Advances in Cat Care Driven By a New Generation

With each passing year, mom has been thinking about how things have moved forward in many positive ways for cats.

Since she first adopted me in January 2015 and dedicated herself to helping cat rescue as a way of giving back, she took a deep-dive into the cat world and researched cat allergies, the feline diet and behavioral cat issues. 

Five years ago, we launched the Best Life Pets blog to share with you our experiences for a holistic and sustainable lifestyle for cats. 

We kept the basics simple so that any cat parent could slowly but surely transition their felines to a better life nutritionally and environmentally.

Our aim was to elevate all cats’ lives to their rightful position by addressing their unique needs holistically and sustainably. Cats suffer from a lot of misinformation and over the last few years, mom says she sees a major shift in the way of thinking about cats, particularly among the Millennials and Gen Z.

What sounded “radical” at the time seven years ago about how cats should be cared for, is now starting to become the “norm” for many new pet parents. Millennials are the largest group of pet parents today with approximately 70% of them having a pet of some type.

They are research-driven by the device in their hands to find out “why their cat is doing such and such” or “what is the best organic food to feed their cat”. And because of the digital age we live in, news travels fast and cats’ lives have improved in many ways, though we still have a long way to go!

Here are a few examples of the advances in cats’ lives driven by a new generation:

Diet and Nutrition

The raw diet is here to stay as cat parents get educated about a cat’s need to eat a biologically appropriate raw food diet with 90+ whole animal protein! Frozen, freeze-dried or dehydrated and priced to compete with commercial brands, many more cat and dog parents are switching to the raw diet.

At the very least, kibble is declining as many humans seek out "limited ingredients and lightly cooked" wet food - the first step towards a more healthy and species appropriate diet!

Indoor Only Living

More and more pet parents are understanding that cats should never be allowed to free-roam outside. There are many multiples of reasons why us cats should remain indoors only and cat parents are changing the way they think about the idea that “cats must go outside”. It is simply not true and downright dangerous to our longterm wellbeing to let us free-roam outside. Consider leash and harness training your cat if you insist on taking them outside...or build a "catio" for your cats - a screened-in porch for your kitties!

Keeping Cats Safe From Themselves

You know what they say about curiosity and cats! You can not forget that us cats are like toddlers - for our entire life! Pet parents are paying attention to all the ways cats can get into trouble in their own home. Poison-proof your home and environment for the sake of your pet.

Enriching the Indoor Experience for Cats

Cat lovers get the fact that their ancestral needs include giving them lots of climbing levels and spots near the windows, and be sure that you always have two cats as we are not solitary animals, or at least a canine buddy to hang with.

Trends in Cat Rescue

Since Millennials are actively involved with cat rescue, you are seeing their influence with the newer venues for cat adoption such as the cat cafes that have opened, with more popping up. Fundraising efforts are "hipper and cooler" reflecting the taste and interests of a newer mindset.

TNR initiatives have also seen more men get involved than previous generations which were mostly dominated by women trapping, feeding and fostering. And as communities see more diversity so do the TNR efforts - more and more people are becoming interested in the cause.

Mom is so excited to see that there is a big increase in volunteers in general in the TNR initiatives. The more people who understand that trap-neuter-release is the only way to curb the population growth, the more cats who will be spared a rough life on the streets in this country.