Keeping Your Outdoor Cat Happy And Healthy

It is no secret that most cats love being outside, exploring the great outdoors, soaking in the warm weather and expressing their natural behaviours. We all want to keep out cats safe and sound so we put together a guide to help you.

If they haven't been outside yet, don’t forget we have a useful guide to help your cat transition to going outside regularly.

Getting your cat microchipped is an easy and simple way of helping your cat get home if they ever went missing. Microchips are safe, easily implanted and extremely effective.

If your cat was ever found and taken to a vet, rescue centre or local authority they simply scan them, put the number into the system and voilà! All your registered details will be instantly available and your cat can be reunited with their family.

Getting your cat vaccinated is extremely important to prevent infectious disease, some of which are fatal. Kittens have their first vaccines between 8-9 weeks old and it is important to get them vaccinated every year to ensure their immunity is fighting fit!

Getting your cats neutered is generally recommended for all cats that are not going to be bred. The advantages of neutering include health benefits for the individual cat, as well as helping to maintain appropriate behaviour in the home. Even more importantly, it prevents unwanted pregnancies.

Fleas, ticks and worms are common parasites in cats but they can be easily prevented with regular treatments. Fleas are extremely irritating and in some cases can lead to skin disease. Worms can result in gastrointestinal problems in cats, which includes diarrhoea and vomiting.

Typically most flea treatments should be applied each month and come as a spot-on solution which is easy and simple to apply. The rate at which you should worm your cats depends on their lifestyle, hunting cats should be wormed monthly as they are at a great risk of getting a worm burden, otherwise it is advised to worm your cats every 3 months.

If you decide to put a collar on your cat, it’s worth considering adding an identification tag. On the tag you can place any details you wish, some people put their address and telephone number, but you can choose whatever makes you feel comfortable. The single most important part of a cat’s collar is to ensure that it is a quick release collar to ensure it is safe if your cat gets caught.

Cat’s live exploring every inch of their territory and climb into every crack they can find and can sometimes get them into a little bit of trouble.

Before locking your shed make sure you have a really good look to make sure they do not get locked inside!

Comment below if you have any more tips on making sure your cat is safe outside!