Instantly Improve Your Cat's Life with these 7 Things

So, here's what I was thinking. I wanted to make something here where, if you were someone who just had a cat for the first time in your life, you've never had a cat before, you're like, oh, what do I do? But this video would help you. And then I thought, well, why wouldn't it apply to everybody? Maybe there's something that you never thought of before that could instantly make your cat's life better. I mean, instantly, like this. What I was really hoping for was to do the nose wiggle from Bewitched. And listen, these are some things that you may not wanna try. You may be skeptical. You may be like, Jackson, I think you're going too far on this one. I think you're wrong. Whatever, you're entitled to that, but what do you got to lose, you know? Your cat may be sitting there going, would you please, you know? There's only one way to find out. So, without further ado, the seven things that will instantly make your cat's life better. Coming in at number seven for the things that will make your cat's life instantly better is feeding a variety of foods. Now, let me give you some context. When I was growing up, my dad owned a cookie factory. Yes, think about that, fine. I would accompany my dad to work. And as I grew up, I worked there during the summers. And then, by the time I was about, I would say 12 years old, I never wanted to see another cookie, like ever. Because the smell of just coming home covered in cookie smell, it was just too much to bear. Point is that because it was something that was just pushed into me all the time, finally, I was like, no. If you had the choice of eating an apple every day, three meals a day for the rest of your life, or a whole smorgasbord, I know what you would pick. And your cat would pick it, too. That is how to instantly make them happy. But beyond that, there's other reasons to consider. Not having a variety is sort of a breeding ground for food intolerances and allergies. If you wanna know more about that, just go check out my old business partner, Dr. Jean Hovey, and her writing on littlebigcat.com, link in the description. And the other thing about this is that if you just feed the same thing over and over and over again, then what happens if, God forbid, something happens to you, and your cat winds up in shelter, rescue, foster, or friends and family, and they don't know what to feed your cat? That, coupled with the stress of not being in their normal world, leads cats to just basically going anorexic. They stop eating. And I saw that over and over again in the shelter that I worked in for 10 years. So that's another reason to just feed a variety of foods. And listen, I'm not gonna go into the types of foods that are the best for your cat, because I made a whole three-video playlist right here about that very topic. But the bottom line is don't feed your cats dry food. At least feed them a wet or a raw diet, because, again, they'll thank you. Once they get over the fact that you're not feeding them the cat food equivalent of Twinkies anymore, they will totally like you for it and live a longer life. Oh, and P.S., please don't send me any cookies. Number six on the things that will make your cats instantly happier, and that is spread out your cat's resources. So we think about it, cats are, as we all know, very territorial, but beyond that, we're talking about their mojo. We're talking about their raw cat, like what is going to satisfy that wild cat? Who is all about, where is my sense of ownership? And that's about resources. And by resources, I mean obviously food and water, because those are crucial, but also the scent soakers. Things like beds and cat trees, and yes, the king of all scent soakers, the litter box. But more about that in a bit. These things are your cat's territorial signposts. So what is a territorial signpost? I mean, think about it in human terms. So, you know, you're walking through the living room, you walk by the mantel, and the mantel has all these pictures of your life, you know, everything from high school graduation to your kids or your animal kids, and everything in between. And you'd stop by, and maybe just a picture, but there's that sense suddenly of, and that is because your existence is validated every time you walk by there. That's a signpost, and that's what I'm talking about. Put cat trees in socially significant areas and spread them out all over the house. It shouldn't just be in the quote-unquote cat room, if you know what I'm saying. Beyond all that, there's, again, speaking to the raw cat, we tend to jumble up things like food and litter boxes. No, no, cat is not going to want to eliminate right where they eat. Food and water, why would we put the food and water right next to each other? They're both important, but they're two separate entities, and they should be spread out as well. Cats just have a natural need for a personal bubble around where they eat. Cat mojo is territorial security, a sense of ownership of that territory. If you want to see your cat's confidence start to bloom, spread out those resources. Not for nothing, but if you really want to make your cat's life better, learn more about them on this channel, and the way to do that is subscribe to the channel, hit the bell, so you know when new things are coming up, including giveaways and lives and all types of good stuff. Make sure to hit that bell and give us a thumbs up, too. So, speaking of resources and spreading them out, litter boxes, and spreading your litter boxes out. I know people hate it when I talk about this, but you know what? Come on, just buckle in with me, man. Don't skip over this, all right? So here's the thing. First of all, and again, we're talking whether it's a single cat or multiple cat households, you go with that old formula. You have one cat, two litter boxes, two cats, three litter boxes, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And we do that thing, or you do, where you say, okay, I need three litter boxes for my two cats, so I'm gonna jumble them all together, make this one big sandbox, and throw it into the garage or the mudroom or whatever where I don't have to look at it. No, no, no, my good friend. If you want to make your cat really instantly happy now, you gotta just go with me here, and remember that the litter box is the king of the scent soaker signpost that I was talking about in the previous point. With that being the case, a litter box is not just where your cat poops or pees. A litter box is validation, territorial validation in the biggest way, so that when they walk by that area, they go, yeah, that's right, I own this place, and that is cat mojo right there. What's the sacrifice you have to make? The aforementioned everything, but there's also putting those litter boxes in socially significant areas. Please, out of the garage, out of the mudroom, put them, even if it's in the corner of the living room somewhere, just so they are complementing their scent with yours, because again, territorial security is communal scent. That's why your cat could feel so confident sitting where you sit, couch, bed, and they leave their scent there, and they're like compadres. Number four on our wonderful, instantly better life hit parade. This is the one I said, number four will blow your mind, or number four will shock you. Ready? Avoid that old devil, whisker stress. Yes, whisker stress, okay, it's a real thing, because, now listen, I made a video about this even, the wonders of the cat whisker, check out that video right here, link in the description, but in the meantime, just a very brief summary, and I mean brief, cat's whiskers are not just hairs that come out of their face. They have their own blood supply and nerve endings. They vibrate to just pick up movements in the air. They can actually help a cat to tell the temperature of the air, and navigate the world around them, and they do these things, I mean, oh, and even, because they're roughly the width of a cat's body, it'll help them if they're going into a place that's a little too tight to fit. So if the whiskers start telling them, hey, we're rubbing up against something here, okay, make that choice. You wanna go in, or do you not wanna go in? So where am I going with this? Whisker stress, the place where whisker stress happens is when your cat eats. Those normal little round cat bowls, think about it. If your cat wants to eat, especially those deep ones, they go in, their whiskers basically have to fold in half in order to get their food. How pleasant do you think that is? Actually not, and if your cat is exhibiting symptoms like clearly avoiding their dish, or going in, taking a few bites, walking away, going in, taking a mouthful, putting that mouthful on the ground, and then eating it, taking it out with their paws, that kind of thing, putting it on the ground, all different types of symptoms that you didn't even know was a symptom. It is, it's whisker stress, shocking. Now, what do you do? The best thing to do is there are bowls on the market that are just wide enough that your cat's whiskers won't touch. You can also think about feeding them on a plate. You know, everyone's got old plates in their house that they don't like. Do you risk having some cat food on the floor because there's no ridges? You'll figure it out. But the best thing is your cat can go and eat and not feel those warning signs that happen when their whiskers are basically bent in half to get their food. Did that not blow your mind? Did I not live up to my promises in my thumbnail or whatever the hell that was? I know I did. Number three on our list is one of those things that I was thinking about when it comes down to something that would work for first-time cat people or long-time cat people and every stop in between, but it will make your cat's life better, is for you to get good at the difficult things. Clipping claws and giving medicine. Mm-hmm, you gotta do it. There's no choice, really, because it's dangerous for them if you don't do it. Their claws can grow long enough that they start to curve back in on themselves. They can even go back into the pad, and imagine stepping down like that. They get caught in the fibers of rugs and furniture. And by the way, if your cat gives you a little tiny little swat, it's all of a sudden like Edward Scissorhands or something, you know? Because, and believe me, I know, because every cat that was aggressive on My Cat From Hell, they were afraid to trim the nails, and that's why it bled so much. Ow! Ow! Anyway, that was a side note. I mean, you can go the route of going to the vet once a month, because really, you shouldn't be going any longer than about four weeks. You can have groomers come over, that kind of thing. Or you can do it. I know you can do it. And another thing that you can do is give them medicine. I know, I know, this all sounds really difficult. Here's the thing. Number one, of course, better if you start young, because we can do positive associations with the feeling of having paws touched or mouths open by constantly rewarding. But beyond that, I think the biggest factor here is you, is us, is the energy and the stress and the consternation and the guilt that we put into doing these things. And so what happens then, don't forget, cats are highly energetically sensitive beings. You create this sort of field around you of all of those emotions and all of those fears, and as you approach them, they're like, well, what's going on, you know? And then on top of it, you do that thing where you're like, okay, honey, it's not a big deal. This is all fine. This is, you're gonna like it. And all your cat is doing at this point, as you come in with those hands is like, okay, it's go time, you know? And it's either fight or flight at that moment. The way you approach it is you just do it. Don't apologize beforehand. Don't bring this heaviness to it. It's hey, baby, how are you doing? Pet, pet, pet. Keep those trimmers near you, you know, like on the couch. When you're trimming nails, what you're gonna do, you would touch right here, and boop, claw comes out. Great thing about cat claws is that they are totally transparent, as opposed to a lot of dogs. That way, you see exactly where the blood supply ends. And again, all you have to do is take the tip off. You don't have to go all the way down there. Just take the tip off. And you know, when it comes to the mouth thing, it's just open, treat, have those treats at the ready. And save those treats for these times so they understand that reward. Now, as you're sitting here, I know you're thinking of other difficult things, and there are plenty of difficult things, but they can all be approached the same way. And that is, be methodical about it. You know, do it slowly. The vibe, man, it's all about the vibe. We're gonna bring these nice little ohm vibes to everything we do, and you will get good at the difficult things, and you'll make your cat's life better. I mean, this one is a little different. It's not that immediate like, oh, human being, you just made me so happy kind of thing. So it's maybe not immediately make their life better, but it'll immediately make their life longer. So that's a good thing. So number two is cat-proofing your house. I'm not gonna go all the way into it, man, because as always, there's a video for this, and the link is in the description, and I go way into it. But just look at it this way. As I always say, cats are like toddlers that can reach the ceiling. That means that everything needs to be looked at. And I mean everything. From where you store cleaners and foods that might be toxic to them, plants that are toxic to them, banisters that they can fall down from, and yes, windows. I mean, can they get out the window? Screens can be pushed out easily, and they can get out that way. Candles, candles, candles. And there's other things as well. I give you some easy tips to get through it. So check out that video when you have a chance, and help them live longer, because your house can ambush your cat. Number one. How to instantly make your cat's life lighter, brighter, happier, instantly. What is it? Play with your cat. What are you waiting for? Like now. Press pause, come back. Okay, you back? Now, play with your cat. Play with your cat. Here's a wand, here's a string, here's a feather. And we do all kinds of things like air prey and ground prey. Once again, I got lots of videos on playing with your cat, so check it out. But really, you wanna use an interactive toy so that you can control the experience, you can connect with them, they can connect with their raw cat. I'm not just saying this because this is my toy, although you can get it on JacksonGalaxy.com. I love this toy. But have something like this. I don't care if it's a stick and a sock. But honestly, if you do this every day with your cat, you will instantly see a difference. If you get them to hunt something on the ground, in the air, grab it, wrestle with it, put it in their mouth, walk away with it, do anything with it, even if it's five minutes, 10 minutes, it raises confidence in cats that I call the wallflowers. It drains that unnecessary, incoherent, destructive light out of the bullies, and it brings everyone to that center of the mojito cat, that most, see how I'm doing this right now? That cat. Play with your cat. Hopefully, right now, you have a game plan to make your cat's life instantly better. What have you discovered that has instantly made your cat's life better? I wanna know all about it, so please do tell me. Leave it in the comments down below. Don't forget all the links in the descriptions that I have in here, taking you to other videos and playlists where you can learn more about your cat and deeper into some of these topics. That's what we're here for, man. We've got over 300 videos that are here for what? For the love of cats. All right, that's it, you guys. Until the next time we meet, all light, all love, all mojo tea. Bye. Meow.