Your Cat Probably Knows Their Name

They just don't care when you call them

Dogs are always said to be so smart, recognizing 200 words, including their names, and responding to commands. I've always maintained that those facts don't negate the intelligence of cats, and in fact cats may be even smarter because they're the ones who domesticated us and not vice versa. They'd eat us if they were larger, they develop elaborate plans to steal our food and cause mayhem, and according to new research, they also know their names. They just don't care when you call them.

This really makes perfect sense for anyone who has cats. They are all about what they want, on their own terms, which is why people who want immediate affection from an animal who unconditionally loves them should really stick to dogs. As a "parent" of both dogs and cats, I can vouch for the benefits of having both animals at home, but I really do prefer cats, and maybe they choose to give you affection because you are the Food Provider (and a lousy one at that, since you don't give live prey), but I like to think they pick their human and bestow affection that way, which seems more special to me.

My cats definitely know their names, even if they don't come when called. Does your cat come when called or otherwise acknowledge their name?

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When The Cat Can't Settle Down

Share your tips!

How many of you cat people have cats that just can't settle down in your house? Do you have a cat that no matter how calming or quiet you are, it randomly jumps around like it's seen a ghost and runs across your face while you're asleep, scratching you in the process? Yeah, I have one of those. She's almost five and she still does this. Aside from locking her in the laundry room at night, I don't have a fix, which is sad because she's a sweet sleeping companion when she's not randomly scratching me to pieces. She's been looked at by the vet (she was a humane society cat) and found to be healthy, so I'm not sure what to do. Maybe some toys to wear her out?

I also have an almost year-old who is constantly yowling, clawing, scratching and upset, but I'm pretty sure it's because she's in heat and she's my last to get fixed. Hopefully that will take care of a lot of this nonsense but for now, putting her in an open cardboard "calming box" seems to help, at least temporarily!

When your cat is hyperactive, what do you do? Here are some tips from Dr. Q. Share yours in the chat!

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Cats Will Be Cats

What's your best example of this rule?

Cats will be cats, whether that means being curious to a fault, a walking hot mess or absolute jerks. All of these keep us coming back for more cat videos and photos every day and I don't think we'll ever tire of them. This collection of photos is a fantastic example of cats doing their best to be goofy, salty and downright catty. My favorite photo is the one where the cat steals the bunny's cage! I have a cat who's done the same with guinea pigs. She cares much more about being able to lie around in the pen than catching one of the pigs.

Have you heard that there's now a CatCon to highlight the year's best cat videos? The Cats of Instagram are also involved this year, so there are bound to be some super cute videos to check out.

Have you seen any cats being super catlike this week? Share your links in the chat!

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Cute Cat Ladders

What kind of cat furniture do you have?

Cats need furniture, and if you don't provide it, you might regret it. I have shredded doorways and my own shredded furniture to prove it! You learn the hard way when you have cats, right?

Cats also need to feel high, to be able to see the sights and satisfy their curiosity and generally climb to have a good life. Most of my cats LOVE to get to high places in our house, so things like these cute cat ladders are an absolute necessity. While these outside ladders won't work in your house, they will work great for outdoor cats who have lots of room to roam. There are too many cars on my street for mine to go out, but if I had a catio they'd probably work there, too!

What kinds of cat furniture do you have at your place? Share your favorites in the chat!

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Adorable Animal Photos

This may be what you need today

Are you looking for something to cheer you up or just give you warm fuzzies? If so, this list of adorable critters may be just what the doctor ordered. Not every animal in this list is a cat, but the cats in the list are definitely cute. You'll find mothers with babies, wild cats, domestic cats lounging in the sunshine and more.

There are also lots of critters like puppies, dogs, geese, a cow and even a capybara! All of these animals look so loving and cuddly that they will remind you why we adore animals so much and why we should be working so hard to protect them--aside from the obvious fact that as sentient life forms they, too, deserve to cohabitate this planet with us.

Have you run across any cute animal pics this week? Share them in the chat!

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Giant Cats Are Coming!

Nah, it's just art, but it's adorbs

Watch out, the giant cats are coming! They'll stomp your car, squash your house and make the Hellboy demons look pathetic! Okay, that's not very hard to do, but even so, these enormous cats look super funny because they've been manipulated by an artist who has reimagined them as giants. Remember the cats we shared a few weeks ago where you could look at them from under a clear glass table? This is another adorable perspective that you have to see to believe.

I'm now inspired to make my own cats look like conquerers of a city. I may have to get my teen's action figures and Legos all in on this. I love this idea so much and I think it would also make a really cool art project for any tweens or teens interested in photography and photo manipulation skills!

What do you think of these cute cats? Share your thoughts in the chat!

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Freddie Mercury And His Cats

These photos are beautiful

If you're a Freddie Mercury fan, you know how much the singer loved his cats. Queen is everything in my house, not only since I've been a lifelong fan but because my 13-year-old loves to cosplay as Freddie, sing every song of the band's on Singstar and pretty much demand the music 24/7. This was before the movie, but seeing it did intensify my kid's interest!

This collection of photos demonstrates the love Mercury had for his beloved cats, and while some of the images are repetitive (many look like a different shot of the exact same time and day), they still depict the artist's sweet love and care of his companion animals, which is just such wholesome fun to enjoy. I'll never tire of photos of Freddie or cats, so put the two together and it's double the fun! Isn't it funny that no matter how many cats you have, you still love to look at pictures and videos of cats?

There are so many celebrities who love their pets. Taylor Swift is famous for adoring her cat, Olivia Benson. What other celebs do you know who love cats?

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Curious Cats From The Other Side

These are too cute

Can we all just agree that the best part of the Internet is free access to unlimited cat photos and videos? I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking at cats (or bunnies or llamas, for that matter. Or baby goats or...), and this collection of cats perched on glass surfaces is unique because you get to see the felines from the opposite side we usually catch them from!

I never would have even thought of this idea (something else the internet is great for--accessing new creative ideas) and some of these cats are so adorable. Some look pretty feisty, too! You'll have to click through and check out all of these cats, and if you have a glass surface at home consider looking at your cat from the other side to see what it's like in real life!

Have you seen any other cute cats this week? Share your links in the chat!

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No Vegan Food For Your Feline Friend

You do know cats are carnivores, right?

More and more people seem to enjoy the idea of feeding their pets a vegan diet and I'm here to tell you that if you want to have a vegan pet, get a bunny. Buns are adorable, funny and will enjoy a vegan diet every day. So will chinchillas, guinea pigs, hamsters... you get the idea. If the idea of eating meat, even when it's your pet doing it and not you, is off-putting, then do not adopt a carnivore. It's completely unfair to that pet. How would you like it if some alien ape-like species adopted you and only fed you raw steak because that's what they ate?

It's not just mean, though. It's downright harmful, especially if you have cats, which HAVE to eat meat to live. In some countries, it's a criminal act if you don't feed your cat meat. Yes, dogs are technically ominvorous and CAN eat on a vegan diet if they have to, but you'd better check with a vet to make sure it's a balanced diet first if you're going to do it--which you shouldn't, because your dog should get to eat what nature intended it to eat, which wasn't kale.

How do you ensure a healthy diet for your pets? Share what you feed your cats and dogs in the chat.

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Is Your Cat Obese?

Most pets might be

Do you know if your dog or cat is obese? It turns out that most dogs and cats in the United States are overweight, with over half of pets being overweight and over 30% of cats living with obesity. As with humans, being overweight isn't necessarily a health disadvantage; every pet's circumstances are different and what's healthy for one animal may be unhealthy for another.

The real worry you should have if your pet is overweight is the cause of your cat or dog's situation. If it's just overeating, for example, it might not be as bad as if it's due to the animal not getting enough exercise, having its hormones out of rhythm or another underlying condition. The only way to find out, of course, is to take your pet to the vet--and unfortunately that's not always a sure-fire way to discover what's wrong. I've lost a couple of cats over the years after vets simply couldn't identify what was going on with them.

Even so, you can talk to your vet about your pet's health to find out what you can do to ensure its best health. Is your pet overweight? How did you and your vet go about treating the animal?

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