Recently I have had a pleasure of meeting a pet enthusiast who owns Pets Mall in Model town, Lahore. Furqan Sardar Doger is an animal lover and believes that people in Pakistan have many misconceptions about cats and dogs. The store has everything your cat might need or want. I have been a cat lover all my life and on this occasion I wanted to know more about how to keep my cat happy and healthy.

1.     The vet knows more about YOUR cat than you do

I know that the vet knows about your cat’s physiology and biochemistry but they definitely don’t know your cat the way you do. Their sleep cycle, eating habits and behavior is something you are more aware of. You should know how something affected your cat’s behavior.

2.     Milk is good for your cat
We’ve all seen the endearing picture or a video of a kitten lapping milk from a bowl. Most cats do love the flavor of dairy, but they surely don’t need it to be in good physical shape. Moreover, many cats are lactose intolerant, and giving them milk, cream or ice cream can result in gastric upset or diarrhea.

3.     Meat in summer time is going to make your cat untamed
It is uncanny that everyone thinks that felines grow into untamed and vicious animals if given meet in the summer, it’s not true. Carnivores are designed by nature to eat meet. The only thing the cat needs is water. So, keep them hydrated and cool.

4.     Pet food never has ‘Ingredients’ that might be unsuitable for your pet

We depend a lot on cat foods, the thing is that some of them are made of gluten, which most cats are allergic to and then there is the food made out of by-products, avoid food ingredients containing Hydrolyzed Poultry by Products Aggregate or Poultry By-Product Meal. By-product includes According to Furqan Doger “Lion hunts down his prey and never eats the by-products”, Poultry By-Products must consist of non-rendered clean part of carcasses of slaughtered poultry such as heads, feet, viscera, free from fecal content and foreign matter.

 

5.     Vaccination is done once in their lifetime
Vaccination can be done throughout their lifetime. No vaccination and over-vaccination are both harmful. Nobody has an idea of vaccination better than you.

6.     Deworming is harmful for your cat’s health
Deworming is not at all harmful. It never harms the cat’s digestive tract, it only clears the harmful worms that might be eating your cat’s food and being not very good inhabitants. Yeah, they suck.

7.     Spaying will make your cat fat
Many owners will observe that their cats gain weight after spay/neuter surgery.

Spaying or neutering itself does not cause cats becoming fat – it’s the low activity and overfeeding which does. Yeah no surprise there.

Your cats basically needs to “work-out”.

8.     Cats hate water
While most cats dislike taking baths, many are actually fascinated with running water. Kittens, in particular, are curious about sinks, showers, and toilets. Cats belonging to the Bengal or Turkish Vans breed are also nicknamed as the “swimming cats” as they are eager to join their owners in the bathtub or shower.

9.     Pregnant women might get sick around cats
Some cats can be infected with a parasite called toxoplasma gondii, which can cause a disease called toxoplasmosis. Pregnant women can get toxoplasmosis from handling cat waste, and babies born to mothers who have that infection for the first time just before or during pregnancy can have serious health problems. It sounds scary; however, pregnant women can keep their cats if they take a few simple safety measures. Ideally, someone else should take the sanitary duty and clean the cat’s litter box. If that’s not possible, pregnant women should wear throwaway gloves and wash their hands carefully with soap and warm water later.

 

10.   Cat shows signs of guilt when scolded
This myth is still very popular; however, there is not bit of a truth in it. However, this is not what the cat actually felt. Scientific world tells cats, and many other animals, do not feel guilt and many other human emotions.  Cats live in the moment. They simply do not care. They do react to their owners being hysterically angry but they just don’t know why.
If any of those who scold their cat for eliminating outside the box would do it at any other moment, for no reason, we can assure the cat’s expression would be the same – it’s called confusion.

 
Clearly most of the cats in this video are just scared of the mobile phone or video camera.

Special thanks to Furqan Sardar Doger.