Things No One Should Ever Be Doing To Their Cat

Because we love our cats we want what’s best
for them, but you might not actually knowwhat’s best for your cat, because there are
some pretty weird and benign-seeming thingsin our homes that can be dangerous for our
feline friends. Here are some things that no one should ever
be doing to their cat. If cats were still living in the wild, they’d
use their claws to climb trees, dispatch prey,and attack the ankles of bears or something. They wouldn’t last long as a species, but
that’s probably what they would do. The common domesticated cat has not evolved
much since that time. They love to bat things around on the floor,
and they have to scratch things. In other words:”Is your cat making too much noise all the
time?Is your cat constantly stomping around, driving
you crazy?”If so, declawing your cat is not the solution. In the past, humans responded to the destruction
of chairs and couches by declawing the offenders,but most experts today agree that declawing
is unnecessarily cruel. The declawing procedure doesn’t just remove
the claw, it also removes the last bone oneach toe. A declawed cat may develop permanent pain
and/or complications such as nerve damageand bone spurs. Cats can also develop behavioral problems,
and without claws, cats may turn to bitingas a form of self-defense. Cats were born to stalk, pounce, and attack
things, so it does seem kind of cruel to keepthem locked up in a house, where they do nothing
but sleep in sunbeams all day. Some people still persist in believing that
for a cat’s life to be truly complete, thecat must be either exclusively an outdoor
cat or an indoor/outdoor cat. Outdoor cats may be living like their ancestors,
but that’s not necessarily a good thing. Cats aren’t tigers. Let’s put it this way: If you traded your
comfy jeans for animal skins and moved intoa cave, you’d be living like your ancestors,
too, but would you feel more fulfilled?Well…”These cats live tragically short lives. They suffer from disease, they get hit by
cars, and they get attacked by animals, includingother cats. “Outdoor cats are more susceptible to picking
up viruses and parasites, too. Maybe an outdoor cat has the unique opportunity
to sit and stare at a gopher hole for hours,but that doesn’t make all the mortal peril
worthwhile. Your cat probably becomes affectionate in
the presence of cheese or bacon. Your cat probably isn’t cunning enough to
stick around after the cheese or bacon isgone, though. Since food-related affection is the only sort
you’re likely to get from your indifferentroommate, you may be tempted to offer up all
sorts of human treats as a form of affectionbribery, but you shouldn’t. “Once again, my life has been saved by the
miracle of lasagna. “Don’t believe Garfield. Cats aren’t meant to eat human food, and certain
foods can lead to vomiting, or worse, seriousillness and even death. You probably already know that chocolate and
onions are bad for dogs, but those foods arealso bad for cats. So just to be on the safe side, don’t leave
half eaten slices of chocolate cake lyingaround, and the same goes for bowls of alcoholic
punch, grapes and raisins, or guacamole. Those foods can all be toxic to cats. When your cat surprises you by teleporting
directly into the bowl of chili you were eating,you might be tempted to give him or her a
little push off the edge of the table. Cats always land on their feet, so what’s
the big deal?Well, cats often do a very good job of landing
on their feet, but they’re not birds. Cats can’t fly, and falling from an elevated
surface is still pretty dangerous for them. Plus, pushing your cat from that elevated
surface also doesn’t really address the problem. Your cat probably won’t even connect the act
of jumping on the counter with the act ofbeing pushed off of it, so it’s fairly useless
as a form of punishment. Instead, you should discourage your cat from
jumping up there in the first place. Don’t ever offer food on those elevated surfaces,
because then your cat will think that thecounter is a cat-friendly smorgasbord. Dogs love cars. They hang their heads out the window, tongues
flapping like flags, drool splattering allover the guy who’s tailgating you. So if dogs love cars, should cats love them
too?Some people, evidently, think “yes. “It’s actually pretty unclear why anyone would
turn a cat loose in a car. Perhaps if you enjoy wearing a cat as a fashionable
headpiece while you’re driving down the freewayand you don’t especially care if you get into
an accident then maybe you can skip gettingyourself a cat carrier. But from a common sense perspective, letting
your cat roam free in a moving vehicle isa really terrible idea. In some states it’s actually legal to drive
a car with your pet in your lap, notably California,where pretty much everything is illegal except
driving a car with your pet in your lap. That doesn’t mean you should totally do it,
though. A cat who freaks out and lands in the footwell
can interfere with your ability to use thebrakes or the gas. And if there’s an accident, your cat doesn’t
stand a chance. It’s totally not worth saving a few bucks
on a carrier, or whatever other inconceivablereason you had for doing this. “See, I told you he could drive!””Toonces, look out!Aaaah!”Okay, let’s just get this out there right
up front. Wet cat food is gross, and there’s no getting
around that fact. Most cats love wet food, but even that’s not
always enough to convince weak-stomached catowners to hold their noses and dish the stuff
out every morning. So here’s a little extra incentive, in case
you’re one of those people who would ratherjust avoid the mess and stick with the dry
kibble. There are health reasons why you need to make
sure your cat has wet food in addition tothe dry stuff. Most cats don’t drink a lot of water, so they
need to get moisture from the things theyeat. Cats are vulnerable to urinary tract infections,
and the risk is compounded by a diet thatis high in dry kibble and low in wet food. Cats are carnivores. Dogs, on the other hand, lean omnivores, so
we worry about what they’re eating a littlemore than we worry about what our cats are
eating. Cats don’t tend to enjoy the same sorts of
foods dogs enjoy, or bother with much besidesmeat. Still, you should be aware that cats do occasionally
eat plants. Grass eating in particular is kind of a cat
pastime, and a cat that doesn’t spend timeoutdoors may turn to houseplants to satisfy
that odd desire to consume something green. So you do need to be careful about the type
of plant life that you bring into your home. If it’s one of the more than 400 species listed
in the ASPCA’s database of toxic plants, anexperimental bite from your cat could prove
fatal. So before you buy a new house plant it’s important
to double check to make sure it isn’t somethingtoxic. Pothos, tulips, azaleas, and holiday plants
like poinsettias, mistletoe, and Easter liliesare all on the list, but that’s only a few
of them. Make sure you do your research before you
go to the nursery. Keeping your cat outside is not a great idea,
but that doesn’t mean you need to restricttheir time spent gazing longingly outside. You may think that a lip-licking cat sitting
on a windowsill while birds cavort on thefeeder just inches away is a sad sight, but
rest assured that your cat is not sufferingduring that experience. Sure, getting to pounce on all those birds
and bugs is probably pretty high on your cat’sbucket list, but let’s face it, it’s not really
in the best interests of the cat or the birds. It might help if you think of windows as movie
screens for your cat. A cat watching the world go by is going to
be a happier cat than a cat left in the darkwith no visual stimulation. Of course it is also your duty as a pet parent
to make sure your cat has plenty of thingsto do inside, like chasing catnip mice and
other objects that will not suffer grave injuryor death because of the interaction. Cats and yarn go together like dogs and butt-sniffing. Cats love to play with yarn, and that’s not
just a dumb stereotype. Give a cat a ball of yarn and it’s great entertainment
for both of you. Would you believe, though, that yarn can actually
be dangerous for your cat?The sandpaper tongue that cats use to groom
themselves can be hazardous when paired witha piece of yarn because the barbs on a cat’s
tongue make it impossible for a cat to spitout a bit of string once it gets caught. At that point, the only alternative is to
swallow the string. That’s not just unpleasant for your cat, it’s
also dangerous. The string can get caught in the intestines
causing intestinal tissue to bunch up. That, in turn, can restrict blood flow, which
can lead to tissue death. Sometimes the yarn might even cause the tissue
to tear, which can lead to systemic poisoning. Surgical removal of the yarn may be the only
way to save your pet’s life, and it’s expensive. You can let your cat play with that ball of
yarn while you’re watching, but don’t leaveyour cat alone with it. And take care that there are no strings, rubber
bands, hair ties, or similar objects layingaround your house that your cat might get
into, those things are just as dangerous. Collars can be life saving for your pet. An indoor-only cat who goes out into the world
can be quickly returned home with the helpof a tagged collar. Microchipping can do the same thing, but only
if the animal is picked up by a shelter orother organization that has the ability to
read a microchip. For a fast return home, a collar is really
your best bet. There are problems with collars, though. The wrong kind of collar can cause injury,
it can get caught up on a branch or otherobject and cause entrapment and even strangulation. Sometimes, cats can get their front legs under
the collar, which might lead to bone-breakageor laceration or other kinds of grave injuries
to both the neck and the leg. So if you are going to put a collar on your
pet, make sure it’s the right kind of collar. Breakaway collars are designed to come off
in dangerous situations. The drawback is that a cat who loses his or
her breakaway collar won’t be easy to identify,so you should always have a microchip in place
as a backup. And remember, it’s better to have a lost cat
who at least has some potential to returnhome than an injured cat who may be lost forever. Perhaps and you’re tired of having to smell
that stinky cat food every morning. Or maybe the smell of the litter box is getting
to be too much for you, so you bought yourselfan essential oil diffuser to help return a
sense of not-stinky to your home. Well, there’s mounting evidence that essential
oil diffusers are really, really dangerousfor cats. Essential oils are especially toxic to cats
because they can be absorbed internally andexternally, through the skin. The oils are metabolized in the liver, and
cats lack the enzyme required to process andeliminate them. An affected cat may drool, vomit, or have
difficulty breathing. If the liver fails, the cat will die. Even if the cat doesn’t come into physical
contact with the stuff, just inhaling it cancause respiratory distress. Your best bet for removing the stink?Febreze, which contrary to rumor is not actually
toxic to cats unless you spray it directlyon their fur. Check out one of our newest videos right here!Plus, even more Grunge videos about your favorite
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