Add More Years to Your Cat's Life

Expert Author Allan W Smith

Your cat may have nine lives, but that doesn't mean you can simply ignore him and let him care for himself on his own. Believe it or not, it's more of your ability to care for him than genetics that allows him to live longer years. Therefore, if you want to see your cat see good days and live more years, you need to make the effort of caring for him and making sure he is fed with high-quality food, checked by his vet regularly, and gets more than enough tender love and care from you as his owner.

Visit the Vet Regularly

By regularly, we imply that you don't miss any visit required by the vet. Kittens need to be taken to the vet more frequently especially when they're still in the stage of receiving shots, but once your cat has received all vaccination he needs, a yearly visit should be enough. In addition, don't wait for your cat to be seriously ill before taking him to his vet. Once you notice he's not behaving like his usual self, take him to his vet immediately so his condition can be properly diagnosed.

Don't Forget Exercise

Not all cats may be as lazy as Garfield is, but cats in general have a tendency to sleep a lot. And just like humans, cats who lack exercise can also become obese and become prone to a lot of illnesses. In this case, make sure your cat has plenty of activities each day. If you have more than one cat at home, give them a few hours every day to play with each other outdoors. It would also be a good idea if you can play with them yourself from time to time. The goal here is to keep them moving as much as possible to make sure they don't get obese.

Choose Antioxidant-Rich Cat Food

Commercial cat food products don't differ much in the type of ingredients they contain, but that doesn't mean you can feed your cat just any brand of cat food you find in the market. As much as possible, you would want to go for cat food that contains antioxidants, oils, and prebiotics. According to studies, cats that fed with commercial cat food that contain these ingredients have fewer incidences of diseases, have fewer reduction in lean muscle mass, have better body weight, have better quality of life, and have significantly longer life span.

Keep Your Cat Indoors

Unless supervised, it's always ideal to keep your cat indoors where they are kept safe and protected at all times. Be a responsible owner by making sure you seal every possible exit in your house and prevent your pet from wandering outside and be exposed to a number of possible dangers.