Catscapades

Today is National Tortie Cat Day (or Tortoisehell Cat Appreciation Day). If you’ve ever had a tortie, you’re probably celebrating in your heart. I am.

What is a tortie (or tortoiseshell) cat? They sort of look like a calico without the white and the colors (black, grey, brown and a light or dark shade of orange) are not organized over the fur, but mixed all together forming a mottled look—dappled, speckled.

Some say torties are born with attitude—torti-tude. Those I’ve known had little minds of their own. Some torties are a bit sassy at times, but mostly, in my experience, they have a sweetness that is quite intriguing—and they’re smart. In my experience torties are smarter than the average cat and they know how to get what they want.

Fun facts: One in every 3,000 torties is a male.

Of course, tortoisehell is not a breed, but a color found in many breeds of cats

I mentioned torti-tude—torties can be feisty, some say unpredictable and certainly regal. I would describe our tortie, Sophie–who was with us for 18 years, as regal, sweet, and healthy. She never had a sick day in her long life, until her kidneys started to fail at age 18.

If you have a tortie, this is the day to lavish all of her favorite things on her. If she’s like most, she isn’t finicky, but she does have her likes and dislikes. One thing she probably adores is her brand of affection. It has been my experience that a tortie isn’t your typical cuddle cat. She makes the rules when it comes to affection. Yes, this cat is worth celebrating. (I miss you, Sophie.)

Do you have friends who still offer their cats the freedom of the out of doors? I imagine you have neighbors who do. I now have six neighborhood cats visiting my yard pretty much on a daily basis. Two coming from one neighbor, one each from two other neighbors and two cats that I don’t know where they belong.

They’re all beautiful, well-cared-for cats. That, I’m glad to see, and Olivia and I enjoy seeing cats in the yard. So far, they’re mannerly and fun to watch. But I sure do worry about their safety, as I’m sure you do about the cats roaming free in your neighborhood.

There seems to be no middle ground in the controversy between total indoor cats and cats being allowed to roam. Some cat people choose to keep their cats inside while others let their cats roam. One of my friends says, “Keep a cat indoors? I couldn’t do that to a cat.” Of course, countless cat owners today, including me, say quite the opposite, “Allow a cat to roam free? I couldn’t do that to a cat.”

I grew up with the open-door-policy where my cats were concerned. I’ve had numerous cats over the years which I allowed out if they wanted to go out—they all did. And too many of them never came back. Some came back with injuries.

Then I bought a purebred Persian and vowed to keep her inside. I did and things went swimmingly. I learned that you can train a cat to be happy as a housecat. I mean, if they never know anything different and if they have everything they need inside, it’s easy to keep them safe and happy.

So I’ve been a believer in keeping cats inside for the last thirty-five years and this commitment has served me and all of the cats I’ve rescued since very well.

I’ve since learned that indoor cats is a thing. Everyone is doing it and just look at all the help and support we’re getting for this “movement.” Cat organizations and experts everywhere support this decision. Major companies are creating amazing things to keep indoor cats active and entertained and healthy. There are podcasts and videos and conferences and professionals to show us how to keep our cats happy and healthy indoors—by giving the cats lots of attention and  using window perches, climbing apparatus and places to claw, chew, play, hide. You can even build or purchase simple or elaborate outdoor tunnels and other enclosures for your cat to enjoy the out of doors in safety.

There will probably never be a total winner in the debate between keeping a cat indoors or allowing them total freedom, but there are statistics that show which decision is actually healthier for your cat. Can you guess which one it is?

Here are a few statistics I found. The lifespan of an outdoor cat is as much as 10-12 years shorter than that of an indoor cat. Another study shows that outdoor cats live an average of 2-5 years where an indoor cat lives an average of 10-20 years. The reasons are many—there is a long list of dangers for cats out of doors—disease, parasites, traffic, wild animals, toxins and poisons used in neighbors’ yards or stored in an open shed or garage. Cats can be closed in someplace, picked up by someone who thinks it’s a stray or attacked by other cats or even humans.

Indoors or outdoors, it’s a choice. Just make sure you’re making the right choice for your cat.

It’s inevitable that you will leave your cat(s) home alone at some point for varying amounts of time. How does your cat react to this? Are her reactions different when you’ve left her for a quick grocery store run than when you go away for a day or longer? If you have more than one cat, they probably all act differently when you return.

I’ve had cats appear to be sulking when I’d return home after an inexcusably long absence—you know, like an hour or a day. Some of my cats have completely dissed me when I’d return. I remember Katy (my Himalayan) coming into the room when I’d return, but she wouldn’t be social. She’d stare at me—glare at me—from across the room until she felt I’d been punished enough, then she’d show me some love.

Winfield, (our white odd-eye cat) would usually greet us when we returned from anywhere no matter how long we’d been gone, especially if we brought back a ripe cantaloupe. I always knew, when I came home with groceries, whether or not I’d picked a good cantaloupe. If Winfield greeted me in the kitchen, sniffing the air, I knew it was a good one. He loved cantaloupe and he knew how to choose them.

Do you tell your cat goodbye when you leave? I always do. I want to know where Olivia is when I leave—to make sure she hasn’t been closed into a room or a closet (it has happened). And I tell her we’re leaving and that we will be back. I’ve noticed that the longer we’ve been gone, the less cordial Olivia’s greeting when we return. I think many of you have experienced that. It’s kind of a cat thing. Give that cat time, however, and she’ll be all over you, mapping out where you’ve been with her keen sniffing mechanism and letting you know how much she missed you—or is the snuggling just a way to make sure her scent is all over you in case you happen to leave again?

April 6—tomorrow—is National Siamese Cat Day. If you’re like most long-time cat people, you’ve either had a Siamese cat or knew one well. My grandmother had Siamese cats as I grew up. Hers were the applehead or traditional seal point or classic Siamese. I adopted (rescued) a cat once that had the Siamese markings. In fact Siamese cats were quite popular and you saw a lot of them around, but then they all looked pretty much the same—cream-colored fur with dark brown points. The body style was similar, too.

Today there are many styles of Siamese cats, the applehead, classic, wedge head and they come in a wide variety of colors and shades. I believe the original was called seal point. Now we have variations of the original dark brown points—chocolate, for example. There’s also blue point, lilac point, flame point and tortie point as well as lynx point. I saw a Siamese online that’s known as a tortie-lynx point.

Whatever style Siamese that you love, today is the day to celebrate him or her.