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 The basic requirements of all cats are:
- human companionship on their own terms
- regular suitable meals and fresh water
- a clean and comfortable bed
- access to the outdoors
- regular grooming daily for longhaired cats
- regular vaccinations
- regular worming and flea control
- routine and non-routine veterinary care as required
Bringing home your new cat
Moving to a new home can be stressful for a cat, but you can make the move a little easier. For detailed advice, see the pages on 'Introducing your cat' and 'traveling'.
Feeding
Cats need a balanced, meat-based diet to remain healthy. The best way to provide everything your cat needs is with proprietary pet food available from supermarkets and pet shops. Cat food comes in two main types; wet food, usually in tins or pouches and dry food. Wet food tends to look and smell more palatable, but once opened it can attract flies and dries up quite quickly. Dry food looks less palatable, but many cats eat it quite readily. It can be left out much longer than wet food and helps to maintain healthy teeth and gums. The choice is yours, and many owners feed a mixture of both. Care needs to be taken when mixing different products as this may upset the nutritional balance. Most good quality foods provide life stage ranges for kittens, adult cats and older cats, so choose a product suitable for your cat's age and feed according to the manufacturer's recommendations.
Grooming
Your cat will groom and clean itself very effectively. However, grooming your cat provides an opportunity for you to check it for skin problems, parasites or any injuries and can also be an enjoyable and relaxing experience for both of you. Longhaired cats need thorough daily grooming to prevent their coats becoming matted. If you do not have time to do this, you should not consider getting a longhaired cat. If you have a longhaired cat that is already matted, you may need to have it professionally `de-matted' by a groomer, or even a veterinary surgeon as an anaesthetic may be required. Take great care when cutting mats from fur, as they can be very closely attached to the skin and it is easy to injure your cat by cutting skin as well as fur. If in any doubt, seek professional advice. If you have taken on a cat that is not used to being groomed, try to keep sessions very shortto begin with until your cat gets used to the idea.
Neutering
If you have obtained an adult cat that is not neutered, you need to arrange neutering as soon as possible. Un-spayed female cats will produce two or three litters every year, adding to the numbers of unwanted kittens. They will also attract tom cats to your house, resulting in spraying, fights and late night caterwauling (making you unpopular with your neighbours!). Un-neutered male cats will tend to wander off for days at a time in search of females to mate with and they will become involved in fights resulting in injuries and even potentially life threatening infections. They are also much more vulnerable to being involved in road accidents due to their wandering in unfamiliar territory. Kittens can be neutered from around four months old and should be neutered before they start to explore outside. There is no need for a female cat to have a litter before being spayed.
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OUR PHARMACY
