EVERYDAY CAT CARE

Q: You always hear that white cats are likely to be deaf, but I have an all white cat who has no hearing problems whatsoever. How can that be?

Forget the old saw that the way to calculate a cat’s age in human ears is to multiply each year by seven. That simply won’t give you an accurate assessment of where your cat is at in life, say the American Animal Hospital Association and the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP).

Laminate and tiled floors and even wood flooring can prove very slippery for an old cat who’s not as steady as she once was. And that, in turn, can make her less likely to be active. If your cat is avoiding a particular room or space in the house that she used to frequent, consider putting a runner there. You might be happily surprised to find her confidently making her way across. 

You notice some gunk in one or both of your cat’s ears and are tempted to clean out the dirt. Don’t, especially not if the debris keeps accumulating, your pet’s ears smell bad, she’s scratching or swatting at them, or she keeps shaking or tilting her head. It means her ears are not just dirty. Something’s wrong that requires a veterinarian’s attention.

Q: I’m worried my cat is not drinking enough water. I never see her at the water bowl. She is on dry food. Should I try to switch her to canned food or other moist cat food that contains more water than dry?