Cheap Pet Insurance

May 30th, 2009 by Janice Chee

In the wild, cats have a natural ability and instinct to care for themselves. House cats, on the other hand, depend on humans for care and feeding. They require a considerable amount of attention. Bookstores and local humane societies can provide cat owners with a plethora of educational materials on the responsibility of cat ownership and the care of cats.

You may not know it, but cats can be trained. Like other animal training programs gentle, positive training will work best. Offer your cat a treat when they behave correctly or as you have taught them. When they misbehave just ignore them.

It’s true that cats keep themselves clean. They like to clean themselves up a little daily. Nonetheless, your cat needs a good bath every three weeks. Products designed just for cats are available at your local pet store, but any mild soap is sufficient. Some, if not most, cats don’t care for baths. Unless you train your cat from the time it is a kitten to get used to bath water and reward it with a treat following every bath, you will have a scratchy situation on your hands when you try to bath the cat when it gets older. Start when your cat is a kitten and you should be able to acclimate the cat to bathing.

Do everything you can to make the bath fun and rewarding for your cat. Don’t hit or punish your cat at bath time. This will only cause your cat to be more apprehensive about bathing in the future.

Don’t forget to clean your cat’s ears and nails with a gentle q-tip. Towel dry your cat after its bath. Don’t even consider using a blow dryer. The noise and hot air will scare the cat, and the hot air can damage your cat’s sensitive skin. Brush your cat after the towel dry.

It’s a good idea to buy your cat its own bed. While it is common for cats to sleep with their owner, your cat will be just as satisfied sleeping beside your bed. This will keep your clothes and bed linens from always being full of cat hair. Some people are allergic to cat hair, and you don’t want to have to choose between your cat and your sleeping mate.

Keep the cat litter box in a place where the cat can easily reach it, but where the smell will not disturb you or your family. Keep the litter box clean for the health and safety of your family and your cat.