This week I wanted to talk about some famous cats who were the best friends of a famous person - the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln! Abraham Lincoln was an animal lover. According to EverythingLincoln.com, he had a cat as a boy who would come with him on his trips to fetch water. Later on he got a dog named Fido, but left it at home when he moved to Washington DC to become president. PsychologyToday relates that the friendly dog was unfortunately assassinated after trying to make friends with a drunk man who was sleeping on the sidewalk. The man awoke and stabbed the dog in in a panic thinking he was being attacked. Because of Fido's association...
Did you ever look at your cat and just say - why are you so cute? Well there is actually some science behind why kitties are so cute! Let's dive into the reasons behind cat cuteness! Cats cuteness has a lot to do with what is known as the "baby schema", which says that humans are conditioned to think of baby-like characteristics as cute. This cuteness then motivates us to take care of the cute thing. Rover.com lists some characteristics of cats that are similar to human babies, like large, forward facing eyes, soft rounded bodies and big heads compared to their bodies. And, it's not just that cats look cute, they also sound cute! Catster.com notes that cats have a special chirping...
It's a classic story...you're getting ready to pay some bills, do some work or maybe watch a video, you get out your laptop computer, and suddenly there is a cat sitting on it! But, why do cats like to sit on laptops? I always assumed it was because it was warm, and according to bettervet.com that is part of it, but not the only reason! One reason for cats on laptops that bettervet mentions, is that they are curious beings, and see the interesting shapes on the screen and sounds coming from it and want to check it out! Your cat might also be trying to mark their territory. If you see your cat rubbing their face against the laptop, they are using...
I mentioned this a few months ago when I was talking about Christmas plants that were dangerous to cats, but since Easter lilies are extremely poisonous to cats, I wanted to highlight them specifically. Easter lilies and cats are a bad combination! PetMD includes a list of the most deadly lily species for cats. The Lilium species are all toxic to cats and include Easter lilies, Asiatic lilies, Stargazer lilies, Tiger lilies and others. Daylilies and Lily of the Valley are also poisonous to cats, but less likely to be included in bouquets. According to the FDA, all parts of the lily plant are toxic to cats. This includes the flower, petals and even the pollen, so even letting your cat rub...
We've talked about some cats with jobs on this blog before, like ship cats and therapy cats, but did you know that there was a cat who had a job as a mayor? The place was a small town in Alaska named Talkeetna where, in 1997, a box of kittens was placed in front of Nagley’s General Store and manager Lauri Stec selected an orange kitten with no tail and named him Stubbs. As the story goes, it was around that time that the residents of Talkeetna were unhappy with their mayoral candidates and started a write in campaign to select a different candidate and Stubbs the cat came out the victor! Now Alaska's News Source notes that Talkeetna is an unincorporated community and doesn't have an...
