As a cat owner, you may know that cats spend half of their whole life grooming themselves. They have natural instincts to be hygiene and clean by licking themselves or each other. Even though they are commonly addressed as social behavior, they can cause impactful results in their health. Therefore, despite cats cleaning themselves, there are specific hygiene techniques that you can follow to avoid any infections among them. In this guide, we are going to tell a few important hygiene tips one can follow as a pet owner.
The pungent smell that comes out of a kitty’s litter box not only makes the box and place filthy, but it is a breeding ground for several germs and parasites. The most common parasite that spreads through cat feces is known as Toxoplasma Gondii, which can severely harm your cat’s immune system. Apart from this, studies have revealed that it can even lead to congenital disabilities in children of pregnant women. Hence, cleaning your cat’s litter box is not only essential for your kitty but your family members as well.
After emptying the litter uses some mild dish soap and rinses them completely. Keep the litter box in the sun to avoid further growth of any bacteria or parasite. Apart from this, you can practice the kittens by marking the territory in place of the litter box. Hence, they won’t pee or litter elsewhere around the home.
When it comes to oral hygiene, almost all cats undergo problems like bleeding gums and excessive drooling. It has been found that almost 85%of pets have some periodontal diseases within 4-years. In this case, it is necessary to make a checkup as soon as possible. As they do not just cover the oral hygiene but could be a symptom of any serious health issue.
When cats lick their fur, their tongue will easily collect debris, and sometimes they even swallow the hair along with the dirt. Not only it can also lead to stomach infection, but it can cause bad breath as well. In order to keep your pet healthy, it is crucial to take care of their oral health.
Since cats love to lick and play around the owners very much, bad breath can also be harmful to your health as well. Therefore, take them to veterinarians to ensure the oral hygiene is maintained every month. There is dedicated toothpaste available for cats, and you can use them with the recommendation from the vet.
Most of us wouldn’t eat that food that has been sitting overnight outside. Then why should your pet? You have to be cautious about storing pet food in a clean environment, especially the dry foods as they can be contaminated with bacteria like Salmonella. If not noticed and served can cause severe illness among the cats. It can easily break their immune system and make them vulnerable to diseases. Hence, you must always store dry foods in the airtight container and wet foods in refrigerators.
Since cats can eat eggs, meat, and fish, you can give them once a week to provide wholesome nutrition for their body. However, before you serve raw meat, ensure they are adequately cleaned and dispose of any leftovers immediately. They tend to attract germs and rodents, which can cause food poisoning and other stomach infections easily.
The cat’s bedding is a magnet for collecting all the dirt, grime, and hair. If not cleaned properly, you can easily find that there are flea eggs and larvae found under the sheets. It does not take a long time to grow. It can cause your pet to scratch its skin, which can cause wounds or remove the hairs from the skin permanently. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the bed regularly.
Always have alternate sheets while you clean the used ones. To reduce the risk of spreading infections, you should wash the beds at least two times a week. Sometimes the cats also get lice and mites on them if not cleaned properly. Clean the mattresses with the hot water or natural disinfectants. After washing, dry them under the sun; it is the best natural method for sterilizing the pet products.
Vacuum the pet area daily, especially if someone in your home is allergic to pet hair or suffering from asthma. The cat’s dander can cause severe respiratory problems in humans too. Even if the cats diligently groom themselves, they tend to shed everywhere. Hence, it is crucial to vacuum the area of your home, especially where the cats usually play and sleep. Do not forget to clean all the fur from the furniture, drapes, and carpets.
By following this, it helps the cats not to fall under the list of allergic mites and mold. There is a special filter to clean the pet areas; you could possibly buy one of them. It can be an effective hygienic method to follow. With the excessively hot air than usual, they can even remove the fur attached or pulled by the fabrics like woolen carpets.
Even though pet owners clean the cat area at least twice a week, what they often forget is to clean and replace the pet toys often. As a result, pet toys are one of the possible aspects for the cats to acquire allergies. They are highly exposed while playing and tend to form bacteria, yeast, and mold. It can severely harm your cat’s health. Hence, it is crucial to clean them often using hot soapy water or any disinfectant. Every three months, kindly replace the toys without second thoughts.
It is one of the common mistakes found among pet owners. They clean and maintain the pet areas at home. But they seem to care less about outside like lawns, backyard, and parks. It is precisely where the cats pick up the dirt, infections, and bring them home. Even after so many days of practice, the kittens tend to poop outside. It attracts infections, flies, and all other carriers of disease home. Therefore, it is vital to clean the outdoor places once a week to ensure the hygiene is not compromised. Some owners have the best habit of making the cats use the scratching post every time they play outside. Regular scratching can remove the old claw layers and mud and dirt collected while playing.
Truly, reproductive diseases among cats are common. They are left uncured and cause infections easily. For both genders, there are possibilities of developing various diseases, including breast tumors, ovarian cancers, and uterine infection, prostate, and testicular problems. Especially if they get pregnant at a young, they have to undergo a lot more than healthy pregnancy. Spaying is not suggested for every cat. But if you know that you do not have space for dozens of kittens or cannot monitor them during their adolescence, then cat experts suggest spaying. By doing so, you are making it a lot easier for yourself and your cat to live life peacefully.
How you clean is equally important to what you clean. Most of the owners clean the pet areas and products using household cleaners like detergents and dishwashers. However, it may not be helpful or can result in effective cleaning. There are specific products that are available online, and you can even grab them at any pet store. These products have the specific purpose of cleaning, and importantly they are pet-friendly. Because the cats may develop allergies to the ingredients of household cleaners. Hence, it is essential to use the products that are designed especially for pets.
Having a pet can be the most wonderful thing, but maintaining your pet health and keeping your home hygiene is not an easy task. We hope that the above hygienic tips will help you to keep your cat healthy. Implementing these tips to your life will help you to protect your cat and home from infections. These hygienic tips will not only reduce the risk of allergies and diseases but also build a good immune system among the pets. However, don’t forget to take your pet to the vet at least once a month for a regular checkup.
Hey, I’m Linda Butts, the girl behind Pawsometalk.com. With my pawsometalk.com I hope to share ideas and techniques from my personal experiences of what I have done with my pet research and what I love about pets and their lives.
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