Understanding Cats

Do cats get jealous? Some experts think they do, while others aren't so sure. It's hard to know for sure because cats can't tell us how they feel. But, what we do know is that cats can have strong negative reactions to changes in their environment, such as a new cat in the house or the introduction of unfamiliar people (adults and babies). This means we need to help out cat … [Read more...] about Do Cats Get Jealous? How to Tame the Green-Eyed Monster

Cats communicate in many ways including through body language, and when cats arch their backs it instantly attracts attention. While an arched back is commonly associated with fear and aggression, we’ll explore other reasons that cats arch their backs from stretching, excitement, playfulness, establishing territorial boundaries or in response to pain or injury. 1. Cats … [Read more...] about 8 Reasons Why Cats Arch Their Backs

What does it mean when your cat wags or swishes its tail? One of the more subtle cat communications are the ones cats give through their tail movements. You will need to connect a swishing tail with other physical signs of communication to make sure you understand what your cat is trying to say. Cat tail wagging can mean anything from “get away from me” to “I’m scared” or “I’m … [Read more...] about Why Do Cats Wag Their Tails?

Have you ever come home to find that your cat has left you a half-eaten mouse, bird or other dead animal which is now lying on your kitchen floor? Or worse, they’ve dragged this critter into your bedroom, and left their ‘gift’ at the end of your bed.  Our cat Polly (a stunning grey calico cat) was an outdoor cat and a prolific hunter who would go on adventures and not … [Read more...] about Why Do Cats Bring You Dead Animals as Gifts?

Have you ever glanced up from reading a book and found your cat staring at you from across the room? There may be other times when you've observed your cat staring at a wall or with their head angled upwards, gazing intently at the ceiling. There are many reasons why cats stare, so let's explore this feline behaviour. What does it mean when your cat stares at you? So … [Read more...] about Why Does My Cat Stare at Me?

Does your cat lick you? Being licked by your cat is a bitter-sweet experience. On the one paw, it’s nice to think the cat loves you, but on the other it’s uncomfortable. . . to say the least! Indeed, there’s a deal of difference between the sandpaper roughness of a cat’s tongue and the velvet smoothness of her coat. Ironic then that it’s her tongue that keeps the coat silky, … [Read more...] about Reasons Why Cats Lick You

Stupid question! All cats are smarter than we are. . . otherwise we’d be the ones at home all day on the sofa. OK, seriously, let’s start again. How smart is your cat? How Smart is Smart? When trying to work out how clever cats are, straight away we hit a problem. Whilst our canine cousins are eager to please and will problem solve to earn a reward, cats are cannier … [Read more...] about How Smart is Your Cat?

Cats are carnivores, right, so why do they eat grass? We all know cats like to be contrary, but do they just eat grass to confound us, or is there a reason for their compulsion to chow down on greens? No-one truly knows the answer, but that doesn’t stop us having an educated guess at why grass can look greener than cat biscuits. Here are six pawsible reasons cats … [Read more...] about Why do Cats Eat Grass?

You see a cat in the corner of the yard. She is hunched up, head lowered, whiskers flat against her muzzle, looking directly at you with dilated pupils. You want to pet her, but then you notice the tip of her tail is swishing from side to side. What should your next move be? Should you go ahead and pet her, or is it best to back off? If you read her body language right, … [Read more...] about How To Read Your Cat’s Body Language

Whether your cat’s tail is long, skinny and jet black or short, fluffy and ginger, it’s an amazing and fascinating thing. Not just for tickling your nose as part of her morning wake up call, it’s made up of lots of small bones (about 10% of the total amount of bones in her entire body), along with muscles, nerves and ligaments that all help to make it so fantastically mobile … [Read more...] about Tail Talk – Your Cat’s Tail and Why it’s Important