Evidently, veterinarians designated National Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day to encourage people to bring in their cats for evaluation a couple of times a year.

Certainly we have questions for our cats—“Why do you do that?” “What do you want?” “What are you thinking?” Do you suppose our cats have similar questions for us? Cats are inquisitive. Sometimes they stare at us as if they are trying to figure us out. So what questions do you think your cat would ask you?

• Why are you disturbing my nap?
• What are you eating? Can I have some?
• What did you bring me?
• What’s in that box—or on the other side of the door?
• Where have you been—why do you leave me sometimes?
• Why are you doing that instead of paying attention to me?
• Why do you bring strangers in this house?
• Why do you keep moving my toys?

Here’s a fun site explaining more about cats and suggesting additional questions your cat might want to ask. http://www.theanimalstellme.com/blog/answer-your-cats-question-day

Do let us know if you get any answers from your kitty.

There are many types of human-cat relationships. While some of us pamper our cats and even personify them, others let their cats be cats and roam to their heart’s content. Most household cats are a blend of both. They have the comfort of a home when they want to curl up in a cozy bed and dine on gourmet cat food and they also have the freedom of the out-of-doors where they can express their wild side.

I’ve had inside-outside cats. After one found gopher poison and one was probably taken by a coyote, I changed my ways. All of my cats for the last twenty years have been indoor cats. Well, except for Dinah.

We adopted Dinah when she was almost full grown. While she loved being inside (that’s her sitting on the dummy’s lap), she absolutely had to have time outdoors. Dinah never ever, to my knowledge, used a litter box. She held herself until someone was awake or came home to let her out. She’d even go out in the rain to do her business. She’d complain, as if telling us to make the rain stop, but she’d go out lickety split, do her job and race back in through the door, which we always held open for her.

Katy, our Himalayan, had a fascination with the out-of-doors as she got older. It could have been simply that she wanted to be with me when I was gardening. Eventually, I started letting her out when I was in the yard to watch her. She didn’t go anywhere. All she wanted was to lay in a sunny spot and watch me work—maybe chase a butterfly now and then. I always left a door open in case something frightened her. I knew that the house was her safe zone and I wanted it available to her.

I wonder what Lily would do if she were allowed outside. She has always lived indoors and

Peeek-a-Boo

she doesn’t appear to be missing anything—longing for anything. If she had occasion to go out, she’d probably rush back inside as soon as she realized there is no kitchen out there. Her life revolves around food and water. If she were forced outside, I could see her scouting around to find where other outside cats (and maybe dogs) are fed. She’d learn their feeding schedule and start standing in line with them to be fed. I could see her visiting the Maine coon next door at meal time, then trotting across the street where a couple of outdoor cats are fed. She’d probably soon discover neighbors with a heart for a pretty tabby who sat sweetly on their porch looking hungry.

Have you ever had a cat show up regularly at your door for a meal? Some years ago, we started seeing a big yellow cat in our yard. Eventually, we offered him lunch and he’d come back again and again. Finally he showed up with a sticky note on his head that said, “I belong to Tyler, don’t feed me.”

Coming around to see what all the fuss is about

I’ve told you about my mother’s cat, Smokey. He’s my model for Rags, the star of my Klepto Cat Mystery series. Well, he’s one cat who, even as a kitten, could not be convinced to stay inside. He loves the comfort of the home, but he also has to explore the great outdoors. It’s in his DNA.

About five years ago, another cat started showing up at my mother’s back door at meal time. He had a collar and tag, so we found out his name is Gibbs and he lives in the neighborhood. When we talked to his owner, we learned that Mama isn’t the only one who feeds this cat. He’s trim—almost to the point of being too thin, despite the fact that he eats every day at my mother’s house and at least three or four other homes on the block. I suppose his family tried to keep him inside, too.

Do you have inside cats? Outside cats? A mix of both? Or is yours an inside/outside kitty? How’s it working out for you? Have you ever changed the ways of an outside cat—brought him inside to live? Was it a difficult transition? When we adopted Sophie, she was ten-weeks old. She’d been living with other cats in an overgrowth of ice plant. One day,  a kind lady, who was concerned about her, trapped her and took her to the nearest veterinarian. Despite the fact that she was frightened and seemed a little wild, we learned about her, visited her, and brought her home. We hoped to acclimate her to the indoors. She must have been so thankful to be saved from the elements as she’s never once tried to go back outside. She’s been a purrfect indoor cat. So I guess you can change a cat’s stripes.

Yesterday we talked about cat color. Today, I’d like to focus on the tabby. As I said in our last post, tabby cats are the striped or swirly-patterned ones.

There’s the classic tabby. This cat has a blotched swirly pattern all over. Some say the fur pattern resembles a marble cake.

A mackerel tabby is striped. This is the cat most would call a tiger cat.

The spotted tabby has spots instead of stripes or swirls.

The ticked tabby has tabby markings on the face (thin black lines around the eyes and creating an M on the forehead). But this tabby’s coat is more like an Abyssinian.

The patched tabby is also known as a tortie tabby or a torbie. This cat’s fur typically displays patches of red and brown.

Tabbies are not just alley cats—the tabby coat is recognized in many cat breeds today, including the Persian, Maine coon, manx, Scottish fold, rex, American curl and many “pointed” cats. That is cats with points such as the ragdoll, colorpoint shorthair. Their points are considered lynx points.

Tabby cats come in many colors and shades–from grays and black to browns and tans, silver, beige, cream and various shades of red.

Some of our more famous tabby cats were Garfield, Morris (of 9-Lives fame), and Dewey (the library cat)—all red tabbies. There were also Thomasina of Disney fame and Monty, the tabby in Stuart Little.

I’ll bet you can name scads more tabby cats you’ve known and loved. Now you can also identify the type of tabby.

What color is your cat? You may think you know—but you could be wrong.

Do you know the most common cat colors? You might think it’s black because you see a lot of black cats in your neighborhood and at local shelters. Or you notice more bi-color cats. Did you know there are only a handful of common cat colors or styles of color for cats? They are: tabbies, solids and smokes, torties, patched tabbies and calicos, pointed cats, and cats with white markings (also known as bi-color cats).

Tabby cats (or tiger cats) are striped. Evidently all tabbies have an M on their forehead. The tabby patterns are thought to be the original color of domesticated cats.

There are four different tabby patterns, mackerel, classic (or blotched), spotted, and ticked (also known as an Abyssinian tabby). But tabbies come in different colors, brown, red, cream, silver, and blue/gray.

Solid or smoke cats are the same color all over—black, blue (gray), white. When the roots of the cat’s fur is white, the color is known as smoke. There are no solid red or cream cats.

Smokey, AKA the Klepto Cat

This is something I didn’t know—maybe you didn’t either. A cat with just white paws is “mitted.” The white spot on a cat’s chest is called a “locket.” A cat with white belly spots has
“buttons.” A “bi-color” is pretty much half white. Ever heard of a “van”? This cat is white with a color patch on the head and tail. A “harlequin” is mostly white with several large patches of color.

What is a “jellicle cat”? A black and white cat. And we all know that a “tuxedo cat” is black and white and looks like he’s wearing a tuxedo.

When it comes to torties and calicos, the

Daisy

descriptions become more complex. Here’s a link to learn more about these interesting color designations. http://www.fanciers.com/other-faqs/colors.html

Of course there is also the pointed (Siamese) pattern. This means dark “points” on the

cat’s face, paws, and tail. You see points in the Siamese, Himalayan, and some rag dolls and also non-breed cats. The colors vary from dark brown (“seal point”) to reds, grays (blues) and include tabby points and tortie points.

Katie

This, I thought was fascinating—pointed cats always have blue eyes. White cats and cats with a lot of white markings can have blue, green, gold, copper or odd-eyes (one blue and one green or gold eye). The most common eye color for cats is greenish-yellow to gold.

Now, go take a close look at your cat and see if you can more accurately determine her color. Is she really black or is she smoke? I was told that Lily is a dilute tabby, but this report says that only the blue patched torbies or tabbies are consider dilute tabbies. Now I’m not sure of Lily’s color.

I have a friend who says, “I don’t know what color Lily is.” She says that every picture I send of Lily makes Lily look a different color.

Did this report change your mind about your cat’s color?