The Pleasure Of Cats
feline friends are one of the most widespread choice of pet. Most keepers choose to bring home their moggie from being just hours old, and the feline will be with them until its last hours. We are drawn to the loyalty of cats, they are very placid animals, and give their keepers regular attention.
From the day it comes home, disciplining the cat is important, unless you want a future of pungant stenches and stained areas on the flooring, along with scratched upholstery and maybe even bites. You will quickly become familiar with the advantages of scratching posts, toilet trays, and certainly scrubbing the carpet with cleaning products.
There is some good advice out there on cat litter trays. Reading up on other people's stories will be a great comfort.
Pets will however soon become well trained, remembering to go to their poop box when they need to urinate or poop. Once the behaviour has been developed, the rest should appear straightforward - simply shifting the pet away from furniture when it begins to scratch.
The responsibility to your pet doesn't stop yet - you will soon find that the inconvenience of a pet cat is seen most when you have to be away for a number of weeks. If you are lucky a friend or colleague might be happy to call around to your home daily to add to the feed bowl and perhaps empty out the litter. Longer trips will likewise need forward plans as moggies tend not to go with their owners. A handy hint is to holiday sit with another local cat owner, then so long as trips don't coincide, you'll have somebody to ask when you're not there to watch out for your pet.
Lastly, you want to be clear about the less common problems relating to animal care. Vet treatment may be quite expensive, so research some pet insurance. It's proportionally cheap (especially next to the medical bills) and will protect you in the case of a large cost dropping on your doormat following an operation.
Most importantly though, the reward of having a cat on your lap watching the TV is well worth the inconvenience, and there's nothing quite like the sound of that purr. You'll have a friend for ever, although they will drive you mad every now and again.
Some good advice on cleaning cat urine here.
How To Live With Your Cat
Cats make ideal pets but some of their habits can be a little bit of a nuisance around the house. Something like bring dead animals into your home can be difficult to prevent but other habits are a bit easier to stop.
Cats have sharp claws and they definitely like to use them. This if usually fine if they're outdoors sharpening the claws on a fence post out of sight. But even outdoor cats like to scratch at things indoors. You'll find that a cat's claws will quickly rip your soft furnishings and wallpaper to shreds.
This is where using cat scratching posts around the house comes into play. That way your cat can relieve its natural scratching instincts on something that you won't mind being damaged.
It's not just scratching that can be a problem cat litter boxes are something most cat owners have to suffer. If you really hate the job of cleaning it out you could always consider using an automatic cat litter box that will do most of the dirty work for you. The good thing is that even if you're out it's still there cleaning up the mess so your house will smell a lot sweeter when you return.
Another problem with cat litter boxes is that they are not exactly discrete. That's why cat litter box covers are such a good idea. They come in all shapes and styles that will blend into your home whether it's modern or traditional style.
There are several advantages of using a cover. One is the fact that the litter is less likely to end up on the floor which can be a tiresome problem. Another reason is that some cat are rather shy when it comes to doing their business, a cover will give them the privacy they desire. And a third reason is that the cover can help keep in unwanted smells especially if it has a charcoal filter built into the cover.
Each cat is very much an individual so you have to take into account their own little foibles. But it's these quirks and occasional stubbornness that makes them so lovable and interesting to have around your home.
