Cat Streets

Has your cat been coughing and hacking? If so, he may have hairballs. If you see disgusting skinny oval blobs on the floor, you will know that your cat has managed to dislodge one of his hairballs.

What exactly is a hairball? It is a mass of hair and food that did not digest that forms inside a cat's body. Loose hair that collects on his tongue when he grooms himself. For some reason, the hair comes together and forms a ball in his stomach instead of simply passing through his body. Since these hairballs aren't able to break down and be digested, cats often cough them up to get rid of them. 

Cats do not like to be dirty. Most cats spend a good part of their day licking their paws and face to stay clean and tidy. However, despite this, few cat owners think about grooming their cats.

However, grooming a cat is very important. This process helps remove loose hair from your cat's body. Without brushing, a lot of this hair would have ended up in your cat's stomach. Since hair is not easily digestible, it often forms hairballs. While cats can sometimes cough up hairballs, they can clog the intestinal tract, as well. In addition, grooming can remove dirt and debris from your cat's coat. It is also a great opportunity to check for fleas and ticks.

A vaccine is a substance that is made from dead or living pathogens. It is injected into the body through inoculation (intranasal versions have also recently been developed), which causes the body to create antibodies and, therefore, makes your cat immune to getting the disease in the future.

What vaccines does your cat need, and on what timeline? What are the most common vaccines and what special vaccines may be needed? Find out more about common vaccines, some of the risks, and the appropriate timeframe for getting vaccines to keep your cat healthy.

Cats are ill tempered and mean at their worst, but even the most annoying problems have a remedy somewhere. Below are six of the most common behavioral problems in cats and some solutions for them.

1. Clawing your furnishings and carpet. Cats actually need to sharpen their claws, just like rodents need to gnaw. Their claws never stop growing, and what they're actually doing when they sharpen their claws is removing the outer layer of the claw. Some people will simply declaw a cat that is having this problem. I do not advocate this. Even the most indoor of cats may wind up outside by accident or design one day, and if you remove your cat's claws, you're taking away his or her primary form of defense.

Are your chairs, window screens, and rugs all turning to confetti beneath your cat's lethal claws? If so, you may be wondering how you can stop this behavior. Of course, it may be easier to stop your cat from destroying your home if you understand why he scratches first.

Before cats were domesticated, they were deadly hunters. They relied on their razor sharp claws to help them climb trees so that they could leap down on their prey. Today, cats may get dinner from a bowl, but they still sharpen their claws. Scratching is their way of trimming their nails, since it removes the old outer part of the claws. Another reasons cat scratch is to let other cats know that the house and yard belong to them. When cats scratch, they release scent from special glands in their paws that help them mark that spot as theirs. Finally, cats scratch to get the kinks out of their bodies and to burn off some of their energy.

When Feeding Your Cat  Make Sure Your Cat Gets the Nutrition He Needs! So, you have a new kitten. You can just dump some cat food in a bowl and get on with your life, right? Well, there's a bit more to the process than this. To keep your kitten healthy, you will need to be sure that you meet all of his nutritional needs.

For the first few weeks of his life, your kitten received all of his nutrition from his mother. As he reached four to six weeks of age, the breeder probably began supplementing the mother cat's milk with canned kitten food or with hard kitten chow moistened with water. By the time your kitten reached eight weeks of age, he was weaned and eating a diet of kitten food. Your breeder should have given you some of the food your kitten was eating or at least the name of the kitten chow.

If you've never owned a cat before, you may not realize that cats can suffer from quite a few different health problems. Some of these problems are easily preventable, while others are hereditary.

One of the most common cat health problems is the hairball. Cats groom themselves constantly with their tongues. The loose hair comes off on their tongues and is swallowed. Sometimes the hair gradually forms into a ball instead of passing through the cat's body. If your cat starts coughing and hacking, he may have a hairball. Usually, the cat will expel the ball on his own. To prevent hairballs, groom your cat frequently to remove loose hair. In addition, feed your cat food that helps control hairballs. Recently, cat treats that help control hairballs have become available, as well.

Has your cat been coughing and hacking? If so, he may have hairballs. If you see disgusting skinny oval blobs on the floor, you will know that your cat has managed to dislodge one of his hairballs.

What exactly is a hairball? It is a mass of hair and food that did not digest that forms inside a cat's body. Loose hair that collects on his tongue when he grooms himself. For some reason, the hair comes together and forms a ball in his stomach instead of simply passing through his body. Since these hairballs aren't able to break down and be digested, cats often cough them up to get rid of them. 

One of the most important things you can do for your cat is to be sure its health is protected. Cat vaccinations can protect your cat from many common cat ailments. You should begin vaccinating your kitten when he is six to eight weeks old. Before this time, his mother's antibodies have been protecting him from many of the diseases that vaccinations protect against. However, now that he is weaned, he will need to develop his own antibodies. On your kitten's first veterinarian visit, your veterinarian will give him a physical examination. He should also complete a fecal exam to be sure your kitten doesn't have worms.

Before your veterinarian vaccinates your kitten, he should do a blood test to be sure the kitten is not already infected with Feline Leukemia. He may also test for Feline Infectious Peritonitis. The tests do not take long. Your veterinarian will have preliminary results in minutes. If your kitten is not already infected with one of these diseases, your veterinarian will give your kitten his first Feline Leukemia and FIP vaccines if he is at risk for these diseases. An only cat who never leaves his home may not need these two vaccines and your veterinarian may recommend against giving them.