Fear Free Happy Homes
Reading Time: 2 minutesWhen the phone rings, does your cat come running? At our house, we still have a land line with a long cord, in addition to our cell phones. My Karma-Kat tries to bite through the phone cord whenever I’m in a conversation. Some cat lovers report that their kitties become aggressive around the telephone. Thankfully, most […]
Reading Time: 3 minutesBird and butterfly watching – and even people watching — is more than an engaging pastime for cats. It gives them the mental and physical stimulation they need on a daily basis. Letting cats go outdoors on their own isn’t usually a safe option for them, but there’s an alternative for feline nature lovers: a […]
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn 2018 I am resolving to get more sleep. Studies show that, for a human, eight hours of sleep nightly is optimal. Less than that, and you have problems with your health, concentration, mood and weight. Getting more sleep is easier said than done, though, if you live with a cat. A cat’s sleep cycle […]
Reading Time: 3 minutesWant to know the secret to truly achieving your New Year’s resolutions? Set goals for your BFF: best feline friend. When you shift your focus on your cat, you may find you are more motivated to set and meet goals in the new year. This strategy has worked purr-fectly for me to the benefit of […]
Reading Time: 3 minutesFrom a pet’s perspective, ear handling and care can be unsettling and downright scary unless it’s conducted in a way that allows the pet to feel safe and comfortable. Why do pets fear ear cleaning and care? For an animal with fear, anxiety, or stress (FAS), ear care may seem threatening, especially if sensitive ear […]
Reading Time: 4 minutesThe photo on social media shows a box of young kittens. The text says, “Kittens abandoned. Fosters needed.” You look up the rescue group and find they are local to you. Fingers poised over the keyboard, you ask yourself, should I foster? Having fostered kittens for a number of years, I’ve faced this scenario more […]
Reading Time: 2 minutesHere in Texas, the warm weather continues to bring big-bug migrations from outside to the living room. The cats are thrilled with cricket carcasses and the occasional disoriented field mouse that takes a deadly detour. Thank goodness, both Karma-Kat and Seren-Kitty haven’t presented me with anything beyond a cricket drumstick. But it’s not unusual for […]
Reading Time: < 1 minuteUp to 69 percent of the feline pet population now live indoors only, and because of this, being run over by a car or run down by a coyote is not too likely. However, despite an indoor-only existence, cats are born with a hard-wired prey drive, and they continue to have the need to chase, […]
Reading Time: 4 minutesEnriching the environment means providing suitable outlets to meet the needs of a species. One example: Cats have a hard-wired need to hunt and pounce. It’s great that cats are increasingly being kept indoors (they do live longer when indoors only), but we rarely meet their innate needs. Many zoos have a full-time employee whose […]
Reading Time: 2 minutesOur cats sometimes challenge the most insightful among us to figure out what’s behind a weird and wacky behavior. Felines always have a good reason for doing what they do. But a given behavior doesn’t always mean what you think, including why cats follow us to the bathroom. CAT POTTY BUDDIES Dogs do this, too, […]