It was October 2016 when I first came across TockTober hashtags and wondered what all the fuss was about. There were tocks of all kinds, shapes, sizes, and floofiness and we were amazed. This year we didn’t want to miss out on the fun so we gave you a little sneak preview of Jimmy’s tocks, walking down the catio catwalk. Read More
October 16 is Global Cat Day, initiated by Alley Cat Allies since 2001 is intended to rally people around the world to take a pledge to show compassion and kindness to our community cats everywhere. I love that they have renamed it Global Cat Day to expand their reach and message with the realization that community cats all over the world are faced with the same obstacles: local laws advocating the removal or killing of community cats from their natural habitats, in many cases using inhumane and cruel practices such as shooting and poisoning.
Luckily there are individuals and dedicated guardian angels working against all odds to protect and improve the lives of feral cats around the world. Earlier this year I have had the pleasure to have met up with one such cat guardian angel, sociologist and lecturer, Sharyn Spicer at the University of Western Cape, South Africa.
If you’ve been following our series Scratching Post Secrets Revealed, perhaps you will remember our debut episode about Ollie’s scratching post sticky note he left for Charlie. He wasn’t happy about Charlie supposedly stealing his treats. Well, this week we interrupt our Caturday Doodle series and follow up with a quick Voodle about Ollie’s expression of displeasure at Charlie’s pilfering ways. Ollie felt his sticky note message fell on deaf ears so he decided to confront the issue, paw on. Read More
There is no doubt cats are one of the most pampered pets on the planet. We dote on their little darling faces, they walk all over us and they have programmed us to adhere to their feeding schedules. Whether it’s free-feeding all day long or convincing us with sweet songs of ‘Acatpella’ that they will certainly die of starvation if not fed this minute, we cater to every feline whim and fancy. But serving your cat on a silver platter is doing him more harm than good.
Cat siblings have an awful lot to say to each other. In last week’s Caturday Doodle, Ollie made it known that he was not happy with Charlie taking all the treats so he left a kitty sticky note text on the scratching post, as cats do. We thought it would be fun to gather some sticky notes from other cats too and we were happy to see the sticky notes from all sorts of opinionated and disgruntled kitties pouring in.
Hello, it’s Scout here and I present this week’s Marvelous Monday Haiku. Fall is my favorite time of the year because I like to collect leaves and bring them inside for the Big Man Cat while he works. I think he appreciates the sentiment. My job as interior decorator is made so much easier too because the catio is one messy jungle with an array of different colored leaves ranging from the rich chartreuse of the Kolomikta Kiwi vine to the browns and reds from the tree. Some really stoic, cheery sunflowers are still out and have not given up and the heady scent from the purple catmint blooms gives Mr. Jack sunset zoomies in the tunnel.
A scratching post is a vital communication tool used by cats and is also their podium for leaving little scent messages for their fellow feline housemates.
“Charlie, stop stealing my treats” signed, Ollie
The Silent Treatment
Cats display an array of vocalizations for cat-human communication but when it comes to communicating with other cats, they give each other the silent treatment. In the world of cats this is not a bad thing, in fact, their world is rich with scent messages and stimuli which they are busy decoding every second. Imagine how rich their scent vocabulary must be to be able to establish their little cat hierarchies and time-sharing schedules in their multi-cat homes. Cats will generally avoid confrontation and would rather just leave a little scent message to their housemates to get a point across. They certainly do have lots to say to each other and in order to live happy and enriched lives with their feline housemates and people, they need a platform to communicate their feelings, viewpoints, and grievances.
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