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Healthy Cat TipsWe all want our cats to be happy and these healthy cat tips go a long way in satisfying them. It’s a reality that you will need a great deal of commitment to own a cat. They require some care (though not as much as dogs). Cats can live as old as 15 years (or even longer in some cases).

So let’s get going in the right direction to keep our cats happy, healthy and sound.

Healthy Cat Tips – Food, Fun, Safety and Care

Cats require feeding (daily), care and ‘play time’ on a regular basis. You will also have to take into consideration the fact that you will have veteranarian bills to pay for annual vaccines, worming and, if treatment is required, for any illnesses.  These bills can sometimes be very costly, but you can purchase insurance for pets – it may be a good idea to ‘shop around’ to get the best deal. (Google “Pet Insurance”)

A kitten should be fed throughout the day 4 times with a small amount of food each meal, reducing to 3 times a day at 3 months old, then at 6-8 months 2 meals per day. Older cats (over 12 months) should only be fed twice in the day (usually morning and early evening).

Cats groom themselves, but using a soft brush on the cat, especially the long haired variety, will help to cut down the number of hairballs in the cat’s stomach, which are caused by them licking / grooming themselves.

If you decide to have a cat-flap fitted to your door in order that the cat can come and go as it pleases, you will have to train it to use the flap.  You can use tit-bits to entice the cat to go through the flap, when it is fully open. Start by opening the flap fully, just showing the tit-bit, then next time close the flap a little bit and keep on doing so until the cat realizes that the flap will open with a small push of the head.

These may not seem like healthy cat tips but…

They are!

One of the best “healthy cat tips” I can tell you about that will not only be good for your cat, but good for your furniture and other household items. Cats like to sharpen their claws on most everything!  Even corners of walls (which is like thick paper), drapes and carpets.  The best solution is to buy a scratch post – there are many to choose from. When your cat starts to scratch, lift the cat and place him/her next to the scratch post. They will get the message and use the post instead of the furniture.

That not only makes you happy, it will make your cat happy too. And it’s healthy because you won’t be angry with your cat when damage happens!

In addition, if you’re concerned about your cat going missing, or it being involved in an accident, you can have a micro-chip (approximately the size of a grain of rice) inserted into the back of the cat’s neck.  The chip contains information, which can help to identify the cat as belonging to you.

Cats Look After Themselves…

That’s NOT really true! But they do have more of an independent nature than some other pets. That said, they still make ideal companions when they ‘allow’ you to be their friend.

There are many more healthy cat tips I could address, but I’ll save them for another post. Stay tuned!

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