Cats & Cat Care Articles

by Joelle Steele

Below are a a bunch of my previously published articles about cats and cat care, but first a little background about me and my love for cats.

As of 2023, I have shared my life with a total of 18 wonderful cats, most of them strays, several ill or disabled, and two that were abandoned kittens under 3 weeks of age. I have never actively sought out a cat or kitten. They always just showed up, sometimes because a person found them and brought them to me. I have adopted them at all ages, from 1-1/2 weeks to 16 years. I have always had a minimum of two cats, but sometimes I had up to five at a time. All my cats have always been affectionate, sociable, and got along well with each other pretty much from Day One.

I currently have two cats, Pharaoh, 4, and Oliver 3, and because I’m a senior, I don’t plan to adopt any others because I don’t want to leave any orphaned kitties behind when I pass. I have taught cat care classes and volunteered my time and resources at low cost/no cost spay/neuter clinics and in feral cat colony management. I am the author of “Cooking For Fluffy: Healthy Home-Made Feline Diets,” and more than 50 of my cat care articles have been published in Cats Magazine, I Love Cats, Pet Gazette, Animal World, Cat Lover, and a variety of other cat and pet magazines.

I have very strong opinions about feline population control and breeding: Millions of perfectly adorable and healthy cats are destroyed in shelters every year throughout the world. This alone makes for an unarguable case in favor of spaying and neutering. Along those same lines, the deliberate and intentional commercial breeding of cats for characteristics appealing only to humans, and that carry known or potential health risks for the cats, should be abolished. Not only is this practice unconscionably cruel to these innocent creatures, but it is unnecessary and irresponsible given the innate beauty of cats and the enormous number of perfectly wonderful cats and kittens readily available for adoption everywhere.

Solving Your Cat’s Litter Box Problems. All cats are different about what they want and need when it comes to the litter box. If they’re not using it, here are some solutions that could help.

Senior Cats Need Frequent Veterinary Check-ups. Being a cat parent is not an easy job, especially when your cat is a senior.

Keeping Your Cat Indoors: Making the indoor environment the best it can be, leash training a cat, cats visiting with other cat friends and their humans, love and affection, recreation, and a room of their own.

Meeting Your Cat’s Nutritional Needs: Is Commercial Food Healthy? What Is the Alternative?: Commercial cat food and some healthy alternatives.

Caring for Orphaned Kittens: How to prevent chilling, create a nest, feed formula, feed solid food, and groom kittens.

Through A Cat’s Eye: Understanding Feline Vision: What cats see, the eye’s structure, night vision, seeing colors, eye color, and diseases and disorders of the eye.

Managing A Multi-Cat Household: Handling personality conflicts, indoor and outdoor cats together, off-limits areas, litter box preferences, sleeping areas, meal time, and sharing your love with everyone.

In-Home Cat Exams: How to examine your cat from head to toe to uncover any hidden ailments that might be in need of veterinary care.

Coping With Grief: How to handle grief starting with your first reactions, expressing grief, casting the blame, mourning, family reactions, support systems, grief without death, and moving on with your life.

Feline Acne: Diagnosis and treatment of feline acne (pyoderma) with traditional and alternative medicines.

Feline Urinary Tract Disorders: A brief overview of feline urologic syndrome (FUS) and kidney disease, and some possible homeopathic treatments.

Vacation Care Options For Your Cat: Boarding facilities, Grandma’s house, cat sitters, neighbor care, traveling with your cat, pros and cons of all options.

A Disabled Cat Can Be A Role Model: Twinkle was a nightmare of health problems throughout her life, but she saved my life.

Flea-Related Ailments: Allergies, Anemia, and Tapeworm: How to diagnose and treat these problems, and how to prevent them by exercising effective flea controls.

Holistic Remedies for Cats: Explains what holistic remedies are and briefly looks at homeopathics and herbal medicine as they relate to the feline world.

Protecting Your Cat From Household and Environmental Hazards: Finding and removing hazards from the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, home office, hobby rooms, living room, basement, and garage. Purchasing safe toys and other pet products. Protecting cats during the Christmas holidays.

Purring – Music to a Cat Lover’s Ears: A brief look at why, when, and how cats purr.

Cat Lore: A brief look at the history, myth, lore, and legend behind cats.

Cat Personalities: Cats share certain traits, but every cat is unique, with a different personality than any other cat.

Plants May Be Poisonous to Your Cats: Diagnosing plant toxicity in your cat, what plants can be dangerous, dangers lurking in the soil, and treatment for poisoning.

Common Feline Ailments: Diagnose them before they become emergencies. Covers skin problems, waste handling disorders, ear and eye problems, dental problems, parasites, and critical problems.

Feeding Finicky Felines: Tips on how to handle and prevent a finicky feline by feeding on schedule, providing a wide variety of foods, and making gradual changes in diet.

Feline Vitamin Supplements: Does Your Cat Need Them?: A quick look at vitamins and under what conditions your cat may require them.

Itching Skin Problems in Your Cat: How to diagnose, treat, and prevent itching skin problems.

Fleas – Non-Chemical Warfare: The Battle of Cats v. Fleas. Know your enemy, natural flea control, non-toxic flea control that really works, natural methods, even natural can be dangerous, and chemical flea controls.

Cat Bites & Scratches: Prevention and Treatment. Injuries from cat bites and scratches can be serious and potentially life-threatening, and prevention and treatment are critical.

Caring For Older Cats: Explores the elderly feline’s need for human contact, supplementary grooming, and adherence to a routine. Discusses behavior changes, diet and nutrition, failing of the senses, diseases, and living indoors in a safe environment.

Catnip, Catmint, Cat Thyme, Valerian, and Cat’s Medicine: A Garden of Delights for Your Cat. Explores what’s in these basic cat herbs and how to grow them.

Is That Cat Stray, Feral, or Wild?: There are important visual clues in a cat’s behavior and appearance that can tell you what kind of cat you’re dealing with.

Reincarnation: Has Your Cat Lived Before?: Some people believe their cats have returned to them after death. What do you think?