Cat Blog 11c

What bedding, loos and toys do I provide to my cat?

We’ve looked at what food we need to feed out cats and how to keep them safe in and around the home. This week we’re taking a closer look at what bedding, loos and toys we should provide to them inside the house.

Bedding

As you know, cats enjoy sleeping just about anywhere and will choose their own favourite spots. In fact, they sometimes sleep in the oddest places and positions that we think can’t possibly be comfy! And of course we could provide the most attractive (and expensive) cat cave or cat bed, and they will prefer the cardboard box we haven’t thrown out yet!

All we can do, is to place soft bedding materials in baskets or cat caves in secluded, cosy corners and cross our fingers that your pets will use them. What does help immensely, is sprinkling some Happy Cat (https://iamcat.blog/how-do-i-move-house-with-my-pet-cats/ around in any new bed or igloo to lure our cats into them.

This is an example of the ideal cat bed: It’s made from soft, warm fabric, it’s big enough for at least 2 cats, it has a padded base – and it will pique your pets’ curiosity. And it’s attractive to boot!

You’ll find there are thousands of cat beds and cat caves to choose from, in shops and online.

Of course cats love sleeping off the ground, and there are numerous ways in which you can satisfy your pets’ need for height. Check out Google Images for some wonderful examples of hanging or wall-mounted cat beds. And many of them you’ll be able to make yourself quite inexpensively.

If you like the look of macrame beds, you may want to contact Kades Lubbe from CatPals in Pretoria. She makes some beautiful ones. You can reach her at 063 582 0298 or at kadeslubbe7@gmail.com – and you’ll be benefiting more cats at the same time!

Loos

Cats are clean and neat by nature, so it’s important that we make sure our pets always have a clean litter box − at least one per cat and one extra. For a kitten you would need one in every room, as your fur baby may not be able to hold out if there is no litter box nearby. Even once your pet has started using the great outdoors, it’s a good idea to keep at least one litter box indoors for rainy days.

There are different kinds of litter, from wood shavings to ‘clumping’ litter and litter made from clay or other materials. Choose what you feel most comfortable with, but avoid very fine litter for kittens, as they tend to want to eat it. Fill the litter box to a depth of about 7 cm, and keep it clean by removing solids twice a day and either removing moist or clumped litter or mixing it in with dry litter.

Toys

You and I know all too well that cats love toys.

I hope this has given you some helpful pointers regarding what bedding, loos and toys you can provide to your beloved pets. In Part 4 we’ll check out scratching posts, jungle gyms and wall shelving for your pets.

Cat quote of the week

A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not.

Ernest Hemingway

Cat fact of the week

Your domestic cat shares 95% of his or her DNA with a tiger.

Cat story 18: Cats of South Africa

Cats of South Africa was formed in 2020 as a grouping of NPOs, NGOs groups and individuals who care for cats that are not their own. The idea originated with Niki Moore, who heads up Cats of Durban. So I felt honoured when she asked me to join her as second spokesperson for the group.

Today there are hundreds of members across South Africa. We communicate via a Google group in order to share pleas for help, information, anecdotes and so forth.

As our slogan states, we speak for cats, first and foremost. We also act for them. And we are a force to be reckoned with in all matters relating to cats.

If you would like to join us, we would love to have you! All you need to do, is to mail Niki at catsofsouthafrica@gmail.com, and she will add you. As simple as that!

Cat Blog 11b

Keeping our cats safe in and around the home

Most of us are most at risk of injury in and around our own homes. The same goes for our cats too. Keeping our cats safe in and around the home is therefore very important. See Cat Blog 10 at https://iamcat.blog/confining-a-cat-or-not/ on whether you should confine your feline family members to your property or not.

But there is also a myriad of potential dangers in and around your home. Watch out for the following, for example – and you’ll probably be able to add some of your own:

• hot stove tops

• open toilet seats

• bath water (a kitten could burn or − worse − drown in a bathful of water)

• poisonous plants or food your cat might nibble on (lilies and chocolates can be extremely detrimental or even lethal to cats)

• chemical or insecticide sprays on surfaces

• empty poison bottles

• chicken or other fine bones that could lodge in your cat’s throat

• plastic bags that could smother a kitten

• the washing machine or tumble drier, both of which cats love to climb into

• buckets and other containers filled with water that a kitten could drown in

Also make sure that you inspect your car each time before you drive off. Your kitten or cat could be sleeping on or under a wheel or even in the engine itself.

Check spaces such as cupboards, garages and tool sheds before locking up for the night or when you leave the house. Make sure you don’t inadvertently shut your pet away for hours (or days) without food or water.

As mentioned in Cat Blog 10, you could fortify your fencing by means of a solar-powered electrical unit or physical barriers such as the Oscillot. Check out the internet or chat to a company such as Pet Safety Solutions (http://petsafetysolutions.co.za/). Alternatively use overhead netting or have a ‘catio’ erected in your garden. To prevent cats from climbing trees and thus scaling a wall, wrap plastic bottles that have been cut open lengthwise around the trunks.

Also remember that very small children don’t always know what might hurt an animal. A child’s passionate (but unwittingly rough) stroking or patting could harm your cat. So keep an eye on kiddies who want to ‘play with the kitty’, for their sake as well as your cat’s.

A good idea is to make it a rule that your kids may only hold your kitten or cat while they themselves are seated. This will protect your pet from being carried around too much and possibly being hurt.

Cat quote of the week

Cats rule the world.

Jim Davis

Cat Story 17: Looking for Luka

This week I’m bringing you another story to lift your spirits – the story of Luka, who went missing and then turned up 23 days later. The story is told by a remarkable human: Niki Moore, who heads up a remarkable organisation – Cats of Durban. This is how she tells it.

‘It’s the call that every parent dreads: “Sorry to tell you, but your child is missing.”  This is the nightmare that interrupted Roma and Ashar’s holiday in Cape Town on January 3rd.  

‘They had left their beloved cat Luka at a pet sitter in their home city of Durban while they went on holiday.  Black-and-white Luka is an indoor cat and therefore they had thought that he would be very happy at the foster home. But it appears that Luka decided to make a break for freedom … he managed to push out a loose air-conditioner fitting and escape. 

‘The pet sitter was distraught but thought that Luka might turn up on his own. He was, after all, a house cat and it was unlikely he would travel far. But after a few days, with no sign of the black-and-white bandit, she was compelled to notify the owners and begin a search in the neighbourhood. Roma and Ashar returned home immediately and began combing the streets. They printed flyers and distributed them around the neighbourhood. Every day they would search in a new part of the suburb.  

‘It was two weeks later that a resident in a housing complex around 6 km from the pet-sitters home noticed a strange cat in her garden. The trustees of the complex had circulated a picture of Luka with a request that people should be on the lookout.  This strange cat was definitely black and white – but was it Luka? It was difficult to see because the new stray cat was thin and very elusive – the moment anyone approached he would run away.  

‘Immediately a rescue attempt swung into motion.  

‘It was not a straightforward operation: the complex has very strict privacy and access rules. The body corporate first had to agree that trappers from Cats of Durban could come into the complex to try to trap Luka, they were given a limited window of opportunity for access, they had to be accompanied by a security guard, they were only given a week to make the attempt, and there was not even any certainty that this stray cat was, indeed, Luka.  

‘For a whole week, the trappers from Cats of Durban would arrive with traps to set up at strategic places around the complex, only to find that ‘Luka’ had been very visible all day long but had decided to vanish as soon as the trappers turned up. It’s called “Cat’s Law” and it is very common. Cats are very easy animals … until you specifically need them to do something. That is when the “Law of Being a Difficult Cat” kicks in.  

‘In the event, the week expired with still no official sighting of Luka. The window of opportunity for Cats of Durban to trap Luka had closed.  

‘The only option left was to recruit a cat-loving resident of the complex, Sameera, leave a trap with her (Sameera has trapped cats before), and hope for the best.    

‘It was the very next night that the security guard at the front gate of the complex made an urgent call to Sameera. There was a black and white cat sitting at the door of his security hut, washing himself.  Sameera hastened over with the trap, but found she did not even need it. The black and white cat simply allowed himself to be picked up and nestled into her arms.  

‘Sameera put in an urgent call to Roma and Ashar, who dropped everything and drove over at once.  They confirmed immediately that this was Luka – thin and dirty, but definitely their beloved Luka. He had been gone for 23 days and had evaded capture for a week. Perhaps he had now simply decided that the adventure was over and it was time to go home.’  

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As I mentioned above, Cats of Durban is a remarkable organisation. As they state on their website, ‘Cats of Durban is about … the cats of Durban.’ Their main focus is the community or ‘feral’ cats of the city. They do not remove cats, but rather trap, sterilise and return them. They encourage people to care for their cats and educate businesses in particular about the vital role community cats play.

They focus solely on creating an environment in which all cats are wanted and cared for. They believe that the only way in which to achieve this, is through sterilisation, which they regard as their core duty. They therefore use all donations for sterilisations.

You’ll find more information about Cats of Durban on their website at https://www.catsofdurban.co.za/.

But they can’t do it without our help. Won’t you please donate?