July 29, 2010
I've been watching the number of subscribers grow for a while and realized we've had quite a jump in readers! Thank you all, and welcome! We are a community of cat lovers, just like you. I have a background in training, and I approach life from a holistic point of view. I recommend spay/neuter programs. I just wanted to tell you how much you all mean to me.
I love hearing from you all!
~ Morgen
What's in This Issue:
Updates to the siteI've added a page of fun stuff - Cat Themed Gifts for People - that has a variety of items for the Cat Lover in your life!
I've updated the Cat Repellents page. I found an interesting outdoor repellent, and an old standby is available again.
I found a new air purifier supplier, so I am able to offer the line on the Allergy Helping ProductsAllergy Helping page. There is also a link below in the August Offers for your convenience.
Are you following the blog? Diary of a Cat Whisperer is a tracking of, comments about, and experiences with my own, and with other's cats. Sometimes, I even comment on the cats I meet along the way.
Articles
Young Cat Harrassing Older Cat Training - by Karen Pryor
Kitten Training by Kathrynn Kelley
A Couple of submissions for you
August Special Offers
Don't forget the interactive pages...
Bragging Rights For Readers
Bad Cat Behaviors From Readers
Submit Your Story or Tribute
These pages are all user-generated! That means you can write about your cat, your favorite cat story, or get help from other visitors (sometimes even me!) if you have a serious problem with a cat.
Use the Cat Whisperer Contact form if you or a friend has a problem that is involved or delicate.
Young Cat Harrassing Older Cat Training - by Karen Pryor
Young active kittens and cats confined to a house with older cats are inevitably going to want to roughhouse and playchase those older cats. And the older cats, politely, are unlikely to respond aversively. Besides, fighting back might be fun for the kitten; keeping a low profile is probably a safer strategy.
It's my feeling that this sometimes troubles owners more than it troubles the cats themselves. However: you can help the cats out a little. Each cat should have its own hideyhole or home cage, a carrying case or small crate with solid (i.e. not wire) walls, preferably in an elevated and warm spot, where it can retreat and be left alone. Additional litter boxes are also a good idea.
And the kitten needs more to do. Target train the kitten with the clicker and then use the target to lead the kitten across obstacles and up or under the furniture, for clicks and treats, a few minutes morning and evening. This will give the kitten some exercise and something to think about, so it won't harass the older cats out of pure boredom nearly as much. You can also use a chase toy such as feathers on a spring, or the Cat Dancer, as a reward after the click for doing something strenuous such as a big jump from one chair to another. That way you wear the kitten out twice.
This does involve some effort on the owner's part: getting and reading the Clicker Training Kit for Cats, and learning to communicate with your cat through the clicker. But target training, the first exercise, is easy to do and takes about five minutes or less with most cats, after you find a preferred food. And the restless young cat will love you for it and find you more interesting than those old fogy cats, once it catches on. It's well worth the time to develop a little clicker skill, since you might after all have this kitten for 16 years as well, and come to love it greatly too.
Happy clicking,
Karen Pryor
About the author Karen Pryor is the founder and CEO of Karen Pryor Clickertraining, and the author of many books including Don't Shoot the Dog. Learn more about Karen Pryor or read Karen's Letters online.
Kitten Training by Kathrynn Kelley
A popular conjecture is that having pets in a household results in less fighting amongst the people living there than occurs in non-pet households. Who knows how true this is? We do know, however, that from the moment a pet enters your household, everyone smiles a lot more than they did before.People all over the world are adopting pets. Many animals are chosen. The most common types are dogs and cats. A dog is called a man's best friend. A cat can also fill this role. He can create a happy and fun atmosphere in your home. You should definitely consider adopting one.
We all love the kittens of cats, don't we? Those small four-legged creatures make us smile every time they run along, jumping here and there. In old days, it was considered royal to keep cats as pets. Uptown ladies would flaunt their cats at high-profile parties and events.
Once you have made the decision to adopt a cat, you must be ready to cope with the annoying problem of "cat pee", so you have to train your cat properly. An effective "kitten training" program will guarantee that your home stays unsoiled and your belongings remain as you wish them to. Pets tend to damage items such as socks and shoes, often trying to devour these items.
It is necessary to get a qualified professional to work with your feline. Remember that the rules used with dogs or children will do nothing but alienate a cat. Ultimately, the feline does what it wants to do. The best way to partake in cat training is to make them think the desired behavior is their idea. This piece of wisdom in cat training can be accomplished by using treats the animal has an affinity for.
It's possible for a cat owner to make his cat obey by doing this. Cats don't just blindly accept rules as dogs do. They need time to digest and understand the rules before putting them into practice. Owners are better off realizing that this is typical cat behavior if they want a happy relationship with their pets. Cats can be naughty, and they can come up with many ingenious tricks. For these reasons, a cat training program is a necessity for anyone who owns indoor cats.
About the Author
It has been discovered that pets tend to calm emotions in households. They have been known to entertain us, to comfort us and to make us smile. Of all animals that can be domesticated, cats and dogs seem to be the preference.
Kathrynn Kelley
At 8 to 10 months of age, domestic cats have completed most of their physical development. The breaking up of litters and the growing aggressiveness of what was once play weaken the ties that bind kitten siblings together. By the time they're about 18 months old, they are drifting into adolescence.
Cats will continue to play throughout their lives, but the frenetic energy of kittenhood gradually yields to a considerably more mellow, routine pace. Like adolescent humans, cats continue to grow and develop through to adulthood, becoming sexually and intellectually more mature along the way. Because domestic cats are provided with food and shelter and usually are spayed or neutered while kittens, an artificial environment is created for them, a perpetual kittenhood of sorts.
Depending on one's point of view, "fixed" domestic cats are either spared from or robbed of what would otherwise be a preoccupation defining much of their adolescence and adulthood: sexual activity. Just as they grow from helpless kittens to skilled hunters in a relatively brief period, cats quickly become sexually mature.
- The testes of males may become visible as early as 4 weeks of age. In domestic cats, males reach full sexual maturity, if they remain unaltered, between 9 and 12 months of age.
- Most females reach sexual maturity at around 10 months of age, although instances of much earlier pregnancies have been recorded.
- Many domestic breeds reach sexual maturity much later in life. Persians, in particular, may have trouble mating until well into their second year.
- Wild cats mature later as well. Cheetahs are sexually mature at close to 2 years, leopards at about 30 months, and tigers don't reach full maturity until 3 to 5 years of age.
Any breeding difficulties felines experience are usually the result of cats' solitary nature — a lack of available partners — rather than from physical incapability. The cycle of female sexual receptiveness is closely linked to exposure to daylight. Cats living near the equator can become pregnant at any time of the year. Dwellers of temperate climates are called seasonally polyestrus, meaning that they have many periods of heat, or estrus, within a certain season. These periods, which vary substantially among breeds and species, last for as little as two days and as long as two weeks.
For all cats, mating season can be hazardous. Depending on the density of the local male population, the competition for females can be fierce. Ferocious fighting often occurs between competing males or incompatible males and females. Especially among the big cats, serious and sometimes fatal injuries are quite common.
A Couple of Submissions For You
Mail runs and internet shoppingHi all -- Purrcy (I'm polydactyl :-) ) here! My person gets lots of junk mail and catalogs because she loves to shop on the internet! She asks me when we hear the mail lady at the mailboxes, "Purrcy, do you want to get the mail?" Sometimes, of course, I would rather stay curled up on the couch but most times, those words are music to my ears! I run to the door, as dramatically and excitedly as possible, give my best "Err-raaaw" and off we go! First, I greet Barb, our mail person. I rub up against her and become my most charming self. After she talks to me a bit, Mom and she begin talking. I sniff inside the mailbag -- wow it is a conundrum of smell, folks -- and Barb starts handing Mom the mail. There are catalogs galore, almost every day! I shudder to think what the next few months will bring, with Christmas coming! My other "job" is snuggling up to Mom on a pillow next to her when she's on her laptop -- shopping, emailing, whatever. I get LOTS of snuggle time! —Guest Connie303
Responsible Ownership - Sickness
Dear Fellow Felines, Even the best-cared for human pet will occasionally get sick. This is due to human's weak bodies and clumsiness and in no way reflects poorly on your caretaking. However, when your human gets sick, it's your responsibility to nurse it back to health. A time-honored method of doing so is sitting or lying on your human to keep it warm. Headbutts to the face are also encouraged, especially if its nose seems red and sore. Loud purring is, of course, the ultimate cure, and should be applied generously. It is extra-important during these times to keep your human away from useless time-wasters like TV, books, or the computer: in bed, underneath you, is the only suitable position for a sick human that's not actively engaged in opening cat food cans.
—hgibb
August Special Offers
A new product for odor control that can even be shipped internationally!
Jerusalem Exports is having a Christmas in July Special: 25% Discount but you have to place your order before August 9th. These folks have great Christmas stuff and their items are exclusive to Israel and Jerusalem.
The entire setup is for sale for $99 Right Now!
Critterwalls!
Giant full-color wall decorations of your favorite animals. Use indoors or outdoors.
An Air Filter by Honeywell to help with cat allergies. I hope this line will help those of you who suffer.
Hairball Prevention
Derma-Ion-X to help your cat's skin
Parasite Prevention prevents worms and other parasites
Bach Flower Remedies at great discounts!
This newsletter is produced for YOU, the reader. Please let me know if you want to see anything in here that hasn't been covered for a while. You can view all the past issues and look deeper into the new information I've found.
You can always write to me about the content in the newsletter.
To tell your friends about CatLover Magazine, forward this newsletter to them and ask them to subscribe.