First Coast Pet

Posts Tagged ‘cat health care’

Every cat owner knows that hairballs are awful things to deal with. They are caused by a build up of fur and lack of brushing. Since cat fur is thick, a hairball can be problematic if the cat ends up swallowing it. Hairballs can easily get stuck in the cat’s throat and this can cause choking. This is an unpleasant thing to have to stand by and watch.

Basic cat health care knowledge can help to prevent problems. That means watching out for hairballs and matted fur accumulating. Great advice is to make sure grooming your cat forms a part of your daily routine. Owners and pets get pleasure from grooming, so persevere with it. Make sure you do it gently so the animal becomes more relaxed and it will sit in your lap all day as you groom it!

Since some cats out there have very long and thick fur, it is important that you check with the vet if anything specific needs to be done to look after it. Take Persian cats as an example – they have beautiful long fur but if it ends up forming hairballs, this could be very risky for them. No-one can stop a cat from licking, which is why hairballs are a problem. People often ask how come dogs don’t have the same problem, but you may notice that dogs don’t lick their fur, thus hairballs aren’t an issue. Cats clean themselves by licking their fur and hairballs can occur at any time.

Once the hairball gets into the digestive system, the cat will start trying to cough it up. This is when you will hear choking sounds and it can make pet owners quite nervous when they hear this, as they don’t know how to deal with it. The best cat health care advice is to just let the cat cough it up, but keep a watchful eye. Look out for any worrying signs and just make sure the cat is okay after coughing the fur up. If you like to stay prepared, there are some hairball treatments out there which a vet can advise on.

We all know there are lots of different cat breeds but for many people their preference will always be the Persian. Well known for their gentle and sweet personalities and their long hair, Persian cats have very attractive features. These Persian cats can become man’s best friend in no time and they require very little attention. However, it is always a good idea to take note of cat health care tips, whatever breed you have.

Although white is the colour normally associated with Persian cats, they actually come in a variety of other colours as well. If Persian cats are entered into competitions then they will get separated into seven different colourway categories, such as silver and gold, tabby, smoke and Himalayan.

Persian cats should always be kept inside of the house, to protect their coat. If they were to end up going outside, their coat can be easily damaged. They will also need to be brushed daily with a metal comb, or their coat can become tangled, which will lead to hairballs. Bathing is also essential. Bathe your cat when it is young and it will be used to it when it gets older. Although some breeds can maintain their coats on their own, Persians can’t. This is due to the fact that the Persian fur is quite dense and long, so you need to brush them on a daily basis to keep their coat healthy.

To ensure your Persian pet stays healthy, the following cat health care tips should prove useful. Make sure you take your pet to the vet on an annual basis for him to check over your cat’s general health. If you do all this and look after your Persian cat, it could live as long as 20 years. Having said this, there is one area that may require some attention and that’s with a Persian cat’s eyes. A Persian cat’s eyes can be quite large and sometimes cause problems for the cat because it cant clean them properly. To experienced cat owners, you might recognise that this is a common problem with the Persian breed, so just check the eyes regularly and you should be fine.

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Cat health care is an important factor when it comes to the cleanliness of your pet, so rather than let it get dirty, as the owner you should be taking the responsibility of looking after your cat. Never overlook the importance of grooming in optimising your cat’s health and cleanliness. Your grooming ritual can begin in many different ways, but it is recommended that you start with brushing to keep the cat’s fur looking good. To prevent hairballs, brush the fur regularly as this will remove loose hair. There are some cats that find hairballs hard to remove. One of the worst case scenarios of a stuck hairball is an intestinal blockage. If your pet does end up with a blockage in the intestines, this can be very dangerous and could be life threatening, so see a vet immediately.

When it comes to cat health care, getting the basics right is crucial, so be sure to groom your cat on a daily or weekly basis, depending on the length of the hair. You may notice an odd lump when brushing your cat’s fur, so watch out for these. Many people don’t know which is the best way to groom their pet, but if you brush along the cat’s back to start with, then this should be fine. It is wise to brush a couple of times on both sides of your cat’s coat so that you can keep it looking clean and healthy. You should always brush each area in the direction that the cat’s hair grows.

Take extra care to avoid brushing the sensitive areas of your cat, such as the face and paws. Not all cats can tolerate brushing, so that’s why there is a convenient alternative. Many cats have been found to love the soft and relaxing sensation of the grooming glove, and this of course makes it easier for pet owners to proceed with grooming in a quick and easy way. Help make the grooming process a much smoother one by getting your cat used to it from an early age, be it with the grooming glove or a brush. If you start grooming them when they are young, many cats warm quickly to the idea of grooming and therefore many get older and don’t dread the moment you walk over with a brush as part of the daily cat health care process.

Take time over brushing and grooming your cat so that you can pick up on anything that might not look quite right, such as a poorly paw etc, and it is always worthwhile checking the eyes to ensure they are clear and bright. Hopefully your cat’s eyes will look fine, but as a pet owner you should be able to notice if something isn’t quite right, so check them over to see if he responds to your voice and movement. Check the colour of the inner ears on your cat to ensure they are pink and look perfectly clean, as this will prevent the chance of ear mites. The last thing you want is for your cat to lose its hearing, so be sure to check that ear mites are nowhere to be seen within your cat’s little ears. Once ear mites find their way in there, they can be a nuisance to get rid of and cause you and your pet a great deal of hardship. Of course, the best known way to get rid of pesky ear mites is to keep your cat’s ears exceptionally clean.

Use your cat grooming time to explore your cat and feel for lumps and bumps, so that you can identify small problems before they get much worse. All pet owners enjoy being able to praise their cat, so if you find he co-operates with the grooming session then you may feel a treat is in order. Animals can have little moods, just like people, so if you’re finding that your cat isn’t willing to co-operate with your planned grooming session, the best idea is to leave it a while and try again later. All cats are different, but since many eventually accept (and rather like) the idea of being groomed, you can feel confident that you are doing all you can to keep your cat health care checks going full steam ahead.

Today’s domesticated cat has become the pet of choice for millions of people worldwide. In the United States alone, over 30 million domestic cats now outnumber the dog population by many millions, with the gap growing ever wider every day. For what reason has the household feline gained in popularity? What is it about this puzzling creature that appeals to so many of us?

The answer to this definitely has to be the ambiguous personality of the cat. Extremely intelligent, it possess a remarkable amalgamation of personality traits not found in other houshold pets. Captivating and quiet, self-sufficent amd poised, athletic and fastidious, the domestic cat is seldom needy. It loves company but is also content to pass the time alone for hours at a stretch, making it the perfect pet for single people especially, let alone families.

This autonomous streak, a result of cats in nature living alone by themselves, gives the household cat a slightly haughty attitude about life; for them, the sun does not rise and fall with humans, although they will take us when they can get us, thank you very much.

The ability with which cats survive, with  or without humans could just be one of the top reasons why we like them so much. Emotionally needy pets (or people) tend to grate on the nerves after some time; cats are delightful narcissists. This, combined with their dignity, grace, beauty, and ease of care, always makes them dsireable.

We also like cats for their ability to say, ” we are your roommate, not your servant,” and for their capacity to recognize the value of a good nap. And who can fail to appreciate the cat’s clean, fastidious nature and built-in toilet training? Good luck getting a Schnauzer puppy to use a litter tray!

There’s no doubt that cats enjoy all the consideration we humans give to them, though they will, given the chance, deny it. They are content to stay with us because we love them and look after them, but if we vanished from the planet tomorrow, chances are the cat would mourn somewaht, meow some, and then continue with the business of finding a furry morsel to eat – all the while lampooning the millions of rudderless, brokenhearted pooches wandering around aimlessly, wondering what to do next.

If my life experience is anything to go by, closer ties have been forged with a cat when an owner doesn’t smother the animal with unwanted affection at times when the cat just wants its own space. As my grandmother used to say: “You’ll never own a cat but one may choose to live with you”.