We often received question on whether Beef is healthy for cats? Or Why should I not feed beef? How about Mutton and Lamb? To answer this we first need to understand the concept of BARF.

BARF is the food closest to nature that we could provide for our beloved cats. It is not just about feeding RAW diet, but much much more. So what is BARF? BARF stands for: BIOLOGICALLY APPROPRIATE RAW FOODS. It is basically a species oriented diet that is closest to nature in terms of it nutrition composition.

There are 2-ways to achieve such nutrition composition:

1. What we see cat eat in the wild, we feed them the same. Such as rodents, small birds and etc. A.K.A the Frankenprey Diet
2. From understanding what our cat eat in the wild, we try to mimic the same nutrition values

Getting back to the question, is it healthy for a cat to eat Beef, Mutton or Lamb? By understanding the concept of BARF, it is not advisable. The question we need to ask ourselves is, does cat hunt cows, goats or sheep in the wild? The answer is NO. Cats is a small predator, hence it hunts prey that is around or smaller than it's own size. Also the nutrition composition in big prey is way different compared to small prey. Take Beef bones for example. Bones in beef is denser. Hence most grinders are unable to grind it. Losing the content of its bone marrow, calcium and much more. 

So What meat is good for cats?
As BARF tries to replicate the nutrition composition of a cat diet in the wild, there are meat that are well suited for cats. Such as chicken, duck, pheasant, turkey, rabbit/hare, quail, just to name some.

As a cat lover we all love to rescue as many cat as possible out from the streets into our beautiful home. Providing for them as much as we could. Here comes the old age question. How many cats are too many? And to what extend will it be considered cat hoarding?

Although it is true that cats require less space than dogs, there are a lot of factors that we need to consider in order to determine how many cats a household could house the cats. What works for the neighbors next door might not necessary work for you, as there are different home dynamics in every household.

Here are some factors that will influence the amount of cats in a household:

• Cat-to-Cat socialization skills
  - It is best to allow kittens to miggle and play with their littermates from young and not to separate them too early, for them to learn cat-to-cat socialization skills. This increases the tolerance level with other adult cats in the future.
• How well the new cats were introduce
  - All new cats must be properly introduce into the household. These methods of introduction must be follow strictly and according to cats(both old and new cat) pace. Here is a link to a Cat Introduction Video [Click Here]. 
• Amount of water bowls
  - As suggested by cat behaviourist the minimum rule of thumb is "number of cats + 1". Meaning if you have 6 cats, you should have at least 7 water bowls. And if you have 3 cats you mut have at least 4 water bowls. *NOTE: water bowls placement should not be cluster in an area. This is to ensure all cats have access to the resources. As a dominant cat might hold the terriorry of a clustered water bowl to prevent others from accessing the resouces. 
• Amount of cat litter boxes
  - As suggested by cat behaviourist the minimum rule of thumb is "number of cats + 1". Meaning if you have 6 cats, you should have at least 7 litter boxes. And if you have 3 cats you mut have at least 4 litter boxes. *NOTE: litter boxes placement should not be cluster in an area. This is to ensure all cats have access to the resources. As a dominant cat might hold the terriorry of a clustered litter boxes to prevent others from accessing the resouces. 
• Cost of food
• Cost of veterinary expenses​

Food introduction is a very delicate process. How willing we are on listening to your cats and how patience we are, will determine how successful we will be. Food introduction must be done slow and the cat will inform us how fast a pace it must be done. As with any food introduction, we have to slowly introduce the new food into the old. Most people or sites will recommend the ration of 1:2 [1 part new food to 2 part old food]. I personally prefer it to be on a ration of 1:9 [10% new food to 90% old food]. And gradually increase it on a daily basis.

Before diving into the plan we have to understand a few things:

1. Ensure all cats are healthy before starting any food introduction. Else refer to a veterinarian for advice.
2. Ensure all free feeding are completely removed before starting any food introduction. This is to give us a control environment. Note that free feeding must be gradually remove before completely stop.
3. My plan always start from breakfast, as the cat are more hungry and more willing to try new food.
4. Ensure that the cat do not go hungry for more than 24 hours as build up of stomach acid could cause serious illness and could also be fatal.
5. Below are just a overview guideline plan that i uses. Guidelines are just guidelines, hence it is not fixed. All plan have to be adjusted according to the cat needs.
6. The plan could we short or longer depending on the cat pace.
7. If the cat is having problem with the new food, move back to the previous step.
8. If you need to transition from kibble to raw diet, you need to go through Kibble=>Wet Food=>Raw Food for greater success.

​* Ratio use in the table is as follow: [New Food : Old Food]
* Table below are just sample. Time varies from cats behaviour and the ability from the human counter-part to perform and understand the situation.

The base of any cat introduction is in the following order:

1. scent
2. sound
3. sight 

Sound being the only element that we could not control. Hence making our job easier by shifting our effort to only introduce by scent and sight.

As a cat guardian it is best to know methods on how to prevent cats from going missing in the first place. Here are the 2 methods that I personally practise on a daily basis:

1. Ensure all windows and doors are fully mesh​
2. Perform "cat counting"

A neglected area from some cat guardians is not to mesh up windows and doors. Leaving the cat vulnerable to escape which might lead to injuries and could also be fatal in some cases. Remember cats are a great escape artist, so make sure to do a routine check on all meshes on a weekly basis.

Next best method mentioned above is "cat counting". It is good to develop a habit of counting your cats before leaving home, upon returning home, before and after bedtime. This is to ensure every cats are a counted for. And if any cats are missing, the cat guardian can act immediately. This habit also helps the cat guardian to know the cats' hiding spots over time.

Now we have already discuss some methods to prevent cats or any pets from going missing. So if a cat were to go missing, whats next? Here is a guideline from AVA Singapore. In addition to the guidelines below, also do remember to post your missing cats poster through social media.

 sanctuary room is a cat safe heaven, filled with climbing spots, hiding spots, cat scratches, litter, water bowls and etc. A sanctuary room is mainly use to introduce a cat into a new environment. Let it be either a cat moving from a old home into a new home or introducing a new cat into the family, including meeting the resident cats. This is the first place that every cat will have to go through before any form of introduction. It makes the new comer feel safe and secure and allow the cat to get his/her bearings grounded before exploring the house.
So what does the sanctuary room do?

•  A sanctuary room creates a control environment for the cat to explore before adventuring out to the other parts of the house. As a cat guardian, we need to understand that a home no matter how small it is, is a big place for a cat to explore.
• Allows the newcomer to get familiar with the scents of the environment around it before going any further. 
• Allows the newcomer to know where to return for safety and resources like water and litter box while adventuring around the house
• Allows the newcomer to mark the area up with scent and scratch, to let the resident cats know this place belongs to her (may it be temporary or permanent) and that she is not intruding in anyone space/territory.
•  Keep the newcomer and resident cats safe from each other. Preventing any long term conflict

The issue of not having a sanctuary room:

• A Stressful cat will spend months if not days hiding behind furniture if he/she feel threaten or  unsecure.
• There might be unwanted urine or defecate around the house
• Cats in the household might develop long term conflict. Furthering injuries which could be fatal for both humans and cats in the house,

On a future article we will be looking into how to setup a cat sanctuary room.

Plants are beautiful decoration to have around the house, giving a natural ambience to the surrounding. Some cats even go crazy with plants such as "catnip" [actual name: Nepeta catara], rolling around it like no end. Some cats also developed a nibbling habit on plants. Nibbling away any plant they could get their paws on. One way to manage such behaviour issues is to buy or even to grow your very own "cat grass". This help to divert their attention from the foriegn plant to the "cat-grass", which is more desirable and provide some benefits to the cats.

Here are the 3 types of "cat grass":

• Wheat Grass
• Rye Grass
• Oat Grass

So are there any plants that are poisonous to cats? Yes there are. Having such important knownledge will keep your cats healthy, safe and less trip to the vet will really make you a happy cat guardian. As a cat guardian we have to take this information serious. Ingestion of such plants could be fatal to any cats. If you think that your cat is ill or may have ingested a poisonous substance, contact your local veterinarian. Here is a link to all Toxic and Non-Toxic plants not only for cats, but also for dogs and horses. 

Link: List of Toxic & Non-Toxic Plants for Cats

*Note this link is from America Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a.k.a ASCPA.
All credit goes to ASPCA for having a broad catalog with images on such important information.