It’s spring time, which means shedding, lots of shedding. And shedding means brushing. So this weekend all the girls got thoroughly brushed and I ended up with a rather massive ball of cat hair (which is good – it’s a massive ball of cat hair that isn’t on my couch or clothes.)

My three cats are indoor cats, but I’ve been taking them outside for some supervised romps in the back yard, for fresh air and exercise, which they absolutely love. I herd them around the yard and keep them from wandering off the property, and they run, play, explore and exercise their catness.

Normally I throw my mats of cat hair into the compost bin, but in discussing ways to be eco friendly cat owners, Ingrid of Conscious Cat suggested letting the cat hair fly free for the bird to use in nests. What a great idea! So this is what I decided to do.

I took the girls outside and pulled little tufts of hair off the ball and let them loose in the wind. Well, I’m sure the birds will enjoy them eventually, but the cats got an immediate serendipitous treat. Little bits of cat hair, flying around in the wind make for fabulous hunting and chasing.

I stood up-wind of the cats and let a few bits go every time there was a good strong breeze. The cats chased the fast moving pieces, and got in some really good stalking and pouncing of the ones stuck on grasses or just vibrating on the ground. It was great fun for everyone and the cats got a great workout. They all play well with their toys in the house, but there’s nothing quite as exciting as something that moves and flies around on its own. We must have spent an hour out there enjoying the wind and the fruits of our grooming session.

If you have a windy day, a ball of cat hair and an enclosed yard (or a cat you know won’t go wandering) I highly recommend partaking in this fun activity.

One of the things I enjoy most about having cats is watching them play. Clover in particular has the most amazing imagination, which is really evident in her play.

We might think of imagination as being a human trait, but it’s very evident that Clover’s imagination gives life to her toys. When she really gets going the toys seem to move with a life of their own. She’ll throw one up into the air and then leap after it; kick it away with a back paw and then dart after it as it tries to make its escape; kick, bite and struggle like it’s putting up a fight and fling it along the floor so that she can stalk and catch it unawares.

Watching the cats play together or playing with them myself brings me a great deal of pleasure, but watching Clover’s solo play is a genuine treat. It’s amazing to watch her creativity and imagination and it’s really clear that she’s having a great deal of fun.

Do your cats enjoy solo play and active imaginations?

I’ve always been a fan of character goods. I grew up with Hello Kitty, obsessed over Keropi in junior high, hoarded Tare Panda and Chococat goods and hunted for obscure Marron Cream products. My latest favourite though, is an obscure offering from San-X: Mixed Cats.

Mixed Cats features charming water colour illustrations of cats in amusing situations and cute outfits, and the title and slogan, “Mixed Cats: Cats Know Various Things” makes for an adorable and irresistable combination of cute art and humour.

Mixed Cats goods are pretty rare and hard to come by. You may find the occassional offering on eBay or import gift shops, but overall Mixed Cats is an under represented line. If you’re a collector, snap up any items you find – they’re few and far between.

Do you have a Mixed Cats collection, or know of a good place to find Mixed Cats goods? Do you collect any cat-related character goods? Share your links and pictures.

This picture was posted on Cute Overload a few days ago, and I’ll admit, I’m confused. What exactly is cute about a cat this obese? He certainly has a handsome face, but from the neck down he’s looking more tragic than cute. This cat should probably be 1/3 as wide as he currently is.

Thankfully his family is putting him on a diet, but it begs the question – why, as a culture of cat lovers, do we still have positive associations with the image of the overweight cat, when the negative health consequences of being over weight are so well known?

Many cat owners recognize the risks of an overweight kitty, but others still hold it up as an ideal.

Where does this attitude come from?

The strange perception of fat cats being cute probably comes from a variety of sources.

• Is it the happy fat cat image that is portrayed in the media (Garfield et al)?
  
• Is it lack of education by veterinarians and organizations that adopt out cats (shelters, pet stores, breeders etc) to new owners?
  
• Do cat owners lack the ability or education to distinguish between muscle mass (healthy weight) and fat mass (unhealthy weight)? Or even between a cat looking “fat” because of dense fur, vs a cat being fat because it is carrying excess weight?
• Do people just fail to make the connection that obesity is a health issue that crosses species lines?
  
• Have pet food manufacturers provided misinformation about cat health and appropriate feeding?
• Are cat owners, unable to manage their cats weight, assuaging their guilt and negative feelings about this failure by attributing positive traits to obesity, thereby making it seem “not as bad”?

I believe all these are contributing factors to the “cute fat cat” perception.

Why should we care?

Even if we know that being obese is bad for our kitties, it’s much easier to ignore the very real dangers of obesity if we have a positive aesthetic association. We’re more likely to take our own cats’ weight less seriously and we’re less likely to discuss the inherent problems when the topic of fat cats comes up with other cat owners who may be less educated or aware.

So what can we do?

As a cat owner you can:

• monitor your cat’s weight,
• put your fat cats on a diet,
• discuss your experiences with dieting and health problems caused by feline obesity with other cat owners,
• contact cat food companies and demand that they put better feeding guidelines on cat food packages & provide accurate information about cat nutrition,
• learn to determine if your cats are at a healthy weight through observation,
• discuss weight concerns with your vet,
• don’t glorify obesity by sharing images without discussion or expression of concern.

As a shelter volunteer or worker you can:

• talk to the public and other volunteers about cat nutrition,
• talk to potential owners about the special needs of over weight cats,
• ensure that new owners of over weight cats are prepared to take the necessary steps to bring their new cat’s weight down,
• educate others about the dangers and health risks of feline obesity,
• show potential owners the consequences of obesity that some of the shelter cats are experiencing (poopy bottoms, mats, arthritis, daily medical treatment required for diabetic cats etc)
• correct misconceptions that fluffy, cobby or large cats are “fat”,
• correct misconceptions that fat cats are “big boned” or “muscular”.

As a veterinarian you can:

• make sure your clients understand the dangers of feline obesity,
• determine your patient’s ideal weight so that their owners have a baseline,
• teach your clients how to use their hands and eyes to determine if their cat’s weight is changing,
• teach your clients how to use their bathroom scale to weight their cat,
• provide feeding guidelines based on what your clients are feeding, and make recommendations on switching to a more appropriate diet if necessary,
• make sure your clients understand the seriousness of obesity and how important it is to be persistent in reaching and maintaining ideal weight,
• promote the benefits of a healthy cat.

We live in a society that has a tendency to glorify unhealthy extremes and ignore the underlying dangers of things we consider aesthetically pleasing. Changing cultural attitudes isn’t easy, but we can start by changing our own and promoting the beauty that comes with good health.

Having cats around seem to make everything more enjoyable, but nothing goes  from boring to entertaining with the addition of a cat (or two) like making the bed.

Violet and Clover always join me for this activity and we have a great time making the bed. The sheets become giant moving cat toys as I shake them out over the bed and they will  pounce and stalk and scamble on their bellies to catch the sheet.

Violet likes to stay under the sheets as I make the bed.  She’ll crawl around and Clover will go on top of the covers for some good chasing and pouncing action. The have a great time wrestling through the sheets. Some times I’ll toss Clover under so that Violet can chase her around for a bit.

Alone, making the bed is a boring chore, but add in the cats and we all have a great time. They’re hilarious and adorable and add a wonderful element of fun to things.

How do cats add joy to your daily routine?

ncmarksman25 recently adopted Dark, a rescue cat and surprisingly, also an artist. ncmarksman25 says:

We recently adopted our wonderful cat named Dark… he was rescued from a house fire in North Carolina and was in need of a new home.. so we answered his call! Dark is a very loving cat and my wife and I are very happy to have him in our home… if it wasn’t for our rescue Dark would have most likely been euthanized and wouldn’t have been able to enjoy our love and affection that we share with him… needless to say he’s doing great and very happy to be in a new home!

Just the other day my wife was painting a picture and Dark had stepped in the paint and jumped all over her canvas on our coffee table… he seemed to really enjoy it so we both thought why not have Dark paint on his own canvas’s and sell them on Ebay as a way to give back to the Humane Society and help other animals in need, and thats exactly what we did!

You can see Dark’s painting on eBay and 50% of the proceeds will be donated to the Humane Society of the United States, through eBay Giving Works.

I think this is a great idea to raise money for animals charities and have your rescued cat involved in saving other cats.

What are your creative ideas for helping animal welfare organizations?

Commercial cat toys are bright, pretty and expensive. We love to buy them and we love to offer them to our cats. Yet all too often cats don’t seem to care and will ignore the shiny new toys in favour of chasing a piece of lint on the floor.

Here are a few items you probably have around the house that make great cat toys. My girls love them. As with all new toys, they should be inspected regularly and discarded if damaged, and cats should be supervised when playing with new toys, especially if your cat is a chewer.

1. Cotton Swabs/Q-Tips

   Violet has been fishing these out of the garbage since the day she came home, and they continue to be one of her favourite toys. The swabs made of rolled paper instead of wood or plastic are soft enough to prevent mouth injury and won’t splinter. Supervise your cat when playing with swabs – the cotton on the end can stick to the barbs on their tongue, and some cats may consider the cotton end to be a good snack.

2. Milk Jug Rings

   Pop these off the jug and let your cat go. They work best on hard surfaces like laminate or tile. Throw out any rings that have been chewed or are broken – they’re not the most sturdy items.

3. Toilet Paper Tubes

   Pull off any toilet paper that’s still stuck on, so that they roll nicely. A whole tube makes a fine toy, or you can cut it into a few pieces if the whole tube is a little big for your kitty.

4. Tissue Paper

   A fresh sheet of tissue paper is a safe and entertaining toy that makes a lovely crinkling sound. The type that is slightly shiny on one side seems to be the most popular with my cats. The texture and sound of the tissue paper is very similar to (unsafe) plastic grocery bags, which they make a beeline for any time a plastic bag isn’t put away immediately.

5. Shoelace/String/Yarn

   A piece of string is great for chasing. Dangle it or drag it along the ground and get your kitty moving. Tie a feather, stuffed toy or other item to the end for extra fun.

   *Very important: Don’t let your cat play with string, shoelaces or yarn unsupervised. Cats will often consume string which can result in bowel obstructions. Because of the barbs on a cat’s tongue they may be unable to spit out a piece of string that gets into their mouth, even if they don’t intend to consume it.

6. Cardboard box

   I’ve bought tents and caves and other enclosures, but the good ol’ cardboard box is a perennial favourite. If there is an empty cardboard box in the house, you can bet there’s a cat inside it.

7. Paper bag

   Crinkly and hidey! Cats can’t resist exploring inside and they make great places to stalk the other cats from. Paper bags are great too, because there’s no risk of suffocation like there is with plastic.

8. Ping pong ball

   They’re light, they bounce and they roll. Not all cats care for balls, but for those that do, ping pong balls are a cheap alternative to commercial cat toys, and you may have some kicking around the house.

9. Cloth Grocery Bag

   These big, soft bags are great for hiding or just relaxing in. My girls love to explore the insides of cloth shopping bags and usually settle in for a nap once everything has been thoroughly investigated.

10. Pompom balls

    If you have a craft or sewing box you may have a few of these on hand. Pompom balls make great soft toys. All the rolly joys of a ball, but soft and squishy enough to be picked up. Make sure they are big enough to prevent swallowing.

For those of you who are crafty, we’ll be putting together some easy-to-make cat toys from inexpensive or free items in another entry.

What kind of household items do your cats enjoy? Do you have any household items that have been a hit with your cats?

Photo by Tammy S.