By Poppy R Smith
Your cat is your best friend. My cat is my constant companion. If she's not asleep on her favourite chair she is following me around or curled up on my lap. If she gets sick and has to stay at the vet's I'm lost without her. The house feels empty. She's 15 now and still well and active. It hasn't always been that way - she's had cat health problems all her life. At any time she can suffer from colitis or cystitis. I have to remain constantly vigilant to prevent her from becoming ill again. How do I do this? These are my top 3 tips for keeping your cat healthy. I'm not a vet or qualified in any way - this is my own experience of owning cats for many years.
Tip 1. Make sure you handle your cat (or any animal) every day. Run your hands over them. Know what their coat and body feel like. If any unusual lumps appear you should be able to spot them quickly. My cat developed a horrid weepy lump on her shoulder a few years ago. This had to be removed by the vet. Because I'd spotted it early it was a simple procedure and she has been fine ever since. My cat loves to be picked up and cuddled. If her reaction changes in any way this can be a sign that she is becoming unwell. If your animal is in pain she may whine when you pick her up or hold her body rigidly. You will soon get to know your cat's normal reaction to being handled. If your cat doesn't like to be picked up, try to stroke him and run your hands over him when he is eating.
Tip 2. Know your cat's behaviour. Than you can look for changes in behaviour that might indicate a cat health problem. A cat I owned many years ago was normally aloof and unfriendly. When he was ill, the opposite would happen. He would climb on my lap, look me straight in the eye and miaow - trying to tell me he felt unwell. The cat I have now is the opposite. She is normally talkative and friendly. If she goes quiet and sits in a corner - this a change in behaviour that tells me she is not feeling well.
Tip 3. Feed your cat a healthy diet. For my cat this is the number one factor for keeping her well. In my experience most cat food is too rich for most cats. The expensive, one helping, food in a sachet or carton is designed to make you feel you are a wicked owner if your cat isn't being fed on specially created food for the sophisticated cat. My cat is fed on one brand of light, dried cat food. It is a properly balanced diet. Any change from this immediately makes her ill. I have used changes in diet to help the cat health problems of other cats too. Two cats I looked after a couple of years ago had, to be delicate about it, a wind problem. They were fed on expensive, tinned food. In their six months with me they were fed the same dried, light catfood as my own cat. Their wind problems disappeared. A colleague of mine had two cats with cat health problems. Both were addicted to fish. They wailed inconsolably if they didn't get fish. One was bald down his back legs and belly. The vet was at a loss. I persuaded their owner to change their diet completely. To take them off fish and expensive sachets. Just feed them a cheaper, less rich, variety for a balanced diet. Within months the bald patches on the male cat had grown fur and the female had slimmed to a more normal size.
If you want more in depth information on cat health, you need to find a book written by an expert in the field. My cat, Poppy, has her own website. She has a page on cat health where she has found information written by just such an expert. Head on over and take a look |
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