Happy Cat, Happy Home

 Long time, no post. But that doesn't mean there hasn't been much to say. There were a couple of posts that made their way to the facebook page, but not here. I'm going to try to be more consistent with posting things that are helpful for pet owners. To start this blog back up for the year, I asked an experienced vet tech if she would do a guest post on feline wellness-a very ignored and underrated topic. So in honor of the upcoming kitten season (please support spay/neuter) and America's most popular but less understood companion, here's a guest post from vet tech, Jamie L. on keeping cats happy. 

        

When it comes to owning a cat, I hear a lot of people state that they are “easy” pets that don’t require training. You don’t have to take them for walks, you just leave food out all day, they use the litterbox as needed, and they’re fine. Nothing more to do, right? FALSE. Cats have extremely strong instincts that are hardwired into their brains. Due to this fact, it is crucial that our house cats are provided with proper outlets for natural behaviors and instinctual habits.

The hard truth in the matter is that the number one reason for cats being surrendered to shelters is due to behavioral issues such as inappropriate urination/scratching or aggressive behaviors. These behaviors are caused in part because of the lack of understanding for our feline friends and why they behave as they do.

The saving grace for our feline friends’ mental and physical health has been summarized into a “doctrine” of the cat friendly world referred to as the pillars of feline enrichment. Cats have 5 pillars that should be considered and incorporated to allow your cat to feel at home and stress-free. These include: having multiple, safe locations in which your cat can escape whatever trigger that is stressful for them, multiple areas in which your cat can seek resources such as multiple litterboxes and water outlets if living in a multi-pet home, the opportunity to play and be able to express natural behaviors such as scratching and predatory responses, as well as positive human-cat interactions, and lastly, providing an environment that respects your cat’s sense of smell.

It sounds like a lot but small changes or additions that you can easily make can drastically improve your cat’s life. Adding scratching post, cat trees, and various tunnels and toys can help encourage your cat to display their natural instincts in a way that does not damage your home. If cats are not provided with appropriate scratching outlets, they will scratch your couch or carpet. You also must consider that not all cats immediately know what a cat tree is just because they’re a cat. Fun fact, cats are very teachable creatures. If your cat doesn’t know what a cat tree is and how you desire them to use it, you must teach them. Pick up their little paws and show them the action of scratching. You can also scratch on the post yourself to show your cat what you expect.

I know it sounds crazy, but your cat’s mental and physical well-being also has a lot to do with how they smell and recognize their home. Cats rely heavily on their sense of smell as their distance vision is poor. While their vision at a distance is poor, they compensate for that with an extremely keen sense of smell and rely on this sense to recognize and understand where they are. This adds a sensation of familiarity and comfort that cats desire.

If you are looking to add a feline friend to your home or to enrich your current cat’s life, following the pillars discussed above is a good place to start. Cats need a lot of attention and specific requirements within their environment to allow them to feel safe. Cats are not as aloof and non-social as people make them out to be. If you include your cat in your daily routine and make some of these changes to their environment in your home, you will develop a life-long friendship that is simply unmatched.