Let’s face it, we all love to spoil our cats a little, especially in their senior years. Whether you have a Maine Coon kitten, a junior or senior cat it’s nice to know it is having a happy life. Here are 18 ways you can spoil your Maine Coon cat:
1. Get Pet Insurance
Pet medical bills can soon mount up. I can’t stress enough how important it is to research and purchase a good pet insurance plan as soon as you get a Maine Coon. Don’t leave it until something that requires it arises. It is virtually impossible to find insurance that covers pre-existing conditions. Buying a policy for the first time for a senior cat can be expensive too.
Even if you’re Maine Coon never goes outside it can still develop illnesses that are expensive to treat. I don’t know any owner who would not be mortified if they couldn’t afford necessary medical treatment for their cat.
Expect this to cost around $25 per month (for a 1-year-old Maine Coon).
2. Take It For Regular Health Checks
Most pet insurance plans insist on an annual health check. This gives your vet the opportunity to give your Maine Coon any booster vaccinations due and check its general health such as heart rate, weight and teeth. These are important to keep your cat healthy and give it the best chance of a long and happy life with you.
3. Give It The Perfect Diet
Maine Coons have different dietary requirements at each stage of their lives. Most pre-prepared cat food is labeled for a specific age of cat so make sure you choose the right food for yours.
Good quality food is developed with the correct balance of calories, protein, minerals, and vitamins for each life stage. By giving your Maine Coon the correct balanced diet for its age, you will be doing your best to keep it as healthy as possible throughout its life.
4. Raise Its Food Bowl
A raised bowl allows a cat to eat in a more natural position. Many cats like to eat from elevated dishes, especially senior ones who may begin to struggle to bend their heads down.
You can put your existing bowls on a platform or purchase a custom made one. Here is an excellent example that is perfect at 4 inches high. It also comes with a shallow bowl for cats who suffer from whisker fatigue. Before you laugh, this is a genuine condition that some cats suffer from.
They don’t like the sensitive tips of their whiskers bumping the sides of food bowls. If your cat often drags food from its bowl to eat it from the floor, whisker fatigue could well be the cause.
5. Get It A Lovely Drinking Fountain
Cats must drink plenty of water to maintain good health. Many cats like to drink from a moving water source. If you have one that likes to drink from the faucet and doesn’t ever appear to drink from a dish then a cat fountain is the perfect solution. It is especially important for old cats to remember to drink. Why not spoil your cat by treating it to a drinking fountain? Here are my favorite three.
6. Provide An Accessible Litter Box
Maine Coons are large cats so need a litter box with plenty of room. There are many types available including open, lidded, self-cleaning, tall and low-sided. Some Maine Coons prefer open top trays and some like ones with lids. Fortunately, if you buy one with a lid and your cat decides to develop claustrophobia, you can take the lid off and stash it away somewhere.
As cats get older, they may find stepping over a high rim a problem so then it could be time to invest in a tray with lower sides. It might also be an idea to have a few trays dotted around your home so there is always one within easy reach.
7. Supply The Comfiest Bed
Cats have a great talent for seeking out the coziest and most comfortable places to sleep. Usually, they can be found curled up on the best seats in the house or snuggled up on your bed. Why not treat your cat to an extra special bed of its own?
There are many types available, some quite gimmicky and some more traditional. Lots of cats like small boxes as they feel secure in them so a bed with high walls and a roof is perfect. Here are three different types that look super cozy – I know my two Maine Coons would love all of them.
8. Provide It With Warmth in The Winter
Cats are heat seekers, even Maine Coons with all that fur. They know where hot water pipes run, love to sleep by the fire and lay near any heat source available on a chilly day.
We can’t all afford to leave the heating on all day to keep the cat warm so how can we ensure it doesn’t feel cold and miserable all day long, especially in its senior years? There are plenty of low-energy heat pads on the market that you can place into your cat’s usual bed.
But … I’ve just found this fantastic solution: the Thermo-Kitty Heated Cat Bed. It is thermostatically controlled and is activated by the presence of your cat when the room temperature is low enough. Purr-fect!
9. Get it a Pet Staircase
This is something to consider for elderly Maine Coons or those with joint problems such as hip dysplasia – a pet staircase. Of course, you can strategically place boxes and low tables to help them reach the high up places they love to inhabit. There are a variety of purpose-built pet stairs available. Here is a popular example that is light-weight and durable so can be easily moved as required.
10. Help It Keep Its Claws Healthy
If you own a Maine Coon you will know how much they love to scratch at things – usually thing you don’t want to be scratched. Treat your Maine Coon to a variety of scratching posts and pads to help protect your furniture. It is important that they are allowed to scratch somewhere to shed the outer sheaths of their claws and also to flex their muscles.
As cats age, they can lose the ability to retract their claws properly so consider keeping them trimmed so they aren’t forever snagging them on things.
11. Help It To Manage Its Coat
Maine Coons need help to maintain their beautiful fur coats. Grooming will help to limit shedding all over your house. Start a grooming routine as soon as you get your cat and keep it up regularly, especially with senior cats.
You will help to prevent your cat from swallowing too much fur and developing fur balls in its stomach. You will also stop nasty, painful knots and mats from developing. Invest in some decent brushes for the job.
12. Provide It With Interesting Toys
Maine Coons are extremely playful cats. Make sure you keep a wide variety of toys available and make time to play with your cat every day. Your cat will love play sessions with you and you will be ensuring it stays active. Even old Maine Coons love to play and can revert to behaving like kittens if encouraged.
13. Provide Plenty of Scratching Posts
Scratching posts are a must and if you have room invest in an indoor cat tree, especially if you have an indoor cat. Maine Coons love to climb up high and good indoor trees also have spaces to hide, lounge, play, and scratch. I’ve reviewed some excellent examples here.
14. Somewhere to Hide
Create plenty of hiding places around your home for your cat to hide away in whenever it feels like it. These can be spaces under beds with storage boxes creating walls, empty cardboard boxes or gaps behind chairs. They don’t have to cost you anything and your cat will love them.
15. Give It A Safe Outside space
If you have a cat that is allowed to spend time outside then it is very lucky as many Maine Coons don’t have this luxury. Consider cat-proofing your garden to prevent escape or building a large enclosure that your cat can access from your house via a window or a flap.
Many shop-bought runs just aren’t big enough for Maine Coons so try to have one custom made. Make sure there is plenty of shade and that it contains things to keep your cat amused.
16. Give It Plenty of Attention
Maine Coons love company and attention, so make sure you always find time to spend with yours, especially after you’ve been out all day. Maine Coons don’t like being alone and can become depressed. Making a fuss of your cat, allowing it to be with you and playing with it are things that are essential for its mental well-being.
17. Buy It Some Night Lights
These are particularly important for senior cats as they can become disorientated in the dark. If your cat meows a lot when you are in bed, night lights can help. You can buy these cheaply and plug them into wall power sockets all over your home. Many come on automatically at dusk and turn off at dawn so you don’t have to do anything. And they don’t use much energy either.
18. Provide It With A Regular Routine
This item is last but not least, in
Try not to rearrange your furniture all the time. Older cats can get completely disorientated if things aren’t where they usually are, so keep
Conclusion
You might take up some of the ideas in this post and you might ignore some. The main message is that there are many simple things you can do to give your Maine Coon the best chance of a long, happy and healthy life with you.