Sensitive ears in the shelter

 We cats can hear far more and far better than humans. We can hear the tiny ultrasonic squeak of a mouse behind the skirting boards. We can hear the ultrasonic whirring noises of machine, which you humans cannot hear at all. Yet for us it is screaming in our ears.

So no wonder we don't like it, if the litter tray is placed near the washing machine in the utility room. Would you like to have to sit on the lavatory right by the noise of men drilling through the tarmac? That's what the machine sounds like to us!

We learn to ignore the TV noises most of the time - even though they are far louder in our ears than in yours. We can hear the  faint scrabble of a rat or the tiny hum of a very small grasshopper. They are clear as a church bell to us.

When we are put into a cat shelter, one of the awful stresses are the noises. We can sometimes hear the barking of frightening dogs in the kennels nearby. We hear the clash of the food bowls being washed and the noise of the grass outside being mown -- and we can't get away from the din.

We nervous cats suffer most. Please put us as far away as possible from noisy machinery or the rattle of food dishes. Cats in pens need as much silence as they can get!

 

Kittens need human love - a pen is not enough.

Kittens need loving and gentle human contact otherwise it will not grow up to be a happy pet from the age of two to eight weeks. Yet many humans do not realise this.

They rescue a mum and kittens, then keep them in a pen where they get only a moderate amount of human contact usually when the pen is being cleaned or food is being supplied.

That's not enough.

They rescue us - and think that just giving food and shelter is adequate. It's not. Without loving human contact we will grow up to be nervous adults. Kittens need human love and handling, and they need it at the right age.

Educate the cat rescuers to socialise kittens properly!

Humans feed us in the wrong wayl

 

 

Boomer has to search for his food - and it's fun

• Humans give us food in a bowl. It's boring. Why don't they give us fun hunting out food hidden round the house?
• Humans sometimes make us share a single food bowl with another cat. It's stressful. We cats prefer to eat alone.
• Humans think it is cute if we have to eat our food in a line of bowls close to each other. It's unnatural for us and stressful. 
• Humans often feed us twice a day with large portions. That's unnatural for us too. We would like 5-20 little nibbles a day.
• Humans think fat cats are funny. We suffer from arthritis and diabetes if we get too fat. 

Humans should wise up about what cats want.

Why don't I show when I am in pain?

Elderly Sam

Humans are not good at recognizing when I am in physical pain, let alone emotional pain. I do not whimper or whine like a dog. I might shriek from sudden fear, but most of the time I endure pain silently and stoically. 

If I have arthritis and moving is painful, I just spend more time in my bed. I usually don't limp or show that I am stiff. I may also bite you when you pick me up, if it hurts. 

Why do I behave like this?

I am a small animal with big enemies like dogs, coyotes and wolves. These predators are always on the lookout for an easy meal, so they will single out any cat that looks as if it is sick and will not be able to run away or fight back. Therefore evolution has programmed me not to show pain.

I get scruffy because I can't turn round to groom myself properly. I may lose weight because my teeth are bad. But my carers often say "It's just old age."

Please don't do this. I need painkillers from a vet.

Do they know I'm stressed?

STRESSED

 

 If I'm stressed  but my human doesn't seem to care maybe she just doesn't recognise what I am feeling. This is the dilemma us cats face. Humans cannot recognise the signs of feline stress.

Take our body position. If we are stressed we are likely to be hunched up, paws under the body ready for flight, the body stiff and tense. Our pupils will be enlarged. Our ears may be lowered out of fear, or lowered and swivelled back because we are both fearful and frustrated. We may blink rapidly.

RELAXED

If we are relaxed, our bodies will be spread out, our bellies may be visible, and our legs and paws are stretched out too. Our ears are usually forward, eyes almond shaped. If we see our human, we give a slow blink. We may purr at a familiar human.

But how many humans can read us properly? Their ignorance is at its worst if we are in a rescue shelter. They may not realise how unhappy we are.....