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Just like people, if the unthinkable happens your cat might need some first aid before you are able to get him/her to the vet. Having a cat enclosure or cat run will greatly limit the chance of your cat getting hurt or injured since they wont be running around the neighborhood at their own free will and at risk from the dangers associated with this. Despite your best efforts to look after your cat eventually they are likely to get some kind of injury so knowing some basic first aid beforehand is vital.

The most important thing to remember is to REMAIN CALM! The same as with humans, the worst possible thing you can do is fret about and get stressed; you need to remain calm so that you are able to think and to keep your cat calm also.

Disclaimer: What follows is information only regarding basic first aid for your cat. Actual medical advice should be sought from a vet for all pet first aid

Bleeding
Minor bleeding from cuts, scratches and grazes will heal quickly and easily on their own however for something more serious you should clean the wound and make sure that it doesn't get infected. very serious cuts should be treated by a vet.

Bites
This can be an issue especially in a country like Australia. If your cat is bitten by a spider or poisonous insect you might not notice straight away but may notice strange behavior a little while after the initial bite. Try to establish what it was that bit your cat and take them to the vet immediately. You should try to limit the pumping of blood from the bitten area around the rest of the body by squeezing tightly.

Burns
A burnt cat should be monitored for shock. Treat heat burns promptly by cooling the burnt area with cold water and applying a cold press. Electrical burns can be much more serious can may result in cardiac arrest. As always seek a vet immediately. 

Drowning
Cats don't like water and will generally jump away from water as quickly as possible but should your cat drown they can sometimes be revived using mouth to mouth resuscitation (or mouth to nose in this case). Close the cats mouth and gently blow air into both nostrils by covering them with your lips then removing your mouth between puffs to allow air to escape.

Injury
If your cat gets an injury to a part of its body you should get them to a vet as soon as possible. Pick your injured cat up as carefully as possible making sure to support their whole body and being careful not to twist or pull the body. Put your cat in a box or cat carrier with an open top to allow easy access. Put a warm blanket or towel on them to keep them warm

Poisoning
As is the same in humans, unless you see what your cat has been poisoned with it is difficult to diagnoise. Always try to take your cat to a vet as soon as possible and grab a sample of whatever it is you think your cat may have been poisoned with to take with you. Cats can become violent when in pain so wrap them in a towel to help restrain, this will also keep them warm.  

 
 
 
 
Happy holidays! Cute overload ahead... Beware of identity theft this easter!!
 
 
Whilst watching TV the other day i saw an interesting story about a cafe in Tokyo where customers pay to sit in cafes whilst being surrounded by cats. Further investigation online showed these cat cafes to be an increasingly popular way to relax for large numbers of people in Tokyo.

In a country with an increasingly childless, petless and ageing population, these cafes seem to fill a void for companionship and stress release. This is an interesting idea for those who are time poor or don't have the space and ability to care for a cat at home.   

The world's first cat cafe opened in Taipei Taiwan in 1998 and began to attract many Japanese tourists as well as domestic visitors leading to the first Japanese cafe opening in Osaka in 2004. According to an article on Wikipedia there are currently 39 cat cafes in Japan with some even featuring specific types of cat such as black cats only, fat cats or rare breeds. Some cafes get so busy that reservations are required just to be allowed to enter!

All cafes are licensed to comply with requirements and regulations of the Animal Treatment/Protection LawThere are strict rules for vising these cafes to ensure cleanliness and the welfare of the animals. Rules such as 'no-tail-pulling', 'let sleeping cats lie' and 'don't lift a cat up to be held'  run in favor of the cats and ensure that they are not disturbed by excessive and unwanted attention. 

Many of these Japanese cat cafes are also actively involved in animal welfare and actively work to raise awareness of issues such as abandonment, stray cats and desexing.

What are your thoughts on cat cafes? Tell us in the comments...
 
 
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As with most 'scenes', there are a number of terms that people commonly use in conversation because they are used to using them despite the fact that not everybody knows what they mean. 

This can be very annoying as we learnt early on when we started attending cat shows to promote our SecureaKat Cat Enclosures and spent half of the time asking people what they meant when they used certain words! 

You can save yourself from going through the same experience by spending a couple of minutes reading this blog post which explains some of the more commonly used cat terms.

Glossary of Common Cat Terms (click on the red links to read more information)

ACF - Australian Cat Federation. An Australia wide, recommendatory body with
affiliates in all States and Territories. All Breeds Club - A cat club that caters for all breeds

Alter - Another term meaning to neuter or 'fix' and applies to either gender.

Bed Bug - A cat that likes to sleep on your bed.

Bloodline - Pedigree of a cat. The feline equivalent of a family tree.  

Buff - When a cat rubs its facial glands on an object. Read more about why cats rub against things here.

Caregiver - A person responsible for a pet cat. Sometimes people take offence at the use of the word "owner" as they view their pet as a friend who shares their home not a possession.

Castrate - Removal of the male cat reproductive organs.

Cat Candy - Cat treats

Cat Collector - A person who acquires and hoards great numbers of cats but through a lack of space, resources and ability, does not provide proper care. This is a form of obsessive compulsive disorder and the person if often completely unaware of the distress they are causing the cats living on their property. Click here to read an article on cat collecting by cat expert Sarah Hartwell. Can also be used to describe a person who collects cat related items.

Cat Hoarder - Another, possibly better term, for a cat collector.

Cat Fancy - People who are members of a cat association who breed & or show their cats. Cat Fancies often run cat shows. The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy of Australia can be found here and gives information on breeders as well as cat clubs and shows throughout Australia.

CCCofA - Co-ordinating Cat Council of Australia.

CFA - Cat Fanciers Association. The worlds largest registration of pedigree cats.

Closed Show - A cat show in which spectators, exhibitors and paying public are excluded until the completion of judging.

Clowder - A group of cats.

Cross Breed - Offspring produced by the mating of two distinct breeds. 

Curl - The standard sleeping position of a cat where its head rests on its forelegs. 

Domestic -  A common term used to describe a housecat which through breeding has become adapted to humans over many generations, has a genetic predisposition to tameness. In cat shows it means any cat that is not registered for breeding or exhibition. 

Feline Panleukopenia (FPV) - A viral infection affecting cats.

Ex-Feral - A formerly feral cat which has been tamed and now lives as a pet. Learn about how to tame a feral cat here.

Feline Association - Feline Association of South Australia.

Feral - A cat which is fully wild or an ex domestic cat that has reverted to being wild. Read about some of the issues with feral cats here.

Fixing - Another common word meaning to desex a cat. Fixing can also mean to "fix" a certain characteristic by selective breeding or inbreeding.  

Flake Out - A cat laying straight on its side or stretching.

Full Tom - An unneutered male cat, often used for breeding.

Guardian - Another politically correct term for a cats caregiver/owner.

Half-pedigree - A term often used by breeders because it sounds more attractive that calling a cat a "moggy". It means a cat with one pedigree parent. A half-pedigree cat is still a moggy since there are no half measures... A cat is either a pedigree cat or is not one. 

Hissed Off - A cat who is annoyed to the point of hissing.

House Cat - A cat who doesn't leave the house.

Hybrid - A cross between two different breeds. Read about some of the common hybrid cats here.

Inbreeding - Mating two closely related cats (sibling/sibling, mother/son, father/daughter) to strengthen desirable traits.  Read more about inbreeding as well as the pros and cons in this article by cat expert Sarah Hartwell.

Intact - A cat that is unneutered. Also known as undesexed, unaltered.

Kindle - A group of kittens. 

Kitten - A young cat. Many describe a cat as a kitten until it reaches sexual maturity at 5-6 months old.

Litter - A family of kittens which are born to a female at the same time. 

Moggy - A mixed breed or cross-bred cat which is not pedigreed or purebred.

Mutt-Cat - Another term for a mixed breed or cross bred cat.

Neuter - A castrated cat or spayed which has been surgically rendered sterile.

Open Show - A cat show in which spectators, both exhibitors and paying public are able to view the judging of the cats. 

Outbreeding - The opposite of inbreeding. This is where unrelated individuals are mated to improve type or vigour.

Outcrossing - Mating a pedigree cat of one breed to a cat of a different breed/type in order to strengthen/improve the breed or introduce new traits.

Pedigree - A cat belonging to a particular breed and having a family tree/pedigree chart registered with the breed regulatory body.

Purebred - Having only cats of the same breed in its family tree with no outcrossings. Not all purebreds have pedigrees, some purebreds are unregistered or the variety is not a recognised breed.

Queen - An unspayed female cat. 

Registration - Responsible breeders apply for registration of litters bred and all cats kept by them. Also some local government laws require cats to have annual registration. Read more here.

Scruff - The loose skin at the back of a cat's neck. 

Scruffing - A way of disciplining a cat. Learn about scruffing here.  

Semi-Feral - A non-domestic cat  that lives predominantly in a feral state, but has some contact and experience with humans. This may be due to having been born into a domesticated state and then reverting to life in wild conditions, or it may be an animal that grows up in essentially wild conditions but has developed a comfort level with humans due to feeding, receiving medical care, or similar contacts. 

Spay - A neutered female cat which has had an operation to remove the ovaries and womb (ovario-hysterectomy).

Sterilise - A non gender specific term meaning to be neutered.

Stray - A tame domestic cat with no home or owner. Stray cats are often given to a shelter such as the RSPCA or the Animal Welfare League.

Stropping - The proper term for when a cat sharpens it's claws. Find out how to stop your cat from scratching on this blog post.

Teaser Tom - A male cat that has been vasectomised but still behaves like a full tom and will continue to spray, fight and mate.

Tom - A male cat, particularly an uncastrated male cat. Sometimes called a "full tom".

Trait - A characteristic, either physical or personality based, that is inherited.

Unaltered - A cat that has not been desexed.

Vasectomise - A form of sterilisation where the vas deferentia is snipped but the testes are left intact. This means the cat will behave like a full tom, but cannot make a female pregnant.

Wild - Often used to denote a feral cat. A wild cat is strictly a member of a non-domestic species. Wild cats hunt small mammels and birds.


 
 
You may think that your cat is stubborn and only does what it wants and when it wants to but did you know you can train your cat just like a dog? Take a look at Boo the trained Bengal in the video below.
Training your cat can take a little while but once commands have been learnt it can be very rewarding for both you and your cat. I would love to give you a detailed run down of how to train your cat but its much easier to see it visually so here are a couple of videos posted by YouTube user Zumie05. You can see more of her cat training videos on her page  http://www.youtube.com/user/zumie05/videos

We haven't trained our cats but have you trained your cat to do anything? Let us know in the comments! 
 
 
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We have installed hundreds of cat enclosures around Australia and we try to take photos of each one when we have completed the installation however this can be a little bit boring as we don't actually get to see you and your cat enjoying the freedom of the enclosure.

For this reason we are putting the call out for you to send us your photos and video of your enclosure in use so that we can post them here on our blog.

You can see more photos of our cat enclosures here

Sending a big thank you to Linda who snapped these photos of her cats exploring the yard and getting acrobatic and nosy around the enclosure. Keep trying guys... you're not going to get out =)

 
 
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Do you ever find yourself spending hours browsing YouTube looking at videos of cats doing silly things?

Do you ever find yourself wondering why your cat acts like it does or why it does certain behaviors? 

Recently we came across a brilliant and very interesting blog called "The Way of Cats". The blog has hundreds of well written articles on topics including why your cat acts like it does, what it means when your cat undertakes different behaviors and how you can train your cat to break bad habits.

The blog is a good read and very informative. You can find a selection of interesting articles below... 

 
 
IKEA UK releases 100 house cats into their Wembley, UK store to film a cute TV advert for their 'cat-alogue'.
And if you were wondering how they made the advert take a look behind the scenes in this making of video called herding cats.
 
 
I dont think i would be this tolerant especially not with food around!!
 

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