Process Analysis Essay

 Process Analysis Essay

                                    Josh Mosley

A Guide to a Health Happy Cat

            There are many reasons that people get cats, but one that is frequently included in the bunch is the ease and convenience of cats.  Cats do require less maintenance than most other pets, but they are not maintenance free like it seems some people believe.  There are many different things that people forget or don’t even realize that are very important to not only the physical needs of the cat but also the emotional needs as well.  There are several things you can do every day to help extend and expand the life of your cat.

            

           First, is the same way that most of us begin our morning; it starts with food.  Obviously just like with people the quality and the quantity of food given to the cat is very important.  In recent months the media and pet food stores have tried to raise awareness of the importance of a balanced and substitute free diet.  So it is important to give them a quality cat food portioned to the size and weight of your cat, most often specified on the bag.  It has also been discussed that it also important to add wet or canned food to their diet.  There are several benefits to the addition of canned food one is the extra moisture in the diet.  Wild prey that cats would eat is nearly 75% water and this is how they would get most of their moisture.  With just dry food they are missing out on a huge source of moisture intake.  This higher moister content is also vital for older cats or cats with kidney problems, because it dilutes the urine and can alleviate the frequency of many symptoms.  Canned food also has more protein than dry food and which is great for the development of younger cats and kittens.

 

The next and equally important part is water.  Cats are also very susceptible to urinary infection diseases which in most cases ends in a very expensive trip to the vet, or in some cases can lead to major infections and death.  The easiest and most effective way to combat that is lots of fresh water.  Cats like moving water, there are several reasons that this is believed.  One is that cats instinctually think that moving water is safer than still water, and another is that cats cannot see very well directly in front of them and sometimes can not judge the depth of a bowl very well.  Most vets will also encourage the use of a pet water fountain to encourage them to drink plenty of water and not just enough, like they might do with a bowl.  A fountain is also usually equipped with some sort of carbon based filter that provides healthier cleaner water to the cats. 

            The third thing that you can do is to help your cat maintain its hygiene.  Most people think that since their cat is always cleaning itself that the cat is clean and doesn’t need much else.  This assumption is not always correct, cats do a very good job cleaning themselves, but they need some help with other things.  The first thing neglected with not only cats but most pets is brushing there teeth. Proper dental hygiene is just as important to animals as it is for people.  This is one of the major advantages of dry food, but it can not be used instead of brushing.  Also, you should trim the nails of the cats.  Although this may seem like a dangerous mission, it is very important.  Nails that are not trimmed can get extremely sharp and be dangerous to the cat or other cats around them, and also to their owners and their processions.  One other thing that people forget, is to brush your cat regularly this will help promote healthy skin growth and also prevent hairballs.  It is also important to clean inside the cats ears, if this is neglected it could lead to infection.

            Another thing that a cat needs is stimulation.  Lots of people get a cat, because they are much easier to leave during the day if you work long hours.  This is a definite advantage to cats, and is very possible with the proper accommodations.  Some cats behavioral experts say that you need to create different “play stations” around your house.  If you have a cat you notice when they play it involves lots of running, darting, and jumping. The spots idea uses this so they can dart form place to place.  Having different spots for them to go to makes it more fun for them and also promotes more movement and exercise.  It is also encouraged to have places for the cats to lay and look outside.  Most cats raised indoors don’t have much of a desire to go and stay outside, but giving them to opportunity to watch outside or be in a screened in porch will be beneficial to them.  Another very important toy that must be included in this list is a scratching post.  Cats have a need to scratch, it helps them file and keep nails healthy, it can also be a way of marking territory or showing dominance.    

            Lastly, it is very important to remember to just let your cat be a cat.  Sometimes cats do weird things and make the most peculiar noises that don’t make sense to us, but that’s just what cats do.  Since most cats spend most of their lives inside it is important to be conscious of all these things so that you can help promote the most balanced life possible for your cat. A healthy cat makes a happy cat, and that is what we all want.  Cats are more sensitive then some people think, but with some easy daily steps you can make all the difference in their quality of life.      

When it comes to choosing cats there are not very many breeds to chooses from.  Most people choose based the decison on the color or type of coat that they have.  The main difference that can exsist between them would be the length of the coat.  Most people have short hair cats, but some people long for that big fluffy lap cat.  There are two main differences with the two cats, they are the care of the fur, and the difference in the level of allergens.

Now it seems pretty obvious that there would be more care with a long haired cat, but some people do not sometimes realize.  Short hair cats need only be brushed once or twice a week, the rest of the work they should be able to manage on their own.  However, a long haired cat needs much more help maintaining they beautiful coat.  They will need to be brushed much more often, maybe three or four times a week.  Also, because the hair is long they may have problems using the litter box, and you may have to cut certain undesireable things out of the hair.  Also, with long haired cats you may not notice problems with the skin or notice things like ear mites.  These are easy to fix things if they are noticed early enough.  With a short haired cat these problems might be noticed much faster and easier.

The other main factor is the allergen factor.  For most people this is already a problem and is something that you need to be consience about.  Contrary to popular belief it is not the hair that effects most people, but is a protein found in the urine, dander, and saliva.  So the actual hair length itself does not make you more allergic, but it does allow for more of the allergens to be present.  On the other hand, a short hair cat has less hair to carry allergens around, and can clean itself more throughly, removing those harmful proteins.

Both cats will make great pets its just important to choose the one that will best fit into your lifestyle.

Process Analysis Essay

            There are many reasons that people get cats, but one that is frequently included in the bunch is the ease and convenience of cats.  Cats do require less maintenance than most other pets, but they are not maintenance free like it seems some people believe.  There are many different things that people forget or don’t even realize that are very important to not only the physical needs of the cat but also the emotional needs as well.  There are several things you can do every day to help extend and expand the life of your cat.

            First, is the same way that most of us begin our morning; it starts with food and water.  Obviously just like with people the quality and the quantity of food given to the cat is very important.  In recent months the media and pet food stores have tried to raise awareness of the importance of a balanced and substitute free diet.  So it is important to give them a quality cat food portioned to the size and weight of your cat, most often specified on the bag.  Cats are also very susceptible to urinary infections which in most cases ends in a very expensive trip to the vet, and in some cases can lead to major infections and death.  The easiest and most effective way to combat that is lots of fresh water.  Cats like moving water, and most vets will encourage the use of a pet water fountain to encourage them to drink plenty and not just enough, like they might do with a bowl.

            The second thing that you can do is to help your cat maintain its hygiene.  Most people think that since their cat is always cleaning itself that the cat is clean and doesn’t need much else.  This assumption is not always correct, cats do a very good job cleaning themselves, but they need some help with other things.  The first thing neglected with not only cats but most pets is brushing there teeth. Proper dental hygiene is just as important to animals as it is for people.  Also, you should trim the nails of the cats.  Although this may seem like a dangerous mission, it is very important.  Nails that are not trimmed can get extremely sharp and be dangerous to the cat or other cats around them, and also to their owners and their processions.  One other thing that people forget, is to brush your cat regularly this will help promote healthy skin growth and also prevent hairballs.

            Another thing that a cat needs is stimulation.  Lots of people get a cat, because they are much easier to leave during the day if you work long hours.  This is a definite advantage to cats, and is very possible with the proper accommodations.  Some cats behavioral experts say that you need to create different “play stations” around your house.  If you have a cat you notice when they play it involves lots of running, darting, and jumping. The spots idea uses this so they can dart form place to place.  Having different spots for them to go to makes it more fun for them and also promotes more movement and exercise. 

            Since most cats spend most of their lives inside it is important to be conscious of these things to help promote the most balanced life possible for your cat. A healthy cat makes a happy cat, and that is what we all want.  Cats are more sensitive then some people think, but with some easy daily steps you can make that all possible.    

Kitty Cat Narrative

I wasn’t always the cat person that I have turned into now.  In my childhood, my brother and father were so allergic to cats, that if they even touched them, they would break out into a rash and immediately start sneezing.  Now as you can imagine we did not have any cats in or around our house, but I remember my best friend, when I was younger, had a black and white cat named Mittens.  She was the coolest cat I had ever seen, and I loved her. I loved the way she looked, and she was the softest animal I had ever touched.  I think a big part of my early obsession was based around the fact that you want what you can’t have.  Never-the-less, my love for these feline friends grew.

            Fast forward ten years and I am now in high school, and now volunteer at the local animal hospital where I lived.  I loved playing with all the animals of course, but my favorite part was feeding and socializing the cats.  Don’t get me wrong the dogs were fun too, but they were so loud and hyper and they involved lots of walks and running, not my thing.  The cats, on the other hand, just wanted to lie in my lap, eat treats, and play with any sort of feather on a stick.  I loved spending every other night with them and I knew then and there I was going to get a cat as soon as I was physically able.

            A few years later, once in college and out of the dorms, I was finally on my own, and I knew it would only be a mater of time before I was the proud owner of my own kitty cat.  My roommate and I moved into an apartment that we knew would let us have pets, and before we even had a couch in our apartment we had gotten a little grey kitten off of craigslist.  I was so happy I could barely contain myself.  I got every little collar and kitten toy that was available at the pet store.  We named her Alice and she was the best little kitten you could have asked for.

            After a week or two of living with us our beautiful little Alice started acting very different then she had been earlier.  She stopped eating and we noticed that her eyes seemed dull.  Being that she was so small we took her in right away to see what was wrong with her.  After several test we found that our little kitten had toxoplasmosis, which is a disease that affects the lungs, liver, and nervous system.  It seems that the Alice’s mother, and farm cat, had probably hunted and eaten something with the disease while pregnant and transferred the diseases to the kittens.  We tried putting her on some of the antibiotics to help her fight it, but she was to small and young to fight it off.  Two days later I lost my beautiful little kitten.

            Losing that kitten was really hard on me, as I’m sure it would be for most people.  I picked it out myself and had it just long enough to fall head over heels in love with it.  My roommate, who was not nearly effected as me, adopted herself another kitten a few months later and encouraged me to do the same.  I thought long and hard about it, but I still wasn’t ready just yet.  I knew I would eventually want another little guy, but it just wasn’t the time yet.  A few days later she adopted a little bundle of piss and vinegar that was just so cute and naughty that you couldn’t help but lover her.  I was glad she got her kitten and she made us both happier.  It was nice to her the pitter of little paws around the house again, and little did I know she would help me find the cat of my dreams.

            Most people will agree that people in some way shape or form are like the pets that they have.  Some people look a little like them, or maybe it’s just an attitude that owner and pet share, but we all love and relate to our pets in some way.  This was the case when I found my Optimus Prime, I know it’s a weird name but that’s for another blog post.  We took little Memow in for her six month visit to the vet, and while she was getting worked on we wandered through the adoption section of the human society to look at the cats.  The person with the cats let us play with a couple while she had them out and I was instantly drawn to a beautiful white and black cat.  He was nicest guy in the world, but wasn’t afraid to get what he wanted, whether it was a treat or a toy he found a way to get it.  When they were wrapping up and putting some of the cats away I noticed they put him in a cage with a red dot on it.  Curious, I asked what the dot was for, and they told me that it unfortunately meant that he had been there to long and was scheduled for euthanasia.  I simply walked over took the dot off his cage and said no he’s not he is mine.

            Most people when I tell them this story give me an “awe” or a “good for you,” but I’m not the only hero.  Yes, I did save the cats life, but I’m sure as most people with pets agree that they also save your life.  He has been there for me through stress, loss, and hard times.  It is hard to ignore the unconditional love of a pet, I always get a little sad when I think of my first little kitten, but as they say everything happens for a reason.  I am so thankful for the little guy that I have, and wouldn’t change it for anything.

             

Hello all!

My name is Josh Mosley, and you've got it right, this is a blog all about cats.  I know cats aren't everybody's favorite pet, and sometimes get a bad wrap for being grumpy and mean. . . Or maybe I'm just one of those crazy cat people, but I love them.  This blog will be about those wonderful little creatures and how they have help myself , and others from the most simple of problems to those that change lives. I hope this blog, if anything helps turn others into crazy cat people, just like me.