Poets often wrote that God created the cat, so that Man could caress a panther. But when you’re away from home all day, how can you make the little fauve happy?
There’s no surprise to the fact that cats are more and more present in our homes. As they became closer and more affectionate, they also became less independent. What’s more, cats have a great advantage for city dwellers: you don’t have to walk them. Indeed, while many cats are still living in the countryside, happily going their ways and hunting mice, more and more are sharing the urban life of their owners. Fortunately, cats are highly adaptable animals, as long, of course, as they receive a minimum of attention and of proper fitting outs. Then they can be satisfied with the completely anti-natural environment of an apartment.
Down with preconceived ideas! A cat is definitely not more attached to its house than to its owners, provided it has received the necessary amount of socialisation by being close to men from its earliest age. The little furry ball first of all needs your company. It will take possession of its new environment with you, and it will be attached to you, your voice, your odour and your caresses. Although the cat is a territorial animal, that has many ways to do its markings, it still needs physical contacts. A flat, if you animate it with your presence, will not deprive it of much pleasure. A cat will suffer more from the time you will not spend with it, than of lack of space. But you need to be reasonable. If you have only one cat, a studio can be enough. But if you have many cats, it’s better if there’s no more than a cat in each room. If you’re outside most of the day, your cat will probably get bored. A good alternative is to give it a companion, another with which it will bind social links through the language of the cats: mutual cleaning, hide and seek games, sleeping together. It won’t require more work from your part, as most of the time a litter is enough for two cats. And it really won’t cost you much more to feed two cats instead of one. While in the meantime the advantages are very important for you and for your pets: you’ll live with happy and balanced animals.
No matter how nice and sweet the cat, it still has instincts inducing its behaviour. And therefore it has needs you have to respect.As it can no longer scratch its claws on tree trunks, the indoor cats does not use them properly. So it walks on too long claws, ladders your tights during the evening cuddle, and damages the living room sofa. So you should clip its claw about twice a month. Yet, there’s more than hygiene when a cat scratches its claws against something. It’s above all a form of marking performed at strategic places: room angles, entry walls… cats cannot help having this behaviour. And cats also are inveterate climbers, as it reminds them of their hunts and ancestral little snoozes at the top of the trees. So offer your little city friend a cat tree. It will mark its territory by scratching its claws on the pole, and will climb on the various levels to be able to watch with delight, eyes half closed, everything that takes place within the house. And there are toys, of course. They are indispensable to its mental and physical welfare. You should know that the cats are above all attracted by movement, and what they really enjoy is chasing something. A paper ball tied to a thread can be enough… provided you’re at the other end of the thread.
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