Cat Care

Cat Care

As the cold weather is coming, I thought it would be the best time to talk about caring for your cat. Something that inspired me was International Cat Care’s Annual Conference.

The event is being held from 9 am – 16:25 pm on Saturday 15^th October at Burlington Hotel in Birmingham. The idea of the conference is to educate people on the best ways to care for cats. People who own cats, people who have a general interest in cats all the way to veterinary experts attend the conference on an annual basis. If you’re interested it may be an educative event to attend.

First Steps

Now, outside of the more commonly known stuff  (feeding them 3 times a day, making sure water is always available and providing a comfy bed). There is a lot to think about when taking care of a cat.

Cats love running around and climbing, so it may come as no surprise that they can get all sorts of stuff stuck in their fur. The last thing you want is your cat dragging bugs and all sorts through your home. To prevent this, your cat’s fur needs to be groomed regularly, try using an Ancol slicker brush to keep it looking and feeling healthy.

One of the most important things you can do to care for your cat gets them micro chipped. You might think it doesn’t help but it does. With a dog, you need to keep it on a lead to take it out. Cats pretty much have free roamed which leaves them vulnerable to road traffic accidents. If your cat is microchipped you’ll be able to locate them. Then you can get your cat to the vet if it is unfortunately injured. Knowing exactly where your pet is located is one of the most important things you can do for them. Add a collar with a name tag and your phone number. This way if anybody finds your cat injured or perhaps lost, they can contact you.

Teeth and Ears

Because cats can’t physically brush their teeth. It’s up to you to make sure their pearly whites are kept just that. You should check inside its mouth every day for redness around the gums and tartar build up that may be occurring. Make sure you brush their teeth regularly with a soft toothbrush and toothpaste designed especially for pets. Another thing to assist in this is to give your cat things to chew on. This will keep their teeth nice and strong and will help get rid of tartar.

With cats, their ears are very sensitive and need to be maintained regularly, especially if your cat has any allergies. They may also come into contact with other cats which can have ear mites. One of the things you can do is use a form of ear wipes to keep ear mites away. It is important to check your cat’s ears regularly in order to notice if anything has changed. If you’re concerned take them to the vets.

Behaviour

The issue with domestic cats is when they need the toilet. You’ll need a place in your house where they can go to do their business. This is a hygiene issue for you and your pet. You need to make sure you have a litter tray and cat litter. They come in many different shapes, sizes and colours so finding one shouldn’t be too difficult. To remove the aftermath of your cat’s toilet time, scoop out the mess and put in a bag to throw out. The mess should be cleaned at least once a day. The litter should be removed, tray cleaned and fresh litter put in once a week.

You will often see your cat lying around in the sunniest spot in your house. This is because it’s warm and comforting for your pet. As you know, we don’t get much sun throughout the winter. This may leave your cat feeling cold and out of place. A way of managing this is to get your cat a little house to sleep in. A place where your cat can go to warm up and have a nap. An added benefit of this is the reduced stress levels of your cat because it has somewhere it can go to relax and be left alone. You could also try a heating pad. Make sure to monitor your cat as they have sensitive skin and may get burnt.

It gets a bit tricky later on in the year as, through the winter, cats still want to go outside and explore. If you let them, there are a few things we suggest on doing just to make sure your cat is safe.

General Care

Your cat’s nails are an important part of its day to day life, but they do grow extremely sharp. It’s important for you and your cat to maintain the quality of its nails. If they grow too long the cat may become uncomfortable and by the same token so might you. Be sure to clip your cat’s nails regularly. In assistance to this, I suggest a cat scratcher to keep your pet from scratching your furniture to pieces.

Build a small hide house for your cat in your garden. It may not come home till after you’re asleep. If you don’t have a cat flap your cat has a high chance of freezing. It needs to be small because if it’s too large, the cat’s body heat won’t warm the area up. You can either put some straw in there or loosely pack an old pillow case with some shredded newspaper. Do NOT put blankets or towels in there as these absorb body heat when your cats laying there, also becoming cold and damp due to the atmosphere.

Your pet may also want to eat more; it’s cold and your pet is burning more calories to keep warm. Don’t be shy to feed your cat one or two extra portions than usual. Just make them a bit smaller than a full portion.

The last point I am going to add is basically to keep your cat as active as you can. Play with them throughout the day when you can and keep them entertained and mobile. Dust off the old cat toys and get to it. It’s a good way of keeping your cat healthy and if there are any issues with your pet, it will be easier for you to notice.

Thank you

If there are any issues with your cat, or you think there are, take them to the vet. You can never be too safe.

The blog has been written under the assumption that your cat has already been wormed, flee ridden, possibly spayed/neutered and vaccinations are up to date. Thank you for taking the time to read. Be sure to check out one of our many educational blogs.