Keeping Cats Away

This time of year we get a few enquiries about how to keep cats out of the garden.

Whilst I love cats, I can understand why non-cat fans would not want them in their garden and likewise, for people who have their own cats but may want to deter other cats this is a fair question.  However, I have heard some horror stories of people doing very horrible things to keep cats from their gardens.  Therefore, I thought I would compile some safe and humane ways to keep cats from your gardens.

There are a few outdoor deterrents which you may find effective;

Jet Spray Repeller

This is a motion activated device that you attach to your hosepipe.  When anything moves in front of the sensor it will squirt water.  This can be very effective and I used it to deter the neighbourhood bully cat from my garden but I did have to keep MellyBoy inside while it was on!  It is available from Amazon

Lion Dung Pellets

Seriously, I am not kidding!  If you live near a zoo you may be able to get the real stuff?  For most of us though, we can buy these pellets in garden centres and online for under a tenner.  I have never used them myself but read about them in The Cat magazine last year.

Chicken Dung

This smelly stuff can be used to deter cats so if you know anyone with chickens maybe you could ask them?  The only thing with this is that rain can wash it away so not great for all-weather.

Citrus Smells

It is said that cats are not keep on the smell of citrus so orange and lemon peel could be left in the areas cats are using to access your garden.  You could use Citronella oil, which is readily available, but please be careful that this oil is not placed in an area that any animals (including cats) could digest

I have also seen things like garlic scented beads that you can sprinkle in the garden but a relative of mine tried that… the garden smelt of garlic but the cats continued to visit so wasn't much of a winner.

Maybe you don't mind cats in your garden but not using your vegetable patch as a public loo?  These remedies could be used just to deter them from specific areas of your garden.

I think one important factor to remember is that it is very hard for owners to stop their cats from visiting specific areas (other than keeping them locked in, which for most cats is not appropriate) but if you do have troublesome cats visiting your garden, chat to the owner and see if you can work together to stop the problem and please, never do anything that would physically injure or inappropriately scare the cat - they are only acting on their natural instincts and behaviour - it is never a personal attack on you I promise!

I would be really interested if any of you have any other ideas, if you do, please pop them in the comments below, thank you!

A Trip to the Vets

Taking your cat to the vets can be a very stressful experience for both you and your cat.

I used to find it really distressing and since MellyBoy needs regular trips to the vets for his tablets and check-ups, it was something we both needed to get a handle on so I wanted to share some words of advice with you.

The first thing to remember are cats are territorial which means they form attachments to a familiar environment and items within it.  I found that hiding the cat box away in a hidden part of the house and then producing on “vet day” was a recipe for disaster.  MellyBoy would take one look at it and rush off outside or under furniture.  It was then really hard to catch him and he would become aggressive (flight or fight).  Now, I leave the box out all the time… it is open and he can pop into it when he feels like it.  Plus, since he walks past it and rubs around it, it does not have an unfamiliar smell.  I also occasionally pop one of his cat nip toys in there which encourages him to step inside and become accustomed to the feel of it.

The next step was for me to learn how to safely and calmly put him into the cat carrier.  My wonderful vet demonstrated a scruffing technique which worked well, but now we have a routine that we are both comfortable with, I can pick MellyBoy up and pop him in his carrier fairly easily.  Having a box with a top opening makes the whole thing a lot easier.  I always pop an old towel in the bottom of the carrier as MellyBoy will always pee as soon as he goes in the box…. I assume this is fear bless him.

OK so I have caught him and popped him in the carrier, so what next?

I spray a towel with Feliway and drape it over the box before popping it in the car.  You can read more about Feliway here.  I pop the carrier on the passenger seat and secure it with the seat belt.  Some people use the passenger foot well but I find MellyBoy stays calmer if he can see me.   I always have the radio on low (he is used to the constant sound of music at home) and I make sure that I book non-emergency appointments outside of rush hour so we don’t have to be in the car too long.  Luckily, MellyBoys vet is only 5 minutes’ drive from the house.   I tend to talk to him the whole way but then I am a crazy cat lady and talk to him at home all the time too!

Nearly there… so what happens at the vets?

The fab veterinary surgery I take MellyBoy to has a couple of cats that live on site and they are very friendly and curious and like to welcome newcomers.  However, my boy is not in the mood for socialising so I always put him on the chair next to me and face him away from the room so that he feels secure.

After his appointment I get him back home as quickly as possible and as soon as I have opened the basket he races off and frantically washes himself.  This is often a sign of stress (almost like self-comforting) so I leave him alone for a little while and then offer him some tasty food.  By the time he has snacked on a little bit of tuna the whole thing has been forgotten!  Obviously, this would be different after some major treatment or surgery so I would always recommend checking with your vet about after care.

MellyBoy happily relaxing on a non "vet-day"

Obviously all cats are different but I hope my experiences help you make dreaded “vet day” less stressful for you and your pusscats

Top 10 Cat Quotes

Apparently, cats are the rulers of the internet.  They have completeley taken over YouTube and there are hundreds of cat-owned Twitter and Facebook accounts.  That is not really new though, cats have been the subject of conversation and debate for many, many years! 

Here are my favourite 10 cat quotes, which I found....on the internet of course!

1. "One cat just leads to another." - Ernest Hemingway

2. "Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow." - Jeff Valdez

3. "As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat." - Ellen Perry Berkeley

4. "Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to good many ailments, but I never heard of one who suffered from insomnia." - Joseph Wood Krutch

5. "People who hate cats, will come back as mice in their next life." - Faith Resnick
 
6. "I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior." - Hippolyte Taine

7. "There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats." - Albert Schweitzer

8. "The cat has too much spirit to have no heart." - Ernest Menaul

9. "Time spent with cats is never wasted." - Sigmund Freud
 
10. "Managing senior programmers is like herding cats." - Dave Plat

Home or Away - Holiday care for your cat

It is the time of year where we are thinking about our summer holidays and planning for the care of our pets and I am starting to get questions from concerned owners who want to do the best for their cats so I thought I would jot down some advice.

There are a couple of options but remember, there are no rules but it is important to do what is right for your cat, and you.

Home

First of all, please never leave a cat home alone.  There are various things that could go wrong in the home and also, if the cats picks up an injury, there will be nobody there to help.  I know you can buy feeders which are on timers etc but personally, I don't think this is fair - cats are not completely no-maintenance animals. They are very sensitive little souls and can be easily stressed.

You could ask a family member, friend to stay at your house (that is my preferred option).  This is great for nervous cats who don't like strangers, or change, as they are in their own home with someone they know.  This is MellyBoys favourite as he gets spoilt by "Nanny" or "Auntie Nikki" and he is never really that bothered that I am away!

You could also consider asking a neighbour to pop in to feed and check on the cat.  However, you need to be aware that some cats do not cope very well with minimal company.  I guess it depends on your usual daily routine with the cat, but this can be an option for some people.  I would definitely choose someone who loves your cat and is prepared to spend a little time, at least twice a day giving the cat a bit of love and attention or just simply some company.  This may be an option for a short weekend away but I wouldn't personally, do this for more than one night with MellyBoy - he loves company and gets a bit stressed out and bored if he doesn't have a human slave to amuse him - when he is in the mood of course!

The other home option, is to employ a pet sitter.  There are lots of people advertising their services.  Some are "house-sitters" who will live full-time in your house, others are "pet sitters" who pop in and out.  If you decide to go for this option I would ask family and friends for recommendations and if you can't get that, contact a few people, ask for references, and insist that both you and your cat meet them before you book to ensure you are all a match - A bit like hiring a nanny I guess!

Away

The other option is a boarding cattery.  Like with most businesses, there are great catteries and there are awful catteries so my advice would be get recommendations and visit the cattery before booking.  Any decent boarding facility would be more than happy to give you a tour.  As a protective pet owner, I felt terrible the first time I went to visit a cattery for MellyBoy and I thought it looked like a horrible prison and I imagined him being terrified and feeling abandoned.  However, I had a great tour, a long conversation with the staff and I ended up booking him in.  He coped very well with the experience and so, in emergency situations, I would take him there again.

Taking emotional feelings out for the equation, the things to look out for on your visit to the cattery are;

• Is it a calm, quiet environment
• Are cages facing each other?  For some cats this can be stressful.  They may have quiet corners for very nervous cats.
• Is the cage big enough so the cat has space and the feeding and toilet area are far apart?
• Does it smell OK?  Obviously, there will be smells but it shouldn't smell "bad"
• Do the cats get petted, played with and held?
• Are the cats monitored at night?
• Is there a vet on call?
• If your cat is on a special diet/medication can they work with that?

You can also speak to them about home comforts, can you bring in your cats own bed, blanket, toys even Feliway plug in etc. 

Personally, I find leaving MellyBoy quite stressful, he is a very easily upset little cat who is a bit of a "Mummys Boy" so I worry about him alot.  My first choice would always be to have a friend or family member stay in the house but, I have seen that even MellyBoy coped with a cattery so the option is there if I ever need it.

 

A good name more desirable than riches

I was talking with one of our supporters the other day about cat names and how hard it can be to choose the perfect name for your pet.  I just love thinking of names and I have always been the pet-namer in my family....

When I was about 5, I had a rabbit who I very proudly named Kevin.  My next pet was a lovely grey tabby tom cat, who I chose to name Peter (yes I know, really the rabbit should have been named Peter right?).

Peter and I in 1989

Next, sometime in the 80's, we found a stray in the garden which we ended up taking in (he was a handsome brown tabby cat with no tail and 3 legs).  I called him ET because my Mum kept telling him to “go home”.

ET & I in 1990

Later on, my parents got a gorgeous Springer Spaniel puppy and I said we should name her Rapunzel, because her long curly ears were like hair.  That was the first time my dad said no…he didn’t fancy calling “Rapunzel” when he took her for a walk, so we settled on Penny.  Girly enough for me, and not too girly for my dad – everyone was happy.

Since then, as an adult, I have had lots of cats, Thunder (remember the 80's TV show Thunder Cats?), Bailey (Baileys was my favourite drink), Chandler (after my favourite Friends character).

Now, I have the darling Melly, who was already named when I adopted him from Cats Protection.  The names suits him well, but sometimes I call him Melvin or, Melv, which I think suits him even better!

We ran a competition on our Facebook page a while back, to name a very cute black and white kitten.  We had lots of submissions including Jasper, Leeloo, Minah and Cherie but the winning name was Molly!

With so many options, how do you choose your cats name?  I found lots of websites listing great names for cats.  This one has the Top 100 names - http://www.youpet.com/cat-names/

 
It would be great to hear from you with stories of how your pets came by their names

Thunder Cat and I in 1994

Beautiful Bailey

Cheeky Chandler