According to the NEW York Times, Iams Veterinary Formula Feline Renal in 5.5-pound bags is being recalled over possible Salmonella contamination.  More details HERE:

Cat litter training isn’t rocket science, but you need to know how to do it.

First thing to do is to find a quiet, nearly empty room in your home. This will be your cat training room.

There is just a few things you’ll put in this training room: a water dish, somewhere to hide (such as an empty box), something to sleep on and the litter box. Now, you’re ready to start the your kitten training.

Keep your pet in this cat litter training room for a minimum of three days. You’ll enter the room just for clean the box and feed your kitten, every day, for three days. Perhaps you want to play with him- and that’s ok – but don’t bring your cat out of the room.

If, after the three days are over, your cat has been using the litter box, you can take him out of the room and let him out into another room, with a litter box in it. Try to don’t give your pet free roam of the whole house yet. And if your cat eliminates outside the litter box again, well, it’s time to go back in the litter box training room for another couple of days.

Now, if your cat still eliminate in the same inappropriate spot, then you know that this particular area needs to be cleaned more carefully or you need to keep the cat away from that area temporarily.

With patience, persistence, and an effective plan for retraining – solving inappropriate elimination problems is entirely possible.

Did you know that domestic cats are the only variety of the cat family that can have their tails vertical when walking?  That’s right,  wild cats, like lions and tigers, walk with their tails horizontal or between legs.  When a domestic cat walks with its tail vertical, it indicates that he recognizes whoever or whatever is near.

Another interesting fact about cats is that cats never employ meowing to communicate with each other. Domestic cats descended from solitary creatures. Being solitary and hunting alone by nature, they have a limited set of communication skills for confrontation.  Especially lacking is body language.

Some misconceptions that a lot of people have about cats are that they always land on their feet. This statement is not true and I’m sorry to say a lot of people try this to see if it is true or not.  Another misconception is that they have nine lives. Cat definitely do not have, nor have they ever had nine lives.  This last belief may have come about because often see a cat do just that and the cat does land on its feet, and can appear to have “nine lives” but definitely not always.

Kittens born to non-hunting mothers may never learn to hunt (except maybe for yarn and some old socks to play with).  Kittens are born with both eyes and ears closed. With a new born kitten’s eyes open, they are always blue at first, changing color over a period time. Kittens will purr to their mother to let her know they are getting enough milk while nursing and also to let their mother know they are nearby and everything is ok. Adult cats purr to let others know they are friendly and not a threat. Purring is a process of inhaling and exhaling, usually performed while the mouth is closed.

The myth that black cats are bad luck especially if they cross your path persists but it is just that, a myth which seems to have originated in the United States we think.  This myth is believed to have originated with the Salem witch hunts although it is not known for sure.

Everything about cats is fascinating.  In doing research for this article, I learned a couple of things I didn’t know before and I thought I knew a lot about them.  I hope this article has been informative for you as well and helps with understanding the feline. And maybe what makes them do the things they do.