Cat Paw Health
Every cat owner wants to do whatever they can to help their cat be healthy. Promoting good nutrition, proper grooming, and all around health is part of an owner's duty. Keeping your cat's paws healthy is just one of the many things you have to do to help your cat stay healthy and well groomed. Since that's what they walk on all day long, it's important to make sure they are healthy, clean, and well kept. Here are some ideas for keeping paws healthy.
Keeping paws healthy during the winter seasons
Much of the damage that is done to kitty paws is done during the colder months of the year; during the winter seasons of ice and snow. And although most cats are indoor cats, some do like to wander outside every now and then. This is where the problem occurs. When there is snow and ice you can expect various melting products to be out on the roads as well as sidewalks. As your cat wanders into the outdoors they can get pieces of salt, sand, or ice crystals stuck in their paws. This may sound easy enough to clean out, but sometimes they can ingest the particles while they are grooming themselves and cleaning their paws which can lead to serious illness. Here are some ways to keep them healthy during the winter:
1. If you have been outside with your cat make sure you wipe off their feet when you come inside. This will generally remove any of the ice, salt, or sand that can cause dryness or illness if ingested.
2. Often times the melting substances on roads and sidewalks can get lodged in the hair between your cat's toes. To help reduce the chances of this happening you can trim the hair between their toes.
3. You can also use petroleum jelly on the bottom of your cat's paws before they go outside. This helps keep them from drying out too much.
Keeping paws healthy by clipping
Another part of keeping your cat's paws healthy is keeping them clipped. If you neglect to keep your cat's claws clipped they can grow into paw pads so this should be done on a weekly basis. If you have never done it before take a trip to the vet and they can show you how it's done and the easiest way to get your cat to sit still while you do it. Many people believe that declawing their cat is the only way to address the scratching kitty. However, for a cat this can be a most painful procedure and usually unnecessary. Cats can be trained to scratch only in appropriate areas like a scratching post or scratching tree. So before you decide to declaw them, try clipping their claws to keep them healthy.
Keep paws healthy by keeping your cat out of the litter box
There are several people that have a problem with their cat playing in the litter box and then tracking litter all over their home as well as it sticking in the paws of their cat. Do yourself and your cat a favor and don't allow them to play in the litter box. Place a rug or a towel outside the box so that if they do venture in that as they come out most of the litter will be caught on the towel or the rug. Make sure that you also trim the hair between the cat's paws so that litter doesn't get stuck in between.
Fighting an infection due to something getting stuck in your cat's paws is going to cause you more headache and money than if you just took good care of them in the first place. Hopefully these tips on cat paw health will help keep your cat's paws healthy and much cleaner.
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