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Cats Who Won’t Groom

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We’ve had guests at the cats-only boarding facility who can’t or won’t groom themselves. I started to wonder why. Looks like there are a lot of different reasons why a cat might not groom him or herself. Here are a few: Illness. A cat that doesn’t feel well might stop grooming. Many times, this is the first warning sign an owner will notice when their pet is sick. Maybe you’ll see mats, or just notice that your cat isn’t as clean as usual. It’s not a bad idea to talk to your veterinarian if your cat has stopped grooming. Hormonal … Continue reading →

Why Pets Do Weird Things: Licking

Why do our pets lick us? We think we know some of the reasons: affection, we have something tasty on our skin. But there are additional reasons why they might lick us. Let’s look at them. One of the first things a mother dog does for her puppies is to lick them: it helps stimulate their senses. Doing so means comfort for dogs, so when they lick you they might be trying to pass those feelings onto you. It’s basically social bonding. Licking can also symbolize submission. In the wild subordinate dogs lick their alphas, so if a dog is … Continue reading →

What a Hairball Looks Like

It looks a lot like poop, doesn’t it? For the first six years of living with Mr. Meow, every time I found one of these piles I thought he’d had an upset belly and hadn’t made it to the litter box in time. It wasn’t until 2005 that I learned what it really was: a hairball. “That’s a hairball?” In 2005, shortly after we moved to Nashville, the neighbor across the street befriended us. Her little boy loved Murphy and always begged her to stop by so he could say hi. Usually in the afternoons after they came back from … Continue reading →