Why is My Cat Marking my Sofa

Normally cats do not mark the sofa however when a cat feels anxious or is under stress they will mark the sofa and other areas of your home.

I used to rescue cats that were abandoned and bring them through the house to my safe room. Well, that was enough for my pet cats to feel threatened. They would immediately start marking everything. They certainly got my attention and I knew they were not happy, It was their way of telling me that the cat was not welcomed.

Any changes made to the home can cause your cat to become agitated and feel stress. Your cat may roughhouse with the other cats or the family dog then feel stress or anxious. New visitors to your home may upset your cat. If you have a quiet home and the noise level has changed such as more people making loud noises, yelling, fighting, or even loud music.  If the environment of your home changes in any way it will have some effect on your cat.

When a cat marks the sofa, the door, the bed, or anywhere else in your house they are marking their territory. As if to say this is mine, mine, and mine. You can prevent territory marking by using Feliway room diffusers.

A new pet may cause your cat to feel anxious.

Buy Feliway and plug the diffuser into your electrical outlet 10 days before you bring the new pet into your home. This will allow your cat to feel the effects of the diffuser and will calm your cat. Cats will then be more welcoming to the new pets or people. Feliway is a great product to calm an anxious cat. For best results buy, only Feliway cat products, do not mix them with other products and I recommend shopping at Chewy.com (best price for this product)

NOTE: If there are no changes in your home that would trigger your cat to mark then your cat is telling you that it is sick, Cats will mark or pee outside of their litter box when they are ill, It is how they communicate with you. Don't yell at your cat for doing this as it will frighten them. I would recommend taking your cat to the veterinarian for a wellness checkup

Also, it is imperative that newly adopted cats go into a home that has a Feliway diffuser in the outlet.  All newly adopted cats suffer from stress/anxiety and the Feliway will help them to adjust to their home.

How To Care for Stray Kittens

Where I reside it is common for people to abandon their cats and kittens. Every spring we seem to find boxes of kittens left in the woods by my home. Some kittens are weaned others are not.

Photographs of stray kittens

Catching and caring for them are very important because baby kittens rarely survive. They do not know where to go for shelter, how to protect themselves from predators and do not know where to go for food or water.

When we find kittens in our woods we will bring them back home and feed them, hydrate them then check for fleas or injury, We keep all kittens in a room that is safe. This room is their sanctuary where they have all that they need. It is an area in our home that is away from people and other pets. A quiet room that has cat beds, litter boxes, a cat tree and food and water bowls.

This is where the stray kittens will stay until we take them to the veterinarian for a wellness check, dewormer, and vaccines (if they are old enough)

Stray kittens may or may not be people friendly. So it is important to interact with them daily, I like to go into the safe room to read my book or look at a magazine. I never approach the kittens first, instead, I will sit and wait for them to come to me.

Once the kitten makes the first move to be friendly, then I will hold them, pet them and love them. I always talk to the kittens with a calm and caring voice. This helps to not fear humans.

I work with the kittens so that they learn to use their litter box and to scratch on a tree. Spending time with the stray kittens is a way to get them ready for their next step. Being adopted and going to live with their forever family.

About Declawing Your Cat

To declaw a cat by surgically removing the cat's claw is inhumane and animal abuse. Many people declaw their cats because their veterinarians still offer the procedure but you should know that if the shoe was on the other foot a declawing on a human would be cutting off your finger at your knuckle.

 A declawing is extremely painful, and many times the cat becomes lame, has pain when they walk, cannot put pressure on their paws, they are not able to jump. They cannot use the litter box, inability to scratch and move the litter and they develop behavioral issues such as biting.

I have rescued a cat from people who no longer wanted it because it would not stop meowing, they had the cat's claws surgically removed and the cat was in extreme pain. The problem is cat declawing is still allowed in many states so the pet owners are not breaking the law and their veterinarian is in agreement to do this, It is an extremely painful procedure and cats that are declawed may be lame for the rest of their lives..

This is Lucy the cat I speak up that people no longer wanted because she was meowed constantly after declawing.  She no longer meows but she does hide and she bites.
 See her front paws, they look deformed. 

Cat owners need to be educated on the procedure and they should be aware of alternatives, such as clipping the claw short and gluing it. The cat that I rescued this week (white cat) I thought it was declawed as I could not see the claws, but learned that the cat's claw was cut short and glued. (I have searched for the nail cut and glue procedure online and found nothing on it, so it is maybe something a local veterinarian is doing) The claw can grow back but it is very slow to a grow..the cat is not lame, will act like it is scratching, can jump up and down and run through your house but it cannot go outdoors.

I have seen cats with cut and glued nails, In fact, one of my cat helpers told me she had this procedure done for her cats, said her veterinarian did it...the cat is fine.

You cannot see a claw because it is cut very short. My friend has 4 cats all of them have clipped and glued nails, she said it has put a stop with them hurting each other when they play rough and they no longer scratch her.

Instead of declawing, you can clip your cat's nails weekly so that they are not sharp and provided them with many scratching posts or you use soft claws on your cat.

Another option would be soft claws. My veterinarian recommended this product to me because my one cat refused to use his scratching post, he would use when catnip was applied but got bored and would go after my Berber rug. The soft claws allow Budd to scratch on my carpet and furniture but his scratches are not damaging. I am not going to kid you, it takes practice to put the cap on your cats claw. I managed after my husband held Buddy still. You clip your cats claw then put the glue in the cap and slip the cap onto the claw

soft claws 

. .Learn more about declawing your cat by viewing this video.

I do not recommend surgically declawing cats. If you are someone who is considering this procedure I would suggest that you reevaluate the type of pet you bring into your home and consider adopting an animal that does not have claws.

Found a Lump on My Cat

We have a semi-socialized feral cat that shares our home with us. She is not what you would call affectionate. She spends her time being stand-offish but at night when my husband is asleep she will come and sleep on his head and he can hear her purring.

Daisy on my husband's pillow

We trapped this cat when she was 4 months old. We felt we needed to because a neighbors dog had killed all of her litter mates and thought she would be next. As a rule, when feral cats come into a home and are socialized they tend to overeat. Our cat is now older and overweight and due to this, she has developed a lump.

We found the lump yesterday when my husband held her down and I examined her fat belly. The lump is solid and the size of a Kiwi. It could be a fatty tumor called lipomas. This tumor will show up anywhere on a cat and even though they are not cancerous they do not need to be removed unless they hinder the cat from getting around, or make the cat feel uncomfortable.

As a rule, this type of fatty tumor is common in overweight older cats. I made an appointment at the veterinarians because I need to know what this lump is. My veterinarian will do a wellness checkup and may do a biopsy with a needle to get a sample to test fluid inside the lump for cancer.

I think it is a good idea to examine your older cat once a month for lumps and bumps and if you find them to take your cat to the veterinarians. Best to get your cat a checked to know if the bumps are cancer or not.

Learn more about cat lumps or bumps by viewing this video.

Hawks Attack Neighborhood Cats

There are many reasons why you should keep your cats indoors but the one that most people overlook is keeping your cat indoors due to hawks flying low.

"Red-tailed hawks and great horned owls are two of North America's most common and widespread raptors. Red-tailed hawks mainly eat small mammals like rodents and rabbits, plus birds and snakes, and aren't considered a threat to most pets. That said, some larger red-tailed hawks may be able to carry prey weighing 5 pounds (2 kg), according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which could include not just puppies and kittens, but also some adult cats and dogs from small breeds. “ Quote from https://www.treehugger.com/how-much-weight-can-hawk-carry-4868712  

All about birds states that Most dogs (and cats) are large enough to be safe from hawks and owls. Even very small dogs may be too heavy for a hawk or owl to carry, although it’s still possible that large raptors might attack them. For instance, black-tailed jackrabbits can reach the weight of a small dog (6 pounds) and are a fairly common prey item for Red-tailed Hawks in the western United States.  Birds of the World. 

If you reside close to a wooded area, or state park then chances there are hawks that are foraging.  Spring is the worst time of the year due to the feeding of their young.  

Today I received a text that was an alert of the hawks flying low to the ground. An adult red-tailed hawk will swoop down and grab your cat with its talons, or the hawk will land in your yard and kill your cat by strangulation or they will fly high enough to drop your cat, then retrieve the prey.  We have observed this firsthand a 4-pound feral cat was grabbed by the hawk air-lifted before being dropped. The cat survived. (we knew the weight of the cat from TNR records) 

Know that in the wild the prey is uncertain and even though small cats and dogs are not a hawk's diet that isn't a reason to dismiss that the cat could be an occasional food source for the hawk.  Both hawks and cats come in different sizes/weights so it comes down to size and opportunity.

 

We always know when the hawks are flying low to the ground because the squirrels and feral cats are hiding, but the domesticated cat may approach the hawk that is on the ground to investigate. The hawk has the advantage please keep your cats indoors when hawks are flying low in your neighborhood.

Abandoned Cat Gets Forever Home

A handsome tuxedo cat was abandoned. His person left him in our woods nine months ago. The cat was put out in a box that my husband thought was trash.

Original photo of Cat Abandoned 

My husband observed a man parking this car at the end of the street then walking down the hill with a cardboard box. The man returned without the box and my husband yelled at him, thinking he had just dumped trash.



Trash was not dumped in our woods, nope that man abandoned an adult tuxedo cute that was terrified by his new surroundings. Cats that are abandoned do not respond well to strangers. So when my husband tried to coax the cat to come to him The cat was fearful and ran when my husband approached him.



Immediately we let our neighbors know what the cat looked like and that it was abandoned. It is a nice looking cat and a few of my neighbors said that the would take it in. But this abandoned cat was so afraid of people that nobody could get close to him.



Trapping was not something we considered because the cat was stressed out, we wanted the cat to come to us when it was ready. That did not mean that we did not leave our garages open, provide the cat with warm bed food and water. The cat would enter our garages but ran when people tried to befriend him.



I always said that a cat will choose who he wants to be with. My friend that told me that she loved this cat and that she had been socializing the cat for the last 8 months. She was trying to get the cat to trust humans again and it worked. This cat got a second chance at having a forever home.



This stray cat will sit on the woman’s porch every morning at 5 AM to eat at her feeding station. Then he will rub on her legs and she is allowed to sit close to him and pet him. She loves this tuxedo cat and he loves her.




We are happy that the cat that was abandoned in the wood now has a forever home with an adopter that loves cats. It does not happen all the time but when it does it is always nice to know that an abandoned cat gets a second chance.

Low Cost Pet Vet Clinic at Tractor Supply Co

Today I get an email from a fellow cat caretaker and they told me to check out the Tractor Supply store in our area because some stores offer veternarian clinics with discount pet vaccines as well as flea, tick and heartworm prevention.

Oh my gosh this is fantastic because it would mean I could get vaccines and treatments for a whole lot of feral and stray cats. The email that I received said that there are low-cost veterinarian clinics inside the tractor supply store and that their services provide the pet owner with 70% off the cost of yearly vaccines for dog or cat.

Add caption

I learned that no appointment was required and that a licensed veterinarian would be administering the vaccines. The only thing that I do not know is if they will accept feral and stray cats. The reason for my concern is these cats are not people friendly. 

 If these veterinarians are skilled in handling  feral and stray cats then this is a huge savings for  the caretakers that oversee the colony cats.  Learn if there is a discounted pet vet clinic in your area by checking out tractorsupply.com veterinarian services in your area. 

Spring Like Weather Means Cats will Mate

The last couple of days have been warm and the mild temperature is enough to make the unaltered cats eager to mate.

Feral Cat Bob was always eager to mate, he was neutered in December

In December we had taken in four cats to be neutered and thought we were all up to date with the feral and stray cats in our neighborhood but today I look out my back window and what do I see, a tomcat getting it on with a queen cat. What the heck is this and better yet are these stray cats or the lady down the streets cats that are not sterilized. 

January is not a good time for an outdoor cat to be pregnant because this warm weather is just a break in winter, snow in the forecast for this weekend and bitter cold weather. Not a good idea to have those kittens during the winter even if queen is held up in a thicket den, the weather will be too darn cold.

Since I am not about to let those kittens freeze to death I decided to get out the cat trap and try to catch the stray queen cat. Take her in for a spay and vaccines. Then I am going to go down the street to have a chat with the women with all of the unaltered cats and if she does not listen to me then I may report her to animal control because she is way over her limit and we can no longer continue to pay for her cats sterilizations. 

Watching Cats at Backyard Feeding Station

I always feed the feral cats at the same time daily but since the weather has gotten cold I found that they are not running to the feeding station in the morning. I do not blame them because the last couple of days it has been really cold outdoors.

I normally put our dry Evolve chicken maintenance food mixed with Friskies whitefish pate. But since it is freezing I have taken away the canned food and I am only putting out kibble. Now if I see the cats in the woods I will put out the canned food because the aroma from the whitefish food lures the cats out of the woods and to my backyard feeding station.

Here is a photo of my insulated feeding station.  There are two doors and we set it on cement blocks to keep the snow and rain water out of the cavity.  Inside is a bowl of food and water.

Today we waiting for the cats all day to come to the feeding station, they did not come until midnight. To my surprise they are now in my yard. I guess fox or other animal ate the food because the cats are taking turns at my backyard feeding station. Soon I will have to o out and refill the bowls.

Do you have an outdoor cat feeding station in your yard ?

View this video to learn how to make inexpensive feeding stations for outdoor cats.

Reasons Why Men Abandon Cats

My studies indicate that in the last five years more men have abandoned cats than women in my neighborhood.  Many times the cats are left behind because the husband is mad his wife or boyfriend angry at his girlfriend.

Abandoned cat hides behind tree

The sad truth is that the housecat is being used to hurt women.   I know this to be true because many distraught women show up with the men at the entrance of the woods calling for their beloved cats and then say that had a bad argument with their husband/boyfriend but everything was on the mend and they really wanted their cat back.

Other reasons for leaving the cat is most men think the housecat will adapt to the wild and will be able to survive in the woods they assume that this is better for the cat.  

Some men leave cats in a park close to a neighborhood because the park will provide food and shelter and eventually the cat will be found and adopted by a family in the neighborhood.  They honestly believe that the chances of survival are greater for a housecat than being turned over to the animal shelter where so many cats compete for adoption. 

Note:

1. Less than 5% of the abandoned cats that were abandoned to my woods were reunited with their families.
2. I believe that fewer cats would be abandoned if pet owners were better educated on the responsibilities of owning and caring for a cat as well as the proper ways to re-home a cat when they can no longer care for their pet. 

How to Set up Outdoor Shelter for Cats

If you have an outdoor cat, care for them by providing them with an insulated  shelter.    Buy or make cat shelters that will provide  outdoor cats with a front door and an exit door.  These doors will allow the cat to escape the shelter unharmed if a predator should enter one of the doors. 

 Set up the shelters in an area that is protected from street and human traffic.  Choose a secluded area in your yard that is off the beaten path.  My outdoor cat shelter is located with house to the back, wall to the one side and evergreen bamboo on the other side.  The branches of the bamboo shrub conceal the cat shelter. It is protected from wind and predators.  It is wise to set the shelter up off the ground to prevent the interior from getting wet, and it will protect the cat shelter from becoming buried under ice and snow. 

Line the interior of the shelter with a foot of straw.  The straw will provide the cats with the warmth that they need.  Refrain from using blankets or rugs as they hold the moisture and will feel cold to the cat.  Okay to use thermal fleece blanket as extra insulation provided you mix with straw.

Bedding inside shelter

Feral cat resting inside insulated shelter

 Last year I filled the cat shelter with a foot of straw and then used my hands to make a bed in the center of the straw.  I pushed the straw up on the sides of the heavy plastic dome tube shelter.  By doing this the feral cat could lie in the center and have the thermal straw around him.  I also added a thermal cat bed that was self heating in the center of the straw.  By doing this I provided the feral cats with a shelter that was windproof, waterproof and warm. 

 Tips:

1. Set the cats feeding station away from the shelter. Do this to keep predator away from the shelter.
2.  Domesticated cats should be brought in at night to protect them from predators.
3.  A one door cat shelter is fine for a daytime shelter.  However all cats that live outdoors continually need a shelter that provides them with a front door and an exit door.  These doors are meant to protect the cat.  Example:  If the cat is sleeping in the outdoor shelter a dog, fox, raccoon or coyote may enter the front of the shelter trapping the cat that is inside.  
4. Check the shelter bedding daily, as cat may mark the straw. Remove the marked straw and replace with fresh.  
5. An insulated cat shelter is an investment that will provide the feral cats with year round shelter from extreme heat and cold.
6. Purchase bales of straw at Lowe's or Home Depot garden center or at farm store.  One bale of straw will keep 4 cats warm for 3 months in winter. 

Trapping Feral Cats in Parks

Feral cats come from a long line of abandoned house cats. Many of the cats are left in state parks, and in wooded or forested tracks of land.  The house cats that are left in these isolated areas seldom survive as they lack in foraging skills. Some get cat disease, others are hunted by wildlife predators, and a few are injured by fighting with feral cats.  

The fate of an abandoned house cat that is left in a wooded area is many times a fatality; however some house cats survive the harsh terrain and environment.  Woodland feral cats sleep during the day and awake at dusk to forage, socialize and mate. The night provides a safer environment for the cats as they are terrified of humans. 

 Periodically cats will be viewed in the morning hours, they may be seeking food, water or they may be injured.  Trapping feral woodland cats does take skills as one must locate the colony and then bond with the cats.

Locate the Colony

Locate the woodland feral cats in state parks by asking the park ranger if there are any feral cats in the area.    Park officials know if cats have been abandoned or they will know where cats have been viewed. 

Find out if the cats are being cared for by a colony caregiver.  If there is a caregiver then offer your contact information and ask the ranger if they would pass on your business card.  

Tell them that you would like to help care for the cats and trap them for spay or neuter and the necessary medical care. If there is no caregiver then you will need to locate the woodland feral cats.  Go to the location were feral cats have been sited. 

Winter Woodland Feral Cat by Susang6

Survey the wooded terrain with your field glasses.  Look for cat shelters; opening in a rock wall, hallow trees, thickets.  Hike to the area where you viewed the shelters.  Stop 15 to 20 feet away from the shelter and set up a feeding station.   

Set up Cat Feeding Station
Fill a bowl with dry cat food.  Food that is fortified with antioxidants will help in boosting cats immune system.  Fill a separate bowl with fresh water. If cats are viewed lurking in the distance, top the dry kibble with stinky fish flavored wet food like Friskies mixed grill.

Document Cat Activity:

Back away from the feeding station and stop twenty feet away.  Set up camp and watch the feeding station with field glasses.  Wait for woodland cats to appear.  

1. Take photographs of the surrounding area, the woodland feral cats, and write your notes on the cats and shelter.  Document their characteristics, mannerisms, sex, and keep your notes in a binder. 
2. Watch the food bowls; if there are many cats the bowl and water will need to be filled Do this by approaching the feeding station slowly, and do not make eye contact with the cats.  
3. Fill the bowls and then back away from the area slowly.  

If you have completed your journal on all of the cats then you may leave.  However you must return to the feeding station the following day at the same time and set up the feeding station in the same location.  You will do this on a daily basis; it is best to feed cats twice a day; 6am and 6pm.

Bond with Feral Cats

Being a woodland feral cat caregiver is a daily job, these cats become dependent on you for food and hydration.  Soon you will notice that the cats are dependent on you for their food source, they will sit in a line and wait for your arrival, or they will run to greet you when they see you approaching the feeding station.  

The cats may seem friendly, however you must respect them at all times and do not attempt to pet them. If you do so this will scare the cat and the cat will react by scratching you or biting you.  If a cat bites you then animal control will cease the cat and euthanize the cat because it is not vaccinated for rabies or other cat diseases.  Therefore respect the cat and keep your hands away from the woodland feral cat.

Communicate with Veterinarian

Contact your veterinarian and inform them that you are a caregiver to woodland feral cats and that when they are dependent upon you that you will begin trapping.  Make arrangement s to bring cats in for sterilization, feline leukemia and AIDS tests, rabies shots, cat wormer and application for cat frontline plus.  Also contact your local cat network, for assistance in a group trapping.

Trapping Feral Cats

Schedule a group trapping for the colony of woodland feral cats.  Omit feeding the cats for 12 hours, however do provide water.  Purchase a medium size live animal trap.  Line the trap with newspaper that is folded so that it fits securely in the trap.  Drop two teaspoons of Friskies tuna canned food in the back of the trap, and  drizzle the juice down the center of the trap (on top of the newspaper) the stinky food will lure the hungry cat into the trap. Next drape a twin size blanket or a fleece sofa throw over the trap, do not conceal the opening of the trap. Spray the inside of the trap; blanket that faces trap interior with Feliway comfort spray.  This formula will help to relax the cat, so that it is not so stressed out.  Set the trap close to the vicinity of the feeding station.   Stand at a distance and watch and wait for the cat to enter the trap and the door to close.  Wait patiently.

When the cat enters the trap and the door closes.  Cover the entire trap with the twin size blanket, this blanket will aid in comforting the cat.  Do not attempt to touch the trap or the cat.  

Move the cat in the trap away from the trap site and place in the transport vehicle, a van is useful when trapping a colony of cats.  Transport cats to veterinarians for medical care.  


Release the cats to the trapping site when the veterinarian tells you it is okay to do so. 

Tips:

• When cats are released to the colony resume feeding the cats at the station.
• Contact cat network in your area and ask for volunteer in your area to help with caring for the cats.
• Rehabilitate kittens for adoption, by socializing them in your home or with the other caregivers.
• Keep a current journal on all of the cats, that way you will know their medical needs and when they will need to be re-trapped for shot updates.