I have had so many cats in my life. First of all, I had my own darlings and their kittens every summer. Then I had a cat-hotel for people that wanted to travel on their vacations and could not bring the cat along.
The
cat (Felis catus), also known as the
domestic cat or
housecat"Housecat" in the American Heritage Dictionary to distinguish it from other felines and felids, is a small carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin and household pests. Cats have been associated with humans for at least 9,500 years, and are currently the most popular pet in the world. Due to their close association with humans, cats are now found almost everywhere on Earth. This extreme adaptability and their worrying impacts on native animals has led to them being classed as an invasive species. Most of these problems are caused by the large number of feral cats worldwide, with a population of up to 60 million of these animals in the United States alone.
Cats are similar in size and anatomy to the other Felids, with light, flexible bodies and teeth adapted to killing small prey. A skilled predator, the cat hunts over 1,000 species for food, using its excellent eyesight and hearing. Unusually, cats have lost the ability to taste sugar and in some breeds show hereditary deafness. Despite being solitary hunters, cats are a social species and use a variety of vocalizations, pheromones and types of body language for communication. These include meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, squeaking, chirping, clicking, and grunting. They are also bred and shown as registered pedigree pets. This hobby is known as cat fancy.
I have always loved cats. My parents allowed me to have a cat but no dog. I came home from school and put my face into the purring stomach of my big gray cat Grålle on the bed. He was my soothing friend on a stressed teenagers mind.
Later in life, I had kittens every summer. I guess I saw about 100 of them being born in our home. I know that our Feline companions have great personality. Not two of them are alike. Some are moody some are wilder. Some are easy to train others never learn ...
When cats come to a cat hotel they are not the cuddely creatures you see at home. They are scared, aware of the other cats there and they sometimes behave really out of caracter. What I always did was to leave them alone for a few days. They started to recognize me as the person that brought food and that talked softly to them. Very seldom did we become close friends but at least they felt more relaxed with me. Some of my tiny guests were out in a big cage to get fresh air every day. I have a feeling that many of them would have loved to stay there all the time.
The same as for people, the cat needs liquid when they get de-hydrated. When they are sick they need help to get enough. What I did is that I mixed water with a bit of salt and sugar. I brought a small pipette or squirt. I filled it with the water, too the cats head in a firm grip and emptied it in the corner of the mouth. Held the head up and talked softely to the little patient. They started to swollow little by little.
Some of them had to be lured into taking pills for different reasons. That was hard. But I found a way - I crushed the pill and mixed it with butter. Then I took the butter and put it on their paw. They licked it off - and voila - the pill was in the stomach!
When a cat comes home after an operation of any kind, they are groggy and want to be alone. Just leave them to heal. If you think your cat is cold, never put on a little jumper or cover that is stuck. They loose the balance and feel even more uncomfortable. They know what to do to keep warm. If you can find a sheepskin to let the cat use it is perfect.
If the cat gets diarrhoea, feed it cottage cheeze with chopped hard boiled egg and yoghurt or soured milk to drink. They can live a long time on this diet. Add a tiny bit salt to the food. Never give a cat milk or even cream. Boiled fish with nothing added is also ok.
Last but not least - get some cat nip! You can grow it yourself but beware, it will be flat. The cats just love cat nip. They go crazy and want to roll in it and on it. They really get high and happy. Some pet shops also sell cat nip in cute toys like socks, rats or just a ball. I recommend that you try this. It is so fun to see the cat smelling it.
If you have any questions just ask me.
I had a cat hotel for many years. We had it in two houses in our little farm. We also had big cages for outdoor cats. All together there were 40 places. Beside the cat guests I had other small animals too. They were birds, rabbits and other small pets.
If you think it is cosy to have cats as guests you have to think again. The truth is that NO cat wants to be there. They are scared, angry or just numb. They do not move very much and some of them do not eat at all in the beginning. I quickly learned that so I left them alone when they arrived.
Some of them were more social and allowed me to pet and talk to them. We served them fresh fish straight from the Baltic see. Many people did not have that fancy food on their tables. Ordinary cat food was also on the menu.
If I noticed they were more in a good mood, I gave them small bags with dried cat nip in. They just loved it! Could not sit still any more.
Accoring to my veterinarian, one major problem with cats is that they are over weight. They are fed the wrong food and too much of it. A domestic cat that does not run around freely, will gain weight quickly if the master allows it.
When a cat gets overweight, the stomach intestines suffer a lot. They quickly grow and there is just not room enough in the little animal for this. They cannot do anything about it so we have to be very careful when we feed the little friend.
Remember too that a cat needs grass to chew on for cleaning the stomach from fur.
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