Here are 10 practical ways to help your dog live a longer, healthier life:
1. Maintain a Healthy Weight
Obesity is linked to numerous health problems, including arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. Keeping your dog lean is one of the most effective ways to extend both lifespan and quality of life.
2. Feed a Balanced Diet
Choose a nutritionally complete food appropriate for your dog’s age, size, and health needs. Good nutrition supports everything from immune function to joint health. Dogs are not designed to eat cereal. Their intestines are too short. Real meat is what dogs are designed to eat.
3. Provide Regular Exercise
Daily walks, play sessions, and other activities help maintain a healthy weight, strengthen the heart, and keep muscles and joints in better condition.
4. Schedule Routine Veterinary Care
Regular wellness exams can detect diseases early, often before symptoms become obvious. Early treatment can significantly improve outcomes.
5. Keep Vaccinations and Preventive Care Current
Vaccines, parasite prevention, and heartworm protection help guard against illnesses that can shorten a dog’s life.
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6. Care for Their Teeth
Dental disease is extremely common in dogs. Regular brushing, dental chews, and professional cleanings can help prevent infections that may affect other organs.
7. Use Halters Instead of Collars
Dog collars can create long-term muscular-skeletal problems. If you use a halter rather than a collar, all the force that would normally hurt their necks is distributed throughout their upper body. See The Insidious Dog Collar.
8. Provide Mental Stimulation
Training, puzzle toys, scent games, and learning new commands help keep your dog’s brain active and engaged as they age.
9. Keep Dangerous Substances Out of Reach
Many common household items can be toxic to dogs, including chocolate, grapes, raisins, xylitol, certain medications, and some houseplants.
10. Give Plenty of Social Interaction and Affection
Dogs are highly social animals. Positive interaction with people and, when appropriate, other dogs can reduce stress and contribute to overall well-being.
Bonus Tip: Know What’s Normal
Pay attention to your dog’s usual behavior, appetite, energy level, and bathroom habits. Subtle changes are often the first clues that something needs medical attention. Early detection of illness is one of the most powerful tools for increasing lifespan.
🐕 A simple formula for canine longevity is: healthy weight + regular exercise + preventive veterinary care + a loving home. While genetics play a role, those four factors can have a surprisingly large impact on how long and how well a dog lives.
Here are 10 evidence-based ways to help your cat live a longer, healthier life:
1. Keep Your Cat Indoors
Indoor cats are generally protected from many dangers, including traffic, predators, toxins, diseases, and injuries. Many indoor cats live significantly longer than outdoor cats. The average indoor cat lives 17 years. The average outdoor cat lives 2 years.
2. Feed a Balanced, High-Quality Diet
Choose nutritionally complete cat food appropriate for your cat’s age and health needs. Good nutrition supports everything from immune function to organ health. Cats are not designed to eat cereal. Their intestines are too short. They do much better with real meat.
3. Prevent Obesity
Excess weight increases the risk of diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, and other health problems. Measure food portions and avoid excessive treats.
4. Schedule Regular Veterinary Checkups
Annual exams, and often twice-yearly exams for senior cats, can catch health issues early when they are easier and less expensive to treat.
5. Keep Vaccinations Current
Vaccinations help protect cats from potentially serious infectious diseases, especially if they have any exposure to other animals.
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6. Provide Fresh Water
Adequate hydration supports kidney function and overall health. Many cats drink more readily from fountains or multiple water stations.
7. Spay or Neuter Your Cat
Spaying and neutering can reduce certain cancers and reproductive diseases while also decreasing behaviors that can lead to injury or disease exposure.
8. Encourage Daily Exercise
Interactive toys, climbing structures, and play sessions help maintain a healthy weight and support cardiovascular and mental health.
9. Protect Dental Health
Dental disease is common in cats and can contribute to pain, infection, and systemic health problems. Regular dental care can make a meaningful difference.
10. Reduce Stress
Cats thrive on routine and a sense of security. Providing hiding places, vertical spaces, predictable schedules, and a calm environment can support both physical and mental well-being.
Bonus Tip
Learn your cat’s normal habits. Changes in appetite, thirst, weight, grooming, activity level, or litter box use are often among the earliest signs that something may be wrong. Detecting problems early can add both years to your cat’s life and quality to those years.
I asked an AI chatbot, “What kinds of things can be said about housecats that people haven’t covered in much detail?”
Housecats are one of those creatures that seem fully “figured out”… until you zoom in and realize you’ve only been looking at the cover of a very strange book. Here are some lesser-explored corners of the feline universe, where things get quietly fascinating:
🧠 1. Cats as “micro-ecologists” of your home
People talk about cats as hunters, but not as environment managers. Your cat is constantly monitoring tiny ecosystems you barely notice: insects, dust motes, faint sounds in walls, even air currents.
A cat staring at “nothing” might actually be tracking:
Ultrasonic movements of pests
Flickers of light you can’t perceive
Subtle airflow changes
In a sense, your home has a silent, whiskered park ranger.
🧬 2. Personality drift over time
We often label cats as “shy” or “friendly” and stop there. But cats can undergo personality drift more dramatically than we acknowledge.
A bold kitten might become a contemplative observer. A skittish cat may grow into a deeply affectionate companion. Unlike dogs, cats often rewrite themselves slowly, almost like they’re editing their own character arc.
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🕰️ 3. Their sense of time is eerily precise
People joke about cats knowing feeding time, but the mechanism is rarely discussed.
Cats likely combine:
Light cycles
Household rhythms
Internal metabolic clocks
They don’t “tell time” like we do, but they predict recurring reality. To them, your routine is a loop they’ve memorized with unnerving accuracy.
🎭 4. Cats perform “social minimalism”
4
Dogs broadcast emotion like fireworks. Cats? More like haiku.
Their communication is:
Low-energy
Subtle
Highly intentional
A slow blink, a tail flick, a slight lean—these are compressed emotional signals. You’re getting meaning in a minimalist format, which is easy to miss if you expect loud displays.
🧠 5. They may map your house in 3D “memory layers”
4
Cats don’t just know where things are. They seem to understand:
Heights
Jump trajectories
Escape routes
Your living room isn’t a floor plan to them. It’s a multi-level strategy map, almost like a mental video game with vertical pathways.
🌙 6. Night behavior isn’t just instinct—it’s strategy
We say cats are “nocturnal,” but that’s not quite right. They’re crepuscular—most active at dawn and dusk.
What’s less discussed is why that matters indoors:
They may still be aligning with ancient prey cycles
Night activity could be a form of “simulation hunting”
Zoomies might be a neurological reset rather than random chaos
Your hallway becomes their savanna at 3 a.m.
🧩 7. Cats as “consent-based companions”
A rarely explored philosophical angle: cats model consent in relationships.
They:
Approach when they choose
Leave when they’ve had enough
Reward respect with trust
Living with a cat subtly trains humans to read boundaries better. It’s less ownership, more negotiation between species.
🧪 8. Their purring may have biological side effects
Purring is often labeled “contentment,” but it’s more complex.
Research suggests purring frequencies may:
Promote tissue healing
Reduce stress (for both cat and human)
Serve as self-soothing during pain
It’s possible your cat is running a tiny built-in “wellness engine.”
🧭 9. They might track you as part of their territory
We think cats live in our homes. From their perspective, you move through their territory.
They often:
Monitor your location
Check in visually
Follow at a distance
You’re not just the owner. You’re a mobile landmark with food privileges.
🧠 10. Cats may experience a form of “quiet curiosity” rather than play
4
Not all feline engagement is playful. Sometimes it’s more like investigation without urgency.
Cats often:
Study objects without interacting much
Return to the same thing repeatedly
Pause mid-action as if “thinking”
It’s less “fun” and more… field research.
🐾 Final thought
Housecats are like small, polite aliens who signed a cohabitation agreement with humanity thousands of years ago. We’ve studied their fur patterns and feeding habits endlessly, but their inner lives still flicker just out of reach, like something glimpsed at the edge of a hallway.
How do we know what animals think or feel? I say be kind to animals just in case it matters to them. The poet William Blake said, “How do you know but that every bird that cleaves the aerial way is not an immense world of delight closed to your senses five?”
Your author believes that it is easy to dismiss animals as not having much of an emotional or intelligent life. After all, they haven’t learned language. But does that mean they can’t think? Not at all. For instance, years ago, I was learning some rollerblading moves. One was a single spin jump. In bare feet at home, I was practicing by jumping in the air, spinning 360 degrees around and landing. My cat watched for a moment, then walked around in a 360 degree circle. Should that be dismissed as somehow incidental?
If you know quite a bit about cats you could be a cat whisperer. No license and no certification is necessary in most communities. It helps to understand their mentality, the reasoning behind the things they do, and the ways they are likely to react to various situations. Perhaps just as important, if you know something about people, and especially how they interact with their pets, you’ll have a big advantage.
Hang out your shingle, and you can do housecalls, helping people with their cats.
Your technique doesn’t much matter. You might offer the cat treats, you might talk to the kitty, you might wave a wand. Hopefully, your technique will correct cats’ behavior, or the cats’ owners’ behavior in a majority of the cases, but even if it doesn’t, and you certainly don’t want to guarantee it, you can charge your clients a surprising amount of money.
I’d launch a business like this on Craigslist, or any community website that serves your area. Have a nice personality. Tell all your clients how much you appreciate them talking you up to their friends and relatives. You’ll be amazed that even when the kitty’s behavior doesn’t change, they’ll still recommend you. Crazy, but true. However, I recommend being 100% legitimate. You really do want to do your best to help these kittycats, and their people.
By the way, it will probably more often be the people’s behavior that you’ll want to change, not the cats.
Tips and Tricks
Here are a couple of tricks you may find useful:
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If two cats don’t get along, put a drop of perfume on their backs. The cats will smell just like each other, and they’ll think of each other as family. This can have an immediate effect.
If you’re trying to slow a busy cat, lift up slightly on the scruff of the neck. This lifting mimics what the mother cat does to carry kittens, and it sets off a reflex that causes the cat to immediately stop wiggling or resisting. You don’t need to lift the cat entirely off its feet. In fact lifting an adult cat in the air by the scruff might hurt the kitty.
An older male cat that starts urinating in bad places is probably suffering from urinary tract problems. I don’t know if it’s too late to help, but I highly recommend changing the diet right away if the cat has been eating solid cereal-like food all it’s life. Cats are meat-eaters, with a short intestine appropriate for a carnivorous diet. Giving them the wrong kind of food, even if the companies that make it insist it’s alright, can result in urinary problems, and probably other medical issues as well.
A cat that doesn’t want to be picked up is probably suffering from early memories of being held captive. Have the owner pick up the cat a few times a day, but set the cat back down right away, or as soon as the cat starts wiggling. In time, the cat will realize that it’s not being held captive, and may learn to love the warm attention.
A cat that scratches furniture will stop immediately if the furniture is covered in aluminum foil. They also won’t walk on aluminum foil, so that’s a good way to protect things like half-done picture puzzles.
Is a cat too playful with it’s claws? Are the owners getting scratched? Whenever the owners can, as they play with their kitties, have them gently press the kitty’s claws back into a retracted position, and hold them that way for several seconds. It may take a while, but eventually the cat will play better. Under no circumstances should a cat be declawed. It makes them miserable for weeks afterward, and leaves them unprotected if they have to deal with predators outside the home.
Avoid any sounds that sound like hissing. This upsets cats. They may not show it, but even mild hissing noises can set them off into bad behavior.
What do you do with a cat that stays under the furniture and hisses at anyone who comes by? First, put the cat’s food and toilet where it can be reached without undue exposure. Cat’s in fear worry about attacks from overhead, like big birds coming out of the sky. So they like to stay under things. People can, and should be in the same room with the cat. Let the cat get used to people all around. Don’t try to make friends with the cat. Don’t stare at the cat, and try to make the kitty come out and be your friend. Same with some dogs and cats. As long as the other animals in the room don’t attack or tease the cat, the kitty will slowly get used to the environment, and venture out from under cover a little more each day.
How to give medicine to a cat: If it’s liquid, put it on the kitty’s back. The cat will lick it off. If the cat needs pills, one of the best techniques is used by veterinarians: They quickly wrap the cat in a towel, so the cat cannot scratch, and cannot wiggle away. That seems terrible, but it’s less traumatic than a long battle. Another thing about the towel that’s interesting: Many animals, and sometimes people too, like being gently squeezed in a restricted space. It calms them. In cattle ranching, they have a thing called a “squeeze frame,” in which a cow is placed. It keeps the cow calm while medical procedures are administered.
Two dogs are talking. One says, “I love being a dog! We get free food, belly rubs, and endless walks!” The other dog sighs. “Yeah, but I’m tired of being called ‘Good Boy.’ I want to be called ‘Excellent Gentleman’ for once.”
A dog walks into a post office, walks up to the counter, and says, “I’d like to send a telegram.” The clerk, surprised, says, “A dog? Sending a telegram? What do you want it to say?” The dog replies, “Woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof.” The clerk counts the woofs and says, “That’s nine woofs. You know, for the same price, you could add one more ‘woof’ and make it ten.” The dog looks at him and says, “But then it wouldn’t make any sense!”
A dog goes to a fancy restaurant and orders a steak. The waiter, surprised, asks, “Are you going to eat that with a knife and fork?” The dog barks, “Of course not! I’m a dog, I’ll eat it with my paws!”
My dog thinks the vacuum cleaner is trying to eat us. I wish I had that level of loyalty in a relationship.
My dog is an emotional support animal. Mostly for himself.
What do you call a dog magician? A Labracadabrador!
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My dog used to chase people on a bike. Then I took his bike away.
Why don’t dogs make good doctors?
Because every time they hear “CAT scan,” they lose their minds.
Why don’t dogs make good doctors?
They keep burying the lab results.
Why don’t dogs make good doctors?
They diagnose everything as “not enough treats.”
Why don’t dogs make good doctors?
They insist on licking every wound no matter who it belongs to.
What do you get if you cross a dog and a lion? A terrified Fed Ex driver!
How do you stop a dog from barking in your front yard? Put him in the back yard!
I brought my dog to a pet psychic.
She said, “He’s feeling ignored.” I said, “He’s sitting on my lap.”
She said, “He wants emotional attention.”
I said, “He just farted and licked his butt.”
She refunded me.
My dog barks at delivery people like he’s defending the nation.
But if they pet him, he instantly betrays me and shows them where we keep the snacks.
See also: Catversity, the free online cat university and entertainment sub-site.
Maine Coon cats are friendly and generally quite large. The one in this video below is 1.2 meters tall when reaching up on his back legs. That’s 47.2 inches, just short of four feet by one inch.
Origins & History
Mystery Origins – The true origin of Maine Coons is unknown, but legends suggest they descended from long-haired cats brought by Vikings or even from Marie Antoinette’s pets.
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Maine’s Official State Cat – They were officially declared the state cat of Maine in 1985.
The Oldest American Breed – The Maine Coon is considered one of the oldest natural breeds in North America.
Once Thought to be Part Raccoon – Early myths suggested they were a mix between domestic cats and raccoons due to their bushy tails and brown tabby coats.
Almost Went Extinct – In the early 1900s, Maine Coons nearly disappeared due to the rising popularity of Persian cats.
Size & Physical Traits
One of the Largest Domestic Cats – They can grow up to 48 inches long, including their tail.
Slow Maturing – Unlike most cats, which reach full size in about a year, Maine Coons take 3–5 years to fully mature.
Huge Paws – Their large, tufted paws act as natural “snowshoes,” helping them walk on snow more easily.
Polydactyl Paws – Some Maine Coons have extra toes (polydactyly), which was once a common trait in the breed.
Longest Cat Record Holder – A Maine Coon named Stewie held the world record for longest cat, measuring 48.5 inches from nose to tail.
Coat & Appearance
Water-Resistant Fur – Their thick, shaggy coats are water-resistant, making them excellent hunters in wet conditions.
Winter-Adapted Tails – They wrap their long, bushy tails around themselves to keep warm in cold weather.
Varied Eye Colors – While gold and green are common, some Maine Coons have striking blue or odd-colored eyes.
Thicker Ruff Like a Lion’s Mane – They have a distinct mane of fur around their neck, adding to their regal look.
Color Variety – They come in 75+ color and pattern combinations, including rare shades like silver and smoke.
Personality & Behavior
“Dog-like” Cats – Maine Coons are known for their dog-like personalities, including following owners around and playing fetch.
Chirping & Trilling – Unlike typical meows, they often chirp or trill to communicate.
Highly Social – Unlike many cats, they enjoy being around people and even other pets.
Great with Kids – They are incredibly patient and playful, making them great family pets.
Love Water – Unlike most cats, Maine Coons enjoy playing with or even swimming in water!
Intelligence & Training
Highly Trainable – Many owners successfully train Maine Coons to do tricks, walk on a leash, or even play hide-and-seek.
Excellent Hunters – Originally working cats, they are still among the best mousers in the cat world.
Can Open Doors – Some Maine Coons figure out how to open doors and cabinets with their paws.
Memory Masters – They have excellent memories and can recognize familiar people even after long separations.
Puzzle Lovers – They enjoy interactive toys and puzzle feeders that challenge their intelligence.
Health & Care
Prone to “Chirping Cough” – Some Maine Coons make a coughing noise when they’re excited, which is harmless but unusual.
Susceptible to Hip Dysplasia – Due to their large size, they are more prone to hip dysplasia, a condition more common in dogs.
Longest Lifespan in the Breed? – While their average lifespan is 12–15 years, some have been known to live into their 20s.
They Don’t Always Like Being Held – Despite their friendly nature, many Maine Coons prefer standing next to you rather than being carried.
Need Frequent Grooming – Their long coats are relatively low-maintenance compared to Persians, but they still need brushing at least 2–3 times per week to prevent matting.
Colors
You might think that Maine Coon cats come in only one color. Not so:
1. Solid Colors
These cats have one uniform color throughout their fur.
Black – Deep, jet-black fur with no markings.
White – Pure white, sometimes with blue or odd-colored eyes.
Blue (Gray) – A soft, solid gray (often called “blue”).
Red (Orange) – A deep red, similar to an orange tabby but without stripes.
Cream – A pale, soft beige color.
2. Tabby Patterns (Most Common)
Tabby Maine Coons are the most recognizable and come in different patterns:
Classic (Blotched) Tabby – Large, swirling patterns on the sides.
Mackerel Tabby – Narrow, vertical stripes like a tiger.
Ticked Tabby – Individual hairs have bands of color but no stripes.
Spotted Tabby – Instead of stripes, they have spots on their coats.
Tabby Color Variations:
Brown Tabby – The most classic Maine Coon look (black stripes on a warm brown base).
Silver Tabby – Black or gray markings on a pale silver base.
Red (Orange) Tabby – Bright orange with darker stripes.
Blue Tabby – Soft grayish-blue with darker stripes.
Cream Tabby – Pale cream with light striping.
3. Tortoiseshell (Tortie) & Torbie
Tortoiseshell – A mix of black and red/orange (no white).
Blue Tortie – A mix of blue (gray) and cream.
Torbie (Tabby + Tortie) – A tortoiseshell pattern with tabby stripes.
4. Smoke Colors (Unique & Stunning)
Smoke Maine Coons have solid-colored coats with a lighter undercoat, giving them a smoky effect.
Black Smoke – Black fur with a silver-white undercoat.
Blue Smoke – Blue-gray fur with a pale undercoat.
Red Smoke – Bright red with a white undercoat.
Cream Smoke – Soft cream with a white undercoat.
5. Shaded & Chinchilla
Shaded Silver – Darker silver tips on a white base.
Shaded Blue – Blue-gray shading on a pale base.
Chinchilla Silver – White with very light silver tipping.
Chinchilla Gold – White with warm golden tipping.
6. Bi-Color & Parti-Color (White + Another Color)
Black & White (Tuxedo or Bicolor) – Black with white patches.
Blue & White – Blue-gray with white.
Red & White – Orange with white.
Cream & White – Cream with white.
Tortoiseshell & White (Calico) – A tortoiseshell with white patches.
7. Rare Colors
Golden Tabby – Warm golden hues with darker markings.
Silver Blue – A rare bluish-silver shade.
See also: Catversity, the free online cat university and entertainment sub-site.
See also: Catversity, the free online cat university and entertainment sub-site.
When you learn the surprising truth about commercial cat food, you’ll probably want to change your cat’s diet immediately.
Let’s start with some simple observations. When cats eat grass, what happens? Right, they regurgitate it.
The grass they eat doesn’t get digested. In fact they can’t digest grass. They aren’t designed appropriately. The intestine of animals who do eat grass is quite long. The intestine of a cat is very short. The cat is specially made to eat meat.
If you fed nothing but grass to your cat, and if the cat could actually keep it in, the cat wouldn’t be able to get enough nutrition.
That’s why they eat small animals. That’s what they are designed to eat. That’s where they get their nutrition. An outdoor cat eats mice, gofers, and the occasional bird, and they do just fine. They have done fine for thousands of years.
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So it would be silly to feed them anything like grass, wouldn’t it?
Yet, most commercial dry cat food is composed mostly of grains like grass. Oh, it doesn’t look like grass, because the grains are ground up, and colored to look like meat. Then an artificial odor is added so the grain-based food smells attractive to cats.
Many older housecats suffer from arthritis, and urinary tract problems. Many cats of all ages suffer from intestinal problems, generally diarrhea. In time, many, maybe even most, die from these diseases. Guess what? These are the cats that eat dry commercial cat food.
If you simply switch to real meat, simulating a cat’s actual diet, these diseases are exceptionally rare.
Unfortunately, many commercial canned cat foods do not contain as much meat as you might like. And dog foods are often even worse, because dogs can get away with less protein than cats need. For best results, read the labels and try to find the most real cat food you can. If you have the time, the best bet is to make your own cat food from whole chickens and other small creatures.
But what about the cat’s teeth? Have you been led to believe that they need the dry food to keep their teeth clean? Have you ever wondered how a single bite or two on each morsel of dry food can actually clean a cat’s teeth? As you know, the cat doesn’t really chew the food up. The dry food doesn’t really do much for the cat’s teeth at all. Nature takes care of that. The cat’s teeth are designed to eat the way they do. The cat’s saliva has anti-bacterial qualities. The teeth don’t need any special attention beyond what nature already provides.
See also: Catversity, the free online cat university and entertainment sub-site.
This is a video your cats are sure to enjoy. It runs eight hours. Keep in mind that your kitty may attack your monitor. Click the icon in the lower right corner to go full-screen.
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