Not Only Liking, What Steps Can We Take as Cat Lovers?

By: Meissy Angreni

Some people don’t know how to care for a cat, they only know that feeding is caring. These are the steps that must be done as cats lovers according to my experience of caring for cats for more than 10 years.

Firstly, we must know the nature and behavior of a cat whether it likes the owner or not. We can know if a cat likes the owner if, for example,example like it is comfortable beside us, rubbing our legs, the cat’s tail stands up or it purrs beside us as the owner, it means the cat feels safe and comfortable with us.

Second, giving the proper food, like the ones that have high level of protein, 30% for kittens and 26% for adult cats. So the nutrient will be sufficient for its development. It’s also important to provide running water, so the cat does not get a disease called FLUTD (Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease).

Third, vaccination is important, so the cat has strong antibodies and is not easily infected with disease that can take its life. Usually vaccination is given once a month and repeated up to 3 months for the first vaccines and the next vaccines are given in 6 months. Not only vaccination, deworming is also necessary for cats because as we know, cats are animals that usually play outside the house. Therefore, deworming must also be given to pets, deworming is given every 3 months within the period of 1 year.

Fourth, not only treatment from the inside, but also from the outside such as grooming. Grooming is usually done every 2 weeks. Some people think cats are animals that rarely need bathing, but that is wrong, cats can also transmit bacteria such as fleas and fungus on their bodies which can spread to humans. Therefore we must groom our cats either at the petshop or by ourselves at home. What is needed to groom the cats? The things that we need are bathing tools such as special shampoo, a flexible brush to clean the body, and warm water, so the cat is not shocked when bathed. Cat nails also need to be trimmed because they store a lot of bacteria, but this is not important as long as the cat does not play in dirty environments.

Well, those are the steps that we must do as cat lovers. Love and take care of them properly because those are our responsibilities as cat lovers. Being cat lovers is not only about liking them, but also caring with full affection. By understanding their nature, giving nutritious food, doing vaccination and deworming and keeping their cleanliness through grooming, we can ensure that cats stay healthy, happy, and comfortable with us.