Understanding Your Cat’s 5 Senses

Are you a cat owner who is curious about your cat and how they function on a daily basis?  Of course, you cat likely cannot comfortably survive without the food and shelter you provide him or her with, but you may be curious about their senses.  Do you ever find yourself wondering how well your pet can see or what their tastes are like?  If so, please continue reading on.
As for your cat’s hearing, have you ever heard that your cat’s ears are similar to a satellite dish?  There are many pet owner and veterinarians who make this comparison.  What does this mean?  It means that your cat does have a relatively good sense of hearing.  You may notice your cat turn their head and move their ears when you start talking or when they hear a noise outside.  This provides cats with the ability to hunt mice and other small, quite rodents.
As for your cat’s sense of touch, all pets are just like humans.  They have a fine sense of touch.  Whether you touch your cat’s whiskers, her paws, or her tail, it is a movement that she can notice right away.  The most sensitive part of your cat’s body is their whiskers.  As a cat owner, you should already know how important a full set of whiskers are to a cat.  Your cat’s paws are also a sensitive area on their body.
As for your cat’s sight, he or she has good vision.  It has been claimed that cats see at 1/5th the intensity of humans.  Although cats cannot see perfectly in the dark, they are still able to make out distinctive shapes and movements.  Cats are also able to see movement quicker than humans are.  A movement that may appear as nothing to us, is a movement that a cat can notice.  However, during daylight humans do have a better sense of sight.
Depending on your cat and his or her eating habits, you may assume that cats have a sensitive sense of taste.  After all, many cat owners report their pets as being picky eaters.  Although it may appear as if your cat is a picky eater, they logically aren’t, at least for taste reasons.  In fact, cats are more likely to pick and choose their food based on smell, rather than taste.
Speaking of smell, this is the most heightened out of the five senses for your cat.  Cats have a much better sense of smell than humans do.  In fact, did you know that cats have about 200 million cells in and on their noses that are odor sensitive?  They do.  This is much more than us, humans, have.  In addition to using smell as a way to decide which food to eat, cats can also use smell to determine if an environment is safe to enter.  Smelling is also a method of communication for felines.  It has been said that cats can smell odors that humans can’t even detect.
Now that you know how your cat’s five main senses are, you may be able to better understand the behavior that your cat displays and the habits that they develop.  With that said, also be sure to use your best judgment.  If your cat is refusing to eat their food, it may be something more serious than them just not liking the smell of their cat food.  If your cat appears to lose or have problems with the above mentioned senses, you should consider scheduling an appointment with your veterinarian.

Selecting Your Cat

    It's any superb time today! Nowadays is the evening you actually go out and about for you to come across your current new pal and
companion, your current new cat. Nonetheless where complete anyone get to help come across her? What will you'll want to seem
for? What exactly could you be advised to steer clear of? Let's take a look at every single question.

    Where complete I obtain my brand new kitten? Right now there are a large number of places where cats are
available for new homes. The local animal shelter is an excellent place to begin. They
always have a very good selection of cats and kittens to choose from. With so many
different breeds, sizes, colors, and ages to choose from you're almost sure to find a new
friend just waiting for you to come and pick her up. Farmers frequently have kittens that
are available to go to a new home. If you are interested in a particular breed of cat,
contact their registry. They should be able to direct you to a reputable breeder in your
area.

    Now that you have looked over the cats or kittens available, how do you select
right one for you? First and foremost, make sure the cat or kitten is healthy. Bright eyes,
shining coat and a lively manner are indicators of good health. Interact with the kitten or
cat. Does she hiss and pull away when you touch her or does she purr and rub her head
against your hand? Is she patient or happy to be picked up, or is she frantic to get away?
Does she walk away from people and sit down as far away as she can with her ears down
or does she hold her ground and let her curiosity draw her to the new person. It will
become obvious pretty quickly which kitten or cat will have the kind of personality that
you will enjoy. Avoid the cat or kitten with an ugly attitude or that shows poor health.
That will be the way to avoid heartbreak on down the road.

    Another thing that you should consider is yourself. What do I mean? I mean that
you should take stock of yourself. Most people are a sucker for kittens. Those little fluff
balls with their sweet faces are nearly impossible to resist. Do you have the time and
energy to deal with a lively kitten and her antics? (Oh, you mean I'm not supposed to
swing on the drapes?) Perhaps you would be more comfortable with an older cat who
already knows all about litter boxes and not climbing on top of the counter. A quiet adult
who will sit on your lap and purr while you watch your favorite show may be more your
speed. Be honest with yourself. You and your new cat will be much happier for it.

    Okay, you've assessed yourself and the kittens and cats available to you. You've
picked out your perfect new friend. On your way home think over what supplies you have
at home. Do you have everything you need? A litter box with nice fresh litter? Is there a
little scooper to clean her litter box with? A food dish and a water bowl? Do you have
good quality food for her? Is it the one she is already used to? No? Perhaps you might
want to stop and pick up a small bag of the one she's familiar with. It will be something
she already is aware in some sort of strange place along with may help the woman's become secure throughout her brand new
home faster. Begin blending your preferred food into her old one particular inside the on its way
days, eventually shifting her absolutely for you to her new food by the time the small bag comes to an end.

    There is much to consider when getting a new cat. Take your time. Make positive most
your formulations are made. You will end up on the way for you to a happy life for you along with
your fresh cat.
   

Guest Readers Cat Of The Week: Ollie

Name?

Ollie

Nicknames?

Ollie-boy, Boysie, Boysie Chops, Ching Chang Chollie, Ozley Bozley, Oliver (when in trouble)

Theme Tune?

Sexy Boy by AIR

Age?

3

Owners?

Zoe and Nathan 

Brief biography?

I lived with another family for a couple of years, running around being very manly and hunting a lot. But then it all changed earlier this year and I ended up in a lovely lady's rescue centre in South London. My humans came to visit and picked me straight away because, well, who could resist this handsome face?

Catchphrase?

Oh, were you using that?

Favourite Habits?

I like to pretend to dig very early in the morning, as if I'm preparing for a little wee. I know this wakes my humans out of fear that I'm actually going to do it. Then they're awake and feed me. Oh, and I’ll sit on any open laptop. Why would you work when you have me to look at?

What constitutes a perfect evening for you?

A quick runaround outside and then I’ll pose on the arm of the sofa. I'm pretty good looking, so everyone in the room gives me attention. If I'm looking exceptionally handsome, my humans sometimes reward me with a laser pen.

Favourite food?

I like all food apart from hummus and tomatoes. I once ate a bowl of cake icing when the girl human wasn't looking. That didn't go down too well, but did come up quite fantastically. But my humans clean up after me and I don't think they mind a bit of projectile vomit.

Defining moment of your life?

My first poo in the bath. God it was good. It made me feel so enlightened, so free. That's when I really found myself for the first time. I'm not sure my humans appreciate it as they've started keeping the door shut but I'm always on the look out and strike when they forget.

Any enemies?

Doris from upstairs. You can see why. 

If you could do one thing to make the world a better place for felines what would it be?

Dreamies vending machines.

If you could meet a celebrity who would it be and why?

Ryan Gosling. We could have a handsomeness competition. I'd win and then they'd make a colouring book of pictures of me instead.

Which one of the cats in Under The Paw and Talk To The Tail  would you like to be stuck in a lift with?

I'd like to hang out with Ralph. He looks good, and so do I, so we could create a new cat-boy-band and make the lady cats swoon.

Cat Behavior More Oddities

In my previous article on cat behavior, we discussed some interesting and unusual
behavior displayed by the family of cats that live on my farm. That was only the
beginning. These cats seem to delight in unexpected behavior. I thought I would share a
few more gems with you.

    There are three female cats on my farm. They consist of matriarch, Patch, and two
of her daughters. There have been other female cats on the farm, but I have been able to
find new homes for all of them. Cats, being solitary hunters, are not expected to show any
kind of social hierarchy. My three female cats do have a definite hierarchy. The top cat is,
of course, Patch. It's the two daughters that have been interesting. The older daughter,
Calico, is from Patch's first litter she had on the farm. She is a sturdy, healthy calico that
has not had any real problems. The second daughter is Little Girl. Little girl is a couple of
years younger than Calico. She is the smallest cat on the farm. A black cat with flashy
white markings, little girl is active and elegant.

    Since her birth, Calico has been Patch's favorite daughter. Calico and patch hung
out together much of the time. Patch even allowed Calico to help her with her kittens.
When Patch wanted to go do something, Calico was right there to baby sit. Even when
Patch was there, Calico was often right there with her. She could often be seen washing a
kitten or even just providing a nice warm place for the little guy to sleep. When Little
Girl arrived things continued quite awhile in the same way. Little Girl grew up and had
her first litter of kittens. Calico, as occasionally happens with calico cats has turned out to
be sterile. She has never had any kittens. Because of that, when little Girl had her kittens,
Calico lost her favorite daughter status. With Little Girl's kittens, Patch became the
doting grandmother. She was always helping Little Girl with her kittens. The two of then
could often be see lying together, bathing the kittens or watching them play. Calico was
banished. She wasn't allowed anywhere near those kittens or any other litter since.

    Calico didn't just lose kitten privileges. She wasn't even allowed to hang out with
Patch anymore the way she used to. Poor Calico, she was very upset. She knew exactly
who to blame for her predicament. Little Girl. Calico and Little Girl fought several times.
Unfortunately for Calico, Patch would sometimes jump in on Little Girl's side and run
her off. Calico was banished to hanging out with her brothers. It's been a couple of years
since then. Little Girl is still favorite daughter. Calico's position has eased somewhat.
Last summer, Little Girl allowed Calico to help her with her kittens once in awhile. Patch
has allowed Calico to hang out with her again from time to time. Who knows? One day
Calico may just be able to work herself back into her mother's good graces. Little Girl
seems to think so. She watches Calico very carefully. If she thinks things are going too
well for Calico, Little Girl will start a fight with her. Oh well, Life goes on.

    It isn't only the girls showing some interesting behavior. This past year two
brown kittens were born. Thomas, a handsome cinnamon brown with lots of flashy white,
was born in the spring. Pudge is solid brown without any white at all and was late
summer. What is interesting about these two is that they are both fascinated by horses.
We have three horses and every day you can find Thomas or Pudge (or both) strategically
positioned to watch them. When I call the horses out of their pasture, often I find Thomas
trotting in along with them. If I throw hay into their mangers I have to check before I
throw. Quite often Thomas or Pudge will be sitting in the manger, ready for a close up
study of the horse. When the horses are grazing, Thomas will creep along, nose to the
ground until he's almost nose to nose with the horse. He will stay there for a few
moments until the horse gently swings his nose at the kitten to push him out of the way.
Pudge has recently developed a fascination with horse's tails. He will come right in
behind the horse's heels and start playing with the tail. Fortunately for him, the horses
have refrained from launching him into orbit.

    Cats are funny and entertaining creatures aren't they. You just never seem to
know what they are going to do next.