Useful Information on Cats

As with all pets, cats rely on you for their care. Good nutrition, a warm place to live, good healthcare and plenty of love. Ask at your Veterinary practice or Paw Pourri should you need any advice about the health and welfare of your cat. Many thanks to Bev Truss for the following information and advice to cat owners. Bev can be contacted at http://www.petproblems.net/

• The Male Cat is called a Tom
  
  
• The Female Cat is called the Queen
  
  
• Kittens become sexually active from 6 – 9 months.
  
  
• Females will “Call” while in season for 4 – 7 days then she will mate.
  [In the UK it was found that queens would cycle between Jan and Sept with peaks of sexual activity in Feb, May, June, and occasionally Sept. The non-breeding season may last from late Sept till late Jan.]

• Gestation (pregnancy) is 63 days (range 61 to 69 days).
  [After the birth of a litter the average interval before the next “call” is 8 weeks (range 1 to 21 weeks). The interval depends on the age at which the litters are weaned and upon the time of the year the litter was born.]

• Number of Kittens per litter 4-5 (range 1 – 9).
  
  
• Kittens will be 90% weaned at around 6 weeks and fully weaned and ready to go to a new home at 8 weeks. You may need to supplement the Mothers milk by using special kitten formula; this is available from good pet shops and at your Veterinary Surgery.
  
  
• Kitten weaning food is ready available to start them off while feeding from Mum and should be fed between 4 to 16 weeks then onto normal kitten food. Adult cat food should be fed at around 9 months. DO NOT give kittens or cats milk as this is high in fat and lactose and may cause diarrhoea. Cat milk is available as a treat.
  
  
• Vaccinations should be given at 9 weeks with a follow up booster at 12 weeks, followed by a yearly booster for life. Vaccinations should cover Feline leukaemia, flu and enteritis all of which are killers and keeping up to date with the yearly boosters may save your cats life.
  
  
• The kittens should also be wormed at vaccination times and once per month until 6 months then every 3 months after. Use a good wormer that will treat for roundworm as well as tapeworm e.g. Drontal Cat
  
  
• Neutering and spays are done at 4-6 months depending on the maturity of the kitten. Sutures are removed from females 10 days after their operation although male cats do not have stitches. Cats may get fat when neutered/spayed and it would be advisable to cut the food a little to prevent obesity and related problems in later life. If you are keeping your cat as a pet; neutering and spaying is the sensible kindest thing as this will prevent unwanted kittens and the heartache of trying to find good homes for them.
  
  
• Flea control is important to prevent Flea Allergy Dermatitis. Some cats are highly allergic to the flea saliva resulting in sore skin and hair loss. This can be distressing for the cat so a good flea treatment should be used every 4 – 8 weeks e.g. Frontline, Advantage, Stronghold which are all easy to administer and are available from your Vet.
  
  
• Ear mites can be a big problem for cats. They cause a black waxy discharge from the ears. The irritation will cause the cat to shake and scratch at the ears making them bleed in some cases. An injection and eardrops from the vet will get rid them.

Your cat will love you for it!!!

National Feral Cat Awareness Week Sat 15th - Sat 22nd October 2011 The aim of the week is to raise awareness about the plight of feral cats in Ireland and promote trap/neuter/return as a humane effective solution, Read more here . .