Five Ways to Avoid Being a Bad Cat Owner

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Generally speaking, cat owners want to be good cat owners. Part of this process involves doing the right things. However, it is important to remember that interested individuals also need to avoid doing the wrong things. Something that happens more often than it should because it is very common for people to have bad assumptions as well as other issues. Here are five ways to avoid being a bad cat owner:

Don’t Declaw the Cat

Even now, there are people who choose to declaw their cats. There can be cases in which this is necessary. For example, a cat might develop a tumor in one of their claws. Similarly, a cat might get a particularly bad infection in one of their nail beds, so much so that drastic action is needed to prevent it from spreading further. Unfortunately, a lot of cat owners choose to declaw their cats to prevent the latter from scratching up their furniture, which is a problem with a wide range of other kinder solutions.

In any case, declawing a cat tends to be a very bad thing. This is because declawing isn’t the same as clipping the fingernails. Instead, it is closer to removing the foremost joints of someone’s fingers and toes. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this causes a wide range of serious issues for the cat. One excellent example would be pain. However, others range from a loss of balance to a lack of ability to protect themselves from potential threats. Something that tends to have a very negative effect on a cat’s mind-set. As such, cat owners should never declaw their cats unless they have a very good medical reason for doing so, in which case, it is more than the least bad out of a bunch of bad options than anything else.

Don’t Leave Food Out

It is convenient. However, cat owners shouldn’t be leaving food out. This is because cats have very similar instincts to humans in this regard. Simply put, starvation was a very real concern for both of our ancestors, which is why we will eat when we have the chance so that we have a cushion of sorts for the bad times when that isn’t possible. Theoretically, humans possess the ability to control our food intake. In practice, well, suffice to say that overeating is a major cause of the obesity pandemic that has swept over much of the developed world. A huge proportion of pet cats are overweight because of this as well as other issues, which is very problematic because that increases the chances for heart disease, joint problems, and other medical issues.

Don’t Avoid the Veterinarian

Preventative care is extremely important for promoting someone’s well-being. In part, this is because medical professionals can pick up on potential issues before most people, thus preventing them from turning into full-blown problems. However, it is also important to note that early treatment can lead to better outcomes as well, which can have a very real effect on someone’s quality of life. If anything, preventative care is even more important for cats than it is for humans. After all, while cats do feel pain as well as other signs that something is wrong with them, they can’t communicate that information to others in the same way that humans can. As such, cat owners should be bringing their cat to their veterinarian on a regular basis, which is the best way to ensure that potential issues are picked up as soon as possible. For that matter, it should be mentioned that cat owners should keep a watchful eye on their cat’s behavior. They aren’t guaranteed to be able to notice the symptoms of a medical issue. However, cat owners tend to be quite well-informed about their cat’s habits, so a noticeable change in said patterns should get them to get it checked out because it is better to be safe than to be sorry when it comes to such matters.

Don’t Assume that Something Safe For Humans Is Safe For Cats

We see the world from our own perspective. As a result, it is natural for people to assume that what is true for us is true for others as well. Generally speaking, we realize that this isn’t necessarily the case at a relatively young age, which has a huge impact on our decision-making. Unfortunately, it can pop up at the worst of times, with an excellent example being cat owners who assume that what is safe for them is safe for their cats as well.

Sometimes, such examples can be rather egregious. For instance, consider the cat owners who feed their cats human medications, which is ridiculous because human medications aren’t even guaranteed to be safe for every human. Never mind the members of another species. Other times, such examples are the sort of thing that people overlook because they are too normal. It is very common for cat owners to feed their cats foods that the latter can’t handle very well. In some cases, this is fine because the cat can survive the experience without being hurt too much by it; in other cases, well, suffice to say that such mistakes can be much more detrimental. In any case, some examples of human foods that should never be fed to cats include but are not limited to milk, chocolate, and onions. On a related note, cat owners should also avoid giving cats things that are safe for dogs but not necessarily for cats because once again, they are different species with differences on what they can and cannot consume.

Not Taking Care of the Cat’s Dental Health

It is important to take care of a cat’s dental health. Yes, a cat can survive the loss of their teeth. However, it is a good idea to prevent such miseries whenever and wherever possible. For that matter, dental health issues are extremely common among cats, thus making dental health something that interested individuals should dedicate a bigger portion of their attention to. On top of this, health problems aren’t limited to a single part of the body, meaning that it is very much possible for dental health issues to have negative consequences elsewhere.