Feline Health, Behavior and Other Resources

Choosing a Cat or Kittens

• Choosing the Right Cat for Your Family
• When Two are Better than One
• Choose a Cat for Your Cat Carefully (Adults vs. Kittens, Males vs. Females)
• Debunking the Myth that Bonding Must Occur in Kittenhood

All About Kittens

• Welcome Home Furry Baby
• 10 Tips on Raising a Happy Kitten
• Taming Feral Kittens
• Why Kittens Should Be Adopted in Pairs
• Kitten Proofing
  • Kitten Proofing Your Home
  • Holiday Safety
  • Kitten Antics and Near Misses

Caring for New Cats and Kittens

• Caring for Your New Cat
  • Introducing Your New Cat to Your Home
  • Ensuring Good Litter Box Habits
  • Choosing Quality Food and Feeding Appropriate Amounts
  • Providing Preventative Vet Care
  • Keeping Your Cat Safe and Happy Indoors
• Caring for Your New Kittens
  • Introducing Your New Cat to Your Home
  • Ensuring Good Litter Box Habits
  • Choosing Quality Food and Feeding Appropriate Amounts
  • Providing Follow-up Kitten Vet Care
  • Providing Preventative Vet Care Once Kittens are Adult Cats
  • Keeping Your Cat Safe and Happy Indoors

Understanding Your Cat

• The Language of Cats – What Is Your Cat Trying to Tell You?
• Cats Need Company – Debunking the Myth that Cats Are Antisocial

Keeping Your Cat Safe and Happy Indoors

• Selecting the Right Environmental Enrichment for Your Cat
• What Indoor Cats Need to Be Happy
• Indoor vs. Outdoor Cats
• Is Your Indoor Cat Bored? 12 Ways to Prevent Boredom

Declawing Is Cruel – Teach Your Cat to Scratch Appropriately

• Paws Come With Claws: Teaching Your Cat to Scratch Appropriately
• Cat Scratching: Explanations and Solutions
• Declawing – Cruelty or Convenience?
• Directory to Every Major Declawing Website
• Educate, Don’t Amputate
• Surgical Claw Removal: An Extreme Solution
• The Truth about Declawing
• Why Cats Shouldn’t Be Declawed

Note: declawing is now illegal in Virginia and Maryland.

Litter Box Concerns

• Cats and Toxoplasmosis: Separating Fact from Fiction
• Prevention of Litter Box Problems
• Lapsed Litter Box Users

Urine Spraying

• Urine Marking in Cats
• Cat Spraying: Why Cats Do It and How to Stop It

Cats Are Territorial

• Sharing the Turf
• Sharing the Turf Part II: Scent Markings
• The Cat’s View of Territory

The Right Way to Make Introductions

• How to Introduce Your New Cat to Other Cats
• The Importance of Good Introduction (Between Felines)
• Bringing Home Baby
• Introducing Dogs to Cats
• How to Introduce a Dog to a Cat (from Best Friends)
• How to Introduce a Dog to a Cat (from PetMD)

Allergies to Cats

• Allergic? You Can Keep Your Cat!
• Clean the Air

Finding Your Lost Cat

• Finding Lost Indoor-Only Cats
• Finding Lost Indoor-Outdoor Cats

Helping Cats Found or Living Outdoors

• Steps to Take if You Find a Cat Outdoors (Feral or Friendly Stray Cat)
• Trap-Neuter-Return of Feral Cats

Note: Contact your local animal shelter to find out if they have a TNR program for feral cats. Many animal shelters in our area, such as in Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax, have active TNR programs – residents like yourself or volunteers trap the cats and the shelters pay for their spaying/neutering and vaccinations.

Select Cat Health Information

Preventative Vet Care

• Indoor-Only Cats Need Vet Care, Too

Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV)

• Surviving Life on the Streets with FIV
• Cat FIV
• FIV

Heartworm

• Heartworm Prevention in Dogs and Cats

Rehoming Resources

• Rehoming Cats: What to Consider and How to Be Responsible
• How to Rehome a Cat
• Rehome by Adopt-A-Pet

Resources from Cat Experts and Veterinarians

• American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
  • Cat Care
  • Cat Behavior
  • Animal Poison Control Center
• Cat Behavior Associates – Pam Johnson Bennett
• Cats International
• Cornell University Feline Health Center
• Humane Society of the United States: Cats 
• PetMD: Cat Care Center
• PetPlace
  • Cat Health
  • Cat Behavior
• Veterinary Partner: Cats