Pleasing 4 Pets

Does your cat’s breath smell like mouldy sardines and poo? That’s probably because they don’t clean their teeth. There’ll be bits of food from a week ago stuck there, and is only going to become dislodged by chance. And, oh yes, they clean their bottoms with their tongues. Nice.

Getting a cat sized toothbrush is pretty difficult, and harder still is finding cat friendly toothpaste and allowing your furry friend to let you stick a foamy stick in its mouth repeatedly. Go figure.

So, there are some wonderful treats for cats that brush their teeth whilst they eat. Whiskas dentabix are just one of the many varieties, and they really do work.

The new breath may not be minty fresh, or smell like roses, but at least it doesn’t smell of shit any more. That’s the key. And, no, I don’t think you can give them to your boyfriend in the morning.

Have plenty of sellotape, a lint brush or a sticky roller. At all times. A spare small blanket on the back of the sofa, a folded up towel by the bathroom radiator, removable cushions on your dining room chairs.

Cat lovers everywhere will love it when their feline friend curls up on their knee for a snooze. They will not love it when they get uip and find their long-haired calico has left a closely knitted thick layer of white fur on their trousers when they get up. It is a hazard of owning cats. But, if you’re prepared, it isn’t too much hassle.

The blanket: to put on your knee as soon as you cat jumps on the sofa.

The towel: a comfy sleeping place, and a towel you don’t mind getting trashed when you have to dry your tufty tortoiseshell after she comes in from the rain.

Removable cushions: so you don’t sit down to your breakfast in a smart black suit only to get up and look like your cat’s been sleeping on your bum for weeks.

Most cats pretty much look after themselves looks-wise. They may need drying off with a towel after they’ve been out in the rain, but they’re usually pretty good.

Long haired cats, however, get into all sorts of messy situations: twigs in the fur on their legs, knots on the side, ‘dreadlocks’ under their chin etc etc…

A pair of sharp scissors and a soft-bristled brush. The brush is pretty self-explanatory – run it through your moggy’s fur every week or so, to keep any monster knots at bay. If you do get a massive knot, just snip it out with the scissors: there’s no point hurting the poor thing by trying to brush it out.

The scissors are also for trimming that hair below the tail. Yep, around their bottom.

It isn’t always mud that clings on to that particular area of hair, so it’s on my kindest advice that you trim the hair to reduce the possibility of any… unwanted extras.

No, I didn’t think so. Neither do cats.

There are so many bowls for cat food on the market that are rectangular or stretched oval shape, split into two compartments. One of these is for food, the other for water. How often do you see a rogue biscuit, or meaty chunk in the water? What do you do? Pick it out and throw it away? Tip the water out, wash the bowl and re-fill? Or just leave it until they decide to eat it?

I don’t know about you, but I think I might change my glass of whine if a bit of my gravy covered roast beef fell into it. I think, in fact, that I wouldn’t like it at all. I don’t even think I’d like it if my glass of water had been stood next to smelly food all day, as it picks up scents and flavours of what’s around it. Never had cheesy milk?

Put their water around the corner from their food; on the other side of the room, or just a few feet away. They’ll be far more likely to drink it, and will be healthier for it too. It’ll also prevent that horrible slimy gunk that forms on the water side of their bowl when you go to wash it. Nasty.

Many of us absolutely adore our feline friends and their weird and wonderful habits. Some will enjoy sitting on your lap only at the most inconvenient times, others will not be picked up or cuddled no matter how gently or politely you do so.

One of the funniest things that one of my cats does is chase his tail. Now, that may not seem so strange, but the funniest bit is when he launches himself, all four paws off the ground to pounce on his own back end. Again, this may not seem so bizarre. His problem is eye contact, or even perceived attention. If he thinks that anyone – human, feline, fish or canine – is watching, he will stop and clean himself (but always keeping an eye on that pesky tail). No matter what he’s playing with, if he thinks you’re watching, he gets all bashful and embarrassed.

This could be because he is the only male out of our four cats, and so usually he’s the Boss, the big man, the one who gets the cream (metaphorically, of course). He may feel that ‘playing’ is beneath him. Either that or he’s just a bit mental. I think I prefer the latter.

Cat hair has crafty ways of sticking around. If you have a chair that your prize kitty likes to sit on, you’ll have noticed that it gets thick with fur.

Also, you’ll notice that if your cat is on the sofa next to you, and you give them a bit of a stroke, you can see swathes of fur flying about in the air. The cats don’t like it if their ‘released’ fur falls back onto them (especially their faces) so if generally drops onto the floor or your clothes.

Hoovering is the best way of getting cat hair from carpets and upholstery, and a lint brush or roller is by far the most effective way of removing fur from clothes. Some will have been intertwined with the fabric so you’ll have to manually pick them out, but putting them in the wash will not get rid of them, but rather cover other clothes with hair and exacerbate the problem.

Fleas are the bane of any cat owner’s existence. They bite, they spread, they get into the carpets, beds and even clothes. If you don’t get rid of them early on, it will be pretty difficult to do as they live in the carpet.

At least fleas can’t live on humans. Our blood is too rich for them, so even though they bite us they can’t use our flesh to live. Good to know.
Flea collars are one way of helping to protec
t your beloved feline from them, but their effectiveness does want after a relatively short while.

Spot-On flea treatment and house flea spray are probably the best way to keep them away. Use the Spot-On every month or two and spray your carpets at least every six months.
Hopefully that’ll keep the pesky pets at bay.

Ever come downstairs in the morning to find a pile of cat vomit on the carpet? Do your cats bully each other to get to the food? Do they try to trip you up whenever you’re in the kitchen, constantly getting under your feet?

They have as much food as is recommended, but they are sick because of how much they eat. A good old catch 22.

Often, the reason cats are sick isn’t because they are eating too much, but that they are eating too quickly. If there are more than two cats, they may feel that their food is threatened, so will eat it quickly before anyone else gets chance to.

Or, if they are fed at irregular intervals, they may feel they don’t know when the next batch of food is going to be there, so they scoff it all down as quickly as they can.

One solution (which worked for a good friend’s two cats, and for my four cats) is to leave a full bowl of biscuits down at all times. That way, if they’re hungry, they can eat. Put down meat once (or twice) a day at set times, and they may eat what they want and go back to it later.

You may find yourself throwing away bits of dried meat in the bottom of bowls more often than before, but I can guarantee that’s better than scooping up half-digested biscuits.

I dont know about you but i dont ever let my dog or cat on the sofa, i dont think that is very nice for my friends and family to come inti the house and sit where my pet has left its hair. On the other hand i do feel very guilty when i am sat on a comfortable sofa and my dog is sat in its awkwards looking uncomfortable dog basket.

I was looking for something that i thought would be more comfortable and came across bean bagsfor your pet. They look at a lot more comfortable than the basket he already has, they can come in a variety of sizes, colours and it is great place for your pet to rest and snuggle. They are made to make your pet feel like it is a nesting area which will prevent your pet from shedding fur elsewhere.

The bean bags are easy to move around so you can put them in the car or take on holiday. The other great thing is that you can take the cover off them and put it in the washing machine, they are very durable and long lasting. I think that both mty cat and dog would love one.

When looking to buy a cat as a pet it is important to decide where you would wish to buy your pet from. This decision can be very important because where you buy your pet from can affect the condition, temperament and quality of your pet cat all together. There are many options including pet shops, private breeders and also rescue homes.

Should you choose to obtain your cat from a rescue home you will find a variety of cats and ages, this is because many cats across the country, every year become homeless or abandoned from kittens, to cats and older cats, due to careless owners and through no reason of their own fault.

A cats behaviour is usually assessed upon their arrival and if needed they are often given remedial training before they are offered up for re-homing, meaning that the cats or kittens that are offered are usually very suitable for owning as a loyal and lovable pet. As well as all ages most rescue homes will have a variety of breeds, not only cross breeds but pedigree breeds too however the cats breeding and background details are often not known to be exact, though , this should not make a difference unless there is an intention to breed or show the cat. But, if the intent is to show the cat then it is probably more beneficial to buy from a private breeder.