We are a nation of animal lovers. At least we think we are, but just because we love our animals that doesn’t mean we’re always doing the right things for them. Sometimes what we do is actually harmful but we may not be aware of it. There’s a lot we can learn and a lot of things we can do differently to help our cats live long and happy lives and, hopefully, avoid cat health problems.

As is often the case, I learned the hard way. I have cats now, but I used to have a dog called Benji and I learned a lot from him. About 17 years ago he died of congestive heart failure. Because of his health problems I found out that a lot of what I thought I was doing right, I really wasn’t. For example, I was feeding him what I thought was high quality food. I took him to see the vet regularly, and made sure he received all his shots and so on. I thought I was doing the right things – but it turned out that I wasn’t.

Near the end of his life I learned that the food I was giving him, had actually contributed to his health problems – yet it was one of the most popular commercial brands (and not even the cheapest). Although I don’t have a dog any more, I use the knowledge that I gained from that experience to help my cats . I continue to learn and study as much as I can to help them stay healthy and to avoid cat health problems.

Let me introduce them to you:

Boots was the most beautiful and perfect cat. She joined our family when she was 8 years old. She came from the Humane Society. We were surprised to hear that she had been in the shelter for 4 years. She died 2 years ago at the age of 17.

We adopted Flugel at the same time as Boots. He was sharing a cage with her at the Humane Society. He was 2 years old then and he is now 14 – a very happy and healthy boy, although a couple of years ago we almost lost him. He had a severe hernia. He had a small hole in his diaphragm and some of his organs (gall bladder, spleen, etc.,) moved through the hole and ended up near his heart. Apparently this was a condition he had been born with. He had surgery and now everything is back where it should be and he’s doing very well. He recovered quickly considering how serious the problem was.

Tinkerbell came to us about 6 months after Boots died. When we adopted her she was a year and a half, she is 4 now. She had been adopted by another family when she was a kitten. But they returned her to the shelter because she stopped using her litter box. The reason was because she had a severe urinary infection and was in a great deal of pain. When she was returned to the shelter, her infection was treated, and we found her shortly afterwards – she now happily uses her litter box and has never had a problem in the time that she’s been with us.

To avoid cat health problems and keep our cats happy and healthy there are three basic things we need to provide for them. The first of those is good quality food. Did you know that most cat health problems can be avoided if we just provide healthy, natural food? What most people don’t know is that does not include the majority of commercial brand cat foods that you find in the supermarket. Most of that food is not only unhealthy, it’s very harmful.

It’s also important that our cats get plenty of exercise and mental stimulation. Cats are intelligent, and they need stimulation and activity. Indoor cats particularly need plenty of activities and exercise.

Finally, a stress-free environment is important. If your cat is being chased and harassed by children, attacked by other pets or spends a lot of time hiding out of fear, that constant level of stress can be very harmful.

Being aware of your cats needs, feeding them healthy food and keeping them stimulated and stress-free will help you to avoid most cat health problems. It’s worth the time and effort and you will ultimately save money because you won’t have expensive vet bills.

Cats keep us company, they give us love and endless pleasure. The least we can do is take care of them.