Lauren Demos

Pedigreed cats are roughly divided by experts into two groups that are distinguished by body type and activity level: Oriental and non-Oriental.The breeds in the first group, the Oriental, are notable for their long, sleek bodies and active participation in the world around them. They’re not happy unless they’re supervising dinner, climbing to the top of the bookshelf, teasing that dopey dog, or seeing what every member of the household is up to.

Some signs of a healthy cat or kitten are obvious to anyone; others require a veterinarian’s help to pinpoint. Before you settle on a promising kitten or cat, perform your own health check, and be sure to follow up with your veterinarian within a day or so.Don’t fall in love with a sick cat. With so many kittens and cats available for adoption, it just doesn’t make sense to take a chance on one who may cost you a great deal of money in veterinary costs—and may not be with you long, anyway.

Veterinarians see every imaginable problem a cat can get into. Although every animal lost is a tragedy, some of those are a little harder to take than others. Into this class falls those cats whose deaths were the results of something an owner could have done to protect them but didn’t know about.We want you to know about them, so we’ve assembled in this list of the most common household dangers your cat may face.