Veterinary nutrition consults

How to be a responsible cat owner?

Owning a pet is a lifelong commitment that should not be taken lightly. After all, your cat or kitten is relying on you to provide all of his needs for the rest of his life. Responsibilities of a loving cat owner include the following:

- accepting the financial cost of caring for a kitten or cat (food, supplies and veterinarian visits can be expensive)
- taking the cat to the veterinarian for regular checkups (not just when he becomes ill)
- keeping the cat safely indoors at all times
- scooping out the litter box, feeding the cat daily, and supplying him with fresh water each day
- Playing with the cat and giving him the daily socialization and live that he deserves.

Children who live with cats must be shown how to interact appropriately with them. No matter what age the child is, she needs to realize that cats (and especially kittens) are delicate animals that must be treated with tender loving care. Parents should always supervise young children when they are playing with pets. If the child plays too roughly with a cat, she could accidentally hurt the animal. The following rules will help children and cats to live together in harmony:

- never touch a cat or kitten when he is eating or try to take his food away
- leave the cat alone if he is using the litter box or sleeping
- do not pull on a cat’s whiskers, ears, tail or paws
- always treat the cat or kitten kindly and gently

Twelve different muscles control the pointed outer part of the ear (called the pinna). These muscles allow the cat to independently rotate the outer ears 180 degrees in any direction. The three canals located in the inner ear help to give the cat an excellent sense of balance. These chambers are arranged at right angles, allowing the brain to detect changes in direction or speed as he jumps, falls, or moves quickly.

Cats have excellent aural abilities and can hear more than a range of ten octaves (two octaves higher than humans), which allows them to hear sounds that we cannot hear. They hear at frequencies of 50 to 65 kilohertz, while humans only can hear 18 to 20 kilohertz. For this reason, many felines are sensitive to noises such as fireworks and loud music.

A cat’s whiskers (also known as brissae) are long, stiff hairs that are extremely sensitive to touch. If you touch a sleeping cat’s whiskers, he will instantly wake up. Whiskers on the muzzle, the eyebrows and the elbows act as touch sensors. These sensors are attached to bundles of nerves that can detect the slightest movement. A cat uses his whiskers to navigate around object in low light. They also allow him to feel changes in air currents around objects.

As a conclusion, we now know how to be a very responsible owner. It is very important that we take care of our pets the way that we took care of our self. Adaptable to almost any living condition, cats are easy to care for and make loving companions for people of all ages. Most owners consider their cat to be a beloved member of the family.

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