The Cat Behavior Answer Book - Arden Moore [70]
ORAL ANTIBIOTICS. Given in pill or liquid form, medication may be prescribed if the acne becomes infected.
My veterinarian friends offer one final bit of advice: Do not squeeze any pimple under your cat’s chin — you risk causing an infection.
PETTING WITH A PURPOSE
One of the best ways to communicate with our cats is through touch. Most cats love to be stroked, petted, and scratched. Most people enjoy the feel of that silky fur and the sight of a happy, purring face. When properly performed, the power of touch delivers many therapeutic and health benefits.
One of the best ways to touch is through massage. Daily massages can help you detect fleas or ticks. You can also look for cuts or suspicious lumps. Massage can play a role in chronic conditions such as arthritis. Although not a cure, gentle massage reduces joint stiffness and pain by delivering oxygenated blood to those trouble spots.
Massage strengthens the people–pet bond, helps curb aggression and other unwanted behaviors, and improves a cat’s sociability with people and animals. Another advantage is that regularly massaged cats become accustomed to being handled. They associate touch with positive experiences. That can take the stress out of combing and brushing, nail trimming, car trips, veterinarian visits, and cat breed shows for both the cat and the owner.
Start with a basic massage stroke known as “effleurage.” This French word means “to flow or glide” or “skim the surface.” Effleurage is always performed toward the heart in the direction of the venous blood flow, which helps remove wastes and toxins and refresh the tissues and muscles. On a cat’s legs, for example, work from the toes toward the knees and hips.
Here are some suggestions:
GO WITH THE GLIDE. This classic massage stroke is simply a straight, flowing, continuous motion. Move your fingers or palm from the top of the head down the back to the tail.
CREATE CIRCLES. Move your fingertips in clockwise or counterclockwise circles about the size of half-dollars.
DO THE WAVE. Make side-to-side rocking strokes with open palm and flat fingers (mimic the movements of a windshield wiper).
FOCUS ON FLICKING. Pretend that you are lightly brushing imaginary crumbs off a table. You can flick with one, two, or three fingers.
USE THE REAL RUB. Move along your cat’s body slowly, exerting feather light, light, and mild pressures. See which she responds to best.
HEED THE KNEAD. This gentle caress uses an open-and-shut motion of your palm and all five fingers. It is ideal for the spine area.
And some final suggestions for a massage session that is soothing and satisfying for both you and your cat:
Do approach your cat slowly and speak in a soothing tone.
Don’t force a massage on your cat.
Don’t massage your cat when you feel stressed or hurried.
Do use clean hands — no need for oils, creams, or lotions.
Do pay attention to feedback. Look for purring, rolling on to one side, kneading, and soft eye blinking. Stop your massage if your cat squirms away from you, hisses, sinks his back under your hand, or meows in protest.
Don’t press too deeply — you could harm your cat.
Don’t try to substitute massage for medical treatment for conditions such as arthritis. Let it complement the care plan devised by your veterinarian.
PART VI
The Ins and Outs of Living with Cats
Is your cat part of the “in” crowd? By that, I don’t mean is he a cool cat, but is he a safe cat? Safe cats live indoors and do not roam outside without supervision.
Times have changed. A generation ago, most household cats freely wandered wherever their curiosity steered them. My childhood cat, Corky, used to stay out all night until he limped home with a gaping wound from the fan blade of a car. He found a warm spot to snooze by climbing inside the engine. That was the last time that he spent any solo time outside.
Cats still stalk the outdoors, but many people choose