Tribute to St. Gertrude of Nivelles, Patron of Cats

St. Gertrude of Nivelles, who lived in the 600s,

St. Gertrude of Nivelles, who lived in the 600s, is the patron saint of cats. Her special day is March 17.

Happy Special Day, St. Gertrude.

HOW TO DETERMINE A KITTEN'S SEX

To determine a kitten's sex: A female kitten's genitals will resemble an upside-down exclamation point with the vertical vaginal slit below the anus. A male kitten's organ will look more like a colon with the penis below the anus separated by a space to accomodate his testicles, according to the US Humane Society.

--Dear Tabby

TO CONTACT DEAR TABBY WITH A QUESTION OR COMMENT, EMAIL Dear Tabby. SHE LOVES TO HEAR FROM HER FRIENDS.

CATS WHO HATE EACH OTHER

Some cats just plain hate each other. I don’t know why. Their humans don’t know why. Our dear goddess Lady Bast doesn’t know why.

They.
Just.
Do.

So, what do you humans do when you have two of those cats who hate each other?

Let’s go back in history a bit. There are some things you can do when the second cat arrives in what the senior cat considers his/her very own home. The place to do whatever you can to make the introduction go as smoothly as possible is when you bring cat #2 home. But this is a slightly different problem than WHY some cats despise each other so heartily. We’ll deal in another answer about how to bring cat #2 home to insure as little hatred as possible.

Meantime, let’s look into the hate problem a little further.
Your kitty was so sweet and lovable with you, you felt sorry for him/her when you had to leave for work. Lonely kitty! Solution: Get him/her a kitty friend!

Um, not necessarily. There are several reasons why this could signal the opening round of Cat Wars I.

Cats Are Very Territorial. That mans a cat feels a stranger has invaded his/her territory. In a case like that, a cat might be aggressive toward one cat -- usually the most easy-going -- but friendly to another.

The time when problems crop up is when a new kitty arrives, a young kitten becomes a grownup cat, or the home cat looks out the window to see a strange cat in the yard the home cat may chase, ambush, hiss, and/or meow angrily.

And it’s not just the boys. Girl cats can be just as infuriated by strangers.

But boy cats have a special hate for other boy cats, especially if one or both of them is not fixed. Adult boy cats may threaten and even fight with other boys. They’ll fight over a girl, for a better (in their opinion) place to nap, or to defend territory.

In cat disputes, both cats are likely to stare, howl, snarl and fluff their tails. If one backs down and walks away, the seeming victor is satisfied and will usually also walk away. If nobody backs down, it’s likely an actual fight may result. That means, the two cats come together, roll around biiting, kicking, yelling, clawing and then -- walking away. They they’ll start again…What can a human do? Distract them. This isn’t too difficult. In my opinion, they’re rather happy to have a good excuse to drop the fight -- people can get hurt in those fights! All the humans have to do is clap hands, toss a pillow, or grab the always-nearby squirting water bottle. These moves can also break up an actual fight -- but humans, don’t get involved! You could get hurt.

Another reason for fighting comes when a cat faces what he/she considers an attacker -- animal or human -- that he/she can’t escape. This could be punishment or threat of punishment from a human, an attack from another cat, or anything that makes the cat frightened. (This is one of the many good reasons for NOT punishing a cat by hitting or striking. It does not teach your cat anything except their human “friend” is actually someone to be feared.)

If the cat is crouching with legs and tail pulled in, ears flattened against head, and rolling a bit to one side, humans, don’t approach this cat. If someone ten to 20 times your size came up to you, threatening you, and you couldn’t run away, how desperately might you fight this frightful monster? Yes, me too. With all I’ve got.

Let your cat calm down. If your cat gets angry at a stranger in his yard he saw while looking out the window, don’t try to reassure him by petting him. He may turn and bite you -- not because he hates you, but because his mind is so filled with “STRANGER! INVADER!” that it’s all he can think about at the moment.

If you’re seeing more-than-usual amount of aggressive actions out of your cat. Call your vet. Sometimes cats are feeling sick and miserable, and taking out their feelings on anyone that crosses their path. The vet may also have a short course of anti-anxiety medicine your cat could take while you’re working on ways to change behavior.

If the vet doesn’t find any problems, you could try starting the introduction process all over again (Yes, we’ll get to that subject shortly.)

There are professional humans called “animal behaviorists.” You could consult with one of these people.

If all else fails, you could look for another home for one of the two who can’t get along

Did I mention, spay or neuter your cat? If I didn’t, I should have. This is NOT cruel to the cat, as some humans say (especially if they are looking for an excuse to cheap out on this procedure.) Really, the behavior of one non-fixed cat can affect every pet in your home.

--Dear Tabby

TO CONTACT DEAR TABBY WITH A QUESTION OR COMMENT, EMAIL Dear Tabby. SHE LOVES TO HEAR FROM HER FRIENDS.

WHAT YOUR CAT NEEDS FROM YOU

 

By Dear Tabby

Yes, we cats are proud and free and independent and all that. BUT...there are some things we really, really need from our humans. Here are a few: safe, healthy food; clean, fresh water; a safe shelter, vet care, a clean litter box, and, of course, love. Lots of love. But there are more.

1. We need to be kept indoors, or, if we go out, it should be with a harness and leash firmly attached to our humans. Why? Yes, it's fun to run free and play in the outdoors. But it's not so fun when we are attacked by a savage dog, or tortured by cruel children, or run over by cars, or bitten by raccoons...you get the idea.

2. Make sure windows have screens that don't fall out if we jump up onto the window sill to check out the world. It is NOT true that we land, unhurt, on our feet if we fall out of a window several stories up in an apartment building.

3. If you're sure we can be safe outside, at least give us a breakaway collar. If it carries our human's address and phone number, so much the better. Non-breakaway collars can be deadly. Many cats have died a horrible death because their leather collar caught on a low branch of a shrub or bush. If the cat could not break the sturdy collar, it died a painful death from hunger, thirst and exhaustion.

4. Take us to a vet for a regular checkup. People who don't already know a vet can ask an animal shelter or rescue group for a referral.. Or you can go to your telephone book and pick out several vets in your area. Call each one and ask what's the cost of an office visit. You may be surprised at the difference between answers!

5. Spay or neuter your cat. It is not cruel to do so. All that is lost is the instinctive behavior your kitty would need if living in the wild. For sure, behaviors of fighting, spraying, producing endless litters of kittens is not something your kitty needs in your house. It will help your cat live longer, because kitty is no longer driven to fight and breed over and over again.

6. Feed your cat a healthful diet and make sure clean fresh water is always available.

7. Keep that litter box clean! Most cats will instinctively use a clean box. (If there are mistakes, look at our article on that subject under 'cat care.'.) Put the box in some convenient but out-of-traffic spot.

8. Don't forget to brush your kitty, whether the fur is short or long. Brush regularly to keep coat and skin healthy and cut down on the amount of fur getting shed.

9. Make sure there's time for play. Sure, cats amuse themselves quite well. But your kitty will know you're the best friend when you play with him/her.

10. Be ready with toys and scratching pads or post to save wear and tear on your home! A good dose of catnip on the new scratching post or pad usually gets the scratching off to a good start. Or, a part of an outdoor log, with bark on, can be the place for a good scratching workout, especially after it is sprinkled with catnip.

11. Teach your cat what not to do by blowing a whistle or squirting from a water bottle. Do not hit or kick or otherwise physically hurt the cat. This only teaches fear of you.
12. Remember to be gentle and patient with your cat. Be sure that what you expect from him/her is, well, reasonable. (Some cats will learn to sit on the toilet. Some simply do not have it in them to learn that. The same with walking on a leash. Some will, others will just never get it.)

Finally, remember that almost any problem has a solution, especially if you deal with it early. Don't wait weeks, months or years to solve issues. There's a lot of good advice around. For example, you can always ask me! Just come here,  to DearTabbyTheAnswerCat, and together we can surely figure it out!

-- Dear Tabby

FOR KITTIES WHO LIKE TO CHEW ELECTRICAL CORDS

To keep your appliances functioning and also to avoid electrocuting Kitty, coat those cords with something cats don't like to taste. For example, hot sauce (ugh!) And there are sprays and non-toxic ointments for this purpose that you can find at pet supply stores, according to the Humane Society.

HOW TO DISCOURAGE KITTY FROM JUMPING ONTO COUNTERS, TABLES, ETC.

Get some of that double-faced rug tape. Cut some strips and stick to counter tops, table tops, etc., wherever you don't want Kitty to jump. After her feet stick to the tape a few times (oh horrors, she yowls!) those surfaces won't be so attractive to her, according to the Humane Society.

A GUIDE TO CAT VACCINATIONS

All cats are at risk of exposure to various infectious diseases, even if they spend most of their time indoors. Some infectious diseases are life-threatening, while others such as rabies also pose a public health risk. Preventing infectious disease is more beneficial to your cat than treating disease once it occurs. The cat's natural immune system helps eliminate viral and bacterial infections. Thus, preventative vaccination is one of the most reliable and cost-effective methods of health care available to pet owners.
Vaccines contain killed or weakened forms of viruses or bacteria. They work by stimulating the production of protective antibodies in healthy animals. When your cat is then exposed to a disease, those antibodies neutralize the virus or bacteria that are trying to cause an infection.

Nursing kittens ingest antibodies from their mothers. These maternal antibodies provide early protection against infectious disease. However, they also neutralize the immunizing agents in vaccines. Maternal antibodies naturally decline during the first three to four months of life and eventually disappear. For this reason, kittens vaccinated earlier than 12 weeks of age should be revaccinated after 12 weeks of age. We want to give a kitten the opportunity to develop its own immunity as early as possible, but we still want to be sure those kittens that still have circulating maternal antibodies are covered as well.

The following infectious diseases of cats can be prevented or lessened by vaccination:

1.Rabies: Rabies is a viral infection that can affect all warm blooded animals. Once the rabies virus enters the body, it travels along the nerves to the brain. It can take days, weeks, or months for your cat to show signs of rabies. Infected cats may show unusual behavior such as being anxious, staring or having a blank look, unusual aggression, weakness or lack of coordination, running continuously, or withdrawal. Once the signs of rabies appear, the disease is always fatal.

Western Pennsylvania sees a large number of rabies cases in wild and domestic animals each year. Thus rabies vaccination is legally required in all cats. Vaccination is very effective in preventing rabies. Cats should be vaccinated at 12 weeks of age, again at 1 year of age, then every 1 to 3 years depending on the type of vaccine used.

2.Feline Panleukopenia: Feline panleukopenia is a highly contagious, often fatal disease of cats. The disease is caused by a parvovirus transmitted by contact with infected cats, their feces or environmental contamination. The virus is highly resistant and capable of surviving in the environment for months. Signs of acute infection include fever, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration and abdominal pain.

3.Feline Respiratory Disease: The great majority of feline respiratory diseases result from two easily transmitted infections, feline viral rhinotracheitis and feline calicivirus. These infections result in similar illnesses, characterized by discharge from the nose and eyes, redness of the eyes, ulcers in the mouth, loss of appetite, depression, and inflammation of the upper respiratory tract. Cats usually recover in one to two weeks, although cats with feline viral rhinotracheitis can become persistently infected after returning to normal, shedding the virus during periods of stress.
The vaccines for feline panleukopenia, rhinotracheitis, and calicivirus are usually combined into one shot. We recommend that kittens be vaccinated for these viruses at 8, 12, and 16 weeks of age, again at 1 year of age, and then every 1 to 3 years.

4.Feline Leukemia: Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) causes cancer in about 20% of infected cats and also contributes to other disease by suppressing the immune system and bone marrow production. The feline leukemia virus is associated with high mortality in cats. A major source of spreading the disease is persistently infected cats that appear to be healthy. All it takes to spread FeLV is contact with the bodily fluid of an infected cat. Any of these situations could put your cat at risk: social grooming, common litter boxes, shared food and water bowls, and bite wounds.

The feline leukemia virus vaccine should be given to all kittens at 12 and 16 weeks of age, and to all cats who spend any amount of time outdoors. Prior to vaccination, cats should be tested for the feline leukemia virus to ensure that they are not infected.

Bethel Park Animal Clinic, Pittsburgh PA