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REPRODUCTION 2008-02-18 07:08:00 Everyone, well nearly everyone, loves babies, and few babies are more attractive than the cubs, or kittens, of cats, big or small. The successful breeding of, say, snow leopards or ocelots, is a notable and ever-welcome event – the more the merrier for such endangered species. With domestic cats however, the owner has a special responsibility. Pedigree kittens are usually in demand, and they sometimes sell for remarkably high prices; but crossbred animals are often regrettably a burden on the market.Queens reproduce easily and fruitfully during most of their adult lives. With a relatively short gestation (pregnancy) period and an average litter size of almost four, cats can multiply almost as prodigiously as rabbits. It is gross irresponsibility to allow your cant, male or female, to pro
Raising and Fostering – Reproduction 2008-02-18 06:54:00 There are occasions, such as the death of a queen or where she simply cannot produce or where she simply cannot produce a sufficient supply of milk, when you may be faced with the problem of rearing kittens in some other way. (If you decide to “destroy” the kittens, do not even consider drowning the, Animal euthanasia must always be carried out by a vet or clinic).You have two options – fostering and artificial rearing.If available, a foster mother is preferable to bottle rearing.FosteringA veterinarian, pet shop, breeder or cat club may be able to put you in touch with somebody who has a newly kittened queen with spare teat capacity. Ideally any such adoption should be carried out as soon as possible after birth and before the queen has bonded too strongly to her own offspring.To tr Read more:Raising
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Kitten Development – Reproduction 2008-02-18 04:37:00 The transformation of the kitten from its blind and helpless newborn state to full independence takes about six months. During that time physical and mental abilities mature steadily. The kitten’s instinctive, inbuilt knowledge is progressively enhanced by a process of learning by observation, imitation, and practice through play. Play is the vehicle of the feline learning process – the life of the specialized and perfected in the theatre of the game.War games might as well begin with a toy hird.A lone, artificially reared kitten with no role models around to copy and emulate will never learn much of the repertoire of feline hunting skills. What is not learned during the formative first few weeks of life, cannot be acquired later. Kitten
s that watch, and are in a real sense taught by t Read more:Reproduction
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Maternal Behaviour – Reproduction 2008-02-18 04:20:00 The newborn kitten is eleven to fifteen centimeters (four to six inches) long and weighs between seventy and one-hundred-and-thirty-five grams (two and five ounches). It is a fairly helpless creature at this stage, unable to see because of closed eyelids, unable to hear with ears that are folded back, and capable of wiggling and squirming but not walking.Brothers and sisters instinctively bunch tighter to conserve warmth.Over the next two to three months the mother cat gradually teaches her kittens all they need to know in order to look after themselves.BondingIn the first few days of life, the queen is absolutely vital to the kittens’ survival, not least in protecting them while they are physically so vulnerable. Instinctively, the queen knows what to do, even if it is her first litter. Read more:Reproduction
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The Birth – Reproduction 2008-02-18 04:11:00 Pregnancy ends when special hormones, sent out from the pituitary gland, set birth into motion.Up to one-third of all kittens are born tail-end first. This is perfectly normal and these are not breech births. The term “breech birth” signifies a birth position where the kitten’s bottom passes first through the vagina with its hind feet pointing towards its head. So pliable are kitten’s bodies that even the occasional true breech birth usually occurs without causing difficulties.The first stage of labour may last up to six hours. It begins when the cervix of the uterus opens up and a “wedge” of placental membranes enters it. As this happens, the involuntary contractions of the uterine muscles begin to push the kitten towards the outside world. When these contractions begin, the q Read more:Reproduction
Pregnancy – Reproduction 2008-02-18 04:02:00 The length of pregnancy in the cat is between fifty-six and seventy-one days, but the average length is sixty-five days. The mean litter size of the domestic cat in the United States is 3.88 kittens (only statisticians have ever seen 0.88 of a kitten!). Larger cats tend to have more kittens in a litter.It is known that more eggs are ovulated and probably fertilized than kittens are born. The reason for this is that death and resorption of the early foetus is common in the cat. It occurs without producing any noticeable symptoms in the queen.Kittens born earlier than fifty-eight days tend to be delivered dead or very weak and those born later than seventy-one days are generally bigger than normal and may also be dead. Such late, big kittens can cause birth problems – consult your vet if t Read more:Reproduction
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Mating – Reproduction 2008-02-18 03:37:00 The cat, if you but singe her tabby skin, The chimney keeps, and sits content within; But once grown sleek, will from her corner run, Sport with her tail and wanton in the sun; She licks her fair round face, and frisks abroad To show her fur, and to be catterwaw’d Pope, The Wife of Bath (Prologue)Initial contact between tom and queen.Choosing a studIf you plan to breed from your pedigree queen, you will, unless you also have a similarly blue-blooded tom, have to find a reputable breeder. Make enquiries at a cat club, cat show or your veterinarian’s office. A first-class breeder of the kind you must seek, will have spacious, secure, hygienic and warm accommodation for the tom and queen. All the animals at the stud should be free of Feline Leukemia virus. You should ask to see veterinary Read more:Reproduction
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Sexual Behaviour - Reproduction 2008-02-18 03:12:00 Queens reach sexual maturity between seven and twelve months of age. Do not breed a queen until she is at least one year old, at which age cats breed most easily. Toms mature sexually between ten and fourteen months of age.The oestrus cycleQueens come into heat (oestrus) according to a seasonal rhythm. The heat period lasts for two to four days and occurs at approximately two-week intervals. The cycle is usually repeated two or three times in spring (mainly March and April) and again in summer (mainly June and July), with sometimes a third period of activity in September. Not being machines some queens do their own thing and have heat cycles somewhat outside these main peaks. When a queen is in heat she will adopt a characteristic posture: front end flat on the ground, rear end stuck in th Read more:Reproduction
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NURSING CARE (Health Care) - Keeping A Cat 2008-02-15 09:46:00 Whether your pet’s aliment is mild or serious, you will normally have to be prepared to do some nursing. There are some essential nursing techniques to be learned.It can be useful to restrain a cat by wrapping it in a blanket or towel.Handling a cat for examination1 Cradle it in your arms if the animal is quiet and not in pain.2 Place the cat prone on the table, holding all four legs so that it can’t use its claws.3 Hold by the scruff and press down firmly onto a flat surface to restrict the scrathing ability of the paws.4 The perspex cylinder method.5 For a head examination, wrap in a large, strong cloth or blanket.Administering medicineAlthough the vet will try to select drug preparations as attractive as possible to cats, liquids and crushed tablets mixed with the food are usually d Read more:Health
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FIRST AID (Health Care) - Keeping A Cat 2008-02-15 08:36:00 Cats do occasionally appear to have nine lives. Their bodies are so elastic and wiry that they often survive being run over by a cars, airgun pellets, stones, falling masonry, or drunkards’ boots, trapped in doors, falling from great heights, or savaged by dogs, Puss sometimes seems to need every life it can lay claim to. These serious crises produce skeletal and soft-tissue damage, which the vet will have to treat in the operating room. It is important to know how to give useful first-aid emergency treatment until the animal can be taken to the vet.Collapse and accidentIf the cat is injured or unconscious, do not move it unless it is in danger. If you have to move an injured cat, slip a sheet under it and carry it as in a hammock, or with one hand grasping the scruff of the neck. Lay t Read more:Health
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OLD AGE (Health Care) - Keeping A Cat 2008-02-15 08:09:00 Inevitably, time catches up with cats. Should your pet survive beyond seventeen years, it is doing very well indeed. Very few reach one score, although the longest record at present stands at thirty-four years achieved by a tabby queen from Devon. Certainly cats tend to live longer than dogs – the oldest recorded dog reached twenty-seven years and the majority do not pass sixteen years.Named Lucy passed at the fine old age of 20 years.Old cats need special attention and understanding. After years of faithful companionship, it would be a churlish owner who did not give a thought to coping with feline geriatrics.Venerable cats change physically and frequently become rather thin. This may be accompanied by a change in appetite, with an increased or decreased demand for food. They may become Read more:Health
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COMMON AILMENTS (page 2) - Health Care 2008-02-15 06:56:00 The urinary systemProblems in this system are marked by difficulty passing urine, blood in the urine, loss of weight, and thirst.When a cat strains to pass urine, the owner may thing it is suffering from constipation, but it may have “gravel” in the urine. Cats on mainly dry-food diets, cats taking insufficient water, and tom cats castrated very early are more prone to “gravel”. Which is a deposit of salt crystals in the bladder that can eventually block up the water pipe (urethra) of male animals. When the bladder is over-full and tight as a drum, the cat is on considerable pain, will resent being handled, and may actually turn to look at its hind quarters and spit angrily. Take your cat to the vet for treatment, and don’t try squeezing the cat’s swollen bladder yourself becau Read more:Health
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COMMON AILMENTS (page 1) - Health Care 2008-02-15 02:02:00 Cats may have nine lives but they are, like humans and other creatures, occasionally out of sorts and sometimes downright ill. The study of feline diseases and their treatment by medicine and surgery are important areas of veterinary science, and much research is currently being done – recently a virus (FIV) has been identified as producing a feline immune deficiency syndrome, which is similar in some respects to the Aids virus affecting humans but not transmittable to humans. No matter how skilled your veterinarian may be, it is the cat owner’s responsibility to have some working knowledge of the common feline ailments. The owner is normally the first to spot that all is not well with an animal, and must know then to seek professional attention and how to assist the patient’s return Read more:Health
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Health Care - Keeping A Cat 2008-02-14 23:35:00 CHOOSING A VETBefore your cat ill, you should find a veterinarian in your locality who will give your newly arrived feline a thorough check, provide all the necessary vaccinations, and tell you about any preventive medicine or special care that your cat may require. He should also provide a twenty-four hour service that can deal with genuine emergencies.Some veterinarians specialize in cat diseases or in problems of a particular part of the bodyObviously it is best to find a veterinary practice that works extensively with small animals. Other owners of cats, breeders, and humane society clinics in your vicinity will point you in the right direction. It is almost always possible to visit your cat doctor’s surgery by prior arrangement in order to see all the facilities available.A veterina Read more:Health
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Grooming (page 3) - Keeping A Cat 2008-02-12 01:24:00 WASHINGIf your cat’s coat gets very dirty you should give it a wet or a dry bath.If your cat violently objects to water, give it a dry bran bath. Use this method only on shorthaired cats which are not too dirty. First heat half to one kilogram (one to two pounds) of bran in an oven at 150C (302F) for twenty minutes. The stand your cat on a newspaper and massage the warm bran into its coat. When you have covered all the fur with the bran, comb it out.Washing by the wet method is shown in these photographs. You will be lucky if your cat behaves as calmly as this one!Picture 1: Cat being poured on water at blood heat1 Use a bowl, sink or bath. Close all windows and doors. Put a rubber mat in the bath to stop the cat slipping. Pour on water at blood heat (test the temperature with your elbow Read more:Grooming
Grooming (page 2) - Keeping A Cat 2008-02-12 00:30:00 GROOMING A SHORTHAIRGrooming
Equipment: soft cloth, cotton buds, soft bristle brush, fine-toothed comb and rubber brushShorthaired cats posses less exuberant upholstery than Longhairs, and are better at self-cleaning, so they need grooming only twice a week.Picture 1: Cat having its fur combed with a metal tooth comb1. With a fine-toothed metal comb, work down the cat from its head to its tail. As you comb, look for black, shiny specks – a sign of fleas.Picture 2: Cat being brushed with a red brush2. Use a rubber brush to brush along the lie of the hair. If your cat is Rex-coated, this brush is essential as it won’t scratch the skin.Picture 3: cat having conditioner rubbed into its fur3. After brushing and combing, rub in some bay run conditioner. This removes grease from the coat and
Grooming (page 1) - Keeping A Cat 2008-02-11 23:55:00 More fastidious than dogs in keeping up appearances, cats will groom themselves regularly and often. Rows of hooked, horny and backward-pointing scales (papillae) on the tongue form an efficient comb for raking the skin and fur.As well as keeping the coat clean, neat and glossy, grooming serves to remove dead hair and skin cells and to tone up the superficial blood circulation and underlying muscles.Domestic cats, and particularly Longhairs, do need extra grooming beyond the cleaning which they give themselves or one another, and it has to be provided by the owner. Longhaired cats moult all the year round and need daily grooming. In good weather, groom outdoors. If you have to groom indoors, choose the bathroom or porch, and stand the cat on a sheet of plastic or newspaper. These three pic Read more:Grooming
The Traveling Cat - Keeping A Cat 2008-02-11 23:32:00 Moving HouseMoving house does not normally trouble the family cat. It retains its well-loved human companions and usually many items of furniture that it knows well. After arriving at the new dwelling, the cat quickly sets about establishing its territory and leaves its calling cards with the feline patriarchs of the area. Occasionally, loving for some old flame left behind, or preferring the surroundings in which it grew up, a cat may decide to trek back to its old haunts. The longest recorded journey is nine hundred and fifty miles from Boston to Chicago! Cats cannot find people if they up and move leaving the animal behind, but they do have the ability to locate places. It seems that, during the months or years that a cat lives in its old home, its brains automatically register the posi Read more:Traveling
A Cat in the House - Keeping A Cat 2008-02-11 21:17:00 Handling your catWhile it is a good thing to handle your pet, remember always to support the full body. Don’t just let it dangle from its “armpits” as the cat will resent this, and may possible struggle or even bite.The beginning of a beautiful life-long friendship. It is important that children learn the proper handling of family pets as early as possible.Pick and adult cat up by putting one hand under the chest just behind the “bottom”, tucking the tail in. Once up, let it sit in the crook of your arm with its forepaws on your shoulder or held in your other hand.Kittens should be handled especially carefully, as their rib cages are very soft and they can easily bruise internally if roughly treated.Although queens pick up and carry kittens by the scruff of their necks, you shoul Read more:House
MYTHS AND FALLACIES (Cat - Diet) 2008-02-10 01:51:00 Contrary to popular myth, eating grass is a normal occurrenceEating grassHaving laboured like Escoffier over your moggy, do not be alarmed if he or she still insists on chewing grass and weeds at the first opportunity. Grass is good for cats. It contains certain vitamins and also acts as an efficient emetic, helping the animal regurgitate unwanted matter such as fur balls. If you and your cat share a high-rise apartment without ready access to a garden, grow him some grass from seed in a window box. Chewing grass is not a sign that the cat feels ill.MousingCats hunt mice, birds, insects, and so on for sport, not as a food source. True, they may on occasion eat part or all of their prey, but basically they are in it for the fun of the game. So you need not think that by underfeeding, or ind
The Major Foods (Cat - Diet) 2008-02-10 01:14:00 A well-thought-out diet is welcomedSo many different foods are available that the suitable combinations are numberless. I shall therefore deal only with the main kinds.Canned foodThese products consist of meat and/or fish, salts, jellying agents, vitamins, colouring chemicals, preservatives, sugar, water, and sometimes cereals. The advantages of canned food is that it is very nutritious. Its disadvantages is that it is relatively expensive.Canned food is popular and nourishing. It is also practical, stores well and is sterile. The brands available today cater to finicky cats – and their owners.To all cats, water is both an essential and fascinating element.You are buying a fair quantity of water, particularly where the “jelly” is much in evidence. Also, the canning and storage time m Read more:Major
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Diet - Keeping A Cat 2008-02-10 00:17:00 Accustom your kitten to a varied dietThe cat is a creature built to eat meat. This is not to day that cats to not like or need some vegetable matter in their diet. Among wild species, the flat-headed cat of Malaysia and Indonesia has a particular love of fruit and sweet potatoes.Although proteins play important roles in a cat’s diet, particularly at certain times of life, a purely protein diet for a cat would be unnecessarily expensive and wasteful. There are also health aspects. Proteins produce many waste products after digestion, and these have to be eliminated by the kidneys, organs which may be under great pressure in older animals. A luxurious menu consisting of nothing but raw filet de boeuf, contains far too little calcium and vitamins for healthy feline living.Variety, then, is
Basic Equipment - Keeping A Cat 2008-02-09 23:36:00 Basic Equipment
Cats are not expensive to house, but they must be provided with certain items of basic equipment, such as somewhere to sleep, a litter tray, feeding and drinking bowls, a collar, a carrying box and basic grooming equipment. Useful, but not essential, extras are items such as a scratching pad or post, a cat flap (is your cat is able to go outside), a playpen and some toys.Cat flap and playfulA cat flap should be fitted no higher than 6cm (two or three inches) from the base of the door or windowsill. All flaps should be lockable. Some have magnetic strips along the sides which help avoid draughts, by creating a tight seal.A playpen is useful for kittens until they are acclimatized to their new home.Picture: Scratching pad or post and a litter trayLitter trayCats are clean anim Read more:Basic
Things You Should Alert When Choosing A Cat or Kitten 2008-02-09 22:23:00 Pic 1: Tabby kitten having the fur on its side spread to inspect its condition1. When choosing a kitten you must check it thoroughly to ensure it is in good condition. Part the hair to look for signs of parasites, particularly the fine “coat dust” that indicates the presence of fleas.Pic 2: Tabby kitten having its ears inspected2. You should also inspect the ears carefully. Ensure that there are no discharges and that the ears do not contain dirt that may indicate infection or parasites.Pic 3: Tabby kitten having its eyes inspected3. The eyes should be bright, cleat and free from discharges.Pic 4: Tabby kitten having its mouth inspected4. It is important to look at the mouth for evidence of plaque build-up, teeth. Hold the kitten’s head from behind as shown here and gently prise open Read more:Kitten
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Your New Cat - Keeping A Cat 2008-02-09 21:46:00 Picture: Happiness to two kittens is a paper basketThere’s more to deciding to share your home with a cat than simply looking up the local breeders in the telephone book. Are you fit to be a cat companion?Questions to ask include: what other animals live in the house and how might they interact with a new arrival? Will the cat have to be permanently confined indoors because you live in a one-room high-rise apartment? If the cat is to be allowed outdoors, can arrangements be made to have a gat-flap fitted to a door or window? Have you the time and patience to give certain kinds of cat the grooming they regularly require? What arrangements can you make for the pet’s welfare during your vacations? Can you afford the basic equipment needed, daily supplies of high-quality cat food and the c
CAT SHOW 2008-03-14 23:51:00 The showing of pedigree cats has played the central role over the past century in creating the rich spectrum of breeds that delight cat lovers today. Through the shows, breeders have produced many new kinds of cats and had them recognized.It must be said of course that the artificial selection carried out by breeders has been confined to the human ideal of a good-looking cat. Nobody bothered to ask a cat what it thought! In fashioning cats to charm the human eye, scant attention has been paid to the possible physical disadvantages. However, it is certainly true that genetic engineering has produced fewer harmful effects with pedigree cats than has been the case in some areas of dog breeding.Should you decide to make a serious foray into cat shows, you must be prepared to spend a lot of tim
Heredity and Breeding - Cat Show 2008-03-14 22:55:00 Basic mechanisms of heredityBreeding
for showing depends on the workings, be they calculated or accidental or plant contains structures called chromosomes. These look like microscopic string carries details of the design of some particular part of the body. Some genes are concerned with eye colour and so on. The genes are arranged in a fixed order along the length of the chromosome, so the chromosome contains a “blueprint” of the total make-up of an individual.Domestic cats carry thirty-eight chromosomes arranged in pairs of nineteen. Eighteen if these pairs are virtually identical, but one pair differs slightly This is the pair that decides the kitten’s sex. Females carry a pair of so-called “XX” chromosomes, while males carry an “XY” pair. A kitten will inherit one of its m
Feline Useful Addresses 2008-04-02 01:00:00 Feline Advisory Bureau,350 Upper Richmond Road,Putney, London SW15 6TI.Telephone: 01-789-9553The Cat’s Protection League,17 Kings Road, Horsham,West Sussex RH13 5PP.Telephone: 0403 65566The Cat Association of Britain,Cat Association Central Office,Hunting Grove, Lowfield Health,Crawley, West Sussex RH11 0PY.Telephone: 0293 23470The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy4-6 Penel Orlieu, Bridgewater,Somerset TA6 3PGTelephone: 0278 427575The Cat Action TrustP.O. Box 1639London W8 4RYCats,5 James Leigh Street,Manchester M1 6EXTelephone: 061 2360577Cat World,Scan house, Southwick Street,Southwick, Brighton BN4 4TETelephone: 0273 595944Kennel and Cattery ManagementPO BOX 45, Dorking,Surrey RH5 51ZTelephone: 0306 712712
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The Cat and the Law - Cat Show 2008-04-02 00:50:00 It is great privilege to be owned by a cat. Although many non-pedigree cats are unwanted, and considered by the uninitiated to be of little value, each and every one is worthy of the esteem due to all sentient living creatures. Although they have less protection under the law than dogs, they nevertheless do have certain inalienable rights, and we owners take on legal responsibilities when cats come to share their lives with us.Neglect, or inflicting suffering on a cat, can result in legal prosecution in the UK (under the Cruelty to Animals Act). Included in the interpretation of “neglect” and “suffering” are failing to provide medical treatment when a cat is ill or injured, not making provision for it when going away on vacation, and keeping it in unsuitable conditions.Buying and s
The Show Cat - British and American Shows 2008-04-01 08:31:00 BRITISH SHOWSThe first thing that happens at the show is vetting-in. The vet will give each cat a thorough health check, and if for some reason, such as runny eyes, fleas, or sore gums, the cat fails the examination, you will have to take it home and forfeit your entry fee. You may have to show your vaccination certificate to the vet, so have it ready.Judging British
Cat ShowPutting your cat in its penAfter vetting-in, you take your cat to its pen – a metal cage displaying the same number as that on the cat’s tally. Although the show organizers will have checked that the cages are clean, it is best to play safe by wiping down the bars with some non-toxic disinfectant. Arrange the blanket, litter tray, and filled water bowl in the pen. In Britain, these are the only items allowed in wit Read more:American
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