Voted the nation's favourite cat author
VICKY HALLS
The
COMPLETE
CAT
Everything you
need to know
about looking
after your cat
A small, fluffy grey and white kitten is sitting upright and looking directly at the camera. The kitten has a white chest and paws, with grey stripes on its head and back. It has large, green eyes and a small pink nose. The background is a plain, light grey.
CHAPTER 4
A simple line drawing of a cat sitting and looking to the right. The cat is depicted in a minimalist style with clean, black outlines on a white background.
I Love, Therefore I Feed
FEEDING YOUR CAT
WE ARE BOMBARDED ON A DAILY BASIS WITH INFORMATION relating to cat food – why one product is better than another or why feeding a particular ‘meaty chunk’ will prolong your cat’s life. It’s hardly surprising that so much advertising takes place, as the cat-food market represented a staggering £708 million worth of sales in 2006. I am amazed at how much, often conflicting, advice is out there on the benefits or otherwise of feeding your cat a particular diet. There are websites recommending everything from a raw meat diet to a commercially manufactured vegetarian diet. Before you get lost in the maze of information and misinformation I will attempt to present your feeding options to you in a way that will not leave you dazed and confused. The important thing to remember is that
A close-up photograph of a tabby cat with green eyes peeking out from a brown paper bag. The cat's head and front paws are visible as it looks through the opening of the bag. The background is a soft, out-of-focus light color.
If you want to give your cat hours of fun, leave a paper bag or cardboard box out for him to explore.
Slow blink at
a cat to make
friends; if he slow
blinks back it's a
very good sign.
develop antibodies to the organism and there is no risk that the infection can be passed to the foetus during pregnancy. However, it is estimated that 1 in 500 women in the UK contract toxoplasmosis in pregnancy, with only 30 to 40 per cent of those passing the infection to the unborn baby. The risk varies depending on what stage of pregnancy the woman had reached when the infection was acquired.
Sources of infection
In most cases, people become infected via one of two routes:
- • ingestion of oocysts (part of the life cycle of the parasite) from the environment, either directly through contact with contaminated soil or indirectly by eating contaminated vegetables or fruit
- • ingestion of fresh meat containing tissue cysts
Cats have had a pretty bad press regarding this issue but recent research indicates that contact with cats does not increase the risk of T gondii infection in people. According to the studies it is rare to identify cats shedding oocysts in their faeces.
Precautions It certainly isn't worth taking any risks, however, so a few precautions should be taken:
- • Avoid cleaning out litter trays during pregnancy.
- • Avoid gardening or handling of soil.
- • Only eat meat that has been cooked thoroughly.
- • Wash hands, cooking utensils and work surfaces after preparing raw meat.
- • Wash all fruit and vegetables thoroughly before eating.