A Michael Broad Blog
Can cats work out the source of the laser pointer dot? Some can and some can’t, would seem to the answer. The smart ginger tabby-and-white Maine Coon below did work it out and he is described as smart by his caregiver. He looks smart too. He is one of those Maine Coons that look …
This looks a bit strange – very strange perhaps – but effective. The idea comes from Rebecca Watson in her book The Cat Expert. I like the idea if you have a problem with your kitten or cat attacking your lower leg and/or ankles a lot. Wearing wellies protects them until they get out …
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? …
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 …
The Telegraph journalist who reported on a study has got the headline wrong I believe: “How to tell if your cats are fighting or playing, according to scientists”. For domestic cats – most often kittens – inter-cat play (between cats) is a form of fighting. Playing with an object is a hunting substitute. Feline …
This article, social play in the domestic cat is based upon a research paper of the same title dated 1974 and prepared at the Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14850. The author is Meredith West. It was published on the Internet by Oxford Journals under the heading, Integrative and Comparative Biology. …
There is another cat behaviour trend brewing up on TikTok. In a video which has gone viral, a tabby cat caregiver uses a biro to draw a large black dot on a notepad. Her cat watches nearby. Nothing happens for a while and this is because domestic cats do take a little while to …
It’s an amusing little TikTok video which has captured the imagination of the viewing public. It was made by a woman who is thought to live in America with the TikTok handle @Queefly online. It’s been viewed a lot of times. This is a multi-companion animal home. In the video we see her 15-year-old …
