How fast they grow :)

Yes… First, Mika next to my laptop, 3 months old, small kitty:

And now the grown-up six-months old Mika, also next to the laptop, hehe:

I laughed sooo hard :D

OMG! :))))))))) I can’t stop laughing. I have to share this video with you:

You can’t help it

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You really can’t help it – if you leave your book on the table, head to the kitchen for a coffee, come back to continue reading, not a chance…. Why? Because your cat already sleeps on the book ^^

Trying to watch the news on TV? Your cat will make sure that he/she sits right in front of the screen. Yes, at the same time you can’t really see anything of course.

Every cat owner knows the pillow-fight with the cat. I had it with every single cat that I had. You’re going to sleep to your warm and cozy bed, and how do you wake up? Somewhere down the bed, because the cat took all your place on the pillow and there’s no place left for you ^^

Ever tried to pack your sports bag to the gym? Make sure that you don’t take your cat in the bag to the fitness studio ^^ I mean it. And whenever you have any guests at your place – check their bags as well before they leave – your cat might be sitting there.

They’re lovely, I adore them – out of the hundreds options that they have, they will always sit/lie on THE very place that they shouldn’t  ^^

Have a look at the British Shorthair

I reckon that for many people a cat is simply a cat. It is a bit different with dogs. “Oh, you have a dalmatian/cocker spaniel/jack russel/golden retriever”, it is pretty common to hear that. Not many people know all the variety of cat breeds.

It is interesting, however to know some of the breeds. Why? Different cat breed = different cat personality = higher chances to get a cat with such features like you have always dreamed of.

Examples? Here you go:

Want a big cat? Get a Main Coone or a Ragdoll.

Want a cute cat? Get a Scottish Fold.

Want a silent, peace-loving cat? Get a Russian Blue.

Want a cat that will be totally devoted to you? Get a Siamese.

Want a cat that would like to go for long walks with you (on a lead). Get a Thai cat

Want a cat that looks like and behaves like the big wild cats? Get a Bengal cat.

Minimal grooming? Sphinx or Devon Rex.

A cat that will sit on your lap all the time? Persian or Ragdoll.

… I could go on like that forever 🙂 But honestly, I highly encourage you to have a look at some Youtube series about cat breeds. I give you a link to a very nice series called IDEAL COMPANION. We start with the British Shorthair 🙂

Like a cat with a dog

You have probably heard that cats and dogs hate each other. Well, not necessairly. The only combination that I wouldn’t advise is a cat and a mouse, or a hamster ^^

If you start it early enough, you can teach the animals to tolerate each other, no problem.

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I found this video already a while ago, on Youtube, and I love it!:

Pliiizzzz, can I go out?

Hi there! Here’s Mika on her first walk out. Actually you really can walk your cat 🙂

All you need is to buy special cat harness with a lead. They are available at every pet shop and should cost between 4-10 euros.

The procedure afterwards is pretty simple: the cat has to get used to the harness and to the lead, first at home. Make it wear at home and see how the cats behaves. If you think that the cat got used to and accepts you keeping it on the lead, you are ready for your first walk!

Choose preferably late afternoon or even evening. Why? The less doggies around, or noisy cars, the better. We took our first walk in the afternoon but in an inside yard, with no access to the street, and actually no people around.

Some breeds are much more walk-me-out-friendly, e.g. Siamese or Bengals. Other, more shy breeds, prefer to stay indoors, e.g. Persians or Ragdolls.

Here’s some motivation video with a cool soundtrack  ^^

Can they see dead people?

There are people out there that are convinced that  their cats can see ghosts…

“Sometimes my cats will get into a sudden, intent stare-down with a particular spot on the ceiling. And occasionally they will keep going back to that spot for days to glare at it. No matter how closely and how often I inspect the spot I can see nothing and hear nothing. But I’ve learned that if they start doing this it’s time to put mousetraps in the attic or call termite control.” CLICK

“one day my friend was sleeping over and my cat walked into my room. then she started growling and hissing at nothing then she went under my bed and continued to growl and hiss. she had this creepy growl like a halloween cat. her eyes were bright green like they were glowing her fur was standing up on her back her pupils were big. then like 10 minutes latter she came out and walked away like nothing happened. was she seeing a ghost?” CLICK

Freaking out a bit 🙂

Delicious. Really?

Reading in the dark can ruin your eyes, people who are stuttering are stupid, everyone in Poland is Catholic, it will rain when you kill a spider, cats drink milk. What do these have in common? .. they are all myths!

As far as I remember my childhood and all the children’s books that I have read, all the cats in these stories have one thing in common – they all drank lots of milk. With great pleasure actually. It is high time to separate fairy tales from reality. Cats DO NOT drink milk.

As cats age, they become lactose intolerant. Whenever you give them a bowl of milk to drink, they get diarrhoea in 99,8% of cases, because it upsets their tummies. Water is all your cat will need.

Remember, not all what you find in children’s stories is true  😉

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all the problems on 4 legs

Before we got our pet, we were kindly given some pieces of advice from our family 🙂

“Hmmm, just imagine the pet’s hair problem – it will be everywhere!”, mentioned our Oma, as if she was talking to herself.

“You will get stuck whenever you’re planning to go on vacations. I won’t do the catsitting for you!”, we heard from a friendly workmate 🙂

“Well, cats stink.”, another Grandma was convinced. This one was actually very funny 😀 I laughed really hard (cats actually smell like… dusty vanilla 🙂 I cannot really name it in any other words!)

“Forget your leather sofa, the cat will totally destroy it.”, reminded our neighbour.

Well… they were partially right of course. Some of you might still remember  the scratches all over my hands in the first days. You do have to get used to a certain routine every day and get hmm.. more tidy 🙂 You have to plan your vacations more carefully and ask someone in advance to take care of your little monster (Granny out of the list I am afraid…). We had to secure the famous sofa with blankets. I had to get rid of some of my fav plants because they were poisonous for Mika. I cannot really wear any stockings or good-quality clothes when Mika is around because she just might destroy her with her claws (she is still in the playing mode). We have kitty litter all over the bathroom (exactly as Oma warned us). Because her fur is pretty long, I should comb her every day. We cannot open the windows anymore because Mika could just say “See ya” and go away. And probably many many more…

But… I don’t care  ^^

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The way she purrs me into sleep, …

…assists me in homework, …

convinces me to quit computer from time to time (I’m addicted hi hi) just to play with her…

… all these little things are priceless (you won’t pay for it with your Mastercard  ^^ buehehe)

And our Granny likes her in the end  ^^

This will be our next one!

I do regret that I cannot have two cats at the moment. It is basically way better for the animal to have a friend, especially for kittens who need to play all the time (they develop better when they play more often). Unfortunately, Mika did not have any brothers nor sisters, so we took “just” her.

When I picked Mika from her last owner up, it turned out that the lady had 11 cats altogether 🙂 She was passionate mostly about pedigree cats and there was one particular breed that I fell in love with at her place:

The AMERICAN CURL – it has totally stolen my heart! We decided to have such a breed in the future – more cats, more happiness ^^

The cat did not run away – instead it wanted to be stroken all the time and followed us everywhere. Such a lovely character!

The name of the breed comes from their curled ears.

Who is this breed especially for? For the ones who also like dogs because these cats are like Golden Retrievers! They have a great character! They will love you just like dogs would do – that is a good argument for those people who argue that they do not like cats because cats do not show emotions the way a dog would do.

The American Curl will:

• follow you everywhere like a dog
• trust you with all his heart
• never run away
• never attack you
• insist on spending every minute with you
• never climb too high (the sofa will be the maximum that they will jump onto, they do not like the height)
• remain “kitten-like” till the end of his life (that is why they call them Peter Pans)

By the way, greetings from Mika who is already for a month in our small family and grows up VERY FAST!!!

I DO insist that you watch this youtube video about the American Curl!

“Clawed for Life”

Eager to protect your furniture? Sick of all the scratches that the cat does to you? Hmm, how about DECLAWING?

many pet cats are carried off to the vet by exasperated owners for this type of convenience surgery. The operation, although nearly always refused by vets in Britain, has become so common in certain countries that it even has an official name. It is called onyxectomy. Using an old Greek name for it somehow makes it seem more respectable. The literal translation of onyxectomy, however, is simply “nail-cutting out”

I personally believe that a person who came across the idea of depriving cats their claws was a simple JERK!  If you wish, you can compare declawing a cat to depriving you of your own nails. Hurts? Sounds terrible? Of course it does! Who the hell thought of such an idea!??

• without their claws, cats cannot groom themselves properly – it means for them no natural scratching, no dislodging of dead hairs, no combing out tangles

• they cannot climb effectively; it is against their nature not to climb; they have no grip in their feet, as if they lost the feel of the surface at all- the result? you will end up with a cat crashing down to the floor, not being able to jump anywhere without falling down

• defenseless against enemies, if outdoors

• cats end up with disbelief and confusion– might cause psychological problems; scratching means psychological comfort

• depriving of the ability to hunt = depriving of their nature

You end up with a crippled, mutilated cat  😦

INTERESTING LINKS:

Why Do Cats Climb Trees?

Clawed for Life

Is Declawing Cruel?

But this is the way I work!

I have to jump around! By jumping on your kitchen table, I have no idea that I do something wrong. I don’t even know what a kitchen table is for…

You would get this kind of explanation from your cat (provided that it could talk) after scolding it for jumping onto your kitechen table or your kitchen worktop. After all, we eat our meals on this table – cats are NOT allowed there because it is not hygienic! Some people might think… And they start their crusade with the cat…

“I want a cat, but I will teach him not to jump anywhere. The kitchen area will be a forbidden zone for the cat. If my cat tresspasses this area, I will punish him, till it learns that it is not allowed” – I have heard from some people…

A dog on a tree? Might be considered at least weird 😉 A cat on a fence or high up on a branch? Perfectly normal, it seems… So why do we fight with it in our own flat? Does the cat have a choice – trapped in our 4 walls?

Our little tiger has very often only our flat at his disposal, since it is advised for many cats (especially pedigree cats) to stay indoors. Its territory, therefore, shrinks drastically. In nature, cats protect and observe their territories from above. This is precisely the reason why the HAVE TO CLIMB. It is in their nature to monitor their territory, say, from a tree.

Is there a solution to satisfy this particular need of your domestic tiger? Sure:

• invest in a scratching post with more than 2 levels (a photo below)
• allow your cat to jump SOMEWHERE – sorry, you wanted a cat, you need to face the consequences somehow 🙂 even if you teach the cat in your presence that the kitchen table is their forbidden area (e.g. by putting them down and saying NO in a low tone), you can be sure that the cat WILL still JUMP on it while you’re not in the flat
• since we have stated that cats will still reach your “forbidden areas”, make sure that you never leave any TABU objects on these surfaces, such as: food left-overs, glasses with drinks (cats loooove drinking out of your glass he he), sharp knives, etc.

Remeber!

• DON’T SHOUT AT YOUR CAT!!! their sense of hearing is much better developed than yours, they will considered it veeery loud and you will only scare them

• NEVER HIT YOUR CAT!!! never ever! cats are also much more sensitive when it comes to the sense of touch. what is merely a light slap for you, hurts the cat a lot. and – cats have a very good memory, they will remember…

• BE PATIENT, and you will get a lot in return

:(

I give you a link to one example of a company that resorts to cruel and unnecessary experiments on animals:

click here

Many animals have to suffer while people from Iams conduct research on pet food  😦 They allegedly failed to provide veterinary care for the animals and didn’t give them any painkillers while conducting the research…

For nearly 10 months, PETA conducted an undercover investigation in an Iams contract laboratory. What our investigator witnessed and captured on hidden camera would outrage any animal lover: dogs who had gone crazy from being confined to barren steel-and-cement cells, dogs who had been left on a paint-chipped floor after having their vocal chords severed and part of their leg muscles hacked out, dogs who were sweltering in scorching heat and shivering in bitter cold, and horribly sick dogs and cats languishing in their cages, neglected and left to suffer without veterinary care. The animals in Iams’ tests are no different from our dogs and cats at home when it comes to deserving companionship, play, a stimulating environment, and the right not to be tormented in painful experiments.

(an extract from the IamsCruelty.com web page)

My personal involvement in this matter? I will never buy any products marketed by this company.

McDonald’s? No, thank you.

Ever bought for your kitty such cat food as Kitekat or Whiskas? Now, that is a big mistake. Vitamins, minerals and all that your kitty needs? You wish!

Please, if you decide to have a cat, do NOT feed it with anything! The aforementioned pet food brands are NOT appropriate for anyone to eat ( I wouldn’t give it to any living being)! If you had a child, would you go to McDonald’s with him/her every day? No? So, please imagine that Whiskas IS like McDonald’s or BurgerKing for your kitty!

Sounds terrible? It is. Many loving cat owners have NO idea that they could do harm to their pets. After years of such pet food, your pet can have serious health problems (I believe that one of my cats died because of being fed with Kitekat all the time…).

Cats eat MOSTLY meat. Nothing else. How much meat can you find in Whiskas Junior? They say: 4%… Woow, bravo… Surely, you can’t think that it is enough!

Want to save some money? Buy a hamster… They eat less 😉 and you can share your carrot with them ^^

Now, could I recommend some good quiality cat food? Sure 😛 Have a look at these brands (click on the links if you want to find more information):

• Animonda (nearly 100% of meat in the cat food!!!!!! how does it compare to the 4% that Whiskas offers…. no idea)
• Royal Canin
• Acana (around 60% of meat)
• Hill’s -Science Plan or nature’s best
• Purina Pro Plan
• BioMill

These are only some of the good (and proper!)-quality products for your cat. When choosing cat/dog food, pay attention to the ingredients info!!! You think that you cannot afford to buy such high-quality food for your cat?

First of all, you wanted a kitty, you had to take into account that you have to spend SOME money on it!

Second of all, it is NOT expensive. Let me illustrate it on my example. I buy for Mika Hill’s Science Plan for Kittens (2kg only). Kittens eat something like 50 grams only a day. If we divide 2kg by 50g, we get 40 portions of food. Plus, I give her less, because she often gets other snacks, so she needs less. We could state then that such a pack will be anough for 1,5 month. I have paid 19,99 euros for this pack. It means that it is less than 50 cents a day!!!

Still expensive?

Wow! Is that a cat?

Although Mika certainly does look like a cat, you would never expect that such a sweetie could have such curious relatives!

There is something that I would like to share with you. A friend of mine has posted a photo of, allegedly, a cat on one of our forums. Well, I thought that it is rather a photo-shop creation! But, actually… what you see below IS a cat!!! At the beginning, I thought that it was a joke  ^^

Wow. It is actually called a Pallas cat.

If you want to find out more, have a look at this extra interesting movie about Pallas cats:

I DO Need Your Attention!

Many people take it for granted that cats need much less attention than, for example, dogs. Cats prefer to be alone, They don’t need people around, I can leave a cat in my flat for the whole day and nothing will happen – this is what I usually hear…

That’s nonsense, really. Every cat develops a very unique relationship with his/her owner – often a strong one. A cat rarely expresses emotions as a dog would do. Nevertheless, they DO show you that they care… but in their own way…

It seems to me that you first have to deserve for you cat’s love and respect. However, this is what I actually like about them!

They will wait for you at the doorstep (they will hear you already in the staircase). They will jump on your lap or bring you their favourite toy as a present. They insist on sleeping with you in one bed. These little gestures show that they care. Cats become very close with you in time. They are sad if you don’t pay them enough attention, they can get even depressed.

I have heard of cats that simply disappeared from a household when their owner died. They rarely forget people who are/were close with them.

REMEMBER: cats are more independent, that is true, BUT they DO need company!

Please, pay attention to the following tips:

• NEVER take a kitten if you know that it will be home alone for more than 5 hours!
• If you do not have enough time, but you badly want a kitten (which is understandable), consider taking two cats or taking an older cat (they get more calm when they’re older)
• be prepared to find some time to play with your kitten – it plays an important part in its development
• quit the cat idea if you’re a successful manager, working 12-14 hrs a day 😉
• take it for granted that cats are as time-consuming as dogs (you need to play with them, comb them, go to the vet from time to time, feed them at least 3 times a day, clean their things, etc.)
• a cat that doesn’t need too much of your attention does not exist!
• treat your cat just like a member of your family

Taken these to your heart will help you to prevent someone from being unhappy…

Hehe, by the way, have a look at Jessie  ^^ :

Yes, all the fuss about me!

This is Mika – the third member of our small family. I have decided that it will bring me much more joy to devote this blog to her and to cats in general. Having such an angel at home, wouldn’t you also change the topic of your blog?  😉

Well, another reason for me being involved in the subject at all is not mereley because cats are cute. Of course they are ^^ – but my passion with cats dates back to the days of my childhood. Since then, we have always had cats at home – be it my parents, or be it someone else in my family. I have learned that these amazing felines surely have more to offer than just their sweet looks.

If you stay with me, I will try to introduce you (at least a bit) to the amazing world of cats. They’re often misunderstood, taken for something that they’re not, underestimated. Mika, who lives with us since this very Monday, will help me in this project. We will try to look at everything from her perspective…

jkhllllllllllllllljkhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Oh yeah, that was Mika by the way. She sat on the keyboard 😀 Maybe she does want to tell you something after all? 🙂