Deworming Multiple Cats

Ah yes, everyone's favorite pet chore. One day you clean your cats' box and
discover little white chunks of what appear to be cooked spaghetti lodged in the feces,
that is, until one starts to move. You know then that it's time to deworm your cats. If your
veterinarian says that your cat doesn't have anything particularly tough or nasty then he
or she may recommend a regular schedule using commercial dewormers that can be
found readily in any pet store. Your veterinarian even may have a good general purpose
dewormer on hand for your use. Fortunately, there is a wide range of deworming
medicines available on the market. Most are liquid or pill form.
   

    If you have only one cat, your task is relatively simple. Choose a dewormer that
your cat will find acceptable if not palatable. Many liquid dewormers claim to be very
tasty to cats. Unfortunately, many cats would vigorously disagree with that assessment.
In such a case, if you have access to a pill form of dewormer that your cat is willing to
swallow, you're in luck. If your cat won't swallow pills without major mayhem breaking
out and turns his nose up at every liquid dewormer you try, then you have a problem. If
you have more than one cat, it can become even more of an issue. If your cats will
happily take whatever you offer, then the only thing you have to worry about is keeping
the greedy guts from getting more than they should.  But, If each of them has a different
idea as to what is acceptable (or not) for deworming medicine, then you have a major
headache.

    Rather than cater to each cats whims and maintain a veterinary pharmacy worth of
dewormers in your house or routinely running your finicky feline into the veterinarian
every to he needs deworming, you might try a different route. You will need a liquid
deworming medicine and a syringe. Syringes are readily available in the livestock
medication section of farm supply stores. You only need the section with the barrel and
plunger. No needles are needed or should even be used. Syringes in farm supply stores
usually offer the two sections separately. Select one of smaller size. Your cat won't need
large amounts of medicine at any one time.
                                                  

    Measure out the proper amount of dewormer for your cat into a measuring cup. A
measuring cup usually comes in the package with a liquid dewormer. Take one of your
syringes and place the open end (where the needle would normally attach) into the
measuring cup and draw the medicine up into the barrel by pulling upward on the
plunger. Try to get it all at one time. You could do this task by increments but trying to
manage a squirming cat while refilling a syringe really is more difficult than it is worth.
Now restrain your cat gently and situate yourself so that you can hold the cat and use the
syringe easily. It could require some experimentation to work out a suitable position for
the both of you. . If you keep one hand underneath the cats head and cradle his chin it
will make this part of the task go more smoothly. Slide the end of the syringe a little bit
into your cat's mouth and slowly depress the plunger This will empty the medicine into
your cat's mouth slowly enough that he can readily swallow it without choking. Repeat
for each cat.
  
    Naturally, your cat will not be particularly pleased with this method. He may
object rather strenuously. With repetition, however, you will become much smoother
with the task. You don't need to rush during this task. Take your time to discover what
will work best for you and your cats. Your cats will become more accustomed to it
despite themselves. This method will ensure that each cat, even your most finicky, gets
the proper amount of medicine he needs.  And that, of course, is the whole reason for the
entire exercise.

Cat Behavior

Cats are known as solitary animals. They don't hunt communally or share the
spoils of a hunt. Sometimes cats with adjoining territories will get together for a pleasant
evening grooming session, but on the whole they are not the most social creatures with
others of their kind. This general wisdom does not always seem to hold up.
     My barn cats are a single family descended from a lone female who wandered
onto our place one day and decided to stay. She and her children and grandchildren police
the local rodent population. Their behavior doesn't always match the solitary hunter of
common wisdom.

    The original female, Patch, used to like to take her kittens for daytrips around the
area. I've watched her bring her little brood back from wherever they've been in the
evenings. One evening I watched her stop and sit down near the edge of a small, lightly
used road running next to our farm. Two of her kittens stopped next to her. As she turned
her head one way and then the other, carefully looking for traffic, the kittens mimicked
her actions. The only one who didn't was the little orange tiger who became distracted by
a butterfly. Patch retrieved her wandering kitten and brought the whole family home.
Walks are still a part of kitten lessons.

      I recently watched Patch, her daughter and three of their kittens taking a walk
around the boundaries of our farm. Patch and her daughter led the way. The two younger
kittens were in the middle. The oldest kitten, not quite a year old brought up the rear.
When one of the younger kittens stopped too long, he tried to move them along. If he
couldn't then one of the mother cats would come back and get the little guy moving. I've
wondered what this little jaunt was about. Possibly Patch was showing the newest
members of her family where their territorial boundaries were?

    Some of the most interesting behavior I've seen regards family member who were
injured. One of Patches' sons is a big burley black and white adult tom. A very handsome
and friendly boy, he unfortunately has a talent for trouble. One day he came limping
heavily into the yard wailing at the top of his lungs. His mother and sisters raced up to
him as fast as they could. While he continued to cry, Patch began washing his face and
ears while his sisters lay down over top of him. They stayed that way for some time while
I called the vet. I'm happy to report that he recovered just fine with only a hitch in his
giddyup to remember his adventure by.

       Another of Patches sons, a brown and white tom just under a year old, got into a
fight with his eldest brother. During the fight his foot was injured and began to swell. I
found him limping along on three legs the following morning. I brought him onto our
porch where I could keep a close eye on him and he could recover without further
injuring his foot. While he was recuperating, various members of the family perched
outside the porch windows, keeping him company.

    These are just a few examples I've seen among my cats. Maybe they are unusual.
I've certainly never seen cats act this way before. Or maybe, just maybe, cats aren't such
social isolates as everyone's always thought!

Basic Nutrition For Cats

    Cats are what are known as obligate carnivores. An obligate carnivore is one that
must east meat. You cannot just turn her out to graze in a pasture. The digestive tract of
cats has been shortened and optimized proteins from meat. They simply don't have the
dental or digestive apparatus to process plant materials. It's therefore surprising, given
their physical inability to process plants, that you will still find cats nibbling on plants
from time to time. There are many theories for why cats would nibble plants. They may
be trying to balance an upset digestion or add missing vitamins and minerals. Perhaps
they simply like the taste. Maybe it's a combination of factors. The jury is still out on this
matter.

    Fortunately these days, we don't have to go out and hunt for food to feed our cats.
There are a large number of very good, nutritionally balanced foods available in pet
stores to satisfy any cats' tastes. Try to feed good quality food. It really does make a
difference in the health and appearance of your pet. Pick one that your cat likes and stick
with it. Cats don't actually need a lot of variety. Changing their food constantly tends to
just make them picky eaters. 

      Nutritional requirements for your pet will vary by age and size. What she needs as
a kitten will be very different than what she will need as an adult. Be sure to follow the
instructions on the bag to avoid feeding too much or too little. The average adult cat will
need about one cup of food a day. Cats appreciate consistency in their feeding schedules. 
Try to feed them at the same time each day. Also, try to keep their bowls out of high
traffic areas. It's hard to eat your dinner when people are stepping on you!

    Try not to feed your cat people food. Some things, such as chocolate and raw
liver, are actually toxic to cats. Others cause digestive upset.  Remove the bones from any
cooked meat you might want to give to your cat. Poultry and pork bones in particular are
given to splintering and can injure your cat.
      When you need to switch from one type of food to the other, do so in a gradual
process. Shifting gradually from one to the other over the course of a week will help
prevent digestive upsets. You may need to switch foods because your store may stop
carrying the brand you like or perhaps your kitten has grown old enough to graduate to
adult food. Do the changeover slowly and your cat will thank you for it.

    Feeding treats is something for you to decide if you want to do it. Some people
are dead set against them. Others lavish treats on their pets at every opportunity. There
are many good cat treats on the market today. Read their directions carefully. You don't
want to overindulge your cat and turn her into a furry beach ball with legs. The only other
thing that a cat requires is water. Do your best to keep a nice fresh supply of water
available for your pet. With a little thought and planning you can keep your pet healthy
and happy for a long time to come.