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Caring for any living thing requires attention to it's needs. This is my understanding of those needs and things to be wary of. I want to repeat that: this is a guideline, that I've learned, from my own observations of my cat. Your cat will certainly have different preferences, pay attention to them.
If I cared more, I'd look to find documented science to back up my claims. If you believe I'm wrong about any of these, or would like to help with references, I'd love to hear from you.
Since Imoh is living with me again, I thought I'd collect the information I've learned looking after her.
= TL;DR =
- Cats are creatures of habits. This is probably the most important thing of all. No matter what you're doing or trying to do, make it consistent so it's easier for your cat to adapt
- Cats don't require all that much food on a daily basis, they are quite small animals. Of course, house cats burn much lower energy requirements than if you were to let your cat roam. I think my tiny apartment cat needs around 2/3rds of a can (180g) of wet food / day, and she eats dry food to satisfy snacking
- Cats are used to their main source of water being from their food. I believe they have a delayed onset sense of thirst. I think it's important to serve wet food for this reason, and I also add water to these meals when I serve them. Kidney stones is apparently a leading cause of indoor cat deaths
- Keeping your cat active is an important part of keeping them happy (big surprise, humans work the same way), so see if you can make a habit of walking your cat if they have only a small area to run around in
- Use a shallow-ish bowl with a wide rim, whiskers are on high alert while they eat
- Short hair cats don't need to be brushed, though they may enjoy it
Nutrition
I feed my cat both wet and dry food. I feed her 1 can (180g) of wet food a day, and a small portion (1/4th cup) of dry food when it runs out. My cat doesn't gorge on dry food like some cats do, and has lil snacks throughout the day. A fourth cup of dry food can last her up to 3 days.
I think I will lower the amount of wet food slightly in the future, since Imoh isn't so active in my smaller apartment compared to the old share house I was living in.
Water
I've noticed that Imoh is much less likely to drink water that is close to her food. She will drink far more water when it's in a different location. Imoh also doesn't seem to like running water, preferring to drink still water.
Play
Imoh loves playing! She loves pats. She likes to be around people.
Litter
I use tofu litter, it has been the most effective at masking the smell, doesn't hurt when you step on it, and is organic. Imoh won't use a spot she doesn't like, generally if it's too highly trafficked and loud. A happy spot means no accidents, and no cleaning up for me :)
Safety
I'm really lucky that Imoh is cautiously curious. She isn't interested in any plants (Neither cat grass, nor catnip!) at all, which mitigates a lot of the risk for me. I still check if a plant may be bad for cats, and I don't have any, but I'm also not so worried about this one She's good at not getting lost, being called when her name is called, and knows to ask for help when she's stuck (meow!) rather than try something risky.