Edward James ‘Jim’ Corbett was born on July 25th, 1875, in Kumaon, that beautiful paradise at the foothills of Himalayas. His father Christopher Corbett was postmaster of the town Naini Tal, and Jim spent his childhood in an area surrounded by beautiful Jungles and dangerous predators. He fell in love with the forest and its animals and since an early age he knew how to mimic animal sounds and track lethal predators.

1. Hip dysplasia

Hip dysplasia is a common concern among Ragdoll owners. Although there are no recorded cases, the possibility is high because of the Ragdoll’s bulk and weight distribution. It’s important to get a written health guarantee from your breeder to make sure your cat is safe.

2. Feline hypertrophic myopathy

A more serious condition is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a thickening of the heart muscle common in many cat breeds. Feline HCM is potentially life-threatening, and in many cases the disease is only discovered when the cat dies at a young age. Studies have shown that HCM is inherited, and runs along several Ragdoll lines. Although it can occur at any age, it is more likely to occur in older cats who would otherwise have passed the disease on to offspring.

Obesity is the most common health problem for cats. A cat is considered obese if it weighs 20% more than its optimal weight and if the extra weight is a result of the accumulation of fat. If a cat is anywhere from 1 to 19% heavier than its ideal body weight, then it is considered overweight and not obese. In order for a cat to maintain good health and have a long and happy life, the cat must maintain a healthy weight.

Determining If A Cat Is Overweight Or Obese

Fleas, ticks and lice are surface dwelling parasites. Fleas are small dark insects that run through the fur rapidly. Lice are tiny grey insects that move slowly and tend to form clusters around the earflaps. Ticks look like grey warts, they are immobile as the fix their mouthparts into the skin.

Pets will show signs of infestation by grooming and scratching excessively, some pets will show signs of hypersensitivity to flee bites (the saliva) with raised red bumps on the skin.

Cats naturally look for a place that they can dig and bury their waste. Of course, you want the place they find to be the litter box! That said, there are several tips to follow when training cats to use the litter box and ensure that it is the only place they’ll want to go.

Make sure you place the litter box in a separate room from their eating or sleeping area. Cats are clean animals and typically associate their litter box with a dirty area. If the litter box is near the eating or sleeping area, they may naturally want to find a bathroom place that is farther away.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if your cat had kittens? Just the thought of having so many kittens underfoot would be enough reason for true cat lovers to swoon.

If your cat is pregnant, here are a few important facts that you should know:

- The average length of pregnancy for cats is 63 to 65 days long. However, it may appear to be a shorter period, because your cat will probably have already been pregnant for 3 to 4 weeks before you first notice the changes to her physique.

Spraying is also referred to as marking behavior. There can be many reasons for this behavior; most of the time spraying is related to sexual maturity. Neutering or spaying your cat will solve the problem of spraying in most cases. If the animal has already been neutered or spayed, preventing your cat from spraying in the house will depend on finding out the root cause of the behavior.

One reason your cat might be spraying in the house is due to something new in the environment. A cat will often spray new items in the house to mark its territory even if they are neutered. These behaviors are deeply a part of their nature and some cats hold on to these instincts more than others.

Many parents worry about having a cat in the home with children. They worry not only for the safety of their child but also that of the cat’s. However cats are wonderful companions for children and for many it is the first real friend that they make. Generally speaking the benefits far out weigh any problems and as long as parents oversee the interaction between the two all will be well.

An important part of keeping your cat healthy and happy is checking and cleaning their ears. Because the ears are one of the few parts that cats can not reach themselves they need a little help from a loving owner. Keeping your cats ears clean is extremely important because any unremoved dirt, debris, or wax can clog the ears and cause infections. Regular ear cleaning at home augment’s your cats own natural grooming habits.

Most cats love to bask in the sunlight, which could be one of the reasons that squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, is among the most common malignancies found in felines. Although any cat can develop skin cancer, it’s more prevalent in those with white coats. Check your cat’s skin from time to time (squamous cell carcinoma typically occurs around the nose or ears), looking for signs of trouble, such as a wound or a scratch that refuses to heal or a lump that’s irritated. When skin cancer is caught early, treatment with surgery or radiation therapy is likely to be successful. Drug therapy or chemotherapy is usually not as effective, but your veterinarian should be able to guide you towards the best option.