The Vesper Cat Furniture line from Hagen is quite possibly the most beautiful line of cat furniture I’ve seen, and I see a lot of cat furniture. We reviewed the V-Base model earlier this year and gave it our sought-after Conscious Cat Seal of Approval. The girls use this gorgeous piece of cat furniture every single day. When we wrote the review, Vesper was still a little difficult to find, but it is now widely available. Continue Reading
This post is sponsored by the Felix Katnip Tree Company
Scratching is a natural behavior for cats. Cats scratch to groom their claws, the scratching motion helps remove dead sheaths from their front claws. They scratch to mark their territory. Their front paws contain scent glands, and scratching leaves behind their unique signature on the object being scratched. They scratch for exercise; scratching stretches the muscles in the front legs and all along the back. And they scratch simply because it feels good. Continue Reading
I get multiple requests to review toys and treats almost every day. The majority of these requests are for clever, innovative and fun designs, and I share the ones that I think you’d be most interested in on this site. Every once in a while, I get a request to review a toy that just doesn’t look good to me, so I politely decline, and that’s the end of that. Reviews, by their very nature, are always in part opinion: just because I don’t like something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not a good product. Continue Reading
I’m not a huge fan of reading Fantasy, nor do I generally read middle grade novels, so Chermpf* by William S. Russell III was a bit of a stretch for me, and I’ll be honest, the only reason I even picked it up was because the pitch email from the author’s wife was so lovely, I had to at least give it a try. And I have to say, I’m glad I did.Continue Reading
I’m always interested to learn about safe and effective household products, and was intrigued with Fresh Wave, a line of odor-removing products has been around for over 20 years. According to the company, Fresh Wave has been made with natural ingredients since long before natural products became popular. Their products are used in such places as wastewater treatment plants, paper mills,and refineries. I would imagine that if they can work in tough spots like that, they would probably do just fine around pet odors and other challenging odors around the home.Continue Reading
Black cats have played a major role in superstitions, folklore and mythology for centuries. In the Middle Ages, black cats were believed to be witches’ familiars, and many even believed that black cats were reincarnated witches or messengers of witches or demons. The association of black cats with witches has become so ingrained in our culture that they’ve become synonymous with Halloween.
The cat wasn’t associated with witchcraft until sometime in the 16th century. A popular British legend claims that in the 1560’s, a father and son were frightened by a small creature darting across their path on a moonless night. After throwing stones after the creature, they saw that it was an injured black cat dart out of a crawl space and into the home of a woman suspected to be a witch. When the father and son saw the woman on the street the next day, the woman walked with a limp and had a bruised and bandaged face and arm. From that day on, all black cats were suspected of being witches, and apparently, the legend held. This notion of witches transforming themselves into black cats became a mainstay of belief during the Salem witch hunts in America.
Interestingly, the folklore surrounding black cats varies from culture to culture. In Britain and Japan, having a black cat cross your path is considered good luck; in the United States and several European countries, having a black cat walk by is considered bad luck. It even seems to matter from which direction the black cat comes from: In Germany, some believe that black cats crossing a person’s path from right to left is a bad omen, but from left to right brings good luck.
Black cats are said to bring good luck to sailors, whereas most gamblers believe that when a black cat crosses a player’s path, they should not go to the casino.
Other black cat superstitions include the belief that having a black cat turn his back on your brings bad luck, while having a black cat greet you at the door brings good luck. Meeting a black cat early in the morning is said to bring bad luck, but meeting three black cats in succession is said to bring good fortune.
Thankfully, despite all of these superstitions, black cats have a large, loyal following of people who appreciate these sleek, gorgeous creatures in all their beauty.
When our friend Melissa, the founder and publisher of Mochas, Mysteries and Meows, lost her precious tortie Truffles suddenly and traumatically last month, our hearts were heavy. Losing a cat is always devastating, but when it happens unexpectedly, and to a young cat (Truffles was only two), it’s almost unbearable. There was no doubt in my mind that Melissa would open her heart to another cat when she was ready, and I was delighted when she announced the adoption of Miss Mudpie earlier this week. Please join me in congratulating Melissa on her new family member – and isn’t Miss Mudpie a great name for a tortie? Check out Melissa’s blog for more photos of little Miss Mudpie.
If you missed any of the stories featured on The Conscious Cat last week, here’s a recap: Continue Reading
Every August, I look forward to the newest release in Leann Sweeney’s Cats in Trouble mystery series. The series features cat quilter Jillian Hart and her three cats Merlot, Chablis and Chiraz, along with her human friends, who all live in the small town of Mercy, South Carolina. I was looking forward to The Cat, the Sneak and the Secret even more than usual because this book features a tortie!Continue Reading
Even though I have absolutely no scientific evidence, in my experience, when it comes to being talkative, tortoiseshell cats have most other cats beat.
Buckley was one of the most vocal cats I’ve ever come across. She had a range of expression from an almost silent meow to a very loud, demanding cry that almost approached a scream. I often heard her meowing or chattering somewhere in the house. It was almost as if she felt compelled to provide a running commentary on her activities: “I think I’ll go in the bedroom now.” “Oh, maybe I’ll jump up on the window perch. That looks like fun.” “Oh, look! There’s a big blue bird by the feeder!” It seemed that her constant delight at everything in her life needed to be expressed out loud.Continue Reading
I’m a writer, a psychologist, and a cat lover. And sometimes the three worlds mix. I created two fictional cats (Barney and Scout in the Dream Club Mysteries*) and I have eight adorable rescued cats at home. Both my fictional cats and my own fur babies have many traits in common; they spend their days bird-watching, playing and of course, sleeping. I always feel calm, centered and happy when I’m with my cats; there’s something peaceful and comforting about their presence.Continue Reading
Katris, the unique modular scratching system that you can arrange in endless configuration to please yourself and your cats just got even better. Remember the computer game Tetris? You get the idea.
The makers of Katris believe in modern design that is functional as well as eco-friendly. The 5 different shaped scratchers are created with top grade 100% natural recyclable cardboard, made from 90% post-consumer materials. They use non-toxic glue, and they’re extremely durable – something I can certainly attest to.Continue Reading
