6 Tips for Keeping Your Cat Healthy and Happy
People all around the United States love their cats. It has been estimated that the country is home to more than 95 million cats who are pets. If you are a cat companion, there are things you can do, other than identifying your veterinary options, to keep him or her healthy and happy. Here are a few to keep them out of pet hospitals in your area.
- Get your cat neutered or spayed. This may be considered to be just one of the veterinary options you have but it really should not be. All veterinarians will tell you that this is one of the most important things you can to for the health or your cat. For female cats, going into heat is very uncomfortable. There are people who think their cats long to be parents but as a result of this thinking, hundreds of thousands of them are euthanized each year. In addition, male cats are likely to spray in the home and get into fights, increasing the likelihood they will need emergency vet services.
- Take time to groom your cat every day. Cats are very clean animals and they clean themselves all of the time. After sleeping, this the activity that takes up most of their time. If you brush your cat every day, you can check for fleas and cut down on the hairballs you will have to clean up. Most cats love to be brushed or combed but you can sweeten the deal by giving them a treat after each brushing session.
- Be careful feeding dry food. Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they cannot be vegetarians. The problem with dry cat food is that it is often full of grain and not meat. If you give your cat too much of the dry food, they can develop health problems such as type 2 diabetes. Never feed your cat the food you feed your dog. The two animals have very different needs for their nutrition. being careful with the food you give your cat can prevent the need for more veterinary options.
- Make sure you give your cat enough water. The modern housecat is a descendant of cats that evolved under desert conditions. That means they may not need as much water as other pets but that does not mean they do not need any. When a cat is in the wild, the food they eat contains a lot of water, more than what is found in dry cat food. Your cat should have access to water all of the time. You should keep an eye on older cats, who can develop dehydration more readily than younger cats. If you see your cat is panting more than normal, has sunken eyes, or is lethargic, you should up the water you are giving them.
- Have enough litter boxes. The general rule for litter boxes is to have one more than you have cats. If you have one cat, you should have two litter boxes. If you have two cats, you need to have three cat litter boxes as well. There are a number of kinds of cat litter boxes and systems you can get and you may have to try a few before you find one that will work with your cat. The good news about this is that cats are very easy to train to use a litter box. There are people who have trained their cats to use a toilet so you can try that (you can find how to do this online) but having litter boxes as a backup plan, is a good idea.
- Get your cat some things to scratch on. If you train your cat to use posts or other things like cat trees to scratch, you will have happier cats and your furniture will be safe. There are ways to make scratching posts more appealing. Putting catnip on it is one way to get them more interested in the posts. Start by putting the scratching items in the center of a room and move them after your cat has started using them.
There are a number of veterinary options for your cat, these are things you can do at home.