Saturday, February 11, 2012

The American Curl




The American Curl is a very popular cat. They got their name from the ears that curl back against their heads. Unlike the Scottish Fold, this is not a health defect in the ear and cannot cause any health problems. Actually, so far these cats are not known to have any health problems, so are currently the healthiest cat breed (which can help a lot when thinking about vet bills).
  The ears, even though this cat is very healthy, have to be handled carefully to avoid damaging cartilage.
  The cat originated in Lakewood, California June 1981 when 2 cats, Panda and Shulamith, were discovered by the Ruga family who took these adorable, if not unusual cats into their home gladly. The cats were long haired, 1 white and the other black. After a few weeks of living with the Rugas, Panda unfortunately disappeared and didn't come back home. That left Shulamith to become the mother of all known American Curls.
  In 1993, this breed was the first to become accepted in Champion Class with both long and short hair in the Cat Fanciers' Association. They have very silky coats that lie flat against their bodies and require little grooming.
  American Curls usually reach adulthood after 2-3 years and are born with strait ears. Ears start to curl after about 10 days and can be very curled or barely noticeable. The ears are fully curled by 4 months.
  This breed is found in America, Japan, France, Russia, Spain, and many other countries.
  If you want a cat that loves to spend time with it's humans, this breed would be good to look at!!!

Teaching Your Cat to Sit

Teaching a cat to sit is a little hard and it works better with cats that are young or like to play. If you have a cat that is really lazy, they might just sit out of boredom.
  1. Use a treat that your cat loves
  2. Call your cat
  3. Hold the treat close to your cat's face so that he/she sniffs it
  4. Bring the treat up so that you are holding it about a foot about your cat's head
  5. It may be a little while before your cat does anything, if they lose interest, bring the treat close to their nose so they smell it, and slowly bring it up to where it was before
  6. If your cat sits, immediatly give your cat the treat, this is very unlikely but still possible. Your cat will most likely stand up and try to reach for the treat, as soon as they start this action, give them the treat where their head would have been before they stood up.
  7. It may take a while, but your cat will catch on eventually and sit for you.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

How to Train Your Cat to Come When Called

Cats are very independent, yes, but they can be trained to be very... less so. Getting your cat to come when called is one of the easiest training steps and most people train their cat without even realizing that they "trained" them to do so. If your cat is new, then this should be easy and if you're not changing from their shelter name, they may even already know how to do this. Training older cats is slightly harder, but nothing that can't be done.

  1. You need to find a treat that your cat likes and that preferably is low calorie (using their normal food will work to but may take a little longer)
  2. When you call your cat, use a high voice (don't strain your voice) and emphasize the "ee" sound, this is not necessary but your cat will respond to it better and quicker
  3. As calling their name, hold their favorite bag of treats or bowl of food and shake lightly so they can hear it (make sure that they have had this treat/food before so they know that it's worth coming for) make sure to continuously call their name
  4. Repeat this whenever food is served or 3/4 times a-day until they will come without you shaking the food
After they know that their name is the calling for food, your cat will come most of the time. You should call from different places with the food when training so they don't associate it with one place. Even when there is no food when you call, your cat doesn't know this and will come. Don't worry about being mean to your cat or tricking them, just remember to give them food or a reward every once and a while or they might lose interest. Hope plays a huge part in training your cat so they must think that there is some sort of chance that they might get something. Good Luck!

Introduction

Hi people, I don't know about you but... I LOVE CATS!!! Most people, when choosing a pet, will go for a smaller animal (fish or hamster) or get a dog (which is probably the most popular). Most of the reasons that people get dogs are the obvious:
dogs come with you when you want, dogs play fetch, dogs can be trained to sit and other things, and dogs are cute.
WHAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW:
Cats can do almost anything a dog can do, and they are easier to take care of!
examples- dogs can fetch, and so can cats. The trick to anything is knowing how to do it (sometime winging it works, but not always with cats). In my future posts, I will teach you all about what cats can do and how to train them, cool facts about them, and other things. Cats are often in shelters that kill them before they have a chance at a new home. I'm not saying that this doesn't happen to dogs (and it does just as often as cats) and I'm not saying that you shouldn't get a dog (contrary to common beliefs, dogs and cats can be trained, or just brought home at the same time, and they will have no problem getting along and may become great friends and/or playmates) all I'm saying, is that you should consider helping out at a shelter, fostering, or adopting a cat.