Remember bringing your cat or kitten home for the first time? Everyone is excited, especially if you have kids.
Many hours will be frittered away looking after and playing with the new addition. The new addition is supremely happy that he is the chosen one and will now be doted on forever.
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How do you know if your cat is happy? Follow all of the steps below and you are on the way to cat happiness at your house.
Five Ways To Have A Happy Cat
| 1. Veterinarian Care For Your Cat – Is it really important? |
| 2. Safety – Cats on the move! |
| 3. Diet and Nutrition – Make good choices |
| 4. Stimulation – Cats do get bored and need stimulation |
| 5. Love – Too much love is not possible! |
1. Veterinarian Care For Your Cat
Your local veterinarian is always the best choice for vet care. When your vet is local, you get to know the vet and the other staff. It becomes a familiar place. You know the opening hours or the obligatory fridge magnet from the vet will give you the details.
Other people you know in the area may use the same vet and have stories to share. It is like choosing a doctor, you need to feel comfortable with the vet.
Maybe it is because they love animals but veterinarians I have met all seem to be very nice people.
When your new arrival comes home, it is a good idea to visit the vet for a check up. It is not necessary to rush off to the vet immediately but definitely have it on the to do list.
A general health check-up is advised to ensure that your new arrival is in good health and it’s also a good idea to introduce the new kitty to the vet.
Our vet had to put on long protective gloves to examine our kitty (when he was in his youth) as kitty was not keen on being examined. Now after many years seeing the same vet, the cat is greeted by name and no more long gloves are needed. The vet was very patient.
At the vet you will be given information about vaccinations and other issues likely to affect the cat.
Your vet can monitor your cat’s health and do a general health check, checking on the heart, joints, weight, ears eyes and skin plus check the teeth. You can voice any concerns you may have about your nearest and dearest – that cat that is!
Check to see if your vet has boarding facilities. Our veterinarian has boarding facilities for cats and it gives us peace of mind knowing the cat is at the vet while we are away from home. He is in the right place to get care if needed. This has actually become more important as the cat has become older.
Your veterinarian may also supply cat food. It is not necessary to purchase food at the vet, however sometimes the options at the vet are a good dietary choice and not available elsewhere.
2. Safety
It goes without saying that we want to keep our kitties safe.
Indoor kitties are less likely to run into physical threats to their safety than outdoor kitties. Outdoor cats are more likely to run into trouble in different ways.
Most outdoor kitties have their regular favorite spots around the yard, often one where they can bask in the sun or hide under a bush in relative obscurity.
If your cat is an outside cat and you are concerned that he is a wanderer, a GPS tracker solves the problem of wondering where he is. This little device will help lead you straight to your cat. The cat will never know how you found him.
If your cat is an indoor cat but has a hankering for the outside there are many outdoor enclosures ranging from the supremely fantastic mega structures to a portable structure that can easily be set up and dismantled.
Our cat has a special spot that he loves, looking out of the front window. This has necessitated adding a mini extension to the the window sill to make the sill sitting area wider. He can sit and watch all that is passing by the front of the house. He is often sitting in the window when we return home from an outing. Some cat window hammocks are easy to attach to a window like the one below.
3. Diet & Nutrition For Your Cat
Cats are obligate carnivores and as such need protein in their diet for survival.
The names of cat food will usually be something like, Beef and …, Tuna and …, Chicken with…. and so on.
We think of a balanced diet as including all the food groups however this is not so for a cat, as protein should always form the main part of the diet.
There is more information here about what cats should definitely not eat and things that cats can tolerate but should not be encouraged. You might be surprised at some of the things on the list.
Fresh protein in addition to canned protein is good for the cat. As far as brands are concerned Purina is the canned food of choice in our house. Our cat has had Fancy Feast his entire life, in addition to fresh food and dry food that was purchased from the vet..
Fancy Feast was what the cat wanted and Fancy Feast is what he got. Who says we are not dictated to by our cats.
Some flat faced cat breeds such as The Persian, The Himalayan, The British Shorthair and so on can have difficulty picking up food.
These cat food dishes are slightly tilted and designed to make the food easier to pick up which is great for flat-faced breed cats.
4. Stimulation
Cats do get bored. Mostly they will sleep more if they are bored so it is good to provide them with mental stimulation.
Kittens and cats are naturally inquisitive. Anyone who has a cat knows that an empty cardboard box is a fabulous plaything to a cat.
Children are great at keeping cats stimulated by playing with them and will spend ages waving a cat wand. Importantly, a cat wand also keeps little hands out of the way from being scratched. It is also great exercise for the cat as they jump and leap to chase the wand.
Mental stimulation games help to relieve boredom in cats.
We try not to talk about our kitties too much for fear of being labelled a crazy cat person but in the end who cares.
It is easy to love a cat and for them to worm their way into our hearts but it is also a responsibility looking after a cat and one that we must be prepared to take on willingly and happily for many years.
Climbing structures are loved by cats and they do provide the double duty of being a scratching post also as they are usually covered in carpet or sisal.
5.Love
Have you got a lap snuggler who jumps up onto your lap and wants to be patted or does your cat squirm to be put down when picked up?
Our cat is the squirmer variety although now he is a senior that has changed somewhat. Even the squirmer loved attention when he was younger when it suited him.
Love is also looking after our cats every day of the week and keeping up routines like grooming, keeping the litter box clean, watching their weight and general health such as flea control and providing a good diet.
Love goes both ways as we love our furry little friends with their inscrutable personalities. They become part of the family, part of our life and the source of much love and joy.
What do you do to keep your cat happy?
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