Caring for your kitty
Getting a cat? While they may be one of the most independent house pets, cats need a lot more care than one may realise. If you want a healthy cat, it’s important to start off on a good foot and establish a few good habits. Here are five health care tips from veterinary experts for your new kitty:
Brush your cat once a day
Cats spend hours grooming themselves but this means they develop hairballs. Give your feline a break from grooming once a day and brush them. This will help to decrease the occurrence of hairballs for them.
Get fussy cats to cooperate by linking the brushing with something that makes them happy. Try brushing just before meal time to build that association or giving them a treat afterwards.
Make sure they’re drinking enough
Since they have evolved from carnivores, cats derive most of their water from their food. However, today’s cats survive on a combination of dry food and tinned meat. As dry pellets contain as little as about 5% water, and tinned meats contain as much as 75% water
So, it is important to ensure your cat has access to fresh water whenever they need it. Some cats may even need more water – particularly if they’re elderly or nursing.
Don’t overdo the dry food
Cats are different to their canine friend, in that they can’t subsist on dry food alone. They require a fair amount of meat in their diet. Too much dry food, which is carb heavy, can cause cats to become obese and develop Diabetes. Stay on top of your cat’s health by ensuring their main meal is meat.
Introduce a scratching post
Every cat owner has had a piece of furniture scratched and clawed at. To prevent your kitty from scratching the contents of your home to pieces, train them to use a scratching post. The trick here is to make the scratching post more appealing than anything else.
Start off by placing the post in the centre of the room and sprinkle with catnip. You can gradually move the scratching post away from the centre of the room and eventually into a corner (without the use of catnip too) once the cat has been trained to use the post.
Spay & neuter
Make sure your cats are not causing an uncontrollable breeding issue by having them spayed and neutered. This will help to prevent from adding to the already large number of stray cats and kittens in South Africa.
As you can see, once you know how to do it, caring for your kitty is easy. But having the right tools to care for your feline friends can make that even easier. Make sure you get quality pet care for your furry feline by visiting your local supermarkets and stocking up on Marltons Cat products.
