What can I do at home for cat preventive care?

The biggest thing you can do at home is to make sure that your cat has a good diet. Your veterinarian will be the best one to give you advice on that for your cat, but good nutrition is essential, as well as good enrichment, so making sure that they have areas to play with and toys to play with. You probably want to have a cat tree or a place where they can kind of perch or look outside and watch birds out through the window. And that they've got a good cozy place to sleep and that they have plenty of litter boxes with a type of litter that they like to use where they can feel comfortable to go to the bathroom. And then the other thing that we can do at home is keeping them up on things like flea and tick prevention. And a lot of those also prevent ear mites, and we want to do some intestinal parasite prevention.

As some cats get older, I like to be proactive about their dental health. And so we carry these little dental treats here that work great for cats to work on that dental tartar and help with their fresh breath. And those are some things that you guys can do at home to help cats out.

A big thing I find with cats, especially indoor cats, is proper nutrition and portion control. We know that our kitties indoors don't get quite the exercise they do outside. They're not relying on hunting to survive and to be nourished because we're providing that food. Being overweight can cause a lot of problems, so keeping them at an ideal weight can prevent a lot of problems. Overweight cats can't groom themselves as well, and diabetes is a threat. Another thing you can do at home is to make sure your cat has plenty of environmental enrichment. That's the big name that we use because that can prevent behavioral issues. Behavioral issues are one of the leading causes of having to rehome your pet, wanting to rehome your pet, or even euthanasia, which we don't like to think about. If we can do things to prevent behavioral issues, it's a lot easier than treating them later. Things like cat trees, puzzle toys, two sides of our den have windows, and I'm a bird photographer, so we have birds all over the place. The cats will just line the couch and watch birds. Something to enrich their mental as well as their physical, is perfect. Playing with them is a little more difficult, but a laser pointer and things like that help.

Paying attention to your cat's normal behaviors is a form of preventative care that you can do at home. Changes in their behavior, such as drinking more water. Cats are really good at hiding their diseases, so you may notice that your cat is limping, not playing as much, sleeping more than normal, or maybe instead of jumping straight up on the cat tree, they're taking steps to stick it up to the top and steps to stick it down. Where they used to run up your steps fluidly, now they're kind of taking their time, or when they're coming down the steps in your house, they're taking time and they're kind of bunny hopping down. These are signs that have actual pain. Checking your cat's teeth and monitoring their breath can also help detect problems early. If you notice anything out of the ordinary, it's best to make an appointment with a vet. I thought I found a bump or a little growth on one of my cats about six to eight months ago. It was a little tumor, so that had to come off. But this is the type of preventative care that you can do at home. You're going to pick up on things because you're seeing your cat every single day. I see your cat once a year.

By the fact that you're seeing them all the time, you are going to pick up on things and what I would tell you is listen to your gut. If something is not normal, call and make an appointment. You are going to be the best advocate for your cat because you are the best person that knows them a hundred percent. You're the one that knows all their different meows. You're the one that knows their behaviors and their patterns. You're going to know when something's different. Are they hiding under the bed? Are they sleeping in the closet? Are they not greeting you when you come home? Are they not chirping at you for their food at the regular times? So you are going to be the best person to help with preventative care at home because you are going to pick up on those tiny nuances that I'm not going to see because I'm only seeing them once a year.