If you had cats while growing up, what was the standard of care for the cats in your household?
We always had cats while I was growing up. We lived on a farm and my mom was allergic to all animal hair, so they were pretty much 100% outside cats that were there almost solely for the control of the rats and mice on our farm. For awhile we didn't spay or neuter. I recall us having kittens on the farm.
The cats ate cheap dry food. Canned food was considered a "feline dessert" and was doled out very rarely.
The cats rarely ever saw the inside of a vet's office. They certainly had no vaccinations of any kind, not even rabies, despite the fact that they were outside cats in an area that has bats.
We lost 3-4 cats to antifreeze poisoning, one to a roaming stray dog, and others to various other causes. The outdoors was incredibly hazardous for them.
I adopted an elderly cat with some health issues this year and it occurred to me that I had no experience treating elderly cat problems, because our barn cats never lived long enough to develop any health problems!
When my first cat adopted me, I honestly had no clue that the outdoors was so hazardous for cats and it didn't dawn on me that free roaming 24/7 was why we lost so many cats on the farm . It was only after reading up on statistics, that I made the connection between letting cats free roam and having them die horrific violent deaths.
I really didn't have very strong opinions on cat nutrition when my first cat adopted me. Ironically, the reason why I first started grain free food was because I am gluten free, due to severe medical issues and didn't want to handle wheat based cat food! I also had a feeling that cats didn't need grains in their food.
Later on, was when I did more research, especially after I inherited the unhealthy elderly cat.
We always had cats while I was growing up. We lived on a farm and my mom was allergic to all animal hair, so they were pretty much 100% outside cats that were there almost solely for the control of the rats and mice on our farm. For awhile we didn't spay or neuter. I recall us having kittens on the farm.
The cats ate cheap dry food. Canned food was considered a "feline dessert" and was doled out very rarely.
The cats rarely ever saw the inside of a vet's office. They certainly had no vaccinations of any kind, not even rabies, despite the fact that they were outside cats in an area that has bats.
We lost 3-4 cats to antifreeze poisoning, one to a roaming stray dog, and others to various other causes. The outdoors was incredibly hazardous for them.
I adopted an elderly cat with some health issues this year and it occurred to me that I had no experience treating elderly cat problems, because our barn cats never lived long enough to develop any health problems!
When my first cat adopted me, I honestly had no clue that the outdoors was so hazardous for cats and it didn't dawn on me that free roaming 24/7 was why we lost so many cats on the farm . It was only after reading up on statistics, that I made the connection between letting cats free roam and having them die horrific violent deaths.
I really didn't have very strong opinions on cat nutrition when my first cat adopted me. Ironically, the reason why I first started grain free food was because I am gluten free, due to severe medical issues and didn't want to handle wheat based cat food! I also had a feeling that cats didn't need grains in their food.
Later on, was when I did more research, especially after I inherited the unhealthy elderly cat.
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