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The Pets Blog Week in Review for February 4-10

It’s time to shake things up in the Week in Review again. I’m trying a slightly varied approach to recapping the articles Aimee and I wrote for the previous week. Monday, February 4 Who were the puppy players? What kind of plays did they make and what penalties were called? And who was named MVP? All was revealed in Puppy Bowl IV Play-by-Play. In About the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship, Aimee discussed another major dog event that also took place over the weekend and detailed some tidbits you might not know about it. Tuesday, February 5 Aimee decided it was high … Continue reading →

Territorial Behavior in Cats

Cats are territorial animals — there’s no way around it! In the wild, a cat establishes a territory where she eats and sleeps (a sort of home base) and where she hunts and mates (a home range). The size of a wild cat’s territory is generally determined by the availability of food. When food is plentiful, the cat needs a smaller home range. When food is scarce, the cat needs to range farther. A cat’s territory is marked in several ways. Scratching leaves both visual and scent marks on trees (or furniture). Rubbing also leaves scent marks. Urine spraying and … Continue reading →

TNR Programs Gaining Popularity

What is TNR, you ask? TNR stands for Trap-Neuter-Return… and is a policy for dealing with feral cat populations that is gaining popularity. There are currently more than two hundred TNR organizations operating across the United States, including the ASPCA and the Humane Society of the United States. One big question raised with Trap-Neuter-Return programs is: why not try to find homes for the cats, if you’ve gone to all that trouble? The answer is not so easy. Some feral cats are adoptable, and most TNR programs do try to find homes for friendly strays. However, a lot of feral … Continue reading →

Purina’s Campaign to End Cattiness

Okay, multi-cat households: this one’s for you. Purina’s Tidy Cats litter is running a contest called the Campaign to End Cattiness. The concept behind the contest is simple: if you live in a multi-cat household, it’s time to show the world that you’re not just a crazy cat person. Through stories and pictures, you can demonstrate that sharing your home with more than one cat makes life better! But be concise — you’ve only got 175 words and two pictures to tell your story. (For comparison, the average blog post here at Families.com is 300 words or more. So you’ve … Continue reading →

Why Does My Cat Chatter His Teeth?

If you are a cat owner, you may have noticed a peculiar behavior known as “teeth chattering”. If you aren’t a cat owner (or haven’t seen this particular behavior), here’s what happens: the cat sees something he wants but can’t get to — like a bird or a squirrel or something on television. He opens his mouth slightly with his lips pulled back. His jaw opens and closes rapidly, making a sort of lip smacking, teeth chattering noise. It sounds a lot like a human who is shivering badly. If the cat is really excited over what he sees, he … Continue reading →

Is Your Cat Stressed?

A big change in the routine — like moving, or going away on vacation and boarding your cat — can lead to stress. Even something that seems like a small change — using a new type of litter or switching to a new style of litter box — can lead to stress. Cats handle stress in different ways depending on their personalities. An outgoing, friendly cat may experience phobias or obsessive symptoms when they are stressed. A shy, quiet cat may experience hysterical, antisocial, or self-destructive behavior. In the case of extreme stress, humans and cats may experience similar symptoms … Continue reading →