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Reading Time: 4 minutes A new study looks at five feline personality traits and two common behaviors with the goal of understanding what cats need to thrive.
Tag: behavior
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Reading Time: 3 minutes When senior cats end up in shelters, it’s often because their elderly owners have passed away and there’s no one to care for them. The good news is that they are ideal housemates for everyone: millennial singles, empty nesters, and of course, human seniors. November is Adopt a Senior Pet month. Give a senior cat […]
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Reading Time: 3 minutes “CAN HE HAVE CHICKEN?” I yelled, projecting over the commotion of the terrier barking and growling at me. He was safely behind a baby gate, something I had arranged ahead of time with my client. This was our first meeting. “SURE!” the client yelled back. I tossed a piece of freeze-dried chicken over the baby […]
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Feline Pheromones: The Science Behind Them
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Reading Time: 5 minutes If you have a cat, you’ve likely encountered pheromone products available in the form of diffusers, sprays, wipes, or collars. These products claim to stop unwanted behaviors such as scratching, spraying, litter box mishaps, hiding, and fighting. Maybe you’ve read reviews touting pheromone products as a magic charm or, conversely, describing them as nothing more […]
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Reading Time: 3 minutes Bring up the subject of dog parks to a group of dog trainers and watch their heads explode. You’ll get a slew of opinions, most unfavorable. While I confess I have occasionally rolled my eyes at the topic, I don’t hate dog parks. They can be a good place for some dogs to run off […]
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Reading Time: 3 minutes After a few days of quiet adjustment, your bird is ready to become a part of your life. Your first interactions with your new bird are extremely important, because they set the tone for the kind of relationship you’ll have for life. You need to assure your new bird that you’re a wonderful, kind, and […]
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Reading Time: 5 minutes In some ways, the fact that pain will affect how a living creature behaves is obvious. If I have a bad headache, I’ll stop writing this article and go lie down. If my dog steps on something sharp, she’ll stop walking and hold up her paw. But even for an experienced pet owner, it can […]
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Catnap Connoisseurs: How Cats Sleep
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Reading Time: 5 minutes Stretched out, twisted and contorted, or curled into a ball, cats have mastered the art of sleep. As an homage, the word catnap formally entered the English language in the 1800s. Some people have the notion that cats are lazy layabouts sleeping the day away. It’s time to hit the snooze button on that misperception. […]
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How to Treat and Prevent Cat Bites
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Reading Time: 3 minutes Louise Holton has been trapping community cats since the 1970s and having them neutered, vaccinated, and returned to their colony. In the process, she has received some serious cat bites over the years. Holton, founder of Alley Cat Rescue, is always current on her tetanus vaccination. And by now, she’s a pro at treating bite […]
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Reading Time: 3 minutes As a certified yoga instructor as well as a veterinary behavior technician, I have found many similarities between yoga in humans and relaxation cues in our pets. In humans, yoga has been shown to decrease stress and anxiety, lower blood pressure and heart rate, and regulate the fight or flight response. Animals do not have […]