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Some animals have been abandoned by their owners. They end up in animal shelters hoping that someone will come along and given them a good home. If you are thinking of owning a feline, you better learn a thing or two about foster cat care.
When you bring home the cat from the foster home, this should first be left inside the cat carrier until they are already ready to be isolated in a small room. This will give them time to adjust to their new environment and one of the most ideal places in the house is the bathroom that must have a cat bed, litter pan, water and food.
If there are children in the house, they must be slowly introduced to the feline one at a time with adult supervision. They must be taught to treat it gently and speak to it softly but if you have infants or toddlers, you should wait till they grow older.
In case there is already a cat in the house and the one you adopted will add to the number of pets, you must plan a 2 week introductory period between them. Be aware that there will be a lot of hissing and you should be present at all times so that should a fight break out, you will be able to wrap a blanket around them and have these two separated. Naturally, both should have a separate litter box and bowl.
You must always use good quality cat food and not the cheap kind if you want to extend the life of your cat. Feeding is once daily and you have the option of giving them supplements like Omega 3 Fatty acids.
By law, cats are required to wear an identification tag so if you don t have one yet, you better get one. Written on the tag is the cat s name, your name, address and contact number so someone will be able to get in touch with you in the event it gets out of the house. Another option is for to install a microchip that is embedded under their skin.
Some cats have not been toilet trained. If this is one of your problems, you should teach them so they know that this is the place to go when nature is calling. The best step is to carry them to the box when you see that they are about to do it. If you see them doing, reinforce it by giving them food as a reward thus making this habit forming.
Aside from providing the adopted cat with food and shelter, you should also give them a scratch pad to curb the incidents of unwanted destruction of furniture. Ideally, this should measure 3 feet in height and installed near where they sleep or next to the furniture.
If ever they scratch on the furniture, do not scold them. Just carry them and direct their attention to the post.
Since their claws get sharp, you must also trim it every two weeks. If you have never done it before, ask your vet to teach you so this is done right causing no harm to the cat.
Foster cat care can be a challenge given that there are a lot of things to teach it. By giving your new friend constant love and attention, you will be able to enjoy each other s company.
Date Added: Sunday, 04-06-2025 02:07:56 PM
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Cats just like humans are prone to sicknesses. In fact, cat's succumb to two cat viral infections that will be discussed shortly. The good news is that there is a cure.
These two common viral infections are Feline Herpes 1 virus known as rhinotracheitis virus and infection with the organisms called Chlamydia psittaci and mycoplasma.
When a cat is infected, they will experience a fever, have weepy eyes, a crusty nose and sneeze a lot. This can go away with or without treatment but this can come back.
When this happens, the condition is called Feline Keratoconjunctivitis the virus settles in the nerves around their face. Corneal scars can be seen to a little over a centimeter in diameter. This makes it hard for the cat to see and it usually happens due to stresses associated with boarding, weather change, a new pet in the house or as mentioned earlier other diseases.
Things are going to get worse as the outer coating of the cornea will be lost to the invading virus. Secondary bacterial and mycoplasmal infection of these areas may cause deep ulcers around the eye and in some cases damage the surrounding areas as well.
Fortunately, this can be treated using an amino acid called lysine by reducing the amount of another amino acid called arginine that is present in the cat s body. The vet will prescribe a dosage between 200 to 500 mg per day and sprinkled into their food. There are different brands available and when you look for one, make sure it is glycol free.
You can also try topical antibiotics that have also proven to be effective but they are only designed to quell secondary bacterial invaders.
Another option is for you to use topical anti-virals that are designed to directly fight the virus. Some examples of these include Herplex (idoxuridine), Viroptic (trifluorothymidine, and Vira-A (vidarabine). These medications are relatively expensive and have to be given 5 times a day. Only when the cornea is indeed infection should this be given.
Something more affordable than the topical anti-virals is an oral solution called Oral Interferon. Although it has never been scientifically proven to treat cat viral infections, cat owners that have used this have claimed that it does shorten the length of the infection. The best part is that there are no known side effects so you don t lose anything by trying it.
Vaccines seem to be the best way to prevent these diseases from happening. Ideally, this should be given to a cat during their 9th, 12th and 14th week of age. It should be administered using a 25 gauge needle on the anterior side of a rear leg and massaged afterwards to prevent tumors from forming in the injection sites.
There are other eye infections that mimic what was just mentioned. One example is eosinophilic conjunctivitis. So before any medication can be given, the vet will first have to do a test to make sure that the proper medication is given.
This is known as PCR or the Polymerase Chain Reaction test. It is a DNA test that amplifies the presence of viral DNA so that even one single virus can be detected in a sample from a conjunctival swab.
Cat viral infections are common among kittens but they can be prevented and cured. You have to know first which one you are dealing with so the proper medication can be given. For more information about them, do some research online and go talk to your vet.
Date Added: Saturday, 04-05-2025 08:32:49 AM
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