Cats are excellent companions, so you need to reciprocate by being the best possible guardians for them. This implies that, as human guardians, you need to know what your cat needs to be happy and what you need to do to avoid causing her discomfort.
As a guardian, it is absolutely essential that you understand your cat. That's why, if you want to discover 15 things that you should never do to your cat, we invite you to continue reading this article from The Pretty Pets, in order to know how to take better care of your 4-legged companion.
1. Not respecting the basic freedoms of animal welfare
Adopting a cat implies a great responsibility of which you must be aware well before you take the step and make this decision. This responsibility, which is incumbent on all animal guardians, is to guarantee the well-being of their pets.
But, what is meant by well-being? Reference is made to the fact that an animal must have its 5 fundamental freedoms covered, but what are they?
The 5 fundamental freedoms of animal welfare are :
1. Freedom from thirst, hunger and malnutrition
2. Be free of discomfort
3. To be free of pain and disease
4. To be free to express oneself
5. Be free of fear and stress
2. Do not take it to the veterinarian
Regardless of whether your cat is feeling well or if you see him behaving abnormally, which leads you to suspect a health problem, it is absolutely necessary that you take him to the veterinarian.
In the first case, if you think that your cat does not need to go to the veterinarian because he is in good health, know that you will have to take him for a check-up every year to make sure that he is in good health and to keep his vaccination and de-worming schedule up to date.
If you have observed a sudden change in your cat's behaviour, it is clear that something is wrong with him. As a guardian, it is your responsibility to ensure that your animal is free of pain and disease, which is why you must take him to the veterinarian as soon as possible so that his possible pathology can be taken care of as quickly as possible.
3. Punish and/or scold him
It is understandable that while living with a cat, situations can arise that can make you lose your patience. However, punishment is completely contraindicated if you want to train a cat, because it does not understand the reason for your anger and the punishment is unnecessary intimidation.
This leads your cat to start mistrusting and rejecting you, in addition to generating stress, which could lead to behavioral problems.
4. Not paying enough attention to him
Although it may seem obvious to you, another thing you should not do to your cat is to not spend enough time with her. Taking responsibility for living with a cat requires more care than just providing food and protection. We are referring to the fact that the cat is a social animal, playful and needs to exercise daily. For these reasons, it is necessary that you dedicate time to him every day, whether it is to cuddle him or to play with him, he needs you! In short, you need to spend quality time during which he will carry out various activities that will stimulate him cognitively and physically.
Otherwise, your cat will get bored and will have a lot of accumulated energy, which will make him irritable, stressed and develop behavioural problems because he will not be happy.
Discover in the attached video 5 symptoms of a bored cat.
5. Not respecting his limits
Many times, animal guardians bother their cats because they don't understand their body language. For example, they may be excessively cuddly with their cat to the point of oppressing them, which can cause the cat to become upset... Other cats, on the other hand, are more tolerant and they never end up scratching or biting their humans, but that doesn't mean that they are not oppressed or that they don't ask you not to leave them alone.
Although it is sometimes unavoidable not to tell your cat how much you love her, many times the best way to show her is by respecting her limits and understanding when she is receptive to your attentions and when she prefers to be at peace.
6. declaw him
declawing is a surgical operation that consists of amputating the last phalanx of the cat's finger, removing the bone and joint parts, nerves and blood vessels that form the cat's fingers so that it no longer has any claws. This operation is performed so that the animal no longer performs behaviors considered "annoying", such as scratching and marking objects. In other words, it is a cruel practice that does not allow your cat to behave like a cat.
Claws, as well as scratching behaviors and the ability to defend yourself, are essentially necessary for your cat's well-being. This is why, educating your cat so that it can redirect these behaviors to appropriate elements such as scratching posts or toys, is necessary to be able to live with it without its natural behavior being a nuisance. Nevertheless, cancelling these said behaviors through such a cruel practice is not necessary, it is unfortunately legal in many countries and it has a strong negative impact from a physical and emotional point of view, as it no longer allows the free manifestation of their organism, which generates a state of stress and anxiety that causes the appearance of other behavioral problems, such as excessive meowing or aggression.
In addition, due to the fact that the claws carry the cat's weight, they are necessary for the cat to be able to walk. Therefore, the result of this mutilation will be that your cat will have to modify its posture to move around.
7. Humanize him and/or not let him be a cat.
You must be aware that the best way to show your cat how much you love him is by letting him express himself and by respecting what he is, a cat. This implies that you must avoid treating your cat like a human, because trying to understand your cat from a human approach will lead to many misunderstandings that will confuse him. His needs and ours are not the same, in fact, you will have to identify if the "luxuries" you offer your cat are really essential for him or if they are for you.
In the same way, you must understand that your feline has specific needs inherent to his species, such as scratching, playing, meowing, etc... Therefore, if you want your animal to be happy, you cannot pretend to eliminate these behaviors, as it goes completely against its nature. Rather, you should, with appropriate advice and positive reinforcement, redirect these behaviours towards more appropriate activities so that you can live together in perfect harmony.
8. Having fun at her expense
Cats can overreact, which is why many people have fun putting their cats in "funny" situations by scaring or hurting them (abusing them) to see how they react.
Cats are very sensitive animals that do not deserve to be treated this way, because a situation that may seem funny to you may stress or frighten your pet. Therefore, it is cruel behaviour when you laugh at a situation in which your pet is suffering.
For example, a common situation that we do not recommend at all is playing with your cat with a laser. Even if it may seem funny to you because your pet is chasing the light, it will never be able to catch it and that is why this game will only generate frustration and anxiety for your pet. For all these reasons, here is one of the things you should never do to your cat. Cats should play with objects they can catch.
Discover some DIY cat toys!
9. Abandon it
Unfortunately, many pets end up belonging to people who don't love them as much as they should. This is what happens when some guardians are not aware of the great responsibility involved in having a cat and, when they no longer want them, they abandon them....
This is not a one-time act, because the number of abandoned animals is increasing every day and, unfortunately, the majority of them do not have a happy life because they end up dying or, in the best of cases, in a shelter where they will not have all their needs covered.
10. Not educating him
Education is an essential part of living with a feline, because in this way your companion will not learn behaviors that may bother you, such as biting and scratching furniture. This type of unwanted behavior is due to the fact that the cat has not learned to redirect these behaviors in a good way.
Cats are intelligent animals that, through good education based on positive reinforcement, are able to learn the rules of the household and to behave properly.
11. Smoking next to him
Obviously, smoking is not just a bad habit that affects people's health, because if a cat lives with a smoker in an enclosed space, that animal becomes a passive smoker in the same way as all people who live in the same place.
Smoke is bad for your cat's lungs, which can eventually lead to serious health problems. In addition, you must keep in mind that cats have the need to groom themselves by licking their fur, this implies that they can ingest with their tongue all the toxic particles that come off the cigarette and adhere to their fur. This is why smoking in his presence is another thing you should not do to your cat.
12. Treating him like a toy
In some homes, cats are welcomed to become the distraction for the smallest ones in the house. Children treat the cat as if it were a stuffed toy and do not understand that it is a living being that deserves respect and should not be treated as a toy.
Of course, behind these behaviors there is no bad intention on the part of the children, however, many times the children have fun hurting the cat (as explained above) because they are not aware that they are hurting it physically or emotionally. They don't know what they are doing to the cat, hence the importance of explaining to the little ones the importance of respecting animals. In the same way, you need to ensure the safety of the children because the cat could end up fed up and hurt the smallest ones in your home.
13. Do not feed him well
It is possible that you may break down and give your cat food that it should not eat. However, giving your cat bad food, such as chocolate or human cookies, is not really the best idea in the world because you could damage her long-term health.
If you want to give your cat something more appropriate, you can buy her treats, wet food, or prepare some good homemade meals! Discover all the forbidden cat foods!
14. Exposing him to loud noises
Cats have very acute hearing, so exposure to loud noises is very unpleasant for them. Your cat should have a place where he can relax quietly by not being exposed to loud noises all the time.
For the same reason, it is absolutely not recommended to put a bell around your cat's neck because the sound caused by this object is super stressful for him and may even end up making him deaf in the long run.
15. Dress him up
As we have said that humanizing your cat is one of the things you should not do to your cat, dressing him in awkward habitats is another. There are more and more accessories and clothes available in stores to dress your cat. But before buying any of these items, you should think about what your cat will or will not like, because if you insist on dressing your cat with uncomfortable accessories, you can be sure that your cat will not want to wear them.
If you're thinking of buying an accessory for your cat, make sure that it doesn't impede her mobility, that it allows her to groom normally and that her rubbing doesn't hurt her. Otherwise, your cat may end up with skin problems or may not be able to move around as it should. Finally, if your cat has access to the garden, It's better that he doesn't wear anything because he might end up stuck to something (like a branch or a grate) and get hurt.
Now that you know 15 things you shouldn't do to your cat, you're ready to give him the quality of life he deserves!
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