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Cats Life at Home

Wired for Sound: Cool Facts About Cat Ear Anatomy

Article

Reading Time: 5 minutes A cat’s ears are finely tuned instruments. Here’s how they work and the signs of stress that can signal there’s something wrong with them.

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Cats Fears & Anxieties Training & Grooming

Conquer Your Cat’s Fear of the Big, Bad Vacuum

Article

Reading Time: 4 minutes When I pull out the vacuum, Mollie disappears. Fortunately, our house is large enough that she has plenty of “safe” places to hide – often the linen closet upstairs or inside a kitchen cabinet. There’s a name for this fear: Zuigerphobia. It’s a specific phobia, which is an irrational, yet excessive fear of a particular […]

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Activities & Enrichment Cats Life at Home New Pets

Kitten Meetups With All Creatures Great and Small

Article

Reading Time: 4 minutes So you’re thinking of adding a kitten to your menagerie. The little voice in your head tells you it will make your family complete. Or an orphan shows up on your doorstep with saucer eyes and a fluffy coat, begging for a handout. Introducing the newbie to your existing crew requires patience and caution. Keep […]

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Cats Fears & Anxieties Life at Home New Pets Shelters & Fostering

Feral to Friendly-ish: Cats Coming in From the Cold

Article

Reading Time: 4 minutes A major conundrum of the cat world is the profusion of feral cats. Robin Olson, president of Kitten Associates in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, recently trapped the most beautiful tabby-marked Siamese kitten in her yard. Dubbed Silas Buttonwood, he will be vetted, neutered, fostered, and placed in a loving home. He is proving to be a […]

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Cats Life at Home

What’s That Smell? Secrets Behind Litter Box Odor

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes A commercial airing for a brand of cat litter shows a woman walking into her house and making a great “stank” face. Perhaps a bit exaggerated, but who among us hasn’t entered a room and sniffed suspiciously? According to Cécile Pétel, writing in “Something in the air: why cat pee stinks and how to control […]

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Cats Life at Home New Pets

Too Old for a Kitty?

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Reading Time: 4 minutes When you’re a cat lover, age is not a factor. Whether you are 20 or 80, the soft fur and reassuring purr bring endless joy. So, if you’ve had cats your entire life, the prospect of living without them is unthinkable. But with some forethought and planning, there’s no reason why you should deny yourself […]

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Cats Life at Home Veterinary Care

Declawing Changes Are Good for Cats

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Reading Time: 3 minutes After fits and starts, the momentum to ban declawing of cats is building, supported by veterinary hospitals and associations, and legislation that has been passed in cities and states. Most recently, Banfield, VCA, and BluePearl veterinary hospitals, a chain of nearly 2,000 clinics owned by Mars Inc., will no longer declaw cats as elective surgery. […]

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Cats Holidays Life at Home

Home for the Holidays—With Your Cat

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Reading Time: 3 minutes Cats are devoted homebodies. They like their routines and comfy naps in the sun, and if they do go out, it’s for a quick trip to the veterinarian’s office or maybe a secure outing with leash and harness. However, sometimes you have to take them on a Big Journey. Holidays may be that time – […]

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Cats Life at Home New Pets

May-December Cats? How to Make the Relationship Work

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Reading Time: 3 minutes There’s nothing like the joy of a living with a new kitten: the wide-eyed wonder, the playful antics, the unabashed energy. We love our older kitties, but every so often, there’s the siren call of kittenhood. So how do you integrate a high-energy kitten into a household with a more sedate senior cat (or two)? […]

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Cats Life at Home New Pets

Want a Pedigree Cat? Here’s What to Know

Article

Reading Time: 4 minutes More than 30 years ago, I said to my husband, “Someday I’d like a gray kitty – a Russian Blue.” Armed with an issue of Cat Fancy, he found a breeder in New Jersey and we traveled two-plus hours to pick up Ashley, my first Russian Blue. Thus began a love affair that continues to […]