Pet owners can help prevent pet overpopulation and help their cat live a longer and healthier life by having the procedure done early. Ask your veterinarian when the best time is to neuter your pet.

Meeting your kitten’s nutritional needs is important to provide for her rapid growth rate and boundless energy. Your kitten will begin to eat solid food at about three to four weeks of age. At this time, with few teeth and a tender tummy, a soft meat-based (canned food) diet is more easily consumed.

Though foods specially formulated for kittens are more nutrient-dense, a diet for “all stages” – one that can be fed to kittens and adults – may be fed as well. Both diets provide for the increased demand of your kitten’s growth. Although your kitten requires the entire complement of nutrients, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin D, thiamine, essential fatty acids and taurine are especially important.

Specially formulated kitten foods are higher in protein and energy density. Dry kitten foods contain about 35 percent protein, have a higher fat content, about 12 to 24 percent, and are about 25 percent higher in calories than adult dry cat foods. If a food is labeled “100% complete and balanced for all life stages,” it’s okay to feed to your kitten. Don’t feed him a food labeled for “maintenance,” which is for adults only.

Just like humans, cats teeth are prone to plaque buildup, and when allowed to combine with saliva and residual food between the tooth and gum, plaque turns to tartar. If plaque and tartar are not removed routinely by your veterinarian, they may cause periodontal disease.

• Gingivitis This is an inflammation of the gums most commonly caused by the accumulation of food particles in the crevices between the gums and the teeth. The main symptom is bleeding, although you may also notice redness, pain and difficulty chewing. If gingivitis is not treated, it may lead to periodontitis.
  
• Periodontitis is a serious infection that spreads to the tissues and bone in which the teeth are rooted causing loss of the teeth. Unfortunately, this disease is irreversible and may lead to other problems.

What to look for - The most common signs of oral disease are

• Yellow and brown tartar buildup
• Bleeding
• Bad breath
• Red inflamed gums
• Difficulty chewing
• Change in eating habits
• Pawing at the mouth

Veterinary Care - Fortunately, veterinary dental knowledge has grown exponentially in the last few years. Dental technology has also exploded, allowing your pet virtually all of the dental care that you receive, including: dental implants, braces (to enable a comfortable bite), ultrasonic scaling controlled with microchips, root canals and bonding and brightening.

Veterinary care should include periodic dental exams, which are important in order to maintain good oral health. The frequency with which dental examinations should be performed depends on your pet's age.

• Kittens - The mouth should be examined by your veterinarian immediately upon acquiring your new pet and at every vaccination appointment up to four months of age. A dental exam should be performed again at six months of age. It is important to assess your pet's bite as well as his/her overall oral health. Bite abnormalities can sometimes be corrected by orthodontics before six months of age.
  
• One to three years - At this age, unless you notice problems or your veterinarian has developed a custom exam program due to special circumstances, dental exams should be done annually.
  
• Four to six years - If your pet has perfect teeth and you brush them daily, annual exams may suffice, but many cats in this age range require exams every six months. It is better to have more frequent examinations done and get a clean report card as opposed to finding potentially painful problems later. Toothaches are painful for animals, just like humans, but your pet won't be able to tell you that it hurts.
  
• Seven years and up - Dental examinations should be performed every six months when your pet is seven years of age or older.

Home Care - Your cat needs preventive dental care just like you. AVDS recommends using a three-part dental care regimen to include:

• Routine physical exams by your veterinarian
  
• Regular dental care at home: Tooth brushing is the single most important part of oral care and cannot be over-emphasized. If your pet will allow it, you should brush her teeth daily. It is best to start early since most cats will allow brushing if you start when they are kittens. Use a special toothpaste formulated for your pet; human toothpaste may upset your cat’s stomach.
  
• Regular follow-up care: You can ask about specially formulated foods, such as pet foods that have been developed to enhance oral care by their abrasive action. Scientific studies have proven that these special diets are beneficial in maintaining oral health.

There are also numerous chew products available that may be helpful. Use common sense and caution when choosing these products; (ask your veterinarian for help). It is usually best to stay with softer products.

Whether purebred or mixed breed, a key to good grooming lies in the length of a cat’s coat. A cat with a very short, single coat similar to the Siamese, Burmese and Cornish rex needs very little grooming. The dense-coated shorthaired cats like American shorthairs, British shorthairs and Scottish folds require a monthly grooming session. Semi-longhaired cats resembling Maine coons should be combed and bathed even more regularly. Cats with long, flowing coats resembling the Persian should be combed and have their faces cleaned at least every other day, and they should be bathed weekly or bi-weekly. Their ears should also be cleaned.

The coat is the biggest grooming hurdle and can fall prey to shedding, a greasy consistency and mats (clumps of matted hair that are anchored to your cat’s coat). Remember to comb gently from front-to-back and reassure your cat with a soothing voice. Do this as much as needed to keep shedding and knots to a minimum. The proper combs and brushes can help.

Cleaning Your Cats Eyes - Eye matter can be a problem in big-eyed, short-nosed cats. The large eye openings and the small distance from the tear ducts to the nose create an area for more tearing to occur than usual. Rather than pooling into tear ducts, the tears spill over the lower eyelids. Once the tears come in contact with air, they are “oxidized” and turn brown, staining the area below the eyes and creating a glue-like substance that needs to be cleaned out to keep the area healthy and the cat comfortable.

To clean the eyes use a soft washcloth or a cotton square dipped in tepid water. Hold your cat’s head and wipe the damp cloth gently across her lower eyelid. Be careful not to rub the eyeball directly. Let the moisture soften the eye matter and then go back and wipe again. Make sure you use a fresh section of the cloth each time.

Bathing Your Cat - Sometimes greasy coats, allergies and plain old dirt require a cat to have a good bath. This can be tricky because cats usually don’t like water. It is best to introduce a cat to bathing as a kitten so that baths become less stressful with time. Experiment with various brands of medicated shampoo, use mild eye drops or ointments from your veterinarian to guard against soap getting into your cat’s eyes. You may also need a wetting agent, a de-greaser and a conditioner to release the tangles in your cat’s coat. Use a sprayer attachment for rinsing and keep towels nearby. Clean the ears with a soft Q-tip dipped in otic solution, which you can purchase from vet catalogs. Blot the fur with a dry towel. A single-coated or dense shorthaired cat can be towel dried and placed in a warm bathroom until he is completely dried. The longer the coat, the more important it is to use combs and brushes at this point.

Trimming Your Cat's Toenails -

• Start young. The earlier you start clipping your kitty’s claws, the better used to it she will be. Frequent trims when your cat is young will help diminish any fear. Have your veterinarian show you how to do it the first time.
  
• Learn the anatomy. Within the center of each toenail is the blood and nerve supply for the nail called the quick. Most cats have light colored nails so you can see the quick, a pinkish area in the middle of the nail. Cutting into the quick will result in pain and bleeding.
  
• Use the proper instruments. There are a variety of nail trimmers available at pet stores or your veterinarian’s office. Human nail trimmers generally do not work – unless your pet is a young kitten with soft clear nails.

Before you start clipping, determine how much needs to be trimmed. The basic rule of thumb is that the nail, which curls downward, should be even with the paw pad. Whatever hangs over must be clipped.

Dry cat foods have greater caloric density which means simply, there is less water in a 1/2 cup of dry food as compared to a canned food diet. Overall, the choice of "dry" vs. "canned" vs. "semi-moist" is an individual one, but most cats enjoy eating a combination of a dry food along with supplemental canned food.

Cats in the various life stages, including kitten ("growth"), adult and senior ("geriatric"), require different amounts of nutrients. Special situations such as pregnancy and nursing kittens can dramatically affect nutritional needs. Working cats need more calories, while the "couch potato" needs less (just like us).

Cats have particularly unusual nutrient needs. These include:

Vitamin A

Your cat doesn’t have the ability to convert the carotene found in plants to vitamin A. His source of vitamin A must come from liver, kidney and other organ meats. If a cat lacks vitamin A in his diet, poor growth, weight loss, damage to cell membranes and decreased resistance to disease are among the possible consequences. More importantly, female cats may fail to cycle, the embryo may fail to implant or the pregnant cat may abort or produce kittens with abnormalities, such as a cleft palate.

Niacin

Your cat is unable to synthesize niacin from the amino acid tryptophan, due to an excess of a certain enzyme. Therefore, unlike other animals, his requirement for niacin must be met entirely from niacin present in animal tissues (plants are low in niacin). Deficiencies include weight loss, loss of appetite, unkempt fur and wounds around the mouth.

Essential Fatty Acids

Your cat requires sufficient arachidonic acid, a fatty acid found only in animal tissue. Therefore, he requires some animal fat in his diet. Dermatitis and poor reproductive performance are among the deficiency symptoms.

Taurine

Your cat’s taurine requirement is quite high. Naturally he’d obtain taurine, an amino acid, from muscle meats. Fish and shellfish are also exceptionally good sources. Taurine deficiency can produce central retinal degeneration (CRD), a form of blindness. Besides CRD, deficiency symptoms of taurine include poor reproduction and dilated cardiomyopathy (heart muscle disease).

In addition to these dietary peculiarities, your cat requires a high amount of protein in his diet, about 12 percent in comparison to 4 percent for adult dogs. Unlike you, your cat does very well on a high-fat diet. Fat gives him needed energy, assists the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, such A and E, and adds taste. Fat also adds to his needed calories, a daily requirement of about 35 kilocalories per pound of body weight.

Feeding

You can either feed him at least two meals a day or leave food out for snacking. In order to fulfill his needs, feed him one ounce of canned food daily, or 1/3 ounce of dry food, per pound of body weight. Most young cats (one to four years of age) are very active and self-regulate their food intake, thereby maintaining a healthy body weight.

As your cat ages, he may slow down and begin putting on extra weight. Monitor his weight — if he’s becoming too fat, consult your veterinarian.

Remember, water is also an important nutrient. He needs fresh clean water daily. Your cat drinks about twice the amount of water as he consumes in dry food, though since canned cat food in greater than 75 percent water, he barely drinks when his diet consists of canned cat food only.

Consider Your Cat's Age

• For kittens (up to 8-9 months of age): Feed your kitten a consistent canned, semi-moist, or dry cat food designed for kittens.
  
• For adult cats (1-9 years): Feed your cat a consistent canned, semi-moist, or dry cat food designed for an "adult" cat.
  
• For senior cats (8-9+ years): Feed your cat a consistent canned, semi-moist, or dry cat food designed for a "senior" cat.

Consider Your Cat's Body Condition

• Underweight cats: Feed your cat 1-1/2 times the "usual" amount of food and make an appointment to see your veterinarian about your cat’s body condition. Consider switching to a food with higher protein and fat content.
  
• Lean cats: Many healthy cats are a bit thin, especially active young male cats. Consider increasing total daily food or caloric intake by 25 percent. Weigh your cat every week, if possible, to chart progress.
  
• Chubby cats: If your cat is a bit overweight, try increasing the daily exercise routine. Gradually increase exercise over two weeks unless limited by a medical condition. Many cats like to play. If these measures fail, cut out all treats and reduce daily intake of food by up to 25 percent.
  
• Fat or obese cats: Stop all treats except hairball medicines if needed. Increase exercise gradually over 2-3 weeks if not limited by a medical condition. If these measures fail, reduce the total daily food amount by 25 percent to 40 percent, switch to a low fat/high fiber diet, and call your veterinarian to discuss plans. Inquire about prescription-type reduction diets that can really be effective while providing balanced nutrition.

keeping cats indoors protects them from disease and all manner of dangers. Risks of outdoor life include exposure to infectious diseases, such as feline leukemia, feline immunodeficiency virus, feline infectious peritonitis, and rabies; injury or death occurring on busy roads; and attacks by predators. Not only does keeping cats indoors protect their health, it also protects the lives of countless birds that they would otherwise kill.

However, cat behaviorists in Great Britain believe that keeping cats indoors may contribute to behavior problems, such as house soiling. They claim that indoor cats are not allowed to express their natural behaviors and suffer as a consequence

What Has Changed and Why - Many things have changed since the days when most cats ran wild and caught mice for a living. Here are but a few of them:

• Cat owners today view their cats as family members and cats have become incorporated into many aspects of their owners’ lives. No longer are cats simply kept as ratters to protect the grain supply.
  
• House cats of today are often given the very best of medical attention – and, sometimes, at quite an expense for their owners. Because of this and because they are fed better, cats now live longer, healthier lives than ever before.
  
• The average life span of indoor cats is about 14 years – though this is reduced to 4 years in cats that are allowed to roam free, exposing themselves to the hazards of outdoor life.
  
• Family structure has changed so that both owners often work, spending long hours away from the home. Cats are viewed as independent and able to cope better than dogs in this situation.
  
• The population of pet cats has rapidly increased so that there are now some 73 million cats in the United States.
  
• We have progressively become a nation of city dwellers. Country life is becoming a thing of the past. With cities come roads, traffic, and increased density of human and animal life. Dangers abound for free-ranging pets and diseases thrive better in crowded urban environments. Not all can be fully protected against with vaccines and no vaccine is 100 percent effective.
  

If lifespan were the only factor due for consideration, no one in his right mind would let a cat outside – ever. It just doesn’t make sense to risk your cat’s health, even life, in a world fraught with ever increasing danger. If you live on busy streets, which most of us do, letting your cat out subjects him to the risk of being injured or killed by passing traffic.

Besides traffic, there are risks posed by exposure to other cats. The #1 disease of outdoor cats is an abscess resulting from a bite wound. Bite wounds usually become infected, causing large volumes of pus to accumulate beneath the cat’s skin, sending the cat’s temperature soaring and making it feel out of sorts. Antibiotics and sometimes surgery are often necessary to help resolve the problem.

Highly infectious viral diseases, like feline AIDS and distemper, are transmitted between unvaccinated cats. And there’s the risk of rabies (again more so in unvaccinated cats) and predation posed by wildlife. The most recent wildlife threat comes from coyotes – that can tear a cat to pieces in very short order. Coyotes have migrated into highly urbanized areas, such as Manhattan, and should be considered a hazard for outdoor cats almost everywhere in the United States.

Some people are a threat to cats, too. Irresponsible, cruel children have been known to do heinous things to cats - in the name of having fun. Cat-hating adults may also harm cats and many outdoor cats harbor the telltale signs, air gun slugs or BB pellets seen on X-ray. Finally, inclement weather in northern climes can be a death sentence for cats.

Viewing things from another perspective, when cats are allowed outside it’s bad news for the small wild animals on which they prey. While no one really seems to mind when cats catch mice and other small rodents, when cats’ predatory instincts are directed toward beautiful songbirds, bird lovers naturally become enraged.

Keeping cats inside can avoid all of the above risks and disasters.

Letting Cats Out: The Pros

There really isn’t too much of a case here, unless you are a cat – and a particular type of cat at that. Confident cats, particularly those with prior outdoor experience, may well vote for freedom and its attendant risk over the alternative – a long, but boring, healthy life of incarceration. For cats of such persuasion, it seems that the New Hampshire state motto - “Live Free or Die” – might easily apply

Some indoor cats develop neurotic habits, such as wool sucking and psychogenic alopecia, while others become reclusive. Behavior problems of this type are rare in households, indeed in countries, where cats are regularly allowed out of the house. The highest incidence of neurotic behaviors in cats is in the United States where keeping cats inside is the most prevalent style of ownership (greater than 50 percent keep cats inside).

Conclusion -

The answer to the question about whether to keep cats inside or allow them outside on occasion, is not black or white but rather a shade of gray. If forced to vote one way or the other (which we are, on an individual basis), the answer would have to be to keep cats indoors. This is a far more healthful situation for the cat. But with great care, certain cats under certain circumstances, might be permitted brief, well-supervised excursions outside, perhaps on a harness and long lead.

For those cats that must remain indoors all the time, or even most of the time, it is an owner’s duty to make sure that his cat has copious daily opportunities for exercise, games, fun and interaction with family members. To this end, it is imperative to design the indoor cat’s environment to be cat-friendly and biologically appropriate.

Environmental Enrichment for Indoor Cats:

• Company for your cat (another cat, or two, as long as they all get along well)
  
• A rotation of well-designed toys for the cat’s entertainment and to dissipate predatory energies (moving toys are best)
  
• Food puzzles – e.g. Busta cube for cats, pieces of meat or fish frozen in a block of ice, kibble-filled, cardboard toilet roll with holes punched in it and the ends sealed, to allow slow disbursement of the kibble, etc.
  
• A three-dimensional environment (provide climbing frames and panoramic viewing stations)
  
• Fish tanks (lids firmly in place), window bird feeders and even videos. There are some videos, featuring rodents running in wheels or fish swimming in place, that are specially made for cats.

The idea is to create an environment in which the cat is happy and gainfully occupied. If this can be done, and the cat does not constantly pine for the outside world, indoors is definitely a safer place. Even for a chronic complainer, it is best to keep working to distract and entertain him than give in to the pressure and allow him outside for what might be a short and unhealthful life outdoors.

Why Cats Scratch -

Cats scratch to smooth out the rims of their claws, which gradually get frayed. Scratching is also an instinctive method of marking territory. Each scratch leaves secretions from glands in a cat’s feet, a scent that gets other cats’ attention.

The cat’s retractable claws are also used for defense and add to the animal’s grace and acrobatic ability. But those claws can also rake a new sofa to shreds and lash a small child’s cheek during a playful encounter. According to Dr. Debra Primovic, a veterinarian at the Animal Emergency Clinic in St. Louis and a consultant for PetPlace.com, the dividing line between declawing and not declawing usually involves where cats are kept: indoors such as the city, vs. areas where cats are more apt to move freely between inside and outside, like the suburbs or country. City dwellers usually declaw their cats because the animals will be staying indoors, but people who live in the country want their cats armed to defend themselves if they roam around outside or escape, Primovic says. Keep in mind that cats can get out accidentally in the city and if they are declawed they will be nearly defenseless against other cats who might try to pick a fight.

The cat’s age is another consideration. Primovic says she declawed her own kitten at 11 or 12 weeks, and the animal bounced back quickly, but older cats need more time to heal.

Sometimes declawing is all that will keep peace in the family. “I’ve had people actually hit their cat for scratching the furniture. Even though declawing is not the ideal alternative, maybe it's better to declaw a cat so that he can't claw up the sofa,’’ she says. “This way, he's less likely to get scolded.”

How Declawing is Done -

Declawing– also called onychectomy – is a surgical procedure in which the nail and last bone are removed from all the toes of the cat’s front feet. The cat is usually under general anesthesia for the procedure. Some veterinarians now use laser surgery, which some think can lessen pain and post-operative bleeding. Either way, your cat’s toes will be bandaged, and it may take a couple weeks for your cat to walk normally. Some cats bounce back very quickly, especially kittens. Shredded paper should be used in the litter box for this period because litter pieces are uncomfortable and can get stuck in the cats surgery site causing an infection.

What Are the Risks?

Problems are uncommon when correctly done on a young cat. Potential problems include an incorrectly positioned cut, which can remove too much of the toe, taking with it part of the toe’s pad. This can cause pain. If the whole claw is not removed, misshapen claws can grow back. In addition, if a bone fragment is left at the surgery site, it may become a source of infection. Post-surgical blood loss is another concern, but great care is taken so that the bandages are placed to control bleeding.

What Else Can You Do?

While declawing may be necessary to live harmoniously with an indoor-only cat, there are other excellent alternatives:

• Buy or make a scratching post. Make sure it is strong enough not to wobble and tall enough to accommodate a cat at full stretch. Sisal and corrugated cardboard make good scratching post surfaces. Avoid carpeting as it is easy to tear up and looks terrible once it is broken in. Also, the cat will have a hard time differentiating between "good" carpet to scratch (the post) and "bad" carpet to scratch (your living room rug) so you may create a new problem.
  
  Praise your cat when she uses the post. Make the post a fun place to be by placing toys on or around it, or rubbing it with catnip. Make sure to put it in an accessible area. If you’re trying to discourage the cat from scratching a particular piece of furniture, try placing the post in front of it, gradually moving the post aside as the cat begins to use it regularly. In addition, make the piece of furniture not much fun to scratch. Try covering it with a sheet, making it wobbly or covering it with double-sided tape (make sure it won't hurt the surface first). You can also place a cottonball of scented bath oil on or near it. Again, make sure it won't hurt the furniture's surface.
  
• Train with a dual approach. Encourage the cat to claw the right things, and discourage her from clawing the wrong things. Each time you bring the cat to the scratching post or she goes on her own, praise her, pet her and spend a minute playing at the post. If the cat begins to scratch where she isn’t supposed to, call her by name, firmly telling her "no," and move her to the scratching post. Put her front legs up on the post and make scratching motions with them. Dangle a toy in front of the post so as she goes for the toy she'll touch the post. Most likely, she'll enjoy the feeling and continue using it afterwards. You can also “use” the post so that your scent will be on it and entice your cat to mark the territory herself.

  Some owners use a spray bottle filled with plain water handy and squirt the cat on the back when she claws the furnishings. The only problem here is that you run the risk of the cat simply being afraid of you and the bottle and will still scratch when you are not around. Try tempting her with a more suitable scratching surface first. If you do use the bottle, make sure to never spray her in the face.

• Keep your cat’s nails trimmed. Cutting the nails regularly may help a cat from scratching furnishings, or at least reduce the damage done by her scratching. Get your kitten used to having her feet handled and her nails clipped while she’s young. With an older cat, it may help to begin by handling the cat’s feet under pleasurable circumstances. Then introduce the clipping procedure by approaching the cat while she’s relaxed (or even napping) and clip only one nail per session. Praise your cat while you clip the nail, and reward her with a treat. If you are in doubt about the proper nail length, let your veterinarian instruct you.

  The only equipment necessary is a good pair of nail clippers. Never use scissors, since they can tear the nail. Slide the blade onto the nail you will be trimming. Before cutting, look for the pink “quick” that runs down the center of the nail. The clipper blade should be placed about an eighth of an inch forward of the quick, and the nail clipped with one smooth squeezing action of the clippers.

  Be extremely careful not to cut into the quick. If this happens, the cat will experience pain, and bleeding is likely. The bleeding may stop without assistance or you may need to hold a soft cloth on the nail or apply a little styptic powder. If you trim a small amount of nail every couple of weeks, the quick will tend to recede.