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.
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?
While it shouldn't be amusing to us to ever see an animal in distress (knowing what I know now about animals makes me unable to watch Homeward Bound anymore), sometimes our animal's expressions look like they had to have been made with CGI effects, they are so funny and cartoonish. This cat is a prime example.
When a racoon stole its dinner, this red ginger cat looked inside at its owner in horror. "Is this really happening!" The cat's face looks like it's animated.
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?
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.
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.
Lots of people "scruff" their cats to pick them up, claiming that it's what their parents would do to correct their behavior so it's okay to do it to grown cats. According to cat behavior expert Anita Kelsey, that's the wrong approach to correcting cat behavior. Not only is it a disrespectful way to treat a cat, but it can be harmful to the cat, causing pain. Cats that pick up their babies this way do so when they are babies, not fully grown adults.
It hasn't been as widespread in four decades, so the return of the cat plague in Australia is a terrible concern for cat owners right now. It is deadly and also known as feline parvo, and it's being seen in lots of strays in the Melbourne area. There is a simple way to prevent the plague, and it's just vaccinating your cats.
I live on a dead end street, but once my neighbors started to complain about my wandering cat (not to mention over-feeding her), I had to start keeping her inside. If I thought she would slim down after two out of three of her food sources were cut off, I was wrong; without the exercise outside, she's gotten so big her belly drags and has even lost the fur, leaving a bald patch! Toy mice, catnip, laser lights... the other cats love them but she could care less. So what can you do?
Whether or not you believe in the zodiac, it's still kind of fun to see things like this piece from Elite Daily, which explains which cat you should get this year based on your zodiac sign! Please don't use this as a real barometer of whether or not a cat is right for you; you need to visit with the cat and make sure he or she is a good fit with your personalities. It's still fun to read, though.
