Cat - How to Make Your Cat's Life, and YOUR Life, Happier - Training Your Cat

Imagine that you are scolding your cat for scratching at your new furniture, and Kitty is sitting staring at you. Suddenly you realize how silly you look and how futile your scolding is. So how do you train your cat to respect your home? All cats can be trained and should have some training from their owners. You will need to train your cat to use her litter box, sharpen her claws on the scratching post instead of your couch, and to stop negative behavior when you say "no." Cats can also learn to do "tricks," and the mental stimulation of learning is good for them. Cats learn the same way dogs and people learn; they repeat behaviors that have a pleasurable result. The best way to train your cat is to reward her when she does something right. The reward might be a small piece of a special food, or lots of praise from you in a happy, high-pitched voice. Training to change negative behaviors requires you to catch your cat "in the act." For example, if your cat uses your stereo speakers as a scratching post, wait until she is about to put claw to fabric, then firmly say "NO." The moment she freezes and turns towards you, switch to the happy voice and praise her. Move towards her to distract her away from the inappropriate object. If she makes any movement towards you praise her even more. Timing and repetition are the keys to success here. You must catch her as she moves to act inappropriately, and praise her the exact moment she stops. Things to remember if your cat scratches your furniture * Understand your cat's need to scratch. * Forget punishment - it doesn't work. * Provide a suitable place for your cat to scratch such as a scratching post * Make the scratching post attractive to Kitty * Make the place she's been scratching unattractive - physical or scent related deterrents will work * Whenever possible, start cats young. * You may want to trim your cat's claws. Training simple tricks can be incorporated into daily playtime. Always keep some cat treats in a pocket during training time. To teach your cat to "shake hands," begin by saying "shake," then touching your hand to the underside of one of her front paws. Praise her for letting you touch there, and give her a treat. Repeat this over and over again. Eventually, you can lay your hand flat on the floor just in front of her paw. Say "shake" and wait. If she even moves her paw towards you praise her and give her a treat. Little by little, she'll catch on that every time she touches your hand with her paw she can get you to give her a treat. Once she willingly touches your hand, you can start to raise your hand off of the floor a little bit at a time. Keep training fun. Stop the session before she loses interest, and always end on a positive note with a reward. You can use the same one-small-step-at-a-time technique to teach your cat to walk on a leash. This allows you to take your cat outside for fresh air and sensory stimulation without having to worry about her running off. Purchase a cat harness from a pet supply store. Before you even try putting it on your cat, simply leave it lying by her bed for a day or two. When she is used to seeing and smelling it, loosely put it on her just before her normal mealtime. Hand-feed her food to distract her from the harness and to make wearing it a pleasurable experience. Remove it when the food is gone. After a few days, you can let her wear the harness around the house. Let the leash drag behind, but watch to make sure it doesn't become tangled around furniture. When she seems comfortable with the harness and leash, pick up your end and walk with her, letting her lead the way. Eventually she will walk willingly beside you, and you can both venture outdoors. Pet Medication Supplies can help you get the best possible supplies for your pet. Advantix, Arthramine, Cosequin, Frontline, Heartgard - find the best deals in pet medication for flea and tick control, arthritis and lyme disease. Upto 50% discount everyday on brand names. Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Niall_Kennedy Cat - Cats Love To Hunt - It's In Their Genes Cats are one of the best developed species when it comes to hunting. They are very effective predators, even domestic cats can hunt and eat more than 1000 species including mice, birds, rats, moles and fish. Their whole body is made for hunting, their senses are much better developed than those of humans. Cats can hear and see better, they have skills and instincts that helps them to catch their prey. If they didn't have these skills they would starve to death in a natural environment. Cats can hunt a huge variety of animals. They eat very little animals like roaches but also bigger ones like rabbits or rats. The fact that cats are not specialized on a small number of preys gives them a better chance to find an animal to hunt. If there is no tasty rabbit to hunt, they go for a mouse or a bird or even small animals like spiders, roaches or other insects. In order to hunt these little fast insects, cats need to be also very fast as well as intelligent. Cats use different strategies to hunt their prey like sneaking or pouncing. Cats have developed these skills throughout thousands of years and unlike us humans even domestic cats still have these skills. Humans had similar skills but we lost them due to civilization and industrialization. There are cats hunting in groups like lions or tiger. As you can see in various wildlife reports on TV they are very successful by hunting in a group. Although there are cats hunting in groups most cats are single hunters. They simply sneak as close to their prey as possible. If they are close enough the prey has no chance to escape. In most cases cats hunt in woods or in areas with high grass, this way they can hide and not be seen by their prey. Cats are very silent when hunting, you will not hear them coming, they suddenly appear. You can see some domestic cats presenting their victims to their owners. These trophies are kind of a present, they give you something back in return for feeding them. This is a highly social behavior and means that the cat has adopted the human owner in her social group. Sometimes this means that the cat wants to take care of you. This behavior can be seen in wildlife , cats help each other in case one was not successful at hunting. Cats are specialized on killing and eating other animals. They have developed special teeth to kill the pray fast and shear it up in pieces that fit into the mouth. It is probably good to give your cat raw meat once in a while for a better development of her teeth. This natural food is healthy for the cat because it provides needed amino acids, taurine, vitamines and quality fat. Cats can not live on a vegetarian diet, they are carnivores so they need their meat. They need a high percentage of amino acids and vitamins provided by the meat. A vegetarian diet can not provide enough amino acids, it contains too many carbohydrates and other low quality ingredients. Feed your cat with a high quality meat or special cat food. Make sure the cat food does not consist of too many carbohydrates or low quality ingredients. If you want to be nice to your cat provide her a way to get outside the house. You cat can then develop its natural instincts and behavior. It has a chance to develop its skills at hunting and sneaking. Your cat will love the nature and it will be thankful for getting outside. Maybe your cat will come home with a little present for you, something like a bird or a mouse... If you life in a city where there is no possibility for your cat to go outside then at least play with her at home to develop her skills. This can be done in several ways, read about it in other articles on my website. Enjoy having a cat!

Cat - Cats Love To Hunt - It's In Their Genes

Save 5% on orders over $75 at Only Natural Pet Store! Use coupon code CJ75. Cats are one of the best developed species when it comes to hunting. They are very effective predators, even domestic cats can hunt and eat more than 1000 species including mice, birds, rats, moles and fish. Their whole body is made for hunting, their senses are much better developed than those of humans. Cats can hear and see better, they have skills and instincts that helps them to catch their prey. If they didn't have these skills they would starve to death in a natural environment. Cats can hunt a huge variety of animals. They eat very little animals like roaches but also bigger ones like rabbits or rats. The fact that cats are not specialized on a small number of preys gives them a better chance to find an animal to hunt. If there is no tasty rabbit to hunt, they go for a mouse or a bird or even small animals like spiders, roaches or other insects. In order to hunt these little fast insects, cats need to be also very fast as well as intelligent. Cats use different strategies to hunt their prey like sneaking or pouncing. Cats have developed these skills throughout thousands of years and unlike us humans even domestic cats still have these skills. Humans had similar skills but we lost them due to civilization and industrialization. There are cats hunting in groups like lions or tiger. As you can see in various wildlife reports on TV they are very successful by hunting in a group. Although there are cats hunting in groups most cats are single hunters. They simply sneak as close to their prey as possible. If they are close enough the prey has no chance to escape. In most cases cats hunt in woods or in areas with high grass, this way they can hide and not be seen by their prey. Cats are very silent when hunting, you will not hear them coming, they suddenly appear. You can see some domestic cats presenting their victims to their owners. These trophies are kind of a present, they give you something back in return for feeding them. This is a highly social behavior and means that the cat has adopted the human owner in her social group. Sometimes this means that the cat wants to take care of you. This behavior can be seen in wildlife , cats help each other in case one was not successful at hunting. Cats are specialized on killing and eating other animals. They have developed special teeth to kill the pray fast and shear it up in pieces that fit into the mouth. It is probably good to give your cat raw meat once in a while for a better development of her teeth. This natural food is healthy for the cat because it provides needed amino acids, taurine, vitamines and quality fat. Cats can not live on a vegetarian diet, they are carnivores so they need their meat. They need a high percentage of amino acids and vitamins provided by the meat. A vegetarian diet can not provide enough amino acids, it contains too many carbohydrates and other low quality ingredients. Feed your cat with a high quality meat or special cat food. Make sure the cat food does not consist of too many carbohydrates or low quality ingredients. If you want to be nice to your cat provide her a way to get outside the house. You cat can then develop its natural instincts and behavior. It has a chance to develop its skills at hunting and sneaking. Your cat will love the nature and it will be thankful for getting outside. Maybe your cat will come home with a little present for you, something like a bird or a mouse... If you life in a city where there is no possibility for your cat to go outside then at least play with her at home to develop her skills. This can be done in several ways, read about it in other articles on my website. Enjoy having a cat! Guido Nussbaum, Cologne/Germany. More information on cats, funny cat videos, cat urine cleaner and more at: http://www.caturine-cleaner.com Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Guido_Nussbaum Cat - Naming Your Cats Properly Pet cats hold a very special place in the hearts of their owners. Wouldn't it be nice to give a pet cat the loveliest name one can think of? Wouldn't it be great to give a pet cat a name that would reflect its personality as seen by the one who owns it or a name which would give recognition to the cat's breed? There are actually a lot of names to choose from in books or in the internet. But generally, how can an owner choose a name which he will find fit for his cat? Many cat owners name their pet cats with human names. Actually, a whopping fifty percent of pet names are those of persons. This primarily is because there are owners who are enamored with a certain name and actually desire to christen someone, or something for that matter, with that favorite name. Another basis for names is personality or appearance. In this category, examples are Midnight (should the pet be a black cat), Fluffy (obviously, if the cat is fluffy or has long, soft and bouncy coat) and Whitey (of course, if the cat is white). Pet names based on appearances or personality make up an amazing twenty percent of all pet names. However, unlike human infants where the parents can opt to wait for a few weeks to see the baby's personality before naming the child, cats must be named more quickly. So how does an owner actually name his pet cat? Here are some tips which cat owners can give some thought. First off, keep in mind that the name that the owner chooses for his pet cat will not only reflect the cat's character but also how the owner views his relationship with his pet cat. As much as it says a lot about the cat, the name given by the owner will tell much about the owner himself. It can then be seen how the name can portray an image of the characteristics of the cat. Many cat names give either a positive or negative impression of the cat. So, it is important to choose a name which will best convey the proper image of the pet. A cat's name is for keeps. No matter which name the owner chooses, the cat's name should be that for the rest of his life. It is absolutely not fair to change the cat's name every two weeks just because the owner finds another name he thinks he might prefer. If the cat already recognizes the sound of its name it should not be changed. Although the cat won't mind any name its owner may wish to use, it is just not fair to give the cat an embarrassing name. While the cat would not mind being named "Ooga Booga", it would be embarrassing for the owner to actually use this name. Imagine a person calling out "Ooga Booga" at least eight times a day every time he is looking for his cat. The cat's owner should find his pet a name which he will be proud to use. Also please remember to pick a name which will be appropriate when your cat is full-grown. A large tabby cat with a silly name like Mimi or Kitten seems ridiculous. A name with two syllables will do best. The response of animals is better to two-syllable names. A cat owner may decide to give his pet a long name as well as a nick name. However, the longer name inevitably would be shortened, and this would probably ruin the effect the cat owner originally sought. The cat's breed heritage may provide great ideas for names. For instance, if the cat owner owns a Siamese cat, why not name it Siam? If the cat is a Russian Blue, it would be nice to give it a Russian-sounding or Russian inspired name such as Sofia or Chekov. Speaking of inspiration, there are a lot of things out there from which you can gain inspiration. As was said earlier, the name the owner gives his cat will speak just as much about himself. So why not pick a name for the cat which is derived from the owner's likes, hobbies and favorites? If the owner were passionate about world history, maybe the names Isis, Genghis, Voltaire or Osiris would sound very classy. If the owner were an avid fan of the Greek mythology the names Zeus, Athena, Hercules or Jason would be sure to make a good first impression on other people. On the more contemporary side, names of characters from favorite movies, cartoon series, TV programs or bands will do just as well. Huey, Louie and Duey would sound cute as well as Bonnie and Clyde. A more posh touch would be naming your cat after signature designers. Tommy, Donna, Karan, Calvin and Gianni would not sound so bad for cats--just as long as they are well groomed as their names imply. Naming cats is not the easiest task there is, honestly. But it can be a lot of fun if these considerations and suggestions are always kept in mind. Then no doubt, that perfect name will come easily. Wouldn't it be great for an owner to call his pet cat a name which is close to his heart and a name he will be proud to call out no matter what time of the day?

Cat - Naming Your Cats Properly

Pet cats hold a very special place in the hearts of their owners. Wouldn't it be nice to give a pet cat the loveliest name one can think of? Wouldn't it be great to give a pet cat a name that would reflect its personality as seen by the one who owns it or a name which would give recognition to the cat's breed? There are actually a lot of names to choose from in books or in the internet. But generally, how can an owner choose a name which he will find fit for his cat? Many cat owners name their pet cats with human names. Actually, a whopping fifty percent of pet names are those of persons. This primarily is because there are owners who are enamored with a certain name and actually desire to christen someone, or something for that matter, with that favorite name. Another basis for names is personality or appearance. In this category, examples are Midnight (should the pet be a black cat), Fluffy (obviously, if the cat is fluffy or has long, soft and bouncy coat) and Whitey (of course, if the cat is white). Pet names based on appearances or personality make up an amazing twenty percent of all pet names. However, unlike human infants where the parents can opt to wait for a few weeks to see the baby's personality before naming the child, cats must be named more quickly. So how does an owner actually name his pet cat? Here are some tips which cat owners can give some thought. First off, keep in mind that the name that the owner chooses for his pet cat will not only reflect the cat's character but also how the owner views his relationship with his pet cat. As much as it says a lot about the cat, the name given by the owner will tell much about the owner himself. It can then be seen how the name can portray an image of the characteristics of the cat. Many cat names give either a positive or negative impression of the cat. So, it is important to choose a name which will best convey the proper image of the pet. A cat's name is for keeps. No matter which name the owner chooses, the cat's name should be that for the rest of his life. It is absolutely not fair to change the cat's name every two weeks just because the owner finds another name he thinks he might prefer. If the cat already recognizes the sound of its name it should not be changed. Although the cat won't mind any name its owner may wish to use, it is just not fair to give the cat an embarrassing name. While the cat would not mind being named "Ooga Booga", it would be embarrassing for the owner to actually use this name. Imagine a person calling out "Ooga Booga" at least eight times a day every time he is looking for his cat. The cat's owner should find his pet a name which he will be proud to use. Also please remember to pick a name which will be appropriate when your cat is full-grown. A large tabby cat with a silly name like Mimi or Kitten seems ridiculous. A name with two syllables will do best. The response of animals is better to two-syllable names. A cat owner may decide to give his pet a long name as well as a nick name. However, the longer name inevitably would be shortened, and this would probably ruin the effect the cat owner originally sought. The cat's breed heritage may provide great ideas for names. For instance, if the cat owner owns a Siamese cat, why not name it Siam? If the cat is a Russian Blue, it would be nice to give it a Russian-sounding or Russian inspired name such as Sofia or Chekov. Speaking of inspiration, there are a lot of things out there from which you can gain inspiration. As was said earlier, the name the owner gives his cat will speak just as much about himself. So why not pick a name for the cat which is derived from the owner's likes, hobbies and favorites? If the owner were passionate about world history, maybe the names Isis, Genghis, Voltaire or Osiris would sound very classy. If the owner were an avid fan of the Greek mythology the names Zeus, Athena, Hercules or Jason would be sure to make a good first impression on other people. On the more contemporary side, names of characters from favorite movies, cartoon series, TV programs or bands will do just as well. Huey, Louie and Duey would sound cute as well as Bonnie and Clyde. A more posh touch would be naming your cat after signature designers. Tommy, Donna, Karan, Calvin and Gianni would not sound so bad for cats--just as long as they are well groomed as their names imply. Naming cats is not the easiest task there is, honestly. But it can be a lot of fun if these considerations and suggestions are always kept in mind. Then no doubt, that perfect name will come easily. Wouldn't it be great for an owner to call his pet cat a name which is close to his heart and a name he will be proud to call out no matter what time of the day? Anita Hampton http://www.cat-health-tips.com Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anita_Hampton Cat - Pet Safety During Christmas - What to Watch For The upcoming Holiday Season is an exciting time for everyone. Parents are turning into machines, capable of walking for hours without food or water, just to find that perfect gift. Children are turning into angels, rarely talking back or getting into trouble for fear of a giant lump of coal being delivered instead of gifts. Your pets are also affected as they see things around them change. No more quiet living room for them to lounge in, replaced by a big flashing tree with bright lights, shiny tinsel and boxes covered with ribbons and wrapping paper. Gone are the tasty chew toys that usually litter the floor, replaced with carpet fresheners and cleaners for when guests arrive. During the holiday season, you'll want to keep an eye on your pets. Suddenly the house will be filled with flashy, shiny, tasty, glittery, pine-smelling, bright, noisy, crackly items, sure to intrigue most pets especially cats and dogs. Dogs that are already chewers will find the Holiday season full of exciting new things to chew on. There's strings of lights, ornaments on the tree or ones that have fallen down, nice, new, cool smelling boxes with wrapping paper. All these things are hard for a curious dog to pass by. Cats love Christmas. They especially love ribbons and bows, tinsel and tree ornaments. There is many a story of emergency trips to the vet to remove yards of ribbon from inside a cat. Many cats enjoy the taste of ribbons and quite a few cats love playing with the tinsel, batting it around until they can eat it. In order to avoid any costly and potentially fatal accidents this Christmas, make sure to take a few precautions before leaving your pet alone near a tree. Keep most of your presents put away, unless your dog has been trained. Maybe this would be a good year to start that training? Put one fully wrapped present under the tree and see what happens. A couple of sniffs and your dog disregards it? Great. If your dog sees this as another chew toy, then you can step in and sort that out. You want to make sure your dog can resist temptation of else you might find yourself at a Vet, trying to get ribbons and bows and cardboard out of your dog. No easy task I can assure you! Try and keep tinsel out of the equation if you have cats. We all know it looks great on a tree, but it creates a huge problem when cats ingest it. Try placing it further up on the tree, so that strings don't hang down to where they can paw at it. If you can do without, even better. Tinsel is easily and readily consumed by cats, the shine and the glitter is hard to resist for any curious kitty. Make sure to keep an eye out for any other hazards. Ornaments are pretty, but some are made of glass and can shatter into very small pieces when they get broken. Christmas tree bulbs are enjoyed by some dogs, I personally know of a dog that ate almost an entire string of Christmas lights, enjoying the "popping" of the bulbs in his mouth. Keep an eye out and be diligent. If you see your pet even thinking about chewing on one of these new "toys", make sure you take that as a chance to train your pet to stay away. Not only will you be able to enjoy your Christmas without coming home and having your tree all over the living room, but you won't have to make expensive trips to the Vet during holiday season! Happy Holidays!