great~

Thanks! great article, cats need more intelligent and caring authors like Ms. Viegas!

Posted by Julian Keippel on 2009-02-12 at 10:02:24

trying to understanding my cat and what it is trying to say/

needing info on my tabby

Posted by frances on 2009-02-18 at 14:26:56

Cat lovers

I have a cat, Topaz, a calico cutie who does, in fact own me. They have a way of owning you, not you owning them. Carman, you ROCK!!! Give Phil a hug for me :)

Posted by Brenda Dignazio on 2009-02-25 at 00:37:17

Cat croutching down

Can you tell me why my cat is croutching down and meowing alot, also rolling over on her back?

Posted by brenda on 2009-02-25 at 14:25:00

Hmm...

My kitten, Bella, was taken from her mother along with her brother, Edward. They both treat me just as they would their mother, and when they were littler they'd even squal everytime I left their sight, even for just 2 seconds. Do you think they think I'm their mother?

Posted by Bella the Cat and Jaz the Nut on 2009-02-26 at 20:28:47

cats over the years

I agree and disagree--I have seen exceptions to almost everything mentioned here. Spot (female) took to Bear (male) and would only accept him as her sexual partner. Spot and Bear were inseparable, and Bear slowly taught Spot how to be around humans (she was completely feral when she arrived). Mikey (male) would round up kittens from any litter he could find, put them in "his" basket, groom them and allow them to cuddle up with him, even trying to nurse. Grumpy (male) is constantly befriending younger (under 2 years old) cats, sleeping in a heap with them, playing with them, and teaching them new naughty things to do. Max, a semi-feral stray, just about goes into panic attacks if I'm gone away for more than a day. And when I return, he's desperate to make up for lost time. I think cats do love, both other cats and their humans.

Posted by Lisa on 2009-02-27 at 16:40:22

Help

I Have two male brother cats, and they are SUPER SUPER CLOSE twins. I've never seen them leave each other before. Is this okay?

Posted by Beth on 2009-03-01 at 00:23:21

To Brenda

It sounds like your cat is in heat. But if it's been altered, or it's a boy, then I don't know. Some cats are just weird.

Posted by Jacob on 2009-03-01 at 13:19:53

love between humaans and cats

Although most of my cats may associate me with a mother or sibling in their affections, a few have clearly seen me as an equal. these very special cats have been real treasures. Even though I love all my cats very much Xandrina, Tarjjid and Felix the First stand out as wise and of a different nature from all of the others. One of my friends remarked that these were "reincarnated humans." Although I cannot say that I agree, I knew what she meant. The specialness of them is difficult to define but is quite definitely there.

Posted by Cookie on 2009-03-01 at 20:48:36

birth of kittens and when

how long do cats carry there young?

Posted by vickie stewart on 2009-03-02 at 22:12:26

shedding

my cat prince is loosing his hair and he never usually molts could it be caused by trauma? a dog moved in next door and I rescued him from dogs when Ifound him in my back yard over 3yrs ago

Posted by Donna on 2009-03-04 at 01:58:06

cat behaviour

My cat likes to wake me up by washing my hair. She is very focused and serious about it, and it's very maternal- towards me. She will clean me until her raspy tongue almost hurts. Also, sometimes when she is asking for something she rattles her tail, what could this mean?

Posted by monica pierce on 2009-03-04 at 16:03:49

Article

Nice article could you possibly tell me if cats fall in love with humans because ven though that seems impossible it would be interesting to find out.

Posted by Lil on 2009-03-04 at 17:07:20

sam

SAM (MY CAT) IS THE BEST. HE WAS WITH ME THE ENTIRE TIME I WAS SICK ABOUT 6-7 DAYS . NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A PAL

Posted by BRYAN OLDS on 2009-03-18 at 14:22:53

?!!

This was such a heart-warming article to read!! Thank you!

Posted by Beech on 2009-03-22 at 02:21:12

cleaning my cats ears and my cat licking my face

i think my cat lickesmy face to say my cat loves me loves

Posted by jameskellen on 2009-03-31 at 02:01:49

cat-Tiger and dog-Molly

I have a cat named Tiger and he gives me hugs. He loves my German Shepard Molly he jumps on her back, neads her back and licks her head. I don't know if he thinks Molly is a sibling or his mom but they are SO cute together : )

Posted by Angie on 2009-04-02 at 22:05:53

cat biting

My cat Marcus Dee bites everytime I am petting him. I got him at 1 yr old and fixed.He is Cornish Rex and was going to be a breeder cat. So there wasn't too much attention given. Sometimes the bites draw blood, and hurts. What can I do?

Posted by Robert on 2009-04-04 at 16:08:22

Cat Behavior

My cat does something very odd .... he is about 4 months old and often gets on a blanket, puts a portion of it in his mouth and starts to pull on it and start kneading insesantly .... he looks like he is thoroughly enjoying it ...he will go on and on for several minutes at a time .. he seems to be in some sort of trance ... I wish I could show you a video of it ... it is the most funniest thing ever.. Have you ever seen this or know why they do it? I have had cats all my life and have never seen a cat act in this way. Thank you for your help - if you could please email me direct, I would really appreciate it a response in this fashion. Thank you very, very much!

Posted by Pam Smith on 2009-04-05 at 18:50:31

strange behavior

my cat has recently began to sit up and beg with both paws. She does it to furniture or simply to nothing at all. What is she doing? She is 2 years old. Thanks

Posted by Amy Morrison on 2009-04-15 at 23:31:25

how is it....

...cats know who to trust? I ahve 4 cats that have adopted me over the last 17 years; Bob lived 2 years in my yard, wouldn't elt me touch him but accepted food. Then the neighborhood kids shot him with a bb gun, and the next morning, he started 'talking' to me. I took him to the vet, he got stitches where he was shot, was 'fixed', fed, named and had a collar put on. Sweetpea, also a male, showed up about 5 years after Bobcat, had him groomed, fixed, named and he adores his place in the house now! Then J.P.Kitty showed up; Bobcat tried to eat him because he was a tiny kitten, got him fixed, etc...Sweetpea loves him, they clean each others ears all the time...then KittoBeebs arrived. He was SO afraid of people, but just loved me so much from the moment he showed up! They are all still with me, all extremely healthy, (J.P. and Sweetpea both weigh a bit over 20 lbs each, but they are not fat! Just tomcats...), they all had health issues when they would show up on my doorstep, but all had dental work done, any operations necessary were taken care of, etc. What I want to know is: out of the whole neighborhood, how did they know I would want them, take care of them, love them, etc.? If they had shown up at any other house there, it is/was a rather transient neighborhood, (I no longer live there), I know for a fact that they would still be stray, or worse. But the fact that each of them showed up at my home....I mean, I think they made the right, best choice!, but how did they know? Any ideas? Or d'ya think it was ESP...?!

Posted by Germaine on 2009-05-06 at 01:52:23

Types of love

This is an interesting take on the types of love theories already around in relation to humans (see Lee and Sternberg). In reponse to Lisa, I agree with there being exceptions to the rules, but a few of her examples could be answered in theory with the "companioble longing" aspect of kitty love. I've seen this in all my cats and dogs, especially my first cat with my dog and later my youngest, feral kitten with my established furry family. It takes a while, but they grow close to each other, likely forming some sort of sibling bond. As for the tips, I'll definitely keep them more in mind; while I practised them already, it helps to have some explanations behind them to give to other people who want them. :)

Posted by YP on 2009-05-23 at 14:01:33

Cat love

Thios isn't news to me. I've loved & BEEN LOVED by many wonderful cats!!!!!

Posted by SHELLY on 2009-06-05 at 18:55:04

They just got Really Lucky

To Geraime, I think the cats in your life just found you by trial and error in going around the neighborhood. They might have been taken in my one of the more transietnt neighbors and moved with them the next time the family/person moved. Also, once you have a cat and other cats know it (through long-distance scent detection, etc...), that may tell other wandering cats that your place is a good place for a cat - or just that you have cat vittles around. Or.... maybe your living room smells like tuna! ;)

Posted by Laura on 2009-06-10 at 14:10:41

Biting

I have a female adult cat that I rescued from a shelter for about 3 years now. I absolutely love her and she is definitely a lap cat, but every so often she just grabs my hand and bites me hard. It seems to me like she thinks she is playing, but I'm not really sure why she does it. Any answers? Thanks

Posted by Paulette on 2009-06-11 at 14:46:27

cats and dogs

My Miniature Pincher, 7 months old, is definitely in love with my male cat (about two years old). She "humps" him and the male cat doesn't seem to mind. I can't leave the house without leaving the dog with the cat who is a "baby sitter". I've never seen such love between a dog and cat.

Posted by Claire Jacobson on 2009-06-24 at 13:20:25

potting outside the litterbox

hey, my black tom-cat Terrorist got kicked out of the house by my mom because he kept messing outside the litterbox... how can i fix this problem? btw Terrorist is about 1yr old now

Posted by Ashley J. on 2009-06-24 at 22:37:59

biting cats

Some cats can start biting from over stimulation. If it starts to get out of control slap you other hand down the floor or bed or whatever you are on and his should make to cat stop by disverting it's attention long enough for you to move you hand/arm. Next, ignore the cat for a while so that it can associate a loss of your presence with the bad behavior. Hopefully this will help you.

Posted by Scott Wheat on 2009-06-25 at 12:52:20

Love

This was a great article. I read somewhere that when you have eye contact with your cat, if you slowly close & open your eyes, you are conveying, "I Love You" and that your cat understands this. I do this to my cat and he does the same thing back to me. I like to think that he is saying he " I Love You Too".

Posted by Karen on 2009-07-02 at 07:25:53

Large number of cats

My family and I live in the suburbs, and we ended up with around 52 cats. Mostly all outdoors, except for older and young ones. All of these cats were related. They all loved each other, raising each others kittens and all of them sleeping together. All of them were happy and healthy, unfortunately, an older lady in my area thought we were mistreating our cats when she saw our oldest cat, Shadow, who was sick, outside one day, and reported us. Now I only have a feral kitten that showed up with another kitten. I caught both, but the other was constantly trying to get out by running into windows or glass doors, so in fear for her life, I simply released her.

Posted by Jen on 2009-07-05 at 07:40:03

my boy

I have a 5 year old male that I found in a bush with his dead mother and siblings, he was only about a week or so old. Ever since that day I have been his mommy, I brush him I wipe him with face cloths when he gets in the mud, he gets messages every day and I know he loves me like he would love his mommy he gets this goofy dreamy look in his eyes when I am brushing him that just seems to say, thanks for taking care of me< I will love you forever.

Posted by meagan on 2009-08-03 at 13:51:49

Valentine

Yeah, my cat is my most loyal Valentine... that's his name!

Posted by Jess on 2009-08-19 at 14:14:52

Are Cats capable of Love?

I think this question should be changed to How Many types of Love is any Domestic Feline Capable of? I am a permanently disabled woman, married for 31 yrs I have 2 adult children, my Son, 27 lives on the mainland in Vancouver, BC as an Animated Independant Film Maker. Tragically, our beautiful daughter died very suddenly and tragically in our home in 1997. She was 17 yrs old, with a brilliant life awaiting her as she would have begun her University Ed. upon her Graduation which would have begun less than 2 mos after her death, to become a Zoologist, had she lived. This tragedy was made even worse when her beautiful Cat, Bonnie, went into such deep grief over her death, that she was determined to die. Her cat's name was Bonnie. Bonnie managed to make a hole in the material stretched tight in the box spring of our daughter's bed. She went there to die. We tried everything under the sun to coax her out and come to eat and drink. We had 2 Family Cats as well, & even they tried to make her come out and play with them, but she would hiss and attack if the poked their wee heads up inside the hole. In my personal experience, you must be able to love and care for someone dearly, in order to be able to Grieve in varying degree's, as human beings, animals are no different. My God, Mankind has known this forever, fm the many lengthy studies done by zoologists to ascertain this, using Elephants as a prime example. They love as hard as we do, and when a loved one is lost in the herd, they grieve and they also cover the remains with scrub and tree limbs, before they carry on in their Journey to find food and water. Dolphins, Whales, etc, also Love and Grieve just like humans do. After 4 weeks of pleading, bribing etc, Bonnie refused to eat and only drank a sm amt of water. She was no longer the beautiful chubby cat that was truly in love with our daughter. We were advised by our Vet to find a home with someone who had no children and no other pets, as this was the only thing that may bring Bonnie out of her grief. We were contacted the following day by a woman looking for kitten at the vets office but none were available. Bonnie was spayed & 4 yrs old, & seeing her happy again is all we wanted. This woman chose to help Bonnie & it was also like losing another part of our daughter, however, it worked & Bonnie learned to love again with her new human 'Mum'. W/o a doubt in my mind, I know that all felines are extremely capable of love & caring for each other, and their human family. I also know that Felines are capable of having one true love only. We have 2 Adult Cats now, that we adopted in the Fall of 2005. My hubby gave them to me for Xmas. Hubby thought he had 2 boys, as he took the word of the 2 seperate places he got them fm. He found out about this err, while bathing the kittens as they were both so flea ridden it was unbelievable! Timmy & Jilly have a manoganous relationship. I don't know that Jilly is in heat until I hear that alltoofamiiar primal scream is ringing in my ears. They always choose our bdrm & preferably our bed, to do their love-making, lol, of course it never happens when we are in bed. They have an uncanny way of hiding their passion, unlike anything I've ever seen in felines. They also do it for fun when Jilly is visibly pregnant and not in heat at all. It's very difficult to know when they are doing it for fun, or to create a litter of kittens. I refuse to abort a litter of kittens as I've had no problem ever, in finding them homes. I was stunned to learn that 'Mum' can be impregnated anytime after giving birth. Jilly won't even bother with any other male cat that comes calling when she is obviously in heat. So, Timmy is going to be neuterred so we can put a halt to all the Kitten making, in our bedroom, or any room of the house. No one will ever convince me that Cats are'nt capable of loving one another. I know they are, & it must be love if Jilly will only assume the position for Timmy! Love is very much alive and well in the Animal Kingdom!

Posted by Lori on 2009-08-23 at 10:09:05

my two cats

i have two cats - a male and a female. I got the male cat when he was 4 months old, he got kicked out of his previous home because he was always attacking the older cat he used to live with. A year after i got him, i got a female cat when she was 8 weeks old. He is always attacking her, biting her on the back, going for her neck, i don't know why he does that. They can never stay in the same room for more than a few minutes before he goes on his rampage, any suggestions.

Posted by CatLover on 2009-09-07 at 20:41:57

male anf female cats together

We just found a stray male(ferel) cat...we have 2 female cats both rescued...I have a somewhat reluctant home for this one but I am considering just keeping him. Any thoughts?

Posted by stephanie on 2009-09-17 at 16:37:57

are smart

My cat Cuttles,is very funny .But Smart at the same time,knows who to get my attendion,She started to hit me on the leg ,and talk to me at the same time..I ask her want do youwhat. And she hets me again,Iask her do you want somine to eat , end she meows again,So i say lets go ,and Hse go's right to the food.This is what she learned on her own.

Posted by mary ann on 2009-10-06 at 23:35:39

Kitty Cat love

This article is so true! I rescued my cat Alice when she was jiust under 8 weeks old (she's a little over 2 years old now). I saw her crying in the window of the local SPCA and it was love at first sight. Since then we have been inseperable. Over a year ago I was in the hospital for about a month and my mom who was at home with Alice told me that she became so utterly depressed without me there. We decided that since I couldn't come home that I would talk to Alice over the phone. My mom held the phone up to Alice and I would call her name and talk to her and then she would nuzzle up against the phone and lick the speaker. She knows when I get off school and work and is always waiting for me at the door. She's the love of my life!

Posted by Mommy on 2009-10-09 at 02:43:43

Real love

I rescued Timinou when he was barely 4 weeks old - he fit in the palm of my hand. I fed him milk with my finger, then pablum, etc. He is now 6 - and he still sits and stares at me all the time, even when I am sleeping, with the most incredible love in his eyes. I know I am his mommy, forever, And of course, I love him right back.

Posted by Another mommy on 2009-10-10 at 22:48:38

Too Many Cats

To all of you with cats that aren't spayed/neutered, you are irresponsible people. Get a grip, you aren't doing anyone, including the cats, any favors. And to anyone who wants a nice cat, I highly recommend your local shelter, the cats there need and deserve a good home. To Jen and Lori, get your damn cats spayed/neutered. You are contributing to the problem of pet over-population.

Posted by JinxtheCat on 2009-10-10 at 23:32:45

What did I do wrong?

I used to have a dark brown tabby tomcat by the name of Tiger. He went outside one day and never came back in. I looked for days until my Dad finally told me that he was probably dead and I should stop trying. ButI don't think he's dead, I would know if he was.I would be able to feel it. :( But that's not what I wanted to ask. What I want to know is: why did he run away? I always gave him little kitty treats and heated up his food to make it yummier and gave him my favorite pillows to sleep on (much to my mother's displeasure). I would like to know were I went wrong. I always tried to make him happy, did I not try hard enough?

Posted by Jayfeather on 2009-10-13 at 19:55:27

Can Cats fal in love

yes they can I had a cat that was soooo depressed after one of the others died that we had o take him to the vet.

Posted by Charlie on 2009-10-14 at 19:45:57

My Cat

My cat, Gizmo, is about 23 something years old.I have had him ever since I was born (I'm 11). Is it normal for him to be this old and still alive?

Posted by Brooke on 2009-10-21 at 17:06:32

subscription

How can I get a daily cat email?

Posted by Dorotha Schnebly on 2009-10-23 at 19:26:13

answer to a few of the questions posted here

Monica Pierce - I believe your cat is "scenting" when she shakes her tail. Does she usually do it with her behind aimed at a person or an object? If so, my cats do this as well. Fixed cats are either faux scenting or doing it without urine, you can probably find more info on the web. Robert - you have to discipline your cat in a way it understands. As soon as it exhibits violent behavior that may hurt you. Say NO firmly but not shouting and immediately place you cat on the floor and ignore him for about 5 minutes. He should get the hint after awhile. Negative conditioning usually works very well on cats since they are very smart. I have found the best way to say "no" to a cat is to kind of do a low tone and draw it out, simulating a warning growl from another cat. That is how cats tell each other they are playing too rough. Pam Smith - Kneading and sucking on a blanket indicates that your cat was most likely taken away from its mother before 3 months or it is merely taking pleasure in pretending to nurse on your blanket. Kittens knead their mothers on each side of the nipple to help the milk come out. Your kitten is doing this just because it is comforting and makes them happy. Germaine - in my experience, cat relationships are two way streets. They "know" you're a good person after you earn their trust. If you treat them well, they learn to trust you. Claire Jacobson - simulated copulation or "humping" between two males is usually done as a sign of domination over the "humpee". Ashley J - is he urinating outside the box? or pooping too? All male cats spray areas to mark their territory from other male cats. This is why most people neuter their tomcats. The spray should smell much worse and muskier than normal pee. If he is already fixed, a number of males will still mark territory after being neutered, especially if they were neutered after they started spraying. If you ever convince your mom to let the cat back in the house, use Nature's Miracle to thoroughly soak and clean any sprayed areas in the house. Karen - you are correct that closing the eyes or mostly closing the eyes conveys something to a cat and vice versa. It conveys trust. Unlike humans, wide eyes in animals are associated with anger, fear and/or alertness. When a cat looks at you with almost closed eyes, it saying, "I trust you". Hope this helped some of you to understand your cats better. I am not a professional but I have owned cats since I was born and have observed and read about their behaviors.

Posted by Shana on 2009-10-26 at 15:09:01

MY CAT SKIDDLES

My cat who lives on IAMS, just appeared on YouTube.com, showing us his favorite "watering hole" Would you be interested in having him do a commercial for you?

Posted by WILF wilf@wilfray.com on 2009-11-14 at 02:44:23

All my beloved cats.

I have recently taken in a gray tabby kitten named Brutus who is barely bigger than an orange, and he loves me immensely, especially when catmilk supplement is involved. Three years ago, I also took in a male kitten named Phoebe, who is an adult, and still a big baby. I have also a tortoiseshell named Rosie and a white tom named Powder. Love my felines!

Posted by Sidney on 2009-11-14 at 23:07:52

Cat Friendship?

My 2 male cats (not genetic brothers) are mostly very good friends...they get along quite well and lick each other, as if they really care for each other. What's that all about, in terms of cat behavior?

Posted by Linda on 2009-12-08 at 15:01:50

Wierd Neading-Dance-Trance Thing & Pottying on the Floor

Really, Shana? Poor baby. :( I'm not sure when my poor Nightlight was taken from him momma. I hope he's just enjoying it. As for my 3 cats pottying on the floor, it isn't spray, it is well... poop. I think 2 of my cats; one female, one male, both fixed, have done it once or twice, but Nightlight, the oldest of them, a fixed male, does it daily. Really quite annoying. We have one of those Cat Genie boxes. I am Nightlight's fave person, & I'm proud to say it. He loves on me daily & sleeps at my feet at night. My other cat Sweepie (Chimney Sweeper, the name has a bit of a story xD) loves me as well. I know for a fact that cat love exists! =D

Posted by AbyssQueen on 2009-12-29 at 03:30:42

my cat wants to KILL her own mother!

hi. my cat Sadie was bout a year old and she loved her mom but we had to move away and we took one cat at a time. we had four cats so we took Sadie's mom Smokey first. smokey lived at the new house for a few days maybe 2 and we brought Sadie in. Sadie is VERY leader like cat but turns to mosh when im around and she hates the rest of my family! so we brought her to the new house and i took her to her mom. and she just went nuts! and went right at her mom! they used to have a loving relationship but its gone now what do i do! we may have to give smokey away because of it and i DON'T wanna do that then we brought our other 2 cats TOGETHER to see what happen. they were best friends one male one female they just loved each other! we took em out of the crate and Sadie went after them too! not as bad as with her mom but she still did it. then we moved again and took Sadie Buddy and Angel together but sadie in an other cage. we brought smokey later and Sadie did it again! then we got a dog we got her as a pup by then Sadie had a litter of grown kittens we sold all but one thats storm. and Storm had a litter about 5 weeks when we got the dog(Mystie) Storms kitten that we kept (sapphire) is friends with the dog. But Sadie. NO! Sadie hated mystie she has given mystie many bloody noses. and know Sadie is Biting my family! but then we got goats. she grooms then and is like there mother. now all my pets are *fixed* and nothing has changed! i need help fast!

Posted by Jamie on 2009-12-29 at 11:39:58

YES !

Cats Def Love, Express and Feel Emotions :)

Posted by ANIMALHOLOCAUST youtube on 2009-12-29 at 19:25:15

Hi!!!!!

I loved the aritcal!

Posted by Alison on 2010-01-06 at 21:04:33

Female cats in heat

Rescued a stray female cat. My Vet did not neuter her because she appears to be 8yrs old. We have had her for 3 months, inside for 1 month. She shows signs of "in heat". How long, often does this occur? (My Vet thought she may have been neutered - due to her age and no signs for 3 months.

Posted by Eileen Lisker on 2010-01-09 at 19:12:45

tried it

I tried what you said about grasping the back of the neck and rubbing and when I did she immediately stopped what she was doing and layed down. It was cute. I love my cat very much and you are right, I always will.

Posted by Cherish on 2010-01-28 at 11:55:11