Mews and Nips

Mews and Nips: Woman Married Her Cat To Get Around Landlord’s Pet Restrictions

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cat-wedding

A London woman recently married her cat in hopes of avoiding rental restrictions which forced her to rehome three previous pets due to landlords who rejected pets. She is facing eviction again despite previous permission from her landlord to have a cat. Anticipating yet another move, the pair got married preemptively so they could stay together regardless of any lease stipulations. “By marrying India, I need any future landlords to know that we come as a package and we cannot be separated under any circumstances as she is as important to me as my children,” Deborah Hodge told LADBible. For more about this story and wonderful photos from the wedding ceremony, visit LADBible.Continue Reading

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Mews and Nips: Your Cat’s Primordial Pouch – What Is It For?

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primordial-pouch

Did you know that all cats have a primordial pouch, even normal weight cats? You may have a different name for the soft, saggy skin underneath a cat’s belly. I’ve heard it called anything from cookie pouch to coin purse to snack pack. When I managed a veterinary practice, one of our clinic cats had a very pronounced primordial pouch, and I used to call it his bed skirt. For more about this part of your cat’s anatomy, its function, and why it’s more pronounced in some cats and not in others, visit the Chewy.com blog.

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Mews and Nips: The Cats of Istanbul

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cat-istanbul

Cats have been a part of Istanbul’s history for thousands of years. They are given free reign in this city of 15 million humans. You may recall the 2016 film Kedi, beautifully-shot documentary that tracks the stories of seven cats that live on Istanbul’s streets and showcases the city’s love of cats. A recent article takes an in depth look at the fascinating history and lives of Istanbul’s cats. Visit Turkish Vibe to read Capital of the Cats: Istanbul.

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Mews and Nips: Do Our Cats Think We’re Just Bigger Cats?

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cat-looking-at-woman

Do you ever wonder how cats perceive us humans? What exactly do they see when they look at us? Inverse assembled a team of pet experts and veterinarians to try and answer these questions. Visit Inverse to read a fascinating article about feline thought processes and behaviors.

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Mews and Nips: Scientists Uncover the Secret To Fishing Cats’ Hunting Success

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fishing-cat

Fishing cats are native to South and Southeast Asia. Unlike many cat species, fishing cats readily swim. Their front toes are partially webbed, and their claws protrude slightly even when retracted, an adaptation for fishing. To date ,very little was known about these mysterious cats’ behavior. A recently published study took a closer look at the hunting behavior of these elusive felines. For more about these fascinating cats, visit Science News.Continue Reading

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Mews and Nips: “Talking” Cat Gives Scientists Insight Into How Cats Think

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talking-cat

A 13-year-old cat in Florida has a vocabulary of about 50 words, using an augmentative alternative communication (ACC) device. These devices have previously been used by dogs, but Billi appears to be the first cat using an ACC device. The creator of the device was skeptical about cats using the buttons, but is now intrigued by the way cats are using the device differently from dogs. For more about Billi and her skills, visit Salon.com.

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Mews and Nips: The Electrical Life of Louis Wain

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Carol_Singing_by_Louis_William_Wain,_watercolor

If you’re looking for a movie to watch this weekend, I highly recommend The Electrical Life of Louis Wain. The movie is based on the true story of the eccentric British artist whose playful pictures transformed the public’s perception of cats forever. Set in the early 1900s, the movie follows Wain as he seeks to unlock the “electrical” mysteries of the world and, in so doing, to better understand his own life and the profound love he shared with his wife Emily Richardson. The movie is available on Amazon Prime (free for Prime members.)Continue Reading

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Mews and Nips: Your Cat May Be Tracking Your Every Move

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cat-ear-tracking

Researchers at Kyoto University in Japan found that cats are mentally mapping their humans’ location based on audio clues in the environment, including the sound of the human’s voice. This is known as socio-spatial cognition, in which animals keep mental tabs on the inferred locations of other group members, even if they’re not visibly present. The researchers conducted the study with both house cats and cats in cat cafés and found that yes, cats are definitely tracking us! For more about this fascinating study, visit ScienceAlert.com.

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Mews and Nips: What a Cat Can Teach Us About Cybersecurity

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cat-on-laptop

In a recent Op Ed piece in The LA Times, cybersecurity expert Herbert Lin shared how trying to confine his daughter’s cat to a limited area of his home (Lin is allergic) taught him valuable lessons about why cybersecurity is so hard to obtain. “Everything that I tried to confine Pounce worked for a little while but eventually failed as he found a way past my newest security barrier — just as hackers eventually find their way through the cybersecurity barriers erected to stop them.” Visit the LA Times for the full, utterly delightful column.Continue Reading

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Mews and Nips: Can Cats See Ghosts?

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cat-ghost-staring

If you’ve ever watched your cat starting at something that doesn’t seem to be there, you might have wondered whether cats see things that we can’t. We know cats’ senses are more developed than humans’, so perhaps it’s not such a stretch to ask this question. Just in time for Halloween, Jackson Galaxy talked to Yahoo!Life about this topic. “”If you believe in the spirit world, as I do, then it’s much easier to take the leap that your cats are experiencing something in a realm that’s beyond the physical, rather than just staring at a blank spot on a wall,” he says. For more about what Jackson had to say, visit Yahoo.com.

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Mews and Nips: Why Can’t House Cats Roar?

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cat-roar-meow

Have you ever wondered why your house cats can’t roar like some wild cats? It turns out that it has to do with the physiology of a cat’s voice box: cats can either purr or roar, but they can’t do both. In addition to our house cats, bobcats, ocelots, lynx, cougars and cheetahs can purr, but they don’t roar. Roaring is much rarer in cats and evolved in a particular lineage of large cats. For more about this fascinating topic, visit LiveScience.

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