Cat Care Tips – Food, Grooming, Housing & Handling

Cats make pretty amazing companions - with their playful, affectionate personalities wrapped up in total cuteness- who wouldn’t want them for a pet?

Besides popular opinion that cats are far less affectionate as compared to dogs-okay, dogs really want you to be there, but a feline just wants you to clean up their mess! Besides, you can go for the more affectionate cat breeds. Truth is, they may seem pretty selfish, but they are just as affectionate as dogs although their emotions and adoration are far less demonstrative.

Developing a rewarding relationship with your feline companion is all about providing food, water, shelter and proper care. Some of the basic cat care tips

Food

There are numerous varieties of cat food such as canned, semi-moist or dry foods which are among the most common types.

Generally, the type of food you decide to feed your furry friend comes down to owner preference. However, semi-moist and canned food add some fluids in the cat’s diet as compared to dry foods.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) suggests feeding them with high-quality, brand name. Additionally, ASPCA recommends consulting a veterinarian for a full assessment in order to establish the suitable diet you can give it to ensure it is very healthy.

Nonetheless, factors such as health, age, and activity levels should be considered when coming up with a diet or feeding schedule.

What to consider:

• The diet should be rich in taurine- a necessary amino acid which ensures the heart and eyes remain healthy.
• Adequate provision of clean and fresh water refills on a daily basis as well as cleaning the bowl regularly.
• Carefully, read food labels especially, if your feline is refusing to eat and if you decide to feed the cat baby food, ensure they do not contain any onions or garlic powder, as these ingredients could poison it.
• Unless advised otherwise by a vet, never feed it with human food as they may be toxic or cause your cat to become severely ill. There are some human foods that are particularly known to be harmful or cause poisoning.
• If you notice any signs of lethargy, diarrhea, vomiting or anorexia, it’s important to take your pet to a veterinarian.

Grooming

Naturally, they are relatively clean animals since they usually clean themselves. However, frequently brushing or combing your pet’s fur ensures it remains clean, reduces shedding, the occurrences of hairballs, and prevents or removes fleas as well as parasites.

Housing

A cat requires a clean, dry and conducive environment for resting and sleeping.  Put a soft and warm blanket or towel in your pet’s bed and remember to constantly wash the bedding as often as possible.

Ensure your cat stays indoors

When you allow your cat to go outdoors, you are exposing it to danger and hence reducing its lifespan compared to indoor cats i.e. keeping them indoors.

Ensure it is safe or protected from the risk of trauma from cat fights, cars, raccoons or dogs from outside by keeping it indoors.

Other than preventing trauma, keeping the cat indoors minimizes the chances of flea or tick infestation as well as prevents contraction of other infectious diseases.

Additional safety measures may include:

• Ensuring that appliances are closed after each use and as a precautionary measure check the appliances before use.
• Secure all windows and doors.
• Walk your pet on a leash.

Handling

Gently handle your pet when picking it up by placing one hand on the back of the front legs and the other below the hindquarter and softly lift.

Scratching

Scratching is a normal behavior for cats.  To prevent it from harming you or destroying your furniture, ensure you trim your cat’s nails at least after every 2-3 weeks.

Additionally, you can equip your pet with a stable scratching pole- about 3ft tall, that is covered by a coarse material such as tree bark or sisal.

Health

While brushing your cat, keep a lookout for fleas and other parasites or any strange symptoms such as redness, lumps or bumps.

In case you find any symptoms that seem uncommon kindly inform the vet.

However, it’s vital to schedule regular annual medical examinations for your pet. You should take your cat for a wellness exam/physical examination, which usually involves

• eyes, teeth, and ears check-up.
• Heart check-up.
• booster vaccinations.
• De-flea/ deworming treatments.

Additionally, your pet needs to be vaccinated against cat flu, feline infectious enteritis (FIE), and the feline leukemia virus (FeLV).

Spay and neuter

At the age of 5 months, female cats should be spayed while the male ones should be neutered.

Medicines and poisons

It is advisable to give your them prescription drugs/medications only

Sources

• Aspca.org: https://goo.gl/rkLO3e
• Iams.com: https://goo.gl/H4QK5y
• Wikihow.com: https://goo.gl/jYypwd
• Vcahospitals.com: https://goo.gl/7bdF15
• Icatcare.org: https://goo.gl/cvZkjj
• Www2.vet.cornell.edu: https://goo.gl/CE8V3J
• Aspca.org: https://goo.gl/VSKMjC