The biggest old wives’ tales about cats are probably all gathered together under the heading of “Cats and Pregnancy.” Not the cat’s pregnancy. Their human’s. Click on picture for larger, readable size. It takes two doctors (Dr. T. Berry Brazelton and Dr. Joshua Sparrow) to give this much wrong-headed advice to pregnant cat owners. Dr. Brazelton is a respected pediatrician, and their books on raising toddlers are popular. I can only conclude this indicates some ... Read Full Story

Cats can exhibit jealousy. When they do, it has the same roots as when humans show this behavior. It springs from insecurity and lack of confidence. If we have a cat who tries to hog all our love for themselves, these are usually cats who have had heartbreak or deprivation in their past. Once they conclude that love and caring are in short supply, they will resent any indication that it might be applied elsewhere. In games theory, this is called zero sum. It is used for finite, unchanging res... Read Full Story

When I got an iPod touch, my cats were less impressed than I was. Sure, there was more room on my lap now, but why was I constantly staring at a little screen, when they were so much more interesting? But they were happy I was happy. It led me into the Kindle application, and the joy of instant books. Bam, and the book was on my touch, ready for any long line or doctor’s office waiting room. Which led me to the realization that I could self publish on Kindle. And I did! My Kindle book, ... Read Full Story

There can be good reasons to choose a purebred cat. Whether we have life style restrictions and can circumvent them by knowing what kind of cat we will wind up with, or we’ve simply fallen in love with a certain breed, a purebred cat can be a responsible choice. If we choose responsibly. see more Lolcats and funny pictures There are animal advocates who are anti-purebred, feeling that with so many animals in shelters needing homes, it’s wrong for people to breed pets for money. Bu... Read Full Story

Do cats mourn their cat companions when they die? Do cats miss people who go away? Definitely. see more Lolcats and funny pictures After all, we have no doubt that cats can love us, and each other. With love, there is also the recognition of loss. It was a long time ago now, when I picked up a cat magazine and read a letter from a woman who was confused and troubled. She had taken in her daughter’s pet cat after the daughter’s death. She asked about care; she had never had a cat b... Read Full Story

When we have two wonderful cats whose only problem is that they hate each other, we might have contributed to the problem at the very beginning; by not doing proper cat introductions. While we can’t start over, we can start changing cat attitudes. They might never be friends, but we can usually convince them not to be enemies. see more Lolcats and funny pictures We must set up a separate room for one of the combatants; and commit to letting it take as long as it takes. A successful re-i... Read Full Story

Followers of this blog will know Dear Husband, whose hands, feet, and random body parts appear demonstrating different Affection Moves. As a man raising his first, and now second, kitten, he is appreciative of how The Way of Cats offers tips for creating a wonderful cat relationship. Welcome to the blog, Dear Husband. What were your previous cat experiences? We always had cats when I was growing up, and I liked them. Some of my earliest memories are of playing with Pyewacket, our Siamese, wit... Read Full Story

Our recent kitten, Olwyn, is approaching four months old. The shelter got her when she was weaned too young, and couldn’t digest adult cat food. Devoted care, and human baby food, saved her life. Now her home takes over to do what the shelter could not; give her a life. She’s coming along beautifully. I feed her canned cat food, supplemented with Brewer’s Yeast, several times a day, and give her fresh water frequently. Her digestive upsets are gone, her fur is growing back, ... Read Full Story

Having a big heart and being a soft touch can let us wind up with cats we didn’t exactly choose. There’s nothing wrong with that… until we wind up with cats who don’t get along. It’s only human to want to bring in someone new and have everyone as happy about it as we are. But this is rarely our best move. How can we set the best foundation for future cat buddies? Can we correct past mistakes to moderate present conflicts? We must realize how the seeds of our cats... Read Full Story

When we have a cat we deeply love, and then they’re gone, we can be counseled to “get over” our loss before we look for a new cat. Why, then, do we seem to take so long to “get over” a gone cat? And why do we seem to crave a new cat “too soon” and feel guilty about it? Part of this process is how we don’t understand the differences between mourning cats and mourning people. Cats follow a different trail through our hearts. All cats exist on diff... Read Full Story