Mistakes Cat Owners Might Make

Now don’t feel offended! We all make mistakes, I have made mistakes, but from that we learn!

This post is to help you to not make mistakes anymore. A list of mistakes cat owners often make!

Ignoring Roundworm.
Leave this roundworm untreated, and you’re putting your family at risk.

Not Bothering To Deworm
Roundworms are common parasites in both dogs and cats. They cause diarrhea and vomiting and may lead to serious illness. But many people don’t realize these worms are a threat to humans, too. Kids may ingest the eggs by putting dirty fingers in their mouths. When the worms hatch inside people, they can cause blindness and other tissue damage.

Skipping Flea Medicines
I’m ashamed to say that I did this too. Only to find a few fleas a while back. So we dewormed and gave the cats medicines against fleas right away! I learned my lesson!
Skip your pets’ flea medicine, and they aren’t the only ones who will pay the price. Fleas will quickly find untreated pets, particularly in summer and fall, and fill your house with their eggs. They can give humans serious diseases.

Not Spaying or Neutering Your Pet
I don’t know how many times I have said this already, but it’s so important to spay or neuter your pet! Because a lot of cats and dogs live on the street as a result of unwanted litters. Still, a lot of people are too… stupid to leave their cats and dogs and other pets untreated. Spaying and neutering only has good side effects: it reduces the risk of breast cancer in females and testicular cancer in males. Neutered males are also less likely to run away from home, mark their territory, or show aggressive behavior.

Keeping The Food Bowl Filled
Admitted, some cats do perfectly fine with a good filled bowl. But some cats don’t. Suki and Hiro will become huge if I keep their bowl filled 24/7. Most of the time the cat eats more than it needs, and becomes overweight. If you don’t know how much you should feed your cat, follow the instructions on the foodlabel or ask your vet for more information.

Making Your Cat A Vegetarian
Cat are meat eaters, end of story. Cats have to eat meat to survive. Cut the meat away from their diet and they will be missing the nutrients, such as the amino acid taurine, that are only found in animal tissue.

Too Little Exercise
Cats or dogs, they both need exercise to stay healthy and fit! Especially cats that are overweight might need that extra playtime. Not to mention, play time will make the bond between you and your cat stronger, you will be giving it attention, and love. All the exercise will make your cat get rid of build up energy which might make it annoying if nothing happens with that energy.

Not Bothering To Understand Body Language
Is your cat sweeping it’s tail? Oh, it must be happy! WRONG.
If you don’t bother to understand your cat’s body language, be prepared for some nasty scratches and wounds and an unhappy cat.

Too Little Attention
If you don’t give your cat attention, your cat might end up bored and frustrated. Cats aren’t animals that you can leave alone. Cats are animals that need attention and love. Tho, this all depends on the cat, but even the grumpiest cat might be in need of some good ol’ loving. If you’re not paying attention to your cat, why should your cat pay attention to you?

Sharing is Caring?
Not when it’s about litter boxes!
The rule with cats is: the amount of litter boxes you have in cats + one. So if you have three cats, you should have four boxes, and so on.
Suki and Hiro used to do fine with one litter box. Yet, Suki sometimes peed on my bed (no medical issue, we checked). But ever since we got a second, she stopped peeing on the bed. Some cats do fine with one cats, some cats prefer one or two more. Cats can be awfully picky when it’s about litter boxes!

No Socializing At A Young Age
Oh, it’s so important to socialize young kittens. It will make them less scared, and positive human interaction is very important during their first seven weeks in life. Suki for example, barely had any human contact. I wonder if she would be totally different if got human interaction when she was a kitten. She’s not that scared any more as she was a few years ago, but she still doesn’t trust humans all the way. A good breeder will start with this socializing, and you can continue.

No Rules
Be strict with your cat. What is allowed and what isn’t? If he isn’t allowed on the counter, be consequent. No is no, and even though those innocent eyes are very cute and sad, you have to resist it! You need to make it clear when that scratching the furniture and hanging in the curtains is not okay. Reward your pet for good behavior.

Scolding For Accidents
If you’re scolding your cats for accidents like peeing on the carpet, or in the bed, your cat probably won’t know what he did. He’s probably peeing outside the litter box for a good reason. A better strategy is to praise your pets immediately when they do their business where they are supposed to.

Unsupervised
Leaving young kids unsupervised with pets can be dangerous. Your cat won’t know the difference between an adult and a toddler when it’s pulling it’s tail. Young kids may play too rough, and cats might strike in self-defense. You can set rules on how to treat cats with young children.

Got Milk?
Cats are lactose-intolerant. This means that they can’t probably digest the sugars in milk  so it might give them bloating, stomach problems and diarrhea.

Spoiled Food
When it’s spoiled, it’s spoiled. When you don’t want to eat it anymore, your cat shouldn’t have it either. Spoiled food may contain toxic mold which can cause vomiting, severe tremors, seizures, and death.

Dry Food
If you feed your cat only dry food, make sure it will get enough water. Because dry food doesn’t contain a lot of fluids, and cats have a low thirst drive. It can put them at risk for urinary tract disorders

Pregnancy
No, not your cat, you! Some women or families that are expecting a child often give up their cat. The concern is an illness called toxoplasmosis, which is caused by a parasite found in feline stool or that the cat might become jealous. Pregnancy is just a good reason not to clean the litter box! Some cats may become jealous and show aggressive or different behavior when the baby arrives. But try to let your cat get used to the smell of babies!

Adopting Without Thinking
Your friend is giving away kittens, the local animal shelter is too full, and you may be tempted to bring home a new pet. Remember that you will have a cat or another pet for the rest of your life.

Buying Toys With Hard Pieces
This one is more important for our feet. And I’m actually talking about the toys with bells in them. When you step on them without wearing anything on your feet. Be ready for pain. It’s like stepping on a piece of lego.

Declawing
Declawing is inhumane unless it’s done with a medical reason. That your cat is scratching your wallpaper off, or the furniture is not a reason to declaw your cat. It simply means that you’re too lazy to be consequent, and to teach your cat not to scratch off the wallpaper or anything else you don’t want it to do with your nails. And you want to pay a good amount of money for something you’re too lazy for? Be ready for behavior problems, and an unhappy cat. You can see declawing as amputating your fingers.

Neglecting Treatment
Although cats may recover from small things, they can just as quickly die if an emergency isn’t recognized. They need annual examinations, and they definitely need and deserve immediate veterinary care when they become sick or injured. Don’t delay!

Poor Food Choice
Cats don’t need (a lot) grain, and even though many food brands are filled with grain, people give it to their cats. Sometimes their cat refuses to eat something else. But grain is often used to make your cat feel full. Especially corn, which is a cheap source of protein used by many cat food brands.

Too Lazy To Clean Litter Box
If you’re too lazy to clean the litter box, or simply scoop out poop. Your cat will let you know by pooping or peeing outside the litter box.

Not A Dog
Your cat is not a dog. It won’t be as easy to train as a dog, it won’t (some cats do) always listen to you. It won’t (some cats do) fetch toys.

No Scratching Post
If your cat has nothing to scratch on for his nails. Your furniture will know. Your cat needs a scratching post, or anything else that your cat can use his nails on!

Not Introducing Cats The Cat-Way
If you’re getting a new cat, don’t expect your cat to like each other right away. They are like humans, we have to get to know each other. The same goes for cats, but a bit different. Create a base camp for your new cat, where he can stay for a few weeks. This base camp should include food, water, toys and a litter box. carefully introduce your new cat to your current cat with smell. (Read more about it here at catbehaviorassociates.com).

For Dogs Only
Products and medicines that are for dogs, should not be used on cats. This may end up in a deadly mistake.

Human Medication
What is meant for human, should only be given to humans. This too may end up fatal.

No Brushing & Grooming
Your cat may be independent, but it still needs your help with trimming the nails, and brushing their fur.

Your Hand Is Not a Toy
When you have a new kitten, it’s important not to play with your hands. This may end up in your cat who sees your hands as the perfect toy! You need your hands, healthy and well.

Flowers
If you get flowers in your house, make sure they aren’t poisonous to your cats. (Read cats & plants)

With this list, I’m sure we can’t make any mistakes anymore, right?

Related articles
Cats & Plants
Kitty proofing your house
When To Go To The Vet?
Additives to avoid in cat food
Poisonous Human Food
Common House Hold Dangers – 1 & 2
Human Medication
Tips for new cat owners
Tail Language
Ten Minutes & Talking
Why Isn’t My Cat Using The Litterbox
Cat Language

Pictures by quickmeme.com, lliheiznekcam.wordpress.com,

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