Worms
No matter what breed of cat it may be, worms are a very common and recurring problem. Tapeworms, roundworms, and hookworms are among the most common that infect cats. Cats who have problems gaining weight, problems with fleas, or if you find white specks in his stool, you should have your vet test him for worms. Although they can be treated with medicine, worms can prove to be fatal if they are left untreated.

Hairball
Hairballs are the most common health problem for cats. All cats groom themselves on a daily basis, normally swallowing the loose hair that comes from their coats. On occasion, this loose hair will gather into a ball and become lodged in the digestive tract instead of passing through in your cat’s stool. When your cat starts to cough and hack, he is normally coughing up a hairball. Although it can be rather disgusting in the end, most cats can dislodge hairballs without any problems.

In rare cases, a hairball can pass through to a cat’s intestine, creating a blockage. Blockages are very serious problems, and can be life threatening if they aren’t treated. If your cat becomes constipated, isn’t eating properly, or has a very dull coat, he could have a blockage. If you notice any of these symptoms, you should take him to the vet immediately. You can prevent hairballs and blockages by brushing your cat 2 – 3 times a week to remove loose hair. You can also feed him food that is designed to control hairballs as well.

Urinary tract infection
Urinary tract infection is also a common health problem with cats. Urinary tract infection is more common with male cats that haven’t been neutered, although females can suffer from this problem as well. When a cat suddenly stops going to his litter box, this problem is normally the cause. Another symptom is when the cat’s urine starts to smell really strong. If you suspect that your cat has a urinary tract infection, you should take him to the vet. Your vet can treat the problem with medicine, and make recommendations to help avoid this problem in the future.

Feline leukemia
In the past, feline leukemia was the biggest cause of death in cats. These days however, there are vaccines available that can treat the disease. To treat the disease, your cat will need to be given the shot before he or she is exposed. Even though death doesn’t happen immediately, cats that are exposed to feline leukemia normally don’t have a long life span. If you know your cat has feline leukemia, you should never allow other cats around him, as the virus is highly contagious.

To protect your cat, you should always make sure that you take him to the vet for his regular check ups. If you keep him up to date on his vaccinations, he should lead a healthy and productive life. Although some health problems can’t be avoided, most of them can. You can also keep your cat indoors as well, which will protect him from a majority of health problems. If your cat is an outdoor cat, regular visits to the vet will keep him healthy. As long as you take your cat to the vet and keep him healthy – he will be your companion for years to come.

The easiest way to give a cat pill is to crush the power into a powdery form by putting it between two spoons. Once the pill is powder, mix it in with some wet cat food. Cats that are used to eating dry cat food will see the wet food and think of it as a treat. They will normally eat it up, unaware that they just took their medicine.

If the medicine happens to be in capsule form, all you have to do is pry the capsule apart then sprinkle the medicine on some wet food and serve it to your pet. If the food also contains the pill or if your pet is sick, chances are he won’t eat it. In this event, you should look into a pet piller. You can get these handy devices from your veterinarian. They are plastic rods that hold the pill until you press a plunger. When you get one, you should always get a long one with a softer tip.

When you get your gun, your vet should show you how to use it. The most difficult aspect of using the gun is getting your cat to open his mouth. The gun will more or less shoot the pill in the cat’s mouth, and down his throat. You’ll need to hold him tight, to make sure that he doesn’t wiggle his way loose. Once you have his mouth open, you’ll need to squeeze the trigger and pull the gun away quickly. After the pill has been inserted, make sure you give your cat a treat.

If you aren’t comfortable using the gun, you can always try giving your cat his pills by hand. To do it this way, you’ll need to hold your cat still, and open his mouth with your hand. Once you have his mouth open, you should aim for the back of his throat and throw the pill in. Once it is in his mouth, you should close his mouth with your hand and hold it shut for a few moments. This way, your cat will swallow the pill if he hasn’t already.

If you can’t get any of the above techniques to work, you can always go to a local pharmacy and get them to a make flavored gel or liquid using your cats medication. You should use this as a last resort though, as it can tend to get expensive.

I am, now, the un-proud owner of a Litter Mate litter box. For the last year I have used it as a regular litter box (where I would scoop myself. Just too frustrated with the mechanism of the whole thing.) Anyway, I finally found a litter that did a decent job in that box, it’s hard to find one! I settled on Tidy Cats scooping litter. Well, one day I was comparing prices online at my local grocery store and at Target when I came across this system. I decided to check out Amazon and the reviews.

With little hesitation I ordered the litter box, pellets, and pads. I also put the pellets and pads on Amazon subscription to receive 15% off each order and I could cancel at anytime. I ordered the pellets and pads because I didn’t think the litter box came with anything and I was anxious to use it once I received it. Well, it did come with a 4 pack of pads and a 3 lb bag of pellets, enough to get you started.

I set it up right away, right next to their usual litter box. I checked the pad the next day and a cat, or two, had used that box! I was so excited! I left it there for 3 weeks because neither one of my cats went #2 in the new box. I was getting discouraged. I did what was suggested by putting some of the pellets in the regular box so the cats could get used to the feel of them. Still nothing. So finally, with fingers crossed, I eliminated the regular litter box and only made available the Breeze litter box. I came home from work that evening and prayed they would use the box for both duties…..AND THEY DID!!! I was thrilled!!

I have never smelled the #2 like some reviewers have mentioned, I don’t know if they do it while I’m away or asleep, but there has been no odor.

I would suggest either getting more than one box if you have 2 or more cats. Tidy Cats suggests 1 box for each cat plus one. I only have one box and change the pad 2 times per week and it has worked perfectly, but knowing how well it works and how easy it is to maintain, I will be buying a second one!! I love that there is no litter to vacuum up or get tracked on the wood floor only to step on in bare feet!

I love this litter box!!

1. Right after they go number 2, we sprinkle Pet Fresh on it. This is because one of our cats doesn’t cover his poops after he goes. The scoop works best after they have a chance to dry out a little.

2. The loose stool issue. It can be a real mess trying to get them out with a scoop. I found that using paper towels or toilet paper to pick them up is the easiest and cleanest way to get them out.

3. The pan that holds the pads starts to retain the smell of urine after a month or 2. Solution: Sprinkle Pet Fresh on the pan, then put the pad in the pan.

4. Issue: the sides of the pan start to smell and poop gets stuck to it. Solution: We keep Wipes, paper towels and spray cleaner near the box and wipe the box and scoop whenever it gets dirty.

5. Expense: We have found that if we look out for coupons and sales we can get the pads for about a dollar each and the pellets last a month in each box. We used to change the litter ever week and went through so much that we have found this system to actually be cheaper. The worst place to buy the pellets and pads is Petco – they are triple the price. Best place for us has been Target and Stop & Shop – we stock up when they are on sale.

6. Transitioning: It took us almost a month of increasing adding the pellets to the old litter. Every time we scooped the old litter we added more pellets. The whole time we had the new system right next to the old one. By the time the old system was almost all pellets they were using both so we got more breezes and got rid of the old. We did have a couple times where they went outside the box, but that was it.

It wasn’t easy to change, but to not have litter and urine tracked all over the house is such a god send that it was well worth the trouble. My greatest fear is that they might stop making the refills! I was glad to read that someone said you could use the system without with the pads if you dump the urine every day. That would be not be ideal but it’s nice to know it works. I was also thinking you could use doggie pee pads if necessary. As for the pellets, I’m going to try “Yesterdays’ News” pellets and see if they would work. or may even tiny river rocks that are washable? washable pellets you don’t have to replace would be awesome for the environment. Trouble is they won’t get to make as money off them – but I”m going to be on the look out for something that works!

The pee will not ferment with the characteristic stench, and you don’t have to deal with clumping litter which doesn’t really clump, and is just plain stinky and messy to scoop up.

The proprietary ‘pee’ pads are kind of like a giant maxi pad, and absorb a lot of liquid. Also, the bottom side of the pad is plastic, and the pad fits into the tray in a way that the plastic is upturned to keep the tray itself dry. Maintenance consists of merely taking the drawer out to the trash, and sliding the pad out, putting in a new one, and sliding the drawer back into the bottom of the box.

The litter itself are hard pellets, which hardly get tracked, and it is 100% dustless. A pellet or two stick to paws, but are easily picked up and tossed back into the box. Scooping is easy, and if the poo is dry, you can kind of shake it around in the scoop to knock off some of the pellets, then throw it in the trash instead of wasting water with a toilet flush.

It takes mere seconds to maintain the box vs. 10 minutes of scooping and scraping soggy clumping litter which doesn’t really clump, but falls apart.

When it’s time to change the litter (once a month), it just pours into the trash, no scraping the soggy wet concrete of old.

Some say you get a ‘poo’ smell, since kitties can’t bury it quite like they did with the old type of litter, but I’ll take that over the overpowering stench of fermented urine any day. And, the smell goes away quite shortly, just like human smell in the bathroom. Note that you should just use one bag of the pellets in the box, the litter won’t be as deep. I just give the box a quick shake daily to even it back out.

Cat adaption to the new box: This won’t work for everyone, but this is what I did: I set up the new Breeze system next to the old box (which was fairly gross, as I let it get bad) to see what would happen. I placed a clump of the old litter into the new box to let him know it was ‘his.’ My 9 year old fellow was pretty much using the new box right away (probably out of curiousity more than anything). After 3 days or so, I removed the old box and inserted it directly into the garbage, never to be dealt with again. No problems, 100% compliance on Max’s part.

If Tidy Cats came out with a fully hooded version of the box, it would be great for the folks who have standing pee-ers, but my fellow doesn’t do that, so I’m lucky.

Finally, some say the pellets and pads are expensive, but I estimate the cost as about equal to the old style of box over the long run – and the convenience and ease of maintenance should erase any other doubt.

Also, this system has the potential of keeping tons of conventional clay litter out of landfills.

Highly recommended.

To cure your cat from bad breath, you’ll need to remove the buildup of tartar. There are several cat foods out there that are designed to reduce the buildup of tartar, many containing enzymes that will literally dissolve it. You can also give your cat treats as well, as many of them will help eliminate and prevent tartar. If the buildup of tartar is bad, you may need to have your cat’s teeth professionally cleaned. Once the tartar has been removed, the bad breath will go away.

You may be able to clean the tartar off your cat’s teeth at home. There are several toothpastes available for pets, available in several different flavors. You’ll need to get a mechanical toothbrush, as the motion is very important for removing tartar buildup. Toothpastes that contain enzymes will dissolve tartar, helping to cure bad breath. If you start early with brushing your cat’s teeth, you can virtually eliminate any type of tartar buildup that will ultimately lead to bad breath.

Some bacteria that lead to tartar can be found in your cat’s diet. When you feed him, you should always make sure that the food he consumes doesn’t contain a lot of bacteria. If you shop healthy and feed him only healthy foods, it can help his bad breath a great deal. When you give your pet a treat, make sure that the treat is designed to help with tartar. After your cat has finished eating, you can brush his teeth or rinse his mouth out. This way, you’ll get the bacteria out of his mouth before it has time to build up on his teeth.

Sometimes, cats may have a bad odor in their mouth that doesn’t come from tartar or bad breath in general. In these rare cases, it can be either liver or kidney disease. If you notice bad breath and it isn’t tartar, you should take your cat to the vet. Even though it may be something to do with tartar, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Your veterinarian can pinpoint the problem, let you know what the cause is – and how you should go about fixing it.

Cats are very intelligent, instinctively knowing how they should use the litter box. After the cat has finished using the litter box, someone in the family will need to scoop the waste from the litter box. This can be a very dirty and somewhat smelly job, one that is often overlooked during the day when the workload gets heavy. Cleaning up the litter box doesn’t take but a few minutes, although most would prefer not to do it at all. Although the litter box will need to be scooped out daily, it will also need to be changed once a week as well, by throwing the current bag out and replacing the box with a new bag and fresh litter.

Those who don’t like to scoop out the litter box should invest in one of the best inventions ever – the self cleaning litter box. These litter boxes are easy to use, and will keep the area clean. After the cat has used it, the self cleaning litter box will automatically clean the litter either by sifting or using a device that resembles a rake.

Self cleaning boxes that use shifting will often times have a round design. Once the cat leaves the covered box, the dome on top will revolve for the box to clean. The litter in the box will be shifted with the waste being put below the litter where it is discarded. Once the waste is properly disposed of, the litter will be returned to its normal position in the box for the cat to use again.

Boxes that have raking systems will often times sport a rectangular design. Once the cat leaves the box, the rake will automatically come out and clean the litter. The rake will clean all of the litter in the box, including the clumps of waste as well. Rakes are popular, although the shifting litter boxes are by far more popular and more common.

Those who are often times away from home could greatly benefit from a self cleaning litter box. They are great to have for cats that spend a lot of time by themselves, as they virtually eliminate any scooping of litter on your part. You can find them at your local pet or department store, even online as well. They are very affordable – and ideal for anyone who doesn’t like scooping waste from their litter box.