How do you show your cat you respect them?

Respect Your Cat Day: 10 Tips To Show Your Cat Respect

While we’re positive you respect your cat on a daily basis, there’s actually a special holiday to honor our cats. March 28th is Respect Your Cat Day!

That means on this particular day, you should make sure to show your feline extra love. Whether it’s giving your kitty some bonus treats or a few extra pets, there are plenty of simple ways to respect your cat.

However, while these are great ways to honor your cat, respecting your cat goes much further. You also have to know how to properly take care of them and how they’d like to be treated, handled, and held.

Innocent things, such as feeding your cat too much food, holding your cat in a way that makes them feel unsafe, and even petting your cat in a way that annoys them, can come across as disrespectful to cats.

Here are ten tips that will improve your relationship with your cat so they’ll truly know you respect them on Respect Your Cat Day.

1. Pet Your Cat The Right Way

Petting your cat may seem like a simple task, but you might notice there are times you’ve pet your cat and their mood suddenly begins to change.

Cats are complicated, as many cat parents know, so you want to be careful where you pet them. This is good tip especially for children so they know how to pet a cat without disturbing them and making them jump or scratch them, as petting a cat requires a bit more finesse than petting a dog.

As the video above explains, cats like it best when you pet their head and neck region, while it is best to stay away from their belly.

2. Learn How To Hold A Cat

The right way to hold a cat may seem fairly obvious. However, there is actually a proper way to pick them so they are comfortable and less likely to be skittish and afraid.

This video explains that the more of a cat’s body is touching you, the more comfortable they will feel. It’s best to keep them close to your body so they feel more secure. The more they feel like they aren’t going to fall, the more stable they will be.

While this technique for picking up and holding works on some cats, it’s a given that not all cats like to be held at all. And that’s perfectly okay.

Just remember that if your cat doesn’t like being held, don’t force something on them they don’t enjoy.

3. Only Scruff A Cat In An Emergency

Scruffing a cat is a technique that’s good to know for emergencies. Naturally, mama cats will pick up their kittens by the scruff of their neck when they are very young, carrying them around from place to place in a safe manner.

However, it’s also used by mama cats as a disciplinary measure. That means that scruffing should not be done unless it’s a real emergency.

For example, scruffing a cat might prevent them from attacking another cat, human, or animal, or from running in the street. Don’t scruff your cat unless it’s absolutely necessary.

4. Maintain Your Cat’s Coat

Brushing is a significant part of parenting a cat. It keeps their coat healthy, thus helping to keep your cat healthy overall.

The video above is especially worth watching for people with long-haired cats. Long-haired cats can develop problems with knots and matted hair, so it’s extremely important to brush them on a daily basis so this doesn’t happen.

There are certain types of brushes good for long-haired cats, as the video shows, and it’s good to know exactly where matted hair can build up so you know to focus on brushing those areas.

5. Know How Much To Feed Your Cat

One of the most common questions cat parents ask the internet is “How much should I feed my cat?”

Just like how every human is different, not all cats require the same diet. Depending on your cat’s metabolism, lifestyle, and activity level, the amount of food they need will differ from other cats.

The video above goes over some basics to make it easier to figure out what to feed your cat, explaining the differences between the various dry and wet foods, along with the feeding guidelines each manufacturer recommends.

This is a good video to watch, especially if you’re a new cat adopter.

6. Learn When & How To Bathe Your Cat

Cats and water — a.k.a. the worst combination ever. You may be thinking it’s impossible to bathe your cat because it’s so difficult to get them in the water.

While you may be right that it’s difficult, don’t say it’s impossible until you try. Luckily, cats don’t need baths very often, and many don’t need baths at all unless they get into something particularly smelly and dirty. But sometimes a cat bath is necessary.

The video above goes over it step-by-step. The cat parent doesn’t just show how to bathe your cat; he also explains how to prepare your cat for their bath and make them comfortable. You don’t just want to throw your cat into the bath and see what happens, but instead get them ready for the ordeal.

You might have to be patient, but bathing your cat is not an impossible feat.

7. Trim Nails Properly

You might think that trimming a cat’s nails is so difficult that you’ve already given up. But before you give up completely, know that it’s important to a cat’s health, especially indoor cats.

As the video above explains, cats’ nails are always growing. Indoor cats may have problems if their nails get too long, as they can get them stuck on the carpet and tear them off.

Other problems can occur if the nail grows too long and curves into the pad, causing an infection.

Before you say it’s too hard, watch this walkthrough video because it might save your cat from an infection.

8. Learn About Litter Training

Litter boxes are great, but they’re not so great if your cat doesn’t use them.

If your cat isn’t housebroken, don’t worry because it’s a very simple task to teach them.

If you’re thinking about adding a cat to your family or you’re a brand new cat parent, the video above is great to keep in mind. Training your cat to use the litter box is pretty straightforward for both you and your cat.

Also, remember it’s extremely important for your cat’s health to keep the box clean on a daily basis.

9. Make Sure Your Cat Isn’t Bored

While many people get cats because they aren’t as high maintenance as dogs, that doesn’t mean you can just ignore them.

Cats need attention just like any other pet. If you are busy throughout the day, there are some great toys that can keep your cat’s attention without you having to give it to them 24/7.

Little, robotic toys that move by themselves and food dispensing toys are good distractions for your cat.

Remember though, these toys should not serve as a replacement for you physically playing with your cat.

10. Understand Cat Body Language

Part of respecting your cat is knowing how to understand your cat’s body language. Knowing what basic body movements mean can improve your relationship with them.

For example, knowing the difference between aggression and fear is very important. Similarly, when your cat exposes their belly to you, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s okay to go in for a pet.

Remember, just because your dog might be happy when they wag their tail, it doesn’t mean the same for your cat.

Do you have any other tips for showing felines respect? How will you honor your cat for Respect Your Cat Day? Let us know and leave a comment below!

How do you show your cat you respect them?

by Soojin Um Staff Writer M arch 28 is Respect Your Cat Day. Yes, that’s right. Our feline friends may have a laugh if they could understand what this is because, as everyone knows, they demand and get respect every day. So what’s so special about this day? Anyway, there are many things we can do to celebrate this day. We can, for instance, plan a grooming session, or a party, or a special treat. Or, we can just opt for a quiet, relaxing evening of snuggling with our best fur-buddies. Any of those options are completely appropriate. However, we can also take some time to truly ponder why we love our cats. Cats may have been domesticated originally to tackle pest problems on the farm, but in modern society, even in bustling metropolises, we still have them. What is it about cats that make us want them around, even when there’s no functional purpose? After all, if it’s companionship we seek, there are dogs we can choose, and arguably they make better companions than cats. Cats often sleep up to 16 or 17 hours a day – where do they find the time to grace us with their presence? So, and not to sound selfish or anything, what is it that cats do for us exactly, why do we love them so much? Well, for starters, their very presence helps us with our overall health. We humans find their purring to be soothing. In fact, purring helps cats heal their muscles and bones. Having them right next to our bodies while purring can help us heal too. How’s that for a super power? Their soothing powers don’t end there. Living with a cat has been shown to reduce stress, and more importantly, lower the risks of cardiovascular disease. Just having a cat has been shown to reduce heart disease by a third! Now, some people are skeptical, saying that maybe the types of people who like cats generally have lower stress to begin with. However, there are some logical reasons why having a cat might reduce stress. Cats don’t require constant attention like dogs do. For example, cat don’t demand to be walked or to play fetch, nor do cats beg at the table when you’re eating dinner. Cats prefer to do their own thing, and when interacting with people, they tend to be content being lap companions. This kind of calmness can rub off on us, especially after a stressful day at work. On tough days, we can use every help we can get. It’s clear (to cat lovers anyway) that cats do love us. They might not bark and run around, but they do show us affection and greet us if we’ve been away all day. However, do they see us as their masters? A prominent animal behavior expert believes that they might not. Dogs clearly know who the boss is when we walk into a room. They act differently toward us than they do with each other. Cats, for the most part, do not. They hold us to the same standards as they do with each other, and that’s significant in how they view us. Instead of a master-pet relationship, it’s more like cats are our housemates. Cats deserve our respect. They also demand respect. It’s only right that we have a day set aside for just that. There are other days where we celebrate cats and pets and fun activities we can do with them. This day, however, is about thinking of the many ways in which cats are important to us. In our busy lives, we may sometimes forget just how much we love and respect our cats. It’s a good thing Respect Your Cat Day is there to remind us. Please let us know your thoughts on this topic and/or give us feedback here or on Facebook.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We’ll assume you’re ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT

Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.