A cat missing for eight months in Braintree, Essex in the UK was reunited with his family after his human recognized his meow while she was on the phone with her vet talking about one of her other cats. She was told the cat was a stray, but called back later and asked for details as “it was bugging me”, she told MailOnline. Barnaby was microchipped before he went missing, but his human questions whether the chip was inserted properly. For more on this story, visit DailyMail.uk.

If you missed any of the stories featured on the Conscious Cat this week, here’s a recap:Continue Reading

On Black Friday, Jessica and Nikii Gerson-Neeves splurged on a Vitamix blender. It arrived at their home on Vancouver Island, BC on December 16. The couple was looking forward to a winter of soups and smoothies, but their three cats had different ideas. They have refused to leave the box, fighting over who gets to perch upon it and taking turns standing guard while the others eat or are busy elsewhere. The blender remains inside. The couple have tried other boxes, treats, and toys to distract the cats, but they keep coming back to the Vitamix box. It shouldn’t suprise anyone reading this that the two women haven’t had the heart to remove the box! For more about this hilarious story and photos of the three cats and their Vitamix, visit the Washington Post.

If you missed any of the stories featured on the Conscious Cat this week, here’s a recap:Continue Reading

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.

If you missed any of the stories featured on the Conscious Cat this week, here’s a recap:Continue Reading

A Guardian journalist and mom of three-year-old Larry and six-month old Kedi set out to gain a deeper understanding of what makes her cats happy. She consulted with various experts, and wrote an article titled The inner lives of cats: what our feline friends really think about hugs, happiness and humans. “Over the course of the week it takes me to research and write this article, I become obsessed – even more than before – with the happiness and wellbeing of my charges,” she wrote. I encourage you to visit the Guardian to read the entire, beautifully written article.

If you missed any of the stories featured on the Conscious Cat this week, here’s a recap:Continue Reading

If ever there was a story that restores your faith in humanity, it was the story of Hank, a 1-year-old cat in Washington, DC, who got stuck on top of a 60 foot tree. More than 30 people came together to get him down, including the Humane Rescue Alliance, fire fighters, a tree service, and countless neighbors. In the end, ropes and a contraption that shot a bean bag into the tree and looped some string around a branch and maneuvered a small crate with some special items inside in place did the trick: Hank took the bait and jumped into the crate. ““I can’t believe how many people went out of their way to help me with this cat,” said his human. “No one ever said, ‘You’re being ridiculous.’ ” Visit the Washington Post for the full story and photos of Hank’s amazing rescue.

If you missed any of the stories featured on the Conscious Cat this week, here’s a recap:Continue Reading

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.)

If you missed any of the stories featured on the Conscious Cat this week, here’s a recap:Continue Reading

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.

If you missed any of the stories featured on the Conscious Cat this week, here’s a recap:Continue Reading

When a cat refuses to eat, one suggestion is to slightly warm their food. It’s never a good idea to offer food straight from the refrigerator, and gently warming food not only  makes it easier on a cat’s tummy, but can also enhance the food’s smell. Another hypothesis is that warming makes the food resemble “prey temperature.” Dr. Mikel Delgado takes a look at a recent study that explored whether warming a cat’s food increases its appeal. Visit What Your Cat Wants to read more about the study.

If you missed any of the stories featured on the Conscious Cat this week, here’s a recap:Continue Reading

I’m pretty sure that if cats had anything to say about it, they’d get rid of Halloween. From a cat’s perspective, there’s not much to love about a holiday when strangers come knocking at your door, your humans dress up in weird outfits and scary looking masks, and some  humans even try to put you in costumes. It’s up to us humans to reduce the stress of this holiday for feline family members and keep them safe so everyone can have a happy Halloween. Read our tips to keep your cats safe this weekend.

If you missed any of the stories featured on the Conscious Cat this week, here’s a recap:Continue Reading

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.

If you missed any of the stories featured on the Conscious Cat this week, here’s a recap:Continue Reading