• Our kitten does the "number twos" only in our presence beside the litter tray although it accepted it. What can be the background?
• Which information can you give on the breed Scottish Fold Blue?
• Which measures need to be taken to guarantee that first and second cat can be brought together well?
• What do I need to consider when bringing a young, second animal and the older first cat together?
• What can I do for increased loss of fur during change of fur?
• Which plants are poisonous to cats?
• My male cat has dark scabs on his ear after being tattooed. Can this be dangerous?

Question:
Our kitten is now 7 ½ weeks old and has been living with us in our apartment for 1 ½ weeks. It has learned that it must use the litter tray (it does it’s “number twos” in the litter tray) however it happens again and again that it pees on the carpet. Can it be that the kitten is still a bit too young to understand the reason for the litter tray or could this be a defect? It is strange that the kitten pees on the carpet only when we are there. How can we make it clear to the kitten that it should use the litter tray?

Answer:
Your kitten is still a baby who is learning what the house rules are. If it uses the litter tray in your absence (that means when it has no distraction), then just ignore the little slip ups. Cats have a natural urge to do their business in a certain location and your kitten has understood that in principle already. If the soiling does not improve in a few weeks and it still pees in the same spot, you could try to put its food bowl exactly there. Take care that the litter tray is always clean (some cats refuse to use once used toilets again). You can also try to put the toilet on the spot it pees on. Then, the tray is pushed back closer in the direction of the original spot step by step each day.

Question:
A friend is giving me a present of a male cat of the above breed. What can you tell me about this breed? What do I need to consider with a young male cat?

Answer:
The Scottish Fold Blue is a cat which originates in Scotland. In 1961, a cat was born there which had folded ears due to a genetic fault. As people liked this cat, they continued to breed it. It took a while to breed this characteristic. The first cats of this type left their home in 1970. However, it was only achieved in America to breed these cats so purely that their descendants only had folded ears. In Germany and a few other countries, this breed is not recognised as it is generally not desirable to breed cats with genetic defects of any kind. Special features of these cats are the small, folded forward ears, the big cheeks and large, soft eyes. Otherwise, it is similar to the British shorthair cat from which it originated. When you are getting a small cat, it is important that it is de-wormed regularly (every 8-10 days up to 13 weeks old). In addition, you should have your cat vaccinated even if he is going to be a pure indoor cat. It is recommended to have the male cat castrated at about 6 months and to have him micro-chipped at the same time. It is best to get him used to high quality dry food immediately. I recommend dry food because a little cat takes about 10 meals a day and you can put down dry food simply for the kitten to take it while tinned food goes off very quickly. In addition, dry food is important for the cats' dental care. Kittens, who get wet food, often don't accept dry food later in life. However, the dry food should be of very high quality (premium products) as badly digestible dry food can facilitate urinary calculus in cats. Feed him special kitten food as the food for adult cats does not contain enough energy and supplements.

Question:
We will get a second cat (female) this weekend. The new cat is a British shorthair blue (female, 10 weeks old). My question: how do we do everything right for the first encounter? Simply let them loose on each other or ignore the new cat in front of the "older" cat? Or keep both in separate rooms? We would like to do everything right so that our "second" cat turns out as well as the first. We heard that the new "small one" is relatively shy with humans which was not the case with the "first". She behaves more like a dog, always follows us everywhere and lovingly "claims" all strangers immediately. We are really looking forward to your reply.

Answer:
You have recognised this quite correctly. The main thing is that the first cat is the main character in this entire event. Take care for the first meeting that your cat is already well fed and does not want to defend her food. Clean everything edible away and do not arrange the meeting exactly in your cat's favourite spot. Bring the small cat to your cat and pay exaggerated attention to your cat at that moment. The cat has to learn that whenever the small one appears, she will receive a lot of attention. If the small one sleeps, also ignore the older cat. Life in future is best for your cat when the small one is hopping around. If you keep this up for a while (it's not easy if such a small, cute thing wants your whole attention), both cats will soon be the best of friends.

Question:
I have an 11 year old castrated male cat. Now, I would like get a young female or male cat. Do you think the two will get on? What would be better: a young female or a young male cat? What does one need to consider while getting them used to each other?

Answer:
It normally makes no difference with castrated animals whether it is a female or a male cat. Unfortunately, one cannot predict how your male will react. But here some basic rules to make it as easy as possible on him. Your male cat should be the preferred favourite at all times. He can go to his favourite spot and also chase the kitten away sometimes. Pay attention that whenever the kitten is near, you care for and spoil your male particularly and ignore the kitten more. As soon as the kitten is asleep, your male should be ignored. He should experience something positive when the kitten appears (stroking, treats and attention) and nothing negative (all pay attention to the kitten and he gets scolded when he is only checking it out). It is difficult at the start when such a small sweet thing draws all the attention and of course prompts everybody to play with it. But be tactful for the sake of your domestic tranquillity. Your male cat gets the most attention.

Question:
Both my male cats are losing a lot of hair, they are probably getting summer fur. What can I do? I brush them every day.

Answer:
Changing fur is a very exhausting affair for the cat's body during which it has higher demands of its food. The food has to contain the essential fatty acids for the growth of healthy summer fur and skin regeneration as well as important vitamins and minerals for the change of fur. During this time, you should feed your cats a special high quality cat food which meets all these requirements. You should take care when selecting the food that it contains Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids and that the food offers additional protection from hair balls in the stomach. Cats do swallow large amounts of hair while cleaning themselves, in particular during shedding, which can twist into a ball in the stomach and can cause stomach infections. Your cats will get a particularly glossy summer fur if you add half a teaspoon of olive oil per day to this food.

Question:
Which plants are poisonous to my 2 male cats? So far, I haven't actually dared to put plants into my flat.

Answer:
You did well to obtain information on the toxicity of plants before buying any. The following can be categorised as very poisonous: spurge, calla lily, oleander, philodendron and ivy. These plants should not get into cats' mouths as they can cause poisonous symptoms up to death. Other poisonous plants are: bittersweet, hydrangea, mistletoe, yew, box, laburnum, wisteria seeds, lupines, tobacco plants, lily-of-the-valley, delphinium, monkshood, foxglove, solanum, castor oil plant and yew (not the fruit).

Question:
Yesterday, I got a small male cat (European shorthair, 8 months old) from the animal home. He was tattooed there. I noticed that he has dark scabs in his ears. The woman from the animal home told me that was due to being tattooed and would go away on its own. I don't know if I can believe her. The scabs are near the auditory canal. Otherwise, everything is fine. He does not scratch and also doesn't shake his head.

Answer:
During tattooing, a black paste is smeared into the ears which penetrates the small tattoo holes and therefore makes the marking permanent.
This black paste dries and forms a black film on the skin which falls off by itself after a while.
Therefore, you don't need to be worried. However, if a scab is coming out of the auditory canal or if the cat is scratching and shakes his head, you should visit a vet.