Some interesting cat health facts

Have you ever sat in awe and wonder at some of the things that your cat does? Have some of their peculiar activities led you to wondering if their cat health and mental health is all in check? Well, cats are most definitely unique and very special creatures with some unusual yet cat-normal habits. Here are some interesting, and even some bizarre facts about the wonderful animals:

Cats have 230 bones in their little bodies, humans on the other hand have 206 bones.
The cat’s collarbone – or clavicle – is free standing, meaning that it is not connected to any of the other bones. This allows for the cat to fit and even squeeze through spaces that need only to be the size of the cat’s head. So your pet’s cat health is not in danger when you see him or her squeezing through seemingly impossible spaces.
It may take up to 2 weeks for a kitten to be able to hear properly and their eyes, known to open after 2 days, usually open within to 7 and 10 days.
And one last intriguing fact is that cats use their tongues to scoop liquid into their mouths backwards. So if you notice some strange things about your cat it may just be a feline quirk with no need for concern for their cat health.

Pet blog update

Dear Readers,

The benefits of having a pet blog like our one here at SA Pet Lovers is that you can get sound advice from our resident vet nurse regarding the health of your pet. The internet is a growing enterprise that allows you to get fast, free advice regarding your pet in just a few moments - the perfect way to calm down a panicky pet owner when s/he doesn't know what's wrong with their cat or dog. Over the last seven months we have dispensed personal tips and information to everyone who has emailed us looking for help, and now we are going to publish forthcoming queries on this blog forum to provide the South African pet owners community with all of the extra help that they can get!

Don't forget, you can email us here at medipetblog@gmail.com for reliable advice from a qualified veterinarian nurse, and ensure that your pet is always in good hands when you have the best pet insurance for complete peace of mind. This is just another way that MediPet SA is making sure that the SA pet owning community gets all of the help that they need! This pet blog exists for its readers, so don't hesitate to drop us an email or post a comment - or even just send us pictures of your furry family! We look forward to hearing from you!

Pet Pictures - from Julie

Dear Readers,

Julie is one of our devoted readers that has spent most of our time with us as we've grown from a simple advice blog to a community blog with a serious interest in pets - you will all remember her as Binsky's mom. The following are her furry family, nicknamed the zoo and we're so pleased to feature them here on SA Pet Lovers! Thanks for all of the input Julie, your pets are beautiful!

This is Kimble:

... and the Twins - too cute! (one of them is Kimble from above, the other is Gizmo)

... and beautiful Bellie:

and finally the dogs in the home, Tyson:

and gorgeous Nula:

Animal allergies

Have you recently developed allergies towards your pets? Are have you suffered from allergies to animals most of your life and are desperately wanting to somehow bypass them so that you too can be a loving animal owner? Well there are solutions to both of these problems. Allergies toward animals are often caused by an unusually high sensitivity to what is presumed to be caused by sensitivity towards animal fur. Animal fur however is quite harmless in itself. What makes the animal fur so potentially effective on your health are the tiny allergy triggering proteins called allergens.

Allergens are secreted by glands in the animal’s skin and are present in the animal’s dry skin, saliva and urine, because animals lick themselves clean the allergens from the saliva dry out the animal’s fur and can become airborne. The myth goes that long haired animal’s are more likely to cause allergies, but it is not necessarily true as it is not the fur but the allergens on the fur that cause the allergic reactions. By keeping your animals well groomed, clean and by regularly vacuuming up after them you can drastically reduce the chance of having an allergic reaction to your animal.

Oh no! FLEAS!

Does you cat or dog have fleas? This pesky little bug can cause hours of hassle and can leave extremely itchy and annoying bites all over you and your pets. When you first notice that your animals are scratching that is the best time to leap into action and to get rid of the fleas while they are still quite easily controllable.

Fleas get onto your pets and into your house through dust, sand and by coming into contact with other animals that already have fleas. Thankfully they are easy to control and when you have seen that your pets are extra itchy you can do something quite quickly and easily to get rid of the impending flea problem.

Many pets do not enjoy being bathed but bathing your pets with an anti-flea shampoo is one of the simplest and also one of the surest ways to get rid of the fleas. Other good anti-flea products include powders, collars and for a fast acting result when you are unable to bath your pets you can give them anti-flea pills that get to work within half an hour. Once fleas are left to their own pesky devices your job to get rid of them will be much harder than if you caught them early on.