Let Your Cat Enjoy Your Petting

Experts may say that cats have solitary nature. But surprisingly, my Catman shows the opposite behavior. He loves to be on my side all the time. He pushes against me, bumps his head to mine and just stays around whenever I’m at home. I have often thought that this is his way of showing his affection. However, I have learned that this kind of behavior is the cat’s way of leaving its scented signature to its friend. In this way, cats show off to everyone that they are the most favorite.

Cats communicate through their body gestures too. In fact they also try to pick up your message on how you treat them. Hence, this is the reason why they hiss to a stranger but purrs at you. This simply means they just love you more because you have treated them the same way.

The best way that I show my affection to Catman is by playing with him every time I have the chance to do so. I believe that play is something that cats never outgrows. They may not be as playful when they were still kitten but they just love to hang out and have fun with those people that they trust most. And just like my own son, I buy treats for Catman as well. I reward him whenever he behaves the way I want him to. I find this very effective especially when I trim his claws. I guess I have spoiled him a lot that I have been buying him cat scratching posts and cat toys as well. I just believe that they love to receive surprises. After all, they are known to hunt anything so they can share it with those that they care.

As I let Catman enjoy my petting, I came to realize that I was reciprocated with the best reward. Through him, I have found a loyal friend who keeps me happy all through these months.

How to Trimming Cat Claws Perfectly

Many people love cats just like I love my Catman. If you are one of them, you need to know that having a cat as your pet comes with great responsibility as well. You need to do more than just feeding. One of the most daunting parts when taking care of cats is trimming their claws. Just like humans, they also need proper grooming.  However, cutting their claws may take you forever if you don’t have the skill to do it.

 

Initial Step

Having the right position will also make you and your cat feel comfortable during the process. You may opt to put your cat on the floor, on the table or over your lap.

How to Trim Claws

Unlike humans, cats hide their claws under their paws. Hence, you need to push this part to reveal them and assess if they need to be cut or trimmed. Check for the pink portion which is termed as the “quick”. If you happen to cut through them, it would cause them to bleed and this can be very painful to your cat as well. You need to hold the finger nail clipper parallel to the cat’s claws. If you have assumed the best position, you may cut through it very quickly.

Things You Need to Remember

You need to know that you must not rush into cutting all your cat’s claws all at once. Though the ideal is cutting them every fourteen days, some actually trim their cat’s nails only four times a year. In fact you can cut only 1-2 claws per day. Some would not even bother cutting them since their cats chew their tips regularly. If you are too afraid to trim your cat’s claws, then you may contact a veterinarian who will do it for you.

 

Training Your Cat to Use Scratching Post

The most horrible thing that may happen when you own a cat is worrying about it destroying your favorite furniture or carpets because of its scratches. No matter how you stop a cat from doing it, they will always do it because they are born to be that way. Animal behaviorists claim that this is their way of communicating, contrary to what we believe that this is only done to sharpen their claw. Cat’s scratch things because they want to tell people and cats where they are and what they are up to. Studies also show that their paws come with scent glands. Hence, every time they scratch, they are leaving scent marks as well.

How to Choose the Best Scratching Post

The best way to determine what type of scratching post to choose is by observing your cat. If your pet loves to scratch on your furniture then this means you need to choose a stable and vertical scratching post. This would resemble your furniture which will allow your pet to do vertical scratching. You can put this beside the fixtures that your cat loves to scratch. 

 

How to Lure Your Cat into Scratching the Post

The greatest challenge that you will have is on how to divert your cat’s attention to your scratch post. Though some cats are smart enough and will get the idea that this is a scratching post, it may take several days for other cats to have a clue what this fixture is all about. You may place some toys and treats on the post so this will attract your cat’s attention. As one tries to reach for the treat or the toy, it may accidentally stick its claws on the scratching post, discovering how it feels to do this task. If your cat loves to scratch the carpet’s surface, you may use a horizontal scratch board instead. Cats also love to scratch after they sleep. Hence creating a place on the scratching post where one can play and sleep at the same time will make it more attractive for cats to use.

Whiskers Makes My Cat Like A Leader

My cat, Catman, has wonderful Whiskers, which makes him like a sophisticated leader. This picture is token when he is staring out of the windows. He seems to be having a significant thinking now. When I was young, I heard from someone that the cat's whiskers are as wide as his body's widest spot, so that cat can use his Whiskers to measure the space to find out if he can go through. I don't know if it is true. But I am pretty sure that this rule can not be used for overweight cats.

Whisker actually is one type of hair, called tactile hair. The tactile hair also includes eyebrows and chin hair. The main function of tactile hair is serving the sense of touch. The whiskers are long and thick. They root in deep cat's tissue, connected with the nerve endings. Therefore, cat can use them to investigate the objects close to them. They can even be used to get the state of air currents and air pressure.

My cat Catman's whiskers are very long. And sometimes he fan them out, and sometimes he rotates them forward and them sweeps them back. Before I thought he did it because he was very very boring. And now I know he does that because he is trying to measure something, maybe some small air currents changes. And his whiskers are sensitive enough to feel any micro changes of which I will never get the sense.

Damp Footprints on My Wooden Floor

These days I notice that my Catman always leave his damp footprints on my wooden floor. At the beginning, I thought he might make his foot wet in the bathroom and he likes print his footprint on the floor. But later I found out I was wrong. Sometimes, his foot is wet even he just stay in my living room. I am surprised why his foot always get wet and if it is a sign which tells me he is sick.

After talking with my friend, I find out the reason of this damp footprints. Actually when Catman's foot is wet, it means he is hot. When we feel hot, we will sweat and it makes us wet on the surface of the skin. And it will evaporate and help us reduce the heat from our body. The same as my Catman (actually the same as all the cats :P ), when he feels hot, he will sweat and it makes his foot wet and he will remain his damp footprints on the wooden floor when he is walking. According to some researches, cat secretes sweat when he feels hot, frightened,or excited.

Cat only secretes sweat on his foot pad. It is true.In the cat, eccrine sweat glands are found only on the foot pads. So we can find that cat paw always keeps wet. But sweating is not the only way for cats to reduce heat. Like my Catman, he always lays on the floor and lets his body fully touch the floor to cool himself.