Cat Care - The Essentials

Cats are great pets for people who want good companionship without a lot of responsibility. They are easy to maintain and are usually very independent, curious, playful, loving, and a lot of fun to watch and be with. Of course, your cat still depends on you for its basic needs, such as proper food, shelter, annual check ups and vaccinations, and your time spent in building a bond with it as owner and companion. In addition, there are some other important care tips and regimens that will help keep your cat happy, in good health, and on its best behavior.

Grooming - Not Just For Good Looks

Make sure to groom your cat regularly, brushing or combing its fur using a pet rake or slicker brush. Regular grooming prevents and manages excess shedding, and helps to maintain a tight, shiny coat. This way your hand will not be filled with messy hair every time you pet your cat and this will also keep your house cleaner. Furthermore, grooming helps prevent hairballs as well as fleas and ticks, helps stimulate the skin, and most cats enjoy being brushed. Generally speaking, shorthaired cats should be groomed at least once a week, while longhaired cats can be groomed up to once a day.

When grooming, start at the head and work toward the tail, and be firm but gentle. Pulling or ripping through tangles and mats will cause pain, distrust, and anger. Brushing can and should be a pleasant experience for both owner and cat, so take your time. In addition to grooming as a way to prevent and manage excess shedding, many pet food companies also make products that you can add to your cat's food to help prevent or stop excess shedding. Allen's Shed-Stop and Lambert Kay Shed Relief are just two of these helpful products. Science Diet, Nutro and Iams also make similar products.

Litter Boxes and Getting Cats to Use Them

A few people have trained their cats to go potty outside of the home or even into the toilet, but those methods are harder to teach and can pose a hazard. Most people will just use a litter box. In most cases, a cat will usually instinctively start using the litter box that you provide for it, but some cats may need to be given a few hints or even tricks.

Initially, you may need to place the litter box in a public place where your cat can easily see it, or at the spot where it usually goes potty. Later, if you want to move the litter box - say into the bathroom or other low-traffic, low-visibility area - do it gradually: move the box 6-8 inches every few days and be sure that the cat still continues to use it in the new place. It also might help to place something over the old spot so it will not be tempted to return there.

You can choose from covered or open litter boxes. If using a covered box, make sure your cat can get in and out easily or it may decline to use it. There are a variety of materials you can buy for litter filling. Cats use soil in the wild and you can try digging up some in your backyard for use. Most people buy their litter material. You can choose from clay, sand, chunky pellets, silica gel and even environmentally friendly litter material.

Here are some other tips for using litter boxes

• Change litter box contents regularly (that is, clean it out) to keep the cat interested in it. Cats like clean places to do their business. Try to remove soiled litter daily. This will help keep your home odor-free and ensure your cat's use of the litter box.
• Depending on the buildup of soiled litter and odors, you should completely clean out (empty) the box and replenish it with fresh litter every so often. When changing the litter, you should wash the box with warm, soapy water (not harsh cleaning chemicals), and then rinse it thoroughly before refilling it with litter.
• Each cat should have its own litter box. If you have a two-story home you may need to keep one litter box on each floor to ensure your cat uses the litter boxes consistently.
• The litter box should be roomy enough for your cat to turn around in it.
• Do not put your cat's litter box next to its food bowl or bed. Because cleanliness is so important to them, cats do not like to eliminate where they eat or sleep.

Food and Feeding

Some cats may prefer milk or other liquids, but water is always the best drink for them. Cats will drink more water and enjoy it more if is kept very fresh. For food, there are many cat foods on the market. As you might expect, most commercial cat foods are already made to be relatively nutritionally balanced. You can read and compare labels to pick the ones that are most fortified with vitamins and minerals, or those that include anti-oxidants for extra protection against diseases.

Indeed, feeding your cat a good cat food will help avoid adult diseases like obesity, diabetes as well as organ damage when they are older. There are also specially designed cat foods for helping to prevent or even curing certain cat diseases and disorders, including the prevention of excess shedding mentioned earlier in the Grooming section. Another article in the Pet World Fact of the Week archives talks all about these and other types of pet foods, click here to see it.

Some cats control their intake well while others eat anything in sight. To avoid overfeeding your cat (which can lead to obesity and other health problems), it is best to provide food at mealtimes only rather than having a food bowl filled with food available at all times. This way you can easily monitor intake and food will not become stale. Avoid table scraps as well even though it is tempting!

There are plenty of dry or canned cat foods available for your cat. Dry foods take up less space, are easier to serve, will remain fresh and appetizing in the open for longer periods of time, may even help keep the cat's teeth healthier and cleaner, and are available in a variety of flavors and textures. Canned cat foods usually contain a higher portion of meat and are generally more delicious and savory for cats, but that is about where the advantages end.

Fun and Activities

Cats are very independent and active creatures in the wild, where they thrive and keep busy with the freedom to hunt, mark, protect and defend, and to interact with others of the same species. Not surprisingly, indoor life can sometimes be a little tedious for cats, and this is what usually leads to things like excessive scratching, hiding, and other behavioral "problems". While a cat for your cat is the optimal solution (they will amuse themselves together for hours at a time and take the heat for entertainment off you), a collection of fun toys and a few minutes per day of your time and energy will go a long way toward meeting your cat's physical as well as emotional/psychological needs and thus providing an outlet for what may otherwise become misdirected behavior or "bad habits."

Climbing furniture such as cat trees are great for satisfying curiosity and providing excellent exercise for cats. Toys especially for chase or hunt games and activities (can be anything from a simple ball to a laser mouse toy) provide what is called "predatory play" for cats and satisfies that urge. A ball on a string or hanging from the end of a pole make a great toy for social and interactive play. There are also food puzzles such as buster cubes (plastic cubes with various compartments for food that falls out as the cat bats it) that will provide feeding as well as exercise in one package. You can also make a homemade one, such as a paper cup with the opening taped over, and drill one or more holes in cup bottom or side so the cat can play some games with it to get food out continuously.

Cat Safety and Cat-Proofing

Cats and especially kittens, are very curious and independent by nature, and although you can not really discourage them from it, you can be prepared for it to prevent accidents and tragedies. Make it easy for your family and your cat by doing a little cat-proofing around the home:

1. Store all poisonous or dangerous materials in a tightly closed cabinet.
2. Keep toilet lids down. Your cat or kitten could fall in.
3. Store plastic bags in a drawer where your cat can not get to them. They can pose a threat of choking and suffocation.
4. Keep household items like string, sewing supplies, tacks, rubber bands, twist-ties, and other small parts away from your cat or kitten as they can be easily swallowed. Regular vacuuming will help with this.
5. Electrical cords should either be secured to the walls or wound up and bound so cat has less risk of getting shocked.
6. Store chocolates and other delicious (but bad for cats) human treats in closed containers and not openly displayed.
7. Lock up stuff like opened cleaning ingredients and other hazardous chemicals, or at least place them in securely closed cupboards.
8. Keep the dryer closed at all times - you may have heard about such nightmares in movies or on the news before.
9. Honk your car's horn before starting up - cats that are let out in the garage may hide under cars and even under car hoods.
10. Some plants, like ivy and poinsettia, are toxic when chewed on by cats. Be sure to check with your veterinarian or the plant nursery before bringing any plant into the house. Alternatively, you can use special cat repellents that will not hurt the plant but whose horrible taste will repel any cat. You can also get cat grass and most other grass seedlings for your cat to enjoy instead.
11. Make sure to have your cat start wearing a collar if it is not already, especially if you let your cat outdoors. The collar should have an identification tag with your phone number at minimum, and it should fit snug but not tight - you should be able to stick a finder in comfortably. And when you let your cat out it is best to keep your eyes open since they are susceptible to fights with other animals and traffic accidents.

If you have any questions regarding cat and kitten training, just ask us and we will help you any way we can.

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