One of Chloe's work partners got into a "discussion" with her husband over feline communication. Anne is convinced that her cats are responding to her calling out their names by twitching their tails. Her husband says no way a cat knows it's name?

I think I have to side more with Anne on this one. While I can't prove they know their names I do know they are responding to Anne's voice with attention and enthusiasm.

Cats use body language as their primary means of communication. They may vocalize too, but more often than not, they send messages with their ears and tails and how they carry their bodies. A confident cat will approach another cat with an erect tail and ears up and tilted forward. The more a cat tilts the ears to the side and the more they flatten the ears the more apprehensive they are. Flat ears all the way back are a fearful sign.

Continue Reading "Why Cats Twitch Their Tails" »

Whether to vaccinate against Feline Leukemia (FeLV) is a good question for many kitten and cat owners. The answer depends on several factors.

The first question concerns the potential for exposure your cat or kitten will have to an infected animal. FeLV is spread by direct contact with an infected cat. Obviously, cats that are allowed to roam outside unsupervised are at greatest risk.

Many people assume that if they keep their cat indoors they don't need to consider vaccination against FeLV. That's true up to a point.

Continue Reading "Feline Leukemia Vaccine should be Considered a Core Vaccine for Kittens" »

All cats are natural born hunters, even those we keep safely inside the four walls of our homes. Understanding the feline need to stalk and hunt and providing a safe outlet for that behavior is one of the most important things we can do for our cat companions.

A good first step is figuring out prey preference. Yep, cats normally develop a preference for a particular type of prey. Some cats like birds. Some cats like rodents. Some cats like bugs and some like all three.

Here's how to figure out what your cat loves to chase and how to provide a toy that mimics their prey preference.

Continue Reading "Prey Preference in Cats" »

If you ever wanted a good reason to micro chip a pet, this story from the NY Times should do the trick. A Colorado cat that escaped through a door left open by a building contractor was found roaming the streets of Manhatten this week. She was found by a good samaritan that took her to an animal shelter where they scanned her for a micro chip.

The next phone call was to a family in Colorado.

Continue Reading "Cat Lost for Five Years, Returns Home" »

One of the reasons I like cats is that they are the closest thing to a wlld animal we get to keep around the house. Cats, much more so than dogs, retain a great deal of their wlld heritage. In many ways cats see themselves as wild hunters of small prey and they act that way.

In fact, an important key to keeping domestic cats healthy and happy, besides pet insurance of course, is to acknowlege their wild roots and manage their environment accordingly. We've written lots about that under the general heading of feline environmental enrichment.

Most of us that love domestic cats are fascinated by wild cats too. I read two stories in the NY Times this morning that I thought I'd share with readers. Fascinating stuff about our cats wild relatives.

Continue Reading "Two Cool Stories about Big Cats" »

Other than questions about cats peeing outside the litter box, questions about helping cats get along in multiple cat households are an every day occurence for me. "Why can't we all just get along", is a common refrain for those of us that just can't make it with only one cat.

By nature cats are solitary hunters of small prey. They come together in the wild to mate, and the female will spend time rearing young, but most of the time cats prefer to go it alone. That's not to say that we're going against nature to keep multiple cats, and in fact, domestic cats can and do live together in groups harmoniously.

Problems can arise though, and many different behavior issues, including some types of inappropriate urination, can be the result of crowded conditions.

Continue Reading "Creating Harmony in Multiple Cat Households" »

For the uninitiated figuring our what a cat is trying to tell you can sometimes be difficult. Dogs are a bit more obvious due to their relatively unsophisticated approach to life. Cats are more refined and subtle, but if we pay attention to a few clues involving a cat's body posture, how they hold their ears and tails in particular, we can learn a lot about what's on their mind.

Continue Reading "How Cats Communicate with Body Posture" »

Sometimes you just have to quote from the press release.

"On December 20th, Americans nationwide had the opportunity to vote online to raise funds for five national pet-related charities. Over the course of the day, Purina ONE beyOnd donated $200,000 total to the charities and the online voting determined how much of the monetary pool each charity would receive. 

Well, the results are in and here is the breakdown of how much each nonprofit will receive as a result of the online voting: 

Most of the telephone poles in my neighborhood have 5x8 missing cat posters attached to them. I've always wondered how many of those cats ever made it back home? Not very many, according to some new research from Ohio State Veterinarians. Fewer than 2% of lost cats are ever reunited with their owners.

That's an amazing statistic as far as I'm concerned, and here's another one. Forty percent of lost cats are described by their owners as "indoor only". I guess "indoor only" cats must bolt more often than I had imagined.

The resident kitty at our house is a bit mad. That's "angry"... not, crazy. Although, I expect you could call her a little crazy, too. I caught her chasing her tail, the other day. First time in 18 years!

Here's the problem - the dogs we adopted have adjusted well to being in our home, and that includes no longer being afraid of the cat. Mind you, they don't chase her or pursue her or pay much attention to her at all. But, they also don't defer to her. Unless she's at the water dish, of course. They still patiently wait for her to walk away, before barreling in to get a drink.