Purring and its meanings

 

 

Hear Tilly purring here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMH0Q-3hEcw

 

We purr, therefore we are. Yet the purr means different things, depending on what is happening around us. 

An example of the happy relaxed purr can be found here It is my friend, Tilly, being stroked. Yet we also purr (with a tiny cry inside the purr) when we want something. Purrhaps when we want food from our humans.

And finally, some of us purr when we are at the veterinary surgery. It's a way of trying to soothe our anxiety and it may even help our pain.

But how do we make this low noise? We are only small animals and small animals make high rather than low noises? Scientists used to think we were moving the muscles of our voicebox or larynx.

Now they think it may be because we have pads on our vocal chords which press together and then start vibrating automatically, making this low noise.

Aren't we wonderful?

 

• To learn more about us buy Being Your Cat here
  
  
  
  

The oldies need you.....

Elderly Maggie waits for someone to love her.

When we get old and our fur becomes tatty, we need kind humans to help us. Especially if we are in a shelter waiting for a home.

We can't look beautiful when we have arthritis and our fur gets a bit rough, in those areas where we can't groom it.

We can't look graceful, if our aches and pains stop us jumping up high or being athletic.

We can't catch the adopters' eye if we are sleeping rather than playing. And we do sleep a lot.

We can give love. But only if a human recognises that we want to be a loving pet, rather than an old cat stuck for weeks and weeks in a pen waiting.

So please adopt the elderly.

I'm a tiger....

 

A domestic Bengal cat not a leopard!

We cats really are tigers -- small ones but nevertheless tigers. Or lions if you prefer. Tiny leopards in your kitchen?

Why?

Because we all have the same body plan and we all do the same thing - prey on other animals and eat them. We are totally carnivorous - "obligate carnivores" is the phrase.Or, you could say, serial killers.s

An evolution expert, Anjali Goswami, has said that we cats are perfect. We may vary in size but we don't change our shape and lifestyle pattern because we don't need to. 

Want to learn more? Read this interview in Scientific American. She says: Cats have nailed this one thing so well that they all do it and just come up with slightly different sizes. That’s why they’re perfect, evolutionarily. They don’t need variation."

There is one difference, however. Bit cats roar. We domestic cats purr. 

Which makes us even more purrfect....

I am not a vegan....

 

Stupid, stupid humans! A ridiculous bit of "scientific" research says cats are healthier on a vegan diet... though the statistics themselves say nothing of the kind.

We are not vegans. We are carnivores. We have to eat meat to stay healthy. What is more we are totally carnivorous - obligate carnivores. Unlike humans who are omnivores and can live on a vegan diet as long as they take supplements.

What do we cats have to do to make humans stop being so silly. We need meat. We enjoy meat. Food matters to us. We will slowly sicken and die if we don't get what our body needs.

Humans, don't believe that nonsense. Feed us proper cat food, which will include meat as protein. And feed us the food that comes from respectable providers, not some jumped-up firm importing bad stuff from China.

If you don't believe me, ask a vet. 

This is a reliable blog. Some are not. Let's say it one more time....

CATS ARE NOT VEGANS.

If cats were politicians....

 If cats were politicians, they'd do better than our politicians do.... After all, Larry the cat has lasted at number 10 Downing St much longer than any prime minister.

Now at last, a novel has come out which looks at what would happen in Whitehall if cats really were politicians. Cats whose humans read to them can find out more at catsociety.co.uk

I can't read human scratch posts but I welcome the idea of cats ruling Britain. There is every chance they would do a better job than the current humans.

Larry has shown dedicated service to the nation, a lack of corruption, no interest in sexual assaults or gropes, and a consistent honesty that has not been evident among those who have tried to lead our nation.

Help for bored cats

Indoor cats like me can't help getting bored - unless, of course, our humans work at  home. (If so we can play with their keyboards and their mouse - so called but not as good as a real one!).

My human got me a Funboard - so that I can spend some time poking food out of it. There's a video at the end of this post showing how I work it.

I would really like a live mouse that I could chase round the house then grab and kill - just like cats do. But this is better than nothing. It won't work for a big cat like a Maine coon because the openings are too small for big paws, but it works for me, an average size cat.

It can be put in the dishwasher and wet food could be put in those little round bowls. Get your human to give you one. If your human can't afford one, get some home-made ideas from my Celia's website here. You could make a cardboard version of your own using old lavatory rolls.

 

Good news for cats world domination....

The human brain is getting smaller. They are beginning to lose their capacity to out-think animals. Read the scientific details here. This is very good news.

Our world take-over will speed up as their thinking capacity shrinks. Purrsonally I have seen signs of a shrinking brain in my human already.

• She's getting testy, unable to tolerate frustration. Some felines wonder if this is due to the heat wave. I think it is due to brain shrinkage.
•  She is much less energetic than she used to be. It could be cognitive dysfunction of the elderly but it also could be brain shrinkage of her species.
• She is getting more difficult to train even though I follow the excellent manual One Hundred Ways for a Cat to Train its Human. 
• Her general capacity to anticipate and fulfil my demands is falling away.

These, of course, are the unpleasant signs of human brain shrinkage but in the long view it must be a good things. 

Roll on the day when we cats take over completely.

Humans and a safe haven

 Why do humans insist on leaving their territory. They call it a "holiday" or a "vacation." They move out of their proper place and roam far afield - for no very good reason.

No sensible cat would do this. We cats live in our own habitual areas - a core territory with a safe den and then a hunting range. 

The hunting ranges is where we go about, even if we don't hunt. We patrol it. We make sure nothing has changed and, if it has, we sniff carefully and sometimes mark it with urine as a kind of post-it note to ourselves to double check and as a message to other cats if  they share our range.

If we are indoor-only cats, then this distinction between the core territory and the hunting range is not so clear. Even so we appreciate a safe haven area, like the core den, where we can retreat if there are upsets or changes within the house.

My core territory is on the bed of my human. That's where I go if there are strangers in the house. I feel safe there. And, if things go really bad like shouting or building work in the house, I can always go under the bed, itself. 

My friend Percy has his safe haven on the top shelf of the wardrobe! He feels safe high up.

Why don't humans have the same sense? They go hunting for food or for work outside the home, but why go away for a whole two weeks roaming far afield?

Humans really are a strange species.

Techie help for lost cats

 At last... we cats are getting the same techie help as dogs. A microchip for all of us.

The law is changing in the UK and after June next year all pet cats must be microchipped by law. Why? So that if they get lost they can be more easily reunited with their humans.

Of course, I am microchipped. So is Jimmy, whose photo I used at the top of this blog. All responsible humans give us cats a microchip.

But there are still unthinking or old fashioned humans who don't bother to do this. And there are some humans that save a little bit of money by not doing it.

What will happen? Well, the unthinking humans may now be reminded by a vet to do this.

The truly unsatisfactory humans, the ones that don't bother to neuter us, still will not bother. But at least they will be liable for a fine.

It will make life easier for rescue shelters. A quick check for the chip... Easy. Cats with responsible human pets go home. 

Cats without responsible owners can be adopt better human that make better pets.

Black is beautiful. And funny.

 Just some funny black cat photos of my uncle George, the founder of this column, to celebrate Black Cat Day last week and to commemorate his memory.

An annoying human invention

 

My friend Tilly hunting in long grass

Wretched humans are destroying our way of life. We cats like hunting and we enjoy bringing home our prey through the cat flap to show off to our humans.

We would like congratulations from them but we usually get shrieks and dismay. We can live with that. Actually it is quite fun to see their reactions.

But now that fun is about to stop. Some horrible human scientists have come up with a cat flap that stops us from coming into the house with a mouse or a rat. It's so clever that it reads our face and can tell if there is something in our mouth.

What will they come up with next to ruin out lives?

Triumphant Toby brings home a rat to show off

Stop your human now! otherwise it will take an interest and join the early stages of this puritanical invention at kickstarter.

We have the right to  bring out prey home! Stand up for this!

International Cat Day photos

 To celebrate International Cat Day next Tuesday I am posting pictures of international cats - taken by my secretary. Notice how other photographers cannot resist a cat snap either. Guess where! Answers at the bottom of the pix.

....

Answers: My street, Serbia, Pompeii, Isle of Man, Egypt, Orkney.

Play is more than just play

This is natural play with a dead mouse

Play isn't just play. It's important for our feline mental health, especially if we are indoor cats. We need it. 

It exercises not just out bodies but also our minds when our humans play fishing rod games with us. We can stalk and pounce and bat the toy on the end as if we were hunting.

I hunt a little bit indoors anyway. I hunt flies on the window pane and any other kind of insects indoors. I pounce on spiders and butterflies when I get the chance. I even eat them occasionally.

This is the same play with a toy indoors

But that's not enough because my human has such a tidy apartment with so few insects in it. I need more. I love chasing toys on the kitchen floor and I absolutely adore fishing rod games. 

So purrlease play with me. It's the theme for International Cat Day which is coming up soon. Find out more https://icatcare.org/international-cat-day/

 

Why do humans lie on litter?

Even kittens know what sand is for.

 Humans are so weird. This time of year they leave their homes to go and spend hours lying in the sun on nature's litter tray -- the sea shore. Miles and miles of hot sand, ideal for feline use, are full of humans just lying there doing nothing!

There they are, with only a few bits of artificial fur (clothing), on sand. Sand is what I love too - but for digging and pooing in. Any heap of builder's sand, any child's sand pit, makes the ideal feline toilet. 

One of the misunderstanding between us cats and humans is just this. They really get upset when we use the kid's sandpit! Or - the next best place - the newly raked dry seedbed.

But why, oh why would they want to just lie on sand. The sand gets in all their nooks and crannies, but they don't seem to mind that. They don't seem to understand that sand is for toileting.

Now I enjoy lying in the sun. I love doing that. The sun on my fur, a little ripple of breeze, the warmth relaxing my whole body. So, no wonder they enjoy the sun too.

But if there's a choice I use paving or grass to lie on: sand is for other purposes.

It can't be the texture that attracts them, because they usually put down a towel or a bed. Maybe they like the company. They seem to lie there crowded against one another...

As I said, humans are so weird.

What if your human dies....

Marnie hates all cats and all humans

"What are you going to do if your human dies? She's old and her head fur has gone grey!" 

That is what a feline friend said to me the other day.

It set me thinking. What am I going to do? I hadn't thought of it at all. I looked at my human - arthritic, elderly, wrinkled skin and possibly even the first signs of cognitive dysfunction. 

Well, what was I going to do? She might not last long enough.

Alfie would fight me

As a middle aged cat, I didn't fancy leaving home through the cat flap. At least not without a plan. The neighbours on the right would take me in for a little while but they are trying to sell their house. But if I don't find someone else, I might starve.

The neighbours on the left wouldn't, because Alfie their cat would fight me to the death and perhaps kill me. He HATES me and I am frightened of him.

A little up to the left lives Marnie (see the top photo). Marnie patrols the street - nips humans, likes Natcho, but terrifies most other cats. So no 43 is no good to me. 

Natcho rules

Most of the humans in my street already have cats. I don't think Pauline could take me in because ginger Natcho would be horrible to me. He is very bossy and takes her for walks

Chester, opposite, lives indoors only and is scared of other cats so that is another cat-loving home ruled out.

I am going to have to make a survival plan -or get my human to redo her will and mention me in it. If all else fails I shall have to go back to Sunshine Cat Rescue or Cats Protection.

Meow......I will have to do a feline will in the event of HER death.

Face at the window

 

Pay attention, human passersby, as you go about your business outside. There's a feline face at the window watching you. In almost every town in every country.

Sometimes you do not notice us but we are watching your every move.

Those windows that you pass without looking in have someone looking out.  

You are under surveillance in a way that you do not understand.

We cats are watchers by nature. Sometimes we just sit, but more often than not, we sit and watch. We watch for movements and for moving targets.

You may be our focus.

We watch for prey and we watch for predators. And, when we can't or won't go out, windows allow us to do just this.

So, humans, furnish your windowsills with soft sitting places. 

So we can watch in comfort.

Neuter: don't just feed.

 

I know that among humans are many who are kind enough to give food to those of us cats who are living rough. Thank you.

They don't realise that food is not enough. The best help for these cats is neutering and spaying. They will stay healthier and happier for this.

I was lucky enough to be neutered early and so, if I am unlucky enough to lose my home, I won't be exhausted by the search for sex and fights with other cats on my territory. I won't get the awful diseases spread by cat bites.

It's much the same for females. Spaying means that they will not be exhausted, sometimes even to death, by two or three litters of kittens a year.

Stray cats who have lost their home need to be rescued and trapped, neutered and returned to their territory - or found new territory. Not imprisoned in a home.

So please, human cat lovers, do it properly. Get in touch with your local cat shelter, like Cats Protection in the UK, and ask their advice how to proceed.

I identify as a cat.

I am a cat who identifies as a cat.

Humans are making a lot of fuss about their human kittens who may be beginning to identify as cats. No, they are not growing fur or a tail. So far no school is offering them human-sized litter trays. 

Perhaps they are playing at being cats. I know my human Celia did this when she was a child. And why not?

I take this trend as a complement to the feline species. These humans recognise our superiority and want a part of it. It is called the Furries movement in the USA.

When I first heard about it, I found it difficult to get my head around. But now I think it is rather touching that some humans want to dress up as being a cat.

Poor things, they can't grow fur, except in the wrong places. They have to wear furry costumes, false ears and attach tails to their backsides. They have none of the sheer beauty, grace and dignity of a cat. But they aspire to be in their minds, what they cannot be in their bodies.

I am pleased to be so up to date with this touching human trend. Purrhaps they will begin to understand us better.

• This book might help them in their new feline life.
  
  
  
  

Training? I don't think so....

 My human says she is thinking of "training" me. Like a dog. A horrible idea. Some dogs are trained by cruel punishments or even electric shocks.

I talked to my friend Toby who has been through this process. He says I am seeing it all wrong. It is an activity which trains humans to come up with better food.

First they offer you a treat, then they have a code word which follows. After a little while, once you recognise the code word, you know that a treat follows.

This is when you start training them. You do something that amuses them - sitting up on hind legs, or following a target - they use the code word and divvy up the goodies.

It takes a bit of time before they understand it fully. But after a while, they get the idea...

And you get free food just in return for some absurd behaviour.

Simple. They think they are training you but you are training them.

Ouch! Get off my tail!

 I have always felt sorry for humans. They are permanently disabled from birth because they are born without a tail. There is literally nothing there not even a stump.

They are dumb in their body language. They can't signal with their tail - tail-up for friendship: tail bristling up for anger: tail hanging loose for ordinary investigation.

They cannot balance well either. We use our tails for balancing on high places. They have nothing like it so if they are rock climbing they just have to rely on hands. There's nothing better than a tail swing to adjust the weight of your body so you don't fall.

Disabled from birth and compromised in body language. Poor dumb humans.....

So I keep good care of my tail. I make sure it doesn't get trapped in tight places.Oscar down the road left his in the crook of the french windows and a bit just tore off!  

He's luckier than Puddy in the picture who lost almost all his tail when he was sheltering under a car and it drove off. We can survive without a tail but it's like losing a beautiful body feature.

Cats and sun.. be careful.

 I love basking in the sunlight - whether it's on a windowsill or just outside in the flowerbeds of the garden. I love the heat and the feeling of well being and relaxation.

But we cats can get sunstroke just like humans do. We don't normally pant like dogs so if we start panting, or became lethargic, we need help from a vet.

The other danger is to our nose and ears. We who have white faces and ears can get sun burned. And in turn severe sun burn can lead to skin cancer.  

We need sunscreen that is suitable for pets. Not human sunscreen. We need a sunscreen specially for pets. All you need to know is here.

To reduce the risk of skin cancer, we need to be kept in when the sun is at its most fierce at noon. Our humans should take notice if our ears or nose seem to have scabs or unhealed wounds.

We need veterinary help for this. Sometimes it means losing the tip of our ears but this doesn't impair our quality of life. Indeed some people think we look cute, like this cat in Italy.

So, humans. Pay attention. Look after us in very hot weather.

Kittens can count.... puppies can''t.

 

Kittens can tell the difference between a small quantity and a large one, like human babies can. Indeed they can do this as well as adult cats.

Human "scientists" spend their time doing all kinds of activities that we cats find pointless and sometimes upsetting. One of their tests, acceptable in that it offered food, was to see if a kitten would choose a larger number of food items over a smaller number.

In order not to give any human clues to the kittens, these "scientists" wore dark glasses, masks to cover their nose and mouth and stared at the wall.

It makes you wonder what the kittens thought of this very odd human behaviour. However, like sensible little animals they got on the job they were given and chose the larger portion.

Did they count up the food pieces? No, why would a sensible feline, young or old, bother with this. They just looked and chose the larger amount of food.

Puppies cannot do this, showing yet again how the feline superiority over mere dogs.

 

• Get your human to read this book...
  

The way cats live in Serbia

 

My human has come back with information about the lifestyle of a Serbian cat named Radosh. He has what humans (idiots that they are) call an "owner," Darko.

Radosh's life is completely different from mine. I am kept indoors all the time and fussed over by my human. Radosh leads an extraordinarily free life.

Indeed,Darko, unlike my human, does not interfere in Radosh's life very much, except to feed him when he turns up. 

Radosh has never had the operation that changed me into a home-loving cat! He has all his bits.

In winter Radosh disappears completely. Last summer he turned up again fat and healthy but the summer before he turned up looking thin and not very well. 

Where had he been? It remains a mystery.

Darko has not the slightest idea. 

Is Radosh like an unfaithful human husband, two-timing Darko with another human? Purrhaps.

In the mountains of the Balkan nation of Serbia, cats live differently, apparently, from the way we cats in the UK live now.

I think we have a better lifestyle but we do miss out on adventure, hunting and love.

Black cats matter too.

There is something odd about humans and thier attitude towards colour. They don't seem to like the colour black - which is why beautiful black cats stay longer in rescue shelters.

This colour prejudice means that my fellow cats, who just happen to be black, are ignored or even passed over by would-be human adopters.

Let's be clear. Black cats are as beautiful and mysterious and affectionate as any other coloured cat. They deserve a loving home. So help them get it.

Don't let your human be part of the problem. Puursuade them to spread the word and become part of the solution.

Black cats matter!

• My human is being boring and insisted on adding this pictures of "her" book. She just typed the manuscript when my paws got sore. All the worthwhile content is mine.
  
  
  
  
  

No cats at the Coronation!

There are no cats at the British coronation. Not a whisker of one. 

 Larry the famous Downing St cat was not invited to Westminster Abbey. Neither was Palmerston of the Foreign Office invited out of retirement for the occasion.

Attlee, the new cat who has adopted the Speaker at the House of Commons will also be absent. His pet, Sir Lindsey Hoyle, however, will attend in his place.

Rumour has it that there is no place for any feline at Buckingham Palace for one good reason. Dogs will pledge allegiance any day even if it is in return for a biscuit. 

Cats won't. They don't do loyalty. Felines are republicans. They grovel to nobody. Canines are loyal royalists.

Remember the Civil War, when we cut off the head of Charles the First? 

Who's for doing it again, fellow felines?