A Michael Broad Blog
This is a short note about cat caregiving. I am concerned at the growing trend to keep domestic cats inside full-time. It is very good in one way: safety from physical injury, usually by motor vehicles but bad in another namely a lack of activity and boredom. Do these two cancel each other out? …
Although, sometimes, domestic cats do walk behind their owners for a relatively short distance (a behaviour characteristic that I explain below), in general, it is fundamentally alien to domestic cats to walk with their owner on a lead like a dog on those nice country walks in the park. If you could talk to …
Do you want to know what the meow means in the English language? Here it is: “I require your immediate attention.” The meow is also spelled ‘miaow’. It always has the same basic message as stated. It is a general request. It normally means that the cat wants food as almost all cat caregivers …
Sometimes we need to encourage a cat to come into the house, or for whatever reason go through a gate or door opening. You don’t want to be aggressive when you do this. And if you try and grab your cat to carry him or her through, you’re likely to fail because they might …
Most of us realise that humans are out of step with their domestic cat companions. Domestic cats, although highly adaptable, are crepuscular animals at least. Some are distinctly nocturnal and they are also active in the daytime but I suspect most sleep during large parts of the day. It is in their DNA to …
“Stop bring sticks back” says the cat’s owner immediately after her cat has popped through the cat flap and deposited a twig on the doormat. What is going on? The cat is described as ‘not normal’. I’d disagree. Everything a cat does is normal under the prevailing circumstances. It is just a question of …
Do kittens still see their primary owner as mommy even if the owner is a boy? Yes, is the answer. They see the primary owner as a surrogate mother who in providing food and security keeps their cat in a permanent state of dependent kitten hood. This state subsists until the adult cat hunts …
If a cat walks over your head and sits on your shoulder is she trying to dominate you? The short answer is no. The reason why your cat walks over your head and settles down on your shoulder is because she does not regard your head as ‘out of bounds’. And I think that’s …
