CatHealthTipsAndFacts

--It is important to alert your vet to any changes in appetite, elimination (polite word for amount/frequency of litterbox use!), or other unusual behavior.
--Don't ignore dental health. As in humans, dental desease in animals can potentially lead to heart trouble.
--Ignore people (including physicians) who tell you to get rid of your cat if you are pregnant. Sensible advice for pregnant cat owners is to have someone else clean the litterbox everyday, avoid gardening or eating home grown garden veggies, and practice good hygiene in the kitchen. I could (and may someday) write a whole article on this topic.
--Avoid homemade diets. You can never do as good a job as the nutritionists at major ped food companies. And for heaven's sake, don't try to feed your cat a vegetarian diet-- they CANNOT remain healthy on such a diet.
--Routine vaccinations and worming, combined with keeping a cat strictly indoors (I know some people will never agree to do this), can dramatically increase a cat's life span. I have seen cats live to an age of 20 years with such care, although I can't give exact statistics on this. Worming pets also contributes to the health of the human population.
--If a portion of one ear is cut off (a straight and clean cut), it means the cat is a member of a "managed colony" of feral (wild) cats. This means that the cat is neutered, vaccinated, fed and monitored by vets and volunteers. Such a cat is not a risk to the public health because of rabies, etc.