Supercats
Habits
Q
My cat keeps chewing all the household wiring/woodwork/wallpaper etc It's costing a fortune, and one day he might fry himself. What can I do?
A
The usual answer to this is to somehow make the cat avoid the cables/area.
Most people try things like the smell of citrus, etc. But I am reliably assured that a substance like VIC Vapour rub is ideal, but anything that stinks as far as cats (and not humans) are concerned will do the job. Always test an area first, you dont want to damage your furniture and fittings! Most cats grow out of this habit.
Q
My cat is using my next door neighbours garden as a toilet. This annoys the neighbour.
How can I stop her doing this?
A
What you really mean is "How can I make her go somewhere else?"
The answer is to zap her with a water pistol just as she is about to
go to the toilet. Eventually she will get the message about this particular
garden and go somewhere esle. Where that may be is another matter.
Q
My cat has a recurring flea problem, what can I do to get rid of them permanently?
A
Most cats suffer from fleas!
The best answer that I know of is a product which until recently was sold only by vets called Frontline.
This is a handpumped spray product which I now swear by.
You are supposed to use it every few months, but I have not needed it since I last used it on my cats 9 months ago. You must however remember that once your cat has fleas so does your house. To be clear of fleas for any great length of time, you must also treat the house and all your cats bedding and anywhere else that your cats may settle down.
( I know that in most households that means just about everywhere.)
You treat your house firstly with the vacuum cleaner, getting into every nook and cranny, particularly near skirting boards etc. Once you are really sure that you are ready you should then spray all the rooms that the cat uses with a product called Vet-
I have found that this regime of cleaning and cat care means I only seem to worry about cat fleas once a year or so. I have 3 cats and consider this good going indeed.
The really important point here is that by doing it as described above you are interrupting the flea breeding cycle, killing them off before they are born.
It seems to be a bit expensive at first to handle fleas this way, but it's money well spent.
I also believe that the so called flea cat collars are a total waste of time and money.