Thursday, 21 December 2023

The reason why kittens, adult domestic cats and small wild cats play

Playing for both the domestic adult cat and kitten and in general small wild cat cubs is about self-training and practising for improved predation for survival and to defend their home range.

Play is for honing motor skills in practice for predation
Play is for honing motor skills in practice for predation. Image: MikeB

I would argue that for the small wild cat species, as stated, it is normally only for cubs/kittens to play and who do it intensively in order to train themselves in terms of coordination and general motor skills to become better predators (and survivors) when they are adults. And it is fun.

For the domestic cat it is a little different as they are cared for by their human caregiver. The human caregiver is a surrogate mother and this tends to keep the adult cat in the mental state of being a kitten and therefore they tend to have a kitten attitude or personality which translates to kitten-like behaviour which in turn translates to playing as an important aspect of their lives even when adult. 

Domestic cats and kittens play a lot because it's instinctive but it doesn't stop when they become adults. That's the point I'm making.

Experts have observed small wild cat species playing with prey animals such as mice in the same way as domestic cats. Some people think that the domestic cat is torturing a mouse when they do this. And they criticise the domestic cat for it. It's not true. It's normally because they might be a little frightened of being bitten because they lack practice in predation or they are instinctively practising predation and killing as was observed in a Geoffroy's cat in a captive environment.

The point is that the underlying reason why the small cats which includes domestic and wild cats play is, in the words of Jim Sanderson PhD, "to develop their motor skills". That's the purpose behind it rather than simple entertainment.
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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Wednesday, 20 December 2023

Domestic cat destroys a chair and sleeps in the ruins 'The Artist and his Art'

This is a great picture of domestic cat chair destruction. Although I can tell that the person who owns this cat gave up on protecting the chair a long time ago and continued to allow his/her cat to scratch it to destruction.

There are ways to protect furniture as you know one of which is to provide a great (super large) cat scratching post and place it near the said chair at least initially.

Anyway it makes a good pic. It is described as "The Artists and his Art". I like that as it does look like a work of art with the tabby cat embedded into the chair. 

It almost looks like a painting or a sculpture of sorts. A piece of contemporary art. Real art not feline destruction 'art'.

Domestic cat destroys a chair and sleeps among the ruins
Image: Facebook.

You know that cats must be allowed to scratch something suitable like an armchair. Sorry, I mean a scratching post. It is integral to their natural, instinctive behaviour. Essential to their behaviour in fact. It does so much good for them.

Read this for the reasons (60 second read): Infographic on the reasons why cats scratch armchairs.

The lesson taken from this image that cat caregivers should really give up on trying to keep their furniture pristine and 'as new'. You won't achieve it but there are some fabrics that are favoured by cats for scratching and those that are unpopular.

Click this for furniture that cats are less likely to scratch: Is there any furniture that domestic cats won’t scratch?

And some furniture is also less popular with cats as cat a scratching posts: Cats like to scratch chenille but dislike synthetic leather or waterproof grosgrain

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Recliner chairs and sofas are a serious danger to kittens and puppies

It is Christmas 2023. Many people with pets might be considering treating themselves with a comfortable reclining armchair or sofa (couch) or a riser recliner. They deserve it. But they need to realise that reclining chairs and sofas can be deadly to pets particularly kittens and puppies are they tend to explore more and are the right size to scamper underneath the recliner where they might remain for a while during which time their caregiver arrives to use it. The recliner becomes a killing machine as the kitten or puppy is crushed by the reclining mechanism.

Image: MikeB

It has happened a lot but the problem is under-reported. There are no surveys on Google Scholar which tells me that there is not enough concern about these potentially deadly items of furniture.

It is the mechanism which kills the companion animals if they are in the wrong position under the chair at the time it is used.

They are attractive spots for kittens and cats. Kittens are likely to be a little more anxious than adults especially if they have recently been adopted and are new to the home.

They will find a place to hide and what better place than under the recliner. The owner is blissfully unaware of the danger and is happy she has just adopted a kitten from the local shelter. Her present to her herself and her kitten at Christmas

This happiness just before Christmas can be shattered in a second when the kitten is crushed under the recliner.

My belief is that cat and dog owners should not possess a reclining chair or sofa. They are just too dangerous. Perhaps I am too sensitive to the danger. Perhaps I am overly concerned but I don't think so.

In the home there are many potential dangers to cats and dogs particularly the young ones. It is the duty of the caregiver to minimise these dangers.


I would put the reclining chair somewhere near the top of the list of household dangers to pets. At the level of toxic substances and plants like the lily.

Separately, using the wrong flea treatment is a massive danger to cats. For example using a dog spot on flea treatment on a cat. Never do that. It can be fatal. 

It only takes a second and a lapse in concern or awareness of the dangers to end up killing your kitten or adult cat.

I have written about this before and have been reminded to write about it again as it is Christmas and the warning needs to be restated.


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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Tuesday, 19 December 2023

Domestic cats can assess a snake attack and react all in 0.04 of a second

I have written about the cat's rapid reactions before when mentioning the ability of the diminutive sand cat to kill snakes fearlessly. The cat is able to out-react the snake. The snake has no chance in a fight with a humble stray cat. In the early days of cat domestication they were used to keep down rodent numbers and deal with snakes. That was thousands of years ago and they are doing the same thing today in the front-line trenches in Ukraine where cats keep the Ukrainian soldiers company and kill snakes and rats.



Cats probably have faster reactions than snakes and snakes are known to have impressive reaction times. The humble domestic or stray cat is incredible when it comes to the rapidity of their reactions. The video shows us this amazing skill. The cat can kill snakes as they can avoid the bite even when the snake is right in the face of the cat as seen in the video.

Cat avoids snake bit in a most impressive way
Cat avoids snake bit in a most impressive way. Screenshot.

"Cats have highly developed sensory systems, including keen eyesight, acute hearing, and sensitive whiskers, which contribute to their ability to react swiftly. They are known for their ability to pounce on moving objects with remarkable accuracy and agility." - AI computer Poe.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Prison in Chile where the inmates look after 100 cats (with problems!)

There is a prison in Chile where the inmates look after almost 100 cats. It is Chile's largest and oldest prison in which there are 4,900 inmates. It is the  El Centro de DetenciĆ³n Preventiva (CDP) Santiago Sur, better known as the old Santiago penitentiary and locally, simply ‘la Peni’.  It was built 180 years ago.

Prison in Chile where the inmates look after 100 cats (with problems!)
The image is by MikeB based on pictures provided by Metro.co.uk who I presume got them from HSI.

The cats roam around inside the prison with the inmates. How did the cats arrive at the prison? Well, I'm told that they had a rodent problem and administrators decided to introduce cats to the prison to keep them down.

The problem was that they had no sterilisation programme and the cats that they adopted had not been sterilised. They procreated until the numbers grew to almost 100. A small oversight :) . But perhaps there is a silver lining.

The cats appear to be helping the inmates. Looking after them gives them a sense of responsibility. And cats of course are non-judgemental unlike society and the administrators of the prison.

Many of the prisoners have a compassionate and close bond with a cat or cats and they join them in their cells. They sleep on makeshift cat beds.

The cats are fed with leftovers from human food. The inmates can't bring in cat food. This would appear to be a potentially serious problem because human food is okay for a short time but over a long period its unbalanced nature, lacking in certain nutrients, may cause illness in domestic cats.

Sometimes the inmates forego their food to feed the cats. Another problem is with pooing and peeing as you might imagine. I don't think that there are any litter trays and so there is a problem with poop and urine.

Thirdly, they can't take the cats to a vet if they become ill. This is apparently the major concern of the prisoners: the lack of access to any veterinary care.

And it appears that the Chilean Protection charity, Felinnos Foundation, proposed visiting the prison to help deal with these problems and to give the cats a much needed check-up.

The administrators were hesitant about the idea. They relented because of the ongoing hygiene problems with poop and pee and opened the doors to the charity. The Humane Society International helped organise the visit.

And at this time, the authorities have begun to understand that the cats are important to the inmates. They rely upon them for emotional support. And the security guards are helping as well.

A Humane Society International worker, said that the living conditions at the prison were extremely challenging for both the inmates and the cats. Some cats were suffering from health problems. These included the typical ear and eye infections i.e. upper respiratory tract infections. 

And apparently the cats harboured fleas and ticks and they had worms and skin rashes combined with malnutrition and wounds. The wounds were acquired through fighting. Quite a difficult situation in terms of health which I guess is to be expected under the circumstances.

The charity provided healthcare for the cats over three days with the cooperation of the country's national prison service.

There were given full check-ups and they were spayed and neutered so that they could no longer procreate. They were also vaccinated against rabies.

The cats were then reunited with their prisoner caregivers after a night of isolation and observation.

Further, the inmates were given some advice about how to care for their feline companions in this very particular environment.

The prison is very overcrowded with double the number of inmates that should be there. The Humane Society International worker, Daniela, said that "It's heart-warming to see the special bond and commitment that cats offer their guardians through their company and emotional support."

Comment: I've never heard of such an arrangement. I've heard of cats in prison but never to this extent and it's nice to know that the authorities have allowed the Humane Society to become involved in the interest of the welfare of the cats whose presence is obviously beneficial to the inmates but at a price: their health.

The question now is whether the authorities are going to put in place some better arrangements such as adding cat litter trays, ensuring that proper cat food is available and allowing the cats access to veterinary care. These are big changes to make and at the moment I don't have information as to whether these have been arranged.
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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

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