Don't get a cat without prior budgeting for vet visits and other costs. Normal veterinary care includes yearly shots and boosters, tests for worms, and examination for typical diseases as needed. This will run about US$100-$300 a year. This, of course, depends on your vet and on the health of your cat. Preventive and consistent care is less expensive in the long run.

If you cannot afford veterinary care for a cat, you should not get one. Do not think that you can get a cat and never see the vet. Annual shots and examinations are a must for keeping your cat healthy; certain vaccinations are required by law in different areas.

Other routine costs include cat food, cat litter, litter pans and scoops, and other cat paraphernalia such as scratching posts and cat trees.

Most life changes shouldn't affect your ability to give a cat a good home. Some people think they must give up a cat when they move, but that's not true. It is relatively easy to move with a cat, even if you are moving cross country or overseas.

However, if you expect that you will soon be in a situation where you will have to give up your cat, consider spending time with friends' cats instead of getting your own . It can be very difficult or impossible to find a home for your adult cat if you ever have to give it up.

Like people cats have different intellectual levels. Right now there is no scientific way to measure your cat's IQ although you will find a lot of fun IQ tests in the internet that you can take to see how your cat measures up. You can also read the book The Cat IQ Test by Melissa Miller, which though more entertaining that scientific, still gives valuable insight to cat intelligence.

Yes and No. Cats can see beyond human eyes when it is dark because their eyes are specially adapted for night hunting. They can see as much as up to 6 times better than humans under poor lighting. However, it isn't true that cats are far sighted. In fact, cats are good at detecting motion but do not see details that clearly. Their vision is very poor up close. They can not see anything placed right in front of their noses!

Watery eyes in cats is an indication of a condition called conjuctivis. Conjuctivitis usually goes away in a few days. If your cat's eyes is still watery after a few days and get more swollen and red then it might be due to Herpes. Take your cat to the vet and ask for medicine to get rid of the Herpes virus. In the meantime you can lessen the irritation by bathing your cat's eyes with fresh saline solution (¼ tsp of salt dissolved in 1 cup of water).

When choosing a cat to buy or adopt you should consider the following factors:

•  type of residence and neighbourhood you live in 
•  whether your cat will be spending most of its time indoors or outdoors 
•  the amount of time your cat will be spending with you and your other pets 
•  your age and the age of the rest of the family (it is esepcially important to consider the youngest member of your family) 
•  the personality you would prefer the cat to have; and of course

l the cat's appearance.

Never base your choice simply on how cute a cat looks. Neglecting to consider the other factors mentioned above can lead to an unhappy owner and cat. Another thing to remember is to not get kittens if you have young children at home since both little kids and kittens are still immature and too playful. Putting them together might end up with either your child or the kitten getting hurt.

Keeping your cat indoors is perhaps the best way to keep him healthy and clean. However, this may pose some problems regarding his fitness. An indoor cat may be safer from outdoor hazards but he may be prone to weight problems at the same time. Though a fat cat may seem cuter and cuddlier, it may also be a source of health problems such as heart issues and diabetes. As such, you must be able to balance an indoor lifestyle with fitness.

In contrast with dogs, trying to get a cat to stay fit is more of a challenge. Putting a pet on a diet is the most common way to slim him down. However, with cats, it is not such an easy task. They will probably stop eating reduced calorie foods. This will be a problem because going without food for prolonged periods of time can be dangerous for cats. So what should you do?

The first step is to consult with your vet regarding the diet that your cat should undergo. You should then follow this diet and then keep your cat active. Here are some tips to help you get on the right track.

Make sure to commit some time to play with your cat everyday. Look for cat toys that will engage your cat actively. Some examples would be cat fishing poles and laser pointers. The point is to get your cat moving.

Another important thing is to find ways to keep your cat active even when you are absent from the house. Again, look for toys and other things attractive to cats. Examples would be cat trees and tunnels as well as other things with catnip.

If you want your cat to move more, then you may want to create and outdoor play ground for him. You must ensure that there is adequate space to move and run around. In addition to this, you must also design it in such a way as to be entertaining and full of nooks and crannies to explore. Also, make sure that there are places where your cat can climb. Cats are known for loving high places and that is one good way to get him moving. Of course, you have to ensure that this outdoor space is safe and enclosed as well.

Another thing that you must take into consideration is how much food your cat takes in. When you are at home, you can strictly observe just what your cat eats. However, when left alone at the house, or when you are too busy to tend to him, the tendency is to leave dishes of food for easy access. This is one habit that you should get rid of. It may be convenient for both you and your cat but it only adds to your cat’s weight problems. What you should do is to make it harder for you cat to get food. Make him work for it. This not only makes his food intake less but gives him needed exercise as well.

Make sure that you add more soft and warm places around the house where she can choose to rest. Clean her litter box more often to avoid the possibility of infection. If you are still using a standard litter box shift to a “shorter” one so that it will be easier for her to climb in and out even with such a huge belly. Keep her environment as stress-free as possible by keeping everything clean and quiet. Give her more food than you usually do since pregnant cats need more food to sustain her body as well as provide the necessary nutrients her babies need.

Male, female, spayed, neutered or intact, any cat at any age can start spraying urine to mark their territory. This act is tantamount to indicating the area which they consider theirs. A cat’s massage can be aimed at other cats in the house or cats in the surrounding area. Spraying is quite different from simply urinating and this is quite evident by the very position the cat takes to do it. Whereas a cat would normally squat to urinate, it will stand, paddle its back feet, vibrate its tail a bit to spray its urine onto vertical surfaces such as walls and furniture.

Cat spray is easily one of the worst smelling odors there are. It is actually a mixture of a small amount of urine with glandular secretions called pheromones. Pheromones are exactly what are being used by cats to mark their territory. A little trace of it is left when the cat rubs against its owner or any furniture, although this is the friendly way to do it. Spraying is a more defensive form of marking territory which clearly indicates “stay out”.

The primary reason for cat spraying is the need to mate or being in heat. Female cats spray to attract the males while the male cats will spray to mark the outside perimeter of their territory so as to section off the area that they will find a mate in. Illness can also cause spraying, but often, such an act can be traced to behavioral reasons. Some of these would include a stressful event that has upset the cat, dominance behavior or simply territorial and aggressive behavior.

Such situations may be remedied by a conscious effort on the part of the owner to make the cat feel that its territory is sound or its dominant position is safe to keep its stress level low. The cause of cat spraying should be determined if a solution is sought to stop the behavior. Neighbor cats seen through the windows or conflicts with other cats can cause behavioral changes that could result to spraying.

To discourage repeat spraying in a particular area, all signs of odor should be removed with the use of a special odor-controlling solution. The thing is to “free” a certain area from being designated as a marked territory for cats.

A cat’s vision is not necessarily sharper nor can cats see in total darkness but they can see much better in semi-darkness than humans and many other animals due to the structure of their eyes. Their eyes are considered extremely large for the size of their heads. Several layers of tissues form the eyeball. The sclera, which is the white portion of the eye, is made up of tough fibrous tissues rich in blood vessels. It transports the oxygen and nutrients to the contents of the eye. A cat’s cornea is made up of extremely thin layers of cells arranged in a particular fashion which makes it transparent. It is the clear outer portion that covers the eye and allows light to enter unaffected into the eye.

The fact that cats’ eyes are more adaptable to different amounts of light is also considered as a reason for their ability to see well in dim light. The pupils of the cat’s eyes narrow down to vertical slits which do not admit much light when confronted with bright lights. These pupils become large and around in dim light, thus allowing more light to enter the eyes. The presence of light-reflecting crystals at the back of the inner eye is responsible for the metallic glow of a cat’s eye at night. This reflective layer, called the tapetum, reflects incoming light and bounces it back off the cones, making more use of existing lights. Experts believe that this special feline feature has developed mainly due to survival purposes since wild cats are nocturnal and do much of their hunting at night.

When compared to the 20/20 human vision, cats have a 20/100 vision. They have keen vision for far away objects but things up close are fuzzy or blurred. Cat’s eyes are able to scoop up even the smaller scrap of available light during nocturnal hunting although their daytime vision is only fair. Generally, a cat’s vision is blurred at the edges and their best sight distance is from 6 to 20 feet. Cats don’t miss a twitch though when it comes to movement. For cat owners, it is noteworthy to know that a diet without taurine will make the cat go blind. Taurine is a substance crucial to a cat’s eyesight, thus foods that lack such substance like dog food should not be fed to a cat. Previously believed to be colorblind, cats can actually tell the difference between certain colors. They probably don’t pay much attention to it since color is not particularly necessary for a cat’s survival.

Female dogs can be in heat again a few days after giving birth. Normally, they are in heat every six months and the period lasts an average of 21 days. This may, however, vary as some females heat only once a year while the others may heat every four months.

Common signs that your dog is in heat include frequent licking of her vulva, sometimes hard swelling around the vagina, dark red bloody discharge during the first week turning into a pinkish color in the second week and changing back to a reddish color before stopping, curving of her tail to the left and right as she nears the mating time and frequent urinating to spread her scent to the male dogs.

To prevent blood stains around your house, you can let your dog wear a little boy’s underwear that has a fly with a pad. Put the pants backwards so that her tail comes out. Another alternative would be the disposable kiddie pull-ups although these can be costly. Just make sure to take off the pants when your dog goes out of the house to relieve herself.

Kittens are playful so you need to understand that playful behavior. They love to climb up and down chairs, beds and tables and play on small things they see within their reach. For this reason, they should be given the appropriate toys to keep them occupied instead of looking for other things somewhere else.

But while your kitten may be playful and full of energy, be sure that you teach him the proper behavior. Just like dogs, kittens should be taught and you should be firm and consistent with your training so they would really learn. If you’re trying to sleep, then put him out of the room or give him his toys to play with. Make sure that you also provide a bed for him and teach him to use it by putting him there when he sleeps.

If your kitten’s unruly behavior gets out of control, it’s time to have him checked by a veterinarian. Your vet should help you determine the problem and what to do with it.

Cats really have a penchant for nursing on anything including dogs, blankets, pillows and cats that are not even their mothers. It does not cause any side effects and some cats or dogs do not mind at all. Cats or kittens just love to do this because it makes them feel good. Many of them stop the habit when they feel like it and as they grow old.

But of course, you can discipline her. You can prevent your kitten’s nursing habits by taking her away from the material she’s nursing on in a gentle manner. Avoid shouting at her or reprimanding her as the cat might only scratch you.

If you get annoyed seeing your feline nursing on your dog or another cat, you can bottle feed her with a kitten nursing bottle to divert her attention. You can give her the bottle when she attempts to go to the dog. Eventually, she will learn to move to the bottle when she wants to nurse.