Cat Care Sheet

I wrote this simple cat care sheet for all adopters through SCARShelter, but thought I would just share it with everyone. Hope this is informative :)

Cat Care sheet

General

Cats need daily interaction with you to make them feel happy, safe, and secure. Cat’s are NOT to be disciplined the same way dogs are. They respond to a different type of discipline. Hitting or yelling at your cat will only make your cat hate you. Water bottles are a great training device. Simply fill with tap water and spray cat if they are doing something bad, such as climbing where they are not suppose to or scratching the furniture. Along with getting micro chipped, we highly recommend you buy your cat a breakaway collar with a name tag with phone number on it. Breakaway collars are important so that your cat does not choke or hang itself if it ever gets outside. They sell these at walmart or Petco.

Diet

Cats are carnivorous. Feeding your cat a good quality brand of food is important if you want a happy healthy cat. Brands we recommend are Wellness Indoor Formula, Wellness Core, and Natural Balance. Try to avoid any cat food that has ingredients such as follows: water sufficient for processing, meat by-products, and artificial preservatives (BHA/BHT, ethoxyquin and propyl gallate.) Fresh water should be provided daily.

Housing

Cats should be kept inside for health and safety purposes. They can go outside occasionally if supervised. They also love to sit by windows and look outside and be able to "sunbathe". Clean litter box daily. (If you have more than one cat in the house, provide one litter box per cat.) Litter we recommend is Feline Pine and Costco’s Litter Purrfect. If not one of these, then any other dust-free natural brand would work. Scratching aka sharpening claws is a necessary and natural behavior. Scratching posts are highly recommended to avoid damaged furniture. (Tip: Sprinkle a little cat nip on the post.) If you are really worried about your cat scratching things up, then we recommend you buying Soft Paws.

Grooming

Cats are very clean animals. They groom themselves for the most part. We simply recommend you purchasing a good cat brush. You can brush them up to a few times a week to avoid hairballs. If you have a long hair cat, then they will need to be brushed daily. You also may need to occasionally take them into the groomers. Cats need help cleaning their teeth. If you feel comfortable with it, you can brush their teeth with a safe natural cat toothpaste. (Please ask your vet how to properly brush your cat's teeth first.) If not, then they can be taken to the vet or groomers to get this done. Provide them with teeth cleaning treats, such as Greenies.

Warning Signs

Please consult the vet immediately if you think your cat is sick. A few warning signs are diarrhea, vomiting (not hairballs), eye or nose discharge, lethargic, or raspy breathing.

Written by: Carissa Fajardo- President

Saving Creation Animal Rescue Shelter