Catscapades

Tomorrow is Respect Your Cat Day. Yeah, I’ve never heard of it either. Like you, I would hope that cats are respected every day of every year, but there’s certainly nothing wrong with giving your cat some extra cuddles, a new toy or experience, and/or a greater dose of attention this week.

Here’s a site with some interesting ideas for showing your cat respect and there are some fascinating facts about cats.

https://www.holidaycalendar.io/holiday/respect-your-cat-day

Cats have interesting ways of showing fear, reacting to fear, and handling fear. It seems to me that some of this is universal among cats. They arch their back and puff up to appear larger than they are and growl to show how fierce they are. We laugh when we see a kitten take this posture, but that kitten isn’t laughing. He means business. Reach in with a hand to comfort him cautiously.

But what interests me this week is how cats handle their fear of strangers, for example, loud noises, and such—things like the sound of rain or hail, thunder, a car backfiring, or the constant roar of a lawnmower or blower. For five days in the last few weeks we had chain saws and a chipper and a stump grinding machine take over our yard to remove a large fallen oak. And I’m still impressed by how Olivia handled this.

When Olivia came to live with us at three months old, she was terrified of the trash trucks. If she was on her windowsill perch when they came rumbling down the street, she’d dive off of it and run into a safe room. Soon she became curious and she’d run back in to see what was going on outside her window. Now, when she hears them rumbling down the street, she runs to the window to watch them. She overcame her fear.

The tree removal noise was something different and it carried on for hours and hours. Her first instinct was to hide. Pretty soon she came out of solitude and began hanging out with me–close to me.

One day four people were walking past my office window into our backyard, hauling equipment, tools, and large loads of wood back and forth. Olivia wasn’t having it. She spends a lot of time on my desk watching the birds out the window, but the intruding workers stopped all that, but only for minutes.

Soon she was jumping up onto my desk to watch them, and that made me wonder, is she just an amazing cat that figures out ways to take care of herself—overcome her fears, or is it because she is an only cat now? There are no other cats for her to feed off of. She feeds off us instead. It’s been a very interesting process to witness, seeing a probably formerly feral cat blossom into such a curious and trusting little being.

Lily, our little tabby–who sadly crossed the rainbow bridge much to soon, had no problem with the noisy trash trucks. She even got used to the vacuum cleaner (at a distance), but thunder scared her to the core.

Max was afraid of everything. Sophie didn’t show fear—she was too gracious, but she had a hiding place we never did find and that’s where she’d go when there was anything in the atmosphere, a stranger in the house, a noise she didn’t understand. And there she’d stay until the “danger” was over.

Max hid from everything under the blankets on my bed.

What is your cat afraid of and how does she handle it?

Saint Gertrude of Nivelles was, among many other things, Patron Saint of Cat. Since her story is a long one and detailed and fascinating, I’m offering a link to it.

Enjoy: https://nationaltoday.com/saint-gertrude-of-nivelles-day/

The first time I saw a flower arrangement depicting a cat was at a Cat Writers Association conference. I just thought that was the dearest thing and so creative.

Since then I’ve seen other cat-related flower arrangement. Talk about something that will make you smile.

In case you want to create one or ask your favorite florist to do so, here are dozens of ideas. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/526358275168970353/

It’s also national catio day–Do you have a catio for your cat?

This is an interesting question. Of course when we love a cat, we want to think she is happy, contented, and feels safe in our home and in our presence. But how can you tell when your cat is happy? As they say, “Cats can’t laugh,” but they can purr.

Now, not all purring is a sign of happiness. Cats also purr when they’re in distress. They purr in order to comfort themselves. But seasoned cat owners and those who pay close attention know when their cat’s purr is a happy purr.

A cat at play certainly appears to be happy. The sillier Olivia gets, the happier she seems. When your cat is on your lap making biscuits and purring—oh yes, that’s a happy cat. Sometimes just a look your cat gives you, like from upside down while lying on her back on the floor—seems like a happy and contented cat.

Here’s a fun article outlining ways to tell if your cat is happy or not. Enjoy: https://curiositytrained.com/can-cats-laugh/

Many people do what they can to help promote the characteristics of cats because they believe that to know a cat is to love a cat. And the more people who love a cat, the fewer cats are left homeless.

I write to help cats—to promote cats and kittens to people who already love cats, of course, but also to help those who have never known a cat to take another look at them—give them a chance to make an impression. I used to write nonfiction—articles for magazines—and I often wrote about various ways to help or care for cats. Now I write cozy mysteries with cats, showing what cats are capable of (with a little exaggeration here and there—well, it is fiction.) Through my writing I demonstrate the ways of the cat–the allure, the intrigue, the charm.

The internet has become a huge showcase for cats—showing off the variety of cat-types, which celebrities have cats, what cats accomplish during their nine-lives, cute things they do, important things they do, how fun being with a cat can be, how much comfort a cat can provide, the interesting things you can do with a cat.

Science is more interested in cats than ever before, so we have the opportunity to learn more about our cats—why they do what they do, what makes them tick and purr and show emotion.

People have stepped up in many ways to publicly help the image of the cat which, I dare say, has resulted in more cats being adopted. Manufacturers design household items, clothing (shoes, socks, sweaters, scarves, mittens…), jewelry and more depicting cats or with cat motif. And calendars. There are many cat calendars—I was given two this year and bought another few. But the one I think that will make the biggest splash this year is the Australian, firemen calendar. Surely you’ve heard about this calendar by now. A dozen hot firemen are posing with kittens. Their goal, to find homes for 200 cats and kittens that need care and love.

And I believe that all of this is turning more people into cat people, only along with this eagerness to know cats and to have cats there needs to be education so that we continue moving in the direction of rescuing those that are here already, needing a home, spaying/neutering cats before they bring more cats into the world, keeping them safe indoors, giving them plenty of enrichment, and making sure they regularly see their veterinarian.