Friday, December 10, 2010

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Cat Illness: Keeping Cats Safe by Keeping Them Indoors

Cat Illness: Keeping Cats Safe by Keeping Them Indoors: "Photo taken by Matiaij courtesy of Flickr As a cat owner, I used to let my cat Wrigley go outdoors to wander around. He loved exploring o..."

Keeping Cats Safe by Keeping Them Indoors

cat fight
Photo taken by Matiaij courtesy of Flickr

As a cat owner, I used to let my cat Wrigley go outdoors to wander around.  He loved exploring or just sitting in the sun.  I would worry something would happen but most of my neighbors knew who he was and eventually he always came back.  Then one night he came home at 1 a.m. with 2 bites.  One under his chin and another on his back and he was bleeding.  Then I really started to worry.  What had bitten him?  Could the consequences be more than just a bite?
The consequences were that I paid $130 to visit the vet who them had to test him for feline HIV and feline leukemia.  He also was quarantined 10 days to make sure he wasn't exposed to rabies.  I called him Cujo as a joke during that time, but was secretly worried.  I also had to pay extra to have him boarded while I traveled because I didn't want to burden my neighbor with giving him several medications.  It was an expensive lesson that could have been way worse.  Growing up we actually lost a few outdoor cats.  One just never came home again and another was killed on our front porch by our neighbors black lab.
Just in case you're not convinced by my story, here's a link that shares myriad reasons for making your cat an indoor cat. 
If you're looking for more information to keep your cat happy and healthy, visit http://www.catillness.net. 

For more information on how to train your cat (yes, it's possible!) Click Here!