Cats for Dummies (For Dummies Series)

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The amount of food that your cat needs can be calculated by taking their age, health, and weight into account. You can use the manufacturer’s guidelines as a starting point, but you may need to adjust this. Always feed a food that’s been designed for your cat’s life stage. Adult cats shouldn’t be fed kitten food or vice versa. Coolcatfacts Some things are just so fun or interesting that we just have to tell you about them, even if they don’t really fit anywhere else. Beyond the Book You've taken everything into account: Your home. Your time. Your finances. A cat is in your future, beyond a doubt, but what kind? Although some cat critics claim that the animals are in it only for the food, any cat lover knows otherwise. Cats are in it for the warmth, too. Laps, beds, and even the tops of TVs and computer monitors offer many opportunities for taking nice long naps, which cats spend most of their time doing (see Figure 1-2).

You’ll find all everything you need in the main body of the book, but we’ve also worked to find interesting tidbits, recommended products and services, and material that will help you understand complicated issues if you want to go deeper. You’ll find much of this material in sidebars or marked with icons such as Technical Stuff and Cool Cat Facts. Foolish Assumptions People: Some people hate cats and go out of their way to hurt them. Others — such as gardeners — feel justified taking action against cats who foul flower beds and vegetable gardens. These people all pose a grave danger to your pet.Cats need their contemplative moments (see Figure 1-3), of course, as do we all. A cat needs time to think — about how much she loves you … or how tasty that little mousy would be. But anyone who has lived with a cat will vouch for the sincerity and constancy of a cat’s affection. Like every For Dummies book, this one comes with a free online Cheat Sheet that brings together some of the most commonly needed information for taking care of your cat. To get the Cheat Sheet, head to www.dummies.com and enter Cats For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the Search box. Where to Go from Here

Does your cat need heartworm prevention medication? Ask your veterinarian. The answer may hinge on your cat’s lifestyle and where you live. No one likes to give unnecessary medications. However, in this case, the cost of not erring on the side of giving medications may be high. Although heartworm infestation is rare in cats, it is also not easily treated. In most cases where heartworms are present in cats, veterinarians choose to not treat and simply let the disease take its course because the risks of treating are high. You see, while Schrödinger found such possibilities true for single particles, they would not be possible on larger objects, like cats. Prior to Lowe’s brainstorm, cats either went outside to relieve themselves — as many still do, to the unhappiness of many a neighboring gardener — or went in boxes filled with sand, soil, or sawdust, none of them a very practical solution for easy clean-up and smell control.Adult cats offer some compelling advantages and few disadvantages — the most serious disadvantage being simply that they aren’t as baby cute as kittens! In 1947, cat lover Kaye Draper of Cassopolis, Michigan, sought sawdust for her cat’s box from a local business. The firm also sold kiln-dried, granulated clay for cleaning up grease spills. Edward Lowe, son of the shop’s owner, suggested that the woman take home some of the absorbent clay instead, and an industry was born. Well-documented stories abound of cats traveling hundreds — even thousands — of miles to return to an old home after moving. This amazing behavior leads many people to believe that cats prefer places to people. Sadly, the same belief prompts some to leave their cats behind if they move, figuring that the animals are happier at the old house and hoping the new residents take them in.

As part of their animal-consuming design, cats naturally have high protein requirements — more than double the amount per pound of body weight than dogs or humans do. Kittens need even more: about quarter again as much to support their rapid growth into adults. There’s a great amount of choice when it comes to what to feed your cat. Some cats may prefer canned wet food, others will like kibble, and still others will enjoy both. The most important thing is to choose a food with real meat as the first ingredient and an overall high percentage of protein. If your cat has a specific health condition, then prescription diets are available. You see, the primary focus of the experiment is that prior toobservation, the cat is both dead and alive simultaneously. Kitty Litter made Lowe, who died in 1995, a millionaire many times over. The name of Kaye Draper’s cat somehow escaped being recorded for posterity. We think a little credit is due to him (or her), too. Random-bred or pedigreed, grown cat or kitten, whatever gender, fur length, color, markings, or variety you choose, we want you to be in love with your cat for years to come. So read on. Kitten or Cat: Which Is a Better Choice for You?Welcome to the third edition of Cats For Dummies, the most easy-to-use, up-to-date reference available on one of the world’s most remarkable animal companions, the cat. We wrote this book out of love for our cats as well as respect and admiration for all cats. And we also wrote it to make a difference for cats and cat lovers everywhere. Your cat is counting on you, and we know that if we help you — and we’ve written this book to do exactly that — you and your cat will both be so much happier. Icons Used in This Book Fat from animal sources carries essential fatty acids that cats can’t derive from vegetable sources. Fat also is essential for the absorption and movement around the body of certain vitamins, and it also appeals to the feline nose and palate, thus stimulating the desire to eat. Vitamins cats need Therefore, visually observing or monitoring the cat during its hour-in-the-box time would alter and prevent an outcome. Establish your bedroom as an allergy-free zone.More than one-third of our life is spent sleeping, and so making that time less stressful for the body is very important. Close off your bedroom and reduce dust-collecting surfaces by removing carpets and rugs, wall hangings, stuffed animals, and collectibles from the room. Invest in an air cleaner and keep air ducts and ceiling fans clean. Banish feather pillows and down comforters. Use zippered, dustproof covers on the mattress and pillows. Combat dust mites by washing bedding frequently in hot water.

Cars: Cats can be hit, of course, but cars also present a danger even when parked. Heat-loving kitties crawl up into the warm engine and can be seriously injured — or killed — if someone starts the car again while the cat is still there. Technical Stuff We don’t get too deep into veterinary medicine, anatomy, or other topics, but this icon is used to let you know that if you want to go deeper, we have you covered.The cat chose domestication on her own terms and chose our companionship the same way. We’re only now starting to understand fully what a wonderful gift we’ve been offered. From Humble Beginnings: How Cats Became So Popular Enough accidental and deliberate threats are out there to make keeping your cat inside seem like a very good idea. But consider things, too, from the angle of your responsibility. Are you really being fair to your neighbors if you let your cat relieve himself in their yards because you don’t want to deal with a litter box? If your cat carries a disease such as feline leukemia, is letting him out to infect other pets the right thing for you to do? And if you haven’t spayed or neutered your pet, doesn’t allowing her (or him) out to breed make you partially responsible for the surplus kittens and cats killed by the millions each year? Nonjudgmental listener and ever-affectionate companion, the cat makes a difference in many lives — and with relatively little investment of time and money. Truly, the cat has found a niche again — this time, to stay.