The MOST Important Question of All

Mickey was one of several pets in the house. There were two other cats, one dog, and a parrot. All of them, except the parrot, were rescue animals. They all liked each other and played well together. The cats did their own thing, slept and played when they wanted, and pretty much ignored the humans in the house. Of course, the dog was very excited and happy to be with the humans. The bird talked a lot whether anyone was paying attention to him or not.

It seemed to Mickey that the humans talked a lot too! They were always asking questions about each other. The mother would be asking the kids what they wanted to eat, have they cleaned their room, is their homework done, did they have clothes that needed to be washed, and a hundred others. The father would ask what was for dinner, did he have clean shirts, who was going to help him with some chores, had the kids fed the pets, etc.

The kids were even worse! They had hundreds of questions everyday it seemed like. They asked a lot about food, allowances, going places with friends, and so forth. They were ALWAYS asking about why they couldn't do something that their parents didn't want them doing. It all seemed so silly to Mickey!! He had only one question that he wanted answered.

Marion Lovato is the author of Sam, the Superkitty.  Her book describes an ordinary cat changing into a superhero to protect his family from things that go bump in the night.  Available on Amazon as a paperback or Kindle edition.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604588667

 

BIG Cats Are Beautiful. Should They Be Pets?

Throughout my years of living in Colorado and Nevada, I've heard and known of people keeping lions, tigers, jaguars, etc. for pets. Have never seen one of these "pets", but that's okay with me. As a very young animal, they can be adorable, cute, and downright funny.

But then they grow up!

You can take the cat out of the jungle, but you can't take the adorable out of the cat. Here are 30 big cats being adorable.

Big cats can act like house cats in many ways. One of the reasons why our love for cuddly little house cats extends to the largest members of the cat family is because of how similar big cats and small cats are.

Are you thinking now that I'm in favor of keeping a big cat as a pet? No, I'm not for several reasons. The first would be the cost of keeping a big animal as far as maintenance such as food and vet bills.

A lion can eat as much as 10 to 15 pounds of meat a day and so if you only (under) fed the lion 8 pounds of meat a day, it would be nearly $40 a day (at $5.00/lb) or $280 a week to feed that lion at minimum amount. That’s certainly a lot less than those two small cats in the picture.

Since trading exotic animals is regulated, there is a huge black market for them. They are often not transported properly, cared for properly, and they're sold off to the highest bidder regardless of that person’s ability to properly care for them. Right now there are more captive tigers than wild tigers. There is something definitely wrong with that! This cat is very lucky!!

Big cats are wild animals at heart. It is in their nature to travel, stalk, and hunt down their prey. If that opportunity is taken away, they can become very frustrated. A frustrated, big cat is not necessarily a good thing to have around! Add 500 pounds to this cat and you'll see what I mean.

Big cat cubs are adorable, cute, and cuddly and usually not very dangerous. However, when they're grown, their play is pretty rough because it's training for hunting. Sometimes they just don't know their own strength; it's best not to take a chance. This cat just thinks he's tough and scary.

Captivity of big cats causes them great stress which can potentially lead to psychosis. This is often exhibited through pacing and acts of aggression (even on trusted caretakers). Many big cat attacks that occur from aggression are born out of this frustration. If you have a big cat as a pet, you're not only living with a natural born killer; you're living with one that can literally go crazy on you. Think I'll stick with my house cats!!!!

Besides, they only think they're a big cat.

Marion Lovato is the author of Sam, the Superkitty.  Her book describes an ordinary cat changing into a superhero to protect his family from things that go bump in the night.  Available on Amazon as a paperback or Kindle edition.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604588667

Rules For the Cat (Established By the Cat)

When I was raising my two boys, there were house "rules". They were sometimes bent and other times down right broken! However, we all survived. Now I watch them set down the "rules" for their children and watch  THEIR frustration when things don't go according to plan. Paybacks are h---, aren't they? It occurred to me that we set "rules" for our pets, but that's a whole other story. Especially with cats!! So, let's explore how these "rules" work for our furry companions.

Can you tell that we have a problem already? Cat's are not allowed on the furniture. Guess they didn't get the memo.

Okay, so cats can be on the furniture. Just not on the counters.

Oh, I see it's just not when you're fixing food.

There's an exception to every rule, isn't there? Moving on.......the cat can go anywhere it wants? Oh, boy, we're in big trouble now!!!!!!

Well!!!!!!! Guess that kind of sums it up, doesn't it? Before I go, let's take a look at this 5:30 in the morning thing.

Now that we've established the rules for the cat, we can move on to other projects. (Something tells me this will be an ongoing thing. What do you think?)

Marion Lovato is the author of Sam, the Superkitty.  Her book describes an ordinary cat changing into a superhero to protect his family from things that go bump in the night.  Available on Amazon as a paperback or Kindle edition.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604588667

Black, Furry, Loveable. Are You Superstitious?

Monday was Black Cat Appreciation Day meant to raise awareness of dark-coated felines and encourage people around the United States to adopt them. It's also a chance to debunk myths that can have very real adoption consequences for black cats.. Some studies suggest 13% of American adults are superstitious when it comes to black cats — and that the perceived bad luck probably prevents them from adopting one.

Having more black cats on an adoption floor is a common scenario, however, because black coats are a dominant genetic trait. Out of all coats — black, gray, white, orange, brown, Calico and everything in between — black-furred cats make up about 33% of the shelter cat population. Remember, black is a color and not a breed.

Today is Be An Angel Day. Believe it or not, this is very hard for some cats to do. They can be so cuddly, affectionate, and loving, BUT then the another behavior can appear. Let's see what happens then.

Food:

Boxes:

Cuddle time:

Playing:

Cattitude:

I think you get the picture now. Pardon the pun! At any rate, cats will display many behaviors because:

And they do this quite well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Marion Lovato is the author of Sam, the Superkitty.  Her book describes an ordinary cat changing into a superhero to protect his family from things that go bump in the night.  Available on Amazon as a paperback or Kindle edition.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604588667

I Don't Always Play With Toys

(True story of my older cat. Glad he finally let me in on his secret!)

Kirby was rescued when he was just 5 months old. He was found wandering on a school playground and taken into the building. He was hungry, cold, and very scared. He was so cute that a human took him home to her house. He was loved, fed, and, best of all, there were two cats already there. He was so glad to see his own kind again. Both of the cats were girls and accepted him. They played with him and showed him a little pink tub that had toys in it. At first, he played with the little balls that would roll on the floor, but he soon grew tired of them.

No matter how many toys were put into the pink tub, the only one that Kirby would always play with was a catnip mouse. In fact, he played with it so much that he wore all the fur off of it. It was looking really bad! His human tried to find another one like it, but she couldn't. As Kirby grew older, he played with the mouse less and less. Now all he wanted to play with were empty boxes. That was so much fun! He could slip inside a box and wait until another cat walked by. Then he would jump out and the chase would be on!!

His human kept trying to find new toys for him. There were things with feathers dangling in the air, but that was too much work according to Kirby. He'd rather take a nap than chase a stupid feather. One day a red dot appeared on the carpet. That held his interest for a while, but it became too much effort to chase that dot. He never could catch it anyway! Other new toys came and went. They either broke or were ignored by Kirby. He decided to let his human in on his secret.

Marion Lovato is the author of Sam, the Superkitty.  Her book describes an ordinary cat changing into a superhero to protect his family from things that go bump in the night.  Available on Amazon as a paperback or Kindle edition.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604588667

RIP, Cecil

The killing of Cecil, the lion, just broke my heart. I know big-game hunting has been going on for years, but that doesn't make it right. He was a cherished "pet" for many people. Someone in a group that I belong to said, "Why is everybody so upset over a lion when there are homeless people to worry about, etc." That's not the point! Guess I'm what she calls an animal activist. And proud of it, by the way. I would much rather live in a world that looks like this. (Without the snow.)

 

Here are some more pictures of horses and cats.  Really cute videos!

Now that's a rare combination indeed! Click this to watch videos of birds who preen, wake up, and play with their best cat.

Dogs and cats don't get along? That's sometimes true. But watch this!

When you think of anxiety, you think it's a human condition. However, it also affects animals. Here is a heart-warming video of a dog and a cat showing the value of friendship. 

I guess I'm like this kitty. I just wish this world was happier. We can all contribute to that with one positive thought, one act of kindness at a time. Hope you enjoyed all the videos and pictures of animals interacting with each other. Please share your thoughts about Cecil. Till next week, thanks for reading. 

WHAT Do I Feed My Cat?

I've touched on this subject before. However, I've read new information which has caused me to rethink about how I'm feeding my own two cats. For years, it was only dry food and water for several reasons. The main reason is the fact that the older one wouldn't eat very much wet food; the younger one tried to bury it!!!!! Ended up throwing most of it away, so I stuck with the dry food. It also helps to keep their teeth clean.

We look at our cats peacefully sleeping on our laps or in their favorite spot and envision them as warm, cuddly, and affectionate. Biologically, they are actually lean, mean, killing machines because of their strong agile bodies with lightning reflexes, stealthy silent gait, razor sharp claws, long canine teeth, excellent night vision, highly attuned hearing and a superior sense of smell. We don't like to think of them that way, do we? They can bring so much joy to our lives.

Raw and live prey animal cat food diets are potentially very biologically appropriate. This can be very time-consuming and hard to do in your own home. Commercially prepared cat foods are heavy on the carbohydrates which cats DO NOT need. What's an owner to do?

Cats are carnivores which means they get their energy mainly from animal tissue. Commercial cat food does contain protein, but not all protein is created equal. Cats need a meat-based protein, not a protein from vegetables or cereals. Have you ever seen a cat stalk a vegetable? No, I didn't think so. A cat's natural diet does not contain a lot of carbohydrates, so they have a reduced ability to digest them. When you're choosing what to feed your cat, always remember to consider the quality of the ingredients and the sources of protein.