Search Results
1256 results for “how to hold a cat”
Essential Tips for Cat Owners
Before adopting, match a cat to your time and life; consider a companion if you're often away, check for allergies, and spay or neuter. Boxes beat fancy toys, scoop the litter often, add vertical scratchers, and build grooming habits young. Feed balanced quality food to avoid disease and deficiency.
What Causes Cat Bad Breath
A healthy cat's mouth smells faintly of fish or food, never foul. Lasting odor means trouble: soft food and cans cause cavities and tartar, digestion issues and oral infection add smell, and B-vitamin deficiency is a culprit. Watch for dirty teeth, drooling, or gum pain, brush young, and see a vet for diagnosis and treatment.
Cat Stress Reactions and How to Ease Them
Stress is the most common feline behavior problem and a driver of many diseases. Triggers include new homes, vet or grooming visits, noise, household changes, and resource competition in multi-cat homes. Signs range from acute fear to chronic hiding, over-grooming, and aggression. Ease stress with a calm space, play, pheromones, and a vet check.
Do Cats Dream?
Watch a sleeping cat twitch its tail, flick its whiskers, or give a soft chatter, and you are seeing dreams in action. All mammals share REM sleep, the stage where dreams happen, and cats are no exception. They likely dream of the day's events, perhaps hunting, and yes, they can have nightmares too. Best not to wake a dreaming cat, as a sudden startle can lead to an accidental scratch.
Leaving Your Cat Home Alone
For a short absence, leave extra food and water, an extra litter box, and a comfortable temperature, and lock away danger zones. For more than two days, arrange a sitter, pet-store visit, or boarding. Return gently, as a cat may grow wary after a stay away.
What to Do When Your Cat Is Too Aggressive
Unlike dogs, cats won't obey blindly; their independent nature means a small mistake can bring gentle retaliation. Some owners are baffled about how they upset their cat. This article explains what triggers feline aggression, from fear and threat to pain and illness, and how to train a cat out of biting and attacking.
Cat Health Checkup Guide (Part 1)
For most cat owners, regular checkups are essential yet confusing: how do you get a cat to the clinic, and which tests actually matter? This first part covers preparation before the visit and the exams most relevant to each life stage and breed, helping you make sense of a stressful process.
What to Know Before Cat Spay/Neuter Surgery
Neutering cuts disease risk (tumors, ovarian cysts), stops heat stress and roaming, and curbs spraying. In China, do it after sexual maturity—about 6 months and 6 lb. Before surgery: a full pre-anesthetic exam (health, anesthesia allergy) at a reputable clinic; complete vaccines so antibodies protect the healing wound; fast 8 hours and withhold water 4 hours (aspiration causes fatal pneumonia); pack a sturdy large cat carrier, pee pads, eye lube, and an E-collar. Females take ~40 min, males ~10–20; go home after recovery. After: keep clean, feed soft nutritious food, control portions (weight gain is common), and E-collar 7–10 days. Cost is usually under 1,000 yuan—watch for overcharging.
What to Prepare Before Bringing a Cat Home
Before you take a kitten home, be ready to care for it for life — an abandoned cat can be deeply distressed and may not survive. Choose a cat over two months old that already eats and uses the litter box on its own, get a basic vet check first, and carry it home in a covered carrier. Set up a quiet room, lock away toxins and secure the windows, hold off on baths for young kittens, follow a deworming schedule, and plan to spay or neuter. A little preparation prevents most beginner mistakes.
The Dangers of a Dog Holding Its Urine
Many owners know holding urine is harmful but aren't sure what counts as 'holding it.' Veterinary medicine offers two views: one links urination frequency to breed, sex, size, and health; the other says it depends entirely on the individual—diet, activity, water, and age. Either way, puppies urinate more than adults. Cesar Millan notes a healthy dog makes 10–20 ml of urine per kg of body weight daily and an adult needs to urinate at least 3–5 times outdoors daily; puppies need more. Trained dogs learn to hold, but don't assume that's fine—frequent holders are more prone to UTIs and urinary disease. Long holding lets stored urine contact the tract, causing infection and even stones; one study links a urinary carcinogen contacting tract cells for long periods to higher risk of some urinary cancers. No proven upper limit, but experts advise not exceeding 8 hours. Resulting diseases include UTIs (common in females), bladder stones (can block the urethra—emergency), aggressive bladder cancer, kidney failure, incontinence (spayed females), and prostate disease (males; blood in urine).