According to a common conception the age of a cat can be estimated when you give a cat three years for every human year. However, this is not so. At the age of one year, a cat is able to reproduce and take care of himself, but a three year old human is absolutely helpless. So, similar formulas for estimating a cat’s age are not working, because humans and felines have different stages of development which cannot be compared.
You may be surprised to find out that the feline life span is gradually increasing – several years ago cats lived an average of twelve years, and how they live about eighteen or even more years. A longer feline life is contributed by improvements and modernization in cat medicine as well as by generic changes. According to some reports several cats in Southern California have lived thirty and thirty-four years.
Independent and Lonely Creatures
People commonly believe cats are solitary animals but if you have visited a farm with many cats living there have seen the cats gather in colonies. Of course, they fight a bit because one of the cats is always dominant and the rest felines are equal.
Cat owners whose pets live both indoor and outdoor have noticed that their cats want to be let out, especially at night. When you open the door and allow the cat to go out, it seems like the cat is watching you and wants you to go out with him. This may mean that the cat would like to have a hunting company, and this shows that cats are not so lonely animals. Feline training is impossible It is absolutely possible to train a cat. We have seen on television cats that walk on a rope, roll a ball or swim underwater. Often we consider this a kind of showmanship business and believe our pets can’t be trained. However, depending of the breed and the cat itself, felines can be trained to a certain degree and they definitely can train us humans!
Particia Moyes is the author of the book “How To Talk To Your Cat”. In this book she describes a game she and her cats play. The goal is to remove an object from a perch without knocking it on the floor and without disturbing anything around. One of her cats achieves this goal with great attention, without knocking it on the ground, while the other achieves the task in a clumsy way, knocking it down to the floor.
Moyes describes two other games: fetch and carry, and hide and seek. In the first game the person throws a ball of tinfoil, the cat catches the ball, returns it and drops it at the person’s feet. In the second game the cat brings the ball and leaves the room. Then the person hides the ball and calls the cat. The pet finds the ball after some searching and drops it at the person’s feet, and then the feline leaves the room again. However, you should keep in mind that Moyes has unusually close and respectful attitude towards her felines. The behaviour of her cats is not surprising when we consider the fact that the more you anticipate your pet to be capable to perform various actions, the more capable the pet will become.
Another example that cats can be trained is my own cat that was taken from the street at an age of 8 months. At the beginning he used to scratch on the furniture but every time he did it I bang on the floor and told him “no”. Eventually, the cat stopped scratching on the furniture.
Actually, cats do when they are not supposed to do when they want to attract your attention or when they need something.
An ancient Egyptian papyrus depicts a cat and a dog walking on their hind legs, carrying staff herding ducks and goats. Definitely, this pictures wants to show the cat and the dog are in control. If the animals were depicted on their fours they would not be carrying ducks and goats and would be on the same level with them, but not in control. I suppose that back in this time cats were trained and used by people, and felines were quite responsive and trainable.
Keeping Aloof
It is not hard to understand why cats keep themselves aloof when you consider their history and relations to humans. Cats have been associated with witches, evil forces and Satan; they have been tortured, condemned, exterminated. Those of them that survived passed the sense of survival and the sense to wary of humans. However, cat owners know that a cat can become truly attached and can be really grateful for the care and affections it receives.
Feline Attitude towards Music
If you start playing an instrument, such as guitar, a dog will probably leave the room. A cat, however, will come near you, roll around and purr as if he loves music and enjoys it greatly. My cat likes listening to me playing the guitar but he is extremely happy when I play the Celtic Harp. Its state can be described as ecstatic – he seems to experience immense pleasure and enjoyment. Many famous composers shares similar stories about their felines.
Mlle Dubuy is a famous harpist who noticed her cat purred when she played the harp. The cat cried when Dubuy played less. The harpist uses her cat’s behaviour to improve her skills and was completely aware how much she owed her cat for her success as a musician.
You may have watched on YouTube a video of a cat that plays the piano. The feline seems to be completely absorbed into the music. However, when his owner starts playing Bach on another piano, the cats stops playing and listens with great pleasure. This video is a proof that cats like beautiful music and experience great pleasure when they listen to music.
Movements
We are all aware of feline flexibility and agility but we don’t know the factors that contribute to this. In humans, the vertebrae of the spinal columns are held by muscles, while in cats – by muscles. This allows cats to make various movements. In addition, the construction of the feline shoulder joint allows cats to turn their foreleg in all directions.
Have you ever noticed that there is something funny and odd in the way cats run?
Other mammals advance as they move their front legs of one side of their bodies and the back legs of the opposite side. However, cats move their front and back leg of the same legs. Only camels and giraffes moves the same way as cats.
Food, water and health
The conception that cats can consume only dry food is absolutely wrong. Felines need meat because they can’t take the elements they need from non-meat food and produce the required proteins. Specialists say the carbohydrates that are a main ingredient in dry food are not only unnecessary, but can also be harmful. A cat needs meat in order to receive proteins from it, but also to get water from it.
Cat owners know that cats don’t drink much water. They normally get the water they need from their prey. If cat owners don’t feed their pets with enough quantities of wet food, the felines may suffer from kidney disease caused by dehydration.
Don’t forget to give your cat fresh water, no matter whether the pet eats wet or dry food. Most cat owners have noticed that their cats drink more water if their water bowl is not placed near their food bowl. This can be explained with the fact that in the wild, animals don’t search for water and food simultaneously. In addition, cats are very clean animals and they may not feel well to have food near their water source as food has a certain smell.
Plastic bowl for both food and water are should be avoided because plastic get scratched easily, and the scratches are full of harmful bacteria. Some cats are allergic to plastic and may develop skin problems if they are fed from such bowls.
Still water may run deep
However, this won’t suit a cat. Cat owners have seen their cats putting their tongues under the taps. Felines just love doing so. My cat used to drink water from a drip in the bathtub until we fixed it. Most cats prefer drinking water from other sources different from still water.
Some vets believe cats are attracted by moving water because the molecular difference between it and still water. Probably the reason for this is the movement of the water or its sound. The reasons are not clear for sure but the fact is that cats prefer to drink from a source of moving water.
So it is not surprising that there are numerous cat fountains manufactured. Some of them are plastic but there are also ceramic fountains available. Cat owners should keep the fountain clean and should fill it with water regularly.
