No amount of articles can prepare you for raising your first cat! This is a wonderful and exciting experience that you may only have once in life. Make every moment count by having fun with your pet, feeding it delicious Learn Tips About Cats To Make Your Life Easier, and keeping it active outside of the home. If this is your first cat, you’ll be glad you took the time to read this article and get prepared.
Keep your Cat Healthy:
Drape cords should be kept distant from cats. These are not great play toys for cats. They can wrap around a cat’s neck pretty easily. This may harm or kill them. Keep all drape cords out of reach as a preventative measure.
Spaying:
If your cat is female, then ensure you spay her as soon as you can. Even if your cat is an indoor cat, if she escapes while she is in heat you might end up with a lot of kittens on your hands. Spaying your cat is the best way to prevent this from happening.
Choking hazard:
Do not feed your cat any kind of human food that contains bones in it. If you are giving your cat chicken or fish, be sure to remove the bones beforehand to prevent a choking hazard. Chop the food that you serve into small bits to make it easier to digest for your cat.
Flush the Litter:
Do not flush clumpable litter in your toilet. This can lead to problems with your plumbing. Instead just lift the clumps and dispose of them in a trash bag. Don’t forget, moisture is what makes the litter clump in the first place! Avoid doing that to your pipes and just dispose of it properly.
Tips About Cats Health:
Do you love your cat but suffer from allergies? If giving up your feline-friend is not something that you can do, try these things first. Get rid of as much carpeting as possible because your cat’s dander gets trapped in it. You can also not allow your cat in your bedroom at all. This will make living with your cat easier on your allergies.
Avoid leaving a kitten:
Avoid leaving a kitten alone with small children. Younger children, especially under 5, cannot be left alone with your cat. The maturity level isn’t there when it comes to your child. As your children get older, you can decide when to teach them about handling a pet.
Discuss issues:
Discuss any issues you have with your pet with others. Although you might want to take care of things on your own, advice from other people with cats can be a big help. There are many online cat forums that will help you get questions answered. You could also try asking your vet.
Training:
Be sure to carrier train your cat. Cats are not as responsive to punishment as dogs are. Encouragement is a much better strategy. Put the carrier in a comfortable place and fill it with treats and toys. Over time, the cat will feel comfortable and go inside the carrier. Let it happen naturally or with only mild coaxing. Do not get angry. Once the cat is in the carrier, they will be so much easier to transport.Cats will generally do whatever pleases them, and this is fine, just as long as it doesn’t destroy your property. A little training can go a long way in keeping your items safe. Be gentle with your cats, and don’t scream, yell, or use violence with them. Whistles and squirt guns can alert your cat that they’re doing something wrong.
Food storing:
You should keep wet cat food in the refrigerator after it has been opened. Bring it to room temperature before serving it to your cat, because it will smell more enticing to them and be less likely to cause an upset stomach. If you like, place it in the microwave for a bit to warm it up.
Cleaning Tips About Cats:
Help keep your cat’s fur soft and healthy with regular cleaning. While your pet might object violently to a dunk in the bathtub, there are other options. Many pet stores sell feline cleaning wipes. These convenient disposable wipes reduce allergens and remove oils and dirt. Some are scented with chamomile, which helps to calm your cat. These are especially useful if you have an older or injured pet that cannot groom itself properly.
Avoid harmful chemicals:
Don’t use products with phenol in a house with a cat. Lysol, for example, has many harmful agents that can harm your cat. The smell is something that cats don’t like, and it also can lead to liver damage if it is used around your cats for a long period of time.It is a misconception that cats should drink milk or cream after they are weaned. Once a kitten is weaned from its mother’s milk, it no longer needs milk of any kind. In fact, milk or cream can cause digestive problems when given to an adult cat. So, to be on the safe side, skip the milk, and offer your pets lots of clean water instead.
Encourage your child to play with cats:
Encourage your child to play with cats by using toys, not by using their fingers and hands. Choose toys that put distance between the child’s hands and the cat’s teeth and claws. During a vigorous play session, an excited kitten is more likely to accidentally scratch its playmate’s skin. For example, you might use a long wand-type toy with a dangling feather or bell.
Use of microchip:
If you have a cat that goes outdoors, consider having him micro chipped. A microchip will help someone to locate you if they ever find your pet. This is especially important if your pet lands in a shelter, as shelters give pets a limited time if they cannot locate the owner easily.
Use of tags on your cat:
It’s very important to always have a collar and tags on your cat. Your cat will try to go wandering on their own as soon as they get a chance. If there is a tagged collar on your cat, it’s more likely she’ll be returned to you if she gets lost.
Final Words:
Your first cat is a special pet that should remain in your memories as a great time spent raising an adorable animal. Future pets will get easier to train and feed, but cats will always be a complex, confusing, messy animal. Small changes in Tips About Cats here and there help make this a unique experience.