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The cat toy industry is booming in the United States partly because we love our kitties, but largely because our lifestyles make it difficult for them to engage in instinctual behavior without them. According to Dr. Julia Albright, resident in Animal Behavior at Cornell Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine, "Adult feral cats spend a good portion of the day looking for prey, whereas our indoor domestic cats do not."

Within the past several years, a number of products have entered the cat litter market as "alternative" litters. The chief claim of many of these litters is that they are made from plant-based or recycled materials, as opposed to clay, the basis of "traditional" kitty litters. As with most products or groups of products, there are both advantages and disadvantages to using alternative cat litters. One advantage that makers of these specialty litters feel appeals to cat owners with environmental concerns is that alternative litters - because they are made of biodegradable substances - present less strain on landfills. Some brands are even marketed as being "compostable" and/or burnable.

Rubber gloves, stethoscopes, needles, white coats …… the mere thought of going to the doctor or dentist can send shivers up the spine of many patients. Our feline friends are no different. Luckily, cats dont consult a calendar in the days or weeks before a trip to the veterinarian, so they are spared a lot of needless time worrying beforehand. But make no mistake about it: Your cat will know somethings up the minute she sees the cat carrier in your hand.

After the flurry of kitten adoptions during the summer months, many shelters are now overcrowded with adult and older cats. Just ask Betsy Saul, co-founder of Petfinder.com. "Kittens at shelters tend to get adopted very quickly," Saul says. "We need to make sure that adult and older cats dont get overlooked. Publicizing them on websites like Petfinder.com can help."

You need to take your cat to the veterinarian for a checkup. When you retrieve the cat carrier from the closet, your cat disappears. The ensuing chase tires you out and stresses your cat, making his heart beat faster and possibly elevating his temperature. Sound familiar? For many cat owners, getting their cats into a carrier is a battle of wits and wills but necessary preparation for veterinary visits, emergency evacuations, or moving to a new location. "You may want to put your cat in a carrier to keep her from escaping when painters or housekeepers come," says Ellen Lindell, VMD, CatWatchs behavior columnist and a board-certified member (a diplomate) of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. So why wait until an emergency arises? Getting your cat used to the carrier simply takes foresight and training.

Cats are born with a chasing and hunting instinct, but not necessarily the skill to go along with it. The mother cat teaches her kittens to kill and eat prey. (Indoor cats may chase and kill mice, but rarely eat them.) The lessons start when the kittens are about four weeks old. The mother cat begins by bringing home dead mice or other prey and eating them in front of the kittens. The kittens soon catch on and join in. Next, the mother cat brings home dead mice and the kittens eat on their own.

Chronic renal failure in a cat occurs when 75 percent or more of the animals healthy kidney tissue has been destroyed and replaced by scar tissue. As a consequence, the two kidneys, each of which contains many thousands of tiny filtering units (nephrons), are unable to carry out their chief function of removing metabolic waste from the blood that is pumped through them with each heartbeat. To compensate, most afflicted cats will drink increasing amounts of water in an effort to pass additional fluids through their kidneys. Unfortunately, this water will run quickly through the animals body; the cat will simply urinate more frequently. Meanwhile, the ultimately life-threatening metabolic waste will continue to circulate and to accumulate.

Check the pet food aisle at your local supermarket, and youll find countless varieties of food to entice your cat. Feed your cat too little or the wrong kind of food, and he wont maintain good health. Feed him too much, and hell get fat. But you can help get your cat off on the right paw by establishing regular feeding routines. Although the food you feed your cat should be complete and balanced, the simple answer to how often you should feed him is that there isnt a simple answer.

You have a wonderful vacation planned, a two-week escapade to a sunny island after a long year of hard work and stress. Youve been looking forward to it for months, but a nagging problem remains: Who should take care of Tabby while youre away? What you do with your cat when you take a vacation should depend on your cats personality, health condition, age and the resources available where you live. Hiring a pet sitter, kenneling your cat or boarding him with a veterinarian are options for care when you arent home.

Although indoor cats are far less likely than outdoor cats to contract a contagious disease, be ripped up in a brawl with other animals or be struck by a car, they are not completely out of harms way. Even within the confines of their own homes, they can suffer serious injuries, not the least of which are disabling (and even fatal) burns that result from a variety of factors, including their natural curiosity and, all too often, carelessness on the part of their owners. There are three categories of burns: thermal, chemical and electrical.

One reason cats need baths is that they dont always groom themselves thoroughly. This is especially true of longhaired breeds that can develop matted fur. Another problem with longhaired cats, such as Persians, is that feces can get stuck in the long hair of the cats backside, making a terrible mess that the cat cannot, unfortunately, remove himself. The result is a smelly, dirty cat that simply needs a bath. Even shorthaired cats occasionally get themselves dirty, greasy or just plain smelly, especially if theyre obese and cant reach the parts that require cleaning. Aging cats sometimes stop grooming as frequently or thoroughly as they did when they were younger.

Your cats digestive system, a complex assemblage of several interdependent components, plays a crucial and multifaceted role in maintaining the animals good health. An essentially tubular arrangement leading from its mouth to its anus, the system - when functioning properly - breaks down the food that the animal has eaten into nutrient-rich particles and facilitates their absorption while also serving as a barrier against disease-producing organisms that the cat may have ingested.