EVERYDAY CAT CARE

With the arrival of winter, you should take the necessary measures to protect your cat against the health hazards that cold, inclement weather can create. Most vulnerable to various cold-weather disorders are those cats who spend all or the bulk of their time outdoors. Cats who are allowed to go outside even for brief periods of time during the winter months are also at significantly greater risk than those who never put a paw beyond the front door.

Q Our two cats are siblings, and have long, handsome tails, which are mostly held straight up. However, the last three to four inches seem to be independent of the rest of the tail. When the tail is straight up, the end of it wags gently back and forth. But when they are stalking something, the majority of the tail is held down, but the end remains up.

Each trip I make to the supermarket, I always think of the people who are able to amass a tremendous amount of savings by clipping coupons and knowing exactly when and where to shop. I must admit that I lack that type of discipline! But I do stock up on staples when theyre on sale - especially cat litter and cat food - and I feel like a good cat mother whenever the pantry is full.

Even though similar statistics have been available before, it has become even more evident this year that cat owners dont take seriously the idea of regular veterinary visits.

Thanks to a consortium headed by the food company Royal Canin, a new survey was conducted in June 2016, and the results were not good: Cat owners were six times less likely to have taken their pets to the veterinarian this year as opposed to dog owners.

Car sickness, a problem marked chiefly by an animals inability to ride in an automobile for any length of time without becoming physically ill, psychologically disoriented, or both, affects a high percentage - perhaps as many as half - of all household cats in the U.S.In some cases, the disorder and its manifestations may be caused by a fleeting disturbance of a cats vestibular system - the complex array of nerves and other components, centered in an animals inner ear and lower brain, that governs his sense of balance and coordinates the movement of his head and eyes.

The statistics speak for themselves. Seventy-one percent of pet-owning women who find safety in a womens shelter report that their abuser had also injured, maimed, killed or threatened family pets for revenge or to gain psychologically control. Furthermore, 32 percent of the children who end up in shelters to escape domestic abuse had themselves harmed or even killed pet animals; the lessons modeled by the offending adult seep in insidiously.

Over the years, our family has lived with a number of cats. Each was certainly unique in his or her own way, but quite a few of them shared the same trait: They drooled sometimes while you were petting them. To clarify, it often appears like drool, but sometimes its a single droplet that seems to come from their noses. Its obviously not a health concern, but just an interesting behavioral thing that I would like to understand better.

Q I have searched extensively for a safe, higher SPF sunscreen for my white cat. I tried Epi-Pet spray, which she did not like and immediately tried to groom off.

She is more tolerant of Aveeno's Protect + Hydrate Lotion Sunscreen with Broad Spectrum SPF 70 — which does have some questionable cat-safe ingredients — but as she does not try to groom it off, I doubt she is ingesting any.

In most cases, cats will have blackheads and some hair loss on the chin. In severe cases, abscesses and cysts can form. Abscesses may need to be lanced, and in some cases, a drain may need to be placed. Without seeing your cat, it is hard to know from your description whether this was just an abscess, or if it was a cyst. Abscesses should resolve after lancing and antibiotic treatment. A cyst, on the other hand, needs to be completely removed surgically.

[From Tufts January 2010 Issue]

In past centuries, people invented fanciful explanations for cats mystifying behaviors. Modern science and common sense have debunked such notions as supernatural cats conspiring with witches. We know that cats have only one life, not nine. And black cats dont cause future bad luck by dashing across our paths.

But urban legends persist. Thats because old wives tales may include partial truths, or rely on an inaccurate and coincidental cause-effect notion, says Nicholas Dodman, BVMS, veterinarian and director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. So exactly whats truth, and whats fiction about common feline urban legends?

[From Tufts January 2010 Issue] Before Dave and Jody Rundle embarked on a major home renovation project two years ago, the Santa Barbara, California, couple sat down and planned every step of the process - including a discussion on how to make life as stress-free as possible for their three cats, Izzy, Smudge and Blue. …

[From Tufts February 2010 Issue]

Hobbes, my 5-year-old male, neutered tabby was recently diagnosed with cystitis (a bladder infection). My veterinarian recommended that I feed him canned food, at least for a month.

There are two other cats in my home. Until now, meal time has consisted of keeping a bowl filled with kibble so that the food is always available. How can I get Hobbes and my other cats trained to eat at set times? Or, how can I make sure that Hobbes only eats canned food and does not try to nibble on dry food during the day?