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How A Pet Cat Improves Your Mental Health

12/27/2017

It’s not hard to have problems with mental health in this day and age. With emails, social media, and long commutes, you could have problems with anxiety, depression, and more. There are several ways you can address these problems including exercise and medication.

But one overlooked way to improve your mental health is getting a cat. Believe it or not, a pet cat can help you feel happier and less stressed. That’s why therapy cats are getting more recognized as a valid treatment option.

What Is A Therapy Cat?
Using animals to help people improve their mental health is an old idea, but up until recently, most people used dogs as therapy animals. Sure, dogs are very good at that. But dogs aren’t without their problems.

That’s why Petful.com explores the idea of a therapy cat. While some cats can be a bit squirmy and overly independent, most cats love human company. After all, cats are domesticated just like dogs. Having a cat around can give you moments of play, relaxation, and mental stimulation needed to improve your mental health.

Getting Help From Your Cat
But how do cats help you like this? Mental Floss lists many ways cats can help you feel more positive and happy. Having a loving creature like a pet cat can help you better cope with things that cause sadness or anxiety. Even though you cannot exactly talk over your problems with a cat, you can snuggle, play, and feel love and acceptance from them. That can do a lot for your peace of mind.

In fact, owning a cat can lower your stress levels. Humans just find something comforting from spending time with feline friends. Studies show that cat owners have less risk of dying from heart attacks and feel more connected. And because cats eat more fish than other pets, they can be better for the environment — something that can help you feel better as well.

The Establishment explains another reason cats can help improve your mental health: They are good role models for relationships. Cats are interested in you and want to spend time with you, but they are not codependent. They won’t let owners treat them poorly, and when faced with disrespect, they pull away. That can help you learn how to have healthy relationships with other humans.

Helping With Addiction Recovery

A cat can help with the day-to-day struggles with anxiety and depression, but they can do more than that. As DrugRehab.org explains, having an animal companion like a cat can help when you are in addiction recovery. Part of why is how pets are non-judgmental. Unlike your human friends, they are not going to ignore you just because you struggle with alcohol or drug abuse. They care about you regardless of any addiction. That can really help you get through a rough time.

Your cat can be a part of a formal addiction recovery program, or you can just pick up a friendly cat at your local shelter. Either way, having a pet cat can reduce your anxiety, lessen feelings of loneliness, encourage your independence, and take your mind off cravings and pain. All of these can help you avoid relapses and be successful in your addiction recovery.

Get A Pet Cat Today
It’s not like a cat can take the place of a doctor or therapist, but owning a pet cat can help improve your mental health. Whether you’re in addiction recovery or just working through a tough time in your life, search for local pet shelters in your area to find a cat that will help you get through it all.

Author
Ms. Brody created OurBestFriends to offer a place for animal lovers to share their favorite pet photos and stories about their furry pals.

KITTY in NY provides in-home boarding and cat sitting solutions for your cat. New Yorkers have been enjoying our services for over 6 years. Please contact us and explain more about your cat/s and the service you need. We'll be glad to help you.

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How well do you treat your cats?

12/17/2017

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Many cat owners assume that cats are entirely capable of cleaning themselves to a point they never need water or soap. Cat lick themselves, they don't groom. These two words are different altogether.

Cats are not independent or too apathetic to respond to people's assumptions that they need absolutely no assistance in "grooming." By merely covering themselves with saliva, large amounts of shedding hair are ingested. This opens the door to lots of germs and bacteria.

From Feline Leukemia Virus which are spread through cat saliva to Feline Infectious Peritonitis which are transmitted through infected stool, the cat is at a higher risk of contracting much worse if we continue 'assuming' that cats can take care of them.

Is grooming related to my cats action of peeing everywhere?
Yes but not entirely. Cats have unique smell glands which they use to either to show much interest or stay away completely. When confronted with an especially interesting or unusual smell, a cat will drop its jaw open and let the scent waft across the vomeronasal organ in a behavior called the Flehmen response.

Scent is very vital to cats, and because of their territorial nature, they'll tend to mark they territory with almost anything. For most domesticated cats, spraying urine everywhere in the house is often the case.

So in case your cat has this habit of peeing everywhere, one of the reasons could be your cat's way of claiming particular spots in your home. The best way to handle this is through training her. You can clean your entire house with detergents not harmful but that which the cat will be uninterested with.

Research has shown that cats which have poor hygiene feel uneasy even at the very call of nature. They don't move to their litter boxes when the need to pee comes, the simply pee where they are. In the next section I am going to explain how and the importance of grooming your cat.

PROPER CAT GROOMING
The connection between cats and their claws is very essential to cats. They use them to scratch, thereby removing the old sheathed nail. This action primarily becomes an excellent form of exercise, especially to indoor cats.

How to clip your cat's nails
These acts as a significant part of keeping your cat well groomed. If your cat's nails grow too long, they can pierce into the paw pad where special scent glands lie. These will cause infections or discomfort.

To clip her nails, just grasp the paw and gently squeeze the pad so that the pins unsheathe. Look at the picture.

Then look for the pink part (often referred to as the quick) inside the base of the nail. Carefully clip off the curved section as you watch for the sensitive pink area. This part usually contains vessels and nerves, so don't cut too close to the quick.

In case you accidentally cut the quick, don't panic, no severe damage might be done. The nail will bleed as the cat will experience a moment of pain. Apply pressure to the end of the pin with a clean piece of tissue or cloth until the bleeding stops

Other than going through all of this, most people ask, 'Is it safe to disclaw my cat?'
Well, scratching is very instinctive. Disclawing the animal can alter with their instinctive behaviour, causing the cat to be stressful and result in undesirable behavioral issues. This answers the question, ‘ Why does my cat pee in my bed '.
Disclawing robs the cat of the ability to scratch and dig. Since they can no longer do this, they seek a clean soft environment to either pee or poop. Even when the litter box is clean enough.

So be sure to exhaust all other possibilities before choosing to disclaw your cat. This amputation can cause permanent change in a cat's behavioural characteristics that could be very disturbing I.e. Becoming very aggressive and eager to bite.

BRUSHING AND SCRUBBING

How do I brush my cat's teeth?
The process is straightforward and easy. The exchange diet of your cat can make the smell of the cat's breath just a bit unbearable. It can also lead to a condition, periodontal or even dental diseases.

All that can be avoided. You can purchase a cat-sized dental brush at your veterinary clinic or online. Accompany it with some feline toothpaste.

NOTE: Never use human toothpaste as it contains chemicals that may be harmful to your cats digestive system.

If you follow these steps, you won't experience difficulty in brushing your cat's teeth:

1. Hold your cat in your lap allowing her to get comfortable.
2. Gently raise her lip on one side of her mouth and begin brushing on the outer proportions of her teeth.
3. Ensure that you brush down away from the gum line. This will loosen any embedded food particles.
4. On the bottom jaw, brush up, apart from the gum line. Don't worry; the toothpaste is flavored with chicken or fish paste to enable the cat to open her mouth quickly.

Finally, How to wash your cat

Unlike the two grooming methods, washing your cat is the easiest of them all. Be calm and tender with her; this will build and maintain control of her.

Soak her from the neck down to her hinds. Be extra careful not to introduce shampoo in her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Most cats have an allergic reaction to this.

Lastly, wash your cats face with water or a washcloth. If fluffy, you can opt to blow dry her this makes her coat appear shiny and decent.

CONCLUSION

With all the hygienic practices and procedures, most people don't understand why their cats go outside the litter box and pee everywhere. It's all about cleanliness. Ensure that the litter box is clean on a regular basis. Also, take the cat to a vet, who will determine if the cat has any health threatening matter.

Author’s Bio:
Luna Tran is the author of the blog HereKitt.com. She contacted us to share one of her articles with our followers.
I am Luna Tran, a great cat lover who owns three cute cats and have dedicated many years to nurturing and caring cats. Through my blog, I am here to share my knowledge and experience about cats.

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10 Reasons Why Adopting a Cat Is The Best Thing You Could Ever Do

12/8/2017

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Anyone who has ever adopted a cat will tell you that it was a decision that they will never regret making. Cats are incredibly cute and entertaining, you’ve no doubt seen at least a handful of the millions of cat gifs that make up the building blocks of the internet.

10 Reasons Why Adopting a Cat Is The Best Thing You Could Ever Do, courtesy of Tuxedo Cat

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The Naming of Cats

12/1/2017

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The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey--
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter--
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum-
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover--
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.

by T. S. Eliot

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How A Pet Cat Improves Your Mental Health

How well do you treat your cats?

10 Reasons Why Adopting a Cat Is The Best Thing You Could Ever Do

The Naming of Cats

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