When Pets Nibble On What They Shouldn’t!

As most of my followers will know I have x2 cats, “Angel” aged 2 years and “Verne” aged 8 months.

I’m proud to say Angel is very well behaved and well trained. Verne is still being trained and in this process I’ve had misshapps where certain cables have been chewed without my knowledge. This unfortunately after some research, I found out is usually due to one of two things, the first can be boredom, this is unlikely with Verne or Angel as both are played with daily and on a regular basis, the second is teething, which this makes more sense in my case, as Verne is still only 8 months old and Angel did the same thing while she was younger.

As stated, I had a similar thing with Angel when I got her, however I believe Angel is a little smarter than Verne and she was able to be taught more quickly.

If your cat is chewing cables you may want to do the following:

1) Cover the cables, be careful though as some coverings can cause cables to get hot, over heat and catch fire – ALWAYS do your research. I personally find these “Cable Tidy’s” are the best things to use. You can find them from 99p shops to superstores, and online.

I’ll go through how to fit these to help in the process: you will need “Cable Tidy”, a pair of sharp scissors, and electrical tape.

1a) Gather the cables you wish to keep together, you may want to do these individually or in this example you may want to keep several cables together. I will be showing you how to do a two cable gathering.

1b) Here are the x2 phone cables. You will then place them into the clip which comes with the Cable Tidy.

1c) You will then place the Cable Tidy onto the clip.

1d) Then slide the clip down through the cable tidy making sure you have the cable/s inside the cable tidy.

1e) Once you have the cable/s inside the cable tidy, you can then use electrical tape on the end to keep the end of the cable tidy secure.

1f) Then measure the length needed from the plugs to the cable tidy, so not to cause any electrical difficulties with bendings. I used a Samsung and an Apple charger to demonstrate how to do this as the connectors are at different ends of the plugs. Once you have the length measured out, use some electrical tape to hold the two (or however many cables you have together – this isn’t nesscercery if you have only one cable).

1g) Then use some electrical tape to hold the cable/s which you have just measured out to the cable tidy (if you have one cable to one plug, you can use the electrical tape to hold the cable tidy to the end of the cable, I’ll be covering this step shortly).

1h) Now go to the other end of the cables and work out how much cable you need showing at the other end (in this instance I’ve left a few inches, because if you are charging both phones together, then you would need to make sure they could lay side by side without the cables causing any issues. If you have one cable in the cable tidy, then you wouldn’t need to leave several inches showing).

1i) Once measured, trim the excess cable tidy with your scissors. You can then repeat step 1f and 1g,

1j) If desired, you can then add cable tidy to the cables (if more than one cable is being used) closer the plugs to protect them. As before place the cable into the cable tidy and tape with electrical tape, the end connecting the x2 cable Tidy’s.

1k) Measure the length you require, trim with scissors, then tape with electrical tape the (in this case USB) end.

1l) Now place the second cable into more of the cable tidy, making sure the end fits snuggled up over the previous cable tidy. You can then use electrical tape to tape the end in place.

1m) Measure the length needed to the other end (in this case the second USB end), trim the cable tidy with scissors and tape securely with electrical tape.

1n) Where the second and third cable tidy’s join, secure them in place with electrical tape.

1o) Now move onto what I call the divided V shape, this is where the two cables and cable tidy’s meet. You will want to secure the ends with else rival tape to make sure either one doesn’t become unfastened.

1p) Then tape with electrical table the two joining ends together to make sure they can not be pulled apart. The steps in 1n, 1o and 1p will secure the cables and cable tidy’s from coming undone and/or being pulled apart.

1q) Finally you can mark each end so you know which (in this case USB) ends are for which phone etc. I used a sharpies pen however you can use two different coloured electrical table for either end to identify which cable goes to which phone etc.

2) Once all your cables are securely covered and safe from any form of chewing, you may need to look at something that can chew, I’ve heard the large cable ties are quite useful and they are soft enough to not damage the cats testy. I however have not tried these and I would always recommend caution and advise seeking advice from a repertable Vet or/and vetenery nurse.

3) If your cat/s have been chewing cables/wires, please take them to see your vet, they may have some mouth/teeth or/and gum disorder, they may also could have done damage to their teeth or gums or insides, you are not aware of, it is always better to be safe than sorry.

Remember “Prevention is better than Cure”.

4) Give your cat/s toys, if they are bored, then they will what we would think of as misbehave. Cats like small children need to be nurtured, they do more than eat, sleep and poop.

Make sure you have a tall cat tower, long scratching posts. Cats like to be up high and look at their souroundings, it makes them feel safe, and scratching posts are more than just for scratching, cats use them for stretching out their muscles.

I hope this has helped and I wish you success in training your little balls of joy.

Cat Nuisance – Pooing Where They Shouldn’t

Anyone whom has a pet which poos where it shouldn’t, knows of the lack of joy when having to clean up after said pet and its little, (or large) presents they decided to leave you.

Recently before Christmas (2015) had to take on my auntie’s cat (my auntie passed away due to cancer), long story short my aunties cat Ellie (aged 15 years), did not get on with my 2 year old cat “Angel”and my 20 month old kitten “Verne”. While Ellie was at mine, she used a cat litter (what I got with Ellie), which is the little gray dust pellets pictured below

  
I personally don’t use this as the dust which can plume from the cat litter tray can cover the house in the dust and it isn’t the easiest dust to clean up if it gets damp.
The cat litter I usually use is a compressed wood pellet sort, which is pictured below.

   
 
These come in 30ltr bags and can be bought from B&M for about £6 a sack (30ltr sack) and is bio-degradable, which is great for the environment.

Due to Ellie not getting on with my cats, I had to give her to a cat sanctuary who would be able to give her a loving home where she could live happily.

Since Ellie had left, I changed back to the normal cat litter I had been using before, however soon after for no apparent reason Verne started to poop on the bathroom floor and in the bath tube, yet he would urinate in the cat litter tray. I tried various ways and followed Verizon’s advice on how to stop this behaviour. No of it worked.

While doing some clearing out of rubbish at my home, I came across a bad of the gray clay like pellets cat litter. In the back of my mind I heard a voice. This voice said try Verne with this cat litter… So I did. I have found Verne has stopped pooing where he shouldn’t and is now doing all his business in the cat litter tray.

Sigh of relief lol.

My next task is to slowly mix the two cat litters and try and get him onto using the wooden cat pellets.

I would like to add here a conclusion I came to.

Don’t give up, and don’t get upset if you feel you can not find a solution to your problem. There is always an answer, it may just need to be investigated more.

I found a solution because I eliminated all other possibilities.

If you have a similar issue or concerns, please feel free to message me and I am happy to offer advice to resolve your concerns and issues

Cat Treatment: Fleas – Advantage 2 Vs Frontline Plus and How To Look After A Cat/s

Cat Treatment: Fleas – Advantage 2 Vs Frontline Plus and How To Look After A Cat/s

Several months ago, I took in my brothers cats, four to be precise. Unknown to me, they had fleas and the last time I had had a cat was when I was a child, remembering I am now 35 years of age. So my knowledge of fleas and such was limited. Because of this and his lack of understanding of telling me about them and him de-neighing the fact they had fleas, I had to fumigate my home (Cost approximately £120) for 12 hours and also looked at flea testaments for the cats (IT IS BETTER TO TREAT AS A PREVENTION OF FLEAS THAN IT IS TO TREAT IF THEY HAVE THEM). He now has his cats back, however as I found them to be a delight, minus this flea issue and very relaxing to be around. I now have a loving cat called Angel of my own which she is a rescued cat from a cat sanctuary.

This is Angel

Before buying Angel, my partner bought me a cat book called “The Cat Expert” by ‘Rebecca Watson (Project Consultant: Dr. D.G. Hessayon).

This book is an amazing book if I do say so myself, It has details in it which helps with all aspects of cat life, whether they be indoor or an outdoor cat, to the home you live in (House, Flat etc), the things a cat needs for a healthy and safe environment to live, including infections and illnesses of cats. This is a worthwhile book to buy if you are thinking of buying a cat, had a cat dumped on you, or you already have a cat. The ISBN Number for this book is: ISBN 978-0-903-50568-0 and is priced about £8 in the UK, $15 in the USA and $18 in Canada, you can also check out places like http://www.expert-books.co.uk.

Remember Flea Treatment Is Better As A Prevention, Not a Cure.

WARNING:
I looked into various flea treatments and there is some which I would recommend and some I would stay clear from. One of the ones which my partner and I thought would be good and it seemed quite cheap (Cheaper than most) was one made by “Bob Martin” – YOU MUST AVOID THIS BRAND AT ALL COSTS. We used this and it caused our cat Angel and the kittens harm in the form of burning their skin and hair loss. In some case we found online it can be fatal. Below are two links which will show the extent of peoples experience with Bob Martin Products. There are many links out there but I felt these explained whats happened to other peoples cats.

http://www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/house-garden-194/garden-plants-animals-610/253198-bob-martin-spot-flea-treatment-cats-all.html

http://www.petforums.co.uk/cat-health-and-nutrition/55693-warning-bob-martin-spot-dewormer.html

I’ve also added a couple of photos of the damage which wash caused to both my cat Angel and the kittens. With Angel it burn the skin to the point it was bleeding badly, the photos are after we cleaned her up, the following couple of days she lost a lot of fur. Unfortunately I didn’t get any photos of that, but she is still not fully right after about 2 to 3 months. The skin has almost healed and the fur has almost started to grow back but it will still be another 6 months at least for the fur to grow back fully. On the kittens, the fur loss was on their ears where the white fur is, which I was told by a vet that white fur is finer. Still no exploration as to why the loss on the ears happened.

Remember some cats can have an allergic reaction to some flea and worming treatments, so if your cat does have any form of allergic reaction, take them to a vets immediately as in some cases, cats could die. This also goes for dogs.

After speaking to several vets as we like to make sure we have a second opinion and even third opinion to be on the safe side. All the vets we spoke to said to stay away from Bob Martin products as they do more harm than good. SO, don’t be tempted to buy it because it is cheaper. The two TOP Flea treatments and preventions which were advised to us to use, is “Frontline PLUS” and Advantage II (2)”, it is important to know that if you buy these you want to get the Frontline “PLUS” and the Advantage “II (2)”, the PLUS and II (2) is the important bits. Both the Plus and II (2) has an added bonus of having an “Insect Growth Regulator” also known as an “IGR”. The IGR inhibits the growth of flea eggs, thus interrupting the flea life cycle, stopping fleas before they even start growing. Where as the standard Frontline and Advantage doesn’t have the IGR so in turn will take longer to treat and longer to get rid of the fleas.

More information can be found at: http://www.petcarerx.com/article/product-comparison-advantage-for-cats-vs-frontline-for-cats/1297

Knowing the weight of your cat is important too. The best way to do this is as follows:

1. Weight yourself in LBS on a set of bathroom weighing scales (make a note of this).
2. Reweigh yourself while holding your cat (if you have more than one cat, take it in turns to weigh each one with you making a note of what the weights are).
3. Once you have the weights, take the combined weight of your cat with yourself (Do this one cat at a time, so not all at once) and take away your own weight, this will leave you with the weight of the cat.
4. Repeat step 3 until all your cats are done.

Once you know the weight of your cat/s you can then look at which Flea Treatment to buy as this will depend on the weight of your cat (Small, Medium or Large) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, DO NOT guess the weight of your cat, in doing so, you could overdose the animal and kill it.

PROS AND CONS:

It is also worth knowing that Advantage II (2) kills Adult fleas, Flea Larva and eggs within 12 hours of application and lasts up to 1 month. It is also waterproof, so if you are bathing your cat/s you wont wash it off. The Frountline PLUS is also waterproof but it takes up to 24 hours to start killing the Adult fleas, Flea larva and eggs, which is double the time it takes for Advantage to do it, however, Frontline Plus also kills and prevents ‘Chewing Lice and Ticks’, where the Advantage II (2) doesn’t. This doesn’t mean that Advantage II (2) is not as good, because it comes down to the home and lifestyle of the cat in question to be treated. For example, my cat Angel is a house cat, not likely to get fleas unless I come in contact with them and they transfer from me (Outside) onto my cat (Inside my home), so I may not need to treat for chewing lice and ticks, and can be treated as a prevention of fleas. However if you have an outdoors cat that catches mice and small rodents, then there is a higher risk of your cat catching fleas, chewing lice and ticks, in that instance you would look at a prevention or treatment to match, which would be Frontline PLUS. So always look at the environment of the cat and see what is best suited for them. Please also remember that there is a minimum age in which a kitten can be treated and if you have any doubt or uncertainty, ask a vet or too. You can get help over the phone with vets and their staff will always do what is best for the animal.

One of the treatments we also tried and worked well in killing most fleas were, “Johnson’s Veterinary 4Fleas Tablets” I was able to by a x6 boxes (each box containing x6 tablets, so a total of 36 tablets) on amazon quite cheap. Now these work within 15 mins which is great, however what we found was after a couple of hours to a day the fleas would be back. I believe this may have been because of one or two things, the 1st being that flea cocoons (See Life Cycle Of Fleas), had hatched and new fleas appeared, or the second which I thought was more likely, the fleas tasted the blood, didn’t like it, jumped off the cats, and after jumping back on and off and on again, when they could eat the blood, that is when we noticed them on the cats again. I don’t believe these tablets are as good as Frontline PLUS or Advantage II (2), so in deciding what to use, my advice would be to stick to these main two.

PAWS FOR THOUGHT!!!

I would like to also state, don’t buy a cat or a dog because they look cute. They do grow up and they do require a basic level of care. For example, if you are disabled and cant walk very well, don’t have a dog, they need walking several times a day and if you are house bound, and not able to walk a dog, that is unfair on the animal… think of it this way, you wouldn’t like to be left in your bathroom all day and night with nothing to do, pooping in a corner and having to sleep in another corner only a few feet away. You would get bored and ill very quickly. Likewise a cat is a great pet and companion, doesn’t need as much attention as in walking etc, however you have to provide it with a basic level of care. Most people don’t realize how much a dog or cat can cost for it to have a healthy life. I’m not only taking about food, Cat litter (if a cat) and time to walk (If a dog) or spend time with your pet, but the annual check ups and injections, the maintenance of an animal can cost into the hundreds of pounds per year, so before you buy or get a dog or cat, please please please speak to some reportable Vets and Catteries and ask them for advice. You can contact the PDSA a national veterinary service at: http://www.pdsa.org.uk or google them for the closest PDSA Veterinary Clinic.

A reputable cattery I use is A1 Cattery and the owner is called Bob. His knowledge of cats is amazing and he has looked after my cat for a while now and he has helped with sound advice. His website and contact details can be found at: http://www.a1-cattery.co.uk