Considering getting a cat as a university student

University student with her cat companion at university

Considering getting a cat as a university student is a big decision. There are probably four negatives to the desire to get a cat when a university student: money, time, accommodation and landlords. The positives are very apparent: emotional support and an improved feeling of wellbeing. I am told that 75% of students who …

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Is it illegal in the UK to stop cats from hunting?

Indoor live enriched for domestic cats where they can express natural behaviors as per the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the five freedoms

The title is provocative. It’s meant to be as I want to provoke some questions. An article on the Catster website by Dr. Karyn got me thinking (thank you). She advocates keeping cats indoors full-time but she is aware that you need to make the environment inside the home suitable for a cat to …

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Should I allow my female cat to have a litter of kittens to improve her personality?

Should I allow my female cat to have a litter of kittens to improve her personality? No.

Allowing your female cat to have a litter of kittens solely for the purpose of improving her personality is not a recommended approach. Let’s consider the reasons: Remember, a cat’s personality is shaped by various factors, including genetics, environment, and individual experiences. Prioritize her health, happiness, and responsible pet ownership. 🐾 RELATED: Do you think …

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Should drug addicts have pets?

Should drug addicts have pets?

The answer to the question should be nuanced as there are complex issues to deal with. There is no simple answer and there are important factors to consider. On the one hand, it can benefit a drug addict to take responsibility for caring for a pet cat or dog but on the other hand …

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If you wanted to adopt a cat, would you adopt a really mean one to spare his life?

Wizard the mean shelter cat learned to love his new family

The question in the title is asking whether you would adopt a shelter cat slated for euthanasia because he had been evaluated by shelter staff as aggressive and unadoptable. This is what can happen to rescue cats when they behave badly at shelters. The staff sometimes for the right reasons and sometimes for bad …

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Proactivity is the way to deal with feral cats in Australia

Take proactive steps to deal with Australia's feral cats

Australia’s Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, recently declared war on feral cats. I thought that Australia had been at war with feral cats for a very long time so this statement came as a surprise to me. They’ve been killing feral cats (and the occasional pet cat or dog) in Australia for many years as …

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Graduates prefer cats to dogs

Graduates are more likely to own a cat than a dog

This research is not current but for a long time I have been reading about cat owners being intelligent, independent-minded people, usually single women. That is the kind of profile we read about. And a research study published in 2010 which hit the news media outlets revealed that “Households in which someone was qualified …

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Time to check our cats’ skin as climate change is blamed for growth in tick diseases

Tick on cat

This is an underreported but a serious matter which I think should concern cat owners. The problem is that the ectoparasite, the tick, carries zoonotic diseases which they transfer to cats and dogs when they feed on the host animal. And these are serious diseases. The best known is Lyme disease. About a dozen …

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