This past Saturday was the start of Lunar New Year, and the start of the year of the dragon! That got me thinking...why is there no year of cat in the Chinese zodiac? (I mean besides the Tiger). I found there are actually some myths for how the cat got left out of the zodiac. MiaoMiaoKidz includes a story about the Jade Emperor calling for all the animals to have a swimming race in order to be included in the 12 years of the zodiac. At that time, so the story goes, the cat and rat were friends and they made a plan to ride on the back of the ox together. The ox agreed to carry the 2 friends across...
In this edition of cats of history, we'll look at the famous cat who accompanied the ill-fated Shackelton expedition: Mrs. Chippy! Mrs. Chippy was the cat of Harry McNish (sometimes spelled McNeish), who was a Scottish carpenter who had served as a shipwright in the Merchant Navy before joining the Shackleton expedition. Harry McNish brought Mrs. Chippy with him on the expedetion. "Chippy" is a nick name for a carpenter, so Mrs. Chippy got his name because of his devotion to Harry, the Chippy. By the time they realized Mrs. Chippy was a boy cat, the name had already stuck, so they continued to call him Mrs. Chippy. Historyhit.com details that Mrs. Chippy was at home as a ship's cat. He...
February is almost here and it is spay/neuter awareness month, but what is spaying and neutering, and why would we want to do it? BestFriends.org tells us a little about what spay and neuter surgery is. For female cats, spaying is the surgical removal of ovaries and uterus. For male cats, neutering is the removal of the testicles. Both surgeries are done by a licensed veterinarian under general anesthesia to minimize pain and discomfort for your pet. For your own pet, spaying or neutering impacts their health and longevity. While no one can promise how long any pet (or person) can live, spaying and neutering can help cats live longer lives! The humane society cites a study by Banfield Pet Hospitals that found...
I use the pun purrfect a lot on this website because cats purr, but what is purring? Why and when do cats purr? Do big cats purr? Let's delve into the world of cat purrs! What does cat purring mean? Most people think that a cat that purrs is happy or at least content, but according to PetMD, cats also purr when they are frightened or in pain, so a purring cat is not necessarily a happy cat! Kittens start purring after only a few days according to NewScientist, but remain blind and deaf for around 2 weeks, so the first function of purring in cats is to communicate with their mother! The purring from the kittens lets the mother cat know where...
Have you ever seen the teeth of a cat? Teeth in cats actually have some similarities to your teeth! According to PetMD cats, like humans, have a set of baby teeth that they lose and are replaced by adult teeth. A kitten will have 26 baby teeth and 30 permanent teeth. By comparison, humans have 20 baby teeth and 32 permanent teeth. Also, like a human, cats have different kinds of teeth. House cats teeth consist of incisors, canines, pre-molars and molars, just like us! The most noticeable teeth are the cat fangs, which are actually the cats canine teeth! A cats fangs are very sharp and long because they are designed for hunting. PetsRadar says a cats sharp teeth means they can...
