By : Mark and Cindi
Let's discuss why the cat is drawn to the tree and a few things you can do to stop your cat from wrecking the halls.
Many cats are curious about new objects that appear in their territory, especially ones as interesting as a real tree. The genuine real pine scent of a Christmas tree can be very attractive to your cat and reminds them of the great outdoors. Another major temptation is all of those glimmering ornaments and shimmering tinsel. Many cats like shiny objects and will discover a slight bat of the paw makes these objects move in an interesting way, another bat turns them into fun toys that skater across the floor.
A third attraction can be what's under the tree. If catnip toys and gifts of food are wrapped and placed under the tree, A few days before Christmas, your cat doesn't know to wait until Christmas morning. Do not put those gifts under the tree until you're ready to open presents with your family. Following will be a few more tips to discourage your cat from attacking your Christmas tree.
To stop your cat from knocking over your tree put a hook in your ceiling or the top of the window molding nearest the tree and use a high-strength fishing line to anchor the tree in place. Note that two or three hooks or even better.
Position your most prized shining Christmas ornaments, and any breakable ones on the upper branches or even consider displaying them somewhere other than on the tree. Like on a fireplace mantel or shelf. Use non-breakable ornaments when ever possible on the Christmas tree.
If a Christmas ornament should become broken make sure to jump right on the clean up. Shards of fine glass can become a hazard to your felines feet. If your cat should develop a limping condition or show cat behavior signs of painful feet perform a detailed inspection of the paws and pad area. A trip to the vet may be in order to remove any foreign objects.
At the base of the tree you can place non-breakable cat toys on the floor near the tree to hopefully distract your curious cat. You can also place orange or grapefruit peels under the tree. Generally cats dislike the scent of citrus. Another good tip, is it that your tree sits in a bath of water, make sure that you securely cover the water so that your cat won't play with the water and will not take a drink from it because this stagnant water, may make him sick.
Your cats behavior during the Christmas season can become more active and excited just like children. With some extra attention to your cat and their environment you can be assured that you and your cat will both have a safe and happy Christmas holiday season.
Author's Resource:
Got a scared cat? Some cats panic every time the smallest change occurs, teach your cat to calm down and become less nervous in any situation. For cat health issues visit here for the most recent cat health articles provided for cat lovers all over the world
Visit Animal Pets & Friends for more pet and animal articles.
Stop your cat from scratching furniture.
By : Jeff Mcclure
Cats are known for scratching and clawing. This is a natural behavior that you can control with a little training. Fist you need to know the reasons behind the clawing. Cats claw mainly to mark their territory and to exercise and stretch. You will not be able to completely stop your cat from clawing and scratching things, but you can control what the cat scratches.
Step one is to give your cat an alternative to clawing your furniture. Scratching posts and toys will give the cat an expectable outlet for their natural behavior. A scratching post can be inexpensively built out of a couple pieces of wood nailed together and then covered with carpet. The trick is to train the cat as soon as you get them before they start on the furniture.
Scratching posts are perfectly designed to fulfill the cats scratching needs, they are usually covered with carpet and cats love them. Place the scratching post near where the cat eats or where he likes to sleep because the cat will want to establish these areas as their own personal territory. Hopefully the cat will pick the scratching post instead of the furniture and no further training will be necessary.
When your cat does pick a piece of furniture to scratch what you need to do is change his mind and redirect his attention to the scratching post. First try to pick the cat up when you find him clawing the furniture and put him down at his scratching post. The next thing to try is to temporarily cover what the cat wants to scratch so the post is more desirable. If all else fails chaise the cat away with a firm “no” or “bad cat”, however be sure not to be overly aggressive as you do not want your cat to be afraid of you. Extreme measures such as spraying the cat with water or putting chemical deterrents on the furniture being scratched is usually a short cut that does not work in the long run because the point of the training should be to show the cat where he can scratch not to just scare or punish him.
Declawing your cat is not a good solution to a clawing problem. Declawing is painful for your pet. Not only is the claw removed but part of the toe as well. If you think declawing is your only alternative you should consider that owning a cat is not for you and give the cat to someone that has the time to train the cat so that both the cat and the owner can be happy.
Understanding your cat’s behavior will help you have a positive experience with your pet. It has been my experience that cats are smart and learn fast so very little effort on your part will be needed and the cat will stop its bad behavior in a few days or so. If you can meet the needs of the cat you will have a happy cat that will give you what you need.
Author's Resource:
You can read more cat articles at JimsPets.com. Jeff Mcclure is a featured author at JimsPets.com.and you can read more of his articles at JimsPets.com.
Visit Animal Pets & Friends for more pet and animal articles.
Cats are known for scratching and clawing. This is a natural behavior that you can control with a little training. Fist you need to know the reasons behind the clawing. Cats claw mainly to mark their territory and to exercise and stretch. You will not be able to completely stop your cat from clawing and scratching things, but you can control what the cat scratches.
Step one is to give your cat an alternative to clawing your furniture. Scratching posts and toys will give the cat an expectable outlet for their natural behavior. A scratching post can be inexpensively built out of a couple pieces of wood nailed together and then covered with carpet. The trick is to train the cat as soon as you get them before they start on the furniture.
Scratching posts are perfectly designed to fulfill the cats scratching needs, they are usually covered with carpet and cats love them. Place the scratching post near where the cat eats or where he likes to sleep because the cat will want to establish these areas as their own personal territory. Hopefully the cat will pick the scratching post instead of the furniture and no further training will be necessary.
When your cat does pick a piece of furniture to scratch what you need to do is change his mind and redirect his attention to the scratching post. First try to pick the cat up when you find him clawing the furniture and put him down at his scratching post. The next thing to try is to temporarily cover what the cat wants to scratch so the post is more desirable. If all else fails chaise the cat away with a firm “no” or “bad cat”, however be sure not to be overly aggressive as you do not want your cat to be afraid of you. Extreme measures such as spraying the cat with water or putting chemical deterrents on the furniture being scratched is usually a short cut that does not work in the long run because the point of the training should be to show the cat where he can scratch not to just scare or punish him.
Declawing your cat is not a good solution to a clawing problem. Declawing is painful for your pet. Not only is the claw removed but part of the toe as well. If you think declawing is your only alternative you should consider that owning a cat is not for you and give the cat to someone that has the time to train the cat so that both the cat and the owner can be happy.
Understanding your cat’s behavior will help you have a positive experience with your pet. It has been my experience that cats are smart and learn fast so very little effort on your part will be needed and the cat will stop its bad behavior in a few days or so. If you can meet the needs of the cat you will have a happy cat that will give you what you need.
Author's Resource:
You can read more cat articles at JimsPets.com. Jeff Mcclure is a featured author at JimsPets.com.and you can read more of his articles at JimsPets.com.
Visit Animal Pets & Friends for more pet and animal articles.
Living Normally With A Cat Allergy
By: Laura Marsh
An allergy is a reaction to a substance in the environment, these can be a range of things such as pollen, dust mites, animal hair etc. For some very unlucky people, they have an allergy to their cat.
Most allergy sufferers will suffer from more than just one allergy, should they ever be tested for them. And the belief that giving away the family cat will stop the allergy problems is often wrong as the other allergens still remain in the house.
The most common cat allergen is cat hair and cat dandruff. The symptoms of these produce themselves in the same way as pollen or dust mite allergies. These often include, swollen, itchy and runny eyes, a runny nose, coughing and in severe cases Asthma.
You should not even consider giving your cat away, as it is normally a combination of factors in your house that are causing you to have this allergy and therefore giving the cat away will not solve the problem.
You can ease the symptoms of cat allergies and in many cases prevent them from happening in the first place by following a few procedures:
1. Do not let your cat in your bed room. As you sleep in the bedroom, you do not wish to get cat hair and dandruff on your bedding or around your bedroom, as this can make the allergic reaction worse at night, causing you breathing and sleeping problems when your body is trying to repair itself.
2. Vacuum your cat. This sounds like a completely mad ritual, however you can remove a lot of the loose hair and debris this way. Most cats are happy for you to do this with a low suction setting and low noise. And for those cats that are reluctant, if you keep repeating the process they will soon get used to this new regular grooming process.
3. Wash your cat once a week. This will help with the cat dandruff. Most cats are actually quite happy to have a bath, although using the bathtub is not a good idea. Use a large bowl or the kitchen sink, and make sure the water is only tepid.
4. Clean your house regularly and thoroughly. Pay extra attention to your upholstery and carpets where cat hairs and cat dandruff my lie unseen. If you invest in a good vacuum cleaner you can purchase ones specifically for use in households with pets.
5. There is also a range of injections available to desensitised you to the cat and these are carried out over two to three years, however this should really only be considered in severe cases.
If you only have a minor case of cat allergy you can try taking antihistamines available over the counter from your pharmacist. Often you will find that after a few months of taking these the allergy no longer effects you.
Author's Resource:
Written by Laura Marsh. Did you find this information on cat allergies useful? Visit www.caringforyourcat.info for more information on cats and cat care.
Visit Animal Pets & Friends for more pet and animal articles.
An allergy is a reaction to a substance in the environment, these can be a range of things such as pollen, dust mites, animal hair etc. For some very unlucky people, they have an allergy to their cat.
Most allergy sufferers will suffer from more than just one allergy, should they ever be tested for them. And the belief that giving away the family cat will stop the allergy problems is often wrong as the other allergens still remain in the house.
The most common cat allergen is cat hair and cat dandruff. The symptoms of these produce themselves in the same way as pollen or dust mite allergies. These often include, swollen, itchy and runny eyes, a runny nose, coughing and in severe cases Asthma.
You should not even consider giving your cat away, as it is normally a combination of factors in your house that are causing you to have this allergy and therefore giving the cat away will not solve the problem.
You can ease the symptoms of cat allergies and in many cases prevent them from happening in the first place by following a few procedures:
1. Do not let your cat in your bed room. As you sleep in the bedroom, you do not wish to get cat hair and dandruff on your bedding or around your bedroom, as this can make the allergic reaction worse at night, causing you breathing and sleeping problems when your body is trying to repair itself.
2. Vacuum your cat. This sounds like a completely mad ritual, however you can remove a lot of the loose hair and debris this way. Most cats are happy for you to do this with a low suction setting and low noise. And for those cats that are reluctant, if you keep repeating the process they will soon get used to this new regular grooming process.
3. Wash your cat once a week. This will help with the cat dandruff. Most cats are actually quite happy to have a bath, although using the bathtub is not a good idea. Use a large bowl or the kitchen sink, and make sure the water is only tepid.
4. Clean your house regularly and thoroughly. Pay extra attention to your upholstery and carpets where cat hairs and cat dandruff my lie unseen. If you invest in a good vacuum cleaner you can purchase ones specifically for use in households with pets.
5. There is also a range of injections available to desensitised you to the cat and these are carried out over two to three years, however this should really only be considered in severe cases.
If you only have a minor case of cat allergy you can try taking antihistamines available over the counter from your pharmacist. Often you will find that after a few months of taking these the allergy no longer effects you.
Author's Resource:
Written by Laura Marsh. Did you find this information on cat allergies useful? Visit www.caringforyourcat.info for more information on cats and cat care.
Visit Animal Pets & Friends for more pet and animal articles.