Another sad story today at the Cat Health Blog; we’re sorry to report that a man has pleaded guilty to charges of bludgeoning a cat to death in Canada. David Wayne Canaday was spending his Christmas holiday with a couple and their cat Groober in 2006. When the couple went out, Canaday attacked Groober with a broom, killed him and later claimed the cat had an accident.

The reason we’re bringing this to your attention is not, as you might think, to make you feel glum. Although this is a sad story, the most interesting part is that Canaday was sentenced to a mere 30 days in jail and pathetic $50 fine! When we wrote our recent report about David Tilley’s total neglect of 23 cats that landed him with a £5,000 fine and 100 hours of service, many people felt this wasn’t enough! I shudder to think how the British public would react if one of us beat a cat to death and got a month in prison and a fine you couldn’t buy your dinner for!

On the plus side Canady has been banned from keeping animals for 10 years (it should be for life) and order to attend counselling and psychiatric assessment. I don’t know what there is to assess – it’s obvious this man is insane!

When it comes to understanding behavioural problems with urination, it is important to think ‘outside the box’, if you will. When outside, cats bury their excrement; hence, when inside, they are already far more likely to use a litter box for defecating than for urinating, even before being training. Although some cats aren’t particularly bothered about the state of their litter box, others are exceptionally picky and, if their owner doesn’t keep their litter box clean and tidy, they won’t use it. After all, they probably see no reason to wee in a tray!

If your cat isn’t keen on using the litter tray, it might be that she doesn’t feel particularly safe doing so. Consider moving the litter tray to somewhere sheltered and protected, where she doesn’t threatened. For more details see the solutions post. Similarly, if your cat is an outdoor cat and suddenly finds herself inside for long periods of time, because of foul weather for example, she can find herself stressed – which can have a major impact on urination. Playing with her or keeping her entertained will help reduce stress and encourage normal behaviour.

Always remember your cat shouldn’t be treated like a person; you can’t just tell her off and expect her to start using her litter tray more appropriately. A little time and consideration are far more useful.

Any cat owner will be familiar with their cat running herself on objects and people. I wonder, though, how many understand what their cat is actually doing…

By rubbing her head and mouth against objects, a cat is marking her territory using scent glands to deposit facial pheromones. Unlike spraying, which is considered a response to a perceived threat, marking by rubbing is thought to be a positive and social expression, as well as something that makes a cat feel more comfortable in her territory. To this extent, cats who share a household will often actually rub against each other, even when simply passing one another by in the corridor!

Slightly different from this is a behaviour most cat owners will be familiar with, if not by name. ‘Bunting’ is the action of your cat rubbing her head against your face and is considered a very friendly and lovely gesture. Spraying is also normal cat behaviour but, rather than being a friendly and social gesture, it acts as more of a method of reducing confrontation by quickly communicating information about a cat’s age, health and rank. Although perfectly normal, spraying can be something of a problem for cat owners – check the rest of the blog for help and information regarding spraying.

Although spraying is perfectly normal for cats, it can be something of a nuisance for cat owners. In the next couple of posts I shall explain spraying; what it is, why cats do it, what causes it, how best to clean it up and what you can do to prevent it.

Spraying is a method of communication in cats; it carries information regarding a cat’s gender, age, health and even their social status and rank! Cats spray whilst standing, at a level that will be nose-height to other cats. It is a very common behaviour when there are lots of cats around, as it helps establish a hierarchy without confrontation.

However, cats will sometimes spray without an obvious cause or reason – when they are alone in the house, for example. Sometimes this may be because they perceive a threat outside, though other times cats like to mix their scent with your own, as a way of making themselves feel more comfortable in their territory and environment. As nice a gesture as this is, it can be frustrating!

Finally, there can be medical reasons behind behaviour similar to; lower urinary tract disease can cause urine to be deposited around the house, yet is nothing to do with marking territory. Although easily treated, LUTD is potentially fatal if left undetected and we highly advise taking your cat to the vet if you are even slightly concerned.

Just like humans, cat can suffer from shock. Caused by trauma like injury, illness and severe dehydeation, shock can be fatal if left untreated – yet it is hard to recongise unless you understand the symtoms and procedure for dealing with it.

Shock occurs when blood pressure falls, causing an insufficient oxygen supply to the tissues and organs around the cat’s body – including the heart. To compensate for the drop in blood pressure, the heart rate will then actually increase, causing extra stress on the heart, which is already suffering from a lack of oxygen.

As you may be able to guess fromt the above description, symtoms of shock include shivering, a weak pulse, fast and shallow breathing and, of course, reduced body temperature. Emergency veterinary care is essential, but take care not to further stress your cat at any point. If possible, position your pet so his head is lower than his body, keep him warm and, above all, keep him calm. Shock is easy to treat, but will get worse if you further panic your pet.

Worse than the myth of Bonsai Kittens, the Daily Mail paper has reported that Holly Crawford, a dog groomer from Pennsylvania have been selling pierced kittens for a few hundred dollars online.

PETA was alerted of this cruel act by an anonymous caller. According to Melinda Merck, an animal cruelty investigator and veterinarian, the ear piercings altered the cat’s hearing and neck and tail piercings hampered balance and jumping.

‘They were maimed and disfigured,’ she said, adding that if infections had become severe, the three-month-old kittens could have died.

In her defense, Crawford has said that she was not ‘acting maliciously’, yet the harm done to these young kittens means that it would cost over $1000 to rehabilitate. And yet if she had pet insuance, will she be reimbursed for this?

The trial continues.

Last time we mentioned what to look out for if your cat starts to vomit. Although it could be a simple explanation, like they’ve eaten something that doesn’t agree with them, it could also be something more severe that will require medical attention and the use of your cat insurance. Today I discuss a few ways to tell what might be causing your cat to vomit.

Strong odours, blood, bile or mucus in the vomit are all indications that something more serious could be wrong with your cat. Intestinal problems can be indicated by a range of symptoms; strong odours suggested intestinal obstructions, excess mucus could be caused by an intestinal inflammation and dark blood in the vomit can also be an indication of further intestinal problems. As a general rule, darker blood comes from deeper inside the body; bright blood in the vomit, for example, could well be in an indication of problems in the stomach – often this can be caused by stomach ulcers. If your cat’s vomit has bile in it, this may suggest pancreatitis or some form of inflammatory bowel disease.

Undigested food is not uncommon in vomit, but can also be an indication of over-eating, stress or food poisoning. Although all the aforementioned piece of advice are accurate ways of assessing what might be wrong with your cat, always take it to the vet as soon as you can and make certain you invest in some cat insurance to help you handle any unexpected expenses. Bring a sample of the vomit and stool with you to the vet as well if possible.

A couple of months ago we brought you information on the correct technique to use when cleaning your cat’s ears. However, it was clear by your responses that you weren’t all entirely confident with what to do. Bearing in mind that ear infections are amongst the most common forms of health problems found in cats, it’s especially important that you know what you’re doing in this area; even those of you with the very best cat insurance can’t afford to neglect learning this technique. That’s why today we bring you this video from Cat the Vet – a detailed video guide to cleaning your cat’s ears. We figured it would be better to show you what to do this time, so here you go:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMVLrgKNP5M[/youtube]

Hopefully now you can see what we mean for yourself, you’ll be able to clean your cat’s ears properly!

Remember to keep checking back for more help and information.

Although a balanced diet is the most important thing to bear in mind when it comes to cat food is, it is also beneficial to know which type of cat food is best for your cat – dry or canned. Although there is no hard and fast rule regarding types of cat food, here are the latest findings:

Up until recently, it was thought that cats were best off eating dry food for the sake of their teeth (the kibble pieces were thought to help combat tartar and plaque). Moreover, the 80-85% water content of canned food means dry food has a lot more high-quality nutrition by weight. However, recent research funded by pet insurance companies and the RSPCA suggests the nutritional content of canned food is actually far more similar to the typical diet of a cat in the wild than dry food!

It is thought that the typical diet of a cat in the wild contains very little carbohydrate at all, being around 45% fat and 45% protein. Where dry food needs carbohydrates to hold the kibble pieces together, canned food has much lower levels of carbohydrate (around 10%) and is hence much more representative of their natural diet. When it comes to keeping weight down, many findings indicate that a more ‘natural’ diet helps keep cats trim and healthy.

As autumn gives way to winter, many people will start bringing out the anti-freeze to deal with the colder weather. However, after two cats were found poisoned in Fife from consuming the useful household product, owners are being warned about the importance of keeping it out of reach from pets. Anti-freeze poisoning is one of the most common causes of poisoning in cats, especially in the winter months.

Due to the colourless, odourless nature of the substance, owners are being advised to keep alert to the symptoms of anti-freeze poisoning. There include lethargy and vomiting, as well as head shaking and even comas in the late stages.

It is not known whether the poisoning of the two cats in question was deliberate or accidental; what is known is that both dogs and cats will consume the substance if they find it. Since it’s common practise to change car coolant in winter months , which can result in spills that pets will investigate, extra care is required to protect both both our pets and ourpet insurance over this season.