To Neuter or to Not Neuter... (Always Neuter)

 I delayed Miso's castration for a long while. I was afraid because online I could only find people talking about their doubts, and I would watch videos by vets that would leave me just the same... Afraid. It took courage to book that castration appointment.

Neutering can be scary for everyone in the household, of course, it is a surgery. I kept talking about it with everyone: friends, co-workers and my parents. My parents were against it because they said that they had read that cats that were never the same after castration. I feared that Miso would become different and lethargic because of the neutering. My mum was also freaking me out saying that it was a pity that he would never get to father kittens. And first of all, tomcats do not really act like a parent when they father kittens, so that is really just something that came from her guilty moral way of looking at it. Neutering is the best way in which to keep your male cat safe from testicular cancer, and other common ailments that happen when you do not neuter your cat. If not neutered, your male cat will spray your furniture with a stinky liquid that marks his territory. And yes, this will happen every time your male cat is in heat, which happens often. Unneutered cats also display territorial behaviour, acting a bit more aggressive than they should and maybe fighting with other pets in the house. If your cat is an outdoor cat, and not neutered, it runs rampage fighting other outdoor or stray cats, and if male, impregnating female cats, and if female, coming back home with a litter to deliver soon. You obviously do not want that, so neutering is necessary.

After considering each and every option available, I decided to go through with it. I paid around almost £200 for the entire procedure. It was that much because I also chose for Miso to be blood-tested for other conditions that may complicate the procedure and to be microchipped the same day. I dropped him off at the vet practice in Fort Kinnaird, Vets4Pets at 8AM and went to get him around noon. He was fine, better than fine actually. He took off the cone I had purchased to keep him from licking the wound and started acting very energised. He was acting so hyper and playing so much that it was worrying me, so I called the emergency phone number they provided me at night to report his unusual behaviour. They told me to limit his running space and take away toys that would make him hurt himself like the cat condo, which he was jumping from a lot. I did that and the entire household was stressed for like two weeks. I had to report the state of the wound to the vet practice via email and everything was healing correctly. It was super stressful keeping him from messing with the surgery wound, which was a tiny cut on one of his testicles. I would provide an image, which I have, but I feel like it will not be nice to look at for some.

Miso some time after his neutering

This was my baby weeks after the procedure. As full of life as ever and looking super beautiful as always. If you are thinking of neutering your male cat, do it! Unless you are a breeder and need your male cats to reproduce, neutering is always the best option for your pet cat.

See you soon for more thoughts from a first time Ragdoll cat parent!

Heaven 🐱

The Questioned Cat Bath

 A cat bath is not only stressful for your cat. It can be extremely stressful for you too. It was a nightmare for me. 

It was the start of the morning and I had just found out that Miso made a mess of himself in the litter box. No matter how good he is at using it (which he is, he is just extremely bad at covering up his business), he will always get something stuck to his godforsaken fur. His fur is lovely, but so very inconvenient. So yes, he had poop all over his back fur. Normally, I would have taken to the cat wipes. Those are my saving grace whenever he goes potty for number two. I had been washing his bum for weeks now, and he should be used to the water if I ever had the need to bathe him, right? Wrong. Cats, being how cats are, need a lot of conditioning to like baths. I did not do any of that because I wanted him clean right away, so we just went for it. On the internet, tips to bathe a cat will tell you to put a towel on the bathtub in order to give the cat something to hold on since the tub is slippery. For my Ragdoll cat, that was a waste, since that towel ended anywhere but at his paws. During the bath, it is best if you have someone else to help you there, hold the cat firmly but not too hard so you don't squeeze the life out of it. Of course they will hate it and will meow and yowl in a tragic way that sounds as if you are torturing it, but it has to be done, so you bathe the cat. Wet it and put shampoo on it and use your hands to scrub the dirt away. You can also use the purple cat Kong brush to take excess shed hair.

Kong ZoomGroom Cat Brush | Pets At Home

Of course, you should use non-scented shampoo for your cat. You can use cat conditioner too, but I chose not to. I thought it would be best for Miso groom himself and distribute himself the natural oils his skin is stripped of during a bath. After it, this was him.

Miso after his bath

A very annoyed and upset wet kitty. Do not wet the cat's face or ears when you bathe it. It will only lead to problems and infections. After you are done, dry your cat with a towel as best as you can. It will not dry it completely but will help the process of drying. Leave your cat alone, because it will be angry and scared. At least, this was his reaction after being subjected to what probably felt like torture.

If you are wanting to bathe your cat, really question the reasons. Is it really necessary? In Miso's case, it was because he had poop all over his fur at the back. A real mess. Do not bathe your cat often either, because baths strip the skin of the cat from its natural oils, which can give it cat dandruff, and you do not want that. I have only bathed Miso once in his life, and that is preferred because cats clean themselves perfectly well. Below, I will leave Jackson Galaxy's video on cat baths, where a professional cat behaviourist measures the cons and pros of bathing a cat and why you should or should not do it.

See you next time with thoughts of a first time Ragdoll cat parent!

Heaven 🐱

Thoughts of A First Time Ragdoll Cat Parent

 Let's get one thing straight: caring for a pet is a great responsibility. Everyone knows this, but pets are constantly abandoned, neglected or surrendered to shelters because people do not think twice about the different ways in which their life will change should they get a pet.

However, we are here to talk about cats! Not just any, but the very one I own: an indoor Ragdoll male with lots of quirks. Months ago, I decided I wanted a kitty. This came from yearly accumulated daydreams and I had read online aaall sorts of things saying that they are great for your mental health, yadda yadda yadda. It was set in my mind, so I got one. Not for cheap, either, but the breeder was a friend so he lowered the price a bit. My baby Miso is like no other thing in my life. He is extremely cute and a loving buddy (when he feels like it, really) but he is also a major source of stress like any other, as well. It's like he was designed to get on my nerves. This comes from the demanding experience of caring for a cat for the first time in my life. I had wanted him a lot! You cannot even imagine how much. But in the first few months together, I found myself regretting my decision. I did not think through very well how demanding cats actually are. At least mine is: the clingiest thing in the world, hard to please when it comes to playing, and the fussiest, pickiest eater ever. I have spent a great deal of money trying to please this everchanging tomcat. I don't even want to think about the amount. 

So here it is, I wanted a cat, I got one, then I regretted it. Of course, I was sad for thinking that, because I had grown to love Miso like crazy. Who doesn't love a cat? But he was a formidably tiring chore. He still is, to be honest. I am not trying to discourage you from getting that Ragdoll cat or kitten you want, but just sharing my experience so you think twice about what you are going to do. I mean, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade Miso for anything, but I just wish I knew how stressful owning him was going to be when I decided I was getting him. A blog like this would have come in clutch for help, so that is what I am doing.

I brought Miso home when he was about 9 weeks. A real looker, my baby. I would wake up every morning at 5 and 6 AM because that is when he awoke. Oh, that's another thing: forget your sleeping schedule if you are getting a Ragdoll kitten. You are now at its mercy and will have to comply, unless you are a bad cat parent. Right, so he awoke very early to get ready for a day of nothing and being adorable, I fed him, played with him and he slept, slept and slept. Ragdoll kittens are something like a sloth the entire day and play late in the evening and early in the morning. Cats and their crepuscular annoying selves, huh? But kittens do need their sleep to build their bones and immune system, so trying to keep them awake is a bad idea. A trick to make your kitty sleep most of the night is the holy grail of my sleeping schedule: to give it dinner late. When I got Miso, I also discovered that some cats just simply will not eat unless you get them something that they find delicious. Otherwise, your fur friend will choose starvation. Or at least my Ragdoll cat does this. Nowadays, I think I have found food he doesn't get tired of often, but I feed him three different brands to keep him from refusing to eat (he still does this often). He was very quiet when he was a kitten, but now he will not shut up. He meows an incredible amount. I googled and googled, trying to find something, and Google will tell you Ragdoll cats are a quiet breed and that if they meow a lot, it's vet time. No. Sometimes, your Ragdoll will simply decide it wants to be a major annoying kitty, and will meow for attention in a way that will drive you crazy. Another thing is the litter box use. Miso does this, he is not very good at covering the business, but he does it. However, because he is a longhaired cat, some of it gets stuck in his butt fur, and yes, if you get a Ragdoll, you will have to either wipe it away or wash its bum almost every time it goes potty using a non-scented cat shampoo. That is extremely annoying, so if you want to avoid it, do not get a Ragdoll cat, much less a longhaired cat at all. In order to prevent it from happening as well, you can take your Ragdoll cat to a groomer and get them to do a sanitary trim on it, which gets rid of the butt hair. It is something that will be costly in the long run because of course, the fur grows back. So you see how that can be stressful. It's not looking good for me.

Miso within the first two months of being brought home

If you are a person who likes to be out a lot, do not get a Ragdoll. They are cats that live off attention and if you are not there to give it what it needs, a Ragdoll is not for you. I am a homebody and like to be home a lot, so Miso gets all the time he wants to be annoying to me. Of course, he has been left alone for some time before, but never leave for an entire day or similar. Ragdoll cats are incredibly needy when it comes to playtime and general attention. If they do not get it, they will become stressed and run around like crazy trying to burn out that extra energy. I know this because Miso has knocked a couple of plants at home already doing just that. Vacuuming the soil from the carpet is not fun.

These were general misadventures of a first time Ragdoll cat parent. I will come back with more thoughts and advice. Until then, think twice before getting a pet!

Heaven 🐱