Good for Jackson Galaxy. I wonder how the manufacturers react when the world’s best know cat behaviorist and expert denounces dry cat food in public in Singapore. Jackson was in Singapore promoting the sixth series of his television show, My Cat From Hell, on Animal Planet. Of course, he’s right about dry cat food but he is a business and he can’t alienate pet businesses because he relies on them.
In a question and answer session at the Star Vista in Singapore before around 200 people, he said that cats should be allowed to behave naturally, “I don’t like cats to do things they don’t naturally do.” This statement quite rightly underpins all his advice about how to care for the domestic cat.
Training a cat to use the human toilet should be discouraged. It is unnatural for a domestic cat to use a toilet designed for humans.
He also states that cats should eat wet cat food because it keeps them hydrated. This is something that millions of cat owners apparently ignore. In Singapore where space is at a premium and most people live in flats it is difficult to “catify” your home. “Catification” is a word used by Jackson to mean enriching the home environment for your cat.
Galaxy recommends using book shelves in a dual role as storage areas and as vertical spaces for cats. Or as seen in the photo above just constructing some vertical spaces is helpful. However, Charlene and her husband living in a 5th floor apartment in Singapore have gone a step further and ‘catified’ their home:
The convenience of dry cat food for busy people makes it popular in Singapore. It appears that few people there understand that dry cat food can leave a cat in a permanent state of mild dehydration because cats don’t drink enough water to compensate for the lack of water in the food. Cats are poor drinkers of water due to their inherited characteristics acquired from the North African wildcat. Dry cat food will leave a cat more thirsty but they don’t tend to fully compensate.
You can store up health problems if you feed a full-time, flat-living, indoor cat with dry cat food who is alone quite a lot of the time. This is a potential recipe for urinary tract problems and other stress related ailments. Although I am sure Singaporeans are good cat guardians. Singapore is a well managed and organised place.
In Singapore 80% of the citizens live in publicly owned and managed housing in the form of flats (see above). They are called HDB flats (Housing and Development Board). Usually, they are going to be relatively small.
Cats using a human toilet fascinates people and some cats have been trained to use them. They make good video material but that is about it. Interestingly, at least one cat trained himself so perhaps it is becoming natural for a cat!
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