cats

From the Life of a Cat Sitter

In this series of posts I share some anecdotes from my life as a cat sitter. I promise these stories are all true, though the cats’ names have sometimes been changed to protect their identity 😉

Today: the cat that was stuck behind the kitchen cupboards!

It was my very first time looking after these two cats and during the meeting Phil was happy to see me, but Bagheera was very shy and wanted to hide. That is OK. I am patient and it takes as long as it takes for a cat to trust me and feel OK around me.

His owner showed me where Bagheera likes to hide (under the bed, in the wardrobe, but also behind the washing machine).

First visit: Bagheera was nowhere to be found! Impossible, because these are indoor only cats. Still, I did not see him anywhere despite looking everywhere, even inside the washing machine.

Then I heard something. It sounded like scratching. I realised where he was: behind the kitchen.

You might wonder how I knew this: he was not the first cat that had got stuck behind the kitchen. I knew of two others who had got stuck behind the tall cupboards of the kitchen (not on my watch I might add).

As much as I wanted to give Bagheera time to get used to me, I had to make sure he was OK and not injured. I had no idea whether he’d climbed down on purpose or fallen down accidentally. Time to put my DIY skills to use and remove the skirting board (a remarkably easy click-on system). I saw him stuck next to the fridge trying to climb back up but unable to get any grip. I got hold of him and gently pulled him out and checked him over. He was OK, no visible injuries and not showing any signs of pain when I checked him over.

I let go of him and soon the mystery of whether he’d climbed down or fallen was solved: he ran away, jumped onto the kitchen worktop, jumped onto the tall cupboard and went right back down again!

I left the skirting board off so at least Bagheera could come out after I’d left and would not be stuck in his predicament. However, I also blocked off the top of the tall cupboards to make sure they were cat proof.

Lesson learned: I now always ask whether the kitchen is cat proof or whether there are any gaps behind tall cupboards where the cat might get stuck.

Bagheera and I have since become friends 🙂

Cat fun

My family’s cats: Freddie Pip

I’ve written before that my family had cats all my life. My grandmother had cats all her life and when she moved into long-term care her cat moved in with my parents (and ruled the roost!).

I’ve talked about our ginger cat Harrie before and wanted to introduce some of the other cats who have lived with us over the years. So the family cats will become a recurring blog.

It seems apt to start with my parents’ current cat: Freddie Pip. She has a double name because my niece and nephews wanted to name her Pip and my father wanted to name her Freddie due to a certain physical resemblance to a famous singer.

She is quite the character as you’ll find out! She was born at my aunt’s farm and initially not much of a hunter. Nowadays, however, she catches lots of mice – and eats them all, or should I say whole? As my mother says whenever Freddie goes outside, “catch the mice, leave the birds alone” and Freddie usually listens 😉

Next blog in this series: Freddie Pip and my parents’ dog Kaya: do they get along?

Life as a Cat Sitter

From the Life of a Cat Sitter

Today: kitten love

Not long after we lost Dirk I was asked to look after a few kittens that were home alone for the first time. There’s not much that can beat the love from kittens when you’re grieving for the cat you’ve lost. And it also allowed me to give all my love to them!

These two kittens were brother and sister and originally born into a litter of 6. The girl was more shy, but also a bit more independent and really playful. The boy was super cuddly, but also really wanted all the attention and toys for himself.

They were not too naughty actually! Cats, and especially kittens, can be a bit naughty when home alone. There’s so much to explore! They mastered jumping on the kitchen worktop though, and remarkably easy…. So time to cat proof the top cupboards of the kitchen to prevent the kittens falling or jumping behind any of the tall cupboards and being stuck (Oh yes, this has happened!). And it’s a good thing I did: before the fortnight was over the kittens had managed jumping up to the top cupboards…

Next time: the cat that was stuck behind the kitchen cupboards!

Uncategorized

Dirk update

At the end of September last year, Dirk was diagnosed with early stage kidney failure (CKD).

As he was still in the early phases of stage 1 we were quite optimistic we might be able to slow down the disease’s progression. This can be done mainly through diet and making sure the cat drinks enough. Dirk is not normally a fussy eater, but unfortunately he did not want to eat and of the various brands of kidney diet wet food. He does consistently eat the kidney fry food, but with wet food it’s a bit trial and error at the moment. He sometimes likes something for a few days and then goes off it again.

However, in late November/early December he was quite unwell and lost weight fairly rapidly.

Dirk had more tests done last month and sadly his CKD is progressing more rapidly than we’d like. He is now in the latter phases of stage 2.

As regards his behaviour, he no longer shows any interest in toys, but he remains very affectionate. We’ll enjoy as many cuddles as possible for as long as possible, but the time to say goodbye is coming closer.

Research

Research on Cats’ Body and Head Rubbing Behaviour: Help Needed!

In one way or another, our cats all leave their marks. Some cats urine mark, especially if they haven’t been neutered or they scratch. These behaviours are well-researched, mainly because they are natural cat behaviours but many humans find them problematic.

A lesser researched area is the behaviour of body and head marking. I’m sure you’ve seen your cats do it as well. If your cat has a favourite spot then perhaps you’ve seen brownish scuff marks on it. They may also rub their bodies along your legs.

Partially, it may just be that it feels nice for cats to give themselves a bit of a chin or cheek rub. However, it is also a more subtle form of communication between cats that we can still learn much more about.

As a cat behaviourist I am interested in all forms of communication between cats and have decided to focus on the subtle form of body and head rubbing specifically.

My first piece of research will focus on cats’ personalities and body or head rubbing behaviour.

If you want to participate then please click here. The survey will open in a new window.

A few cats ‘caught in the act’