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Benefits of Playing With Your Cat Playing with your cat is the best possible way to build up a bond between the two of you. She will become more attached and you will feel closer to her. The best way to ensure that your cat does not become overweight is by feeding him correctly with a balanced diet, but exercise also plays a part in keeping your kitty healthy. If yours is an indoor cat, then playing with you may be his only opportunity for exertion and staying trim.  Playing will help your cat to become confident. Also regular play periods, coupled with petting sessions, will get your cat used to human interaction, he will be less likely to shy away and hide, when visitors call.  Playing will help your cat develop his hunting abilities. Hunting is a natural instinct for all cats, a cat confined to indoors usually has little chance to express and develop this instinct. Encourage kitty to chase a toy mouse, allow him to pounce for the 'kill'. This will aid him should he ever get...

Basic Nutrition For Cats Cats are what are known as obligate carnivores. An obligate carnivore is one that must east meat. You cannot just turn her out to graze in a pasture. The digestive tract of cats has been shortened and optimized proteins from meat. They simply don't have the dental or digestive apparatus to process plant materials. It's therefore surprising, given their physical inability to process plants, that you will still find cats nibbling on plants  from time to time. There are many theories for why cats would nibble plants.  They may be trying to balance an upset digestion or add missing vitamins and minerals. Perhaps they simply like the taste. Maybe it's a combination of factors. The jury is still out on this matter. Fortunately these days, we don't have to go out and hunt for food to feed our cats. There are a large number of very good, nutritionally balanced foods available in pet stores to satisfy any cats' tastes. Try to feed good quality food. ...

Asthma In cats Asthma is not only a human disorder, but is also found in some cats.  You should have your cat checked by a vet if you suspect this disorder. Leaving feline asthma untreated can result in permanent damage to your cats lungs and heart.  Feline asthma is an immune-mediated disease characterized by symptoms ranging from infrequent, hairball-like coughing, to sudden onsets of respiratory distress (which veterinarians call "acute dyspnea").  Episodes are usually triggered by an allergen or stress, and can be accompanied or followed by vomiting, sneezing, or even wheezing like a human allergy sufferer. Respiratory signs may be slow and deliberate (more abdominal breathing), to fast and labored.  True asthma, as opposed to bronchitis, normally responds quickly to a combination of bronchodilators, oxygen therapy, and fast acting steroids. Diagnosis is usually confirmed with an x-ray, and possibly a slide cytology of the airway.  Because asthma can mimic o...

A Short History Of Cats It seems strange that there was ever a time when cats were not a part of our lives. It's been less that 10,000 years since cats swaggered into our lives. Hardly an eye blink in the grand sweep of life on this planet. Why were cats so late to join our team? The simple answer is they didn't need us to survive.  Cats were surviving just fine on their own. Then, people invented agriculture. Agriculture resulted in large scale storage of grains which attracted the usual and well know group of freeloaders, mice and rats. Grain attracted  rodents. Rodents attracted cats who consider them tasty meals. The result was that cats set up housekeeping close to human settlements. Eventually, cats being cats, moved right on in. Who were these first cats? The first clue lies in where agriculture was first practiced. Agriculture first took root (no pun intended) in the Middle East in a great sweep from modern day Turkey to Egypt. Within this area ranges the African wild ...