Do you have a feline friend? If yes, you know how precious these animals are. Your cat needs tons of care and love. Thankfully, a bit of knowledge will help you succeed. Keep reading to learn some great tips on caring for your cat.
Cats can get into even the tiniest of spaces. If they have a collar on, this might prove to be a safety risk if they happen to get stuck. A breakaway collar is a good option since it will break if your cat pulls on it. Using this collar will prevent your cat from injuring itself.
Keep dangerous chemicals away from your cat. Just like children, cats need to be kept away from items like cleaning materials since they could harm them. These chemicals are basically poison and if your cats consumes some or gets some on them, they could get very sick, get burned, or possibly die. Store these items in a place where your cat can’t find them or use a child-proof lock on their location.
Prevent your cat from chewing on electrical cords by spraying bitter apple on them. If they like to chew on cords, try covering them as much as you can. Any loose cords should be bundled up and placed in things like paper towel rolls. Electronic items with tasty-looking, thin cords (video game controllers, phone chargers, and so on) should be stored securely when you’re not using them.
Refrain from giving your cat any food that is spoiled. This can lead to indigestion and food poisoning, which can cost you a trip to the veterinarian. Always buy your food fresh from the store and be sure to check the expiration date before you feed it to your cat.
Do not use medicine meant for a dog on a cat. This is especially important for topical medicines. Cats do their own cleaning, and if a dog medicine is used on a cat, your pet can ingest it. There are some medicines that work for both cats and dogs, but only use them if the vet says it is okay.
Get your cat a breakaway collar. Make sure it has tags that reflect a phone number, even if you are uncomfortable with an address. Cats can run outdoors or slip away, and you don’t want to worry that you’ll never see your cat again. Make sure that there is adequate information so you can be reached.
Never try to teach a cat how to work a litter box. This is something that comes naturally and is not learned. You may have heard that rubbing your cat;s paws in litter will help them learn, but that may have a traumatizing effect.
Provide your cat with canned food rather than dry. Dry food can be less costly, but there are quite a few benefits to canned food. Your cat will get more water and more vitamins and protein. As your cat ages, canned food is more easily chewed. Canned food is usually a great option for your cat, but talk with your vet.
Clean your cat’s eyes as frequently as possible because their vision is extremely important and extremely sensitive. Cats interpret five times as much visual stimuli during their day and the smallest particle can become stuck and cause damage. A pair of thumbs and a damp cloth are perfect for clearing the eyes and keeping your cat clean.
Turn out the lights and use a black-light to identify the source of that mystery cat urine smell. Cat pee contains phosphorus, which glows brightly under this type of light bulb. This is especially useful because otherwise you might not be able to see the exact area to be treated. Use a piece of chalk to lightly trace the outline of the stain so you can see it when you turn the regular lights back on.
Sometimes cats can have problems with arthritis when they get older. This makes it harder for them to get around. You can buy them a heated bed to lay in to help ease the discomfort. It is also a good idea to talk to the vet about any medications that might help out.
You should try to keep your cat indoors most of the time since there are many things out there that can hurt them. Poison, injury and disease are just a few of the things that can happen to him. If he needs fresh air, open a screened window and allow him to sit there.
When introducing a new cat to your home, make sure that your other pets have time to adjust. You will want to give the new cat extra attention, but it is important to keep up established routines with your other pets. Allow the new cat to explore its new home while you care for your other pets.
Try your best not to feed your cat any table scraps, even if you are sure this would be better than throwing the extra food away. Once you feed your cat this type of thing, they will no longer want to eat the cat food that you give them regularly.
As you think about the different types of cats you can bring home, ask yourself if you can handle a vocal cat? While each cat is different, certain breeds are significantly more vocal than others. Siamese cats, for example, are known to meow, mumble, and yowl at all hours of the day and night. If you want a companion pet, this chatty breed could be a perfect match.
In all likelihood, your cat is very important to your household and taking good care of him is quite important to you. Now that you’ve read this, you should know much more about proper cat care. Remember everything you’ve learned here, as it will go a long way in improving your cat’s quality of life. It is very likely that if you take good care of your cat, you will benefit from the relationship.
