Cats And Vertical Territory

I think cats are social creatures. Mine hang around with me even though there is plenty of space in the house for each of them to be alone. They generally get along, except for the occasional smack on the head or warning hiss. What I think helps is that, although there is plenty of horizontal space, we have provided some vertical surfaces for the cats.

My cats seem comfortable in their own vertical space. Cats naturally want to move to the highest spot, so they can clearly view their territory. This allows the cats to feel safe and secure, and so reduces anxiety. Cats can jump five times their height and have incredible balance. Don't they always want to be on the counters?

Here are some of my kitties in my office:



Daisy also likes to go high in the kitchen. Jack does this too, but I don't have a picture of him up there yet. You can see Jack in the bottom left corner of the photo on the table.





It is not that difficult to create vertical space. The most obvious idea would be to get a cat tree. I have seen some inexpensive storage cabinets converted to kitty condos by cutting out large holes in the side, one for each shelf. I'll try to remember to get a picture of this next time I go to the shelter. Some people have used IKEA wall shelves and covered them with carpet to keep the cats from slipping.

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Obese, Overweight and Fat Cats

A nation-wide study done by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, has determined that 57% of cats are estimated to be overweight, and almost 18% are considered obese.

"Pet obesity continues to emerge as a leading cause of preventable disease and death in dogs and cats. Our pets are in real danger of not living as long as previous generations and developing serious and costly diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, and other largely avoidable conditions,” states lead researcher Dr. Ernie Ward.

Compare your cat with these pictures to determine if your cat is one of the 51 million cats that are overweight or obese:


       

If your cats resemble these it is time to put them on a diet (No "light" food! Canned please.) Give them more exercise.

PetObesityPrevention.com is a good site to find information about cat and dog obesity, ideal weights, caloric needs, and calories of many foods.
Of course, you could peruse Cat Ramble to find much of this information.

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Is Your Cat Left-Pawed or Right-Pawed?

I read an article in the LA Times that was interesting - Left-pawed or right-pawed: The camp your cat falls into is probably determined by its gender. Using various tests, researchers concluded that gender determines whether a cat shows a preference for its right or left paw for various tasks. When swatting at a toy mouse, all cats used both paws interchangeably. But for a more intricate task, male cats tended to use their left paws, and females used their right.

Knowing that my sample size of five cats was much too low, I thought I would test the researchers conclusions. I dangled a feather toy in front of Simon, and he just looked at me. Jack seemed interested, so I dangled the toy in front of him and he swatted with his left paw. I made a mental note. Again, left. Then left, left, right, right, right. This agreed with their findings: He used both paws interchangeably. Simon was now interested, and he performed similar to Jack. Daisy was next. When I dangled the feather toy in front of her, she almost exclusively used her left paw. This was contrary to the results of the research. I tried to tempt Abby with the toy, but by this time three other cats wanted to play, which did not please her, so she left the room. I did not test Baby as she was sleeping at the top of the cat tree.

Performing a more complex task - removing tuna from a jar - is where gender trends were apparent. Some of my cats are intolerant to fish, so this test was not going to happen with my crew.

Overall, my unscientific survey was inconclusive: Two males cats used both paws equally in a non-complex test, one female used her left paw almost exclusively, two females were not interested. I could test each cat at each task 100 times like the researchers did. I think not.


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So Many Cats, NYC Giving Them Away Free

Sometimes I stop by a local shelter to visit and play with the cats. Today there were a lot of kittens available. Cages were set up in the halls because there was no space in the cat rooms. Summer is kitten season, and all over the country shelters are overwhelmed.

The Animal Care and Control (AC&C) of New York City is attempting to keep from becoming overcrowded by giving away cats for free. Until Labor Day,(September 7) just choose a cat over one year old, and you will receive a kitty that is vaccinated, neutered or spayed, microchipped, a visit with a participating vet, and a "Welcome Home" goodie bag, all for no cost.

The AC&C's goal is to not euthanize any healthy animals this year because of space restrictions.

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