What affects us affects cats
The title sounds unfair and biased but it isn’t as it is based in biological fact. The prevalence of deafness in pure white domestic cats varies depending on whether they have two blue eyes (the highest proportion of deaf cats), odd-eye colour or non-blue eyes (least likely to be deaf in both ears). Where …
There are four fundamental types of domestic cat play: Play-fighting – practice for defending against predators and subduing prey. The mouse-pounce – practice in stalking small prey animals. The bird-swat – practice in attacking escaping birds by taking flight. The fish-scoop – practice in catching fish. You’ll see them during play either between kittens …
A cat owner on the Reddit.com website (user u/maifoothurts) asked whether young cats lose their baby teeth. The question was accompanied by a pretty stark photograph which you can see below of a canine tooth which had snapped off and come to rest on the living room floor. The answer is yes. See the …
A couple of scientific reports indicate to me that when the domestic cat is left to their own devices such as in rural locations e.g. as barn cats, their behaviour is very similar to that of lions living in the African Serengeti. People think of lion pride behavior as unique in the cooperation between …
“Sibling suckling” is when domestic cats beyond the age of weaning suckle on each other for reassurance and comfort.
Strictly speaking it’s not massage! There is one reason why domestic cats ‘massage’ their owner. And it is not really massaging as I am sure many of you know. The word ‘massage’ is misleading because although it looks a bit like massage it ain’t. When and how it might happen All cat owners have …
There is only one way to interpret the behaviour of this stray, female domestic cat who leads the video maker on a rainy day towards a lobby area of what appears to be an apartment block where she has her kitten. How else can you interpret this but to say that she wants and …
In this article on kitten development, I refer to the development of the domestic cat after birth. About 70% of kittens are born nose and feet first (the so called “diving position”). They are covered in a transparent membrane (foetal membrane). The mother licks this off and eats it. The mother then severs the …
