As cat owners, we love our cats, but don't always love the smells that go along with them. Many times, we turn to air fresheners to swap out stinky litter box smells for a more pleasing aroma, but unfortunately, besides scent, those sprays can be full of chemicals that can cause health risks for our cats (and even ourselves!) So, today I wanted to look more into cats and air fresheners. Are air fresheners toxic to cats? Are there safe air fresheners for cats? First off, catster.com cautions against plug in air fresheners. They say that in order for those plug in air fresheners to release scent into your home, they use a chemical called phthalates. These phthalates have been...
This week, I'd like to highlight some cats doing important work - cats in libraries! These library cats not only help keep books and manuscripts safe from rodents, they can also help bring attention to the library with their animal attraction! Some famous library cats of recent years include Dewey the library cat, as well as Baker and Taylor, but library cats are not a new invention. In fact, catexplore.com says the tradition goes all the way back to ancient Egypt, where cats were used to keep mice and rodents from damaging the scrolls there. Cats in libraries also had an important role during the middle ages with their rodent catching skills. This helped to keep the books safe, and...
With the recent ban on declawing enacted by the state of California, I thought it was high time to look at cats claws in more depth! First off, a cats claws is made of keratin, just like your fingernails and toenails! Your hair, and a cat's fur and whiskers are also made of keratin. There are 2 parts to a cat's claw, the first is the "quick" - it is the mound shaped living tissue that runs through the center of the claw. This contains blood vessels and nerves. This is where the saying "cut to the quick" comes from. The quick is sensitive, so when trimming a cats claws, you always need to be careful not to cut too...
Do you have a new feline addition to your home and are looking for inspiration on what to name them? Let's see if we can help! A good place to start is with your cat's appearance. Maybe a name like Shadow or Coal could be good for a black cat. Socks could be a good name for a kitty with white paw markings that look like, well... socks. Tiger could be a good name for an orange, striped cat, or maybe Snowball for a white cat - also a famous cat name from the Simpsons! Catster.com lists some popular names for a cat in 2025. Luna takes the top spot in several states, and is listed as the number one...
If you've been around the internet, you've likely seen videos where cats seem to react in fear when seeing a cucumber. If not, here's a compilation video of cats vs cucumbers videos so you can see what I mean. So, what's the deal, are cats afraid of cucumbers? Let's look more into the world of cats and cucumbers! There is a theory that when you see cucumbers scaring cats it's because the cat mistakes the cucumber for a snake. This New York Post article suggests that cats have such an extreme reaction to seeing a cucumber for just this reason, but Dr. Pamela Perry at the college of veterinary medicine at Cornell University disagrees. The argument is that cat's don't...
