“Pets are part of our families, and we want them to be as happy and healthy as possible throughout their whole lives. It’s important to know what’s normal for your pet so you can easily spot when something is wrong or has changed. Giving your pet a regular health check at home can help you notice problems early on, which can make them easier (and more affordable!) to treat at the vets,” PDSA Vet Roberts told Bored Panda.
However, she warned that not all pets are used to their pet parents checking them over or touching them in certain areas of their bodies. “Always make sure your pet is relaxed and comfortable with you giving them a health check. Take things slowly, and stop if your pet is worried or stressed. Make the health check a positive experience, using treats and praise during and afterward,” she said.
Here’s the advice that the PDSA gave cat owners:
“Nose—it should be moist and soft plus clear of any snot or discharge. They should be able to breathe freely.
“Eyes—they should be bright, clear, and open as normal. They should be free of any tears or discharge, and there shouldn’t be a lot of tear staining around the eyes. The fleshy bit around the eyeball, known as the conjunctiva, should be salmon pink.
“Ears—they should be free from a build-up of wax or excessive hair, free from any nasty smells, and the ear flap shouldn’t have any swelling.
“Teeth—only check your pet’s mouth if they are comfortable for you to do so. Your cat’s teeth should be clean and white, free of cracks or breaks, free of staining, and remember to check for any missing teeth.
“Gums—whilst checking your pet’s teeth, if they’re comfortable with you looking in their mouth, you can also check their gums. Have a look at and feel your pet’s gums. They should be a fleshy salmon-pink color, moist, and free of any lumps and bumps."
“Coat—it should be free of knots and mats, free of ticks, fleas, flea dirt, or other parasites, free of dandruff. (This line also started with an extra space)
“Skin—it should be free of any rashes, lumps, and bumps, not have any bald patches or fur missing, have no bad smells or wounds, discharge or infections.”
On top of all of these things to keep in mind during the health checks, cat owners should also look out for the various body language signs and behaviors that indicate that their pet is happy.
“For example, they might rub against your legs or roll on their side and show you their belly; although, don’t be tempted to touch it! Slow blinking is another sign that your cat is relaxed and happy, you can blink back at them to let them know you feel the same,” PDSA Vet Roberts said.
The ‘Cats Without Context’ account was first started more than 4 years ago, in January 2020. In the years since, the curator of the account managed to attract a very sizable following. 137k humor and cat-loving people follow the page at the time of writing.
The main appeal of this social media project is how lighthearted it is. After all, who doesn’t like fun photos of cats in various situations?
Cat memes are a huge part of internet and meme culture because of how versatile, appealing, and relatable they are. On the surface level, you have an animal that showcases a very wide range of expressions.
Cattos seem to act silly, derpy, elegant, cute, refined, grumpy, sad, happy, and everything and anything in between. So, there’s a lot of range for content creators to work with. Meanwhile, the audience enjoys looking at funny and cute content.
Another draw of cat memes is that we, the audience, project our thoughts and feelings onto those animal images. Feline body language is different from that of our own. However, we can’t help but resonate with their extremely memeable expressions, whether life gets us down, we have something to celebrate, or we feel sleepy all the time. In short, they’re memeable because they’re relatable.
In short, they’re memeable because they’re relatable.
Relatability is a core part of any meme’s success. But we don’t just resonate with the emotions and expressions of the cats. Many of us are also pet owners, so when we see cats doing funny and bizarre things on the internet, we instantly connect with those moments.
They’re something that we’ve seen before with our own eyes. Knowing that someone else has witnessed the same things instantly connects us with them, even though they might otherwise be complete strangers on the other side of the world.
Usually, cat and other animal memes are very short and punchy. They immediately get to the point. What you get is an immediate comedic effect. That really works to any meme’s advantage because the audience instantly gets what’s going on. And in an era of shortening attention spans, that’s how you get more laughs, clicks, views, and reshares.
However, you have to ensure that the image is clear and that the text portion is easily readable.
It’s not just conjecture that our attention spans are getting shorter. They really are! We’re all far more distracted than we were in the past. Attention researcher Gloria Mark, from the University of California, Irvine, has studied this for the past two decades. She and her colleagues noted that back in 2003, people’s attention spans averaged two and a half minutes.
Recently, however, people can only focus on a screen for 47 seconds before shifting their attention.
