Cat Views

Did you know cats out-rank dogs in pet preference! I’m amazed for a couple of reasons! First, you know all those friends you have that would never-ever claim to like cats; dogs, dogs & only dogs is their motto! Also, when you Google pet products, there are an overwhelming number of dog-products sites which sometimes might include a couple of cat trees just to satisfy the multi-pet household. So, it’s reasonable to assume dogs must be the “preferred” pet. But not true! According to a recent pet census conducted by the AVMA; American Veterinary Medical Association, cats out-rank dogs by over 10 million! That’s a lot! In a national survey, 82-million households have cats, 72-million with dogs and a weak 3^rd place, 11-million families with birds. In case you’re curious, rabbits & turtles come in at 4^th & 5^th place. So… we’re in the majority. How about that!

Japan has come up with something new and a wonderful idea. They have established “Cat Cafes” which are becoming more and more popular.These “cafes” are a wonderful combination of animal shelter and tea house. Workers in Japan face long commutes and long hours of unpaid overtime. What better place to go and de-stress than a Cat Cafe? You can sip on tea or coffee, read a magazine, and have a cuddly warm cat curled up in your lap to pet at the same time. The cats are provided with wonderful accomodations like cat gyms, perches, condos, scratchers and cat beds. (These are professional cats). Calicos seem to be a favorite. It seems that single men in their 30’s find these cafes very appealing. They can go in, pay a nominal fee and spend an hour relaxing and playing with or petting a cat of their choiuce. These men are probably  gone on frequent business trips and do not have the time or accomodations to care for a pet. What a wonderful way to have a pet plus it is a great situation for the animals! They are loved and cared for while providing a great service to the customers.

Cats can be very clever and creative when they want something, especially when it comes to opening doors! Ever come home and find your cat’s food scattered all over the floor and spilling out of an open cupboard? How did this happen when you had it safely locked away? Just look to your 4 pawed culprit! Cupboard doors (unless they lock)are a cinch for them when the cupboards contain treats. Treats and food in boxes are not a problem for them to get into once the doors are opened (sharp claws and teeth excel here)! Unlocked sliding doors can be worked open with a little effort. Cats can learn how to jump up and turn door knobs; however they can’t seem to work a safety chain loose. Creative cats need creative play areas to maintain their interest. Cat play stations or gyms are perfect ways to keep them happy, content and out of the cupboards!

Kittens and Christmas trees are accidents waiting to happen. Being young and full of mischief the shiny balls, blinking lights, and glittering trinkets captures their attention and requires further investigation. How many ornaments get broken by being batted off the tree? How many trees have been toppled over by large sized kittens trying to climb them? What fun though to watch kittens playing among the gaily wrapped packages with their “no longer beautiful bows”. However, there are packages that contain toys and treats to be sniffed out and opened (claws are a plus for this task). The tree is a great place to play, hide, and even take a nap in. A beautiful hand knitted cat bed placed under the tree may entice them to settle down (at least for a while). Hanging toys off their own cat tree could possibly interest them to play there leaving your tree alone. Over all, kitten’s outrageous antics and Christmas are fun any way you look at it

Turkish Angoras are a rare breed of beautiful cats. It is believed they originated in the mountainous regions of Turkey. Their written history can be traced back as far as 16th century France. These cats have a soft, silky, medium-long coat that rarely mats. They are elegant, fine boned cats with loving, playful natures and easily adapt. They accept dogs and other pets but assert themselves to become the “Alpha” pet of the household. These cats are excellent companions for children, and seniors. Cat trees and cat perches are good choices for these gorgeous cats to entertain you as well as themselves. Turkish Angoras are usually called “Turks” and are all white however; today at a cat show you might see them in black, cream, blue and red. Turks are considered a National Treasure in their native land. Current “Turk” owners consider them a “treasure” as well.

My grandson has a very acrobatic cat. She loves her Cat Tree House and spends a great deal of time performing regularly in it. One of her favorite tricks is to swing down from layer to layer and hanging over the edge. One day she went too far and found herself caught between the cat tree and the wall. Finally she extricated herself and decided playing on the floor next to it with her tail was safer but she soon got bored with that and was back in her cat tree. Once again she was entertaining us with her antics by swinging from layer to layer like a monkey. She really loves her cat tree!

Fritz was a large, black and white angora tomcat who was part of our family when I was a child.  He had a friendly disposition, coupled with an attitude of superiority.  His favorite spot for his afternoon nap was my Dad’s big armchair.  Now, Fritz knew who the rightful owner of the chair was.  If he came into the living room, and Dad was in the chair, Fritz would just go to his Little Lotus Cat Tree for his nap.  But it was a different story if someone else was sitting in the chair.  Fritz would pace back and forth in front of the offending person; head and tail held high, meowing occasionally until whoever it was would get up and move, just to get some peace.  The conquering hero would then contentedly take over the soft chair in the sunny window.

My husband and I were awakened from a sound sleep by loud rustling and banging noises coming from downstairs. “I think we have a burglar!” I told my husband, “No,” he said. “We have a cat.” I had forgotten we had a feline visitor for the Christmas Holidays, and went to see what was going on.

The paper bag I had containing rolls of wrapping paper and ribbon was no longer standing in the corner of the dining room. The paper was strewn all around the room with streamers of brightly colored ribbon even hanging on his cat tree. Toby was inside the empty paper bag playing. When I called his name, he stuck his head out to see who had come to play. He was quite colorful with green and gold ribbons hanging from his ears and tangled around his legs. For the rest of his visit was careful to pick up all potential “toys” before retiring for the night.

 Who said custom cat trees have to be expensive!! We stumbled upon a great line of cat furniture pieces including scratch posts, multi-level, multi-functional cat trees for the economy-minded. Value doesn’t have to take away from some snazzy features in this line by Pacific. Color selections include Speckled Sand, Natural, Tan and Green. With folks so up-in-the-air over our economy these days this line offers a nice break from high-end designer cat furniture.

In our quest to find the perfect cat toy, perhaps we should first look to nature to fill this purpose. Here’s Pixie showing just how much fun it is to go fishing. This 10-gallon aquarium is home to one of her favorite buddies, a Cory catfish who is about the size of a field mouse. She spends hours chasing after it as it swims back ‘n forth in the bottom of the tank! Too bad we only sell cat trees!