The Ears Have It, Too...

A cat's ears can adopt several different positions and for several different reasons:

Ears erect and forward - alert with attention focused ahead.

Ears swiveled sideways like a swing - wing fighter - on the offensive.

Ears pressed backward onto the head giving the appearance of a snake - extreme defense.(ears folded back to protect them from harm)

One ear forward and one back - ambivalence.

Ears rotating like radar dishes - listening carefully in an attempt to find the source of the sound.

Mouth

Your cat normally keeps their mouth closed. This tells us very little about a cat's motivation.

When the mouth is open, however, you can sometimes learn about your ca't's motiviation.

Open mouth with lips retracted. Your cat stares, bears their teeth and hisses .

This indicates intimidation and aggressions.

The yawn, Yawing indicates stress, ambivalence, or sometimes preparedness for action.

Ways To Read Your Cat's Mind Part 2.....

The Eyes Have It..

Look into your cat's eyes and you can tell a lot about their state of mind.

The direction of your cat's gaze will direct you to the subject of their attention, but gazes vary.

Some are intense and focus while others are haphazard. When your cat stares without blinking, do they want something from you, or are they feeling hostility?

Either could be true.

Although a fixed gaze and rigid body posture might mean hostility the same look might be soliciting petting or some other form of attention in a relaxed, purring cat.

Another fairly definite eye sign relate to pupil size. If your cat's pupils are constricted and sit=like. their mod is probably ambient,m bordering on vegetative.

Or perhaps it is predatory. However, if your cat's pupils become fully dilated in broad daylight appearing as large black pools, they either are in pain or ready to fight or run away.

Increased pupil size is not intended to intimidate other cats or people but rather to allow more light into the eyes. Cat's pupis are always large at night but veterinarians learn very quickly to beware when a cat's pupils are fully dilated in a brightly lit examination room.

The degree of opening of the eyelids can tell a tale too.

Wide-open eyes correlate with alertness and increased levels of metal activity-ready for action if you will.

Semi-closed or fluttering eyes means that the cat is in a more dozy complacent mood or may be in the mood for a nap.

So if your cat's eyelids flutter and periodically close while the are looking at you, it is a sign of faith or trust.

Even if they are on the brink of falling asleep at the time, squinting at you is still a compliant because your pet is showing that they are comfortable and trusting enough to take a nap in your presence.

Ways to Read Your Cat's Mind. Part 1...

Wouldn't you love to know what your cat is thinking?

You can sit and watch your cat for hours, but you never know just what is going on behind those big dreamy, blue ,green, amber or golden eyes.

Your cat squints at you, fluttering their eyelids until they almost close.

They switch their tail. Are they angry or just excited.

We may not know, but we can make some pretty good assumptions about what cats are thinking based upon the full context of their behavioral signing and events that normally follow.

One Year after the Earthquake....

On January 12, 2010, Haiti experienced one of the largest earthquakes in history, devastating not just the human population but the animal populations as well.

One year later, the animals of Haiti have a new safe haven thanks to the Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States.

The two organizations joined forces to open a new animal care center and veterinary training facility outside of Port--Prince.
The center will offer smallau animal care and surgical training, equine care and medical training, disaster response training and housing for foreign veterinary and disaster response experts.

To read more about this visit - HumaneSociety.org

This Month Is For The Birds-Literally...

Often, when we think of lonely pets in a shelter we picture a dog or cat.

But thousands of companion birds are relinquished each year, as well.

So in 2002 the ASPCA launched the first Adpot A Rescued Bird Month In January.

Some breeds can mimic the sounds of different household appliances, while others sing or coo.

PetFinders.comn has a bevy of birds waiting for homes, and a list of things to consider before bringing home a Polly of your own.

Pets Of The Homeless...

What We Do.

Pets of the Homeless is a non profit all volunteer organization that provides pet food and veterinary care to the homeless and less fortunate in local communities across the United States and Canada.

The volunteer collection sites gather the donated pet food and deliver it to food banks, homeless shelters and soup kitchens which have agreed to distribute the pet food to the homeless and poor.

To licensed veterinarians, through our grant program it will provide resources for vaccines and veterinary care to pets of the homeless.

There are many ways you can help.

Visit Petofhomeless.org to learn more.

Please donate today.

2255 Waterford Place

Carson City, NV 89703

775-841-7463

ww.petsofhomeless.org

Keeping Your Cat Warm In Winter..

If you are trying to keep your cat warm in the winter time there are several easy ways you can do that.

Depending on whether or not your cat is a indoor cat or if the cat spends part or all of its time outside, your options for keeping them warm will vary.

Indoor cats have a reputation for loving those nice warm spots, like the sunny spot on the couch in the afternoon.

They also like to find warm place like your face when your are sleeping, or snuggling up next to the computer which generates a lot of heat. Keeping a cat warm in winter time indoors is not very difficult.

Generally any temperature that is comfortable enough for a person will be completely fine, for cat. The do, after all, have a fur coat.

They can withstand temperatures much lower than we can, and for much longer period of time.

It just so happens that they really prefer warm spots, but that extra warmth is not a necessity for their health.

When it comes to cats who spend their time outdoors, however you may want to provide a special place to allow them to warm up in really cold temperatures. Again due to their fur, they can withstand temperature that are many degrees colder than we are able to tolerate.

Any sung place that is up off the ground and has any drafts blocked will allow a cat to stay warm simply from its own body heat.

There are products available which owner can use to keep their outdoor cats warm, such as electric heaters, thick insulated bags in which the cat can snuggle, or specially designed igloos, which are designed to reflect the cats heat back toward their body.

These products may be unnecessary, but sometimes the peace of mind that it gives the owner is worth the price.