Cat | May 2020

Why Does My Cat Bite Me When Playing?

As a cat owner you might be wondering why does my cat bite me, which usually happens when you play or pet your cat. You should know that your cat has different behavior as human. Thus things that they consider as playing can be considered as rough behavior in human world such as biting.

Learning the Reason Why Does My Cat Bite Me

For cats playing consist of biting, scratching, punching, and many other action that seems aggressive for human but actually normal in feline world. This is a type of social play that the cat usually does to other cat as well as people that owned them.

They do this behavior with playful intention, however sometimes this kind of behavior may injure human as they does not have the same skin as the cat has which also protected by their fur. What makes it worse is that, this type of injury may be infected easier as it is an open wound.

To ensure that this does not happen anymore, you need to understand more about why do cats bite their owners for no reason. First of all, you can see whether their biting is aggressive or lovely.

If your cat bites aggressively, it usually leaf deep scar which may even lead to bleeding. This kind of behavior usually happen when your cat is scared or something. It may also because they can sense other cat in their territory.

But most common reason why this type of bite happens is because they play too roughly with you as it is their natural behavior. Thus you may want to learn further how to control this behavior so they would not be too rough.

Another type of bites that your cat might do is called as love bites. This type of bite may happen when your cat is receiving over stimulation from their owner.

For example when you petted them, in their favorite spot. As they feel stronger bond with their owner, they might use this kind of bite as their communication method. It is another form of cat communication that you should understand so you will know the reason why your cat bites you.

You can tell this kind of bite by the effect that you received from it. Usually if it is love bites, then their bite would not hurt or tear open your skin. It will only be a gentle tug in your hand that you may feel but would not make you hurt or anything.

Learn How to Convert Cat Years to Human Years

If you looking a way to convert cat years to human years so you will know how mature your cat condition really is. Actually there are people that said that for a cat one year, it is equal to seven years in human. However, as you can see, a one year old cat is much more matured compared to a seven years old human. Thus this theory might not be true after all.

Things That affect Cat Years to Human Years

Actually there is no known scientific method known to convert animal years to human years including for the cats. The reason is because the cat maturity growth is actually worked in different timeline compared to human maturity growth. But even with that, you can try to understand more about your cat maturity which you can try to compare to human maturity.

Actually cat only spend little time in their lives in immature stage. That is why; it is quite hard to compare their year to human year. A cat will grows faster in their first two years of living, and then a cat will have slower growth rate afterwards.

You can understand this easily by knowing that a cat is already sexually as well as physically developed within the first year in their lives. However, for human we will reach similar maturity at least when human are fifteen years old. Thus if you compared those two, then you can say that the first year in your cat lives equal to fifteen years in human lives.

But it will become even more complicated in the cat second year. In this year, your cat maturity level is similar to human when they are 25 years old. This make the cat only grow around 10 years in human year. This number comes from 25 years minus 15 years in the cat first year, thus your cat only grows 10 years in their second year.

Then after reaching this year, then their growth will become slower, thus it will be easier to count them. On this stage the cat third year development and onward is similar with human four year development. Thus one year of their lives will equal with four year in human lives.

Knowing all of this information will make it easier for you to empathize more with her. Thus you will know how to treat her when she already more mature. And you will also know how regular the veterinary checkup should be done.

Why Does My Cat Lick Me ?

You might wonder why does my cat lick me when you try to touch them while playing and sometimes they even come closer then suddenly lick you. You should know that her tongue has a lot of tiny barbs on its surface.

Those barbs function to be the comb which useful for grooming herself, as well as rasp when eating. This is the reason why she love licks a lot of things in her surrounding such as bowls, her fur and even you as the owner.

Why Does My Cat Lick Me Without Cause?

Actually there are many reasons why your cats do this kind of behavior. Thus you need to know what does it mean when a cat licks a human as one of their behavior such as:

Seeking attention

A lot of people already understand that their cat needs to have their attention. And when she does not get enough attention then she will seek for your attention. One way that this feline usually does is to lick you as their owner. Sometimes, they even bite you after they lick you.

Cleaning

As you know licking also means cleaning for your cat even though that might not be the case for human. Besides cleaning, this kind of behavior also used by your cat as a mean to bond with their owners which means she already consider you as one of the group member.

Tasting

Sometimes your cat also likes to eat you when they taste something tasty in your skin. But sometimes, your cat likes the salty taste of your skin.

Affection

Grooming for cat is considered as a method to show affection between cats, not only with their owner but also with other cats. Thus when they lick you, then for them it is their way to show their affection to you.

One thing that needs to be remembering is you need to see how your cat behaved. When your cat is calm, then she will start liking as one of her behavior as we mention above. But sometimes she will also try to lick you when she feels anxious. That is why; you need to see whether she is calm or anxious when she licking you.

If she indeed anxious, then you need to search for something that has changed in your cat living environment. That way, you will know how to handle the situation according to the reason why your cat licks you.

How to Discipline a Cat in the Right Method

You might want to learn how to discipline a cat if they behave badly without hurting them and stop them from becoming naughty once again. But first, you might want to know the reason why they behave badly so you can see the things that happen from their pov.

That way, you can understand their behavior more to know the things that you can do to discipline them. The main reason why you cat may behave badly without their notice is because they cannot do things that they do in the nature.

Learn How to Discipline a Cat Using the Right Method

You should know that when you try to discipline your cat, you cannot do things that you think as punishment such as hitting or hurting them in any way. Do cat understand punishment? They would not understand this kind of punishment. This will only affect your relationship with her but will not make they change their bad behavior.

Things that you should do when trying to discipline them is by stop doing things that your cat love such as:

Playing with your cat

Feeding her with her favorite food.

Giving treat to her.

Talk to her.

Notice her.

Pet her.

On the other word if you think that your cat behaves badly then you need to stop play with your cat. You might also want to start walking away from her and keep walking away even if she follows you. You need to ignore her completely to show that you do not approve their behavior. Then they will learn not to do this bad behavior once again.

However, this method should also be followed with suitable method that you should do if they behave in the right manner. If you think she does something good then you need to reward her. The reward can also be the positive way of those above things we mention before. Such as playing with her, notice her right away when she come, pet her and even treat her once in a while if you like their behavior.

Do not forget that you need to do both of those methods regularly each time they behave badly and each time they behave in a good manner. Then your cat will realize which behavior that is more fun to do and then will not do the bad behavior once again. Of course it will need some time for them to learn through the method that you do.

How Long Does a Cat Stay in Heat ?

You might wonder how long does a cat stay in heat especially since the odd behavior as well as the yowling may disturbed you. Actually the cat may stay in this condition for around four until ten days long. And this condition may happen every few weeks which make you become disturbed after the long run.

Learn the Symptoms and How Long Does a Cat Stay in Heat?

The first heats that the cat will going through is named as estrus that will happen once your cat reach sexual maturity. It will depend on the cat’s breed thus some breed may have it earlier or later. Siamese can have it when they are around 5 months meanwhile the Persian will have it when they are around 10 months.

Even after you know the duration of the cat heat, some of you might not even know whether your cat is in heat or not. Some noticeable symptoms is bleeding however, this symptoms is not a common symptoms.

Actually there are cat heat cycle symptoms that you can pay attention to such as:

Your cat becoming even more affectionate than usual.

She rubs to any type of objects and even to people.

She likes to roll on flooring.

She demands more of your attention.

She will raise her hind quarters especially if you rub or scratch her.

She like to yowl and more vocal.

She likes to left mark in object and urinate more than usual.

She might even try to escape from inside the house.

You should know that the reason she like to left mark in object and urinate more than usual is because she will release pheromones as well as other hormone inside the urine. This scent is very strong and can attract male cat as it indicate that your cat is ready for reproduction.

That is why; to prevent the reproduction to happen, and then you might want to spay your cat even before the heat cycle start. Especially since the spaying cannot be done if your cat is already in heat.

Thus you may need to wait for around four until ten days long until the heat is over then the spaying procedure can be done. You can perform the spay method very early even when the cat is still in eight week old. This will prevent cat overpopulation but it would not change her behavior.

Average Lifespan of a Cat, How Long Do Cats Live?

Before you own any pet, you might want to learn about average lifespan of a cat so you will know what to expect beforehand. Cat is known for their long life, which often longer than a dog. But of course that not always be the case as there are a few factors that affect it.

What Affect Average Lifespan of a Cat?

One important factor is from the environment where they live in. for wild cat, they commonly life for around four to five years lifespan. However, for domesticated cat, they will have longer lifespan which is around fifteen to twenty years and even longer.

One thing that can affect this lifespan is the breed that your cat own. Some breed has longer lifespan for example manx as well as Siamese even though there are even some breed that life for around thirty years of lifespan. Furthermore even pure or the mixed breed may also have a potential to go over their predicted lifespan. Thus they may even life longer than those years we mention above.

Another thing that may affect your cat lifespan is their nutrient. That is why many researcher has done some study in learning the average dietary need for a cat so it can life to their full potential.

But you should know that not all of the cat food in the market has equal nutrient. And it is important to take note that once the cat become adult, then they will need less amount of carbohydrate in their diet. The reason is because they cannot digest carbohydrate and even lactose anymore once they become adult.

All of those nutrients that the cat need will affect their health thus will also have indirect effect on their lifespan. If your cat does not get enough nutrients, then they will get some health issue. Furthermore parasites are also able to give your cat some diseases which may affect their lifespan.

Average Lifespan of a Cat — Nutmeg, the world’s oldest cat, dead at 32

There is also another thing that may affect average lifespan of an outdoor cat compared to indoor cat. As the outdoor cat love to be outside, this means that they will have higher risk of something happen to them. This makes their accident or injuries risk increase, thus will also affect their overall lifespan.

As you can see there are a lot of things that may affect your cat lifespan. Thus even though you already know their average lifespan, but there are other possibilities that can make them life shorter or longer.

How Long is a Cat Pregnant and Sign of Pregnancy

A lot of cat owners wonder about how long is a cat pregnant, especially since cat pregnancy is different from human pregnancy. For cat pregnancy, the duration is only last for around 64 until 67 days which is a lot shorter than human 9 months pregnancy period.

Information on How Long is a Cat Pregnant?

During those two months, you might even notice some changes in your cat that shows that they are pregnant. You can use this sign to learn how to tell if a cat is pregnant or not. Usually your cat will experience some changes in their behavior as well as in their physical appearance. It will become more visible around 30 days after their pregnancy so you might not even notice it before their stomach begin to show.

If you want to tell whether your cat is pregnant or not before that period, then you can tell by looking at their nipples which will become pink and large during this period. Of course, your veterinarian will be able to detect your cat pregnancy easier as they can do ultrasound to check your cat belly right away.

When your cat is pregnant, other changes might not be notice right away. This makes it difficult for you to know the exact duration of your cat pregnancy. Thus the duration that we mention above is actually estimation on the possible duration that your cat will go through while pregnant.

However, you can also tell when your cat is nearing their due date through their behavior. At approximately two weeks before their due date, your cat will have increase in their appetite. At this point her belly will already showing, thus you might already know that she is pregnant. That is why; you might want to give her more food and nutrient as she will need to not only feed herself but also the fetus in her belly.

To prepare their delivery, your cat usually shows some nesting behavior. They will start to look a place that they can use as a nest for delivery process. You can also try to help them by preparing secluded and dark place where she can feel save for delivery.

Then when she stops eating completely, it is time for you to prepare yourself. As they will deliver the kittens in the next two days after they stop eating. This is when the pregnancy duration stops as they already deliver the kittens.

How to Tell If a Cat is Pregnant Using Easy Method

You might want to learn how to tell if a cat is pregnant if you are a cat owner that truly cares about your cat. Especially if your cat is recently going through heat cycle, thus this is something that you need to learn right away.

Learn How to Tell If a Cat is Pregnant

There are several things that you can use to tell whether your cat is pregnant or not. The first method is through the pregnant cat behavior which different from before such as:

Becoming more affectionate than before and continue to seek for your attention.

The cat will be looking for a place to nest so she will start to go a quiet as well as more private spot in your area as a place for her to give birth.

Having bigger appetite as now she is pregnant thus she will need to eat more food for the fetus growth.

No more heat cycle as now she already pregnant so if usually the cycle happens every ten days or two weeks then it may stop completely.

Vomit, this behavior is the same as pregnant woman who suffer from morning sickness.

The second method is through their physical changes which some are quite apparent than other. Thus you might want to pay attention more on their physical changes such as:

Pinking, it is the condition where her nipple becomes swell and turn into pink color.

Bigger belly, this physical change may not be notice at first. But once the fetus gets bigger than her belly will also become bigger.

The most accurate method, which you can use to know whether your cat is truly pregnant or not, is by using clinical check. Of course, this needs to be done by your veterinarian so you can bring your feline to them if you notice some change on her like we mention above.

There are some methods that the veterinarian usually does to ensure whether your cat is truly pregnant or not such as:

Palpation in this method, the veterinarian will use their palm to press your cat belly to feel the growing method.

Ultrasound, this method is more advanced as the veterinarian will use ultrasound to detect as early as two week times.

By using all of those above method, now it is easier for you to know whether your cat is truly pregnant or not and think of other option for the pregnancy.

How to Get Rid of Cat Urine Smell

A lot of people who loves feline surely want to learn how to get rid of cat urine smell from your house. No matter how much you love your cat, you would not want your entire house smell like cat urine. Here are some of the things that you can do in getting rid the cat urine odor.

How to Get Rid of Cat Urine Smell

Enzymatic cleanser

If the smell still linger even after you clean the urine itself then it is time to use enzymatic cleaner for cat urine. This kind of cleanser has culture inside which will work to break down your cat urine then reduce the smell at the same time.

But remember that you need to see the instruction label on the packaging. This type of cleanser may not have any contact with other type of cleanser, thus it is better for you to use it right away after you remove the urine liquid.

To remove the urine liquid, you can easily blot them using paper towel until all of the urine is dried. You can see from the yellow color tint that the urine liquid has as a sign whether the urine has been fully absorbed or not. Then use the enzymatic cleanser right away to remove them completely.

Vinegar

Once you do the previous method but if you still think that the smell exists, then you can try to use this second mixture. Try to dissolve white vinegar using water with equal amount. Then saturate the affected area using this mixture. Scrub the area until the vinegar is absorbed and neutralize the cat urine odor. Then use pepper towel to blot dry them.

Baking soda

Baking soda is known to absorb any kind of smell including the cat urine. It is easy to use, as you only need to sprinkle the affected area using baking soda then left it to absorb the odor.

Hydrogen peroxide

Mix half cup hydrogen peroxide along with one tsp dish detergent. Spread this mixture on top of the baking soda and scrub them increase its effectiveness. Blot and left it to dry

Once you have done, all of the above methods, then your house will be free from the feline urine smell. You might want to use wet vac to completely remove the leftover solution of the cleaners you use but do not use steam cleaner.

How to Give a Cat a Pill for Medication ?

All feline owners should learn how to give a cat a pill in case your cat gets sick and need to take some medicine. The problem is, they do not like take any pill even though they need it to cure their illness. Thus you need to find a good way so they willing to take the pill.

Learn How to Give a Cat a Pill for Medication

First thing that you need to do is to be confident as they can notice it if you are nervous or not. And if you are indeed nervous, this will also make them feel as nervous. But if that already happen, then do not try to give pill to your cat as there is no point in learning how to pill a difficult cat.

Instead lock them in a room then place them on the floor with carpet. Your cat will grab onto the carpet as their first reaction until she is calm down.

Try to calm her down by wrapping her using towel with her head out. That way, she would not scratch you and you can handle her easier. Then try to talk to her while talking to her to calm her down a bit.

Once you see that she already calm down, then you can try to put your thumb as well as your middle finger into the hinge on her jaw. Then try to open her mouth gently, but do not hold her too tight or try to yank her mouth open. Now try to tilt her head back until you see the start point of her tongue which located on the back area of her mouth.

Now try to put the pill to center area of her mouth, and then close her mouth as quick as possible. Then you need to rub on her throat area which will encourage her to do the swallowing motion.

To know, whether the pill that you put into her mouth is already swallowed or not. You can see whether your cat already lick her lips or not. Once she lick her lips then it means that the pill already go down her throat.

How to Get Rid of Cat Urine Smell

Then you might want to give her some water which will be able to help in dissolving it. Use syringe without any needle to put the water into her mouth then let her swallow the water down. That is how you can make your cat take her pill easily.

Learning the Reason Why Does My Cat Bite Me

Things That affect Cat Years to Human Years

Why Does My Cat Lick Me Without Cause?

Seeking attention

Cleaning

Tasting

Affection

Learn How to Discipline a Cat Using the Right Method

Things that you should do when trying to discipline them is by stop doing things that your cat love such as:

Learn the Symptoms and How Long Does a Cat Stay in Heat?

Actually there are cat heat cycle symptoms that you can pay attention to such as:

What Affect Average Lifespan of a Cat?

Information on How Long is a Cat Pregnant?

Learn How to Tell If a Cat is Pregnant

Pinking, it is the condition where her nipple becomes swell and turn into pink color.

Bigger belly, this physical change may not be notice at first. But once the fetus gets bigger than her belly will also become bigger.

Palpation in this method, the veterinarian will use their palm to press your cat belly to feel the growing method.

Ultrasound, this method is more advanced as the veterinarian will use ultrasound to detect as early as two week times.

How to Get Rid of Cat Urine Smell

Enzymatic cleanser

Vinegar

Baking soda

Hydrogen peroxide

Learn How to Give a Cat a Pill for Medication