What are the best ways to help my cat live a long, healthy life?

A well balance diet, regular dental cleanings, vaccinations, blood screenings yearly and lots of love will help most animals live longer. Every animal is different and animals can develop diseases, so just because you are doing all of this does not guarantee a long life for the animal. These things will certainly help though!

Great question and it's so great that you want to be informed so that Noushmc can live a long, happy life! The Complete Illustrated Guide to Cat Care by Bruce Fogle is a book that would be helpful to you. Also, "Cats for Dummies" by Gina Spadafori and Paul Pion is also a good reference. The following articles may also be of interest to you: https://www.petcoach.co/article/8-things-you-should-never-do-to-your-pet/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/10-tips-to-keep-your-cat-safe-at-home/ Thanks for using PetCoach and best of luck to you and Noushmc!

Hi there! Hunny Cat is very cute! I believe it's better to feed cats canned food. It has more moisture and adds a little bit more hydration to their daily intake. Later in life, cats can commonly develop kidney disease and/or urinary bladder disease. In both cases, cats will benefit greatly from the increased water content of a canned diet. The canned food is a lot better too to help keep an indoor cat's weight in check. All indoor cats have a tendency to become overweight, as they don't exercise as much as feral cats. Since cats usually will ingest the canned food right away, it is easier to portion the food out and also provide cats with meal times. This is very helpful to increase their metabolism, and to help discourage them from gaining weight. Far too often, we see cats being fed a pile of dried food in a bowl where they eat buffet-style on and off all day long. This can easily lead to weight gain and obesity, as well as all sorts of health problems. Nutro is good food, and so is tiki cat, weruva, science diet, royal canin, and iams/eukanuba, Purina is also good. I just like for pets to have a balanced diet. Grain free isn't really a necessity, but thus far in cats, we're not really seeing too many issues. I hope you find this answer helpful! Best of luck!

Great question! One thing I would strongly recommend is having Coco spayed. Dog who are intact are prone to developing a pyometra, which is an infection of the uterus that is fatal without treatment. It makes dogs very sick. Unfortunately spaying her now won't lower her risk of mammary tumors, but at least it takes away the risk of the pyometra. Feed her a healthy diet, don't give her human foods, and plenty of exercise daily. Keep her up to date on her vaccines, heartworm treatment, flea and tick treatments, and deworming treatments. Finally, have her seen by a vet yearly for a health check, taking her in sooner whenever she is sick. I hope this helps!

It's great that you want to make sure Mia is happy! Cats need at least one litterbox per cat plus one extra to help reduce stress associated with the litterbox. They should be placed in separate rooms, away from the food and water bowls, must be scooped at least daily (preferably multiple times a day) and washed out at least weekly with a mild soap, followed by thorough rinsing. Cats need a lot of space to explore, but keeping them indoors is much safer than letting them outside, due to the risk of injury from cars, wildlife, other animals, etc. The key is providing space (particularly vertical space for climbing, such as cat trees, ledges, and the like) inside the home. Visit http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=T&C=33&S=2 , healthcareforpets.com and https://indoorpet.osu.edu// for tips on stress reduction. Also look into Feliway, a synthetic pheromone that is available in a diffuser and spray form that promotes calm feelings in cats http://www.feliway.com . See the link below and consult with your vet about the best food for Mia https://talkspetfood.aafco.org/rightpetfood . I hope that helps!

I would recommend feeding her a kitten formulated food, as she needs more calories, protein, and calcium that adult cats, and a kitten formulated food will provide that. Make sure she receives her vaccines, put her on monthly heartworm prevention, monthly flea treatment, and deworming treatments.

Noushmc might just be a small cat! If she eats a correct portion of food for her weight and age and if she continues to grow, even if slowly, if her appetite is good, the urination and defecation is normal and she is happy and playful, I wouldn't be worried at the moment. I recommend to record her weight every week to monitor the increase. Please post again on the forum if you would like to discuss it further. I hope my answer was helpful.