6 Ways To Show Your Cat You Love Them (During Quarantine And Beyond!)

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You’ve adopted a cat and have waited patiently for them to adjust to their new home…successfully! You have shown them what the good life is like when they let you love them. They have accepted you as their “human servant”, perhaps a bit reluctantly. And now their reign can begin. But how do you continue to remind them that they are your reason for getting out of bed in the mornings? Hopefully, not to the sound of a furball making its appearance! What can you do each day for your new family member?

Well, here are 6 ways you can show your cat that you love them…and always will.

1) The Everyday Essentials

BEFORE you bring your new cat (and especially a new kitten!) home, you will need the essentials.

But long gone are the days of filling an old kitchen dish with dry food and letting your feline “have at it”. Now, there are more options for cat bowls then ever before. And they actually have a reason behind them. Stainless steel bowls are often preferred due to their ability to be put in the dishwasher and are unbreakable. Elevated bowls help with digestion for animals, whose esophagus is horizontal to their body. This means that when the bowl is lower than their head, the food must travel upwards before being digested. And that may be why some cats eat extremely fast…and then the puking happens.

Dietary restrictions may be a factor for your pet as well and there are literally hundreds of food brands to choose from. Prescription foods can be costly and we know how many picky eaters are out there. When your pet’s health is the concern, you have to find the right ingredients and varieties. These days, delivery services like Chewy.com may even have options that don’t set you on a treasure hunt driving around town. And ask ANYONE about Chewy’s customer service if their animal decides the flavor isn’t to their liking!

That litter you need scoop every day, well you can even get that delivered to your door now! If only they took the old stuff away with them…wink wink.

2) Providing Necessary Health Care Allows You To Love Them For Years To Come

I know I feel grumpy when sick, so keeping your beloved feline healthy is a sure way to keep them happy. There are required monthly flea and tick treatments that YES, indoor cats require too. And readily available are supplements and daily vitamins in flavors to ensure that all cats will love them. Because what is better than offering a tasty treat that is good for our fur-kids AND earns us love points?!

Photo: Ru(th) foster kitten learning nail trims are necessary as a baby too!

Clipping your cat’s claws is the obvious humane way to keep our material belongings safer if that’s an issue for you. The proper tools and online training videos are available but if you are still uncomfortable doing it, vets provide this service as well.

Speaking of the “v.e.t.”, it’s an absolutely necessary trip you need to take with ALL cats, indoor and outdoor. Transporting them during this scary trip should be as comfortable as possible to eliminate stress. Calming sprays can be used on sturdy carriers stuffed with padding to make the ordeal better for everyone involved. Not to mention curbside drop-off seems to be the norm so secure clips, zippers and doors are a MUST!

3) Enrichment To Satisfy Their Natural Instincts

A cat’s natural instincts are always just below the surface…until they’re not. We need to provide enrichment, or the action of improving or enhancing the quality or value of something, to their life with us.

Cats are natural climbers so elevated shelving and cat trees they can scale also help them exercise. They also make for the purrfect eye-level height for snapping photos.

Foraging for food (and sleeping) are what cats primarily do when living in the wild. Many people use or create food puzzles for their pets. Tossing treats in the hidden compartments of the dish allows them to hunt with a sweet payoff at the end.

4) Engaging In Play And “Catifying” Your Home

The easiest and most enjoyable way to also add enrichment is through play; either with us or via enriching toys.

Grab a wand toy and run like a madman through your house and watch the pure joy on your felines frantic face. This allows them to hone their natural hunting instincts, satisfying their urges they would experience in the wild.

Scratching posts provide an additional “filing” for cats claws. It also gives them an opportunity to mark their scent and territory and stretch their muscles.

5) Love Them Via Catnap Combos

Take time everyday to just sit and chill with your furry family members. Nothing will show them you love them more than bonding. Grab a snuggly blanket or cat bed and get to the petting human!

It’s been proven that the cats purr sends out vibrations that may aid in healing bones, building muscle, and easing breathing…for both of you!

6) With Online Ordering Comes BOXES!

If you have a cat…and you love them…you give them boxes. That’s just the rule. So with the Covid-19 pandemic and imposed quarantines, delivery services have become the norm. Not only do we have access to items that may not be found in all stores, many companies even offer free shipping. You can literally “win” being a cat servant from your couch.

And do you KNOW how many boxes that means and what you can create for your feline!?

So now that you have clearly expressed to your feline overlord that you love them, be prepared for biscuit making, head bumping, drooling snuggle sessions! You’re welcome.