Franny's Cats Blog April 2006 Archive

How well do you think you care for your cats? Are you a doting cat parent, or are there areas where you can improve? This survey is non-judgemental, and you ... Read More

"My precious feline boy is named Mordacai He has brought such love and comfort to my life. He is a real mommas boy and sleeps with me every night ... Read More

May Day is almost upon us. In many parts of the world people are thinking of gardening, and it's not too soon to consider planting a special garden for your ... Read More

I receive many email requests to help promote various cat-related products and businesses, and I rarely accept the "offers," but the email I received from Henry a few days ago ... Read More

With its almost hairless body, big ears and pixiesh expression, you'll either love the Sphynx or hate it at first sight. However, if you spend a bit of time around ... Read More

A reader writes: I have 2 neutered male cats, 2 years old. One is a Maine Coon and one is a Persian. We bought them at the same time and they ... Read More

April is a transitional month. It hasn't decided if it is really Spring yet, but also surprises us now and then with warm days that sneak a hint of things ... Read More

As a direct relative, the Somali shares the playful characteristics of the Abyssinian, and can be just as clownlike and inquisitive as their shorthaired relative. Somalis, like the Abys, thrive ... Read More

You may need to discourage stray cats from your yard to prevent unpleasant episodes of redirected aggression among your own cats. Or perhaps your cats are endangering themselves by counter-surfing ... Read More

A question many people have wondered about but forgot to ask: Is there any difference between cat hair and cat fur? I've seen references to both phrases on your site and ... Read More

Playing with your cat is an essential activity, both for the bonding experience and the excercise he needs. Most cat lovers love to spend hours watching their cats play; even ... Read More

"The picture shows our cat Hummel. Seeing her here telling us "to take out time to smell the roses", you wouldn't think that the same cat on the drop ... Read More

Nothing is quite so frightening to a cat owner than to see her cat suddenly go into a seizure, or even fall unconscious, particularly when the cat may have had ... Read More

Raising newborn kittens may be the most challenging, time-consuming task you've ever attempted, and can be both intensely rewarding and heartbreaking. If you do not have the time or the ... Read More

During kitten season (which is now in full swing), our ongoing cat overpopulation problems become increasingly severe. Hundreds of thousands of kittens end up in shelters, which are already overcrowded. ... Read More

Have fun with this collection of free cat stencils to print and cut out, from cuddly characters to fat cats, generously shared by Marion Boddy-Evans, About.com Guide to Painting. If ... Read More

We sometimes take life with our cats for granted until some disaster befalls our cat, or the cat of someone we know. Almost daily, somewhere in the world, a cat ... Read More

"Maggie is an eight-month old polydactyl cat that I adopted from a local SPCA when she was a mere eight weeks old. She has one extra toe on each of ... Read More

The Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine now offers several free online videos on various features of cat care, including pilling, taking your cat's temperature, and brushing cats' teeth. Be sure ... Read More

The world of cat lovers, particularly those of us who frequent the Internet, abounds with myths and misconceptions about cats. This list addresses the most common of those myths and ... Read More

The decision to adopt a kitten is an exciting event, but not to be entered into lightly. Kittens require an enormous amount of care, which, of course, is compensated by ... Read More

Cafe Press now has a black t-shirt, and I've chosen the Ciao, Miaow, Whatever design for my About Cats store. I thought our Billy's look of boredom or ennui was ... Read More

Every day I get one or more similar requests. Unfortunately, I do not have access to my reader database (for a number of good reasons), and I am unable to ... Read More

It comes as no surprise that the future of our planet and the creatures we share it with depends on what young people are learning today. Certainly, we are horrified ... Read More

The Siberian cat is the third of the look-alike triangle of Maine Coon, Norwegian Forest Cat and Siberian. Indeed, several registries were reluctant originally to accept the Siberian for that ... Read More

Cats are actually very predictable creatures, and biting and scratching are cause and effect behaviors just as most undesirable behaviors. There are two basic kinds of biting and scratching behaviors ... Read More

Timothy Dickens is a svelte tuxedo cat guy, and although his blog sub-title is "a not-so-daily blog by me," he does a pretty good job of keeping it updated. (Probably ... Read More

We can learn a lot about our cats' temperament, as well as their health at any given time by learning and observing their body language. They may or may not ... Read More

Cat food allergies and feline conditions such as IBD often are treated with a limited ingredient diet, usually using a protein source the cat has never eaten before, such as ... Read More

"Freuline Rorschach is named after the Swiss psychiatriast who came up with the ink blot test... black ink spattered on white paper... She looks like a cow, thinks she's a ... Read More

As cats become more sedentary (between 6 and 8 years), they tend to gain weight if continued on their normal diet, and of course, even younger cats may become obese. ... Read More