This post is sponsored by Royal Canin™and the BlogPaws® Pet Influencer Network™. I am being compensated to help share information about National Take Your Cat to the Vet Day, but Building Our Story only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Royal Canin is not responsible for the content of this article.
We are a cat family and we talk a lot about our cats Sophie and Sundae. They are part of our family and we want the very best for them, our furbabies. As pet parents we have the responsibility to make sure that our cats are healthy and taken care of. It is our personal choice to keep our cats indoors all the time because we feel like they are safer and healthier with that choice. Thankfully, both Sundae and Sophie are really great and patient cats!
While keeping the cats indoors is one of our top tips for keeping our cats happy and healthy, here are a few more that we make sure we add to our pet parent routine.
Five Tips To Keep Your Cat Happy and Healthy
1. Nutrition.
Cats need to eat but not just any old table-scraps or cheap food. Find great wholesome food for your cats and stick to a brand so that their tummies do not get upset to the changes. It is important to talk to your veterinarian to find out how much you should be feeding your cat every day and they could also give you some great food options specific to your cat’s needs. We make sure to limit the treats we give to our cats as well, they truly should be treats, not an every day thing for them.
2. All the Cuddles!!
We are so lucky with Sophie and Sundae, both of them are lap kitties and the love when we finally sit down for the evening so they can snuggle with us. Be sure to treat your cat with a lot of one-on-one time with you. This could be many different things depending on the personality of your cat – it’s playing, petting, grooming or just hanging out. Your cat will love spending time with you. Plus, that purring you hear from your cat is therapeutic after a rough day…at least for me it is.
3. Regular Veterinary Care.
Some people are surprised when we tell them that we take our indoor cats to the vet. We have always been the cat parents that take our cats in for their yearly exams and shots. We find that it is important to keep them seeing their vet just as much as we, humans, should be going to the doctor every year. Preventative care will only benefit our furbabies!
Cat Vet Facts:
Half of all cats do not see a veterinarian on a regular basis.
Only one cat is seen by a veterinarian
for every five dogs, despite the fact that 10 million more cats are owned in the U.S.
Take Your Cat To The Vet Day is the perfect day to raise awareness to the importance of taking your cats to the vet. Have you made your cat’s vet appointment yet? Now would be a great time to do it!
Royal Canin® and Frankie’s Friends have partnered together to help cats get the veterinary care that they need. So, on this special cat day you can help other cute cats get some preventive care they need!
Here is what you will need to do, for the month of August share a photo on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram of your cat at the vet or even tips on taking your cat to the vet with the campaign hashtag, #Cat2VetDay. Royal Canin will donate $5 to Frankie’s Friends! Frankie’s Friends provides grants to help with the cost of life-saving or life-enhancing emergency or specialty care for pets whose families cannot afford the full cost of treatment.
4. Playful Moments.
Cats need to play, no matter their age. Try different types of toys that allow your cat to stalk, chase, pounce and kick. Be sure to switch the toys from time to time so that they seem “new” and more interesting to your cat. We enjoy making them homemade toys that are safe and colorful. It is a fun family craft and activity. Plus the kids LOVE playing with Sophie and Sundae.
5. Clean Teeth and Ears.
Have you brushed your cat’s teeth recently or looked in their ears? Sure, it can be a struggle but just like humans, clean and healthy teeth and ears are so important! There are a few ways to keep teeth clean without brushing, which might be easier! Some options would be teeth wipes, dental sticks, drinking water additive and chew toys. For their ears, you will want to look inside them before jumping to cleaning them. If you find that they are dirty, simply use a damp cotton ball and gently wipe her ears. DO NOT insert the cotton ball into the ear, this could hurt the cat. Most of all, be gentle!
These are our tips for keeping out special Sophie and Sundae happy and healthy! We know that taking the time and investment listed in these tips will only let us enjoy our cats for years to come!
If you are a pet parent, do you take your pet to the veterinarian for regular check-ups?
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Royal Canin. The opinions and text are all mine.
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I was drawn to this post from the title – keeping your cats happy? Sometimes our finicky felines are tough to please! Our three kitties are all rescues that "found" us! (Pretty sure there's a sign somewhere that says hungry cats this way!) Seriously though, great advice especially visiting the vet. Regular care makes for a much healthier, happy pet! P.s. Your kitties are beautiful!
They are so cute! We don't have cats but I have always wanted one. They look like they are having so much fun playing with you and your family. I love your tips on keeping them happy-so important for pet owners!
We don't have a cat but we may go out and get one after seeing these cute pictures. We have a couple of dogs and a lot of this applies to them as well. Great reminders for how to take care of our furry friends the right way. Thanks for sharing!
It is important to make sure to take my cat for regular visits to the vet just to make sure that she is okay and doing fine. And I make sure to give her the best food possible.
We have a cat named Oscar and we love him to pieces! He's definitely more than a pet, he's a part of the family. We make sure that we feed him well and keep everything clean for him especially his favorite bed.
Such great tips for keeping your cats healthy. I think often we forget to take care of our pets aside from the regular things we do at home, but they do require some extra TLC just like us every now and again. I'll be sharing this with all my cat loving friends.
I miss my cats! Sable lived a great life till she was 17, we took such great care of her! You give great advice. We had another cat name Cally, she tried to be friends with Sable who wanted nothing to do with her. We now have one little Morkie who we love so much!
I'm more of a dog kind of girl however, I can say that cats are starting to grow on me! We have a cat here in my summer home in Italy and it's such a sweetheart!
As old as our cat is, she still has her playful moments she had in her youth. While she's not a cuddler, she does enjoy a back scratch. I do need to change her diet to make sure she is getting the proper nutrition.
Oh my gosh, your cats are beautiful. I had a tortoiseshell as a kid so I am quite partial to that type of cat. I think a lot of people get so busy that their pets don't get regular vet care unless there is an issue. It can be a lot cheaper to prevent an issue than to treat it.
We are cat lovers at my house as well. My kids provide the entertainment and play time for our older cat, Goldie, as well as our kittens, Midnight, Cami, and Mittens. We get such a laugh out of watching their silly antics. Having worked at a veterinary clinic before, I can attest to the fact that proper care (especially vaccinations) for cats is so important!
I don't have any cats, but actually find this post pretty interesting. I had no idea that people don't generally take their cats to the vet. 1 in 5 dogs is a pretty big difference! I guess all goes to show how much love you put into each one. I've seen many cats get ignored and sometimes owners don't pay attention to them as much as they would a dog as well. Makes me wonder sometimes why they would have them in the first place. Sounds like your family's one of the exceptions.
I was drawn to this post from the title – keeping your cats happy? Sometimes our finicky felines are tough to please! Our three kitties are all rescues that "found" us! (Pretty sure there's a sign somewhere that says hungry cats this way!) Seriously though, great advice especially visiting the vet. Regular care makes for a much healthier, happy pet! P.s. Your kitties are beautiful!
They are so cute! We don't have cats but I have always wanted one. They look like they are having so much fun playing with you and your family. I love your tips on keeping them happy-so important for pet owners!
This is a great post. Your cats are so cute. I live where I cant have pets but I sure would love to have a cat.
We don't have a cat but we may go out and get one after seeing these cute pictures. We have a couple of dogs and a lot of this applies to them as well. Great reminders for how to take care of our furry friends the right way. Thanks for sharing!
It is important to make sure to take my cat for regular visits to the vet just to make sure that she is okay and doing fine. And I make sure to give her the best food possible.
We have a cat named Oscar and we love him to pieces! He's definitely more than a pet, he's a part of the family. We make sure that we feed him well and keep everything clean for him especially his favorite bed.
Such great tips for keeping your cats healthy. I think often we forget to take care of our pets aside from the regular things we do at home, but they do require some extra TLC just like us every now and again. I'll be sharing this with all my cat loving friends.
I miss my cats! Sable lived a great life till she was 17, we took such great care of her! You give great advice. We had another cat name Cally, she tried to be friends with Sable who wanted nothing to do with her. We now have one little Morkie who we love so much!
I'm more of a dog kind of girl however, I can say that cats are starting to grow on me! We have a cat here in my summer home in Italy and it's such a sweetheart!
As old as our cat is, she still has her playful moments she had in her youth. While she's not a cuddler, she does enjoy a back scratch. I do need to change her diet to make sure she is getting the proper nutrition.
Oh my gosh, your cats are beautiful. I had a tortoiseshell as a kid so I am quite partial to that type of cat. I think a lot of people get so busy that their pets don't get regular vet care unless there is an issue. It can be a lot cheaper to prevent an issue than to treat it.
We are cat lovers at my house as well. My kids provide the entertainment and play time for our older cat, Goldie, as well as our kittens, Midnight, Cami, and Mittens. We get such a laugh out of watching their silly antics. Having worked at a veterinary clinic before, I can attest to the fact that proper care (especially vaccinations) for cats is so important!
I don't have any cats, but actually find this post pretty interesting. I had no idea that people don't generally take their cats to the vet. 1 in 5 dogs is a pretty big difference! I guess all goes to show how much love you put into each one. I've seen many cats get ignored and sometimes owners don't pay attention to them as much as they would a dog as well. Makes me wonder sometimes why they would have them in the first place. Sounds like your family's one of the exceptions.