Newsletter

Holiday season adornments are attractive to all creatures. The ornaments, foods, gifts, wrappings, ribbons, lights and plants are all curiosities for pets. Pets investigate new items by sniffing, tossing, chasing, and finally by tasting. A few precautions are necessary to avoid the holiday crowds at the veterinary hospital.

The most common problems this time of year are stomach or intestinal disturbances caused by pets eating the holiday feast or other novelties. Scraps from the table can cause gastrointestinal upset and even predispose pets to life-threatening pancreatitis. Bones can get stuck in the mouth or perforate the intestines and should be avoided. Chocolate is poisonous to cats, dogs, and birds. Plastic wrap and aluminum foil (coated with good-tasting juices) are enticing but can cause intestinal damage (and even blockage) if eaten by the pet.

Other sweet treats, like gum and hard candies, can also make your pet ill. Sugar-free candies and gum are made with xylitol, a sugar substitute that can cause a drop in blood sugar, depression, loss of coordination and seizures in your pet. Xylitol is also linked to liver failure in dogs. Be sure to keep all candies, chocolate and other sweets out of your pet's reach. If you believe your pet may have ingested chocolate or candy, call your veterinarian immediately.

Chocolate with Wrappers

Be sure to properly dispose of leftovers and wrappers. Feed pets their usual diet. Treats formulated similarly to the pet's regular diet are generally healthy and safe. Also keep in mind (while cooking) that pets may not know about hot stoves or to stay out from underfoot. Keep pets away from the stove so they don't get burned or get hot foods spilled on them.

Several decorative plants are poisonous. Mistletoe and holly can cause stomach upset with vomiting and diarrhea. The berries of these plants are attractive, easily swallowed, and potentially fatal if consumed. Poinsettias, like the leaves of most any plant, can also cause stomach upset. Use artificial mistletoe and holly; keep other plants out of your pet's reach.

Mistletoe and Holly

Be sure Christmas trees are secured so that pets cannot pull them over. Omit preservatives from the tree-stand water and cover the water so pets don't drink it. Don't spray snow on the tree unless it is labeled for pet consumption. Angel hair is spun glass and is irritating to both the inside and outside of your pet. Even glass ornaments and ornament hooks have been chewed and swallowed. These objects can cause problems from stomach upset to damaged intestines. Low-hanging ornaments are a real temptation, as are tinsel and electric lights. Decorative lights and electrical wiring can cause shock or burns when chewed, soremember to unplug holiday lights when pets are unattended.

Holidays have lots of activity going on. Be sure doors are not left open as guests come and go. Indoor pets inadvertently left outside could be injured by frostbite, cars, or other animals. Ice-melting chemicals and salt on sidewalks and roads can severely burn foot pads and should be washed off right away. Also, watch that guests don't leave interesting objects, such as chocolate, ribbons, stocking stuffers, or other illicit treats, within your pet's reach.

Holidays can also be as stressful for your pet as they are for you. Large gatherings of unfamiliar people may cause your dog or cat unnecessary stress and worry. If your pet does not interact well with strangers, keeping him or her in a separate room during the festivities may help keep your pet relaxed and worry-free.

Don't leave food items under the tree with an unsupervised pet; the wrapping, ribbon and enclosed gift are probably not compatible with your pet's digestive system. Ask Santa to put gifts out of your pet's reach so your pet won't beat you to them on Christmas morning.

When choosing a gift for your pet, consider the pet as an individual. Cats enjoy lightweight toys they can bat around, catnip toys, scratching posts, and kitty perches. Dogs like balls, chew toys, and things they can carry around. However, beware of toys with parts, such as bells, buttons, string, yarn, or squeaky parts, that can be detached and swallowed. Watch how your pet handles a new toy until you are sure it is safe. Some dogs treat a stuffed toy like a friend and carry it around and sleep with it. Others will tear them up and eat the stuffing and get into trouble. Also, if there is more than one pet in the household, consider all the pets before buying for any one of them. A one-inch diameter toy for a cat is fine, but a puppy in the household may swallow it and possibly require surgery to remove it.

If your pet does get sick, consult your veterinarian before giving any medications. Many of the over-the-counter drugs, such as acetaminophen - Tylenol(r) and Excedrin(r) and ibuprofin - Advil(r), Motrin(r), are toxic for animals even though they are safe for us. Don't wait to see if your pet gets better. If your pet is acting sick, consult your veterinarian.

Misreading or ignoring body language earns more than a few cat lovers a scratch or bite from time to time - the result of missing a cat's "I've had enough" signs.

The classic example is the cat who, while being petted, "suddenly" grabs with teeth and claws, to the shock and sometimes anger of the human doing the petting.

In fact, these "out of the blue" attacks rarely are. Before the bite or clawing, a cat usually gives out subtle (to us, anyway) signs of diminished tolerance. Primary among them is an increase in the stiffness and twitching of the tail.

The reasons behind this behavior are not well understood. If your cat has grown tired of petting, he or she may exhibit some of the following signs:

• The cat becomes restless
• The tail begins to twitch
• The cat's ears turn back or flick back and forth
• The cat's head starts moving toward your hand

The problem often starts with petting your cat's tummy, a vulnerable area for any animal. Watch your cat's body signs. If the cat shows any of these signals, immediately put the cat down and stop petting him or her. This not only keeps teeth and claws from entering your skin, it also builds up his trust in you and his tolerance for physical attention. Do not impose any sort of physical punishment on the cat - this may prompt him or her to bite, and will make future interactions with your cat more difficult.

Cats may also display similar body language when they are afraid. Though their body posture - crouching low to the floor, ears back, tail tucked, rolling slightly to the side - may be similar to a dog's submissive postures, cats in these positions are fearful and defensive and may attack if touched.

If your cat exhibits fearful behavior, closely observe the cat to determine the trigger for this behavior. It could be anything - a stranger, another animal, loud noises and so on. To help eliminate fearful behavior, try to desensitize your cat to the stimulus. First, introduce the stimulus at a distance while praising the cat and feeding him or her a treat. Slowly move the stimulus closer as you continue to praise and feed the cat. This process takes time; if at any point your cat shows fearful behavior, you have proceeded too quickly and must start again. If your attempts are not successful, you may need to call a animal behavior specialist.

Whether you are relaxing with your cat on the couch or watching your cat interact with friends and family, keep an eye on his or her body language. Your guests - and your cat - will thank you for it.

NOTE: This advice is in no way meant to replace the advice from your veterinarian. PLEASE consult your veterinarian as soon as possible to determine the best care for your orphan kitten.

Orphan Kittens Need Special Care

Determine the age of the kitten to see if it needs to be bottle fed or if it can go directly to soft food.

• Eyes closed, ears folded over: kitten is in the vicinity of 1 to 14 days old
• Eyes open, kitten moves but is wobbly: kitten is about 2-3 weeks old
• Eyes open, ears up, can walk around: kitten is approximately 3 weeks or older. You can offer soft food but you may still need to bottle feed.

If the kitten is cold, warm it slowly by holding it against your bare skin, allowing it to absorb your body heat. Do not submerge it in water or do any other drastic warming measure. Simply wrapping the kitten up in a blanket or towel is usually not sufficient as it is not able to generate its own heat. The kitten needs to absorb heat from you. Do not attempt to feed a cold kitten; wait until it warms up.

Orphaned Kittens Need To Be Kept Warm

Make a kitten box—put a heating pad in a box large enough to accommodate the heating pad plus more room so the kitten can crawl off if it gets too warm. Cover the heating pad with several towels. Do not lay the kitten directly on the heating pad. Set the temperature to LOW. Change the towels two to three times daily.

FEEDING:

KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer) or JUST BORN are two of the best commercial formulas to feed. Call your veterinarian or pet store for these formulas. Do not give cow's milk. If necessary, use the following emergency recipe for up to 24 hours only:

2/3 cup homogenized whole milk
3 raw egg yolks
1 tablespoon corn oil
1 dropper pediatric liquid vitamins

Warm the formula in a nursing bottle or medicine dropper. Test it on your wrist to check the temperature. If it feels too warm or too cold on your wrist, it is the same for the kitten.

NEVER Bottle Feed A Kitten On It's Back

Place the kitten on its stomach (just as he or she would nurse from its own mother) and let her nurse until she turns her head. Do not squeeze the bottle while nursing, but place a drop on her mouth to get her started. Do not place the kitten on its back, as it can aspirate formula into its lungs and suffocate.

After the kitten is full, it is necessary to stimulate its elimination. Kittens cannot eliminate on their own until they are three weeks old. Take a washcloth or paper towel and gently massage the anal region in a circular or back and forth motion. This is the same kind of activity that a queen (mother cat) would do for her kitten.

FEEDING SCHEDULE:

This is a general guideline. Some kittens eat more or less often. Generally, if a kitten cries, it is either cold or hungry. A contented kitten sleeps quietly.

Age in weeks and feedings per day:

• 1-2 weeks: 6 feedings per day
• 3 weeks: 4 feedings per day
• 4 weeks: 3 feedings per day

At five weeks, you can begin weaning with baby food or canned cat food mixed with KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer). Warning: Never use baby food that contains onion. Onion is found to cause a specific type of anemia.

DOs and DON'Ts:

The greatest danger to a kitten is chilling. Keep kittens warm in a draft-free area

Avoid getting air into the kitten's tummy. Hold the bottle at an angle to keep liquid toward the nipple.

Don't force formula into a kitten unless it is in crisis and must be tube fed. If it gets to this point, seek veterinary assistance. This is very risky if done by an untrained individual. If done improperly, esophageal, stomach damage or death is possible.

Don't hold a young kitten on it's back for feeding. It's cute but dangerous!

Don't panic if the kitten does not eat for the first day. She may have just come off the mother, whose milk is quite rich and can sustain her for a longer time than replacement formulas.

Don't bathe a baby kitten unless absolutely necessary. If there are fleas, use a flea comb. If it must be bathed, use a very mild pet shampoo. Flea shampoo is too harsh for kittens. After bathing, towel dry the kitten as much as possible, then put it directly back on the towel covered heating pad. Do not use a hairdryer.

1. Tylenol, Advil and chocolate are poisonous to cats.
2. The ancestor of all domestic cats is the African Wild Cat which still exists today.
3. In ancient Egypt, killing a cat was a crime punishable by death.




4. In ancient Egypt, cats were preserved as mummies and embalmed mice were placed with them in their tombs. In one ancient city, over 300,000 cat mummies were found.
5. The first cat show was in 1871 at the Crystal Palace in London.
6. Today there are about 100 distinct breeds of the domestic cat.
7. Genetic mutation created the domestic cat, which is tame from birth.
8. Like birds, cats have a homing ability that uses its biological clock, the angle of the sun, and the earth's magnetic field.
9. Hunting is not instinctive for cats. Kittens born to non-hunting mothers may never learn to hunt.
10. Cats bury their feces to cover their trails from predators.
11. Mother cats teach their kittens to use the litter box.
12. Among other tasks, cats can be taught to use a toilet, come, sit, beg, eat with their paws, heel, jump through a hoop, play a piano, play dead, roll over, open a door, hide food in boxes, shake, and fetch.
13. Cats sleep 16 to 18 hours per day. When cats are asleep, they are still alert to incoming stimuli. If you poke the tail of a sleeping cat, it will respond accordingly.
14. In Great Britain, black cats are thought to bring good luck.
15. Besides smelling with their nose, cats can smell with an additional organ called the Jacobson's organ, located in the upper surface of the mouth.
16. Cats can't taste sweets.
17. The chlorine in fresh tap water irritates sensitive parts of the cat's nose. Let tap water sit for 24 hours before giving it to a cat.
18. The average cat food meal is the equivalent to about five mice.
19. The catgut formerly used as strings in tennis rackets and musical instruments does not come from cats. Catgut actually comes from sheep, hogs, and horses.
20. A large majority of white cats with blue eyes are deaf. White cats with only one blue eye are deaf only in the ear closest to the blue eye. White cats with orange eyes do not have this disability.
21. Neutering a cat extends its life span by two or three years.
22. Ten human years translate to about 60 cat years. A one year old cat is similar in age to an 18 year old human.

Children and cats can share a relationship that is mutually beneficial provided each is old enough to respect the other. The good-natured dog may put up with a child's playful tousling, but the dignified cat may be less tolerant. Teaching your child the appropriate way to handle and properly treat a cat helps him/her to respect animals at a young age.

From the start, the child should be taught how to properly hold the cat, providing support under the chest and under the back legs. Touching the sensitive stomach area will bring a natural reaction of "grab and bite" and the child should be made aware this. A cat does not feel comfortable with his / her stomach exposed. The child should also be taught some basic feline body language so that he/she knows to back off when the cat's ears flatten and the tail twitches. This important lesson helps to prevent some tears later on.

If you have children under 6 or 7 years of age, it is best not to adopt a kitten under four months of age. With a well-meaning hug, an overly affectionate toddler can injure a small kitten. A more mature kitten or cat can better withstand a young child's noise and quick movements, but even an adult cat may swat at a tail-pulling child. The key to harmonious interactions between young children and cats of any age is adult supervision.

Parents are always looking for ways to teach children responsibility and often try to give children cat care duties. This is usually not a good idea. Children can be forgetful and easily distracted. Eventually, it is the cat who suffers if a child forgets to put out fresh food or water or forgets to clean the litter box. Even if children are mindful of their chores, having to care for the cat can cause resentment due to constant parental reminders. Children can help when it comes to pet chores; however, It is best to make cat care a family responsibility with feedings and exercise a top priority but not the sole responsibility of the child.

While growing up with pets promotes commitment, compassion and healthy habits, it is important to remember that teaching your child to properly handle and care for cats is secondary to the actual health and well-being of the cat. A mutually loving relationship is the best possible outcome for both and can be achieved if the proper measures are taken.

During its lifetime, a cat has two sets of teeth, a deciduous set and a permanent set. Kittens have 26 deciduous teeth (molars are absent); adult cats have a total of 30 teeth.

Deciduous, or "milk teeth", begin to appear when the kitten is about four weeks of age. At six weeks of age, all 26 deciduous teeth are present. From 11 to 30 weeks of age, kittens lose their deciduous teeth. During this time they may eat less due to sore gums.

When the deciduous teeth fall out, they are replaced by 30 permanent teeth. The permanent teeth should be in place by about six months of age.

A cat’s teeth are well-suited to rip and cut. Twelve tiny teeth (incisors) in the front of the mouth - six in the upper jaw, six in the lower jaw - do some scraping. They are flanked by two upper and lower canines, sometimes described as "fangs," designed to hold prey and to tear flesh. Ten sharp premolars and four molars act together to cut food.

A cat occasionally retains a deciduous tooth after the permanent tooth appears. This deciduous tooth should be removed as soon as possible to avoid displacing the permanent tooth.

Extra teeth are occasionally found in cats. They should be removed by a veterinarian if they cause crowding or injury to soft tissue or other teeth.

1. What is the mother's first priority for her new kitten?

A. To smell it
B. To give it a bowl of food
C. To get it to feed
D. To get it breathing

2. As well as sustenance, what does a mother's milk pass on to her kittens?

A. Sense of his mother's smell
B. Immunity from diseases
C. Thicker fur
D. The substance which makes cat's tongues rough

3. There are 4 basic stages to a cat's development. The Neonatal Phase, the Socialisation Phase and the Adult Phase are three of them. What is the fourth?

A. Juvenile phase
B. Infantile phase
C. Youth phase
D. Childish phase

4. When do kittens' eyes open?

A. 2 months
B. 1st day
C. 1 to 3 weeks
D. 4 to 6 weeks

5.When does the kittens' hearing develop?

A. 5th week
B. In the womb
C. 2nd week
D. 1st day

6. Which week do the kittens' milk teeth start to appear?

A. Day 1
B. 3 months
C. Week 7
D. Week 3

7. What week does the mother begin to discourage kittens from suckling, thus starting weaning?

A. 1st day
B. 5 Weeks
C. 3 months
D. 10 weeks

8.Once kittens start interacting with other cats and humans, they begin to use body language. For example, pricked ears and tail held high mean that a cat or kitten is feeling friendly and approachable. What does it mean when a cat's or kitten's ears are flat against the head, the back is arched and the tail is completely erect?

A. The cat wants to eat
B. The cat is asleep
C. The cat is frightened
D. The cat is ready to fight

9.Kittens can purr.

A. Yes
B. No

10. What is the earliest date that a kitten should be brought home?

A. 8 Weeks
B. 4 Weeks
C. 2 Weeks
D. 6 Weeks