10 Great Ways To Look After Your Cat

Getting a new cat can be an exciting experience, but it’s not something you should jump into lightly. You’ll have a new living being in your family, and they’ll deserve care and affection. You’ll need to look after your new cat properly, or there could be issues in the near future.

Your cat could get sick, run away, and more. By properly taking care of them, you’ll develop a years-long bond.

They’ll end up becoming a core part of the family. While you’ll know all of this, you mightn’t know exactly what to do. A few things could be obvious, but many of them mightn’t be. You shouldn’t have to worry too much about this, however.

It’s worth looking at a few strategies that’ll help you look after your new cat.

Why Get A New Cat?

Before diving in, it’s worth looking at why you should get a new cat. They’ll take a little bit of work to look after and clean up after, so you might be on the fence. You could need a little nudge to persuade you to actually go for it.

There are multiple reasons why you should consider getting a new cat. Some of the more notable of these include:

• They keep your house pest-free, so you don’t need to worry about mice and similar infestations
• They don’t make a lot of noise and can be quieter than others pets, and they should only meow when they’re hungry
• They’re low-maintenance compared to other pets, so don’t take much work to actually look after
• They’re independent, so they wouldn’t need your constant attention and you don’t have to worry about leaving them alone for a while

These can all be more than enough to persuade you to get a cat. Once you do, however, you’ll need to take care of it. While you’ll already know this, you mightn’t know exactly how to look after your new cat.

Though this seems complicated, it can be more straightforward than you’d expect. With ten particular strategies, you shouldn’t have much of a problem with it. It’s worth taking a look at each of them.

Look After Your New Cat: 10 Great Strategies

1. Have A Litter Box Ready-To-Go

If you plan on having an indoor cat, you’ll naturally need somewhere for them to go potty. That’s where a litter box comes in. It’s designed to be as appealing as possible for your cat to go potty in. By having this somewhere, you could prevent your cat from going all around the house.

Make sure you get this before you get your new cat. They could need to go relatively quickly after you get them, so you could need it faster than you’d expect. Make sure it’s properly set up before you bring your new pet home, and there’ll be nothing to worry about.

2. Get Appropriate Dishes & Bowls

You’ll already know your new cat needs dishes and bowls to eat and drink from. That doesn’t mean you should get the first ones you come across. Instead, you should make sure they’re actually appropriate for them. Avoid anything made out of plastic, as this can hold odours, and they can even be hard to clean.

Ceramic and stainless steel can be much better recommended. They’ll be easier to clean, and you shouldn’t need to worry about hygiene. Your cat mightn’t even notice the difference, and they’ll be just as likely to eat and drink from these bowls and dishes.

3. Feed Them Properly

Speaking of dishes and bowls, you’ll also need to think about feeding your new cat. While this is relatively straightforward, it’s something you should spend some time informing yourself about. Ask yourself a few questions when you’re doing this:

• Can cats drink almond milk?
• How often should they be fed?
• When should you feed them?
• How much should you feed them?

The more you know about how you should feed your cat, the better off you’ll be. You’ll have a healthier, happier cat before you know it, and you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.

4. Invest In A Scratching Post

Cats love scratching things, and you could end up seeing the results of this across your furniture. That’s not exactly something you’ll want, so it’s worth putting a little bit of time and effort into preventing. Thankfully, you don’t need to keep an eye on them constantly to do this.

You’ll just need to get a scratching post. These are designed to be as appealing as possible for cats to scratch. Once you have one, you should find this is the only thing they’ll scratch, which helps look after your furniture. There’s no reason not to consider it.

5. Brush Them Regularly

Some types of cats have relatively long hair, and this needs to be taken care of. One of the more notable ways of doing this is by brushing it regularly. It gets rid of any dead hairs and dirt that might’ve built up in their hairs. It’ll also help to keep their skin healthy.

At the same time, you’ll prevent the hair from getting knotted and causing any issues. You should only need to do this once a month. By starting on this early, you can train your pet not to resist when their hair is being brushed.

6. Trim Their Claws

A cat’s claws are a lot like a person’s nails, and they’ll need to be trimmed every once-in-a-while. If they get too long, they could break or get frayed. Your cat could end up in pain because of that, so it’s something you should want to avoid.

Trimming their nails once or twice a month should be more than enough to prevent this. It can be relatively tricky to do this, so it can often be worth getting a professional to look after this for you. They’ll get it done without risking hurting your cat or making any mistakes.

7. Invest In Cat Naps

Pets sleep a lot during the day, and they’ll often spend time finding the perfect place to nap. If you want to avoid them doing this anywhere they can and getting cat hair everywhere, it’s worth creating a spot specifically for them to nap. You’ll just need to make this appealing to them.

By investing in a comfortable blanket, pet bed, and similar accessories, you can do exactly that. It’ll be somewhere they love spending time, and you’ll catch them napping there more than a few times. It shouldn’t take you too much time to do this, so you’ve no excuse not to.

8. Bathe Your Cat

Cats are usually great at keeping themselves clean, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need a little help every once-in-a-while. If you have an outdoor cat, it could be worth taking some time to bathe them occasionally. Thankfully, you shouldn’t have to do this too often.

Depending on how dirty your cat gets, once or twice a year should be more than enough for this. Since this could be relatively tricky to do, it could be worth getting a professional to do it for you. It’ll save you more than a few scratch marks.

9. Make Your Home Cat-Safe

You’ll have to make sure your cat is as safe as possible. While you can’t control what goes on in the world outside your home, you can control inside your house. Make it as safe as you can for your new cat. This is just a matter of cat-proofing your home a little bit.

Make sure there’s nothing they can fall off or knock down and hurt themselves. You should also make sure there aren’t any choking hazards around they can get to. The more time and effort you spend on this, the better off your cat will be.

10. Enjoy Playtime

Cats love playing, and that’s especially true when they’re kittens. It’s one of the first things you’ll probably know about cats before getting one. If it isn’t, it’s certainly something you should be aware of. It’s also worth making sure you enjoy it.

At least, you should learn to enjoy it. See it as a way to bond with your new cat and foster more of a relationship. You and your pet will end up being much better off because of it. You’ve no reason not to.

Look After Your New Cat: Wrapping Up

You’ll have to look after your new cat as soon as you get them. You could even need to get a little bit done before you even get them. While you’ll already know about some ways to do this, you mightn’t know about all of them.

It’s always worth putting the time and effort into this. Your cat will be much healthier and happier because of it.

You’ll even bond with them better and make them a better part of the family. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t take the time to look after your new cat. Thankfully, it shouldn’t have to be complicated, and it shouldn’t even take you much time.