Keep the Kitty in the Cat Articles | Cats

By: Vivian Gilbert Zabel

Cats should stay young and happy, just as an adult needs to stay in shape and youthful. Several ways exist to help keep the kitten alive in the cat.

Adult cats need to play. Everyone thinks a kitten is cute as it plays with sacks, empty boxes, and toys. Helping an adult cat to enjoy playing throughout its life helps to keep it happy and young. Playing triggers mental and physical activity, which is good for animals and people.

Sacks and empty boxes make inexpensive and enjoyable toys for cats, too. Watching a cat of any age jump in and out of a box or sack, stick its head out and peek around, or roll around in the container is enjoyable for people as for the cat.

Hide dried food or favorite toys around the house. Cats need to hunt to stay alert. Having things to “hunt” will keep this instinct alive and focused.

Allow a cat to interact as it wishes. Tension and stress ages any living thing. So forcing a cat to interact with strangers or other pets builds stress, and often tarnishes the trust it may have with its person or people.

Feed a cat properly. A proper diet will keep a cat younger longer. The food given to any cat should meet its needs according to its age and physical condition. Overweight cats live shorter lives, as do overweight people. Cats that don’t get the proper nourishment will suffer physical problems.

Be sure cats have ample fresh water. Cats need fresh water daily. A lack of water can result in urinary problems. A sick cat ages rapidly.

Cats need privacy. As noted earlier, tension and stress ages cats as well as people. Each cat needs a place where it can have privacy when needed. One of my cats likes to withdraw into a closet, so the door is left open a bit. Another “hides” under a large stool. Both come out when ready happy to be with us.

Cats require a stimulating environment. Outdoor cats have trees to climb, bushes to attack, different levels to explore. Indoor cats need the same opportunities. The more active and alert cats remain, the younger they stay and longer.

Keep cats mentally active. Cats can be trained (books exist that explain how to train cats), and the mental activity of training and performing helps them retain youthfulness.

Much of advice given to people to help them stay youthful applies to cats, also: correct diets, activity - both physical and mental, a stimulating environment, reduced tension and stress, and interactions with others.