[music plays] [no dialogue] >>Kelly Runyon: We're talking all things cats and kittens on this episode of the Paw Report.

Dr. Sally Foote from the Okaw Vet Clinic in Tuscola and her pal Ranger will join us.

Thinking about bringing a kitten into your family?

Dr. Foote will talk about making that transition an easy one.

Plus, when those kittens become cats, they may encounter a few health problems.

More on that coming up, so stay with us.

The Paw Report starts now.

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Inyart Tire and Auto Center cares about our community and thanks you for being a responsible pet owner.

More information at Inyart.com.

And Dr. Sally Foote from the Okaw Vet Clinic joins us today for the Paw Report, along with her buddy Ranger.

And as you might have guessed, we are going to talk all things cats and kittens on this program.

So, thank you for joining us.

And thank you, Ranger, for coming.

If you can't see him at home, he's got his Paw Report shirt on.

He's a true fan.

So, thank you both for joining us.

Let's start with kittens.

You know, there may be some viewers out there thinking about getting a kitten.

Maybe they just got a new kitten, and there are a lot of things that you need to consider when you're bringing that new kitty into your home.

And let's talk about that.

What are some of the things that folks should think about?

There's a lot of acclamation that goes on.

>>Dr.

Foote: Yeah, the first thing to think about is having a litter box that's the right size for a kitten.

Most kittens are going to be, you know, weaned or taken into a home somewhere between seven to eight weeks of age, some as young as six weeks of age, especially if something happened to the mother.

But it's best to wait until the kitten is about seven weeks of age before taking them away from mom and having them in the home.

And in that case, many of our commercial litter boxes may be about this tall.

They're about seven inches deep, which is nice for the adult cat, but for a little kitten it can be hard for them to climb in.

So, for a kitten I often recommend to my clients to get like a disposable 13x9 pan and put the litter in that as a first litter box for that kitten period, because it's really important for the kitten to learn to use the litter box regularly.

They've kind of already learned from mom using some kind of litter box, but it's got to be easy for the kitten to get in and out of.

So, having a litter box, having an area for the kitty that is not disturbed.

You know, it's not in a high traffic area.

A lot of people may use like a utility room, or maybe even in their own bathroom, so you know, it's not too exposed.

But you know, not in the central hallway, you know, or that.

And then secondly, make sure you're cleaning the litter box out everyday.

Get yourself in the habit of it, and that's what's going to keep your cat happy with using that litter box.

And you know, they have a much better time about that.

So, litter box, that's the first issue.

The second one is kittens are very playful, very curious, and like to, like, get into things around the house.

So, really important to keep up any kind of dental floss, any kind of string, any kind of thread, any kind of yarn.

So, all you sewers out there, make sure when you're done with your sewing machine, completely put away your machine, and the thread, and your sewing basket in a closet with the door shut.

People who fish, I've had kittens and cats get into the fish hook on the fishing line or get in the fishing line because it's like, of course it smells like fish, and that's very appealing.

But you know, for a cat, once they start playing with something stringy, and they get it in their mouth, they want to swallow it down.

And that can lead to a serious problem.

And then, lastly, we humans need to take the time to actually play with our kittens.

That you take like a ball and toss it across the floor and make them run after that ball, or like a feather toy on a stick and get them to play and chase, and want to pounce and grab it.

It's very normal for kittens to do a lot of called predatory play, like they're pretending to kill something.

And really to be a happy cat, they need to kill something everyday.

And so, this gets their energy out.

You know, so they're not knocking everything off the dresser and being as, you know, kind of bothersome to you as a kitten.

>>Kelly Runyon: Mmhmm.

Now, what about, going back to the litter box, do you just place them in the box?

You said that their mother kind of assists them in helping them naturally get that.

But should you take their little paws and maybe help them along in the process?

Or is that a natural instinct for them?

>>Dr.

Foote: It is good, the best thing to do really is to, you know, show them where the box is, put them in the box.

They may just stand there and do nothing, and that's okay.

And when they're in there, if you can give them a small treat, like something like a little Temptations.

Actually give them a reward in the litter box.

Then, they associate, oh, litter box is a good place.

I want to kind of get in here, I want to hang out here, you know.

If they've used the litter, don't disturb them.

Wait until they're completely done.

You know, they've got to go through all their motions of, you know, digging a little spot, then covering it up, etc.

And when they step out of it, tell them they're a good kitty, and give them a reward there.

Or you can just drop a little food kibble on the floor near the litter box as like a reward for them.

But then, of course scoop it out, keep it clean.

You know, that is one thing.

A lot of times, when we have litter box troubles with our cats, oftentimes we're going to find that we are not cleaning the litter box on a daily basis, and that's a part of why the cat is objecting, you know, to that box.

So, if you get in the habit, it keeps the kitten happy.

>>Kelly Runyon: What about introducing the kitten to different areas of your home, and also to your family members?

Because, you know, that's a strange environment for them, and kind of a culture shock.

So, there must be some sort of process to that.

>>Dr.

Foote: Yeah.

Thank you for asking me that, because a lot of times, people aren't told what to do.

And then, again, that's when we can get into a little bit of difficulty, you know, for the kitty, especially a kitten.

So, cats, how they say, oh this is my home, and this is how I like it, is they need to rub up against it everyday.

And kitties have, you see Ranger, he doesn't have as much fur here above his eyes and on the little chin here, yes, and even on the paws of their feet, these are where their scent glands are.

And it's called pheromones.

The cat's facial pheromones are in there.

And so, when a cat comes up and like rubs against the chair like this or rubs against you, that's the cat's way of saying, oh you're mine, I like you, I know you, and you're mine.

And kittens will do this.

Well, if the kitten has the whole house to try to do, they get overwhelmed.

So, one room at a time.

Maybe start them off in a bedroom, and put their litter box or food and water in there.

They have a couple days in there, they'll get the whole room rubbed up.

Then, after another day or two, you can let them out, say, in the hallway or maybe the living area, and give them some time in there.

And you know, then put them back up in the bedroom.

Then, a couple days later it may be like the living room and the dining room area.

And again, when they're going in these other areas, you can like toss their food nuggets as a game, so that way it gets them to venture into these spaces and get rewarded, and encourage them, you know, to rub up.

Another product, if your kitty or your kitten seems to be really kind of shy or kind of overwhelmed about the house, there is a feline pheromone product, it's under the trade name of Feliway.

And this is what you can spray around the house.

So, to the cat they feel like the house is already marked.

And it helps them to feel like, oh okay, I've been here.

Huh, I don't have to run around the house and try to mark it all up at once.

So, that helps them, too.

>>Kelly Runyon: Now, what about to children?

A family that has little kids.

And again, they're very exciting.

A new pet's been brought into the family.

There's probably some guidelines that they need to follow, too.

>>Dr.

Foote: Right.

So, of course we always, we need to teach both the child and the pet.

The pet how to tolerate, because you know, kids are going to be active, and the cat does need to learn how to tolerate that.

And how the cat learns that is, again, by getting a reward around the kids when they're laughing really loud, or they go running around the house, things like that.

The second thing, for cats especially, we want to provide them perches that the cat can easily hop up and get out of the kids' way.

Because, that's how the cat feels safe and feels good.

So, say like these shelves you have back here.

If it was in my home, I would remove maybe, you know, two-thirds of what's on the lower shelf to make it easy for my cat to hop up there and, say, get out of the way of a toddler or young child.

But then, we can also do other things.

Like for the children, especially if we have a child under the age of seven, I tell all my parents he can play with the kitten, but he's got to be sitting on the floor.

This way, if the child picks up the kitten, and the kitten gets startled, it might scratch the child or, you know, cling, and the child goes, ah, and wants to drop the kitten, it's not going to fall far, it's not going to get hurt.

Compared to walking around the house holding the kitten, and if the kitten gets startled, it's natural for the cat to possibly scratch or want to jump out of the arms.

And then, that's a big jump, and the kitten could get hurt.

When it comes to petting a cat, most all cats like to be petted from the head, behind the ears, and down about here.

Not all cats like full body stroking.

Some do.

And with cats, it's really best to recommend when your'e petting them, and you can teach your kids this, we're going to pet three times, then we're going to stop, and we're going to wait for him to butt his head into us or rub up against us.

Because, that's the cat's way of saying, oh do that again, I really like it.

And then, you can, you pet them again.

Some cats if you pet them two or three times, and then you pet a little more, now they're getting kind of like itchy in the skin, and they want to jump up.

And they may turn around and scratch or bite.

They get a little overworked up.

So, this is a good way to teach your kids to pet.

Just pet two or three times, and wait for the cat to ask for more.

If the cat doesn't ask for more, then go get the flashlight, go get the kitty, you know, feather toy.

Go get the ball and play with the kitty.

>>Kelly Runyon: Now, a new cat comes into, say, my home, and I have dogs.

There must be, there's probably going to be a little tension between new kitty and the canines in the household.

So, tips for acclimating a new kitten to the other household mates?

>>Dr.

Foote: Right.

First off is, you want to make sure that the cat's food and the cat's litter box and the cat's bed is like out of a way, that the dogs can't get into it literally, sticking their nose into it, or you know, getting into it itself.

We're going to want to have the cat fed up on a counter or some kind of a table or shelf, because if you have a cat's food on the floor, the dog's going to eat it up.

And actually, what we've found now is cats like to hunt for their food.

So, the best way to feed any cat, dogs or not, but especially with dogs, is just get those small little, sort of like dipping sauce dishes, you know, that maybe hold two ounces in them, and, or little saucers, and put just a tablespoon or two, and you're going to put it like that up on that bookshelf, shelf.

You're going to kind of hide it around the house in different places.

And again, up where the dogs won't get into it.

But this will get the cat to not only investigate around the house, but learn how, oh if I hop up here, hey, the dog can't get to me if he's being a little too nosy, you know, or you know, panting on me or whatever.

And I'm safe, and I'm fine, so I'm not afraid of the dog.

Now, the litter box needs to be like behind a baby gate.

Dogs think litter boxes are treats.

Every dog I've ever met.

Yes, even if they've never been around the cat, there's just something about that litter box that's delectable to a doggy.

And so, we want to keep the dogs out of it.

But, so the cat needs to be, you know, have their privacy, you know what I mean, not be disturbed when they're using the litter box or else, again, we have litter box trouble.

So, with the baby gate the cat can hop over the gate, get to the box, dog can't get to them.

You can still take care of the box, and everybody's okay.

Some people will have a covered litter box.

But if you have a covered litter box, you need to put the hole, you know, the entry, like put it where it's only maybe six or eight inches away from the wall.

Because, I've seen dogs that will stick their heads in the covered litter box, and then get stuck.

So, I guess... >>Kelly Runyon: That's quite the picture.

>>Dr.

Foote: You had no idea we'd talk about this today, did you?

>>Kelly Runyon: No, I didn't.

>>Dr.

Foote: Okay.

Well anyway, so that if you don't have a baby gate, or that's kind of difficult to set up in the home, a covered litter box is a good solution.

Yet, you have to make it where the dog still can't get into the covered litter box, you know, that way.

Now then, when we're out and about, say like this was your living room at home, and you've got your kitty on your lap.

And now, your dog comes up.

What we want to do is teach the dog to sit and give the dog a reward, so that he can be calm around the cat.

And if he sniffs the kitty, that's fine.

So, let him sniff a little bit of kitten.

And then, we're going to reward him, reward the dog for not like really sniffing and globbing all over the cat and that.

And when the cat's sitting there calm, give the kitten a littler reward.

Now, when the kitten goes running across the floor, and the dog just kind of follows a bit, we'll praise the dog because the dog's not chasing the kitten.

And you'll get dogs and cats then who really learn like how to play with each other.

And, because they kind of learn each other's sort of rules, you know, of how do I move, and where do you go, and that kind of thing.

>>Kelly Runyon: Eventually, kittens turn into cats.

And I thought it was interesting you mentioned before we went on the air here that, while the cat population is increasing, you're not seeing a lot of an increase in numbers in your office.

Why don't you talk about that?

And then, we're going to talk about some of the top health issues that cat owners might experience in their lifetime with a cat in their home.

But first, I'll let you address the issue of not seeing as many cats come through your office.

>>Dr.

Foote: People love their cats, they do love their cats just like they love their dogs or their birds.

So, it's not really a concern that, well, people just don't care as much about them.

I think part of the difficulty is number one, we don't have laws that require us to have to bring the cat into the vet as frequently.

Think about it, there's many, almost, basically all the states have laws that require that our dogs, they get a rabies vaccination at a very minimum.

So, that right away helps the dog owner to come in for a general, you know, examination, at least that vaccination.

And then, that gives us an opportunity to educate that dog owner on things like heart worm disease and intestinal parasites, and fleas and ticks, and other, you know, vaccines, etc.

that their dog needs.

So, we don't have a law requiring the cats to come in.

So, there's one thing that's a little bit less on why should I have to bring my cat in.

Second of all, many cats are indoor only.

So, many people think, well, he doesn't get exposed to anything.

Why does he need vaccinations?

Or his vaccinations when he was spayed and neutered, when does he need a booster in five or ten years, you know?

And so, there isn't as much contact with, say, a veterinarian or a veterinary office, you know, to know or learn more.

Another thing that can sometimes be a bit of an influence, as well is many people might get a cat by a cat has just strayed up to their door, and they start feeding them, and now I've got a cat.

Well, if they're already neutered, there they go.

You know, there's really not much of a perceived need to bring them in.

So, we may be seeing now more kind of advertising and more public promotion about the health needs of cats because, yes, cat ownership is actually higher than dog ownership, just talking about dogs and cats in the United States.

And that we do need to see our cats on somewhat of a regular basis when they're young and kind of mature, even.

At least every couple of years for a health checkup.

And then, when they get older, more frequent checkups help them to live a longer and healthier life.

>>Kelly Runyon: Some of the health problems that cats encounter.

One of the things that I read, one of the, probably the most popular, and you can address this, is urinary tract infections, among other things.

But I'll let you talk about some of the top maybe health issues that you see come through your office specifically with cats.

>>Dr.

Foote: Well, I think a good way to talk about this is kind of their life, their life stage, and their age, and then what do we see at this age.

Because, it will change a bit, you know, as they go along in life.

So, with kittens, young cats, especially with kittens, very common that we may have parasites, we may have intestinal worms.

Because, maybe the mother cat, you know, may have been carrying them.

There are some that are directly transferred to the kitten.

And so, you want to make sure that they've been checked up and wormed a couple of times.

One time worming isn't enough.

And especially in a young cat, we want to do a blood test to screen for feline leukemia virus and feline AIDS virus.

These are two deadly viruses that cats can carry and look healthy, but then later on in life, by age five or even 10 years of age, they may have cancer and other problems come up.

And those diseases are infectious to other cats.

So, let's say you're bringing a cat into your home, and you already have an existing cat.

You want to get that cat tested and screened for feline leukemia virus or feline AIDs, feline immunodeficiency virus.

So, and those are kind of the main, and you know, getting their initial vaccinations done.

So, those are the main things in the youth or the kitten kind of age.

In the middle-aged cat, like you know, ages from two to about eight or nine, not too much to really be concerned about.

Maybe we might see an occasional, you know, a skin problem or an accident if people let their pets off.

But dental care is important.

So, you want to keep them up on, you know, a lot of our diets and foods now have some dental crystals added to the diet that does help to decrease tartar.

But using like a water additive or talking to your veterinarian about, you know, how to brush your cat's teeth and keeping their teeth healthy.

>>Kelly Runyon: Will they let you?

>>Dr.

Foote: They will.

We don't use a big toothbrush; we usually use a Q-tip, and that works well for a lot of cats.

And you know, just making sure they're in good general health.

Now, when a cat reaches about age eight, it's kind of like being about 45 for a human, that's when we can start to see some of the middle-age or aging, you know, health conditions starting to show up.

And it's good to catch those then, and not waiting until they're a bigger problem when they're an older cat.

So, some of the leading health concerns of cats is they're getting, you know, from age eight on upward, is one is hyperthyroidism.

Your thyroid gland is overactive.

We can see this problem in the cat.

It's because of a noncancerous tumor on the thyroid gland that causes their metabolism to increase.

And so, they may be eating a bit more, not gaining weight, losing weight possibly.

You may see changes in their stool, like getting soft or vomiting.

And that comes on kind of slowly, and then, you know, over one year to the next, the signs will increase.

So again, if you can catch it earlier when maybe there's just been like a half a pound of weight loss, that you, you know, could do a screening test for that.

So, hyperthyroidism is a concern.

Feline urinary tract infection, or just urinary health, how healthy is their urinary system.

Because, the kidneys in a cat are designed to make a very concentrated urine.

These guys were desert animals when they were wild.

And so, that's kind of, if you want to think of a little bit of their weak system.

So, we oftentimes will do some initial, just kind of screening blood work to see how well their kidney function is or maybe a urinalysis at that age.

And then, we know what's their normal.

And then lastly, in the aging cat, we're also starting to recognize better, arthritis is affecting the older, I'll say middle-aged to older cat.

So, they become less active, and then they get obese.

And a lot of people don't really recognize what a proper weight cat looks like.

Actually, little Ranger here is on a diet.

He gained about a pound over the winter.

And while 11 pounds, a pound doesn't sound like much, his normal weight should be about 10 pounds, so he's gained 10%.

Now, that's significant.

You know, if we went to Weight Watchers, we'd get a little reward, you know, for losing 10% of our body weight.

But keeping them more lean will help to minimize, you know, some of the pain they may feel from early arthritis.

And where most cats get the arthritis is right down here in the lumbar vertebrae or in the elbow.

So again, if they're hurting here, they're not going to jump up to that perch as easily, they're not going to play as easily, so they don't burn the calories off, and then they can start to get overweight.

And what we can see with some overweight cats is diabetes.

>>Kelly Runyon: Do you see a lot of problems with heart worm and fleas?

Is that an issue, too?

You know, we talk a lot about that with dogs... >>Dr.

Foote: Right, but we, yes, we do see it with cats.

Now, how it differs a little bit is that cats do get heart worm disease, and we don't talk about it as much because they're not as much the natural host as the dog is.

So, the rates of heart worm are not as high.

But the really bad thing about heart worm in the cat is it's very difficult to detect because the tests that you run to look for the chemical from the adult worm in the heart, you need to have sometimes as many as three female worms in the heart for the test to pick it up.

But a cat with heart worm disease may usually only have like two worms in the heart, maybe three at the most.

And if one's a male, your test will miss it.

And then, the cats usually do not develop the bloodstream stage, so the other test to look for it may miss it.

But when a cat has heart worm disease, what happens is the portion of the heart worm can break off and cause serious lung and pulmonary disease.

And then, actually some may just die suddenly, like a stroke.

And this, yeah, and that's very devastating.

You may have somebody going, oh my goodness, my five-year-old cat was fine.

He jumped up on the perch, and he just expired.

What happened?

And that can maybe because of feline heart worm disease.

So, we recommend for all our cats indoors and outdoors, because mosquitos get in your house, is that the cats be on a heart worm preventative.

And there is one that combines actually heart worm prevention with flea and tick control.

There are a couple good ones on the market.

And it's a topical.

And we recommend that one a lot for clients.

Yes, cats, even a house cat can get fleas, or fleas can get going in the house.

Because, a flea can hop on you, you know, when you come in from outside.

And then, they're going to pick the easiest little warm mammal to start biting and sucking their blood and laying the flea eggs, and that's going to be the cat, because he's lying around on the floor, and he's walking around the house.

And that's how you, yes, you can.

So, flea control and tick control and tick areas for the cats is important.

And you know, some cats like to go out on a harness, or you may take them outside in the backyard or allow them in your backyard, and that's fine.

You know, they can be safe out there if, you know, you've provided for their safety.

But they may pick those up, as well.

>>Kelly Runyon: As we wrap up here in the last couple of minutes, to cat owners out there or those that are interested in bringing a kitten and a cat into your home, the best advice you could give them.

You know, as a dog owner, you would take your dog every year to get their rabies shots, their vaccinations.

But as you talked about early in this interview, there's really not a schedule.

So, what can you say to kind of wrap up everything that we've talked about today?

>>Dr.

Foote: The best for your cat is to take them in yearly for a wellness exam.

Then, discuss with your veterinarian according to the lifestyle of your cat, you know, is he inside/outside, inside only, what is the best, like core vaccinations, nutrition, what's their weight, etc.

Now, a lot of cats hate going to the vet, so quick tip.

Leave your carrier in the living area of your home, and feed your cat in it so it's easier to load them in the carrier.

A lot of people don't like taking their cat to the vet because that's the only time the cat gets out of the house.

And so, when that carrier comes out they're upset.

If they really hate the carrier, you can take a little pillowcase like this, and you just open it up, and we slip it right over Mr. Ranger here, and then he can go to the vet this way.

And it's a lot easier on him.

And if he's not as stressed coming into the vet.

>>Kelly Runyon: He's not stressed at all.

He's used to that.

>>Dr.

Foote: Anyway, if he's not as upset coming into the vet, it makes the whole vet exam easier.

Many veterinarians are starting to do low stress handling techniques.

We do that only at my clinic, and we're becoming one of the first certified low stress handling clinics in the area.

And so, we give rewards, we use the pheromone spray.

If your cat's really, really upset, we'll send you home with some anti-anxiety supplements to use ahead of time, and that makes it good for the cat.

>>Kelly Runyon: Alright well, Dr. Foote and Ranger, thank you both for joining us today.

Some very useful information.

And we thank all of our viewers out there for joining us on this episode of the Paw Report.

[music plays] A Florida couple says they caught an uninvited guest swimming in their pool before daylight recently.

After hearing a noise, the couple discovered an eight-foot alligator was the culprit.

>>Reporter: Sharon Bente thought the noise she was hearing just after 4 a.m. Thursday morning was the thunderstorm blowing chairs around her screened-in porch.

>>Sharon Bente: So, when I came out to the patio to explore, I saw something that's not usually in the pool, along with the little floatie, and it turned out to be an eight-foot alligator.

>>Reporter She was shocked to discover the pool crasher, and said she only had one thought on her mind when she spotted the gator.

>>Sharon Bente: Can I get back to the door without it seeing me or realizing I'm bait?

>>Reporter Bente went right inside and woke up her husband, John.

>>John Bente: She said, "We have a gator in our pool" to me.

And of course, I didn't know what she was talking about.

I was still half sleeping.

>>Reporter: The gator ended up in the couple's pool after crashing through a section of screen.

>>John Bente: And he was just swimming around in circles.

He tried to get up here for a while.

I think he was a little intimidated with everybody watching, too.

>>Reporter: The Bente's called the Sheriff's Department, who notified a trapper to remove the eight-foot, three and a half-inch gator.

>>John Bente: It was quite an evening, quite an evening.

>>Reporter: And an experience they hope is once in a lifetime.

>>John Bente: Sure there's other alligators.

I'm sure I'm going to be sleeping with at least one eye open for a while.

>>Sharon Bente: And it turned out we just had a few screens that need repairing.

And it's a great story, it's a fun story.

And hopefully it just won't happen again.

Production for the Paw Report is made possible by: Inyart Tire and Auto Center, in Charleston and Mattoon.

Inyart offers complete auto repair.

Inyart Tire and Auto Center cares about our community and thanks you for being a responsible pet owner.

More information at Inyart.com.

[music plays]