Classic case of domestic violence combined with animal violence (kitten)

NEWS AND COMMENT-HOLLYWOOD: This is the latest story in which domestic and animal violence merge and become one. We know - everyone knows - that there is a strong linkage between domestic and animal violence. By "domestic violence" I'm referring to human partners engaged in violence against each other normally the male against the female.

Aghajanian (left) and Johnson. Photo by Nancy Vienneau for The Tennessean.

In this instance, a top Los Angeles chef has been accused by her estranged wife of torturing and killing their two pet cats, one of them a kitten, as she filed for divorce and requested a restraining order over the abuse that he meted out.

FBI Realise the Important Connection Between Animal Abuse and Other Serious Crimes 

I'm concerned about the violence against the cats obviously. Elizabeth Johnson has filed for a domestic violence restraining order against her estranged husband Will Aghajanian. The story has been reported in The Los Angeles Times and The Daily Mail.

Elizabeth Johnson alleges that Aghajanian joked about feeding their kitten to coyotes. She also says that she witnessed Aghajanian shaking their kitten which caused his or her death the next day.

Aghajanian put the dead kitten into the trash can and insisted on keeping it there in the house according to the wife. Comment: to cause her more emotional harm allegedly.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) dramatically under-reporting animal cruelty

As to the domestic violence aspects of the story she says that Aghajanian mentally and psychologically abused her. This, she says, kept her from realising what was going on with the animals in the house.

Aghajanian denies it and says that they are "false allegations". He claims that he is the victim and that his estranged wife repeatedly threatened to kill him and actually burned him at least twice with a metal spatula and a spoon which she had placed in a fryer according to the court filings and as reported by Mail Online.

Their restaurant Horses opened in September 2021 and immediately received rave reviews and was an instant celebrity favourite.

Comment: I can think of one outstanding comment namely this. Aghajanian wanted to harm his estranged wife the best way he could because of the animosity between them without physically hitting her. 

He knew that she was connected emotionally to the kitten. I would allege that he decided to harm the kitten to harm her. Perhaps he didn't want to kill the kitten but he shook the kitten so hard that it did kill him or her. It's a simple formula. We see this all the time. 

It is invariably the man who harms or kills cats and kittens to get at their female partner because it is invariably the case that the female partner adopts the kitten or cat and is more connected to the companion animal than the man. 

Like I said, it's an old tried and tested scenario which happens all over the world all the time and occasionally is exposed in court filings and in criminal prosecutions.

Kitty with broken arm still makes biscuits

Kitty with broken arm still makes biscuits. Screenshot.

Super cute and a bit sad at the same time. I don't know anything about the backstory but what is obvious is that this cute little blackie is a rescue cat and for some reason they broke their right foreleg. It is been splinted. I suspect the vet thought that being a kitten with growing bones, the leg would knit together well.

Well, if he feels pain, it does not stop him from making biscuits - kneading. The drive to knead is high especially in kittens as it is an instinctive behavior to help the flow of colostrum from their mother's breast as you almost certainly know by now as it has been discussed a lot on the internet.

He is kneading a mother cat substitute: the bedding which feels nice and warm like his mother's breast. Cute. I hope he recovers fully and is lucky enough to be placed in a loving home as soon as he is well enough.

Kitten thinks he's a bunny and hops around like his bunny rabbit friend

Proof that cats learn by observation. Normally this means watching their mother do things which eventually leads them to independence and leaving the natal den and range. However, this kitten has lived with his rabbit friend for a while and thinks hopping like a bunny is the way to get around only he finds it a bit unnatural. He might be a bit confused. I think he needs a spell watching another senior cat behave in a feline manner to put him straight. Sorry about the music!

Does this adult cat want to play with this kitten or is he being mean?

The owner of these cats wants to know whether the adult cat wants to play with her kitten or whether he is being mean-spirited towards the kitten? I feel that I can say with considerable confidence that this adult cat simply wants to play and he has a kitten to hand to carry through on that desire. 

Curious to get opinions, is he playing or being mean to our kitten? I feel like he’s batting at her so gentle it could be playing, he’s actually swatted at her in a mean way a few times but I’m still nervous to let them interact without supervision
by u/racheljobe in cats

The problem is that the kitten is a little too small to play with. I think both the kitten and adult cat realize this but as the kitten grows older, I am sure that they will play. 

I don't see anything mean-spirited in this adult cat's actions. My assessment is partly based on the fact that immediately before the adult cat approaches the kitten he was playing in the tunnel. 

He was stimulated to play; to have some fun. And his natural instinct was to go to the kitten for a playful interaction. 

They tap each other's paws as if slapping each other. I've seen this before quite a lot. It's as if cats are boxing each other and it's a kind of vestigial form of aggression which has been de-tuned to be play and no more. 

I do not see anything wrong with this behaviour in any way and I'm sure that these two cats will get along well in the future.

It appears that the owner has introduced a kitten to her home where there is a resident cat. If that is true, from what we see here, I believe that they are going to get along well in the future. I hope so. There is a possibility that they won't because when the kitten grows up, she or he will want their own home range which may be a friction point between the two.

Should I handle newborn kittens?

Newborn kittens. Image: MikeB

It should be very limited. I'll quote from an excellent resource, Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook, 3rd edition:

"Most queens [breeding mother cats] display anxiety when their very young kittens are constantly handled by unknown people or if unfamiliar pets or other household animals [that] they are not comfortable with are allowed near the kittens."

This statement points to minimising contact with newborn kittens both by humans and other pets. Leave them alone but make sure the nest and environment is top class. You have to know what you are doing in cat pediatrics. It is a big skill and complicated. Seek veterinary advice promptly.

Newborn Kitten Care (comprehensive guide).

Socialisation later

After sex weeks social interaction with unknown human beings and pets such as dogs and exposure to new and nonthreatening situations are important for the proper development of the kittens. It's what makes them domestic cats and is essential for them to lead happy and well-adjusted lives in the human environment.

Sensitive Period of Socialisation for Kittens.

Can you predict an adult cat's personality from their behaviour as a kitten?

This is a question that is sometimes asked. I think you have to apply a bit of common sense. There would seem to be two distinct personality types (a) confident and outgoing and (b) timid, shy and retiring.

2 main character types for cats. Image: MikeB

Cat adopts person

Sometimes people tell us their stories when adopting a cat from a shelter. They say that the cat adopted them. The same applies to dogs.

When a rescue cat at a shelter comes to the potential adopter in any one of many ways, it indicates that they are a little bit more confident than another cat who stays at the back of their cage. The one that holds back is the more reticent retiring one.

You can tell the difference between two different types of cat in terms of confidence levels. This character trait will be with them all their lives. And that's quite important because the degree of confidence compared to the degree of timidity is quite an important factor in how the other aspects of the cat's character develop.

Developing character

For instance, a confident cat is more likely to come forward, interact and to explore and to have new experiences and therefore become more rounded and more able to deal with strange and novel things.

In contrast, the timid cat will enjoy less experiences and even might hide when anything new happens. Both cat types have their advantages in my opinion. 

But the point here is that you can tell how a kitten will develop on these broad-brush aspects of character namely confidence and timidity.

Confident cats are more popular

Most people like confident cats because they interact more. But the advantages of a timid cat are often not discussed. One benefit is that because they are more retiring and content to be less active, they are more likely to enjoy the benefits of being full-time inside the home.

They are less likely to want to go out and explore. They are, therefore, less likely to come to harm. And if they are indoor/outdoor cats they are less likely to wander away far and wide if they lack confidence. Getting lost is less of an issue.

Timid is better

I think a domestic cat which is slightly timid is perhaps a better domestic cat companion than a confident one.

The trend nowadays is to keep cats indoors full-time particularly if you live in an urban environment. You don't want to live with a very boisterous active cat under those circumstances.

Bengal cat

Example, the Bengal cat is known to be pretty active, confident and lively. Some people keep them in apartments full-time. I don't think that can work.

In fact, when I lived in an apartment block a friend of mine in a nearby block was the caregiver of an F3 Bengal cat, Daniel. This cat was climbing up the walls to get out.

And when the owner took Daniel out into the gardens for a walk it was impossible to contain him. If he was off the lead he was gone. The point is that apartment living for the confident boisterous outgoing cat might be too challenging.

But apartment living for a timid retiring cat who likes to hide is a good place to be. There is the advantage.

That argument goes against the general consensus that confident cats are better cats.

Young cats killed on roads

And let's remind ourselves that the cats most likely to be killed on the roads are young, immature and confident male cats. They are the ones who like exploring and taking risks.

What I'd choose

I'd argue that the better cat to live with is a slightly retiring, slightly timid, female. That's what I would choose if I was going to adopt a cat right now. Or even better than that you might adopt a disabled cat like a blind cat because you can then keep them indoors full-time without feeling guilty as you've got to keep them indoors.

Character nuances

As to the finer nuances in character, to go back to the original argument, I think you have to wait to when they become adult to find out what they are. Which, by the way, is one reason for adopting an adult cat over a kitten despite the fact that kittens are the most popular type of cat to adopt from a shelter.

If you adopt an adult cat, you know what you're getting, particularly older ones. When you adopt a kitten, you are adopting a cat companion which you don't know that well.

Hector

There is an interesting story on social media about a woman who adopted a male cat called Hector. When he was a kitten, he was sweet and funny but when he grew up "he became a cat that no one could touch, except me. He was easily overstimulated and would attack one's hand while he was being petted."

So, her male cat went from sweet and funny to too difficult to handle. You don't quite know what you're going to get when you adopt a kitten because you will not be able to really predict their adult character except for the broad-brush aspects as mentioned

Should you let your Bengal cat outside? Answer: it depends!

I have just visited my doctor's surgery. I walked down to the clinic (about 25 minutes) and on the way back I saw a beautiful Bengal cat on the sidewalk and then crossing the road before entering the grounds of his home through the grille of a fence where he marked his territory against an object in the front garden. It got me thinking. Why was this Bengal cat outside wandering freely? Should you let your Bengal cat outside? And the answer is, it depends.

Here is the cat I describe. It is a poor quality picture I am afraid:

Bengal cat wandering outside in Kingston Upon Thames. Image: MikeB

I do not believe that you can let your Bengal cat go outside in the way that I saw today, to roam freely at will wherever they want to. Bengals are too glamorous and too enticing to steal. The cat I saw was beautiful and stood out.

Supervision

However, I do believe that Bengal cats should be allowed outside under supervision. This means that if, in the instance I refer to above, you live in a city, it must mean on a lead and harness. You can teach your Bengal cat to accept a lead and harness. This is much easier if you do it when they are young and ideally a kitten.

Most domestic cats need training to accept a harness and lead. Once you do they will generally walk with you although not like a dog. You are going to need a lot of patience and going nowhere for a while they investigate their immediate surroundings. Taking a smart phone with you to surf the internet will help with your patience 😃✔️. But keep a look out for dangers such as dogs.

Also, you can allow a Bengal cat outside if you have a backyard without trees and around which you can place a cat confinement fence. This may be very effective. I think, however, that it will be less effective than a harness and lead.

The reason is that a Bengal cat might be able to escape a cat confinement fence even if it is customised and cleverly constructed. Bengal cats are very athletic, inquisitive and determined. Of all the domestic cats the Bengal is the most likely to escape a cat confinement fence around a backyard.

A third option is a catio which allows a Bengal cat to smell the air and perhaps feel some grass under their feet. Catios are a good compromise between keeping a domestic cat indoors full-time and allowing them to have some sense of nature and stimulation from nature.

Stimulation

The need to stimulate a domestic cat is particularly important with Bengals because they are wildcat hybrids. Wildcat hybrids are generally slightly more intelligent than your typical domestic cat because they inherit their intelligence from their wild cat counterpart which for the Bengal cat is the Asiatic leopard cat.

And because they are confined to the indoors full-time they are likely to get bored and they might become a bit difficult. Plenty of stimulation which means playing with them and customising the interior of your home with, for example, a catio, and climbers is the way forward.

Harness and lead

Personally, I would go for adopting a Bengal kitten and immediately train them to accept a harness and lead from the get go and take them out. The harness should be a thick and secure one. You do not want your Bengal cat wriggling free. Some of the earlier harnesses and the cheaper ones are not, in my opinion, secure enough to stop an anxious Bengal cat wriggling out and running away.

Sometimes domestic cats become anxious and excitable when in a harness on a lead. This can make them do stupid things and in the wrong environment those stupid actions can lead to harm.

Good training when young and sensible supervision when on a lead is the answer.

Dr Bruce Fogle

Dr. Bruce Fogle, the UK's number one veterinarian/author, boldly and confidently states that training your cat is logical. Domestic cats train themselves very often and they sometimes train their owner as well. It is a mutual form of training.

In one of his books, Complete Cat Care he says that when cat owners come into his veterinary clinic it is pretty normal for them to feel guilty about not letting their cats go outdoors. And he recommends what I recommend by saying that:

"If you want to give your cat the option of going outdoors, and it too dangerous for it to do so on its own, training it to walk on a lead is an option for any relaxed cat that's not fearful of the outdoors."

Bengal cats are normally pretty confident and therefore should not be fearful of the outdoors. You can go online, I would suggest Amazon, to find a thoroughly sound harness and lead. Some harnesses are much easier to get into than others. I would pick one of those because it can be difficult to get a cat into a harness! But there again if they are trained from kittenhood it shouldn't be a problem.

Bruce has some lead-training tips and here they are:

• Training a cat to walk on a lead takes patience. It is designed for confident cats who are not frightened of the outdoors. Note: confidence can be built up and taking your cat for a walk on lead will get them used to the outside safely.
• If you decide to train your cat to walk on a lead you should continue to do so because once they experience the outside on a lead they will possibly find the indoors boring and it would be unfair on your cat.
• You should never apply tension to the lead as it is not designed to direct a cat but to simply keep them safe.
• You should avoid parks with dogs or noisy frightening places. A quiet, possibly fenced area, is the best.
• During a training session to walk on a lead, if your cat pulls on it wanting to go somewhere, go with the flow and don't pull back as your instincts might direct you. I think that this is where it is different between a dog and a cat. You can't really train a cat like a dog. Cats are trainable but there needs to be a little more flexibility in how you walk a cat on a lead compared to a dog.
• While walking outside with your cat on a lead, if you don't want to go where your cat wants to go, instead of pulling back, just pick your cat up, move elsewhere and start lead walking again.

Viral video of mom reacting to the call of her kitten

Viral video of mom reacting to the call of her kitten

In the video we see a mother racing home in response to her kitten's cry. This is a viral TikTok video (which I hate to be honest because of the sound track - horrible 😎) in which the owner of a mother and her kitten becomes involved. He or she holds the kitten up while they are crying and calling for their mother. The mother is some distance away but she races in to be with her kitten. It has touched a chord in the minds of viewers because it reinforces this beautiful connection between mother and kitten which is so evident in this video.

@smokepresley #fyp #streets #cat #catsoftiktok #bengalkitten #513 #petsoftiktok #badanimals ♬ original sound - Life of Smoke

Of course, it is all entirely instinctive for a mother to respond like this. Clearly, the owner of this mother cat and kitten knew that this would be the mother's response and so he set up the whole thing. You might argue that this is slightly exploitative because the man is making a video on the back of this close connection and motherly instinct. It depends upon your point of view as to whether you see this as exploitative or not. It is beautiful and as mentioned it has touched a chord because it highlights the mother-kitten relationship.

Here is a little bit about the mother-kitten relationship. During the first few months of their lives kittens spend a great deal of time with their mum as you might expect. They say that the influence of the father in terms of raising the kitten is primarily genetic. In other words, the father simply mates with the mother and then clears off.  There is not always entirely the case because sometimes fathers are involved in the raising of their offspring. Under certain situations you might find several adult females helping each other raise their kittens. 

When kittens are between 26-32 days old, free-living mothers begin to bring killed prey back to the den for the kittens to consume. In their first introduction to solid food. And then she brings home live mice for the kittens to kill. The mother's interactions with her kitten are vital to their development both behaviourally and emotionally. 

Kittens who have been deprived of their maternal care are at a higher risk of developing aggressive and fearful behaviour. The weaning of a kitten from their mother's care is an important stage. Sometimes we see kittens to have been weaned too early and they develop what might be described as abnormal behaviours in trying to suckle on the arm or the year of their human owner. 

The experts say that "kittens should remain with their littermates and the mother cat until they are at least eight weeks old". That comes from Linda P Case in her book The Cat, Its Behaviour, Nutrition and Health.

Another author couple, Mel and Fiona Sunquist, state that kitten should not be removed from their mothers until about eight weeks of age. Separating them earlier can cause stress and behavioural problems as mentioned above.

The strong indication from the experts is that kittens should not be weaned from their mother until 12-14 weeks of age. I think this is an important statement because sometimes people who are involved in informal breeding of kittens want to release their kittens to their customers too early. This is cruel and immoral. And it can cause behavioural problems.

Ginger tabby kitten asks for another kiss. Do cats understand kisses?

A super cute video. It seems to all the world that this little fella (ginger tabbies are nearly always males) wants another gentle kiss from his female caregiver and why not? Good idea. The way she delivers it is like the classic, friendly feline nose greeting. So perhaps her kitten interprets the kiss as that. Cats don't understand human kisses! Sorry but that is true. But they understand friendliness, warmth and affection from humans and respond positively to it as we see in the video.

Ginger tabby kitten asks for another kiss. Screenshot.

This is a TikTok video. They allow downloads and uploads. So, this is not my video. Update: I have delete it because Vimeo don't allow it.

It is a very successful one because of the behavior of the charming kitten. It reminds me of another post I wrote not long ago in which I said that cat caregivers should try and find out what their cat particularly likes and give it to them as much as possible and I am not talking about food! I mean, give them the food they like but not as much of it as possible unless you want your cat to become obese.

RELATED: Do cats know what kisses are?

My cat likes the back of his head rubbed and pressure applied to it. I always take the time to place my hand on the back of his head and hold it there. He meows silently to me when I do it with a look of delight on his face.

My cat loves the feeling of pressure from my hand at the back of his head and neck. I give it to him whenever I can. It is reassuring to him.

RELATED: National Kissing Day: Don’t kiss your cat on the lips.

Domestic cats need reassurance all the time I feel. They want to know that all is well. Perhaps this is because we make them feel like kittens even if they are adults. As we provide their every need like a mom, we keep them in that mental state. And kittens always look to their mom for reassurance. They purr to her and she returns the purr when nursing her them.

Cat drooling with delight is rooted in newborn experiences

Cat drooling is often associated with ill health of some sort. The classic reason is mouth disease due to rotten teeth and inflamed and infected gums - please see cat drooling for full details.

But ill health is not always the reason. Sometimes, the reason is because the cat caretaker is petting their cat. Personally, I have never seen this so it is obviously dependent on the individual cat.

Photo: by emilybean (Flickr)

Petting often takes the form of stroking. When we stroke our cat, it is the equivalent of a mother cat licking her kitten. The argument goes that our cats are kept in a perpetual state of kittenhood by us and we are their surrogate mother.  That is the normal arrangement.

Reason for drooling with delight!

In my opinion, cats might drool when being stroked by us because they link the act of stroking (licking) to the time when they were at their mother's nipple being nursed. At this time the mother and kitten purr to communicate with each other. The kitten is saying, "I am receiving milk". The mother's response it an acknowledgment.

The mother licks her kittens at this time. She certainly licks the bottom of her kittens to stimulate defecation.

When a kitten is feeding on their mother's milk, they will produce saliva to digest the milk. If there is a connection between feeding at their mother's nipple and being stroked then it is plausible to suggest that as domestic cats are kept in a mental state of kittenhood, they will salivate when stroked if so inclined. Although this is not common feline behavior. It must depend on the personal early experiences and character of the individual cat.

Some cats salivate so much (hypersalivate) that the cat caretaker has to keep a cloth handy!

Oral health

If my cat drooled when being petted, I would be relaxed about it but I would also just check to see that his or her mouth was in good health. A routine check of a cat's mouth is easy to do. Just have a peep when they yawn or call out. It is useful to keep an eye the health of a cat's teeth. Poor oral health is a huge problem in elderly domestic cats because of neglect to be honest. 

This is not meant to be a criticism. It is easy to overlook a domestic cats oral health. I am referring to gum disease primarily. The link below takes you to more on the topic.

RELATED: We need to formulate a method to prevent poor feline oral health.



From Cat Drooling with Delight to Home Page

He’s 60 years old in cat years but clings to me like a new born child. Why?

A Reddit.com user, Faris-Hilton said: "He’s 60 years old in cat years but clings to me like a new born child". Why is this? The man was impliedly asking a question. It appears that he couldn't understand why. I think I know why. And I am using the knowledge of Dr. Desmond Morris a world-famous zoologist and animal behaviourist. 

His theory, and I totally agree with him, is that we keep adult domestic cats in a state of mind where they believe that they are kittens for the simple reason that we provide all their needs. We are their surrogate mothers. This suspends their growth in terms of their mentality. It doesn't stop them developing as adults but it is suspended until they bring home a mouse at which point, they believe that we are their kitten and they need to train us how to kill a mouse.

Reddit user Faris-Hilton says his middle-aged cat is 60 in cat years but a child in his behavior. Photo: Faris-Hilton.

This might not happen every time but in the wild, the wildcat trains her kittens by bringing home prey animals which are still living. She might kill them in front of the kittens to teach them how to kill. Eventually they follow her outside the den to watch her preying on animals. In due course they become independent.

It would seem, therefore, that domestic cats can flick a switch from being a kitten to being a mother and in their minds, we can be the mother and a kitten. But to get back to this gentleman. He says his cat is 60 years old in cat years but behaves like a kid, in his mind he is a 60-year-old kid 😂.

There is another reason why he clings to him like a kid. He loves to be near him and in contact with him. Cats like to physically connect with their caregiver and other animals with whom they are friendly. Just like humans. It is a natural consequence of a close relationship. And it emotionally and phyisically warm.

Macaque and kitten - a close symbiotic interspecies friendship

This is an interspecies friendship story from Indonesia in 2010. You may have heard about it. I am a great fan of interspecies friendships and there are many to see on the Internet. This particular story comes from a book I have on these sort of friendships called Unlikely Friendships.

RELATED: Interspecies friendship: donkey and domestic cat

The macaque and the kitten. An interspecies friendship in which both found something that was missing in their lives. The picture is deemed to be in the public domain.

In Indonesia there is a sacred forest in the town of Ubud on the Indonesian island of Bali. In this place monkeys roam freely over a Hindu temple built many centuries ago. They are long-tailed macaques which are said to guard the temple from evil spirits.

A ginger tabby kitten strayed into the area and into the arms of one of these macaque primates. At this temple there are 300 macaques in four separate troops each with their own territory. People who saw the friendship develop were astonished.

One witness was Anne Young who was on vacation at the time visiting the Sacred Monkey Forest. She said the following:

"The pair had been together a few days, and whenever the park staff tried to capture the kitten, it would just run back to the monkey."

The macaque was a young male. He would groom the kitten. He would hug and nuzzle him and sometimes lay his head on the kitten's head. It was clear that he wanted to keep his kitten friend to himself. He became wary of the other macaques and indeed people who got too close. He would hide his 'prize' by climbing higher or going deep into the forest with his kitten in his arms.

On one occasion he used a leaf to cover the kitten. The kitten made no attempt to escape from the relationship. This macaque was not an alpha male or a leader.

It is believed that he was not getting a lot of attention from the other macaques and neither was he receiving attention from humans as they've become a nuisance in Ubud.

So the macaque found a friend and some attention as did the kitten. Perhaps they both craved friendship and a companion. It is probably as simple as that. A homeless kitten found a parent and a male primate found a child.

The story does not tell me how it ended. I'd like to know. Did they remain friends for the rest of the life of the cat?

Kitten thrown from car outside the home of the person who adopted him

Sometimes there can be a domestic cat merry-go-round. It happens all over the place in all developed countries to varying extents. I read about them a lot. One person throws a kitten away. Another person picks him up and lives with him the rest of his life. Sometimes that process is extended whereby the second owner also gives up the kitten or adult cat to a rescue. They adopt the cat out. The adopter might also relinquish their cat. It can be a merry-go-round.

Gray - a cat who was thrown away from a car as a kitten and adopted by the owner of the house near to where it happened. Photo: Janet Johson.

There is a good and rather stark example on the Internet. It comes from Janet Johnson. It happened last January when her son looked out of their front window at 8:15 PM. They live in South Carolina and the temperature was forecast to drop to 28°F. A cold night.

Johnson's son turned to her mother and said that somebody just threw something out of the car in front of their house. She went to the front door to have a look as the non-descript car pulled away.

Walking down the driveway was a little grey kitten about 4-5 months old. Johnson was not in the mood to adopt a kitten but she had lost a Maine Coon that she had adopted in 2011. He disappeared mysteriously the year before last. Perhaps he is another victim of the merry-go-round? Stolen and sold?

Johnson rescued and adopted the little grey kitten and called him Gray. She said that he is healthy, happy, neutered, loved and aggravating at 5 AM. The casualness with which the people in that non-descript car threw away their kitten is shocking. It was right in front of Johnson's house for anyone to see.

Throwing out kittens is a bit like fly tipping in the UK when people throw away items by the roadside along country lanes. They do this because it's easier to do rather than taking it down to the council tip. It's laziness. In respect of kittens it is callousness. The mentality of people who do this is very poor. They could take the kitten to a rescue centre. Too messy and too much trouble. Too embarrassing as the reason is probably allowing cats to breed.

But there is a merry-go-round between the bad people and the good people as illustrated. However, sometimes it's just about mediocre people who adopt and give up and then somebody else adopts and they give up and so it goes on.

This practice happened a lot during Covid lockdowns in the UK regarding dogs, actually. Casual and self-indulgent adoptions of puppies led to early relinquishments when they realised dog ownership is not a pushover, which led to advertising their dog for sale on social media (against the rules on Facebook) which in turn led to more careless adoptions and so on. The victims are the companion animals who are shunted around between different owners.

Kitten copies his rabbit companion and hops

This is a classic case of a kitten learning by observation. It just so happens that his owner has a pet rabbit as well inside the home and therefore we see the kitten hopping in following their rabbit companion. That's my take on what I see in this video. It is charming and it is cute. I don't think that it will become a habit that lasts throughout the adult life of this kitten. It's just a temporary state of affairs because of the kitten's observation of what he or she sees at that moment. 

When your cat thinks he is a rabbit too. Screenshot.

RELATED: Kitten Learns by Observing his Mother

It's a reflection of how kittens learn from their mother. They learn to eat prey animals and then to hunt prey animals from their mother. It's their journey to becoming independent at which point they leave their natal range and find their own home range if they are living in the wild and not in someone's home. I am referring to true wild cats and the ancestor of the domestic cat.

RELATED: Kitten raised on a military base learned to march.

You have probably seen domestic cats opening fridge doors, opening doors, even opening windows and other human activities which they've picked up through observation of their human caregiver. I've even seen a young cat watching boxing on television. The kitten started to box while sitting on his hind legs. It was an exact copy of what they saw on telly! Cats can copy complex human movements.

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

Maybe the saddest kitten picture you will see (Malaysia)

These are two photographs of the same kitten taken in Malaysia. I don't know who took photographs but they are on Twitter. They were tweeted by an individual or group on Twitter with 803,000 followers. That's almost a million followers. I have a terrible sense that they are using these photographs as commodities. 

Maybe the saddest kitten picture you will see (Malaysia). Photo: Twitter.

All I want to know is what happened to this kitten? Was the kitten rescued? What is going on? I don't want to see kittens like this used to improve a group's Twitter feed. It's a very sad photograph. It shows a kitten alone, giving up, abandoned. You wouldn't expect this kitten to have much more than a day or two to live looking at this photograph. 

Maybe the saddest kitten picture you will see (Malaysia). Photo: Twitter.

Why did the person photograph the kitten? Why didn't they just pick him up and take him home and care for him? Do we have to photograph every single thing we see? Do we have do have in the back of our minds whether something we see will make a good tweet or a good social media post on Facebook?

Nowadays, it seems that everything we do we photograph. Everything we see we photograph and try and obtain some hits on social media with it. We have got to feed that monster. That voracious monster needs a constant stream of words and photographs and videos. 

You can never stop. You must always make Facebook and YouTube bigger and bigger. In the meantime kittens are dying on the street because they were abandoned or born to an abandoned mother who had not been sterilised. 

How many kittens die like this not long after birth? We just accept it. It is just another sad, interesting photograph on social media. The person who took the photograph should provide a full record of what happened and how they saved the kitten. We don't get that. We get a cold photograph. An unemotional record of a lonely, sad, uncared for, depressed, starving, dying kitten.

NOTE: It has occurred to me that this photo was set up. It could be. Take a kitten off the street and use them as a 'model' in sad lonely place. Did that happen? No idea. But it might have happened.

Blue British Shorthair kitten consoles crying boy and wipes away his tears

The boy's mum scolded him for not doing his homework. It looks like she videoed him at the same time! 😉 It's a bit sick to scold your boy and make him cry and video the whole thing for social media. Anyway, his mom said "Don't cry!". They live in the Suqian in Jiangsu Province. The video was made in November 17, 2021. Below is a screenshot from the video. This is one of the cutest kittens that I have seen and I've seen tens of thousands. The kitten reaches out to his boy companion and touches the boy below the left eye as if to wipe away a tear.

The family adopted the blue British Shorthair from a friend about a month ago and since then the kitten has kept the boy company as he does him homework. 

There seems to be a bond there that will go a long way. Let's hope so.

I can't embed the video on this page. I am afraid that you'll have to click on the following link to see it. Sorry. Click this link to see the video. The link takes you to Newsflare.

Mama cat brings her kitten to the family's baby to play

The young woman who made the video, and who lives with the cat and kitten, has a voice which seems to emerge from the long distant past of filmmaking. Her voice is mysterious, perhaps magical, and it certainly adds to this rather strange video of a mother cat bringing her kitten to the family's baby (Blossom or is that the cat's name!) who is lying on the floor. The cat is a Ragdoll, incidentally. Very beautiful as is the kitten and the baby :) .

Mama cat brings her kitten to the family's baby to play

The woman believes that her mother cat is bringing her kitten, 'her baby', to the human baby to say hi and perhaps play. That is the interpretation. And it kind of makes sense because the cat might not recognise the human baby as a human. Perhaps this female cat sees the human baby as another feline, a young baby cat much like her kitten.

On that basis it makes sense that she wants them to be together and perhaps play. It might be far-fetched but if you have a novel and interesting interpretation of the video then please leave a comment on this page. In fact, the female cat might perceive both the child and her kitten as one and the same thing: her offspring. We have to mind read and I am unsure what is going on in the video but it is charming whatever it is.

A less prosaic reason is that the mother cat wants to be in the room with the woman (her caregiver) and decided to bring along her kitten so she could watch over him/her. The cat may have no particular interest in the baby.

@pearlsragdolls

Blossom's smile at the end 🥰😍 even she's excited for a kitten play date

♬ original sound - Pearl’s Ragdolls

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

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Another reason why cats need their claws so don't remove them

"Another reason, among hundreds, of why cats need claws. If your vet declaws and will not stop, take your $ to an ethical vet who does not torture cats". - The owner of cat called Cassandra who was declawed. This woman now fights against declawing. Great work.

Another reason, among hundreds, of why cats need claws. If your vet declaws and will not stop, take your $ to an ethical vet who does not torture cats. pic.twitter.com/Ujsh5GR4sy

— Cassandra🐾Wants🐾Claws (@DamnDeclawVets) May 26, 2021

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

Domestic cat likes to sit on his haunches. Why?

Why is this young tabby cat sitting on his haunches as we see humans do in Asia. They do it because it is a comfortable way to be in a restful position but you have to be flexible and therefore slender. It is impossible if you are overweight.

Domestic cat likes to sit on his haunches. Why? Video screenshot.

It is the first time I have seen a cat sit on his haunches like this and the cat's owner said that it makes her uncomfortable. She does no explain why. It's probably because she's worried that there is a health reason behind it.  But he looks relaxed, comfortable and healthy.

Comfortable

On the basis that I am correct in that assessment there is only one reason why he is squatting like this: it is comfortable for him (but see possible health issue below). This is very unusual but cats are individuals and this image on Twitter proves the point. Domestic cats vary tremendously in their likes and dislikes, their vocalisations and general behavior. There is a common thread of course because they are all felines but there is a lot of variation.

Men sitting on their haunches in Asia. They do it a lot in Asia but hardly ever in the West. Photo in the public domain.

Sore bum

There is one particular reason that I can think of which is health related. His bottom is touching a cool tiled floor. It looks like the kitchen or bathroom. 

It is conceivable that he likes the cooling sensation because his bum is in contact with the floor. If that is true it may be because he has discomfort in the area of his anus. This may be because his anal glands are inflammed because they are infected or his anus may be inflammed. As the latter would be noticeable it is more likely to be the former. It would be impossible to notice which is why the owner is uncomfortable. She is in the dark as to why her cat is behaving strangely as she sees it.

The video below may stop working over time because it is embedded here and the original which is on Twitter may be deleted. It that has happend I apologise.

"My cat keeps sitting like this and it makes me so uncomfortable." pic.twitter.com/tgMeXY1p9h

— Nature & Animals🌴 (@AnimalsWorId) February 21, 2021

All cat behavior is normal and correct. It is never deviant. There is always a good and logical reason behind it because cat behavior is  largely instinctively. They react to stimuli and conditions.

The sore bum theory is my currect favorite. As this is a Twitter feed I'll leave a comment and a link to this article. When cats have sore or messy bums they sometimes scoot. The scooting behaviour is a bit like this only the moves with their bum resting on the carpet or grass.

Vet pulls bug from kitten's nose with tweezers

There has to be a warning about this video which you can also see on Twitter. It's a short video of a warble (the lava of a botfly) being extracted from the nose of a young kitten. It looks gruesome and it is pretty gruesome. You don't want to watch it if you've not got a strong stomach. 

Botfly larva being removed from a young kitten's nose. Screenshot.

It is a curiosity because it's quite rare but in the US and Canada (also in Mexico and the neo-tropical regions) there is a species of fly, Cuterebra, which lays eggs near or in the opening of rodent and rabbit burrows. These eggs develop into larvae and the larvae can burrow into the skin of cats, kittens and dogs. They might enter the cat through the nose, mouth or a skin wound.

🚨 WARNING: Video may be too graphic for some- viewer discretion is advised. 🚨

More info: https://t.co/Ns042YOPcI pic.twitter.com/mNDGLBogQs

— Nebraska Humane Society (@NEHumaneSociety) July 20, 2016

The lava develops in the skin as part of their life-cycle. It's at this stage that a lava has been pulled out of this kitten's nose in the most gruesome video on this page. If the lava is left to develop inside the cat the botfly larvae migrate to the tissues beneath the skin where they encyst to continue their development.

Some species of botfly larva migrate to different parts of the body. Once they have developed inside the cyst, which may take from 19 to 38 days inside small rodents and from 55 to 60 days in Jackrabbits, they leave the host and the lava develops into a pupa in soil or plant litter on the forest floor according to VCA hospitals. The cyst left behind can cause an infection and be more of a health problem than the parastic larva.

If a botfly is developing inside a kitten's nose as we see in the video then it is a misfortune that the kitten has become a host for a fly. Botfly larvae are called warbles. They look, as mentioned, horrible and the thought of them is horrible but they are a fact of life.