Consider your cat as a family member. Therefore, you should do all you can to properly care for it. Make sure your cat gets the right food, enough exercise and has no parasites. Keep reading for great tips on keeping your cat healthy.
Cats love to squeeze into tiny spots. If your cat wears a collar they might get hurt, and stuck. Breakaway collars will “break” if they’re pulled too tight. This can help to save a couple of your cat’s nine lives.
Spritz a little bitter apple on electrical cords to protect your cats. If your cat plays with cords, put them up and out of the way, or you can hide them in old paper towel rolls. Use paper towel or wrapping paper rolls to bundle up cords. Electronics with thin cords must be put out of reach when they aren’t being used.
Scratching Post
Cats can really scratch up your home. If you want to prevent or stop your cat from scratching up your furniture, the best thing to do is buy a scratching post or kitty tower for them to climb in. Redirect your cat to the scratching post when they start to go after your furniture. Catnip can be put in the posts or on the tower to help train the cat to use it. Sooner or later, they’ll love to use it.
It’s not easy to keep cats off counters. Cats like to climb on things and a counter can look very inviting. To help prevent your cat from doing this, you can establish tall places specifically for your cat. A cat tower near the kitchen will ensure that cats won’t lay on your counter.
Location is key when placing a litter box. It shouldn’t be put in an area with high traffic and should be far from their food. You’ll want to place the box in a spot with good ventilation to avoid unpleasant smells. You and your cat will greatly appreciate this.
Your cat needs love and attention. Cats need companionship as much as we do. Like humans, cats want to feel wanted and needed. They should feel like a valued family member as well.
If you’re taking kitty on a road trip, don’t play loud music. You may like music loud and booming, but a cat will prefer lower volumes as their ears are more sensitive. Keep the music turned down or off when taking your cat on a trip.
Cats enjoy being in high places. To keep your cat happy, offer him a spot of his own up high where he can survey his kingdom. If a cat tree is not in your future, providing a stable shelving unit with no small items on it will do very well. For an extra treat, place a blanket or small bed up there too.
Cat Owners
When something seems amiss with your feline friend, speak with other cat owners. Advice from other people can be very beneficial for you. There are a number of message boards for cat owners on the Internet, or you can go to your vet with problems.
Your cat needs to always wear some tags on a collar. This is essential even for indoor cats. You know how curious cats are, and any open door can mean the cat disappears. Include your vet’s info as well as your own on the tags. This will be important especially if you have a cat with medical issues.
Frequent or misdirected urination may warrant a trip to your vet’s office. This sort of behavior can be caused by urinary tract infections or other, more serious medical issues in your cat. A potentially serious illness can be prevented with some inexpensive antibiotics.
Pay attention to your cat’s litter box habits. If it stops using the box, medical problems could be to blame. There are conditions that will cause a kitty to do this. A variety of infections and kidney disease can cause your cat to stay away from the box when they suddenly associate it with pain due to their medical condition. Call the vet if your cat refuses to use the litter box.
Litter Box
If your feline just won’t use the litter box, try moving it to a different location. A cat will be more inclined to use the litter box if it is placed in a quiet and safe area in your home. Great suggestions include your basement and laundry room.
You should try keeping your cat inside or allowing it to go in the backyard. Cats trained to live inside instead of outside live longer according to certain studies. Cats who live indoors are less likely to contract a disease than those who live outdoors.
If your feline has hairball issues, and there’s been no help from brushing, try these tips out. Try mixing a teaspoon of pumpkin with your cat’s food. A teaspoon of tuna water mixed with pumpkin can also work. In addition, certain cat foods contain ingredients that are made to prevent hairballs, such as fiber. This may help resolve the issue.
Dry food is great for cats. Kittens have small teeth so they need soft food. When the adult teeth develop, dry, hard food will help make teeth stronger. Your cat might enjoy eating more if you mix dry and wet food.
Just like all cats in the world, yours is just as susceptible to contracting parasites. Such pests can linger if untreated. The techniques mentioned above can help you eradicate and prevent them. Every effort you make will result in the increased happiness of your cat.
