New device will let the internet play with your cat

Keep kitty busy while you're at work
A novel system which has been used successfully for shelters may soon be available for your home. A new Kickstarter aims to bring an internet-controlled suite of cat toys to the home user. Just set everything up, and then internet users can control cat toys to play with your kitty while you are away.
 
Called the iPet Companion Home Play, this system is in use in many animal shelters, where people can entertain the shelter cats online. One big market for the system in homes is bored office workers who want to check in with and entertain their cats during the day.
 
The service includes a video stream, which you can set to be either public or private. The final version of the device is expected to cost $229, plus a $2.95 monthly fee for the streaming video.

2 week-old kitten survives huge fire

Found alive in the rubble
When an apartment complex caught on fire last week in Jeffersonville, Indiana last week, one woman thought she had lost everything. Her two adult cats were found dead, and their two week-old kitten was missing. Experts assumed that the kitten perished in the fire.
 
The next day, two firefighers searching the debris found a “small orange ball of fur, covered in ashes.” The tiny kitten had apparently crawled under something, which protected it from the heat and smoke.
 
Renamed “Miracle” by his owners, the kitten has recovered well from his ordeal, and is expected to survive without any ill effects.

Cats prefer cat music

I suppose it makes sense
Many people are convinced that their pets like the same kind of music they do. At the very least, many people believe that cats will find classical music soothing. But do they really?
 
A group of researchers recently set about to answer this question. They put together a list of criteria for determining whether or not a cat was enjoying a bit of music. Did the cat approach the speakers, or hiss and arch its back?
 
The researchers then took a guess at what kinds of music a cat might like. They chose to create a piece of music which operated at a higher frequency than most human music, because cats have excellent hearing well above the range of our own ears. They also chose a tempo which was "based on purring."
 
The cats proved to be much more positively inclined towards the cat music than the human classical music. But surely I can't be the only one who's disappointed that the article didn't include a clip of said cat music?

New Zealand's cat eradication campaign

This controversial campaign wants to ban cats from NZ.

New Zealand is an amazing, gorgeous country with unique wildlife found nowhere else in the world. And cats are killing them.

Although many cat owners refuse to believe it, the truth is that cats allowed to roam loose outdoors are slaughtering native wildlife at a startling rate. A recent study by National Geographic recorded video evidence of the kills committed by normal suburban house cats. Among other interesting facts, the study found that cats only bring home about 1/4th of the animals they kill. Thus, most owners are unaware of the true number of animals being killed by their cats.
 
One New Zealand economist has put forth a radical proposal to save New Zealand's threatened wildlife: ban outdoor cats, and cat ownership altogether.
 
According to Gareth Morgan, New Zealand is the most cat-owning-est nations, with almost half of New Zealand households owning at least one cat. Morgan's proposal is that all New Zealand cats should be legally mandated to be indoor-only cats. And - more inflammatory still - that after the cats die, the families should not be allowed to replace them.
 
I personally am a strong advocate for cats being indoor-only. An outdoor cat has an average lifespan of about five years. An indoor cat has an average lifespan of about 15 years. But in my experience, many people simply will not see reason on this issue, dragging out long-winded explanations of cat psychology and philosophy, all of which is simply their own feelings projected upon their cat. 
 
The truth is that, statistically speaking, if you let your cat outside, it will die outside. And it won't be a peaceful death, either. But for most people, this is an "out of sight, out of mind" problem, just like the perilous state of New Zealand's native birds and animals.
 
Of course, even if hypothetically Morgan was able to convince New Zealanders to make all of their cats indoor-only, there is still the matter of feral cats. Feral cats have been responsible for the extinction of an estimated 70 local subspecies of birds and animals in New Zealand, as well as 6 species nation-wide. And that's not counting all of the species which have been vastly reduced in numbers.
 
New Zealanders have already taken steps to help reduce the predation of cats. Many "cat-free neighborhoods" have been declared as sanctuary areas for wildlife. But for species like the Stephens Island Wren, which cats hunted to extinction in about 20 short years, it is too little, too late.

Lost cat travels 190 miles home

Holly is a lucky kitty indeed!

Last November, Jacob and Bonnie Richter took their cat Holly on vacation with them. They traveled in their motor home from West Palm Beach to Daytona, Florida. Holly, a four year old tortoiseshell, was doing pretty well until someone set off fireworks too close to the Richters' motor home. Holly shot out the open door and was gone in a flash.

The Richters stayed in the area for days, passing out flyers and talking to the local authorities. Heartbroken, they eventually had to return home without Holly.
 
Two months later, one of the Richters' neighbors noticed an emaciated cat staggering through her yard. Barb Mazolla, obviously an animal lover herself, scooped up the cat and took her to the vet for care. The cat, who was so weak that she couldn't even meow, was lucky enough to be microchipped. The cat may not have been able to meow, but her microchip did the talking for her: it was Holly, who had walked nearly 200 miles home.
 
Holly's amazing journey must have been a difficult one. West Palm Beach lies directly south of Daytona along the coast. Holly's trip would have taken her alongside Interstate 95, one of the busiest and most dangerous stretches of highway in the country. (In 2010, "the Florida section of I-95 had the most fatalities of any U.S. interstate.")
 
Holly also had to traverse several stretches of wilderness, including the Brevard County Game Refuge and the St. Johns National Wildlife Refuge. Both of which abound in snakes, alligators, and wild hogs, any one of which would have cheerfully snack on a kitty. Holly's journey also required her to safely cross several busy east-west roads, including highway 528, the 520, 404, 500, and more.
 
It's no wonder Holly was so thin by the time she made it home. That is one lucky cat!
 
Holly joins the ranks of other long-distance travelers who have broken the record books and strained credulity with their amazing journeys home. Like Skittles, a cat who was lost in 2008 in Wisconsin and showed up 140 days later at his home in Minnesota, 350 miles away. Or Horace, a cat who was lost for 18 days before showing up back at home on two broken legs.
 
Of course, Holly might never have made it home if she hadn't been microchipped. Her owners had not set up any kind of search near their home, and two months later had long since given her up as gone forever. Just one more reason to microchip your kitties!

Not using litter box

Pooping on carpet

My 5yr old cat started pooping on carpet thanksgiving when I was gone for 2weeks. I've been gone before in past no problem. He only does this in the middle of the night so I can't catch him. He lives with a 3 yr old cat. Dr. Says he fine medically. I don't know if I should scold him so far I have ignored it. Obviously he is upset about something. Any suggestions? Thanks Sharon.cox44@yahoo.com

Do you love your cats enough to tattoo them on your back?

This cat lover adopted five special-needs cats and loved them dearly.

As cat lovers, we love our kitties. That's how it works. Each one has its own unique personality, leaving its own mark on your life as they pass through on their too-short journeys with us. Each cat owner chooses to immortalize their beloved pets in a different way. Some more different than others.

Fran Bailey, 23-year-old Welsh cat owner, has gotten portraits of five of her deceased cats tattooed on her back. Bailey had gone to an animal shelter and asked for five of their sickest cats, "so that they would have somewhere to go." 
 
Bailey left the shelter with five cats who were suffering from FIV, also known as "feline AIDS," an incurable condition which is closely related to the HIV virus that gives humans AIDS. FIV-positive cats can lead relatively healthy lives for years after contracting the disease, but because they are contagious to other cats, and because of the stigma of a "sick" cat, they are difficult if not impossible for shelters to adopt out.
 
All five of her cats eventually died from the condition. Bailey, who works as a tattoo artist herself, immortalized them in tattoo portrait form, each cat being pictured with a distinctive reminder of its personality. One cat is depicted in a dunce cap, another with a bandaged ear. A third, and my favorite, sports a monocle and bow tie.
 
Between 2-4% of cats worldwide are infected with FIV. Although there is a FIV vaccine available, it isn't yet clear how well the vaccine works. I once adopted a cat who turned out to be FIV positive, he had slipped through the diagnostic cracks so to speak because he had been infected right before entering the animal shelter, thus his tests at the shelter showed no infection. Had I known that he was FIV positive I might have monitored his health more closely. Sadly, he had to be put to sleep a year later because he suddenly developed a massive chest infection. 
 
Although they require a bit more attention to be kept safe, needing to be kept indoors and away from other cats, FIV-positive cats - as Bailey can attest - make excellent pets. Even if you choose not to have their portraits tattooed on your body after they die, perhaps you might consider following Bailey's wonderful example by adopting an FIV-positive cat and giving it the "forever home" that it deserves.
 

Adopt a black cat!

Black cats are less likely to be adopted just because of their color

 

As I mentioned in my last article, black cats are often the last ones to be adopted. People are superstitious about black cats, and even those who are not uneasy about black cats in general may consider them off-putting or aloof. Without even meeting them!
 
This is straight up cat racism. And it does the good black cats of the world a great disservice. My first cat was black, and he was a real love. I have a friend who is always rescuing black cats (she currently has four) and all of her cats have had their own individual personalities, just like cats of any other coat color.
 
(There are other, more technical reasons that might affect people's decisions. For example, in the bad lighting conditions of most animal shelters, it can be more difficult to see expression on a black cat at the back of a cage versus a cat of a lighter color. They also are more difficult to photograph - a crucial problem, in a world where so much adoption info is found online.)
 
The problem with a black cat's unadoptability is so great that many shelters will hold special "black cat adoption" events, or give discounts for black cats. There are even rescue agencies which specialize in black cats, to help fill the need at shelters. 
 
However, many shelters also hold back their black cats during the month of October. There is a perception that people will adopt a black cat, then kill it for Halloween. Frankly I have always suspected that this is the animal shelter version of an urban legend. I mean, would someone really go to all that trouble and expense? But no matter; as long as they are willing to hang onto the cats for a little extra time in order to prevent them being used in a Satanic ritual, that's their choice.
 
A bigger problem is the issue of euthanasia rates. Black cats end up being killed at shelters at a much higher rate than any other coat color. In many municipal shelters, an adult cat is lucky to get 72 hours before it is adopted. If a black cat is passed over in favor of other coat colors, it has little chance. It will probably die.
 
The next time you are thinking about adopting a cat, please consider adopting a black cat! They may be a little more difficult to photograph for your blog, but they will thank you for rescuing them. Black cats deserve good homes just as much as every other color cat - don't overlook a cat just because it's black!
 

Cat coat color and personality: connected?

Cat racism kills - black cats don't get adopted.

A recent study tentatively concluded that purebred cats are friendlier than mixed-breed cats. It's a pity that study was so inept, though. It has been fairly well established decades ago that the single biggest predictor of a cat's friendliness toward humans is how much it was handled during its earliest weeks. Without controlling for this factor, any study on cat personality is going to be totally off base. 

Purebred cats will generally get a lot of handling from birth to the time when they leave for their new families. Cat breeders for the most part are in it because they love cats, and any reputable breeder will be spending a lot of time handling and cuddling their new kittens. 
 
The same is true of many mixed-breed litters. A lot of cat owners are delighted at the prospect of kittens, and will be handling the kittens a lot during their earliest weeks.
 
But then you have unscrupulous cat breeders who leave their cats in cages from birth to death. Kitten mills, like the ones which ship kittens to pet stores. These kittens are poorly socialized at best; nearly feral at worst. And the same is true of many mixed-breed litters born to cats of uncaring owners.
 
Another (far better) study examined people's perceptions of cat colors and personality. People were shown pictures of cats and asked to describe them. This study showed that people believe orange cats to be the friendliest (as the [extremely biased] owner of orange cats, frankly I agree). White cats were considered aloof, black cats antisocial, and tortoiseshell cats were thought to be "intolerant."
 
Over the years, I have had many otherwise sensible people tell me that they firmly believe that coat color influences cat personality. One person told me that black and white cats are "always crazy." 
 
I'm open-minded about the idea that coat color and personality could be connected. But if there is a connection, it's obviously a weak one. A broad statistical study would be relatively simple to do (just poll cat owners about their cat's color and main personality trait). I would be very interested to see the results.
 
But on the whole, this kind of thinking amounts to cat racism. And it is literally a life-or-death matter for cats in shelters. White, black, and tortoiseshell cats are adopted at a far lower rate than orange cats. When a cat doesn't get adopted just because of prejudices regarding its coat color, more often than not, that cat eventually has to be euthanized.
 
The next time you're thinking about adopting a cat, keep an open mind about the color!

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