This is such a cute appeal from a blog-reader who begged to be heard! So here are her concerns – which are all pretty fair questions.
Kit-Kat and I follow your blog but I still can’t figure out how to start a new topic instead of responding to one already posted. Please take pity on me and answer online or by e-mail if you can.
This is my first summer with my cat, who is about 3 years old. She is used to spending a lot of time outdoors; she was on her own for almost a year before I found her and took her in. (I thought she’d been abandoned but it turns out she ran away.) In southern California, our temps are in the triple digits now. Is it safe to let a cat out when it’s that hot? She sits by the door, hoping to be let out, but I’m concerned about her safety. She has been spayed and doesn’t usually go too far away. She eats only wet food but almost never drinks water.
I recently met my cat’s original owner, who took her in after witnessing her being abused as a very small kitten. Before she ran away from that home (she didn’t like the four male cats there), she was spayed and had the first two vaccines. I called a vet about getting the third vaccine and they said if it’s been over a year, she needs all of them repeated and can get them all at once. Is this a good idea?
Thanks for all your information. My e-mail address is new but mailing address is the same. I am buying another cat and dog bible for gifts if you are still sending the bookplates.
Thanks again,
Susan
Here are my replies to her issues (If she’s going to keep on buying The Bibles, how can I NOT answer her, right?!)
Dear Susan – Both your concerns are valid and the answers are easily found in The Cat Bible (which you already own, lucky girl – and it has a super-dooper index that captures every possible word or topic) and also the Q&A’s on my website touch on some of this. But I’m feeling kindly today(!) so here are the quickie versions of the answers
1) No cat should be going outside no matter what the temperature. Is it too hot? Heavens yes! But spayed or not, she can be harmed or killed by cars, coyotes, dogs, parasites, other cats and oh – did I mention cars? Check out the link on my website for Purr.fect fence to make an easily erected, affordable, non-permanent enclosure for her outdoors- when it cools down!
2) Cats do not naturally need to drink water – unless they are eating “kitty crack†which makes them unnaturally thirsty because dry highly processed carbohydrates are not a mouse or bird. A cat is supposed to get her hydration from the fluids inside her prey – or inside the can of wet food you’re feeding her. Not drinking water when a cat is eating only wet food is a sign that she is healthy and satisfied.
3) Re-vaccinating or multiple vaccinations are ill advised at best. Cats do very poorly with over-vaccinating. The Q&A’s on my website and THE CAT BIBLE talk about this and how getting a blood test to check her immunity against various diseases (called getting a “titer levelâ€) is the best way to know if a cat is protected. If she has areas in which she has no immunity but she is an indoor cat only then she is at no risk in any case. She needs only rabies, as required by law, but every 3 years, not every year. No matter what, giving vaccines all at once really puts her at risk of a bad reaction and I would look for a feline practitioner, or cats – only vet, if you can.
Tracie
