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In my last blog post, How Animals Can Help You Deal With A Migraine Attack, I wrote about the healing power pets can offer folks in the chronic illness community, who are dealing with pain and discomfort. Now I want to chat more about the best products for cat owners that can make caring for cats easier and more manageable, even when we are not feeling our best.
There are numerous studies that prove countless mental, emotional, and physical benefits that come with caring for pets. However I did not get to speak about the potential worries that folks who deal with chronic illness might have about whether they can handle caring for a pet.
Best Products for Cat Owners
As I mentioned, this post is not sponsored but a majority of these products are linked through my Amazon Storefront page which can be found here! Through having spent the majority of my life caring for cats as my pets as well as working as a cat sitter the past 10 years, I have discovered a wide range of helpful products. I’ll be sure to update this post as I find new products!
Am I missing any of your favorite pet products that make dealing with your migraine more manageable? Leave me a comment or send me a direct message letting me know some of your favorite cat care products.
Silicone Ice Cube Trays
You may be thinking, what does this have to do with pet care. Well, if you have a cat like mine, that enjoys both wet and dry food, this product is for you. I first got the idea of freezing wet food for Ernie from my best friend Mel (whose cat also insists on eating at 5AM). However, instead of freezing a pod of wet food each day, I decided to freeze his food for a month at a time.
About once a month, I open up almost a whole box of wet food pods from Sheba, and divide each pod into two “ice cubes” openings. Each night before I go to bed, I’ll add two frozen cubes of wet food into his feeder. Then, by the time Ernie wants to be fed before sunrise, the wet food is defrosted and ready for him to eat. Because each ice cube tray holds 18 cubes, and there are two trays, I am able to prepare and freeze 18 days worth of wet food in advance.
Automatic Pet Feeder
After trial and error with a few different products, this automatic pet feeder has been a gem for our household. Not only does Ernie like to start eating early in the morning, he also has a tendency of overeating. This feeder allows me to add in his wet food, and dry food in multiple portions, so that he can eat smaller meals throughout the day. This process is such a life saver for nights when I’m dealing with a lot of pain. The process is streamlined enough where myself or partner only need to fill Ernie’s food once a day. Plus, it this approach makes things much easier when we are traveling or for our pet sitter when she comes to visit Ernie.
Pet Water Fountain
I have always been pretty hesitant about using water fountains for my pets because I often found it was easy for mold and dirt to develop, defeating the purpose of making life easier. In addition to decreasing maintenance, water fountains are great for cats who usually prefer moving water. My friends’ cats were not interested in this feature though and so that how it landed in our apartment. Not only does Ernie love it, but it is much more self-maintaining that I anticipated. The fountain comes with a few water filters, but all that is really needed is for me to clean it out and refill it once a week. You can also purchase additional filter replacements when needed online here.
Catnip Spray
I am a huge fan of using catnip! What I especially love about this version is that it comes in a spray version, which means I can use it on any of Ernie’s toys and not worry about having to clean up scattered pieces of catnip everywhere. It also lets me turn any of his toys into a “catnip” toy, without feeling pressured to buy something new. If you have a cat that likes to play a lot like mind, catnip is a great resource on nights you don’t have to energy to provide your pet with as much one on one play time.
Litter Box Enclosure
If you live in a small apartment like me or don’t have a ton of space in general, this litter box is ideal. It blends in with the rest of my living room furniture and makes it really accessible for me to scoop Ernie’s litter. All I have to do is open the two front doors – no locks, snaps, or tops to take off. It is so simple, I could operate it almost entirely in the dark (which is really helpful when you are experiencing light sensitivity).
Litter Mat
I keep this litter mat right in front of the enclosure above and it does a fantastic job at catching a ton of litter. This is one of those products that I believe anyone with a litter box should have but it majorly cuts down the amount of vacuuming and sweeping I feel pressured to do since my litter box is out in the open.
Automatic Litter Box
I first discovered this self cleaning litter box while take caring of another clients cat. While I have seen a few automatic litter boxes previously and was never too impressed, I found this product to be quite reliable and sturdy! Other aspects that I like are that you can use any litter you like, you can use any plastic bags to collect the clumps, and I found it to be fairly quiet (even though your cat may need some time to adjust to it). It works by automatically sifting through the box 30 minutes after your cat uses it, however you are able to manually start it as well.
Litter Genie
If you are new to the litter genie it’s a pretty genius product that works similarly to a diaper genie – a device that collects dirty diapers and eliminates odors. The same method applies here. When scooping up Ernie’s litter, I simply dump everything into the genie and voila – it is out of sight and out of smell! Once the litter genie fills up (which is around every week or two), I’ll take it out and throw it in the garbage. It is a huge time saver for me! You can purchase refills of the bags here. I’ve tried generic bags as well to save money, but they can be hard to come by.
Handheld Vacuum
This is a great, lightweight handheld vacuum that I use all around my apartment. It picks up virtually everything including Ernie’s litter. It is a nice option to have when I don’t feel like being smoked out with dust when using a dust pan. Also, because this vacuum is so light weight, I recommend it for anyone who has trouble with heavy cleaning supplies.
Robotic Vacuum
Regardless if you have a pet or not, a robotic vacuum is a huge help physically. This affordable model does a great job covering my wooden floors and carpeting, picking up dust and hair I didn’t know existed. It also has the option to connect to your phone and run on a schedule. This may vary depending on your WiFi set-up, but comes with a handy remote that you can use with it regardless.
Cat Hammock
Last but not least I had to include this little hammock that Ernie is obsessed with. It doesn’t take up much space, it is slightly high off the ground, and provides a cozy spot for him to curl up on. Needless to say, he still constantly steals my seat whenever I get up, but the hammock still helps with creating more space for him!
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