Answers To Some Common Questions About Cats

How did the housecat originate?

Cats were first kept as pets about 4,000 years ago be the Egyptians. They kept them to hunt down mice and other pests that threatened food stores. The Egyptians respected cats for their intelligence and hunting skills, and even worshipped them as gods. In Egypt, at this time, the penalty for killing a cat was death. Since then, domesticated cats have spread all across the world. It is thought that the introduction of cats to Italy ultimately caused them to be distributed across the world. Since this time, many different breeds of domestic cat have been developed and continue to be developed.

Why does my cat shed all the time?

Cats shed their fur as a way of adjusting to their living conditions. Outdoor cats tend to put on a thick coat in the fall as winter sets in, and then shed the extra fur in the spring when it begins to get warmer. Outdoor cats shed in this manner because their brain can sense how much sunlight they are exposed to and use this to gauge how much fur they need to stay warm or cool for the season. Indoor cats, on the other hand, have very little exposure to natural lighting and the artificial lighting inside home does not register the same to the part of their brain that controls shedding. Because the cat's brain senses an imbalance, they grow and shed hair continually, unlike an outdoor cat.

Should I have my cat declawed?

Although tens of thousand cats are declawed each year, many vets and cat owners are against this procedure because of what declawing actually entails. A cat's claws are not like ours. Our finger nails are simply dead cells while a cat's claws are very similar to the last joint on your finger. Cats use their claws for balance and movement, so the lack of them can be painful and removing them makes walking much different for the cat. If you plan on letting your cat live in the house, there are other measures you can take to ensure they don't shred your furniture like getting them a scratching post covered in abrasive material instead of soft material that resembles carpet or upholstery.

Is there anything I can do to stop or slow down my indoor cat's shedding?

There are a few things you can do to keep cat hair off of everything you own and make your cat more comfortable as well. Since cats shed constantly in response to being kept indoors, which is not exactly their natural environment, cats that shed excessively are, in effect, slightly out of balance. The best thing you can do to reduce unwanted shedding is to make sure that they have a healthy and balanced diet and to brush them often. A good diet will ensure that they have a healthy coat that will shed a normal amount. Keeping your cat healthy and brushing excess hair will prevent cat hair from getting all over the place.

How long do cats live?

How you care for your cat has a big impact on your cat's lifespan, but generally an indoor cat will easily outlive most outdoor cats because outdoor cats are exposed to many risks that indoor cats never come in contact with. An indoor cat, if properly cared for, can live between 10-15 years old, although there is a record of a cat having reached 36 years old. Outdoor cats have much shorter life spans because of car accidents, fights with other cats or dogs, diseases, and predators. Another contributing factor is that many outdoor cats, especially feral cats, aren't spayed or neutered, which makes them more wild, aggressive, and willing to travel distances to find other cats to mate with, which can put them in harm's way. In the world of wild cats, the Jaguar has the known longest life span and can live to be 30 years old in the wild.

Suzy is a small striped cat with long white whiskers, who lives in a French seaside village with a fisherman and his four sons. She likes living in France, chasing butterflies and being stroked the wrong way. She doesn't like straying too far from home. But like all cats, Suzy is very inquisitive, which causes problems when she climbs into the basket of a hot air balloon, falls asleep - and is carried up, up and away over the Channel to England!

How will she ever get back to her home in France? It won't be easy, but Suzy refuses to be put off by a bit of water.

A heartwarming story from bestselling author Jill Tomlinson, whose books have been hugely popular for nearly thirty years. Told in clear, simple language, they are ideal for young listeners, who can identify with the baby animals and their adventures. The Cat Who Wanted to Go Home is an enchanting tale that will appeal to any child who loves animals or has ever worried about getting lost.