Just the cat’s claws
After another crazy day at the hospital, it’s great for me to be able to sit in a quiet room and smile to myself as I recall the day and write it all down.
And what a mad day Saturday was. It started with an emergency caesarean for young Whiskey to help her deliver the last of her labrador puppies.
It had been a long night for her and she just couldn’t get the last four puppies out. After sending Whiskey’s very anxious owner home to get some much-needed rest, we quickly had Whiskey sound asleep. Unlike for people, we can’t perform c-sections under local anaesthetics, so it is really important to get the puppies out as soon as possible, and with the use of a safe and shortacting anaesthetic so that puppies and mum wake up quickly.
I guess it is like the movies when people hear that first cry of a newborn baby, because for us that first squawk from a revived new puppy is awesome. Whiskey was home the same morning to carry on feeding her new pups from her very ample breakfast bar.
But the icing on the cake was a little spitfire – well not so little really. He was actually quite a laugh because his mother had warned us that ‘‘when his tail starts going – look out’’. So we heeded the warning, used a good sedative and proceeded to quietly clip all his matts off – something we have been doing a lot of this month.
However, three times when we thought he was nicely relaxed and we were clipping away, he lurched up and grabbed us with both front feet and claws then went straight back to resting quietly to wait for the next opportunity. I and both nurses each had blood dripping from punctures on our arms from these totally unexpected attacks from this sleeping monster. I think next time we might have to upgrade to a full anaesthetic.
This leads us to a common complaint of cat owners – scratching the wallpaper, lounge suite or speaker covers. Why do they do it?
It’s commonly thought they are sharpening their claws, but this isn’t the primary function of scratching. They are in fact marking their territory. The marking is via the obvious visual damage, but also by pheromones that are released from glands in their feet.
Both males and females will be guilty.
‘‘So who cares why they do it, how do you stop it?’’ you say. Well, there are several good tips. Do not wallpaper with new hessian textured-type materials that are in vogue. This is a bad idea as cats love to scratch it.
Keep several scratching posts in the house. These should be made of carpet or similar friable material. They should obviously be stable enough that the cat can’t push or pull it over. It needs to be tall enough that the cat can scratch to full height without reaching the top. Position it near the previously offending object in the lounge so he or she can visually mark the post in full view.
It’s commonly thought that they are sharpening their claws, but this isn’t the primary function of scratching. They are in fact marking their territory.
Use a pheromone spray or the new plug-in diffusers. These can be effective as they make the cat or cats feel comfortable in their environment and decrease their urge to mark. Ask us at the hospital about a product called Feliway.
Repellent sprays don’t seem to work so don’t waste your money on these.
New glue on nail covers is available. Yes, ceramics for cats. Maybe we could open a little boutique?
Clipping the sharp tips off their nails can help, but they will still scratch. Give us a call if you need us to show you how to do this as it is important not to cut too much and cut in to the sensitive area of the nail.
Have a fun week. And remember that goodwill given will always find its way back.
Give us a call if you need any help on 357 9993 or 356 9993 (Hokowhitu) until 7pm weeknights. We are open Saturday and Sunday too.