You can use a cotton ball slightly dampened with warm water to clean inside surface of your cat's ears. Never put a cotton ball or swab into her ear canal. If she reacts and jerks, you could injure her. Dark, coffee ground-like flecks inside her ears indicates possible ear mites. If you also notice her shaking her head or scratching at her ears a lot, or notice a strong odor in her ears, have your vet take a look.

A healthy cat's eyes are bright, clear and free of discharge.

Lift her upper lip to check her gums, which should be pink, and take a look at her teeth. If you choose to brush your cat's teeth, be sure to use toothpaste made for cats, as human-type toothpaste can be toxic to your pet. Pet supply stores carry a variety of cat toothpastes, as well as toothbrushes designed to be gentle and easy to use.

When you start to clean your cat's teeth don't even use a toothbrush. Stroke outside of her cheeks with your finger. When she becomes comfortable with that, add a little toothpaste to your finger and let her taste it. C.E.T. poultry flavored toothpaste can be used to start as cats like taste. When cat is comfortable you are ready to introduce toothbrush. With a small amount of toothpaste on brush, brush two teeth and adjoining gum line with a slow circular motion. This will get your cat accustomed to feel of brush. You will then be able to gradually increase number of teeth brushed.

Training simple tricks can be incorporated into daily playtime. Always keep some cat treats in a pocket during training time. To teach your cat to "shake hands," begin by saying "shake," then touching your hand to underside of one of her front paws. Praise her for letting you touch there, and give her a treat. Repeat this over and over again. Eventually, you can lay your hand flat on floor just in front of her paw. Say "shake" and wait. If she even moves her paw towards you praise her and give her a treat. Little by little, she'll catch on that every time she touches your hand with her paw she can get you to give her a treat. Once she willingly touches your hand, you can start to raise your hand off of floor a little bit at a time. Keep training fun. Stop session before she loses interest, and always end on a positive note with a reward.

You can use same one-small-step-at-a-time technique to teach your cat to walk on a leash. This allows you to take your cat outside for fresh air and sensory stimulation without having to worry about her running off. Purchase a cat harness from a pet supply store. Before you even try putting it on your cat, simply leave it lying by her bed for a day or two. When she is used to seeing and smelling it, loosely put it on her just before her normal mealtime. Hand-feed her food to distract her from harness and to make wearing it a pleasurable experience. Remove it when food is gone. After a few days, you can let her wear harness around house. Let leash drag behind, but watch to make sure it doesn't become tangled around furniture. When she seems comfortable with harness and leash, pick up your end and walk with her, letting her lead way. Eventually she will walk willingly beside you, and you can both venture outdoors.