Pets

Kill Vs. No-Kill Animal Shelters

When we hear that animals are sent to a "no-kill" shelter, it often makes us feel better, doesn't it? When I hear about people "releasing" their pets, we think it's better if the shelter they go to is a no-kill one. I try not to judge people who have to find new homes for animals, as I've had to help my mom do the same when my father suffered a near-fatal accident that left her unable to care for a pet, and after my daughter came home from the NICU 13 years ago on an oxygen tank with a hose that had to go through the house that our beloved cats would have destroyed.

Literal Copycats

People often say that their pets mimic them in both the way they look as well as their own behavior, and I've found the sentiment to be true with many friends and family members. I'm not sure if it has merit across the board but I definitely know some people whose pets look and or even act like them, and this series of photos of pets who copy their owners reminds me of many of them!

Cat Parasite May Lead to Schizophrenia

You may have heard about the mind-altering illness known as toxoplasmosis that's carried by cats. Pregnant couples are especially warned about the disease, which was typically throught to be harmless in most cases. Around 60 million people in the United States are thought to carry the parasite, but now studies are showing that those who do might have a 50% higher risk of developing schizophrenia.

Cat and Dog Snuggling Cams

Creature comforts ought to allude to the love of a beloved pet, shouldn't they? Since they instead mean things like running water and a clean bed, let's call the kind of comforting we get from our favorite animals critter comforts instead. Critter comforts are in high demand but luckily they're also easy enough to find from the comfort of your home, whether you have animal companions or not, since everyone and his uncle posts pictures and videos of dogs, cats and other pets all of the time. In fact, when was the last time you went a day without watching cat videos?

Poison in the Garden

A woman who said she was sick of cats using her garden as a litterbox threatened to poison them on social media, going as far as to post photos of the poisoned meat and her garden as a threat to anyone who dared to let their cats outside. She should have known better than to do that, given that the Internet is forever and people started hounding her immediately. A woman even offered to clean her yard if she would "please not poison the cats" and the police were called.

Those Terrible Cat Odors

Between us taking a 4-H roadtrip and the basement (where the litter boxes are located) flooding, our house has become cat stinking grounds this week. It's unfortunate because we have company over often and it's just unpleasant to live with, period. Do your cats "revenge pee" when you leave for a day or two as well? They seem to behave better when we get a "sitter" for them, but this time we just had someone come over to let the dogs out since we were gone for one night.

Weird Cat Habits

My oldest cat, age 10, will swipe cheese from you. She LOVES cheese, especially in the form of goldfish crackers. I've never heard of a cat who likes crackers! My youngest cat, who will be two this summer, likes to open doors, go to the bathroom every time we go, and only snuggle if we're already busy doing something. My middle cat, age six, yowls to wake us up JUST to pet him and drinks his water by soaking his paw and licking it off his fur.

What the heck?

Cat Kneading

Why do cats like to knead so much with their paws? Scientists have attempted to answer this question for many years and while there are many possible answers, no one knows absolutely for sure. We know it begins during kittenhood when cats knead their mothers while they feed, but why?

Your Cat Wants to Eat You

A study has revealed that what makes our cats separate from their predatory big cat relatives is largely only attributed to their size. Otherwise they have the same or similar instincts and want the same or similar things--such as to kill us in our sleep. They would do that, according to the study, if they weren't so much smaller than us.

Drink Wine with Your Cat Week

For starters, don't go out and give your cat wine this week! That's not how this works! That's not how any of this works.

Whew. OK, now that you are ready to celebrate, grab your favorite bottle and pet your cat as you take part in National Drink Wine with Your Cat Week! Yes, this is a thing (because everything is now a thing) and there are actually cat friendly wines that are produced that you can buy so your cat can share with you.

Cat Talk

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