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DISABLED CATS Adopting a disabled cat
Q I would like to offer a home to a special needs cat. I was thinking of a deaf cat or perhaps a blind cat. What might it involve?
AIt’s worth thinking this through quite carefully before you start searching for one. Many disabled cats, like blind or deaf cats, will need to be indoor only cats, as they may not be able to cope with outside dangers. They also may not be able to cope with very busy households. Three-legged cats will need strict weight control. Cats with cerebellar hypoplasia, sometimes called ‘wobbly kittens,’ may need ramps and extra deep litter trays. There is a good guide on the Cats Protection website — www.cats. org.uk/help-and-advice/health/disabled-cats You might also think of adopting an elderly cat who is disabled with arthritis. Elderly cats often spend a long time in rescue waiting for their forever home, so it will be easy to find one. They are often happy to be indoor only cats and may need some special equipment, such as a heated pet pad and easy access litter trays. Sometimes a rescue will pay veterinary bills for very old cats.
FELINE INTELLIGENCE Can cats count?
A They can’t count like we do. Cats, however, can tell the difference between a large and a small quantity. Scientists taught cats that two or three visible dots represented a small or a larger food reward. The cats chose the three dots, not by counting them up, but by assessing the relative space that they took up!
DIET Renal diets
Q My cat Gertie has been diagnosed with kidney disease and the vet has told me to change him to a special renal diet. He turns up his nose at it. What can I do? The vet says a special diet is important to slow down the disease.
A If you just plonk a new therapeutic food down for a cat, it will often refuse to eat it. The trick is to change the diet very slowly allowing at least a week or more to make a full change.
Start at a time when the cat is feeling well and happy. Since Gertie may have already taken a dislike to the food, make the change over an even longer period. Start by mixing in about 20 per cent of the food with her preferred food for two or three days. Then make the proportion about 40 per cent for two or three days, and so on for the next ten to 15 days until you leave off the old food altogether.
If she is reluctant to eat at any stage, go back a stage and make the changeover even slowe
