Cats and Kittens

While cats may not always be social animals, they most certainly are always territorial. For your cat to be emotionally well-balanced, harmonious territorial structure is essential, and the feline approach to organisation is most particular and a far cry from human or even dogs´ ideas on the subject. Cats divide their territory up into a certain number of areas, each with its own specific function.

The isolation field is an area which the cat does not wish to share, unless it be with extremely familiar individuals, and then only when it so chooses. It is often a raised position, where the cat can feel perfectly safe. Activity fields may, on the other hand, be shared and are devoted to some particular occupation (bird-watching, hunting, playing or feeding, etc.).

These various fields are all inter-linked by pathways which are always the same, and which the cat traces with pheromonal markers whenever it takes them. When you see a cat rubbing up against a piece of furniture, it is placing its familiarity markers there which will act as reassuring landmarks for it afterwards. This very strict and most particular organisation is necessary if a cat is to be emotionally well-balanced.

There are practical repercussions to this for you when you adopt a kitten. Right from the very first day, you should give it its isolation field: a place where no-one will come and disturb it when it is asleep.

The children and the dog of the household will quite naturally want to make contact with the new-comer; but, if your kitten is to develop peacefully, it has to have its own private place- which it may later on decide to change. You should not systematically remove all the marks made by the cat rubbing itself against things in its new home. It is very important for it to be able to find its pheromones if it is not to develop an anxiety state.

Uncleanliness and marking

Cats are toilet-trained from very early on, and one is often struck by the sight of a little kitten three weeks’ old struggling to get up into its cat-litter to relieve itself there. This reputation is a well-founded one, and so it is only all the more disappointing for a cat-owner to find that his or her cat is not clean. To avoid this, there are a few precautions to take. The elimination field should have certain features, and, however self-evident some of these may be, in practice experience shows that they are not always fully respected. The cat-box with the litter in it needs to be constantly accessible, including at night. Remember that cats were originally nocturnal animals. By dint of living with humans, they may focus on daytime activity, but they still may well keep certain times during the night for specific occupations. The place you choose has to enable your cat to relieve itself without any problems.

If children are playing in the same room, or the dog is liable to come over and sniff the cat on its litter, then the conditions are not the best possible and accidents may ensue. The litter should be changed frequently.

Finally, do not confuse uncleanliness and marking.

Some cats use urinary marking, and the sequence here is highly characteristic. The cat stands up straight on its legs, rather than crouching down as it does to relieve itself, and sends shots of urine on to vertical supports. This is highly typical of a cat whose territory has been disrupted and who is failing to find its familiarity landmarks.

As between uncleanliness, elimination and marking, the easiest and most effective thing to do is to talk with your Vet about it right away. He or she will be able to distinguish between the different hypotheses and to suggest a solution to you. One way or the other, do not delay. The earlier the diagnosis, the better the result. And if any of this does happen to you, do not get depressed about it: despite their reputation for cleanliness, a survey has shown that 30% of cats fail to be clean at one time or another in their lives.

Food plays a vital role in our health and in that of our pets. Each element in the feed has its own role to play. Excess and deficiency are equally harmful for a cat´s health, so you should get informed as to the qualitative and the quantitative needs of your little cat, which are quite different from a dog´s.

Certain sometimes unintended mistakes in making up home-made rations can have serious pathological repercussions. A cat´s needs, moreover, depend on its physiological status (care, growth, lactation, or gestation) and sexual status (sterilised or not). Ready-made food nowadays meets this charge-book´s specifications, whether it be tins or biscuits. Of course, differences exist with respect to the quality of the ingredients: "premium" or "super-premium" are terms used when top-quality raw material goes into the making of cat-food.

Cats need some 50 nutriments in order to live. Lack or deficiency in any one of these will lead to chain reactions and pathological disturbance.

• With regard to proteins, which constitute the framework of body tissues and are made up of chains of molecules known as amino acids, certain essential amino acids which cats are unable to synthesise themselves are to be distinguished: e.g., arginine and taurine. Taurine deficiency can cause blindness and heart problems. It is a substance only to be found in proteins of animal origin, which means that cats, unlike dogs, are strictly carnivorous.
• Lipids or fats are composed of fatty acids. They provide the organism with energy and contribute to cell membrane structure. Once again, there are for cats certain so-called essential fatty acids which are only to be found in meat and fish.
• Carbohydrates or sugars for their part also supply energy. They are contained in vegetables. They also contribute to good intestinal transit when they come in the form of fibre.
• Lastly, minerals, vitamins and oligo-elements need to be present in sufficient amounts but not in excess. With respect to home-made food, be especially careful not to give too much liver, which is rich in vitamin A and in the long run leads to knitting of the vertebrae.

Quantitative requirements

Most cat-food manufacturers nowadays respect scientifically determined standards as far as the nutritional composition of rations is concerned. Kittens need rather more protein than do adult cats (30% as compared to between 10% and 20%). They also have high energy requirements. For this reason, kittens need a high fat input in their food. Special Kitten foods meet these specifications.

On the other hand, in adult cats too much fat leads to obesity: 10% would seem to be a reasonable level. Gestating cats also require more energetic food, which is furthermore to be stepped up by 10% per week from the beginning to the end of gestation.

Adult cats do well on "maintenance" rations, although sedentary or sterilised cats may tend to become obese. This is why specific "light" or "castrated cat" foods have been developed: these come in wet or dry (biscuit) forms. Thus, each stage of life has, ideally, its own specific food. Your Vet can help you find your way through this maze.

Cats´ feeding behaviour

Cats, unlike greedy dogs, are "nibblers". They prefer to have several meals a day. If food is simply made available, they will take some 10 to 16 meals a day. Various studies have produced a classification of cats´ preferences (although there are wide individual differences): in descending order, cats most happily eat fish (and tuna in particular), then beef, horse-meat, pork, chicken or offal, with a preference for red offal (liver and kidneys).

With respect to texture, preferences lie at the two extremes: they will go just as well for a very dry as for a very wet ration. As far as wet rations are concerned, chunky recipes are preferred to pastes. In fact, a cat´s preferences would appear to be strongly influenced by early experience: kittens, by imitation, eat the same as their mothers and in most cases will keep a life-long preference for the food they ate when very young.

Cats are fine connoisseurs when it comes to feeding, and are very sensitive to the tableware. Rather than stainless steel or plastic, glass, china or porcelain dishes are to be preferred. The dish should not be too deep: dog-tins are not suitable. To really make your cat happy, finally, try heating its food briefly in your micro-wave oven.

Home-cooking

If you get the urge to cook for your cat, whereas shop foods are in fact perfectly balanced and more practical, at least do it properly so as to avoid harmful mistakes in feeding. The following recipe, while still imperfect, is the best adapted to cats´ needs. Rations should be rich in animal products and enriched in vitamins and minerals.

According to Wolter (Dietetichat, published by De Vecchi), a typical balanced ration would be as follows:

• 50% lean meat, or fish offal
• 20% (dry weight) puffed rice or cereal flakes
• 20% cooked greens or carrots
• 10% additive containing dry yeast, salad oil, mineral and vitamin additive (i.e., one tsp of each per adult cat per day)

Well-fed, properly wormed, regularly treated against parasites and fully vaccinated, your kitten is developing harmoniously. You love it and want it to keep happy and healthy. Then read the following pieces of advice.

Purring with pleasure

Would you like to hear a very pleasing little piece of music, a purr? Speak softly to your cat as you stroke it. If its mother had been stroked when it was in her womb and if it was itself stroked by the time it was seven weeks old, then it will be delighted. Otherwise, you will need to be patient.

From the very first weeks, use a brush with soft metal bristles and a rubber base, or else a silk brush. Groom your kitten every day if it is long-haired, and two or three times a week otherwise. It will love it, and feel much better for it!

Having a very good sleep

A good lie-in in the morning prepares the way for a whole afternoon´s siesta. The cat-basket, raised up on a chair or other piece of furniture, out of the way of the agitation of the household, is a cosy shelter and personal territory. Let sleeping kittens lie. Like all members of the cat family, your kitten is most alert and active at dawn, and at sunset explore its territory, has a bite to eat, and plays.

Keeping naturally clean

Give your cat a box with 5 to 7 cm of dust-free cat-litter in it, at least 1 metre away from its eating place. It will go there of its own accord. Change the litter regularly: cats are very sensitive to that.

Scratching for pleasure

As a member of the cat family, your kitten needs to scratch as a way of staking out its territory with marks which are at once visible and smellable thanks to the pheromones secreted by glands between the claws. Equally, when it rubs itself up against you, it is marking you, by means of its facial glands, with the calm familiarity of its pheromones. Do not interfere.

Being well brought-up

To prepare the way for the future, from the very start get you kitten used to receiving a few bits of basic care:

• a compress soaked in special eye cleanser, and a cotton bud for the ears if they have black wax in them (otherwise, leave them alone)
• a little toothbrush or a finger-stool to reduce scaling on the teeth
• there are special nail-cutters for claws which get too long- your Vet will be able to let you know just how far to go
• for your own peace and quiet, and for your kitten´s figure, do not let it climb up on to the table during mealtimes and never feed it from your own plate

Eating cat-mint

Even with modern industrial cat-food, perfectly suited to its nutritional requirements, your cat needs to have a pot of cat-mint, which you can buy (for very little) in the market or from a florist´s, unless you grow it yourself.

Playing at hunting

A kitten playing is a sight for sore eyes. Virtually anything will meet the bill: a ball of paper, a marble, a cork or a ping-pong ball. Watch: it is playing at hunting a mouse, or then a bird, or pretending to catch a fish ... Indefatigably.

Always bear in mind that, like a big cat, your little kitten will keep any ailment well hidden, until it gets just too serious. So do not hesitate to consult at the slightest change in behaviour or habits.

Soft stools?

• Stop its usual balanced diet. Leave only tap-water or rice water, even if it does not usually drink.
• Above all, absolutely no milk! (And, in point of fact, has it perhaps drunk some?)
• When you do let it have a bit of tinned pâté, do not serve it straight from the fridge - warm it up in the micro-wave oven or in a saucepan, or leave it to reach room temperature.

Vomiting

• Grass which it has just eaten? Perfectly normal.
• A bit of bile at day-break? - No problem.
• The meal it has just taken? - It may eat it up again straight away. Utterly disgusting, but that´s how it is!
• Prostrate, lifeless and with diarrhoea? Take an appointment with the Vet as soon as possible.

Not eating

• Remove the biscuits, or throw out the tinned food you gave it.
• If it goes on playing, it should build up an appetite in a few hours ...
• Had it had some new, more tasty food and is embarking on a trial of strength to get you to give it some more?
• If the anorexia lasts longer than 24 hours, consult your Vet.

Drinking a lot

Of course it always has fresh water available in a spotlessly clean bowl (not a plastic one, because of the smell!). It drinks very little: its ancestors used to live in the desert.

Remember: "When a cat takes to drink, there´s something wrong." Your Vet will be able to discover the reason - perhaps a perfectly straightforward one, or sometimes more complicated and serious - and advise you as to diet and possible treatment.

Scratching

Has it been treated properly against parasites? A flea or two, which you may not be able to see, could be the reason.

There are many others. Each has its own treatment.

Kittens are curious, playful and fearless: your new companion is going to make you have to deal with emergencies where it is going to be primordial to quickly see what to do and what decision to take. Here are some pieces of advice to help you cope with the commonest emergencies.

Dangers at home

Your home is a haven of peace for your kitten, but it can hide many a danger all the same. Ovens, washing machine drums or spin dryers are amusing hiding places- as long as no-one closes the door ... Sewing threads are toys which remind a kitten of snakes- but, instead of a forked tongue, they have needles at the end: Ouch! Climbing on to shelves and bookcases is good sport; but making sure that no vases or books- or kittens!- fall off is a whole different ballgame. Playing at free-fall from the balcony can, depending which floor you live on, end in a crash-landing of greater or lesser severity. Certain beautiful indoor plants are most tempting, just waiting to be nibbled at: poinsettias, azaleas, diffenbachias, for example- but they can cause serious poisoning.

Outdoor life

Your kitten does not necessarily have to go out to run many risks. Who will cry at home if it gets lost and does not come back? You never know who it's going to meet: an alley-cat who brooks no strangers on its patch, a dog on the prowl - charming, but deadly ...

Is your kitten aware of the fact that wasps sting, especially when a paw comes down fast as lightning to pin them to the ground? Cars and motorbikes are, sad to say, only too real as dangers.

In the garden, the pesticides, weed-killer and rat poisons smell bad and, in theory, your kitten should keep away from them; but, on the other hand, poisoned grains for slugs and snails can interest it. Be careful.

In the garage, antifreeze, apparently, has a pleasant taste. Beware: poison!

Poisoning

Never leave any kind of poison within reach, such as slug-poison or rodent bait, which are a real treat for your kitten. If it does swallow any, do not wait for the first symptoms to set in; take it straight to the Vet´s, who will get it to vomit by administering the appropriate treatment. Don´t forget to take along the package with the composition of the product marked on it: this will help the Vet determine treatment. Giving it milk to drink is of no use. If you store liquids such as lubricant or fuel oil, keep the barrels covered so that your kitten cannot fall in. If such a thing does happen, wash it with large amounts of water to get as much as possible out of the fur, then take it to the Vet´s. In case of convulsions, it is of no use to talk to your cat and stroke it: any such stimuli can only help prolong the attack. Watch over it to make sure it does not get hurt, and try to keep it away from noise and light. There is no point in trying to get hold of its tongue: there is no danger of it swallowing it, and it might just unintentionally bite you.

Heat-stroke

Do not leave your kitten in the car, especially in summer, as the inside temperature in the sun can reach 70C, causing acute dehydration and possibly fatal heat-stroke. And remember: the sun "goes round" and a car in the shade may be in the sun a few hours later. Just leaving the windows ajar is not usually enough to keep the temperature cool, and the kitten might put its head through and get hung.

When a kitten does get heat-stroke, it suddenly takes on a strange attitude, miaowing, losing balance and breathing fast. You should give it a shower with plenty of cold water then take it to the Vet´s.

Insect bites and other venoms

Your kitten may get an insect bite, from a wasp or a hornet, by carelessness or by playing risky games! The stung zone is swollen and painful; there may be respiratory problems, or even allergic shock.

Pull the sting out, if you can see it, and take the kitten to the Vet´s, who will alleviate the pain with a fast-acting anti-inflammatory treatment and treat any possible infection. Likewise, in case of snake-bite, there is no point in trying to get the wound to bleed by pressing on it or by using a tourniquet: the right thing to do is to take it for treatment as quickly as possible.

Electrocution

Never let your little cat play with electric wires: it could get electrocuted by biting them. This would cause burns on its muzzle, shock, respiratory difficulty or even death. Take it as quickly as possible to the Vet´s, even if it seems to be unaffected at first.

Trauma

Your little pet may suffer trauma: be bitten by a dog, hit by a car, or fall out of a window. You should handle it with care, trying to keep it horizontal: it may have sustained spinal injury, and you must avoid aggravating this by undue manipulation.

Ensure that its mouth is not obstructed by blood or saliva clots or by foreign bodies such as sand or earth, and that it can breathe freely. If it is bleeding profusely, press on the wound with a finger or a cloth, in order to aid coagulation. If a leg is broken, try to bandage it so that it does not swing loose. If any bone is apparent, do not touch it but cover it with clean cloth so as to limit contamination by germs.

Finally, if your kitten appears unharmed after trauma, consult your Vet all the same, as serious internal lesions are still a possibility.

Infection

Your kitten may also suffer from gastro-enteritis due to a virus, parasite or bacteria: diarrhoea, vomiting, refusal to eat. This is a serious illness which can cause rapid dehydration. Simple administration of water via a syringe does not always prove sufficient, and nor does fasting. Suitable medical treatment is most often called for, including perhaps a few days in hospital.

Prevention is a matter of vaccination, worming and adapted feeding.