Keeping Your Feline Healthy

Cats are unique creatures. Did you know even though a dogs sense of smell is superior to a cats, a cats is 14 times more sensitive than ours. They probably identify their owner more by smell then sight.

As with dogs, feeding them a high quality diet is crucial to keeping them healthy. Water is very important for both cats and dogs to keep their urinary tract healthy. If possible, have a water fountain for them to drink from since cats love drinking running water and more importantly, it will keep at bay some of the urinary tract issues that cats are prone towards getting.

One of my cats has sturvite crystals, which is very prominent in males. After feeding him a several years of a prescription diet, which has a specific magnesium and ash content, he was throwing up his food. I no longer was going to tolerate cleaning that up on a daily basis, so I switched him to a holistic food and six months later, he shows no signs of crystals. Vets are not trained with a lot of education on nutrition and it is easy for them to put you in a panic and have you buy the food they are pushing all the meanwhile making a nice profit. This particular food contained corn glutens and by-products which are not easily digestible for animals. After speaking with the manufacturer, they could offer me no reason why I should continue feeding him this food. Since this particular cat will not eat canned food, which would provide the moisture content needed, I always make certain that both my water fountains are clean and in good order.

Another issue with cats is hairballs. Daily brushing will alleviate this problem and keep your cat comfortable. Canned pumpkin or even a little petroleum jelly will help lubricate the hairballs to pass through their system. Put a little petroleum jelly on their paws and instinctively they will lick the jelly into their system.

Feeding your cat a high quality diet will keep him/her healthy for many years to come.