Litter hacks, trackers and routines: Cat owners share their top tips for other cat owners
You can read all the cat books and watch all the videos you like, but to really know what it's like to care for a cat day in, day out you need to ask someone who already owns one.
So 9honey Pets did just that, inviting cat owners to share the top tip they'd give other cat owners for some of the most common feline dilemmas.
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Prevent early morning wake-up calls
An automatic feeder means your cat doesn't have to wake you up for food. Getty
Maddie says, "Invest in an automatic pet feeder! Every cat owner knows how annoying it is to be woken up at 4am by the cat pawing at your face or meowing its head off outside the bedroom door because it wants breakfast and it wants it NOW.
"After three years of putting up with it, I got an automatic feeder that gives my cat a small portion at preset times throughout the day, so he never has to yell at me to get up and feed him, and I know his meals are portioned correctly (so he doesn't get too chunky)."
How to stop furniture scratching
"You can get spray to stop cats scratching furniture. Worked for us," Sarah says.
The importance of routines
"Build a solid routine and don't give into whines for food before their feeding time. It seemed to stop the meltdowns that started hours before breakfast and dinner time," Suki recommended.
Keep track of their movements
Having an Apple AirTag on the collar is one way of keeping track of wandering cats. Getty Images/iStockphoto
Karina says, "One of the most stressful things is accepting that cats love to wander (and hate a leash), so to make things a little easier I bought a collar that has a section for an Apple AirTag, so I would always know where our little girl went on her adventures."
Less stinky litter
Sand and plastic are out for litter boxes, according to these cat owners. Getty Images/iStockphoto
"Crystal litter or tofu litter for cats! The old-fashioned sand stuff is the smelliest (as an owner and cat sitter). Also buy litter mats from Amazon to go under to collect the litter," Sara suggests.
Rose adds, "[Use] stainless steel litter boxes. Plastic retains smells and things, stainless steel does not and is easier to clean. I switched to stainless steel this year, life changer for smells"
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