter boxes do I need? The rule for this would be one litter box for every cat. Remember, more is better than less. This doesn’t mean that they will only use their assigned box. Each cat will use several or all of the litter boxes. The litter boxes
should be scooped at least once a day. The containers should be kept clean and
scrubbed once a week. There are several types of litter on the market such as:
Clay, paper, clumping, crystals, pine, and other natural materials. I prefer
the natural materials and, they have improved immensely in the last few years.
Spay & Neuter
Spaying and neutering our feline friends is very important. We have far too many homeless and unwanted cats in our world to forget this important procedure. Personally, I can’t even justify the average person breeding cats given the current rate of homelessness. Not only that it is better for the health of your animal. The
perfect time to spay or neuter your feline friend is somewhere between the age
of 4 and 6 months. If you are going to de-claw your cat, this is a good time to
also have this procedure done. We will discuss de-clawing in more depth further
down the page.
De-claw
The decision as to whether or not de-clawing cats is inhumane is still up for debate among cat lovers and animal rights activists. Here is my opinion upon the subject. I believe (this belief coming from my experience In a veterinarian clinic) that if the procedure is done correctly, anesthesia properly administered, and pain management is done appropriately, this can be a safe procedure. If it means the cat having a home or not having a home or worse being left outdoors it could be considered. With that being said, we basically have de-clawing done for us humans because we don’t want our furniture, carpet, etc. ruined. There are other methods that can be used to keep this from happening and without de-clawing your little friend. It takes aa little extra time, but I feel it is well worth it.
Scratching & Clawing
Okay, when it comes to scratching and clawing we have to remember this is normal feline behavior. They do this to sharpen their claws and mark territory.
There are several things one can do to help eliminate the destruction that occurs with this behavior:
1. Clip your cat’s claws with a small feline nail clipper. These are readily available at pet stores or even maybe at your veterinarian’s office. This takes some practice and you want to go slow at the beginning not tp stress your kitty. Use treats when they are good.
2. Provide plenty of acceptable scratching areas such as carpeted posts, hanging scratch pads, and cardboard scratch boxes (a favorite of my clawed friends).
3. Use effective training methods. Please keep in mind that you must be consistent for these to work which can sometimes be difficult. Water squirt bottles, noise makers etc., appropriately showing your feline where they can scratch.
4. Use deterrent sprays such as feliway.
5. Sticky pads also work. Basically this is double sided clear tape.
6. Soft paws also work but you have to remember to keep gluing them on when they fall off which varies from cat to cat. They can last anywhere from 10 days to 4 weeks.
Introducing Your New Cat To Your Dog
The trick here to go slow and easy. This is something that cannot be rushed. They need to become acquainted in their own time.
When you bring home a new kitty or cat to meet your dog you should
have the cat in a secure crate. Never leave them alone unsupervised because
this can and more than likely will result in a disaster.
Put the kitty’s crate with the kitty in it in the middle of the room. Bring the dog in on a
leash and gradually let the dog check out the crate and it’s cute contents.
(Hopefully, you already have a fairly well behaved and trained dog that will
respond to your command to sit nicely. If not, you should probably give us a
call and get some training sessions started.) let them sniff each other and get
acquainted through the crate. Don’t be alarmed in you hear growling and hissing
as this does occur frequently. Continue doing this often until they start to
settle down. Remember: do not leave them alone.
The above is very basic information. If you have a specific situation or concern, please contact us. In home consultations vary in price depending upon location. Generally, you can expect a charge of $100.00 per hour. We will also do phone consults*.
*Telephone Consultation
Telephone consults are available - cost is $1.00 per 1minutes of consult time with a minimum of $30. Please have your questions organized and ready before the consultation call. Payment should be made online through PayPal or Venmo prior to the consultation call.
If you have questions or would like more information on any of our services, please text us at (801) 651-2676 or email us at kandy@kandyskritterkare.com.
When you first take a glance at this you may think to yourself, feline training, is that even possible? Well, the answer to that is yes!
We don’t approach it from the same sense we do for dogs though, and we don’t obviously hold formal training classes. Generally the type of training I do is mainly through communication with the client.
It’s surprising just how little many people know about the behavior and care of cats. This section is to help provide information to assist you in knowing what to do and what to expect in certain situations.
The new kitty or cat has a home, now what?
What do I do when I bring home a new kitty or cat? First of all, your new friend needs all the basics such as good food, plenty of fresh water, warmth, a place to sit, a litter box, and lots of love.
What do I feed my feline friend?
Let’s talk about food. If it is a kitten (under 1 years old) you should feed a good quality kitten food. Kitten food has more protein for growth. If the cat is an adult (over 1 years old) adult food should be fed. I recommend feeding a high quality food. I don't recommend using the cheap brands especially store brands, as they are not a
good as the better ones. Canned or dry? I use both. I prefer dry only because it does help keep their teeth clean. Canned food has more water In it so it does help
hydrate them. Most cats like canned food but not all cats. It just depends on
their individual tastes. Remember, no two cats are alike! In some cases, your
veterinarian may recommend a special diet.
Your cat should have access to plenty of fresh water, and I don’t recommend the toilet bowl although some cats will be insistent upon playing in it. BEWARE, small kittens or cats can fall into the toilet bowl and possibly drown. I recommend keeping the lid closed. Same applies to washers and dryers.
The kitty including older new cats should be seen by a veterinarian for a health exam, deworming, and vaccinations. The necessary vaccinations depend upon whether or not a cat is indoors only or goes out into the big outdoors.
Indoor vs.
Outdoor Cats
Many people believe it to be cruel to keep a cat indoors. I myself do not believe this to be true. They can live a very satisfying, happy, and adventurous life indoors if us humans provide the way and means. Indoor cats encounter less injuries and diseases overall which lessens the overall veterinarian costs.
Litter boxes
How many litter boxes do I need? The rule for this would be one litter box for every cat. Remember, more is better than less. This doesn’t mean that they will only use their assigned box. Each cat will use several or all of the litter boxes. The litter boxes
should be scooped at least once a day. The containers should be kept clean and
scrubbed once a week. There are several types of litter on the market such as:
Clay, paper, clumping, crystals, pine, and other natural materials. I prefer
the natural materials and, they have improved immensely in the last few years.
Spay & Neuter
Spaying and neutering our feline friends is very important. We have far too many homeless and unwanted cats in our world to forget this important procedure. Personally, I can’t even justify the average person breeding cats given the current rate of homelessness. Not only that it is better for the health of your animal. The
perfect time to spay or neuter your feline friend is somewhere between the age
of 4 and 6 months. If you are going to de-claw your cat, this is a good time to
also have this procedure done. We will discuss de-clawing in more depth further
down the page.
De-claw
The decision as to whether or not de-clawing cats is inhumane is still up for debate among cat lovers and animal rights activists. Here is my opinion upon the subject. I believe (this belief coming from my experience In a veterinarian clinic) that if the procedure is done correctly, anesthesia properly administered, and pain management is done appropriately, this can be a safe procedure. If it means the cat having a home or not having a home or worse being left outdoors it could be considered. With that being said, we basically have de-clawing done for us humans because we don’t want our furniture, carpet, etc. ruined. There are other methods that can be used to keep this from happening and without de-clawing your little friend. It takes aa little extra time, but I feel it is well worth it.
Scratching & Clawing
Okay, when it comes to scratching and clawing we have to remember this is normal feline behavior. They do this to sharpen their claws and mark territory.
There are several things one can do to help eliminate the destruction that occurs with this behavior:
1. Clip your cat’s claws with a small feline nail clipper. These are readily available at pet stores or even maybe at your veterinarian’s office. This takes some practice and you want to go slow at the beginning not tp stress your kitty. Use treats when they are good.
2. Provide plenty of acceptable scratching areas such as carpeted posts, hanging scratch pads, and cardboard scratch boxes (a favorite of my clawed friends).
3. Use effective training methods. Please keep in mind that you must be consistent for these to work which can sometimes be difficult. Water squirt bottles, noise makers etc., appropriately showing your feline where they can scratch.
4. Use deterrent sprays such as feliway.
5. Sticky pads also work. Basically this is double sided clear tape.
6. Soft paws also work but you have to remember to keep gluing them on when they fall off which varies from cat to cat. They can last anywhere from 10 days to 4 weeks.
Introducing Your New Cat To Your Dog
The trick here to go slow and easy. This is something that cannot be rushed. They need to become acquainted in their own time.
When you bring home a new kitty or cat to meet your dog you should
have the cat in a secure crate. Never leave them alone unsupervised because
this can and more than likely will result in a disaster.
Put the kitty’s crate with the kitty in it in the middle of the room. Bring the dog in on a
leash and gradually let the dog check out the crate and it’s cute contents.
(Hopefully, you already have a fairly well behaved and trained dog that will
respond to your command to sit nicely. If not, you should probably give us a
call and get some training sessions started.) let them sniff each other and get
acquainted through the crate. Don’t be alarmed in you hear growling and hissing
as this does occur frequently. Continue doing this often until they start to
settle down. Remember: do not leave them alone.
The above is very basic information. If you have a specific situation or concern, please contact us. In home consultations vary in price depending upon location. Generally, you can expect a charge of $100.00 per hour. We will also do phone consults*.
*Telephone Consultation
Telephone consults are available - cost is $1.00 per 1minutes of consult time with a minimum of $30. Please have your questions organized and ready before the consultation call. Payment should be made online through PayPal or Venmo prior to the consultation call.
If you have questions or would like more information on any of our services, please text us at (801) 651-2676 or email us at kandy@kandyskritterkare.com.