Cat Chit Chat

The Texas legislature is debating a bill - a proposed law - which would restrict what landlords can demand from their tenants if they are pet owners. Essentially, it limits what landlords can include in the landlord-to-tenant agreement which is normally some kind of lease. An apartment for a cat owner! Image: MikeB at PoC. If the bill passes the legislature and is signed off by the governor the legislation “would allow landlords to either cap a monthly pet fee at $20 or collect a one-time refundable pet deposit at the outset of someone’s lease. However, the proposal would prevent them from doing both.”.  Nathan Winograd, perhaps America's greatest animal advocate currently, says that this sort of legislation is long overdue "as is an outright ban on housing discrimination for families that include an animal companion" to use his words. At this time, I do not have any more information about this change in Texas's legislation but clearly it is great news because arguabl

The cat's caregiver urgently but innocently asks: " HELP! I've heard lilies are toxic to cats. I was given this bouquet today as a bday gift and she keeps following it wherever I put it (outside, inside, living room, bedroom, bathroom). I cut the pistils and vacuumed the pollen and spores, not sure if that's enough. Are cats also attracted to lilies?" Picture by u/Idrialis on Reddit.com I find the picture terrifying to be honest.  Anybody who has done some research on the effect of lilies on domestic cats should be terrified of this plant. There is no place for this plant in a home where there is a domestic cat or cats. They should be completely banned from the home. Even if they are a present on a birthday as is the case in this instance. Lilies and cats should be separated permanently and completely. Why are lilies toxic to cats ? Even a small amount of pollen from one of the toxic lily species can kill through kidney failure. The lady says that she has removed

I have seen many domestic cats obsessed with getting into glass jars, vases and boxes including very small boxes. But this when I think takes the biscuit. It's a supreme effort. Although I have seen a Bengal cat get into a billiard table pocket! Yep, equally extreme behaviour. Cats love tight spaces and they love investigating which is why they need 9 lives 😃.  Here is that Bengal cat doing his extreme thing: And here is a link to the page: Bengal cat gets into a billiards' table pocket . The largish cat has to make two stabs at it. Determined. Admirable. Some cats love the security of tight spaces and it doesn't matter how they achieve that sensation: box, vase, jar you name it. 

My reading of the genetics behind this father and daughter cat looking as they do (very cute and very rare) is that they have the white spotting gene or piebald gene in their genetic makeup and it has caused this highly unusual Zorro mask to develop. I guess it is just by chance that the white spotting gene had this effect upon the way the pattern developed. I don't think that there is any special genetic mutation going on here. Screenshot. The white spotting gene normally simply results in a standard bicolour cat. These two are bicolour cats but the markings are remarkable. Normally the markings are just black-and-white blobs or a white background with markings being created by darker coloured fur. An example of a bicolour cat is the Harlequin . I have a page on bicolor cats. Please click on the link below. Solid and white cat coats .

A person on social media asked for some advice because their cat is vomiting and they are suffering from chronic kidney disease and hyperthyroidism. They are seeing a veterinarian but they wanted to bounce the problem off other social media users one of whom is me. Of course, I strongly advocate seeing a veterinarian and this person has seen a veterinarian about the recent developments and will see them again. Image: MikeB This is my brief response: "I am not a veterinarian but I know cats very well. Your cat has chronic kidney disease. She is vomiting. Is there a link between chronic kidney disease and vomiting? That is the question that comes to my mind. There is a connection. Signs of uraemia which is toxins in the blood because they are not being eliminated by the kidneys, can result in vomiting, diarrhoea and anaemia. There are other symptoms. So, it's just possible that the chronic kidney disease may have advanced more than is believed. That said, the vomiting might not

The cat's caregiver asks the question in the title and adds: "Should I leave like this or do something? He can walk fine and it only seems to hurt if you touch it, I didn't see any blood or complaining" My response is as follows (it continues below the picture - what would your response be?): "As the cat's claw is embedded into bone and that bone is the distal phalange of the foreleg and hindleg toe, it would seem to me that the claw has broken at its base where it enters into the bone. Cat claw is bent sideways, what should I do? This is a screenshot from a video provided by the user whose username is: u/Kistar2. It will be sore because there are nerve endings and blood vessels which pass into the base of the claw. As the others have said, cats are stoic. They don't show pain generally but your cat does indicate that it is tender to the touch. It would appear that he or she has landed badly after jumping down, jumping up or perhaps clawing their way up s

 This is a question asked on social media which I'm going to answer here. I think the vast majority of cat owners would answer the question in the same way. When two cats live together and they are friendly with each other a bond is created (obviously). If one of those cat passes away the other cat will feel the effects of that. It depends of course on the depth of the bond and for how long they have been friends. Cat friends. The loss of one may well cause grief in the other. Image: MikeB. My strong indication, having researched the matter, is that domestic cats can grieve for the loss of their human caregiver or another cat. The subject of domestic cat emotions is work in progress but it's almost logical to presume that a cat will feel the effects of the loss of a friend. Domestic cats do have emotions. The question is how complex are they? Grieving, or a form of grieving, can be experienced by a domestic cat I believe. We don't know for sure how cats feel in the grieving