New heart-warming book – cats & autism

There have been many instances where autistic children have responded in a positive way to animals, and a little while ago we reviewed 3 books about autism and cats. We recently discovered another book about the amazing effect of cat-ownership on a young boy called Fraser Booth. Billy, a stray cat from the charity Cats Protection (UK), transformed Fraser and his family’s life, and this book is the story of how it happened.

Wool-sucking in cats – what is it, and why do they do it?

Well, we started writing you a post about this, but it became so long and interesting, that we made it into an article! Read the full article here. 

In a nut-shell, we look at compulsive behaviours in cats, and wool-sucking as an example. We look at suspected causes and suggested solutions. We hark on about feeding and environmental enrichment a bit more, too!

So, what is wool-sucking? Here’s an example of a Siamese cat sucking its tail – it’s cute, but is a variation on the wool-sucking behaviour so also evidence of an interesting feline behaviour…

Feeding time gets fun – a cheap and simple way to feed your cat

We’ve been harking on about feeding enrichment for your cat for a while now, and here’s proof that it doesn’t need to be expensive – in fact you don’t need to buy anything to be able to feed your cat in a fun and entertaining way, as this video proves. Incidently we notice that this video shows a ‘double’ food-and-water bowl, which we do not recommend – cats prefer to eat and drink in separate places. Fussy felines….

Is it mean to call this post ‘Fat Pickles’? Or ‘Catasaurus rex’?

We’ll let you decide, but we think Pickles needs to go on a diet! Fair enough, he’s a gigantic cat, but where’s his waistline? While he’s very cute to it’s hard not to celebrate such a magnificent cat, we think it’s a shame that this report doesn’t point out that he is overweight – it’s irresponsible to let the public assume this is a normal feline silhouette…but that’s just our opinion! What do you think?

Big cats in the wrong place – is there one near my garden?!

We just found out that right around the corner is a researcher looking into sightings of ‘big cats’ in the South East of England. These occur more often that you’d think, and Neil Arnold thinks that there may be breeding pairs of cats in the area…So everyone keep your eyes peeled!

While we’re on the subject of wild animals being where they’re not supposed to be, London seems to throw up more than its fair share of stranger beasts, too…Wallabies, fish, pumas…

Literal cat trees – it really is a tree! (sort of)

Although we call them cat trees, they don’t usually appear anything like an actual tree. Well, here’s a cat tree that really is just that! The trees are custom-made and handcrafted, and consist of a hollow ‘trunk’ supported by a wooden frame, with peep-holes and lying platforms in the trunk. The top of the tree is decorated with synthetic branches and leaves, and snuggled among these are lying platforms. Being fully customisable, you can design your own tree to fit into your decor and house – height, fabric, design details, even the leaves are all chosen by you! Amazing! They’re popular, too, as there’s currently a waiting list for manufacture, so don’t delay if you want one!