happyhealthycats

[happyhealthycats]

Heyy, we’ve found a two week old kitten that was abandoned by her mum. If you don’t mind, do you have any tips on how to take care of her, please?

This is a link to what I've learned from at this point literal decades of fostering kittens. Let me know if you have any questions not answered there.

I also recommend a vet visit.

[happyhealthycats]

How Many Litter Boxes Should You Have?

Having more than one cat is wonderful. It’s comforting to know that your cats have each other for companionship when you aren’t at home. It’s heartwarming to watch your cats groom each other, play together and share a special bond.

Litter Box Overcrowding

The one aspect of living in a multicat home that isn’t as much fun is the fact that there’s more poop and pee in the litter box. This can be where many cat parents tend to drop the ball – not because they’re neglecting to keep the box clean, but simply because there isn’t enough litter box space to go around.

How Many Litter Boxes Do You Need?

So, just how many litter boxes should you have? Ideally, there should be the same number of boxes as you have cats plus one extra box for good measure. Even if you try to keep the litter box perfectly clean, some cats don’t like sharing when it comes to their elimination location. It’s more difficult to keep one box clean enough for multiple cats. When you’re gone at work all day, you don’t want one of the cats to enter a litter box and not be able to find a clean enough spot in order to urinate. An overcrowded litter box can’t possibly be kept clean enough and the result may end up being that a cat feels he has no choice but to pee somewhere else. I promise you, the place he’ll end up choosing won’t be to your liking.

Shortcuts Don’t Work

You may think you can get around the cleaning issue by investing in a self-cleaning electronic litter box but that won’t address the fact that some cats aren’t comfortable sharing the box. Cats who get along in every other aspect of their lives together may feel anxiety when they have to use a litter box another cat uses.

Location Matters

When you put additional boxes in the environment, location is key. Don’t just line several boxes up right next to each other because that essentially becomes just one giant box from a cat’s point of view. While that may be convenient for you, it can be stressful if location chosen is in an area where a particular cat doesn’t feel comfortable. In some multicat households there may be one or two cats who don’t want to cross through another cat’s area to get to the litter box.

Situate litter boxes in various parts of the house. If you know a particular cat tends to stay in a certain area, a litter box should go there. Try to create an environment where it’ll be convenient for all cats to gain access to the litter box without added anxiety.

Offer Choice

Although you can’t assign a cat to a specific litter box, the more choice you offer, the less stress there will be in the household. By placing boxes around the environment you’ll also be able to offer individual cats more litter choice as well. You may have one cat who doesn’t like the litter substrate that the other cats use so you can offer a type he prefers in the location nearest him. Problems often occur when a cat feels he has no choice and is backed in a corner. Look at your environment from the point of view of all your cats, create litter box convenience and choice. While it may be extra work to have to scoop and clean multiple litter boxes, the pay-off is huge in terms of the reduced chance of litter box aversion problems, reduced stress and an increase in feline happiness!

[Read Article & Source]

[happyhealthycats]

why is cbd okay for pets but not thc?

THC is primarily psychotropic effects, it's what causes people to feel 'high'.

CBD is showing very good promise for treating anxiety and epilepsy.

That said, CBD is not currently regulated so there's no real guarantee that you are getting what you think you are buying and there's no real dosage range for dogs as far as I'm aware so a lot of vets still won't recommend it.

I personally don't judge. My mom's dog when I was a kid had uncontrollable epilepsy. When the first news about CBD helping with epilepsy came out, she said that if she'd known that back in the '90s she would have found a weed dealer to see if would help her poor dog.

#some vets still won't dispense CBD to pets #each vet who doesn't may give you a different reason

[happyhealthycats]

I'm just obsessed with this grumpy old man

#happy healthy cats #cat #heimdall

[happyhealthycats]

Unmute !

[happyhealthycats]

literally sleeping on a barbecue sauce

[happyhealthycats]

Obsession - by S.M. Asses

#happy healthy cats #cat #seymour

[happyhealthycats]

so many people do not understand that 1) animals are not people, and 2) they aren't teaching their animals what they THINK they are teaching them.

dog group on the book of faces, someone is asking for advice on how to get their dog to come to them after the dog is done relieving itself outside. The dog doesn't like coming to them an they spend ten or twenty minutes or more catching the dog each time to bring it in. Which reminded me of one of many attempts to talk a person through trying to fix exactly this same behavior in *many* other dogs over the years...

Me: So, a quick question for you... does the dog not coming to you and you having to chase them down frustrate you?

Them: Of course!

Me: So what do you do when you finally either catch the dog or get them to come to you?

Them: I give the dog a correction!

Me: So. You get hands on your dog and then you immediately punish them for allowing you to get hands on them. And you wonder why your dog has developed the habit of not coming to you?

Them: No, that's not... I'm punishing them for not coming when I call!

Me: Which was.... fifteen minutes ago, or so, you said?

Them: Yes, when I first called them!

Me: Dogs brains literally cannot link an abstract thought like that. A thought and a consequence MUST happen within 2.4 seconds of one another, or the consequence becomes linked to the most recent behavior, thought, or activity. So, tell me... how is your dog supposed to understand that you punishing them is for the event fifteen minutes ago when you have made such a concerted, if unintentional, effort to teach them that them getting close enough for you to lay hands on them in the yard means an immediate punishment?

Them: But that's not what I *meant*!

Me: Doesn't matter what YOU meant... what THEY learned is that they come to you, and they get punished. Stop punishing your dog for the behavior that you want to see more of.

Stop anthropomorphizing your animals, folks. They don't think like us. Stop setting them - and yourself - up for failure.

[happyhealthycats]

Hi! I just saw your posts about why you don’t agree with TNR. Awful, awful, heart breaking stories. I’m a huge cat lover myself so of course I found them upsetting. I’m just interested to hear what you think would be the most humane way to deal with strays and ferals?

I tried to tag the post appropriately, so I hope it didn’t take you by surprise! They’re incredibly upsetting, and unfortunately they’re only a drop in the ocean of tragic feral (+outdoor) cases.

I believe trap and humane euthanasia (T&E) is the most humane way to deal with the feral population, as well as adopting out viable candidates to indoor-only homes. 

One study that saw success with TNR had a 47% adoption rate, that’s significant - those cats were still removed from the population entirely, not returned, similarly another study which saw success in TNR - in regards to welfare and reduction of retrovirus prevalence - saw 56% of the population removed via adoption or death. 

Then there’s the study I linked in my most recent post determined euthanizing ≥50% of ferals would result in a population decrease, compared to the altering of +75% to achieve the same effect.

A common criticism of T&E is that by removing resident cats of a maintained feral colony you’ll create a “vacuum effect,” which will encourage new cats to move in. This claim is unfounded, and in studies on TNR the immigration of new cats was found to be a problem. 

In this study, although there was an overall decrease in population using TNR, there was a 21% immigration rate. Here’s another study which saw an increase in the feral population with a TNR program due to cat immigration. This can be due to both people dumping their unwanted cats or cats being attracted to available resources, such as food and shelter. 

As sad as it is to see otherwise healthy cat euthanized, being a cat lover myself, it’s a kinder fate than the gruesome demise which many feral cats meet. It’s also important to remember that, as cute as they are, they’re an incredibly invasive species - and TNR does nothing to curb their predation. 

This is a phenomenal piece of writing on the subject, looking at TNR from an effectiveness, environmental, resources, and welfare perspective.

[happyhealthycats]

yeaaaah, I saw that too.

it can be hard for people to understand that every species of animal has a unique set of physical and mental needs, and that (FOR THEIR OWN BENEFIT) they should not be treated like human beings.

here's an example: when a horse breaks its leg, often the kindest thing you can do is euthanize it. that is because horses have lightweight bones that tend to shatter, rather than simply snap, and all those sharp pieces can sever blood vessels and nerves, which leads to tissue death. your average horse weighs 1,000 pounds. that amount of weight redistributed to 3 legs leads to pressure necrosis on the remaining hooves.

the reason the horse would require euthanasia isn't because it's life isn't the same as an able-bodied horse. it is because its leg would rot off and then its hooves would rot off and then it would die.

I currently have a broken leg, and will not be euthanized because I am a human being. if I had both legs amputated, I could still have a wonderful life, because I am a human being.

similarly, if my cat broke a leg, or had to have a limb amputation, that would be fine (well, not fine, but you get the idea) because she weighs 9lbs and could scurry about just fine as a tripod.

if you understand what an animal needs, you'll be better equipped to know when it has a fighting chance. you'll also know that sometimes, the kindest thing you can do is put it to rest.

#had a hard time explaining this concept to animal rights folks #this is very well explained

[happyhealthycats]

"dog owners are uniquely entitled, cat owners would never do anything like this" eh i dont know if we should be giving cat owners too much credit considering how mad some of them get when you tell them to stop letting their cats kill native wildlife lol

[happyhealthycats]

via Animal Emergency Center of Minnesota

[happyhealthycats]

Cat House Palooza

[happyhealthycats]

Cat House Palooza

[happyhealthycats]

[Image Source]

6 Harmful Myths About Cat Behavior That Need to Change

Myth: Cats can’t be trained

Some people think cats are aloof, distant creatures that just do whatever they want. Their behavior can’t change because they’re naughty and there’s no way they can learn to do anything we want them to do. They could never be trained to do cool tricks or useful behaviors like dogs.

Fact: You absolutely can train cats… and it’s fun!

Cats are much more trainable than you’d think they would be. They’re really great at picking up on patterns so they will very quickly learn what gets them something they really want. In fact, you likely have trained your cat to do things you don’t want them to do by accidentally giving them attention. It’s one of the many reasons I don’t recommend using a squirt bottle to try to train your cat: the cat may think the squirt bottle is a fun game or like the attention from you. They may end up doing the behavior you’re trying to stop more. There are better ways that will actually work!

My favorite method of training cats is clicker training, though there are other ways that focus on teaching the cat what you want them to do rather than what you don’t want them to do. These methods, which try to increase wanted behaviors by giving the cats rewards for doing them, are called positive reinforcement based training methods.

Side note: One pet peeve of mine is when people call methods like squirt bottles, remote activated compressed air canisters, or even shock collars “negative reinforcement.” The term “negative reinforcement” actually refers to something that would increase a behavior. What people are talking about is actually positive punishment, meaning something is added and a behavior decreases.

Nerdy aside out of the way, what does training cats look like? Really anything you want it to! Cats can be trained to do almost any behavior they’re physically capable of doing, though more complex behaviors are going to be a bigger challenge. One of my favorite cat trainers is Melissa Millet of the Ultimutts. She trains cats for movies and TV shows. Her cats know how to do all sorts of cool things including riding on a scooter!

Interested in training your cat? A great place to start is the book The Trainable Cat. You can also consider getting a clicker training kit as many have a basic instruction manual on what to do.

[Read Full Article]

[happyhealthycats]

Associations between Laser Light Pointer Play and Repetitive Behaviors in Companion Cats: Does Participant Recruitment Method Matter?

One common form of play between companion cat guardians and cats involves the use of laser light pointers (LLPs). Although viewed by many as an enjoyable shared interaction, experts have suggested that it may increase the risk of compulsive behaviors. Our earlier study recruited participants through social media to examine the relationship between LLPs and potential abnormal repetitive behaviors (pARBs). Because of possible biases in this form of recruitment, this study was conducted utilizing Amazon Mechanical Turk. A total of 468 responses (54.5% female, 44.0% male, 1.5% nonbinary) were analyzed. Significant associations between the frequency of LLPs and the occurrence of spins or tail chases, chasing lights or shadows, staring “obsessively” at lights or reflections, and fixating on a specific toy were found. Additional associations for these pARBs included declaw status, cat age, and number of cats in the household. Despite differences in recruitment method, the primary conclusions of the two studies were the same: guardians frequently using LLPs with their cats reported significantly more pARBs. These results suggest that LLPs may be associated with compulsive behaviors in cats.

[Read Full Study (Paywalled)]

#behavior #laser pointer #cat behavior #feline behavior

[happyhealthycats]

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Neutering is Not Associated With Early-onset Urethral Obstruction in Cats

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between clinical aspects and urethral lesions with reproductive status and age at neutering in obstructed male cats.

Methods

All cats with compatible signs of urethral obstruction (UO) treated at the Veterinary Hospital of the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco from 2019 to 2021 were divided into three groups according to their reproductive status: intact; prepubertal neutered; and post-pubertal neutered. Cats with compatible signs of UO were selected for further analysis. Age, clinical signs, age at neutering and age of the first obstructive event were documented. Cats with recurrent obstructive urinary signs or urethral trauma that made catheterization impossible were referred for perineal urethrostomy. The morphology of the excised penises was assessed by histopathological analysis.

Results

Of 84 cats with signs of UO included in this study, 28.6% were classified as intact, 28.6% as prepubertal neutered and 42.8% as post-pubertal neutered. Intact cats had a significantly earlier onset of UO compared with prepubertal and post-pubertal neutered cats, as seen by the age at obstruction (3.6 vs 5.7 and 5.5 years, respectively). Similar clinical signs and histopathological lesions were observed in all groups. The main clinical signs observed were stranguria, hematuria and pollakiuria. All cats had some degree of injury in the penile urethra. The most common lesions were hemorrhage, fibrosis and congestion.

Conclusions and Relevance

It appears that intact cats had an earlier onset of UO than neutered cats, regardless of age at neutering. Urethral histopathological lesions and clinical signs were similar in both groups. Pediatric neutering represents a useful tool in the control of abandoned and stray animals and the consequent dissemination of zoonoses, thus having a positive impact on public health.

[Read Full Study]