American Shorthair Cat

Correcting Night Roaming

　　Cats are nocturnal creatures, active mostly at night and less during the day. Allowing them to roam freely at night may expose them to injuries or dirty their fur through hunting, mating, or fighting, which is unhealthy and may affect home sanitation. Also, after night roaming, cats can become very wild and difficult to manage, and if they carry infectious diseases, it could threaten the owner's health.

　　Therefore, domestic cats should not be allowed to roam at night. Correcting this nocturnal habit must begin when the cat is a kitten. Training can start with a cage; release the cat indoors during the day but do not let it go outside, then return it to the cage at night. Over time, the cat will form the habit and will not roam at night even without the cage.

　　Stop Abnormal Eating Behaviors in Cats

　　Abnormal eating behaviors in cats mainly include loss of appetite, pica, and anorexia.

　　1. Loss of Appetite:

　　 may refuse to eat any food and appear depressed. Sometimes cats may fast for many days, rapidly losing weight, weakening, or even dying. This situation mostly arises due to unclean feeding locations or utensils, such as feeding cats near their feces and urine piles, litter boxes, or garbage bins, or failing to clean leftover food promptly. An effective solution is to feed cats in a clean place, far from their feces and urine piles, using clean utensils. Additionally, respiratory diseases causing reduced smell sensitivity can lead to loss of appetite. Treatment should address respiratory illness while forcibly feeding the cat. Delicious foods like fish or pork can be forced into the cat's mouth to stimulate taste receptors and trigger appetite. Additionally, acupuncture points such as Hou San Li and Ji Zhong can be used.

　　2. Stop Abnormal Predation Behaviors in Cats:

　　Cat predation behavior refers to their chase and capture of prey. Usually, cats prey on small and large mice. They also hunt grasshoppers, house flies, butterflies, birds, snakes, squirrels, groundhogs, field mice, rabbits, etc. Abnormal predation mainly involves catching free-range chickens of owners or neighbors, bringing dead chickens or mice home, chasing domestic rabbits, or capturing caged chickens or birds.