dateline 7/24/00

The Cats Site of the Week honors one cat site each week for excellence in web site design, format and content. Much like sites which have received the Best of the Net awards, Cats Sites of the Week simply leap off the screen and demand to be explored. They are really in-your-face web sites, and as such, deserve special recognition. This week's honored site is just that.

Feline Future

It is rare that I select a commercial site for Cats Site of the Week, and with this one, you'll have to search to find the commerce in it. Feline Future is another of those sites where you read a page, absorb the information, and then say, "Hey! I've been to this site before." Feline is packed chock full of valuable information on raising a cat, couched in language every lay person can understand, and yet not written "down" to the reader.

Feline Future is the brainchild of Natascha Wille Baker and Scott Baker, and originally founded as a small research center to provide cat owners with a better understanding and care for their cats. Their research into feline nutrition resulted in the development of a basic foundation for a fresh, raw meat diet, and subsequently forced them to take on a commercial endeavor, as means of sharing their discoveries.

Cats are obligate carnivores, and the research on nutrition at Feline Future was based on that incontrovertible fact. The result was a book, which may be read online or purchased in a paperback version. It is very informative and thought-provoking reading for someone who is concerned about their cat receiving proper nutrition the way nature intended.

In reading the many educational articles on Cat Care, such as "Cat Habitat: Your Living Room," one is immediately struck by the facts that these people are not just giving lip service to cats' needs; they really come from the premise that the well-being of the cat is all-important, and judging from the accompanying photographs, they practice what they preach. Their article on "Countering Arguments for Declawing," in my opinion, sets the standard for a reasonable, calm, well documented article on that subject.

Although many of the Baker's research projects have not yet been published, many rescuers and advocates will empathize with the story of the rescue of two old "war veterans." It's obvious there is a tender side to the Bakers' ongoing research.

I give Feline Future an A+ for a site that is the epitome of design, humaneness, and value to cat lovers.

See the previous Sites of the Week here:
http://cats.about.com/library/weekly/blsow_archives.htm
The permanent URL for Site of the Week is:
http://cats.about.com/pets/cats/library/weekly/blsiteofweek.htm