How To Raise A Healthy House Cat

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DR PETE WEDDERBURN  qualified as a vet from Edinburgh thirty years ago in 1985. He has worked in his own four-veterinarian companion animal practice in County Wicklow, Ireland, since 1991, and he has his own menagerie of dogs, cats, ducks, hens and others including a pet rabbit in his kitchen. Pete is well known as a media veterinarian in Ireland and the UK, with a weekly breakfast television slot on national television for the past fourteen years. He is a prolific writer on animal topics, with weekly columns in the Ireland’s Herald newspaper and the UK’s Daily Telegraph. Pete is known as “Pete the Vet” on his busy Facebook and Twitter pages, regularly posting information on topical subjects and real-life cases from his clinic. He also writes a regular blog at www.petethevet.com.

Traditionally, cats in the UK have been kept as free-ranging pets, coming and going outdoors and indoors as they please via windows, doors or cat flaps.

In recent years, there has been a growing swell of discontent directed at outdoor cats. Bird lovers get upset when they see cats hunting garden birds. Gardeners complain about cats pooping in their seed beds. And fellow cat owners are understandably annoyed when their own pets are pounced on by “cat bullies”. At the same time, it’s been shown that indoor cats live longer, healthier lives than free ranging animals.

The argument in favour of an indoor life for pet cats has one flaw: if cats are kept indoors all the time, they suffer from a higher level of stress-related disease, such as urinary tract disease and behavioural disorders. So, are there steps that cat owners can take to ensure that their indoor pets have contented, stress-free lives?

Choose a kitten from a friendly genetic background

There are two major factors that play a role in a cat’s sociability: genetics and early upbringing. Many people end up with cats that are frightened of strangers, anxious if humans get too close and fearful of other animals. Around 15% of cats have a genetic make up that is resistant to socialisation: such animals will not make good indoor pets, and so should be avoided. Choose a kitten from a source where both the father and mother are known to be good-natured, friendly animals, and the chances are that the kitten will inherit the same disposition.

It took a while, but Sharon (a client at my practice) eventually found the kittens she was looking for. A pedigree cat breeder allowed a cross-breed to take place, between a Devon Rex male and a Maine Coon female cat. Sharon was able to meet both father and mother of her two chosen kittens (and both parents were gentle and friendly).

Choose a kitten that has been well socialised from an early age

Studies have shown that the second and third months of a kitten’s life are life-changing: this is when the kitten learns to interact socially with humans, other cats and other animals. If kittens only have limited exposure to such experiences at this age, they often end up for life as fearful, timid adults, avoiding close contact with their human companions, and hiding whenever there are visitors.

Sharon’s chosen kittens had been handled by humans since birth, and had encountered other cats and the family dog from a young age. As a result, she knew that the kittens would grow up to be relaxed with people, cats and even dogs.

Choose an appropriate companion (or not)

Cats can live happily as solitary animals in a human household, and forced relationships, where new cat is brought into a home that is already inhabited by an established cat often end up with constant stress and fighting. That said, there are benefits from the ongoing company and socialisation if cats are able to share a home as friends. The best way to guarantee such compatibility is to introduce two cats to each other while they are still young (or to take two litter mates). And it goes without saying that neutering/spaying removes the tensions and conflict associated with sexual behaviour.

Sharon took one male and one female kitten from her chosen litter: they had already been seen to spend time together so she knew that they’d get on well. She had them both neutered/spayed at the age of five months.

Design your home to be “cat friendly”

Many stress-related problems in cats happen because they are expected to live in a home designed for human living. It’s worth taking time to see your cats’ habitat through feline eyes: make sure there are high-up perches to clamber up onto, to survey the world, and low-down hidey holes for cats to sneak into when they want time out. If you have more than one cat, offer them privacy, giving each their own eating/drinking area and plenty of litter trays (one per cat plus one extra).
Sharon read up about “cat friendly homes” on the internet, then she invested several hundred pounds at her local pet shop, buying two cat gyms (with solid, tall scratching posts), and some “cat runs” (narrow planking for the cats to run up onto high-up furniture).

Spend time interacting with your cat

Cats are not ornaments: to establish a successful relationship with your pets, you need to spend time with them. You can do this as part of your normal lifestyle – pet a cat on your lap when reading a book, watching TV or working at your computer, give them attention from time to time when cooking a meal, and in general, just remember to include them in what you are doing. Be sure to spend dedicated play time with them too, using cat toys such as feathers-on-wands, laser lights and dash-around mouse-like toys. Time invested like this will pay dividends – reducing any stress that your cats may be feeling, and strengthening the relationship between you.

Sharon talks to her cats when on her own, pets them whenever passing, and if she sits down for any reason, she sits one of them in her lap. The cats love this attention, and Sharon loves sharing her life with her cats like this.

Sharon’s home has turned well: she has two adult cats who are friends, playing together and sleeping curled up around one another. As far as she can tell, they have stress-free, contented lives, and partly due to her chilled-out feline companions, so does Sharon.

This column was first published in the March edition of Pets Magazine.

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