How To Handle Cat Allergies

When it comes to popular pets that people keep in their house, cats are the winners by a long shot. Over 50% of all families living in the US have either cat or a dog. Even though they are so loved, a lot of people have cat allergies. According to the statistics, there are more than 10 million people suffering from cat allergies in the US.

In most cases, the thing that causes the allergy is the dander, which is essentially dust, made by the cat's body. Dander comes usually as small flakes of shed skin that cats leave behind. One effect of dander is irritation of the skin, but if it gets inside you, it can also provoke allergies and other symptoms.

If the dander enters your immune system it becomes a threat to you. You can't really call it an illness, but more of a defense reflex of your immune system and body. Because allergens can be found in the cat's saliva, urine and blood, cat allergies can happen very often. Even if a cat is not present, if its excretions are in the area, they can still provoke an allergic reaction.

If you have a cat allergy and you enter the house of someone that has a cat, you will have a reaction, since their saliva, urine and dander can be found there. The grooming process of a cat means that it rubs saliva on the fur, which spreads allergens and dander. This can't be stopped and since grooming is a normal part of their life, you shouldn't even try.

The regular symptoms of a cat allergy are cough, wheeze, itching, sneezes, a tough time breathing or watery eyes. The ways that people react to cats when they have allergies are different, so the symptoms that can be found in one person might not be found in another. In some rare cases people can even experience chills and fever. In such cases, the person needs to visit a doctor as soon as possible. Sometimes it's more about a disease that needs to be identified, and not about the cat allergy.

The treatment for people that suffer from cat allergies consists of decongestants and antihistamines. For example, when people have asthma attacks, they will receive antihistamines. If you have a swollen nasal passage or a cough, you will be prescribed decongestants. In other cases you can even get allergy shots, which will help you with attack prevention, good especially for those that have cat allergies. If you want to do some prevention or to treat a current allergy, these shots can be of huge help.

If you think that you might have allergy to cats, you should go to a doctor to check it out. A doctor can give you a proper diagnosis and let you know what you can do to treat it. Getting rid of the cat is the best method of actually stopping the attacks from happening.

That's actually not as easy as it sounds usually, since people are attached to their pets, but allergies are a serious thing, and if you suffer from one, I'm afraid that's the best way to make sure you're safe. Shots and medicine can only help you so much. Unfortunately, these allergies can show up after you owned a cat for several years, so you might already be very attached to the animal.

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By Cristian Stan
Published: 3/16/2009

Keeping Your Cat As Healthy As Possible

If you want to make sure that your cat remains healthy most of the time, the main tips we can give you is to give her good food, enough water and a good shelter. But, ultimately you can't stop a cat from getting sick.

If you own a cat, you should make sure that you give her the best food possible. The absolute best is to give her premium cat food, since it's made out of the best ingredients. Paying a bit of attention to how the cat behaves can give you an idea if it's sick. In most cases, the regular sicknesses and ailments are of the minor variety, but the vet should determine that, in case it's something more serious.

Paying attention to the behavior of the cat can give you very good signs that something is wrong with the cat. If she lays around, looks sluggish or doesn't have any energy, it's advisable that you take it to the vet as soon as possible. Also pay attention to the cat's coat. If the cat sheds too much or becomes patchy and dull, you should visit the vet immediately and let him check it out.

Vomiting and diarrhea are two common symptoms even if the disease is of the more simple variety. If they persist after the first day, make sure you go to the vet. Hairballs are dislodged from the cat's throat by coughing, so this is normal in most cases. If the reason seems to be another, get him to a vet.

Getting the cat vaccinated is a good way to keep your cat from getting sick in most cases. Feline distemper and rabies are two examples of diseases that a vaccine can prevent from happening. Feline distemper especially is a very dangerous disease for a cat to have, but it's also extremely easy to prevent. If the cat does get this disease, the time to treat it is not very long.

An extremely deadly cat disease is feline leukemia, which can be avoided if the cat gets the proper vaccines. While humans are safe from getting this illness, cats can easily get it from other cats. Even though vaccines exist now for this disease, it would be advisable not to keep the cat around others that are sick with this disease.

Worms are an issue with cats that are kept on the outside a lot. You can spot cats with worms by checking out their lack of appetite and the lackluster coat. Two of the main types of worms that can be found are hookworm and ringworm. Cats can get worms from lice, fleas or by eating organs of rodents that are dead. By doing this, the eggs are digested by the cat, and after they mature they will get on the intestine's walls. Keeping your cat safe from worms can be done by giving it garlic on a regular basis.

By taking a few precautions you can have a great chance of keeping your cat healthy. For example, making sure you give the cat good food and that you take it to the vet on a regular basis. The cat will be protected against a lot of diseases if she gets the vaccines in time. When you have a cat, you should do a lot of prevention work to make sure it doesn't get sick.

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By Cristian Stan
Published: 3/16/2009

Keeping Your Garden Free Of Cats

If you want to make sure that cats don't get into your garden, the first step would be to secure the boundaries. For example, check for gaps in the fence and block them so that you don't make it too easy for the cat to get in. Because they're so agile, cats can easily jump high and over a fence. The solution to that is to buy a taut or string wire and put it on the top of the fence.

Once the cat gets in the garden, you might find it hard to get rid of her. A lot of people will simply use dogs, for the simple reason that cats and dogs don't get along. Dobermans and pit bulls are two races of dogs that are especially aggressive when they see cats. Simply seeing one of these types of dogs will make a cat run away.

Another thing that cats don't like is water. When you want to get rid of a cat, try using water on it to make it run away. Just squirting some water from a garden hose or a water bucket will do the trick. Once you've scared the cat a few times by using this method, he'll probably stop showing up. Just keep getting water on him each time he comes and he'll understand that he's not welcomed.

If you want to protect the plants in your garden, then you can try using mothballs, since cats don't stand their smell. You can place the mothballs near garden borders, around plants and near the fence. Besides mothballs, there are a few other repellents for cats, like tobacco, mustard oil, cayenne peppers, lemon grass oil, citronella oil and lavender oil.

Going to a local lawn or hardware store will also give you some more options, in the form of sprinklers that are activated by motion. Install a system like this in your garden, and when a cat enters the area the sprinklers will start shooting water. If the cat has this experience a few times while coming to your garden, it will eventually learn to stay out.

One other method of scaring cats that works very well is using devices that emit sound at high frequencies, which humans can't hear. There are a number of options out there that work on this principle. You can choose one that starts when it detects motion and another that keeps doing the noise all the time. Just make sure you check for the area that the device can cover. As long as it can protect the entire garden, it should be all you need to get rid of unwanted visitors.

There are a number of commercial options also, like products that use scents to make the cats avoid going into your garden. However, you shouldn't use such a product in the vicinity of your food crops. It's not recommended because these repellents have a lot of chemicals in them. Look for these products in local department stores.

Having a garden means that you can expect unwanted visitors from time to time. Cats and other types of animals will show up if you don't take some precautions. If you do take precautions, you can make them leave your garden alone. As I said here, the first step should be securing the fence, followed by using water. If none of these works, you can try some commercial repellents as a last resort.

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By Cristian Stan
Published: 3/16/2009