Halloween is coming and costumes are on the minds of many people. Parents are helping their children pick out the perfect ones or they’re channeling their inner Martha Stewart and creating homemade costumes. When you open your door to trick-or-treaters this year, as every year before, you’ll not only see children dressed up, but ...
Read More »Why Do Cats Sleep So Much?
Cats have the reputation for being aloof, and although it’s not an accurate assessment, some of that interpretation comes from the fact that cats are known for sleeping much of the day. Some people even label cats as lazy because sleeping takes up about two-thirds of their lives. Referring to cats as lazy is ...
Read More »Do Cats Grieve?
Many people don’t realize animals grieve the loss of companions and family members. Even if companion cats had a hostile relationship, the surviving cat may still grieve the loss. There’s confusion about where the other cat has gone. The cat, regardless of whether they were close or not, had negotiated territories within the household ...
Read More »Why Does My Cat Pee on the Bed?
No one likes it when a cat starts eliminating outside of the litter box but the one place that really is difficult for cat parents to deal with is when kitty starts peeing on the bed. It seems to be the one location most human family members take as a personal insult. As hard as ...
Read More »Cats and Children: 10 Things Every Parent Should Know
For many parents, the idea of kids and cats together is an absolute natural. For other parents though, it’s a scary thought that may get the family cat a one-way ticket to the local shelter. Children and cats can be wonderful companions for each other. My kids have had the most loving, playful, endearing relationships with ...
Read More »9 Tips for Calming an Out-of-Control Cat
Aggression in cats (or ANY animal for that matter) can have many causes but if you’re dealing with an angry cat, here are some tips: 1. A veterinarian visit is crucial if your cat is beginning to show even the slightest hint of aggression or change in behavior. There may be an underlying medical ...
Read More »7 Things That Make Sense to Your Cat… But Not to You
You love your cat very much but there are probably a few behaviors that leave you scratching your head. These are the behaviors that don’t seem to make any sense. Even though you may not be able to figure out why your cat displays some odd behaviors doesn’t mean they aren’t functional or serve ...
Read More »How Cats Create a Group Scent
Scent plays a huge role in a cat’s life. To highlight that point, here’s some interesting information. Cats have about 200 million scent receptors in their nostrils and humans have about 5 million. Think about all the scents our noses are missing. Your cat’s scent-marking and scent-detection capabilities are always working. An environment surrounded with ...
Read More »Why Every Cat Needs Hiding Places
Since the early 1980s when I first started working with clients on their cats’ behavior problems, a big part of my consultations covered the importance of creating an environment that allows the cat to engage in natural behaviors, provides security and strengthens the cat/human bond. The umbrella term for these things is commonly referred ...
Read More »Is Your Cat Stressed Out?
Listen to the audio version of this article When I talk to some people about how stress affects their cats, I sometimes get very strange looks. Back in 1982 when I first started my cat behavior consulting business, the idea of stress in cats was pretty much unheard of. I even remember being laughed ...
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