Hello there furriend and happy Caturday! Are you excited/ ready for fall?! I can’t wait for the cooler weather and fall colours! Our little family is definately excited - we are a bit tired of the summer heat, fires, and smoke from the fires…💛

6 things I would do differently as a cat owner, if I could go back in time…

This list is solely based on my own mistakes as a cat owner. I’ve been around pets/ animals for as long as I can remember, but Chumka is my first pet that I look after myself (I guess there is also cat dad… but y’all know what it’s like with them spare humans 😂)

There are definitely more points to be mentioned to a new cat owner… feel free to respond to the email with your suggestions! 

Do not let them play with hair elastics or other things they could easily swallow 

Now this might seem pretty obvious for some - but it wasn’t for me… you see, my previous cats absolutely loved playing with hair elastics and we’ve never never had any issues or accidents (that we know of). I never really knew how bad and dangerous those things can be. 

If you follow me on Instagram (or read my blog), you know that my cat had an emergency surgery to remove foreign objects from his stomach and GI tract. It was such a stressful situation and I still feel bad for it - it’s such an easily avoided accident. It’s also a very costly accident - totalling around $5,000… thank goodness for the pet insurance 🙈

And speaking of pet insurance…

Get pet insurance as soon as possible 

I will never stop telling pet owners to get pet insurance, especially if your pet goes outside (on leash or free roaming). There are couple reasons for getting pet insurance while your fur baby is still little - assuming you adopted a baby. 

• lower costs

I remember shopping for pet insurance, trying to get quotes from as many companies as possible. And the thing about quotes is that they expire (pet insurance quotes are usually valid for 7-14 days). When I finally decided on a company, I realised that the quote expired - and the cost was raised by about $7/month! 

Every pet insurance company has their own rates and policies, but generally the younger the pet, the lower the monthly rate. 

• More coverage 

Insurance companies generally do not cover pre-existing conditions (unless you opt in for one that does). And one thing about insurance companies is that they will look for things to label as “pre existing conditions”. 

Chumka was a little over a year old when I applied for his insurance. He had no accidents or illnesses at that point - so naturally I believed that there wouldn't be any “flags”. I happily consented to release Chumkas medical records to them - there would be nothing for them to find! Well, well, well… a month later I get an email listing things that could potentially be considered as “pre existing conditions”. What did they find? 

Long story short, they picked “symptoms” that could potentially be related to some health issues, without reading the content. For example - chumka was attacked by hornets as a kitten, and we brought him to an emergency for it. He had muscle spasms and he breathed through his mouth, and it worried me. The insurance company decided that “open mouth breathing” was some sort of a sign of a health issue - despite the vet clearly stating in their note that it was due to anxiety. And that was just one of the things.

I hate confrontation, but in that very moment I turned into a “Karen” - I requested medical charts from our vet, and highlighted every text that disproved the false claims. And I emailed the pet insurance provider back. They didn’t respond to me for nearly 2 months - so I sent it to a complaints department who reached out to me within 2 days(!) that they would pass it on to someone for an explanation. All in all, I was told they would look at each claim separately and try to keep my concerns in mind. 

• More peace of mind

There is a waiting period when you buy (pet) insurance. For Chumkas, the accident coverage kicked in 5 days, and the illness coverage took 30 days to become active. Or the other way around, I can’t quite remember 🙈

My first time considering pet insurance was on the way to this remote campsite on the west coast of Vancouver Island. We were a couple hours away from the nearest town and cell range. I never thought about pet emergencies until then - when I realised how unprepared I am for one. 

I realize the above scenario might not apply to you, but you probably agree that peace of mind is welcomed by everyone. 

If you’re interested in getting pet insurance , I highly recommend Trupanion! 

Get them used to brushing their teeth from young age 

I knew how important dental care is for cats… but I was a bit misled by our old veterinarian. I didn’t know how soon I should work with Chumka on getting him used to teeth brushing - so I asked our (old) vet about it. I was told that it’s not something I should worry about, as it can be taken care of by “dental kibble” when the cat is introduced to adult cat food. 

Boy, oh boy, how I wish I could go back in time and put that kitty toothbrush to use. Unfortunately, “dental kibble” is a myth and will not do anything for your pets dental health.  Click here to read my blog post that goes into more details on this. 

Our current vet says our cat's teeth and gums look great - at least for now. I try to work with him on teeth brushing but it is not easy… and it’s discouraging to me. I do feed him things that actually support dental health - like rabbit ears and raw bones. He also has a couple dental sticks/ toys that he likes to play with/ chew. You can click here to read my blog post on looking after your kitties dental health.