Purrfect 2024 Resolutions For Cats

Happy New Year! And, to our feline friends, a Happy Mew Year. (Cats actually celebrate the new year on January 2^nd.) As we get rid of 2023 calendars and hang 2024 ones, many people are thinking about the things they want to achieve in the next 12 months. Whether you want to lose weight, travel more, or take up a new hobby, your kitty will be silently cheering you on. As it turns out, Fluffy also has a few things on her to-do list for this year. A local Burnsville, MN veterinarian goes over some top kitty resolutions in this article.

Get That Red Dot

Our feline pals are really never cuter than when they are hard at play. Fluffy may be a cold, efficient hunter, but she’s also pretty comical when she’s on the prowl. It’s important and beneficial to play with your cute pet. Interactive play is both more fun and more challenging for cats than just batting a catnip bird around. Laser pointers are an easy way to do this: just keep one near your favorite spot, such as the armchair where you settle in to watch TV. Even a few minutes of play will be beneficial! (Note: never shine the light directly into your pet’s eyes.)

Get More Sleep

If we know one thing about cats, it’s the fact that they are very, very tired. Your feline buddy can sleep up to 20 hours a day, though most of them somehow manage to scrape by on a mere 12 to 18. (We aren’t entirely convinced that Fluffy actually needs that much rest, but that’s another topic.) Help your drowsy little buddy out by offering lots of comfy spots for her to curl up or sprawl out in. 

This is a good resolution for people as well. Good sleep is very important for your health and well-being!

Work On Hairball Placement

Hairballs are no more fun for cats than they are for us. These are an unfortunate and unattractive side effect of one of Fluffy’s best features: her cleanliness. Kitties are very diligent about keeping their pretty coats soft and shiny, and will spend as much as a third of the time they are actually awake grooming herself. (That’s a whole 15 minutes a day!) However, in the process, your pet will swallow some of her own fur.

There are ways to reduce the number of hairballs Fluffy gets. Brushing your kitty regularly can go a long way here, as you’ll capture that dead hair in the brush before it ends up on your sofa.

Back to the hairball placement. Cats have a special way of leaving those hairballs in the most inconvenient spots possible. Your feline pal may very well want to up her game this year. However, this is one goal you want to nip in the bud. If your furry friend seems to be getting too many hairballs, talk to your Burnsville, MN vet. Your pet may also benefit from hairball formula. 

Invade Scotland

While Fluffy probably won’t be gaining control of Scotland, she may very well make a few claw marks. Researchers involved in a rewilding program have successfully released 19 Scottish Wildcats– breed, which was formerly declared ‘functionally extinct’–back into the wild. Another batch of kittens is being prepared for their own release. 

Gain Complete Of The Humans

Fluffy has already taken over a chunk of the internet, but don’t underestimate her. Your cute pet may very well be working on other ways to take over the universe. Don’t forget: kitties did manage to convince the ancient Egyptians to treat them as dieties! (Cat World Domination Day is coming up on June 24th: we’ll check back then.)

Figure Out Some New Ways To Boss The Humans Around

Kitties are very, very good at meowpulating us. (In fact, they may have started meowing specifically to boss us around. However, we’ll save that for another blog.)

Fluffy isn’t shy about speaking her mind, but some things do get lost in translation. Modern technology may lend a helping paw here. You can now get your cat programmable paw pads. These speak specific words—such as ‘treat’ or ‘toy’–when Fluffy steps on them. While results will vary, some cats get the hang of this pretty quickly.

Consider Coordinating With Research

We’ve learned a lot about cats over the last year or so. For instance, we’ve found that cats can make almost 300 different facial expressions. These cute little furballs also get much more attached to their humans than many people give them credit for. 

We also learned that cats prey on a wide variety of animals and insects. There were a whopping 2,084 creatures on Fluffy’s menu, including 347 listed as threatened. 

Another recent discovery? Fluffy makes a mental map of her surroundings, and track their humans’ locations. Think of it as a kitty GPS.

While kitties will never give up all of their secrets, they do benefit from us having a better understanding of their needs and thought processes. Of course, it’s not always easy getting them to cooperate with researchers. Maybe Fluffy will have a change of heart this year.  

Soak Up More Sun

Kitties are always lookout for warm napping spots. (Fluffy isn’t actually cold blooded, and she doesn’t utilize solar power, but apparently nobody has told her that yet.) It’s probably safe to say that at some point, you’ll find your kitty snoozing in the sunlight. Get your cute pet’s motor going by making her a comfy spot in a sunny window, where she can relax and watch birds and squirrels. 

Make You Laugh

Cats may be little, but they are worth their weight in gold when it comes to comedic relief. Fluffy’s charming antics never stop entertaining us. Kitties’ cute vocalizations, adorable expressions, and generally comical reactions to things don’t just keep us smiling: they fill our lives and hearts with love and laughter. At some point in 2024, you’ll find yourself chuckling at your cat’s antics.

Stump Researchers … Again

It’s quite interesting to look back at our history with Fluffy. Did you know that we may have domesticated cats as far back as 9500 years ago? French archaeologists discovered an early burial site, in which human remains were interred with those of a cat. This site was found in the Neolithic village of Shillourokambos on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, and is 4000 years older than the earliest known Egyptian art of cats. It will be fun to find out what we can learn about Fluffy this year. Then again, we may just find even more mysteries. You really just never know! 

Dominate The Internet

Our feline pals are already well on their way to achieving this goal. It’s actually quite amazing how Fluffy has managed to carve out such a huge section of the internet. Then again, we’ll never stop laughing at those cute videos of playful kitties being silly and adorable. We’re looking forward to meeting next year’s social media celebrekitties! 

Melt Hearts

Cats have a special way of melting hearts with their snuggles, quirks, and purrs. Of course, kitties do have some pretty unique ways of showing affectionate. Fluffy may rub against your legs, meow at you, curl up on your lap, follow you around, or sleep on your pillow. Or, she may also bite you, scratch you, try to trip you, or just yell at you. Happy New Year from all of us here at River Ridge Pet Clinic, your Burnsville, MN animal clinic. Do you have questions about your cat’s health or care? Contact us today!