Best cat deShedding tool ever!!! It even
comes with a fur ejector button., 9 Feb 2011
This product is excellent. When used
regularly it will leave your animal with a sleeky coat and does reduce
shedding
by quite a lot. The ejector button is fantastic and really works -
essential if
you need to keep one hand on the animal to stop it running away. A few
words of
caution though:
1) Use this product gently and don't
overdo it. The first time I tried it on my cat I was rather overzealous
and he
looked distinctly thinner on top!
2) There are a lot of fakes out there so
ensure you buy from Amazon itself or a reputable dealer.
Yes, the furminator is pricey but the
genuine article does the job extremely well.
Another bonus is that the furminator is
great for removing hairs from smooth fabrics such as cotton bedding and
fleece
blankets. Again, however, use with caution as it can snag fabric if
sufficient
care is not taken.
Cats love to be stroked, so it is easy to teach your cat to accept brushing. Brushing will help to remove loose hair and prevent kitty getting a fur ball stuck in his throat.
It also helps to remove irritating prickles he may have picked up on his walks outside. You will be able to keep tabs on his general health if you brush him regularly, too. Choose a time when kitty is feeling a bit sleepy and wants to curl up on your warm lap. Have the brush handy so you don’t have to disturb him to get it. If he hasn’t seen the brush before, hold it near his face so he can sniff it all over if he wants. In this way he will understand that it won’t hurt him and so he won’t be frightened of it.
Ooh! that's lovely
In fact, it’s a good idea to rub your own hands along the handle of the brush so he can detect
your scent on it. If he’s used to you, he will be reassured that this strange tool is to be trusted. Once he has inspected and accepted the brush, begin to brush your cat with slow and gently movements. Always brush with the lay of the hair, not against it. If kitty tries to grab the brush with his paws to play with it, put it away immediately. You don’t want him to start playing every time he sees the brush, you want him to learn to keep still and let you brush him. As soon as kitty has quieted down, start to brush him again. Start at about ear level and work backwards with a long, fluid movement. Never try to brush his face, or you might damage his delicate eyes and whiskers. Brushing the tangles out of badly matted hair can cause pain, so be careful to do it gently. If kitty expects pain every time he sees the brush, he won’t be amenable to the process.
Not now
Several different brushes can be useful when grooming your pet. A large brush with stiff bristles is good for the body, while a smaller, softer brush can be easier to manage the belly and tail. If your cat has long tail hairs, you may need a brush with bristles that are a little stiffer then the smaller brush has. A comb can also be a handy part of your cat grooming toolbox.
You need to make sure that your cat will come to you
when you call him/her for several reasons. You may not want to leave him outside if you need to
leave the house for a while. You may want him to come indoors at night. You may have seen dogs or other cats about
and wish to protect him from unecessary confrontations,
especially if he is young.
It
is quite easy to train a cat to come when called and the simplest way is to use
his feeding routine as the training ground. It's not important to try to teach him his
name as a cat's name is only significant to its owners, the cat really isn't
bothered! Owners like to give their cat a name but a
cat will answer to anything as long as it is spoken in the same tone of
voice. It is the basic sound of the call which
matters.
But back to using food for training. At feeding time, make a loud and specific noise, like rattling a
spoon or knife on the side of the can of cat food. If he eats mainly dry food
shake the box of cat biscuits as loudly as you
can. He will soon learn to associate
these sounds with feeding time and will
come at once.
At the same time repeat his name over and
over again, loudly enough for him to hear it as you rattle the cat food can or
shake the biscuit box. He will learn to link the sound of his
name, together with the other noises, with being fed and will come very
quickly.
cats eating
Soon you will find that he comes running
up to you just when you call his name, without the other feeding noises being
present. Of course, rewarding him with a little
treat will help reinforce this good behaviour.
If it's not feeding time but he has still come when you called offer him
something nice, whether it is a food treat, petting and words of praise or some
playtime together. A simple home-made
toy, such as a scrap of paper tied to a string, can provide great fun,
especially for kittens. Cats respond as
much to affectionate attention as to food and when this is used to encourage
desirable behaviour it produces good results.
Some cats can be a bit slow to pick up the
cues an owner gives them. If your cat
doesn't come for food as soon as he hears the signals, feed him a smaller
amount. He will respond much more
readily if he is really hungry, so call his name loudly while you rattle that
spoon in the can or shake that biscuit box!
How to Stop Your Cat Going Outside When He/She Shouldn't
I'm off, I've had enough.
You may be quite happy for your cat to wander outside if you have a yard or garden or live in a rural area but it is a different matter when you live in a built-up district with busy traffic routes nearby.
Cats are full of curiosity and will usually head for the door the moment it is opened. After a quick look round, off they go to explore the territory, which can be full of dangers and frightening experiences.
It is a sad fact that large numbers of cats are killed every year on our roads. This is obviously a tragedy for the cats concerned and also for their owners who will be heartbroken at the loss of their beloved pet. Serious injuries occur as well as deaths, which cause the poor animal untold pain and cost their loving owners a fortune in vet's bills.
Apart from these horrors the great outdoors in an urban environment can be extremely frightening for a cat. It is full of sudden loud noises of every pitch. Fast-moving vehicles approach from all directions and there are too many people rushing around.
Who's the prettiest?
So how do you stop your cat from rushing outside every time you open the door? This is no easy task but it can be done with perseverance and patience. Of course, it is easier to train a young kitten in the way you want it to behave than an adult cat whose habits are already well-formed.
As with any form of animal training the best approach is to work with the cat's natural instincts. It is well-known that cats hate sudden loud noises which they perceive as a threat. So when you see your cat heading for the open door, startle them by banging an object such as a heavy book or rolled-up newspaper onto a hard surface, or clap your hands loudly while yelling 'NO' at the top of your voice, - anything to stop them in their tracks and get them to turn back to the safety of the room.
BUT - make sure you are between the cat and the door when you do this. DON'T EVER do it when you are behind the cat or you will get the opposite effect and scare him/her right out of the door!
I can't get down now
Another effective method is to get someone else to stand just outside the open door with a water pistol or spray bottle. As soon as the cat tries to go outside give it a good squirt on the nose which will send him straight back inside. If this person can make the loud scary noise at the same time, or if you can enlist a third person to do this, it will be even more of an effective deterrent.
Your role is to wait inside the room so that when the poor frightened cat comes running back inside you can be there to welcome him with open arms, to cuddle and soothe him and praise him for being a good cat. This would be a good opportunity to give him a treat.
Best of all, if you have time to call the cat back before he gets to the open door, do so in a voice full of alarm. Do this before the scary noise and the water spray happen and he will soon realise that your alarmed voice is warning him that something nasty is going to happen to him and that he had better avoid it.
Cat outside my house
This could also be useful in other situations. If you see him about to jump over a neighbour's fence, for example, or go somewhere where you know there's a dog, or a rival cat, calling him back in an alarmed voice will tell him there's the threat of danger.
Never forget to lavish praise and petting on your cat when he does the right thing and use treats as a reward to reinforce his good behaviour.
How
to Stop Your Cat Jumping on Counters and Tables
A very important
message to get across to your cat from day one is that tables and
kitchen worktops (or counters) are 'no go' areas as far as he/she is
concerned. And that means always. Some people don't seem to
have problem with this. Even houseproud people who take a pride
in keeping their home neat and clean can somehow find it cute to have
their cat up close beside them as they prepare their family's meals
etc.
Such people may insist that their cat is very clean - "Look
how often she washes herself" they argue. Unfortunately cats'
paws, (not to mention their rear ends!), carry literally millions of
bacteria which are known to be dangerous to humans. Such powerful
germs cannot be removed by a cat's lick, however thoroughly she seems
to do it.
When your cat
uses its litter tray it will pick up these dangerous bugs on its feet
from scratching and scraping around in the litter. If it
goes to the toilet outdoors the same thing will happen as she
conscientiously tries to cover up what she has done.
If she jumps up onto your food preparation or eating surfaces
afterwards she can't avoid donating a generous load of these bugs to
you and your family. Sitting down on the surface makes it even
worse as cats are not known for using toilet paper or wearing
pants!
Allowing your cat to persist in this unsanitary behaviour is a real
health hazard. So, don't lose any time in training her in more
hygienic habits.
Cats on worktops
can be dangerous in other ways too. They can cause a distraction
when hot food, pots and pans are around causing burns or scalds or they
can knock something over, causing accidents or breakages. So how
do we break this bad habit?
The trick is to
use something she hates to change her behaviour. Most cats hate
sudden,
loud noise. They associate it with a sense of danger so want to
escape to a safe place. If you make a loud noise in her face when
she jumps up, she’ll quickly jump back down. Make sure you repeat
the noise every time she repeats the behaviour and she'll soon get the
message that it's not a good idea and stop doing it.
There are all
kinds of noises that different people favour when training their
cat. It can be very effective just to say "No", loudly and
firmly, to the cat's face every time she jumps up. An empty
plastic bottle containing a few pebbles or marbles can work well if you
rattle it loudly in the cat's face. A glass bottle makes more
noise but there is the risk that it might break and cause injury.
Some cat owners
say that growling in the cat's face works, as this is the way that
mother cats train their kittens about what is and is not
permitted. This is one way in which cats naturally communicate
with each other so hopefully the message will get through to your
pet.
Many people just
roll a few sheets of newspaper up and smack it down on the table or
worktop right in front of the cat. This should startle her enough to
make her jump off. If she doesn't, pick her up by the scruff of
the neck, the way a mother cat would, and put her down on the floor.
Another method
is to spray the cat in the face with a spray bottle of clean cold
water. This will cause her no harm but she won't enjoy it and will run
for cover!
If, in spite of
all your best efforts, your cat still insists on jumping up where she
shouldn't be, try using lots of different methods at the same time. You
could try blowing a child's toy horn in her face the minute she jumps
up while spraying her face with cold water at the same time and then
giving her a sharp tap on the head with the rolled up newspaper.
If you are firm about following this routine every time she tries to
jump up she'll soon get sick of it and think it's just not worth all
the stress!
What you must
never, ever do is to pick your cat up from the table or work surface
and then give her a kiss and a cuddle. This is just rewarding the
cat for the very behaviour you are trying to discourage and she will be
totally confused. When she wants some more of your affectionate
attention she will repeat the same behaviour you are telling her to
stop. So, your own behaviour should be firm, clear and
consistent. This is the only way to get positive results.
Good luck! You might find the following books useful:- 1. Stop Cat Peeing 2. 18 Ways to Stop Cat Urine Odour 3. Solutions to Your Cat's Behaviour Problems 4. Ultimate Cat Secrets
Have you got a cat who won't stop scratching your precious furniture no matter what you do to try to stop him/her? You don't need me to tell you how quickly they can make your belongings look like something the cat dragged in , in next to no time.
And cats aren't picky about whether they are messing up a valuable antique, a treasured heirloom passed down the family for years or the very latest modern trendy stuff. If they can stick their claws into it, it's fair game! To a cat of course this is perfectly normal, natural behaviour, something he was born to do. He's not deliberately being naughty or mean. This means that it will be impossible to stop him altogether. What you have to do is to choose his permitted scratching areas for him.
You must train him to scratch on something that doesn't matter. Scratching poles, or posts, made of rope, preferably sisal, wound round a tall-ish column ( tall, because cats often love to stretch out their full length), made of wood, metal or strong plastic are ideal. They are easily obtainable from pet shops, markets and super stores and should be introduced to the cat as soon as possible.
If you have, or are planning to get, a new kitten, get the scratching post at the same time. You don't then have the bother of getting him to un-learn undesirable behaviour. Just introduce him straight away to wherever you want him to go through his scratching routines.
Some cats, especially if they are older and, perhaps, a bit set in their ways(!), are more resistant to being reformed. If they still prefer their established habit of clawing your favourite armchair rather than the new-fangled scratching pole buy some Nepeta (which is the familiar garden herb known as catmint or catnip) extract and wipe or spray it on the post, all over the rope.
Most cats find the scent of this plant absolutely irresistible, some even seem to go into ecstasies over it, and it should certainly help to make the scratching post a highly desirable object in your cat's eyes.
If your cat is still resistant, or has a lapse now and again, get a spray bottle of water to spray in his face. This is not without its own hazards of course, as if your furniture is highly polished wood it may watermark very easily.
Other methods to try: The rolled-up paper method. Only use one or two sheets of newspaper as the idea is not to hurt or punish the cat, who has no idea that he's doing anything bad anyway, but to teach him new behaviour.
Just tap his face with it, which he will not enjoy, and in time he will come to associate the sound of rustling paper and the feel of that tap on the nose with a certain behaviour and prefer not to risk it!
This also works if the cat sometimes scratches people. After being smacked with the paper a few times, simply hearing it being rolled up will often stop him. Sometimes cats will crouch out of sight and spring out at people. This may well be normal hunting behaviour for a cat but in a domestic situation it could cause a nasty injury so needs to be controlled.
If you hold your cat up by the scruff of his neck at the same time as giving him a light tap on the nose or paws you are making it clear to him that you are the dominant one in the relationship, the Top Cat in fact. This is how his mother would have dealt with him and he needs to learn his subordinate place as far as you are concerned. When he has had his little smack, put him down and ignore him for a while.
Some cats have a habit of sometimes putting out their claws and digging them into you, say, when you are stroking them on your lap. To show that such behaviour is unacceptable while they are being petted by someone, gently push his claws back, until he retracts them.
