BREAKING NEWS: Cats are more aware of what’s happening around them than we realize.
A first of its kind study revealed that our kitty companions, who have the reputation for ignoring us, have actually been eavesdropping on us.
“I want people to know the truth. Felines do not appear to listen to people’s conversations, but as a matter of fact, they do,” lead researcher Saho Takagi said to The Asahi Shimbun.
New Research
Takagi’s research shows cats not only know their own names, they recognize the names of other cats in their home, and even their owner’s names. The study was published in the April 2022 issue of Scientific Reports.
“This research has shown that cats naturally learn the names of other individuals they live with through communication with humans. This is only possible if cats pay attention to human conversations, even when people are not speaking to them.”
Scientists selected 25 cats from homes with three or more cats. They placed the cats in front of a monitor and let them hear human voices calling the names of other felines they live with. Photos of the named cats, as well as those of unknown cats were then displayed on a monitor to examine the cats’ reaction.
When the name didn’t match the photo, the test kitties’ gaze would linger an average of a second longer on the image. As do humans, animals react to unexpected situations by taking more time to evaluate the information. The researchers believe that by staring at the incongruent photo longer, the test kitty is confused and is trying to better understand the situation.
Cats may appear to ignore you, but they pay attention to our conversations enough to know the names of companion cats (Shutterstock)
The survey also investigated whether kitties can distinguish various human family members. As with cat names, test cats tended to stare longer at the facial images of unnamed people.
Cat cafes
Researchers tried the same experiments on cats who lived in cat cafes, but they didn’t appear to know the names of fellow feline residents or their human caretakers. The team believed it was because so many cats live in the cafes that the names are used less frequently.
Bottom line: Fluffy may appear to be lost in thought, but he might more aware than you realize.
July is Lost Pet Prevention Month. Sometimes kitty escape just happens. Here are some myths about lost cats that may help you get your cat back.
July is Lost Pet Prevention Month. Losing a pet is something no one wants to thinks about, but it can happen to anyone. The cat slips past the door when you bring in the groceries or when someone leaves the door ajar.
Cat owners make a number of assumptions about their pets becoming lost, and unfortunately, many of them are wrong, which could have tragic consequences.
Finding Your Lost Cat has been award the Certificate of Excellence from the Cat Writers’ Association, and is nominated for the coveted Muse Medallion.
Dusty Rainbolt, author of the recently-released award-winning book, Finding Your Lost Cat: The Practical Cat-Specific Guide for Your Happy Reunion, wants cat owners to have a better understanding of the lost cat dilemma.
Statistics from the American Humane Association, indicate that one in three pets will go missing at some point in their lives. According to Rainbolt, an in-the-trenches cat rescuer and expert in feline health and behavior, lost cat recovery statistics are depressing.
Scientific research conducted out of Ohio State University shows that cats are much less likely to be safely returned than dogs.
“That’s because dog and cat owners, as well as bystanders on the street, approach a missing cat differently,” Rainbolt says. “Because of the come-and-go nature of the cat, most owners don’t realize they’re missing until they’ve been gone for days, maybe even a week. By that time, animal shelters may have either euthanized the kitty or signed him over to a rescue group for adoption.”
Should a cat accidentally escape, Rainbolt said the owner should start to search immediately. “Call animal control right away. Go to the shelter and look at the cats in person. Check back frequently.”
Lost cat signs are the most effective thing a cat owner can do to get their cat back, Rainbolt says. “Make them large enough to read from a distance.
According to Rainbolt, here are four common myths about lost cats:
IF MY CAT GETS LOST, HIS MICROCHIP WILL RETURN HIM.
Not necessarily. “A microchip does have the ability to return a lost pet to his owner,” Rainbolt says. “However, for that to happen, the animal has to be caught and scanned by a shelter, rescue group or veterinarian with a microchip scanner. Even then it’s not a guarantee. The owner contact information must be current for the rescuer to be able to contact you. If you haven’t notified the database company about your new cell phone number, work number or email address, the microchip won’t help at all.” As soon as you have you have new contact information, notify the microchip database. Once a year, verify your contact information is accurate.
“If you don’t know who runs the database your cat (or dog) appears on, take the pet to the vet or the animal shelter and ask them to scan for the chip. They can give you the contact number for the company,” she says.
PUT YOUR CAT’S USED CAT LITTER IN YOUR YARD SO HE CAN FIND HIS WAY HOME.
This myth is all over the internet. It’s a classic example of, “It seemed like a good idea at the time.” However, cat urine contains territorial pheromones that communicates with other cats which territory belongs to whom. The scent of pheromones in soiled litter may attract the aggressive tomcat from down the street, forcing Fluffy from his hiding spot near home and chase him farther away.
A LOST CAT CAN TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF.
That seems logical. A healthy kitty should be able to eat mice. Unfortunately, if Fluffy didn’t learn to hunt and kill from his mother, he likely won’t be able to kill enough prey to survive on.
YOU USE THE SAME TECHNIQUES TO FIND BOTH DOGS AND CATS.
“Cats are not little dogs physically or behaviorally. Techniques that successfully recover lost dogs won’t work for kitties because cats and dogs respond differently to frightening situations and strange people,” Rainbolt says. Unlike dogs, cats don’t usually travel great distances; unless something extraordinary happened, they usually stay within three or four houses away from their own hour. They seldom ask people for help. Instead, they often hide, too afraid to respond even when the owner calls for him.
While there are dozens of books about lost pets, Rainbolt combines scientific research and her intimate knowledge of cat behavior to help determine which cat-specific strategies work for your situation and how to implement them most effectively. In addition to her own vast experience, she teams up with the country’s leading missing pet locators (pet detectives), as well as advertising specialists and cat parents who found their feline friends after months and even years. Finding Your Lost Cat’s advice is science-based, but Rainbolt’s light touch and trademark humor makes this difficult topic easier to digest.
Rainbolt has long been an advocate for cats in trouble. Over the past 35 years,she has rescued and rehomed over 2500 homeless cats and kittens. Because of her work with displaced kitties, she was inspired to write, Finding Your Lost Cat.
Dusty Rainbolt is an award-winning cat behavior author, veterinary journalist, feline behavior consultant and Fear Free Certified® Professional. She is the author of five feline health and behavior books, including the acclaimed Cat Scene Investigator™: Solving Your Cat’s Litter Box Mystery, Finding Your Lost Cat, Kittens for Dummies and thousands of articles and columns. Over the years, she has successfully hand-raised over 1500 surviving orphan kittens, and rescued and rehomed more than 2500 homeless cats and kittens. She’s the past president of the Cat Writers’ Association, three-time recipient of the Friskies Writer of the Year, and two-time recipient of the prestigious Cornell Feline Health Center Veterinary Issues Award. Her books, columns and articles have been honored with more than 65 writing awards.
Finding Your Lost Cat: The Practical Cat-Specific Guide for Your Happy Reunion is available in trade paperback and ebook Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Ingram and other major book distributors. The suggested retail prices are paperback/$12.99 and ebook/$6.99.
The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) Strongly Opposes Declawing of Cats
Hillsborough, NJ (September 6, 2017) – The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) has revised its 2015 position statement on declawing cats to “strongly oppose declawing (onychectomy) as an elective procedure.”
Scratching is a normal feline behavior. It is the obligation of veterinarians to provide cat owners with education on normal scratching behaviors and options for cats to exhibit appropriate scratching behavior in the home. The AAFP’s position stresses the need for veterinary teams to educate cat caregivers as many are unaware that declawing is a surgical amputation of the third phalanx (or ‘toe bone’).
This is exciting. It is believed that most cats suffer from pain, not only from bone fragments left behind after the amputation, but also phantom pains.
The AAFP has been the leader in the world of feline medicine and veterinary care. It is appropriate that our organization has taken the lead with this strong position statement opposing the declawing of cats,” states Dr. Marcus Brown, Chair of the AAFP’s Welfare Committee.
The AAFP supports a path of change that focuses on educating veterinary teams and cat caregivers in an effort to help them learn and understand in order to make a future impact that sees lasting results. Veterinary teams will be supplied with a toolkit of resources to assist them in educating cat caregivers about why cats have claws, why cats scratch inanimate objects, best practices for living alongside a cat with claws, ideal scratching surfaces, training cats to scratch appropriately, and troubleshooting inappropriate scratching in the home.
Dr. Nancy Suska, co-author of the statement, explains, “With proper client education from the initial veterinary visit and onward, our clients will be able to provide their kittens and cats with the essential means to exhibit this natural feline function. The American Association of Feline Practitioners has produced many resources, for both owner and veterinary team, to educate about natural feline scratching behavior and alternatives to declawing.”
We never considered subjecting Sam to declaw surgery. He never destroyed furniture because he had plenty of scratching posts. Photo by Weems S. Hutto.
New Study Shows Declaw Surgery Contributes to Behavior Problems
In the past, shelters and rescue groups have insisted that a larger percentage of declawed cats were surrendered for aggression and inappropriate elimination issues than kitties with intact toes. The pro declaw forces always downplayed the assertion with, “Show the scientific proof.” Of course, that was impossible. No scientific proof existed because the research hadn’t been done. Thanks to a new study, led by Nicole K. Martell-Moran, DVM, MPH, we now have that proof.
Martell-Moran’s just-released study now supports those claims that declawed cats are at greater risk of developing deal-breaker behavior problems than cats with natural paws. Extrapolating from there, cats with biting and elimination problems are much higher risk of being surrendered to shelters than well-behaved cats.
The study, “Pain and adverse behavior in declawed cats,”was published online in May in the online Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. Until now, no studies that incorporated modern pain assessment of declawed cats could be found in a PubMed search.
This study’s purpose was to determine if there was any association between declaw surgery and back pain, as well as unwanted new behaviors such as inappropriate elimination, biting, aggression, excessive grooming. Martell-Moran also wanted to determine if pain-causing bone fragments left behind after the surgery were associated with those behavior issues. The research shows that the surgery has the unintended consequence of causing potentially more serious behavior problems. The study evaluated 274 cats—half declawed and half intact, 33 of whom were four-paw declaw.
It concluded there was a clear association between declawing and long-lasting and painful side effects of the surgery. Also the “the prevalence of P3 fragments in declawed cats was excessive and surprising.”
Onychectomy, the technical term for declawing, is commonly performed in the United States and Canada to prevent cats from scratching and destroying furniture.
Four X-rays of forelimb and paw of four cats in the study. The arrows indicate fragments left behind after declaw surgery. The entire P3 has been removed in projection (a); <25% of the distal phalanx remains in (b); while >25% percent remains in (c); and only the tip of the distal phalanx has been removed (d) Photo courtesy of Nicole Martell-Moran.
Declaw surgeries are usually performed by using either guillotine cutters, dissection by scalpel or laser. Dr. Martell-Moran tried to determine the method used on each study cat, but that information was not always available. In those cases where she could determine the technique, there were some interesting revelations. She says all three techniques have the potential to leave behind painful bone fragments, but the guillotine most frequently left larger bone fragments that would regrow claw. This is not a painless process. Laser surgery and scalpel dissection occasionally left smaller and fewer fragments, but there is no guarantee the kitty still won’t suffer painful side effects.
Pain and Behavior Problems May Take Years to Appear
Back pain, inappropriate elimination, biting, aggression, and/or excessive grooming occurred more often in cats who had bone fragments, but declawed cats without the bone fragments were still more likely to pee outside the box and bite than intact kitties.
Because of the floating bone shards, cats change the way they walk. “If you wear high heels, it’s going to change the way you walk and your back is eventually going to hurt,” Dr. Martell-Moran said. She added back pain causes litter box problems because of the position the cat must assume to eliminate. “In cats, defecating and urinating require different postures.” So the back pain may cause problems with peeing or pooping or both functions. Back and pain issue may appear years after the cat was declawed. (If you’re having litter box problems, please take a look at Cat Scene Investigator: Solve Your Cat’s Litter Box Mystery (Stupid Gravity Press.)
Another point not mentioned in her study, is the phantom pain factor. In human medicine, the 2002 study of human amputees, “Phantom Pain and Risk” led by Pieter U Dijkstra, PhD, found that phantom limb pain is “suffered by around seventy percent regardless the cause of amputation.”
Identifying and Managing Declaw Pain
Dr. Martell-Moran says not every single cat is going to have problems, but a vast majority of cats (likely 70 to 80 percent) suffer some pain.
“People just don’t know when they’re cats are in pain,” she said. “Look for changes in behavior such as suddenly not using the litter box or not wanting to be touched on the back. Sometime owners can tell by running their hand down the back. If cat turns around suddenly, he may be saying, “Hey, that hurts.”
Declaw surgery removes the distal bone of the toes. Photo courtesy of Nicole Martell-Moran.
If you suspect your declawed cat is painful, Dr. M-M suggests “getting X-rays of the feet to see if there are bone fragments.” If fragments are found, she said, “Go back and have the fragment removed.” She also suggested talking to a cat-friendly vet and investigating medical pain management.
Bottom line, Dr. Martell-Moran’s “study showed persistent pain and discomfort following declaw surgery is an important risk factor for behavioral changes” (i.e. housesoiling, aggression, biting.)
How do you feel about declawing cats? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below the bio.
About Dusty Rainbolt
Author Dusty Rainbolt is an award-winning veterinary journalist according to her answering machine. She is an associate certified cat behavior consultant and member of International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, as well as past president of the Cat Writers’ Association. Her books, columns, reviews and articles have been honored with more than 50 writing awards including three-time recipient of Friskies Writer of the Year. Her just-released award-winning cat behavior book, Cat Scene Investigator: Solve Your Cat’s Litter Box Mystery, is the consummate guide for dealing with a cat who sidesteps his/her appointed toilet. CSI, which provides science-based methods for determining the medical or behavioral causes of feline inappropriate elimination, teaches cat parents to view their cat’s litter box avoidance through the eyes of a detective to determine the cause and, ultimately, the remedy.
George dreads those late dinners after Daylight Savings Time makes us spring forward.
Oh joy. It’s spring. That means allergy season is upon us. Worse still, the second Sunday in March (this Sunday morning) prompts us mindless lemmings to “spring forward” into Daylight Savings Time. A few hours later my alarm clock will roust me from my bed kicking and screaming. It’s like having jet lag without the benefit of a trip. I guess you can tell I’m not a fan of the twice a year time change.
Daylight Savings Time is Hazardous to Your Health
While most of us love that extra hour of sleep we gain when the clocks fall back in November, our bodies never quite make the adjustment to the springtime sleep deprivation jump.
Research shows the time change may actually create health problems. According to a 2014 study published in the medical journal Open Heart, on the Monday following the change to Daylight Savings Time, the number of heart attacks increase by 24 percent over a normal Monday. There’s also an increase in suicide risk for vulnerable individuals. An Australian study concluded that male suicides increase in the weeks following Daylight Savings Time. A 2009 study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that, on the Monday after we spring forward, workers were more frequently injured than on a normal Monday. Also those injuries were more serious.
(Please Texas Legislature, get rid of this plague on Texans.)
Whining Session Over
Alright, I’m done complaining. My point is: there are real issues for people who have to alter their schedule to accommodate the time change. Humans are ruled by a circadian rhythm, our biological clock. When Daylight Savings Time disrupts your body’s natural schedule, you can experience anxiety. As it turns out, your cat and dog can, too.
The internal clocks of wild animals are ruled by natural sunlight, and the rising and setting of the sun. As a survival mechanism free-roaming cats are creatures of habit. They live by a strict time schedule throughout the day to prevent unfortunate encounters with adversaries. Indoor cats still rigidly cling to that need for a predictable schedule.
Fluffy’s daily schedule is inextricably linked to yours: feeding time, playtime, clean litter box time and bedtime. Since he can’t hunt for food, he’s concerned about when you get up to feed him, and when you get home…to feed him. If you arbitrarily start rising an hour earlier, he wonders, “What the rat?”
After all, the sun still rises and sets according to Fluffy’s Solar Standard Time. If you’re late returning from work (according to his internal clock), he may fear he’ll starve, and that’s stressful.
Reducing Fluffy’s Stress
Feeding Time
Instead of changing his schedule all at once, transition to the new routine over a week or so. Wake-up time 10 or 15 minutes earlier every couple of days. Between now and Sunday, feed Fluffy a few minutes sooner until he’s eating at the new feeding time. Or, slowly do away with a fixed dinnertime altogether. Vary it by 15 or 20 minutes either way. This will also help reduce stress later if you get caught in traffic or stop to have dinner with a friend.
Instead of a regular dinner hour, offer your kitty food puzzles. He can eat whenever hungry rather than dwelling on the fact that your 60 minutes late. He’ll get used to working for his food. Food balls also reduce stress, boredom and destructive behaviors.
Medication
If your cat takes medicine, call your your vet about changing the time you pill him. Most of the time, a one-hour change won’t cause a problem. That may not be true of cats who need insulin injections or seizure meds. Early doses of insulin could lead to low blood sugar levels. Insulin administration is based on Fluffy’s mealtime and should be given every 12 hours, so ask Doc about mealtime too. She can give you instructions about easing into a new schedule.
Litter Box Maintenance
We all want a clean bathroom. Since you’ll arrive home an hour later than usual, the litter box will go unflushed even longer, give it a quick scoop before you leave for work and again when you get home. Both Fluffy and your carpet will appreciate.
Snuggle Time
Let’s face it, Daylight Savings Time isn’t the end of the world for even the most sensitive of kitties. But giving Fluffy a little extra attention during that irritating transitionperiod will probably make adjusting easier for both of you.
How does the transition to Daylight Saving Time affect your cat? What do you do to help him? Tell me about it in the comment section below.
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About Dusty Rainbolt
Author Dusty Rainbolt is an award-winning veterinary journalist according to her answering machine. She is an associate certified cat behavior consultant and member of International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, as well as past president of the Cat Writers’ Association. Her books, columns, reviews and articles have been honored with more than 50 writing awards including three-time recipient of Friskies Writer of the Year. Her just-released cat behavior book, Cat Scene Investigator: Solve Your Cat’s Litter Box Mystery, is the consummate guide for dealing with a cat who sidesteps his/her appointed toilet. CSI, which provides science-based methods for determining the medical or behavioral causes of feline inappropriate elimination, teaches cat parents to view their cat’s litter box avoidance through the eyes of a detective to determine the cause and, ultimately, the remedy.
Cat memory is more than a Broadway song. It’s a fact according to new research.
It’s long been believed Fideaux is smarter than Fluffy, but new research questions the validity of the canine propaganda. Last year, a study published in Current Biology concluded that dogs remember some details of past experiences. A just-published study shows that cats, too, can access memories of past events and even recall some of the details.
Cats can recall memories
A team of Japanese scientists observed 49 volunteer domestic cats to determine whether or not they could remember which containers they’d already eaten from. Researchers let the cats explore open food bowls and eat from some containers before removing the kitties from the room. Fifteen minutes later, when the kitties returned to the room, they spent more time checking out the bowls they hadn’t yet emptied. The study, “Use of incidentally encoded memory from a single experience in cats,” was published last week in the journal, Behavioral Processes. Scientists observed the kitties recall details of past experiences, and “utilize the ‘what’ and ‘where’ information.” The final conclusion: cats have episodic memory, meaning they can recall details of a specific experience. Episodic memory is associated with self-awareness.
Cat memory is no surprise to anyone who has set out a carrier prior to a vet trip or quicked a claw while trimming nails. Cosmo, a one-year-old Siamese-mix, had always cooperated whenever I trimmed his nails. That is until the afternoon I accidentally pinched his toe while cutting his nails. For the next 13 years he hid whenever I pulled out the the nail nippers. He never forgot that pinched toe. So cats recall traumatic or painful events, but what about pleasant experiences?
Cats may even be able to daydream. In tests about understanding human gestures and facial expressions the cats performed as well as dogs.
Better relationship is researchers’ goal
These experiments weren’t IQ tests, but rather an attempt to better understand how kitties store and retrieve memories of experiences. The researchers hope their conclusions will cat owners and their pets develop better relationships.
“Understanding cats more deeply helps to establish better cat-human relationships,” lead author Saho Takagi, a psychologist at Kyoto University, said in an interview with BBC. “Cats may be as intelligent as dogs, as opposed to the common view of people that dogs are much smarter.”
Additionally she told BBC that cats performed comparably to dogs in tests about understanding human gestures and facial expressions.
So next time you watch the Broadway musical, Cats, and Grizabella sings about her glory days, remember that the aging puss may actually be able to recall details of what and where.
Tell me about your cat’s memory in the comments below.
About Dusty Rainbolt
Author Dusty Rainbolt is an award-winning veterinary journalist according to her answering machine. She is an associate certified cat behavior consultant and member of International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, as well as past president of the Cat Writers’ Association. Her books, columns, reviews and articles have been honored with more than 50 writing awards including three-time recipient of Friskies Writer of the Year. Her just-released cat behavior book, Cat Scene Investigator: Solve Your Cat’s Litter Box Mystery, is the consummate guide for dealing with a cat who sidesteps his/her appointed toilet. CSI, which provides science-based methods for determining the medical or behavioral causes of feline inappropriate elimination, teaches cat parents to view their cat’s litter box avoidance through the eyes of a detective to determine the cause and, ultimately, the remedy.
July 4th is a scarey time for pets. Keep your cat safe by following these simple suggestions.
What’s not to love about the Fourth of July? Patriotic parades, grilling hotdogs on the barbecue, spending time with friends and of course, fireworks. But to our pets, the holiday may seem more like the upcoming science fiction movie, Independence Day, where humans once againface the end of the world. It’s up to you to keep your cat safe on Independence Day and out of claws of hostile aliens.
With all the chaos occurring over the holiday weekend, it shouldn’t be surprising that more pets disappear over the July 4th weekend than any other time of year, even Halloween. Loud noises from fireworks may sound like thunder or an explosion to terrified pets—so frightening they bolt from the yard to escape the perceived threat. According to the American Animal Hospital Association, July 5 is the busiest day of the year for animal shelters. Animal shelters across the country actually report a 30 percent increase in lost pets reported between July 4 and July 6. Sadly, only 14 percent of those pets ever return to their families.
In addition to explosions and party chaos, wandering pets can fall prey to malicious lowlife. Eight years ago, Zeki, a kitten from Dallas, almost became one of those tragic statistics. Abandoned when her family moved away, she was captured on July 4th by some wacko and mutilated with a hunting knife. Zeki survived and was rescued and eventually found a loving home, but many panicked pets fleeing the flashes and kabooms disappear without a trace.
4th of July Safety Tips Infographic courtesy of the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP)
Regardless of your Independence Day plans, keep your pets safe and happy by taking seven simple precautions:
*Make sure pets wear ID, even indoor pets. However, collars and tags can become lost. In addition to name tags, microchip your cat and keep your contact information current with the microchip registry. In the event your cat and his tags go AWOL, a microchip will give him his last best hope of returning home.
*Before the weekend arrives, bring your outside cats inside so they can’t run away in a panic.
* During parties and firework displays, put cats in a calm a bathroom or other escape-proof room. A frightened cat allowed to wander the house may dart out of the door to escape the pandemonium. Set out food and water bowls, litter box and favorite toys. Put a “Do Not Enter” sign on the door to prevent guests from accidentally releasing the kraken (kitty.) Keep pets inside the entire weekend just to be safe.
*Use pheromone products that mimic the cat’s own friendly pheromones. Synthetic pheromones such as Comfort Zone® with Feliway®, Comfort Zone® with Feliway® Multicat, and Sentry Calming Spray for Cats and the Sentry Calming Collar may help your cat cope more effectively with loud noises, house guests and other stressful situations.
* Play soothing music, white noise or cat videos to mask the sound of fireworks. Even better, offer music specifically composed or arranged to calm kitties such as Music For Cats or Through a Cat’s Ear. Start the sound therapy before the guests arrive or the fireworks start.
*Calming vests. Swaddling apparel such as a Thundershirt or CalmCat shirt may reduce anxiety in cats.
*Take action immediately if your cat goes missing. As soon as you realize your cat can’t be found, contact your local animal control facility and your cat’s microchip registry. Put up lost cat flyers. Always visit the animal shelter and eyeball all the cats. The person taking your report may not make the connection between your cat and your description of your cat.
Many years ago I was spending Christmas day at my Aunt Beverly’s home. Beverly was a first-time cat owner and, as often happens to compassionate people, Puddy had recently wandered up to her home and moved in. The Russian Blue wannabe worked the crowd as Bev passed loaded plates to the dining room through a convenient service window. Faux fir boughs and a votive candle adorned the window ledge.
Assuming a supervisory position, Puddy lept up on the ledge and paused over the candle. Everyone in the room noticed the kitty straddling the flame. A chorus of, “Oh no!” and “Move Puddy” filled the air. With all the screaming and panic, Puddy didn’t move a whisker. Before anyone could grab him, his pewter fur began smoldering. More human hysteria, more freezing. Well-intentioned rescuers reached him; and chased the terrified cat around the house.
Fortunately, only his fur and his pride were singed. It could have been much worse: Puddy could have died a horrible death and the house could have caught fire.
That night I went home and threw out all of my candles. That Christmas day I learned: if pets can get into trouble, they will, a fact backed up by National Fire Protection Association statistics. The organization estimates that 1,000 house fires are started annually by pets.
Since today is National Pet Fire Safety Day, I thought I’d share some suggestions for keeping your
pets safe in the event of a fire.
Be prepared and include your pets in your family fire evacuation plan.
When you hold family fire drills (and if you don’t, you should) or practice escape routes, do it with your pets. Keep leashes and carriers in a handy place. (Don’t try to carry your dog or cat in your arms. A panicky pet could injure you or wiggle out of your gasp and become lost.)
Place a Pet Alert sticker on a front window or door and keep the information current. Update it whenever you get a new pet or say goodbye to a companion.
Use flameless candles. (Remember Puddy.)
Don’t leave your pets unattended around an open flames. Extinguish candles, stoves and fireplaces before leaving home.
Pet proof your home. Can the puppy or kitten chew computer wires? If you have cats, consider fire hazards in 3-D.
Keep young pets confined when you are away from home.
Get a stove knob shield or remove the knobs when you aren’t around. (You can get the stove guards in the baby section of any store including Lowes.) This is where most pet-associated fires begin.
Aggression toward people and other pets is a sign your cat is feeling stressed.
IS YOUR CAT STRESSED?
Stress in cats or other animals is the organism’s response to any demand. When faced with a fight-or-flight emergency, the body releases nerve chemicals and hormones that quicken the pulse and respiration, cause the muscles tense, to help the animal face the threat or run away. All of these functions help improve the chance of survival. But these same chemicals released over a prolonged period may lead to health problems. In humans chronic stress can cause heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, and other illnesses. It may also lead to suicidal thoughts, or alcohol or drug abuse. Long term stress in cats can suppress the immune system and cause the same health issues, sans suicide and drugs.
Cats don’t make it easy for their humans to help them. As a survival strategy, they hide their anxiety and fears as well as symptoms of illness and injury. Some signs of stress are subtle and difficult to detect. And even when they’re detected, it’s hard to determine whether it’s stress and symptoms of illness. If your kitty’s habits or behavior suddenly changes in any way, take him to the vet to rule out any underlying medical causes.
Urine marking and missing the litter box are both signs of stress in cats and early symptoms of illness. Take your cat to the vet.
Signs of stress in cats include:
Urine marking /Peeing or pooping outside the litter box is the cat’s version of an SOS, the universal code for ‘send help.’ Don’t yell at him or discipline him. That will just add to his stress and exacerbate his fear. Inappropriate elimination is often the first symptom of illness.’
Defensive or redirected aggression towards people or other pets.
Change in appetite (eating more, loss of appetite or not eating at all). Go to the vet now! Both anorexia and overeating could be due to either stress or an underlying medical condition.
Change in grooming habits. (Excessive grooming which may cause bald spots, or under grooming resulting matted or soiled fur.
Isolation. Hiding is common sign of stress or pain. Go to your veterinarian if you notice your cat spending less time with family than usual or no long hangs out with other pets.
Excessive Scratching/furniture scratching.
Change in activity level. Suddenly quiet or lethargic or extreme vigilance with a heightened startle response when he startles at the slightest noise.
Exercise releases serotonin that makes humans and cats happier.
So what does your cat have to be stressed about?
After all he doesn’t have to worry about his dinner or being eaten by predators. He just lies around all day and dines whenever he wants.
Well, you can take the cat out of the wilderness, but you can’t take the wilderness out of the cat. Even inside your home, he’s still worried about falling prey to larger predators and protecting his personal territory. In your cat’s mind, he’s still responsible for his own survival. Cats are creatures of habit. Any change in his life or surroundings generates stress. Despite your safe walls, he’s constantly accessing risk and looking for danger. Any change in his environment could indicate a threat. Also because feline senses are much more sensitive than human, sounds, smells and textures that we find pleasing may be overwhelming to him.
Sources of stress in cats could be:
Litter box issues. Unscooped or dirty litter box, scented litter, a new brand of different litter, a covered box, a different location, laundry room noise or another pet or child interfering with using box.
Food. Switch cat food brand or flavor, not enough bowls, dishes clustered in one area or food dishes located near litter box. Another cat guarding food.
Change in family. Arrival of new baby, pet or spouse, death or divorce or death of another pet, or moving to a new home.
Family conflict. Fighting between family members, child or animal abuse, cat bullied by kids or other pets.
Home remodeling. New carpet, rearranged or new furniture, construction, painting, or home repairs
Loud music or noise.
Not enough territory. No place to hide or elevated spots to escape to.
Stray or wild animals in the yard.
Schedule disruption. New job and work hours, house guests arrive or you leave town.
Illness or injury.
Providing your cats with interesting activities and exercise will go a long way in reducing stress.
Reducing Your Cat’s Stress
Exercise. National Institute of Mental Health recommends that people exercise (just 30 minutes per day) to boost mood and reduce stress. It also recommended scheduling regular times for healthy and relaxing activities. What’s good for you is also good for your kitty. Just two 10-minute bouts a day of Chase the Feather Toy can release serotonin and reduce your cat’s stress.
Make sure there are plenty of resources (food and water bowls, litter boxes, scratching posts and toys) and they are distributed throughout the house rather than one centralized one location. One litter box for each cat (plus one) also set up in several locations.
Provide plenty of territory. hidey holes, elevated shelves, window perches and cat trees and so he can escape unwanted attention from kids or dogs.
Use a Comfort Zone® with Feliway® diffuser. This is a stress-relieving synthetic facial pheromone promotes a feeling of well-being and helps reduce stress-related behaviors such as urine marking, vertical scratching and aggression.
Sentry® Calming Collar for Cats. This is a synthetic pheromone that mimicks pheromones given off by the lactating mother cat and help reduce unwanted stress-related behaviors.
Boredom breeds stress, so create a challenging environment with food puzzles, cat toys, cat grass, high up hang outs, hidey holes, cat videos and window perches with a front row seat to bird feeder action.
Keep changes to a minimum. If you must change his food or litter, do it gradually.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose or to provide veterinary treatment for your pet. All information is for educational and support purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional veterinarian advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your veterinarian with any questions you may have regarding your cat’s medical condition. If you notice a change in your cat’s health or behavior, take him to the veterinarian to rule out any underlying medical causes.
