UK Code of Practice for the Welfare of Cats

Winston in a Prius - safe transport
photo by toastiest

Contents - UK Code of Practice for the Welfare of Cats Introduction Code of Practice Section 1 - Suitable Environment Section 2 - Diet Section 3 - Behavior Section 4 - Company Section 5 - Health & Welfare

Introduction

• Sleeping and resting - cats need a place to go to rest or sit still and a place to hide (under or in some safe enclosed space). They find their place or places. It needs to be cat friendly, warm, dry and draft free and with full-time access. Cats like to jump up to high vantage points sometimes. Some cats like this more than others (e.g. Norwegian Forest cat and Bengal cat). We should get to know our cat's likes, dislikes and habits and provide for them. Rarely in the UK some cats might like to live outdoors. This type of cat will require care of a different sort but care nonetheless. It should go without saying that the environment should be hygenic and clean.
• Hazards - there are quite a lot of potentially harmful substances in and around the home. Cats are inquisitive and explore. They may get a poisonous substance on their coat and lick it off. One source of poison is house plants poisonous to a cat, for example. Garages have some things in them that can be harmful such as antifreeze (see cat poison). Garages should be out of bounds in my view. Quick action is important if we suspect poisoning. Medicine should not be given to a cat without veterinarian advice, particularly pain killers. See feline pain relief. Other hazards are high places (high apartments with balconies). Great care is required. Cats will live dangerously and can fall off. Washing machines are potential hazards - nice warm place and a dangerous place for a cat. 
• Travel - cats often dislike travel and should be transported safely. This will usually mean in a cat container. Cats can become hot in a car exacerbated by the stress of the environment (leading to panting). This should be taken into account. For long journeys food, water and litter should be available. In warm weather cats should not be left in car. The car interior becomes very hot and can kill.
• Going to the toilet - a clean, well set up, cat litter tray is important for both the cat and the person responsible for the cat. It should be well sited away from cat food, quiet and be cleaned frequently. When there is more than one cat each should have an individual tray well separated (Defra says in different parts of the house). Handling of cat litter needs to be sensible. Washing hands afterwards is sensible and children should avoid it as should pregnant women. See cat feces and pregnancy. If a cat goes to the toilet outside the litter it is probably due to either stress, a poor litter tray or illness or a combination of these.

• Diet - the diet should meet a cat's nutritional requirements. Cats are "obligate" carnivores. They have to eat meat and can't be vegetarian. We musn't impose our vegetarian principles on cats no matter how well founded they are. The question of diet can be confusing. I personally would not recommend just feeding dry food. There are arguments that it contains too much carbohydrate. I think a mix of quality dry food (good for grazing at night), quality wet food and raw food (fish, boiled chicken) and plenty of fresh water to hand is about as good as we can do. Providing just raw food prepared at home requies care as supplements are needed (e.g. taurine - see Bengal cats and taurine). Cats eat regularly so food should be available and our cat will ask. Here is a series of posts (18 in all and growing) on cat food.
• Weight - A cat's weight should be monitored and steps taken if needed (e.g. supplying smaller quantities). It is normally a matter of commonsense when deciding if our cat is over or under weight. If we can feel the back bone and ribs easily our cat is probably underweight. This might be a sign of illness. Overweight cats are predisposed to contract certain diseases such as diabetes (see symptoms of feline diabetes). Exercise (for the cat!) if possible should be organized. Vets routinely weigh cats and can advise.
• Other dietary needs - some cats might have different dietary needs. This is for the veterinarian to decide, of course.

• hunting - substitutes can be utilized (i.e. play)
• scratching - a necessity for a cat - a suitable object is sometimes needed or if you don't mind your furniture being scratched that's fine (see thoughts about scratched furniture). Declawing is not an option and in the UK might be considered an offence under this legislation. Here is a post about trimming cat claws.

• subdued and going missing (if let out to roam)
• nervous
• aggressive to people and other animals
• stops eating, drinking or grooming
• over grooms - see feline endocrine alopecia
• overeating
• restless or over sleeping
• panting (this can happen when travelling in car for example)
• being unusually affectionate
• patrolling
• over reactive

• health care - we should be aware of our cat's health and act promptely when our cat is ill. See cat anatomy.
• grooming  - regular grooming is good for us and our cat including flea combing and checking for fleas - see cat and dog parasite pictures, cat flea life cycle, cat flea treatment, cat fleas bite humans
• identification  - our cat should be indentified as belonging to us. This can be through microchipping or safe collars. (my personal thought is that neither is entirely safe). See:
• Reason for pet microchipping
• microchipping for pets (is it safe?)
• If our cat goes missing, neigbors, local rescue centers and those further afield should be contacted including local vets. If microchipped that will greatly assist. People also put up notices and check outbuilding etc.
• neutering - in the modern world all cats should be spayed (females) or neutered (males) unless you're breeding cats (responsibly). See neutering cats.