catshoponwheels - Tumblr blog

catshoponwheels · 3 years

Link

Can I have my cat declawed?

Having a cat in the house is not always easy. Indeed, apart from the inconvenience sometimes linked to urine odors, there is also the problem of scratch marks. Curtains, sofas, armchairs, furniture, nothing escapes the fury of your little feline, to the point where you may wonder if it is possible to permanently cut its claws.

Although this practice is common in many countries around the world, it is strictly prohibited in France, and you must therefore opt for another solution.

Cat declawing, a barbaric practice common in many countries

Also known as onyxectomy, declawing is a surgical operation under general anesthesia that involves removing all of your cat's claws, as well as all of the first phalanges, in order to to prevent regrowth. This practice is permitted and common in countries such as Canada and the United States.

Removing a cat's claws is strictly prohibited in France

This operation has been illegal in France and in most European countries since 2004. In fact, in these countries, onyxectomy is considered to be mutilation of the cat, because this painful practice deprives cats of one of their main hunting and defense arsenal: their claws. This not only makes them more vulnerable, but in addition, pushes them to bite much more often, to compensate for this lack of claws.

You must therefore opt for an alternative solution

You have many other alternative solutions to protect your sofas, armchairs and other furniture from the fury of your cat. For example, you can trim his claws, push him to go outdoors more often or opt for a cat tree equipped with a scratching post.

Send your cat outside more often

If you have a house with a garden, and therefore have the possibility of letting kitty roam outside in peace, do not hesitate to take him out regularly. It willable beto let off steam on tree trunks, branches, and other outdoor objects, instead of on your precious interior items.

Opt for a cat tree with a scratching post

Finally, whether you have a house with a garden or an apartment in the city, if your cat is a homebody or cannot go out because of the cold of winter, he can always scratch the scratching post installed on the cat tree that you will have installed for him for this purpose. What happiness for everyone.

Interesting read on this topic: What Signs Are Your Cat In Need Of A Cat Tree?

Trimming your cat's claws

You can trim your little feline's claws, for this, use an ordinary nail trimmer or scissors provided for this purpose. However, avoid cutting at the pink part, an area with many nerves, which could cause heavy bleeding. To get your cat used to this method, please practice it from an early age.

Please note that this act is a last resort solution if unfortunately the above method does not work.

#catshop catstore catring catrings catjewelry catsupply cattree cattoys catmerch

0 notes

catshoponwheels · 3 years

Link

What type of litter should I choose for my kitten?

Do you want to potty train your kitten without ruining its health? So, it would be wise for you to opt for a litter that has as little dust as possible, fewer chemicals and is easy to maintain for you. And above all a litter that promotes toilet training.

To help you quickly find the right litter for your little kitten, this article presents all the criteria to take into account, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of litter suitable for kittens.

Recommendation of 2 litters to buy for a kitten

Perlinette Silica Litter for Sensitive Cat 1.5 kg

Silica Litter for Sensitive Cats

Soft for the paws

Ultra Absorbent Litter

Without dust

1 bag = 1 cat = 1 month

The characteristics of the ideal litter for your kitten

To find the ideal litter for your little baby, you must mainly take into account criteria such as the level of dust, the presence of chemicals or not, ease of maintenance and cost.

As little dust as possible

Because of your kitten's very small and not yet well-developed and very sensitive lungs, you will need to ensure that her litter contains as little dust as possible. Otherwise, he could develop allergic reactions, asthma and even lung infections. For this we advise you in particular to avoid mineral litter or sand-based litter.

No harmful chemicals

For the same reasons as those mentioned above, in addition to the fragile and sensitive skin of the kitten, the ideal litter for a kitten should be free of chemicals. Therefore, prefer litter without perfumes, without chemical additives and other clumping substances.

Easy to maintain and economical

Of course, a good litter should also be easy to use and maintain for you, especially with a high urine absorption rate and high odors, which will considerably reduce the frequency of cleaning. This type of litter can sometimes be expensive to purchase, but is very economical in the long run.

So, mineral, vegetable or silica litter?

Depending on the type of material, you will find 3 types of litter for your kitten on the market: mineral litter, vegetable litter and silica litter.

Mineral litter, although the cheapest of the 3, has a very high dust level and a very low absorption capacity for liquids and odors. It is therefore not recommended for your little cat.

Plant litter has a good absorption rate of urine and odors, and contains virtually no dust, or non-irritating dust. In addition, it is the most natural litter that can exist. It is therefore highly recommended for your kitten. However, it is possible that granules stick to the legs of your little animal.

With the best absorbing power for liquids and odors and being dust-free, silica litter is undoubtedly the most efficient on the market. It is therefore also recommended for your little hairball. Despite its high purchase price, they require a low frequency of cleaning, which will cost you less in the long run.

Clumping or non-clumping litter?

Whether they are made of silica, mineral or vegetable, the litters can be either agglomerating or non-agglomerating. Clumping litter boxes have the power to form small, solid balls on contact with your kitten's urine, making it easier for you to clean the litter box.

Non-clumping litters do not have this power. Generally, clumping litter boxes have a low dust level, good absorbency, but do not neutralize odors, require more frequent cleaning, and stick a lot to your kitten's paws (which will leave it all over the place. litter).

#catshop catstore catring catrings catjewelry catsupply cattree cattoys catmerch

0 notes

catshoponwheels · 3 years

Link

Vaccinate your cat: What you need to know to protect your cat

Whether he lives exclusively in your apartment (without ever going out) or is permanently outside, your cat is exposed to many diseases, which can be serious, extremely contagious and potentially fatal. To protect it effectively against these pathologies, there is a miracle solution: vaccines.

How does a cat vaccine work?

In the following, this article presents everything you need to know about this formidable prevention method necessary to preserve your cat's vitality.

Should I get my cat vaccinated?

Whatever his lifestyle, whether he lives in a house with access to the outside or in an apartment, the cat is exposed to many viral and bacterial diseases, which can most of the time be fatal.

If your cat has permanent access to the outdoors, it can easily be contaminated by other animals. Your cat lives in apartment and only occasionally out of the house may also very well be infected, including your chaucrack or clothing orsimple insect bites

In any case, although the vaccination your cat is not compulsory in France, you are strongly advised to do so, to protect him from these multiple diseases.

When to vaccinate your cat? Should we make reminders?

You should vaccinate your kitten as soon as possible, just after weaning, from the moment it is no longer protected by breast milk, i.e. around 8 weeks of age. So basically, it is recommended that you get your little hairball's very first vaccine around 2 months after birth.

About 1 month later, you will still need to go to the vet for a vaccine booster. Then, only one booster shot per year will be needed to protect your baby tomcat before the first symptoms of a given disease.

Against which diseases to vaccinate your cat?

Depending on the lifestyle of your cat and the places it will frequent, your cat will be exposed to many serious diseases, very contagious, and potentially fatal. These include typhus, coryza, leukosis, and also rabies.

Typhus

Still referred to as feline panleukopenia, typhus is an extremely contagious viral disease which mostly affects kittens and is fatal in 90% of cases, failing to cause severe gastroenteritis. As the virus is very resistant to the external environment, it can therefore be easily transported by humans to house cats, for example via shoes or clothing. Fortunately, the vaccine against this disease is particularly effective and will provide good protection for your cat.

Coryza

Caused by an association of several viruses and bacteria, coryza is also a very contagious disease, especially affecting cats living in communities. It manifests as an infection of the respiratory tract, including discharge from the muzzle, sniffling and sneezing. As this disease spreads very easily, it is enough for an infected cat to sneeze near an unvaccinated cat for the latter to be contaminated.

However, although coryza is a very common disease, it is not very fatal. Note also that a cat appearing in good health can carry the disease for many years, and fall frequently. This is why it is important to vaccinate your little feline against this scourge.

Leukosis

Spread primarily through saliva, blood and tears, leukosis is one of the most contagious and deadly diseases affecting cats. As the microbe responsible for this disease is not very resistant to the outside environment (cannot survive on shoes or clothes, and therefore cannot easily contaminate an indoor cat), the latter mainly affects cats with frequent access to outside. As this disease causes a deficiency in the cat's immune system, it is also often referred to as "cat AIDS".

In addition, it also causes anemia, and sometimes even tumors. In one in 3 cases the cat can recover from this disease on its own, in the other third it can become a healthy carrier and continue to spread the disease, and in the remaining third it dies. It is strongly recommended that you vaccinate your cat, who goes out frequently, against this disease.

Rabies

Of all these diseases, rabies is the one that has the particularity of being transmissible to humans. This is the reason why the rabies vaccine is compulsory for all cats leaving French territory or even those living in the infested departments. Unlike the vaccines for the aforementioned diseases which are given from the kitten's 8 weeks old, the rabies vaccine is given from 12 weeks, and will only be valid after 21 days.

Note that for your little feline to benefit from an anti-rabies vaccine, he must have an implanted identification chip and have a European passport.

Are cat vaccines compulsory?

Among the vaccines for typhus, coryza, leucosis and rabies that a veterinarian will do, only that for rabies is strictly mandatory in France if your cat leaves French territory.

Indeed, as rabies is the only disease among these that can be directly transmitted to humans, it is therefore the most formidable. Thus, for any cat living in a particularly infested department or who intends to go to a foreign country, it is imperative that he be vaccinated against rabies.

As for other vaccines, they are strongly recommended by health professionals to effectively protect your hairball against extremely contagious and potentially fatal diseases.

What is the price of a cat vaccine?

To effectively vaccinate your cat, from an early age, count between 120 and 160 euros per year and double the price for a kitten. It is true, it is quite important as a sum, but know that you can be reimbursed for part of the initial costs or even all of the vaccine booster costs, if you take out good health insurance. for cat.

If you do not have the means at all, you can always turn to charitable dispensaries, such as those of the animal assistance foundation.

#catshop catstore catring catrings catjewelry catsupply cattree cattoys catmerch

0 notes

catshoponwheels · 3 years

Link

How do I know if my cat has a fever? And what should I do if I have a fever?

Does your cat seem to have an unusually high temperature, a trembling body and behaving unusual, even strange? He may have a fever.

Fever is a symptom usually indicating a more serious health problem. But does he really have a fever and how do you end your cat's fever?

Find out here everything you need to know about fever in cats : the signs, causes, precautions to take, as well as what not to do.

First of all, what is the cat's normal temperature?

To detect an anomaly, you must first know what is normal. In the case of body temperature in a healthy cat, it oscillates between 38 and 39 ° C, with an average of 38.5 °C.You will notice that the temperature is not a fixed datum at all times, and that it can vary according to the subject's activity.

At rest in a cool environment, the temperature can drop to 37.7 ° C in a healthy cat. But when he is in physical activity, in a warmer environment or in a stressful situation, his temperature can approach 39.3 ° C, without this being the result of an illness.

Regarding fever, it should be remembered that a feline is declared feverish when its body temperature, at rest or in activity, crosses the bar of 39.5 ° C and it presents all or a good majority of the symptoms. fever.

How do I know if my cat has a fever?

The best way to find out is to take your little feline's temperature and see if he is showing symptoms of a fever and not just rely on the temperature of his nose as the legend says. urban.

You should know that we speak of fever in cats when their temperature is between 39.5 and 41.5 ° C. If it exceeds the threshold of 41.5 ° C, we speak more of hyperthermia.

Taking the cat's temperature

To diagnose fever in cats, the temperature should be taken with a rectal thermometer for pets. It can be an electronic model or not, but in any case, you have to be careful, because the cat can be aggressive when you touch its behind. Preferably, there must be 2 to take the shot.

After cleaning and drying the end of the thermometer, have one of the speakers stand in front of the feline and keep it lying down, whispering a few soft words to it. During this time, the second is placed at the back of the tomcat and gently lifts its tail to insert the thermometer into its rectum.

For an electronic thermometer, it takes a few seconds until the beep is heard, while for the non-electronic model, it takes a minute. Then remove the thermometer and write down the indicated temperature value.

Signs and Symptoms of Fever in Cats

Fever is one of the symptoms of various illnesses. It then manifests itself through signs and symptoms, which are in fact the clinical signs of the disease causing the fever.

When a cat has a fever, it loses its appetite and weight, it vomits and has diarrhea, it urinates a lot but painfully. His breathing is jerky and rapid, he sleeps too much and is tired all the time, he moves little and isolates himself too often, his body is shaking, he coughs and sneezes all the time.

Less common symptoms can also indicate fever. For example, you can observe blood in your feline's eyes, its mucous membranes swelling and changing color.

Causes of fever in cats

As you will understand, fever in cats is the consequence of an illness that they have contracted. It is a defense mechanism, a reaction of the immune system aimed at fighting pathogens. The most common causes of feline fever are bacterial, fungal, or viral infections.

Fever can also be the result of an injury caused by shock, trauma, or just a side effect of certain medications. When severe, fever may be due to a serious illness such as a tumor, an infection of the kidneys, or an immune system disease such as lupus.

Fever is an important symptom that can hide a real problem

As a symptom of an illness, which as you will have noticed, can be serious, fever is a clue that should not be taken lightly. After detecting it, you have to diagnose the disease at the origin and forget about the old clichés of the kind you just need the cat to rest and it will pass by itself.

Only examinations with a veterinarian can confirm the disease causing the fever in your cat. After taking his temperature over several days (several times a day too) and observing the signs of fever, you should immediately make an appointment with the veterinarian. This will tell you the treatment to follow and the different ways to lower the fever.

How to lower cat fever?

When it comes to feline fever, there really isn't much you can do, especially when it's due to a mild illness. The methods commonly used are mainly refreshing the living environment of the feline and taking medication.

Bring down cat fever with the trick of refreshing the feline's living environment, consists of turning on the brewers in the room where it is located while avoiding exposing it to the draft.

Adjusting the air conditioning to the right temperature or, failing that, using ice packs to cool the environment close to the cat may seem a good idea but very difficult to apply, as our perception of cold from hot is different between cats and humans.

As for medication treatment, it should only be resorted to under the advice and recommendation of a feline health professional. In this case, the veterinarian prescribes the appropriate antibiotics for your hairball, after consulting his medical history.

Be careful, do not give Doliprane, ibuprofen and aspirin to the cat!

As you know, your pet's health is precious. You should therefore not be negligent, because the slightest mistake can prove to be fatal. You must be very vigilant, self-medication without real medical knowledge is dangerous, most of the tablets prescribed for humans are prohibited for cats, because they are dangerously fatal.

In feline self-medication, it is strongly forbidden to give tablets of aspirin, ibuprofen, Doliprane, or any other drug containing paracetamol. If in humans paracetamol relieves headaches and lowers fever, in cats it is highly toxic and can cause death.

Kittens and senior cats: Be careful, you have to be extra careful!

During these periods of their life, cats are quite fragile, so more care is needed in the diagnosis and especially in the treatment of fever.

In a kitten, the slightest increase or decrease in temperature is an emergency, and it is good to have your vet on the phone quickly. For older felines, temperature variations should be watched very closely, as they canthey are indicate thatgoing to die soon.

In the treatment of fever, more caution should be exercised, because kittens and old cats have their organs not yet at the peak of their resistance, or too tired to withstand incidents. And in case of self-medication they can very quickly succumb to drug poisoning.

#catshop catstore catring catrings catjewelry catsupply cattree cattoys catmerch

0 notes