Cats Recognise Their Owners’ Voices But Never Evolved To Care

TheIndependent  November 27 2013

crossCatAny cat owner will tell you that although they are sometimes kept as pets, felines are beholden to no one.

A new study from the University of Tokyo has confirmed this, showing that although pet cats are more than capable of recognising their owner’s voice they choose to ignore them – for reasons that are perhaps rooted in the evolutionary history of the animal.

Carried out by Atsuko Saito and Kazutaka Shinozuka, the study tested twenty housecats in their own homes; waiting until the owner was out of sight and then playing them recordings of three strangers calling their names, followed by their owner, followed by another stranger.

The researchers then analysed the cats’ responses to each call by measuring a number of factors including ear, tail and head movement, vocalization, eye dilation and ‘displacement’ – shifting their paws to move.

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All Natural Pet Care

All Natural Pet Care April 26 2013

Cat

From day 1, our furry friends are fighting fleas. In the spring and summer months, the flea population tends to multiply, leading owners to come to the rescue.

What You Should Know About Fleas

Fleas have a four stage life cycle; the egg, larvae, the pupa and the adult. Flea products will kill the eggs, larvae and the adults, but nothing can kill the pupae. When you have a flea infestation in your home it can really become a nuisance because they multiply within days and get all over your furniture and bedding. To eliminate fleas from your home you need to remove them from your carpets while killing the eggs and the adult fleas as well.

Chemical treatments to rid fleas can be toxic to pets and can contain ingredients that could harm pets and people. It is critical to read their labels and consult with your veterinarian before applying it to your pet. Rather than bathing your dog in chemicals try some of these natural solutions.

Natural Dog Shampoo

Because chemical flea shampoos can cause adverse reactions, try using this all natural shampoo using some of your pantry staples. Both Dawn dish detergent and white vinegar have cleaning and deodorizing properties that make great ingredients for homemade dog shampoo. Depending on the size of your dog, the recipe may need altering. The following recipe is what I use on my 10 lb. dog.

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Cat Rescues Owner Hours After Adoption

Laura T. Coffey, (MSNBC) | Happy News | February 24 2012

Pudding the cat is big. He is orange. He is laid-back. And he’s a lifesaver.

Just ask Amy Jung. The 36-year-old Wisconsin resident credits 21-pound Pudding with saving her from the grip of diabetic seizure mere hours after she adopted him from a local animal shelter.

“If something or someone hadn’t pulled me out of that, I wouldn’t be here,” Jung told the Green Bay Press-Gazette newspaper.

Here’s what happened: On Feb. 8, Jung visited the Door County Humane Society with her son, Ethan. She had no intention of adopting a pet; she and her son just wanted to play with the cats, who are allowed to roam free at the no-kill shelter.

But, as can happen with felines and humans, Pudding and Jung felt a strong and immediate connection.

“He just gravitated to her,” Door County Humane Society Executive Director Carrie Counihan told TODAY.com.

Jung made an on-the-spot decision to bring Pudding home. Always a calm and relaxed guy, Pudding took to his new digs right away, displaying not a hint of skittishness on his first day there.

That evening Jung, who has been living with diabetes since the age of 4, went to bed at about 9:30 p.m. About 90 minutes later, she started to have a diabetic seizure. That’s when, according to the Green Bay Press-Gazette, “Pudding planted his weight on her chest and, when he could not wake her, began swatting her face and biting her nose.”

Jung came to her senses enough to yell out to her son for assistance. At that point, Pudding jumped up onto Ethan’s bed and startled him into action. He immediately rushed to get his mom the help she needed.

“Her doctor said she could have gone into a coma and not come out of it if much more time had gone by,” Counihan said. “The fact that Pudding did what he did without knowing her that well is just amazing to me.”

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