Are you doing anything to harm your cat’s spirit? Why is your cat’s always sad or mad at you?
I know what you’re imagining how can my cat be unhappy I treat it like royalty, lots of belly rubs brushing… but that’s the thing! Even though cats are well known as the strong, independent mammal. They’re sensitive and full of feelings, and whatever you’re doing just might be hurting their little kitty spirit. If your lovely cat is not smiling, no one in the house is allowed to be either. Sometimes we cat owners, with all our affection and loyalty, actually do more harm than good. At least that’s what we recently learned, and we’re here to spread the message!
Did you know, for example, that most cats just hate strangers? They see any other creatures of their kind as competition for food, toys, and love. Or did you ever mentioned that they don’t love belly rubs? A cat’s stomach is its most unsafe area, and protecting it is a basic instinct. So be gentle and respectful!
If you’re doing any of these 12 things, you are likely harming your cat’s well-being.
1. Not Reading Their Body Language
Your cat may not be able to communicate with words, but her body language is important.
In the way, you pick her up, the movement of her tail, in the way she prances around you, and the way she cares for herself. It’s crucial to keep tabs on how she typically behaves.
If you get used to her usual manoeuvres and see that she is behaving differently, it makes it easier to know when she might be in pain and needs to have a checkup to keep her healthy.
2. Not Being Besties
Why do you have a cat? Did you get her to have a sprightly and savvy little friend to keep you company? Make sure you treat her as such!
You are her favourite person, and you might be her only person, so show her your every bit of love by treating her with respect and affection – we’re sure she’ll be your bestie for life!
3. Hurting Them
Imagine if someone much larger than you caused you any physical pain, and you were unable to defend yourself, and you depended on this person for food, water, love and affection.
Hurting your car will break its spirit. Kicking, hitting, pushing and smacking your cat is not an effective form of punishment when you want to deter them from the behaviour you don’t want them to be doing.
It’s an inexcusable action. The only thing that hurting your cat will accomplish will be teaching them to fear you and other humans, and bullying a creature that’s smaller than you.
4. Ignoring Them
Cats can be quite independent, but it’s a misconception that they don’t feel emotion or love for their humans. Refusing to give your cat any attention or affection is a sure-fire way to break their spirits and leave them feeling confused.
A cat’s independence does not equal a lack of feeling. Cats crave affection and love just as much as we do, and withholding that is a good way to make your cat antisocial and depressed.
Imagine if you were being neglected by the only person in your life that took care of you – it wouldn’t feel very good, would it? Making sure you connect emotionally with your cat by way of affection will keep your cat mentally and physically happy.
5. Not Providing Them Mental Stimulation
Cats are highly intelligent creatures, and during the young and formative years, and even well into their senior years, cats need stimulation. Not giving your cat time to play hunt or chase toys or figure out puzzles will leave them bored and will easily start to break their spirits.
If you don’t have a lot of time to spend playing with your cat during the day, you can leave toys out for them during the day. You can also leave on a radio at a low volume while you’re gone, so your cat doesn’t feel like they’re completely alone in the home.
Getting them toys that dispense their food is a good way to keep them both interested in the toy and mentally stimulated.
6. Skipping The Small Stuff
If you can’t take the time to take care of your feline friend, you might need to reconsider having a cat. If you skip brushing your cat or are ignoring if they get recurrent hairballs, you may be letting your cat know that you don’t care.
Take the time to brush your cat and clip their nails, and clean out their ears if you can. If not, you should make appointments with a vet who can do these things for you and make sure your cat is in tip-top shape. Ignoring the little things can quickly build up to a miserable cat.
7. Declawing Them
Never, ever declaw your cat. If you can’t have a cat who may scratch your furniture before you train them not to do so, you shouldn’t have a cat. When you declaw a cat, it’s just like if someone surgically removed the tips of your fingers at the knuckles.
It’s incredibly painful for cats to be declawed, and that pain can remain long after surgery and may never go away. A cat who has been declawed may become more aggressive because you’ve effectively taken away their first line of defence.
Instead of declawing your cat, take the time to train your cat where to scratch, and give them multiple nail clippings to keep their nails short and manageable so they’re less likely to scratch on furniture.
8. Letting Them Be Bullied By Other Pets
Cats have all kinds of personalities. Some get along well with other cats, some don’t. Some cats are friendly with all other animals in the household, and some just prefer their human companions. Cats can bond with other animals as much as they can bond with humans and each other.
But one way to break your cat’s spirit is to allow the other animals in the house to bully them. If you have a large dog who doesn’t know the meaning personal space and a cat who really hates to be bothered, you shouldn’t just allow the dog to bully the cat.
If you have other cats in the home who beat up one of your cats, you should take measures to separate them and cut down on incidents. A bullied cat will become aggressive and fearful in their own home.
9. Not Giving Them Fresh Water
Cats are a thirsty bunch. If you have a tiny tiger in your care, it deserves clean and fresh water on the regular.
If you’re not refilling your cat’s water bowl, you could be depriving it of a basic need and making it dehydrated.
This could lead to lack of energy and a decrease in its health functions. Imagine leaving a glass of water out for a few days and how much dust, hair and dirt drift into this glass – give your cat the small luxury of clean water, just like you have!
10. Leaving Them In Crowds Of People
If you have a house party or gathering, make sure there’s somewhere that your cat can retreat with their food, water and litter box. Cats hate crowds and get easily overstimulated. If the cat’s food or water is left in the crowded area, they’ll be forced to choose between being among the crowd or food and water.
And while it’s fun to take your dog out and about for a day at a protest or other crowded area, cats are not the type of pet to put on a harness and taken into a busy crowd of strangers. Cats can get easily stressed out and anxious when they don’t have a place to escape to.
11. Not Taking Them To Regular Vet Visits
Sometimes, we can’t always know what’s wrong with our beloved feline friends by just looking. Routine vet visits are good to make sure our cats are hiding some type of ailment from us. By neglecting their annual check-ups, your cat may be suffering without you even knowing.
The longer a cat goes without any help for its unseen ailments, the more it’s spirit will break. Vet visits can be expensive, but they’re part of cat ownership and are incredibly important to make sure your cat is happy and healthy and lives it’s best, and longest, life.
12. Hanging Out With Too Many Dogs
Talk about stress! Cats and dogs naturally are not the best of friends. Of course, this is not to say it can’t be; However, if a cat is unfamiliar with the presence of dogs, their presence can cause trauma and anxiety within their little bodies.
Make sure to treat your cat with love and care, and be mindful of with who you are spending time.
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