The Basic Cat Health Overview
Cat ownership brings an array of positive attributes into family living. But a cat as a domestic animal brings a multitude of cat health concerns and cat ownership responsibilities. In the home, supervision of meals and consumption of water in a timely way is important, or a cat’s failure to ingest proper levels of life-giving nutrients will yield negative results for a cat’s health.
Cats prowl around for snacks but food should be limited to four times day for kittens, 3 times a day for full grown cats. Lack of appetite, slow digestion, and problematic breathing, coughing, spitting up and vomiting all signal the wrong food, too much food, or a need for a veterinary cat health visit.
Cats groom themselves and their coat should reflect a healthy diet. Cat health means using saliva to groom and organize hair. For this reason, clean water and cleansed drinking containers must be provided at all times. Excreted hair in the form of hairballs that exceed normal amounts and varieties are a significant warning sign your cat’s dental or digestive health is amiss.
Cats generally kill bugs and eat them, or brings rats or rodents inside as trophies, and watch and capture birds for sport. Cats will not understand that this is “bad”. Cats have become domesticated over time but have deep-seated instincts to hunt prey and insects. Their eyes and whiskers serve to alert them and assist them in catching prey of the pest variety. But this leaves them open to feline health concerns.
Cats should be allowed time outside the home for this behavior. Scratching furniture and damaged carpets will result if cats don’t get their “play time” and recreational activity. Cat structures for play can be purchased and constructed at home to fit your cat’s indoor play needs. When weather does not permit outdoor play, this focused recreational area will save wear and tear on other furnishings.
Cats living in homes with chlorine pools, fish aquariums, and/or chemically treated spas or jacuzzis should make sure cats drink fresh water that they have provided to them, not the altered water and its by-products. Cats like cozy crevices or cushioned areas to sleep on in cod weather, smooth or cool surfaces in hot weather. Cat fur will seasonally change and grow thicker as winter approaches.
Cats on a regular diet of the same food can be depended upon to act naturally. Too many variances in the diet or exotic snacking or “human” food does not fare very well for long term cat health. Digestive tract health for cats includes noticing when cats are too somnolent or resisting your efforts for them to exercise or go outside. Cow or goat milk is actually not good for cats, although the consistency is appetizing enough for them to eat/drink it if offered.
Cats grow claws which will become sharp and lengthened over time. Cats which become too aggressive around the house or with children can be declawed at a veterinarian. But these animals must be guarded from the natural world outside where claws function as a protection and natural defense. Check your cat’s paws often for any sign of soreness.
Cat health maintenance for older animals should be vigilant for changes in mood, sleeping habits, and aggression in company with other animals.
Many times cats must co-exist with other pets from other species. Birds and fish should be separated securely from feline access for the health of all concerned. Snakes, rodents, guinea pigs and ferrets may overshadow or threaten your cat. Bullying behavior and aggressive dominance will evidence itself by an unwillingness for the cat to go outside or in formerly “common” neighborhood areas. Unusual dominance in aggressive animals usually indicates a need for more protected exercise, human company, or fresh food/less food, and more/less water.