A Brief Cat Lesson

Cats are a loved animal that is a very common pet. A cat is not only an easy pet to own but also a very loving companion. With this said, the owner of a cat should know quite a bit about his kitty.

Cat Biology

Cats may live 12 to 18 years. Females are known as “queen”, males are known as “tomcat” or “tom” and babies are known as “kitten”. The litter size for a cat is three to five kittens. Their eyes are sealed for at least two weeks. The domestic cats are 6 to 15 pounds, have 250 bones and 500 muscles. The pads on the bottom of the feet allow the cat to approach prey quietly.

Classes and Breeds

The pet owner has two choices, purebred or the common household cat. Common house cats are not a specific breed. A common house cat is various breeds that make up that specific cat. Purebred cats are bred by design, long hair or short hair breeds. There are 47 recognized cat breeds.

Short Hair versus Long Hair

Most common short hair breeds are Abyssinian and Manx. Most common long hair breeds are Persian and Himalayan.

Cats versus Dogs

Cats require less attention so they make better pets for some people who have busy schedules. Cats are more economical than a dog. The age of a cat is a consideration, kittens require more attention and work. When acquiring any pet, be sure to spay and neuter.

Training and Grooming

To groom a cat, you must brush the cat’s coat, trim nails, clean eyes and brush its teeth. This keeps the cat’s coat shinny and healthy, keeps the nails from growing too long, cleaning the eyes helps make the cats face look clean and brushing the cat’s teeth help fight mouth disease and keeps the teeth clean and white.

Cat Management

Give cats time to adjust to their environment. If the cat is to be kept inside, provide a bed, litter pan and litter, food and water. Giving the cat a scratching post can decrease the damage to the furniture because the cat will not feel the need to claw at the furniture. If the animal is to be an outside cat, make sure it has protection against the elements. De-clawing the outside cat can cause more damage to the cat because it can not protect itself.

Nutrition and Reproduction

The first ingredient should be “animal” protein. Cats require higher protein than dogs. Do not feed the cat table scraps, dry food decreases dental tarter. A pregnant queen will have kittens in 60 to 65 days. A cats litter size is normally three to five kittens. Kittens are given away are six to seven weeks of age and vaccinations can be started.

Cats can be a big part of a family and should be treated like part of the family, no matter how annoying the cat may become as it ages. Love, food and attention are the basic principles in raising a cat, but it is also very nice to know more about the cat species.


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