Cats don’t have to compete with any other animal and they are great to have around your house because of a few reasons. Cats are entertaining and can keep rodents away. Having a cat can help you make sure rodents don’t enter your home.

Make sure you don’t allow your cat to be around drape cords. Keep the cat away from these cords as they tend to form loops when the cat is playing around, and it could accidentally go around their neck and strangle them. They could be seriously hurt or even killed. Be sure your drape cords are strongly secured.

TIP! Take your cat in for regular vet exams. Your vet can give you an idea of your cat’s overall health, in addition to administering any shots it may need.

Put a heated tile beneath the bed of an older cat. Heat a fabric covered heating pad in the microwave for a couple of minutes, making sure that is not too hot to the touch. Then, wrap this up into a towel and place it underneath your cat’s bed. Switch towels every few hours if you need to.

Don’t give a cat a dog’s product. Cats don’t like dog products. One product in particular to pay close attention to is any remedy for fleas and ticks. Flea products that are intended for a dog can kill a cat. Make sure to separate your cat from your dog after spraying.

A microchip will allow you to find your pet if it is lost. Indoor cats could run out your door or jump out the window. While a collar with a tag is useful, remember that your cat may be able to escape from the collar while they are away. Collars can also harm your cat if they get caught. Microchips are tiny and contain all your contact information. Most shelters have a scanner that can pick up the facts located inside the chip.

TIP! To safely help an old cat feel comfortable, place a heated tile under its bed. Simply heat a terra-cotta tile in a 200 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Pick the right location for your cat’s litter box. The box should be out of the high traffic areas and a good distance from where your cat eats. You’ll want to place the box in a spot with good ventilation to avoid unpleasant smells. Both you and your pet will appreciate that.

It is likely that your feline friend enjoys grooming his fur. If the cats hair is too long, this is what causes hairballs. Buy special food in order to help that problem. Some food are produced specifically for hairball reduction, which will help.

Online outlets offer better prices for cat medicine than vets. When an emergency strikes, however, you may not have the option of buying medications on the Internet. The savings can amount to almost 50 percent on regularly prescribed medications.

TIP! If your cat is a female, be sure to get her spayed when she is old enough. You may not think it’s necessary if you have an indoor cat, but your cat may escape.

Make a tablecloth that your cat can use. Sometimes cats prefer to remove food from their bowls and eat it from the floor. That can mean a bigger mess for you to clean. The best thing for you to do is to have a place mat underneath the cat’s bowl.

Do your best to determine why your cat is meowing. By paying attention, you should eventually learn why your cat is meowing. The cat might want something to eat, or just to go outside. By giving her the proper amount of attention you can better attend to her needs.

If your cat experiences major problems, don’t be afraid to talk to other cat owners. Advice from other people can be very beneficial for you. Your local veterinarian can be a valuable source of information, but there is also help available online by joining user forums geared toward cat owners.

TIP! If your cat is outdoors, it needs to have a tagged collar. Tags can save you a lot of trouble if your cat gets lost.

Cats may make a small mess outside their litter box. Usually this is a sign that you haven’t cleaned the box recently. Punishing the cat will only make him afraid to be around you in the future.

Feed your cat a few different varieties of food. This can help him not get too finicky. Keeping the same kind of food around most of the time makes it to where they only want that specific food.

Keep old, worn scratching posts. Cats typically like older posts compared to newer posts. If you replace it with something new, your pet might seek out something a little more worn to scratch – like your furniture.

TIP! It can be hard to stop your cat from coming on your counters. Cats enjoy heights, as they can monitor events from their perch.

Invest in a cat friendly fountain. In the wild, cats prefer running water to drink from, and they do in the home as well. Cats usually like to drink from a water stream. Cats will often drink from a running sink and actually prefer it over the water in their bowl. So a drinking fountain makes a smart investment that’s both environmentally friendly and loved by your feline.

Feed your pet canned food. Yes, dry food is cheaper, but canned food really has a lot more benefits. Canned food generally provides more nutrients, protein and fat as well as liquids. For aging cats, it is also easier to chew. Speak with the vet, but food in cans tends to be better.

A cat might not seem to be as good of a hunter as a guard dog, but dogs won’t put in the effort to hunt small critters, and they aren’t as friendly around the family. Cats are great hunters and can make kills more frequently than dogs at times. With all of these useful attributes, it’s no surprise that cats are so popular.