January 28th! Kristen K.!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS to Kristen K.!!!  Thank you Kristen, you've done more for me than a donation to the Feed a Cat for Christmas campaign.  You actually adopted two female cats from me at the same time!  Thank you so much for doing that, its a rarity these days.  But on top of that, you helped me to feed some very hungry, and thirsty kitties today.  Lots of em.

Trixie and Alice (pre-adoption)

At Niagara, black and white kitty that has/had the URI sounds much better, but sure does drink a LOT of water.  In fact, I put the Clavamox in each of the bowls - don't forget, there are about seven cats waiting there to eat - but this kitty goes straight to the water.  Wish I could put medicine in water.  I am hoping he is or has gotten enough meds to help him through this nasty infection he has.

Buttons, at my house, the Short Street rescue, seems to be doing a bit better also.  Didn't think it would  happen.  She is so loving and sweet, enough to trust me for a split second twice a day when I have her pills to shove down her throat with a piller.  GOD she sure is a sweet cat.  I just love her.  She is SO gentle and sweet.  And demure.  (can you tell I am in love with her?)

I was reading something from a cat behaviorist, and found the questions, and answers, interesting.  My cats do most of these:

Why might a cat yowl when it's by itself in a room?

Cats learn specifically how their owners react when they make particular noises.  So if the cat thinks, 'I want to get my owner from the other room,' it works to vocalize.  They use straightforward learning. 

Why do some cats treat one human member of the household differently?

They're much smarter than we give them credit for:  They learn what works with what person.  They know if [one member of the family] is prone to get up at 4 a.m. and give them some treats.

Why do cats knead us?

They are using behavior that they would use toward their mother—all the behavior they show toward us is derived in some way from the mother-kitten relationship.  The kitten learns to raise its tail, rub on its mother, and knead and purr.  Grooming is what mothers do back to kittens.   So they're using bits of behavior already in their repertoire to communicate with us.  There aren't very many behaviors—maybe half a dozen. 

Can you train cats?

Yes.  Cats can learn what they're not supposed to do. If your cat has developed a habit [of jumping up on the kitchen table], there are limited ways to prevent it.  You could use a spring-loaded toy, so when a cat jumps up on something, the toy goes bang and up in the air—the cat doesn't like that and jumps down.  Another reasonably benign [strategy] is to use a child's water pistol.  But make sure the cat doesn't realize you've got it. Cats don't forgive, and once they realize a person is causing them anxiety or hurt, they keep away.

Thats it in a nutshell today.  Thanks for reading, and have a great day.