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Category: kitten
Cats are amazing. Did you know…
- A cat’s heart beats twice as fast as a human heart, at 110-140 beats per minute.
- A cat’s normal body temperature is 101.5 degrees. This is slightly warmer than a humans.
- Cats have 290 bones in their body, and 517 muscles.
- A cat has five more vertebrae in her spinal column than her human does.
- A cat will almost never “meow” at another cat. This sound is reserved for humans.
- During her productive life, one female cat could have more than 100 kittens. (Spay and/or neuter your cat!)
- Kittens begin dreaming at just one week old.
- If your cat is 3, your cat is 21 in human years. If your cat is 8, your cat is 40 in human years. If your cat is 14, your cat is 70 in human years.
- The more cats are spoken to, the more they will speak to you.
- Cats are partially color blind. They have the equivalency of human red/green color blindness. (Reds appear green and greens appear red; or shades thereof.)
- Cats need 1/6th the amount of light that humans do to see. Their night vision is amazing!
- Cats can see up to 120 feet away. Their peripheral vision is about 285 degrees.
- A cat’s ear pivots 180 degrees. They have 30 muscles in each ear, and use twelve or more muscles to control their ear movement.
Miraculous Story – Frozen Kitten Saved by Man With CPR
A small, white kitten camouflaged by freshly fallen snow, was discovered frozen by the Bingham children playing outdoors.
The seemingly lifeless kitten was rushed inside their house. A quick thinking father called his vet trained brother, Justin, who rushed to the scene and started to work on the motionless kitten.
After Justin dedicated an hour of rubbing the kitten and pumping his chest in an effort to get his blood flowing (see video at: Lazarus Kitty ), the miracle baby started to revive. By the end of the day, the little guy was up on his paws and meowing.
The family named him Lazarus, after the Bible story of Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. Lazarus was adopted into the family, and is now romping energetically around their home.
Miracles do happen!
What types of environmental enhancements do you offer your cat?
Caring for cats properly involves much more than simply furnishing food, water and a litter box. Environmental enrichment, such as toys, food puzzles, perches, and even hiding places, can really change the quality of life for almost any cat.
The Winn Feline Foundation recently took a look at this issue in a group of shelter cats on their blog. Environmental enrichment in shelter cats is an excerpt from a study which provided a food puzzle to a stable group of shelter cats and examined their reaction to the puzzle and their interactions surrounding the object. The study concluded:
“a stimulating item that can be shared by all individuals in a stable group, such as a puzzle feeder of appropriate size, can play an important role in promoting positive social interactions among cats and improving their welfare.”
Certainly, in shelter cats, this is an important study. It underlines the need for more than just basic care in the lives of these animals and the fact that this enrichment is easily achievable. After all, the ultimate goal is to give these cats the best chance for adoption. Cats that are comfortable in their environment and confident will show it in their behavior. And confident behavior is much more “adoptable” than a cat that is hiding in his cage or, worse yet, acting in aggressive manner out of fear.
However, this study also can be extended to those of us who keep multi-cat households. I have three cats and frequently see two or more of my cats interacting with the toys and puzzles at once. In fact, it seems as though if one cat shows interest, it generates interest in the other cats as well.
Many environmental enhancement toys, cat furniture and other items can be found at www.MyThreeCats.com, the experts in optimum care care and well being.