Cat - How to Train Your Cat Not to Kill Things

Quality Cat Supplies available at Low Prices and Free Shipping! For most cat owners, expecting to find dead animals on their front step is all part of cat ownership. However, for many this can be extremely upsetting and they could find that their cat is bringing back dead animals more frequently than is acceptable. Now while you do unfortunately have to expect this behavior, it is sometimes possible to limit the amount of animals that your cat does actually bring home. Understanding Your Cats Instinct Before you can successfully stop your cat from acting a certain way, you need to first understand why they act in that way in the first place. Now with killing things, it is in a cat's instinct to hunt, chase and kill smaller animals. They cannot control it and it is not a behavior that can be controlled. So in that sense, it is impossible for you to teach a cat not to hunt. However, a cat will spend more time hunting if they have nothing better to do and so getting rid of their excess energy may help to control their hunting a little. Getting Rid of Your Cats Excess Energy In order to get rid of any extra energy that your cat may have, you will have to spend more time with them than you usually do. Playing games with them and allowing them to chase things in a controlled environment can really help to cut the chances of them bringing home a dead animal. You can purchase a number of different toys from all pet stores that will allow you to exercise your cats hunting abilities. There are balls that you can roll away from you that your cat can chase. There are even small soft toy mice on the end of a string that allow you to pull the mouse along the floor and again your cat can chase them. Spending at least half an hour playing with your cat in this manner will really help them to get rid of any excess energy. Overall you will unfortunately have to understand that hunting and killing is part of your cat's personality. However, to limit the amount of dead animals found on your doorstep, you can try and get rid of your cat's excess energy. For more tips, ideas, and articles on training your new cat please visit my blog entitled Cat Training. Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_McAdams Cat - Why Do Cats Eat Grass? Some cat owners make the mistake of preventing their cat from eating grass. There are various reasons for this, one being that they think it makes their cat ill or upsets their stomach. This is an incorrect assumption and in fact the eating of grass followed by regurgitation is a perfectly natural behavior for all cats. Cats do not possess the ability to separate meat from fur bones or feathers before eating like we do so they have to eat the digestible parts along with the indigestible parts. When the cat has finished digesting what he can the rest has to be removed from the system. To try and pass this through the digestive tract could cause obstruction and severe illness so this is where grass eating comes in. The habit of eating grass triggers the natural process of regurgitation of indigestible foods including its own fur balls which would otherwise obstruct the system. This can appear to us humans as if the cat is being violently ill but this is not the case and in fact is very beneficial to the cat. What about other plants and vegetables? Cats cannot produce the enzymes needed to break down plant matter. Even when pureed or powdered, vegetables simply pass through the digestive tract without leaving any of their nutritional content. This alone is not harmful to your cat, but when undigested plant matter mixes with highly digestible food such as meat, indigestion and other complications may occur. Grass is an exception however; some cats compulsively eat grass when you leave them outdoors. This will cause them to regurgitate the indigestible matter, including raw vegetables. If your cat is unable to get access to grass he may attempt to eat your house plants instead. This could be dangerous because some house plants and flowers are toxic to cats, so if you have a house cat like a Ragdoll cat for example you should provide a regular supply of potted grass to prevent him looking elsewhere. And most importantly do not punish your cat for regurgitating on to you carpet because he will not know why you are punishing him. Regurgitation is an involuntary action of your cat's stomach so he could not stop it happening even if he tried. Cleaning up after the occasional regurgitation should be an accepted part of being a loving cat owner as they are only doing what comes naturally.