Does your cat bites you after some time you petted him,

In most cases it occurs when everything seems perfectly fine, but suddenly a cat becomes aggressive, bites the hand petting him, or wraps his paws around it, scratches and chomps on fingers.

Cats bite during petting when the threshold of their tolerance is reached

Scientists are still in discussion, what may cause this behavior. However, most agree it’s due to reaching a threshold, after which a cat finds petting comfortable no more. Other popular explanation is the cat is falling in a light sleep during petting, and upon awakening gets scared. However, in most cases, increasing or not reaching the threshold, works effectively in stopping the cat’s desire to bite. Here’s how you should do it, step by step:

1. Watch for signs before the biting occurs. Even if it seems without a warning, there are some signs present. Cats use their body as a communication tool all the time. Usually, biting is prefaced by at least one of these: lashing of the tail, growling, ear folding or twitching of the skin.
2. Notice when and why signs appear. A moment when a cat becomes aggressive during the petting differs from cat to cat. Before correcting an unwanted behavior, you should find out under what conditions it occur.
   Some cats may become aggressive even when his owner is just approaching him with a hand, some may tolerate petting for some time, but suddenly drop out. Meanwhile, others may like petting in general, but dislike if you start scratching a specific spot on their body. Like a belly, or back.

   Be aware though, if a cat dislikes a specific spot, pain may be the cause as well.

   In example, if a cat does not like you touching behind his ears, it may indicate to ear mites. Consult a vet, if any suspect.

3. Stop petting before signs appear. It’s important to stop BEFORE, not WHEN signs, mentioned above, appear. If you want to work with your cat’s tolerance, you should ensure the petting is always pleasant. Going up to the point, where the cat can’t stand your hands anymore, will make him stressed, thus, his mood will not allow behavioral modifications.
   This applies, no matter how your cat shows his intolerance to petting. If he likes it for three minutes, stop after two and a half, if he does not like you touching his belly, do all the other parts, without approaching undesired area. But, if your cat dislike being petted at all, start by just sitting next to him, and make sure he feels comfortable being near you.
4. Decide, whether it’s necessary to go further. After you have established a good petting pattern without the cat biting your hand, or showing any aggression, you may start deciding, whether it’s necessary to move forward.
   At this point, you must have had already made this procedure comfortable to the cat. He’s fine with it. However, if he does not like being petted at all, encouraging him to love your touches may be good ideas, as this way, you will obtain a very serious stress relief instrument (for both of you), which is petting.
   On the other hand, if he does not like you touching his tail, or belly, maybe this is the way it should be? In example, belly is the most vulnerable part of the cat’s body and it’s no surprise, many of them do not like anyone touching it.
   Also, if your cat starts biting you after three minutes of petting, maybe it’s totally okay with him being petted for two and a half minutes? Just make them more frequent throughout the day. Or you may try to make them gradually longer, and see how your cat responds. It’s all up to you.
5. Confirm if your cat is comfortable. Make sure, your cat is totally okay with the amount of petting received currently. That is, if he’s not a tiny bit stressed about it. If he is, you should keep working on the same amount, or even, decrease it. Take your time. Behavior corrections never come overnight.
6. Increase the amount of petting gradually. Now you may start making petting sessions gradually longer. If you can pet him for two and a half minutes, try three minutes.
   Watch carefully for any signs of aggression, as mentioned above. Tail lashing, skin twitching, ear folding and maybe other expressions of aversion, as well. If they appear, step back to previous amount and do not increase so rapidly.
   If your cat is one of those who does not tolerate petting at all, but is now able to lie next to you peacefully, try a short, but not quick and nervous, rub on his chin or on a back of his head. Don’t make any rapid moves, though, and watch for your cat’s body language. If any signs of aggression or dislike, don’t do it again for some time, but you have shown him a good example that nothing bad happened. However, if your cat felt totally comfortable with it, you may try a bit longer scrub the next time.

Keep this pattern, and be patient. Over some time, your cat may become more, and more tolerant to petting. And, even if you do not try to increase the amount of petting, finding your cat’s comfort limits, and sticking to them, may even help you to forget, he was once a bad kitty, biting the hand petting him.

Photos by: Pat Pilon and Orin Zebest.

They do not smell, can be scooped less frequently, provide privacy to cats, and so on… They are easy. If you do not have a covered litter box, you are a fool. You keep struggling with the old type, when they might switch to new type and forget the mess of the litter boxes. That’s what they (those at pet stores) say. Cat’s disagree, but, unlucky, they do not speak human.

Covered litter boxes are for humans, non covered boxes are for cats

Every advantage hooded boxes have is from the owner’s point of view, and, on the other hand, every disadvantage it has, is from the cat’s point of view. This is why many cat owners are buying on pet store recommendations, and praise how good covered boxes are. Because they don’t see any drawbacks, unless litter box issues has developed.

• Scent is both the biggest advantage and disadvantage of hooded cat litter boxes simultaneously. Why? Because hood traps odors spreading from the wet litter and feces. This gives the #1 advantage of the covered litter box – the room is not smelling. Unfortunately, the smell still is produced from the litter box, but it stays in it. The odor concentration in the box is so high, the cat may even stop using it, and house-soiling problem occurs. However, if you scoop it at least twice daily, the problem may not be present. It’s true for both, hooded and non hooded boxes.
• Privacy. When we think of the toilet, we need to close (and lock doors) and sit in a silence, so no one disturbs us. Cats, however, do not need that. What they need is, the ability to see who’s approaching. Cat is in an extremely vulnerable posture when eliminating, so he must see if anything is approaching. It includes not only using a correct litter box, but placing it properly as well. Remember, if your house holds no threat to a cat, it does not mean, he may not feel vulnerable. It may be instinctive, as well. It’s like, at night,when it’s dark, we know, there’s no Bogey man in our closet, but we are still afraid.
• Litter getting out of the box. One of the best advantages covered litter boxes have, is that the floor around them is clean. Cat digging excessively, is not able to drop the litter out of the box. It’s a good place to note, that the litter boxes with high edges has the same advantage.
• Tidiness. The hood is preventing air circulation and makes drying of the litter longer than without a cover. These, of course, are not the disadvantages for us, owners. Unfortunately, the cat is the one who has to step inside dirty, damp litter box. We don’t sense it, and it’s good for us. However, as already mentioned, frequently scooping the box might work around this issue.
• Ease of usage. Unfortunately, covered boxes are harder to use for both, owners an cats. It’s harder to scoop, as we have to remove the hood, then clean, and then place it back. It’s a hassle. Also, when washing the box, it’s a lot more work to do. From cat’s point of view, it’s a problem because, most commercial hooded litter boxes we see, are not high enough. For smaller cat’s it may be no problem, but larger ones may have difficulties maintaining a posture for elimination.
• kids and dogs. Hood prevents those little creatures from accessing the litter box. While kids are usually drawn to litter box contents by plain curiosity, our dogs are attracted by the smell. However, the hood is not protecting the litter box from smaller dogs. We will discuss possibilities to protect litter box ingredients from our four legged (and two legged, as well) friends, later on our series about cat litter.

Should you buy a covered cat litter box or not?

Having advantages from our point of view, and disadvantages from our cat’s point of view would make us very selfish cat owners, wouldn’t it?

Well, remember, covered box is a prerequisite for litter box problems. However, should they happen depends on two things first it’s you, second – your cat.

Remember, you are in the first spot. If you do all of the following: place the litter box appropriately, adequately train your cats to use it, and the most important, clean the box frequently enough, problems may be easily escaped, and advantages of the covered box enjoyed.

However, it depends on preferences of your cat, as well. Some do not mind the hood, some do. Remember, if you do not see a problem, it does not mean, there isn’t one. If in any doubt, having a hood removed and checking for about a week, what impact it has, is a good idea.

If you are about to get a new litter box, and cannot decide, should you go for hooded one, we would recommend getting a one with high edges, but no hood instead. We are going to write more about choosing a good litter box for both, the cat and the owner, in the continuation of our article series about cat litter.

In example, if you praise your dog, do you whisper “good… boy… good” or do you yell like crazy “Yeah, Good BOY, that’s the spirit, GOOOOOOD!!!”? See the difference? Your dog does.

Get The Attention Of Your Dog By Acting Funny

When we talk to babies, we usually use funny voice, hand movements and face expressions to get their attention. It works for dogs, too.

If you, in example, when you want your dog to come, success is more probable, if you (besides showing a juicy steak) call him in a friendly, bit funny tone, wave your hands or even run in the opposite direction yelling: “Here dog, here!”, clapping hands and jumping up and down like crazy.

It may look stupid, but it’s a success, your dog comes to you.

However, many people are afraid to do this in public. We don’t know how it’s where you live, but here, people are usually suspicious about those speaking to themselves or to someone who is not human. It has started to change since blue-tooth headsets were invented, but yet, it’s improving slowly. We heard people are more understanding in other parts of the world, but we don’t know, so giving us a hint about this in comments would be appreciated.

Unfortunately, the more public the place is,  the more actively you must communicate to your dog in order to hold his attention. At the same time, the more people are looking at you, the harder it is to get the funny voice out of you.

Being Stupid Gives The Result In Dog Training. Who’s Stupid Now?

However, imagine the face of those people when you are talking funny to your dog, but he responds? Isn’t it less embarrassing than your dog not paying attention to you? You know what we’re talking about, if you ever tried to catch your dog when someone’s watching, but the dog kept running, and running in circles? It’s easy to escape this embarrassment by being more attractive when communicating to your dog.

After all, being attractive, funny and loud guarantees a success in most dog training situations. That is, all except those when you need your dog to be still or slow.

In example, if you want your dog to heel, permanent contact is a must, and so is talking to your dog like you would to a baby. On the other hand, when you want him to sit, and remain sitting until you release, being calm and steady is a must. And again, if you want to release your dog from sitting, all you have to do is jump up, clap your hands or turn on your funny voice. The dog will respond.

Photo By: El Frito.

The most popular, of course, was pushing the cat’s nose in his wastes. This method was a widespread advice here in 1995 and before, but others, like confining, not feeding, or kicking the cat’s ass were mentioned, as well.

However, we were glad to see most of responses taking the discussion in the right direction. Which direction? Do you want to know how do you punish a cat who is house soiling?

The answer is – You don’t.

Not punishing a cat, for not using a litter box is not about humanism

All punishment opponents, however, were appealing to conscience of other cat owners, about how inhumane the punishment is, how we would not like someone doing it to us, or that the house soiling happens because of owners fault, and he is the one, who must be punished.

Well, it is all true. It really is. It’s inhumane, and house soiling is never a fault of the cat itself. Despite the popular belief, cats do not poop on your carpet because of the spite, revenge, or fun. There is a problem with the litter box, or something related to it.

However, the main reason to refrain punishing a cat is in the way he understands punishment.

While we would want to say he’s a bad kitty for not going to the litter box, the cat, most likely, will understand it as, elimination is wrong, no matter of location. Unfortunately, it may force him to see a place you not gonna discover his wastes, or avoid from eliminating, at all.

First choice would make him go behind the fridge, where it’s harder for you to clean, which is not the end of the world, as we might know it. However, the second option may lead to several, serious health issues, which might even mean the end of your cat’s world (okay, it’s a bit exaggerated, but health issues may develop from holding up too long).

Find out the reason why a cat is not using the litter box

But what to do instead? If you can’t punish your cat, do you have to accept it and treat like nothing is wrong?

No, you must start by identifying the cause of house soiling. Remember, there always is a cause for things to happen. And, if you have a problem, the best solution would be stopping its cause.

Most popular reasons for cats not using a litter box are insufficient scooping, inappropriate location or substrate, stress of the cat and inadequate training. Medical problems must be considered, as well. Read more about reasons why cat is not using his litter box here.

After identifying the reason, you should act properly. Maybe you just need to clean the box more frequently, change its location, or remove the hood? In many cases, even small adjustments may improve your cat’s welfare a mile.

If you, however, found out again, your cat is not using his litter box, don’t punish him, unless you want your cat to stop using the box at all. Place your cat in the box, instead, clean the mess in silence.

This article is a part of series about cat litter and litter box issues.

The dog was not bleeding, but other symptoms of the heat, like restlessness and calling for male dogs, did occur. The owner was in disbelief, because the dog was fixed already.

However, tests confirmed, the dog was in heat again. How is that possible?

Spaying surgery, performed in low quality, may not prevent the dog from coming in heat

Later, repeated spaying was done, and we found out the ovaries were not entirely removed during the previous one. It was a serious mistake done by a veterinarian performing it, and, from one point of view, makes no use of having the dog fixed. The dog will not be able to get pregnant, however, will still develop some of the signs of being in heat, including an attraction to males.

In general, there are three possible causes for the spayed female dog showing heat signs:

1. Spaying was incomplete. Maybe a part of the reproductive system was not removed completely. In some cases, it takes few cells to maintain the production of hormones, associated with the heat cycle.
2. The signs observed are not the heat signs. Sometimes, symptoms of the dog being in heat may not be because of the heat, but due to other behavioral or medical issues. Consult your vet for further assistance. Especially, if the dog develops bleeding.
3. It’s a miracle. If your spayed dog, the one that has no reproductive organs, comes in heat, and becomes pregnant, you should call Guinness book editors right away. Most likely, it’s one of the first two, though.

Remember, spaying surgery is not reversible. Once it’s completely done, it’s done, and the dog will not be able to get pregnant, or come in heat. Unless, you have experienced something described above.

This article is a part of a series about female dogs in heat.

Dogs inherited their howling instinct from their old ancestors – wolves. However, while wolves are howling to unite their herd, and, in some cases,  to announce their presence to other wolves in a distance, dogs in our house howl for slightly different reasons

Of course, dogs may use howling as a form of communication to other dogs, but, in most cases they do it because of boredom. Sometimes a female dog may be howling during the heat, however, it’s still the cause of boredom, as, during the heat, female dog requires more attention, than in other times.

How to stop your dog from howling?

in most cases, howling is associated as a problem behavior form our dogs, because it bothers us, and, unfortunately, our neighbors as well. to stop, or at least cease howling in your dog, you may try one of the following:

• Communication – when we are bored, best cure for it calling, or meeting someone. It’s similar for dogs. It include communication with owner, other dogs, or pets. Go for a longer walk, visit group dog training or even pay attention to your dog more frequently than in other cases, and you will soon realize, your dog howls less often.
  
• Physical activity – if a dog gets to exercise he’s not gonna get bored. Try to play with your dog often, go on longer walks time after time and make sure that your dog does not have extra energy that is longing to escape by howling all night long. Besides that, it provides communication to you, or other dogs.

• Toys and chews – if you are away often and your dog feels lonely during this time, he may express his loneliness through howling. Leave him a toy or few, or a chew. good choice would be a food dispenser toy, that may bi filled with dog food, so your pet get a kibble time after time, while continuing playing. Bully sticks may also be helpful, as they are delicious, and last long enough to keep your dog busy for reasonable amount of time.

• Sterilization – it is not directly related to howling, but sterilization can make dogs calmer which means that they may also stop howling. However, if you are not planning to use your dog for breeding, it is recommended to spay or neuter your dog, anyway. And, even if it does not guarantee your dog will stop howling, your odds are high, however, giving attention to your dog, may still be necessary.

From our experience, giving enough attention and activities to your dog, in most cases, is all it takes to to lower, or even stop completely dog’s necessity to howl.

Even if you are away for most of the day, having a quick walk in the morning, and a short jog before going to sleep, may reduce the dog’s necessity to howl, as well as many other behavior problems you may have. Besides that, your health will improve, too.

Photos by Memotions, Magic Madzik

People who do not have yard, never comes to a question: “Can I walk my dog?”. They do not wonder if they can walk her when there’s a thunderstorm, when an earthquake has begun or even when the dog is in heat.

They just have to walk her, no matter what, otherwise, her bladder will explode and the dog will die. (Okay, it’s not true, your dog most likely will hold as much as she can, and then relieve on your carpet. However, you got the point.)

You CAN walk a dog in heat, and for most owners, who do not have a yard, they MUST walk a dog. The only question is: “HOW TO walk a female dog in heat?”

As you probably came to a question, you already know, walking a dog in heat is a challenging task, and there are some things to keep in mind…

Never walk off leash when your dog is in heat

It’s actually not even, don’t walk unleashed dog when she’s in heat. You should not walk your dog off leash under any circumstances, but it’s much more necessary, when in heat.

Female dogs are extremely attractive to males when in heat, and even, if you consider her well trained to come back, the male odor is irresistible, and it’s hard to provide something better in exchange. Calling, come here, come here, may not help you.

So the leash is the must!

Think about the trail you female dog is leaving when in heat

When your dog is in heat, she is producing pheromone, that attracts male dogs. The most practical way to spread it is by urine. You’ve probably noticed, your dog is urinating a lot more when in heat, besides the other symptoms of the heat. That is done to spread her message. It’s like “tweeting” all over the place, I’m in heat, I wanna have sex.

If male dogs pick up that smell, they are reading not only the female is in heat, but where she lives, as well. You may expect large quantities of dog gang members visiting you tonight. Have a pleasant sleep. So what to do?

Break the trail! Easiest way to do it, is to put your dog in a car, and drive few blocks away, or, if possible, to some distant area, where you may walk your dog without worries. Then dogs who pick up her smell, will be able to track it just to a place, where your car was parked, no further. Problem solved.

We did an experiment with our dog during several heat cycles. When she was in the heat, we tried:

1. Walking her normally. That is, going through the gate and spreading the smell as usual. Results were: Even if we did not meet any male dog on the way, we had few dogs visiting our front door each night. They were barking outside, and our dog was barking inside. Bad night for all of us.
2. Not walking her during the heat, at all. Luckily, no visits from male dogs, however, it was hard to calm our dog. Even if we did play, or run with her in the yard, it was not enough to drive her thoughts away from the boys.
3. Breaking the trail. That is, we put her in a car and drove about 500 m (close to 550 yards) away. It’s not far, just a few blocks, but surprisingly, it was enough. Results were the same as with not walking the dog at all. However, she was walking, enjoying it and had a lot better sleep.

We’re going to take this experiment further next time our dog will be in heat. We want to try shortening the distance we drive by a car, and see, at which point it is not enough. Will it be okay just over the street, or is 500m the shortest possible way? The time will tell, stay tuned.

Don’t go where the males are when your dog is in heat

The worst part of walking a dog in heat, is possible encountering with the male dogs. Usually, dogs do not start mating right after they meet each other. Normal behavior would be first investigating smell of each other, running along, mounting without the tie, and then the mating eventually.

Also, not every time male and female catch ups end with breeding. Dogs have some preferences, too. Just like humans do.

HOWEVER, exceptions happen! Besides that, mating is not the only concern about female in heat meeting male. In some cases, it may cause aggression between two of them. Most likely it happens when the female dog is in the first phase of the heat, or you are trying to interrupt them mating.

If you know your neighborhood, you probably know where they live, and where they wander (in a perfect world, all dogs would walk on leash, sadly, it’s not reality). Just avoid those places. If it’s not possible, drive further away, to walk on more distant surroundings, or just limit the walks extremely short, but do them as often as possible.

Great help would be from another person assisting you. He should walk few hundred meters ahead of you, and signal (there are mobile phones available even here, in eastern Europe, waving and yelling is always an option, too) if an unleaded male dog (or any dog, male or female, because it’s hard to tell from a distance) appears. Then you just turn around and walk in the opposite direction. If necessary, the other person may even try to distract the other dog by using a treat. However, this must be done with the cautions, as, even most dogs who are wandering are not threat, exceptions happen, and more often as you may think about.

If a leashed male dog appears in sight, the best choice is to keep the both in distance. It’s easier to do, when on leash. Walk on the opposite side of the street. If necessary, warn the other owner about your dog being in heat. Some dog owners, as you may have noticed, are extremely friendly, and allow their dog come closer to another, smell each other and communicate. Besides that, warning the other owner, would make you not look like a weirdo, when crossing the street right after first noticing him.

Pants and deodorizers

Okay, this part is tricky. It’s an extremely popular advice, to rub the tip of the tail of your dog with a menthol, before walking a female dog. It should help you to avoid the female dog spreading her scent.

The truth is. Menthil does help to decrease the amount of scent, female dog produces. However, it does not suppress it entirely. Menthol, or commercial deodorizers for dogs in heat may help if a male dog appears in a distance, so he does not detect. If he comes closer, or smells the urine left by your dog, he will undoubtedly know what’s going on.

Pants may also be an option to, first, lower the scent distribution, second, lower the chance of your dog getting pregnant, she meets a male dog. However, it’s not a contraception method, and should not be considered as one. The greatest use of pants is to avoid your dog spilling blood indoors, and taking it on a walk to reduce the smell or possibility of having puppies is just a good side-effect.

Consider spaying your dog

And the last one advice. If you are not planning to use your dog for breeding, spaying your female dog should be seriously considered. Why? Because spayed female dogs DO NOT come in heat, and may be walked outdoors, together with intact male dogs, no matter what time is it.

This article is a part of series about dogs in heat.

Photos by Mo Kaiwen, Horia Varlan, theilr.

theilr

However, some cat’s may decide not to use the litter box, at all. In this case, it might lead to extremely serious (it’s not wordiness, it’s really extremely serious) health problems. If your cat is not using the litter box, and is not even eliminating on your carpet, you should stop reading websites about the issue, and must visit a vet.

If you want to correct the elimination of your cat in inappropriate places, the best way to start is by identifying the reason why your cat is doing so. No matter if you have a kitten that has never used a litter box or an older cat who does not use it anymore. There is always a reason.

1. Health problems. Even, if medical problems are not the top reason for cats not using the litter box, it must be mentioned first. Why? Because you must check for any medical reasons that may cause it. Only, after you have ruled out the medical issues, you may try to seek for other causes. Visit or at least consult your vet!
2. Untidy litter box. This is the number one reason for cats not using the litter box (we mention it #2, though, because medical issues must be ruled out first).  Many owners (including me) often forget to clean the box. Cats don’t like the smell of urine and feces. This is why they cover them. Even if you think the litter box smells fine, it does not mean your cat agrees with you. Cats have stronger sense of smell, and the surface of the litter is smelling harder that the rest of the room. Sweep your box daily (twice daily recommended), and dump completely one in a week, and you may notice changes in behavior of your cat.
3. Cat is not trained to use a litter box. Although using a litter box is an easy task to teach, sometimes things do not go so well. Training might be a bit harder for older cats. Besides that, it’s not rare when a cat must be retrained once in a while, throughout his life.
4. Wrong litter type. It’s not like there is one best litter that all cats love. They all have their own preferences. Most cats like clumping or non clumping clay litter. And most popular litter types that cats avoid is silica and pine cat litter. If you recently changed a litter type or brand, try switching back, if you suspect this might be the cause. However, if your cat is not preferring his new litter type, don’t get sad. You may try to introduce it gradually. Mix a small amount of the new litter type wit ha greater amount of the old one. After few days, add some more of the new, and increase the part of the new one gradually. However, try to introduce new litter, if you have ruled out any other reasons for your cat not using the litter box.
5. Stress. Is your cat stressed out? It might result in a cat not using its litter box. Most common causes for stress in cats are environment changes (moving to a new house, new bed for a pet, new pet, a piece of furniture, reallocation of the litter box etc.), change of routine (time of feeding, playing, going outdoors) and untidy litter box (see above for reason #2)
6. Wrong location of the litter box. There are several things to note, when choosing the location of the box. It must be accessible. Close to place where the cat is spending most of his time. If you did not do any modifications to the location of the litter box, but suddenly cat is not using it anymore, it still may be the reason. As cat ages, he may find it hard to go to the distant box in the basement, or jump over the baby gate on the way, even if he had no problems with it a t younger age. Also, don’t place the litter box too close to the food or water. In nature, cats do not eliminate near their hunting grounds, to disclose their presence to the prey. In household, cat has no choice where to eat, so he may just choose a different spot for elimination.
7. There are not enough litter boxes in your house. Most feline behaviorists recommend at least one box for each cat in the house, plus one additional box, as minimum. So it’s three boxes for two cats and eleven boxes for ten cats. Besides that, they must be placed in different locations throughout the house. Even one cat may prefer if there’s a one box in a room where he sleeps, and the other in the room where he watches bird feeder through the window. Try adding different types of litter in separate boxes and see which is preferred the most by your cats.
8. Your cat is a creature sent from hell, to put you through a misery. If we ask cat owners, this is the most  mentioned reason why they think their cat is not using the litter box. However, there is not a bit of truth. Cats are very friendly beings and do not perform bad stuff on purpose. You better check the above. The reason for cat not using its litter box must be mentioned there. If you think it’s not, try consulting a vet, or feline behaviorist.

This article is a part of series about cat litter and litter box issues.

Photos by: unknown author, Deb Collins.

Predicting a time when the dog will come in heat

Besides that, owners of intact female dogs, are usually struggling with planning their vacations, because entrusting a female dog to a friend for a weekend, might turn out into a nightmare to this friend, if a female suddenly comes in heat.

Keep the record of previous estrous cycles of your female dog

Unfortunately, keeping a record of past estrous cycles is the only way to, at least approximately, predict, when the next heat cycle will begin. Normally dogs come in heat every five to eight months, with twice yearly, or every six moths, being the most common pattern.

However, abnormalities happen, and some dogs may even come in heat up to four times a year, or not come in up to one or one and a half year. Luckily, in normal conditions, dogs heat cycling frequency stabilizes, as they mature. This means, when it is about time to breed, healthy dog should have established a stable cycling pattern.

By “stable pattern”, we mean, you should be able to predict the time when your dog will come in heat, with a precision close to one or two months. I know, it’s not even close to satisfying, but there is some good news, as well.

After heat cycle starts, you still have some time before breeding

Starting from the fist day of the heat, you still have some, in most cases eight, days up till breeding. That should grant you some time to book a flight, arrange a hotel, and inform the owner of the stud.

Close to the time, when your dog is about to come in heat, you must watch for the heat signs carefully. Bloody discharge is the first sign, that appears. It’s not always blood red, but may be in yellowish tone, and, unfortunately, is easy to miss, if you are not intentionally observing for it. Dog cleaning herself a lot more, may be a signal, the bitch has come in heat, as well. You may wipe the vulva of your dog with a white napkin to see if there is a discharge.

Next step, after your dog has shown first signs of being in heat, should be visiting a vet, and checking if you are correct. Remember, bloody discharge may be related to other things, as well.

If you are expecting your dog to come in heat about this time, chances are high, your dog is in heat as the bloody discharge appears and the vet’s confirmation may be skipped, if you have experience. However, confirming the estrous cycle at a vet’s office is much cheaper than taking a trip to the kennel of the stud, and discovering, your dog is not in heat at all.

Besides that, if you want to breed your dog successfully, a vet may help you a lot. Especially for the best timing of the mating, which is detected by hormonal tests.

This article is a part of series about dogs in heat.

Photo by GCSE Jack.

Up to age of 3 weeks, kittens only eliminate when their queen is stimulating an area around their anus by her tongue. During this process, she also ingests most of the waste, kittens produce. And you thought changing diapers is hard?

But do you know, why is this happening? It’s a strange habit, especially if we now, there’s nothing happening without a reason in the nature. Did evolution put this in to make the life of the mother cat a nightmare?

Kittens are not able to eliminate by themselves, for survival purposes

Well, actually it is a part of the big plan, and its main purpose is to survive in this cruel, cruel world.

While cats are typical predators, who are extremely high on the food chain, there’s a time in their life, when they are vulnerable and threatened. And, no surprise, this time is their childhood.

The queen, of course will stand her ground and protect the young even from animals several times bigger than her. In my native language, there’s a rhyme about a dog, who “just wanted to sniff an air”, but the “mad cat lady” crushed his face. It’s so true in real life, as well.

Unfortunately, mother has to gather food, which means, she must leave kittens alone now and then. Males are not involved in raising the young (I know humans do it sometimes, too, but then it’s considered a bad tone, while in cats, it’s totally normal.).

The most crucial part of staying alive in the wild, is to stay undetected. And in the animal world, worst enemy for those who want to hide, is their smell. Not even noise, but the smell. And the biggest smell comes from? Right, from the butt.

This means, to avoid the smell from spreading, the queen has to clean the wastes, immediately after kittens produce them. And, because the mother cat may not be there all the time, mother nature has come to the rescue.

She made an adjustments in elimination process of the kittens, so they are not able to eliminate voluntarily, without the help from their mother. This means, she’ll always be there to clean after them, and their location remains unknown and safe. Isn’t the nature too smart?

This article is a part of series about cat litter and litter box issues.

Photo by uzi978.