As a cat owner, caring for you're a kitty is a responsibility that falls on you. While we always try our best to make our cats feel comfortable and loved, we often slip up and make mistakes that put our cats at risk, even without knowing it.

To help your kitty live a longer and more fulfilled life, make sure you're not making these common feral cat care mistakes!

1. Free Feeding your Feline

For a majority of cat parents, free feeding is a convenient way to feed their cat. Free feeding cats essentially involves filling your kitty's bowl with dry food and leaving it out for your cat to eat when they feel hungry. One advantage of free-feeding is that there is always food in the bowl whenever your cat is hungry. 

On the other hand, free-feeding can easily lead to cat obesity even for feral cats. Moreover, free-feeding involves dry food, which is not highly recommended daily for cats. Talk to your vet for advice on the type and quantity of food best for your cat.

2. Giving Too Many Treats

Cats love treats, and you can see the adorable reaction in their eyes when we pull out and give them tasty treats. However, despite their small size, treats contain many calories, sugar, and fat. As such, it's relatively easy to overfeed your cat on treats, which can lead to weight-related issues like obesity and diabetes. Moreover, your fur ball may eat less of their regular food if they eat too many treats, which can once again lead to nutritional deficiency.

3. Not Playing with Your Cat

While feral cats engage in physical exercise and stimulation when exploring the great outdoors, you need to exercise and play with your cat. By interactively playing with your cat, you also help them maintain good physical and mental health and cultivate a closer bond.

4. Overlooking Your Cat's Dental Health

Fact: Your cat's mouth harbors lots of bacteria, which can cause teeth and gum diseases. Ensure that you provide your cat with good oral care and hygiene and have your veterinarian check his teeth regularly. In some cases, your cat may even require professional dental cleaning to prevent dental diseases and infections.

5. Skipping Routine Veterinarian Visits

Feral cats need to visit the veterinarian routinely, even if they appear to be perfectly fine. Veterinarians can detect some common feline illnesses early enough before they're severe. What's more, feral cats need regular vaccinations and preventative care, given their love for outdoor life.

6. Having Your Cat Not Wear Any Form of Identification

Feral cats fail to come home sometimes, and should that happen, they have a much better chance of being found if they are micro chipped or wearing visible cat IDs. Don't let your feral cat outdoors without identification as it can help with the reunification process.

7. Lacking Awareness of Common Cat Diseases

As they say, ignorance is expensive. Failure to know to detect the visible signs of illness in your cat can prove costly. In contrast, if you are aware of the symptoms of a sickness caused by major feline diseases, you will immediately get your cat to the vet for treatment. Besides, the treatment can be more effective if administered early enough.

None of us are perfect cat owners. Whether you've made one or more of the mistakes listed above, taking good care of your kitty is a learning process. Fortunately, with such knowledge, you can easily avoid making these common cat care while making adjustments that will improve and make a massive difference in your cat's life.