Cat World Blog

the trouble with hunters

I'm a bit upset today. We had an incident with Fred last night. Our garden is usually full of birds, despite having the boy around. One of our favourites is a little round robin who is a lot friendlier than is good for him. He will land right by our feet when we are gardening, sit right at the edge of the beech hedge and talk to us and fly in and land right behind Fred the cat - as if we're all friends. I love that robin, but I have always thought he was too friendly and didn't understand the dangers. You know what's coming don't you.

Last evening I looked out of the back window and saw Fred coming out of the beech hedge with something brown and winged in his mouth. I ran out and shouted at him. I dropped his catch and I was horrified to discover that it was the robin. I tried to pick little rollie up and he came to life (birds often go into shock). He fluttered low to the ground and made his way to cover under the beech hedge followed by a very excited Fred. I had to fight to keep Fred away and eventually shut Fred indoors so he couldn't get at him.

Throughout the evening I went out to check on the robin. I let him be because I thought that he might become more stressed if I kept trying to pick him up. The last time I went out to look, he had gone. That is not to assume that he has flown off to safety, he could be anywhere of course - and we don't know what his injuries are. This morning we looked for him but no joy. I'm not sure if Fred understands that we are unhappy with him. We growled and hissed at the time, but there is no point in anything else - animal instincts and all that.

I just hope that we see rollie robin again soon.

Wee Wee trouble

One of our Cat World pals has just emailed in with a tricky little problem. I'm sure she won't mind me saying, particularly if one of you can help with an answer! She has two cats and one of them has just widdled on the duvet. Why? Hmm good question. There are 3 things to check, firstly, that there is no medical problem or condition that is causing it. Secondly, that there is no problem with the litter tray, i.e the cat couldn't get there in time, the litter brand has changed to something the cat doesn't like, there was a big dog sat in front of it! Thirdly - territory. Cats mark their territory in this way when they are feeling threatened, perhaps by another cat in the neighbourhood, changes to their environment, decorators, building work, a new cat on the block and so on. It is a natural action and a sign of stress, but telling a cat off or hitting them will not solve the problem and will only make it worse (friend knows this by the way so don't worry!). The problem is, diagnosing what it is, especially if it involves another feline living in the house - and how to disarm the bomb. Anyone got any experience with this and know how to help?

Whatever next!

Would you believe I have just had an email from someone who has called their cat Beyonce! Well it had to happen. We've had just about every variety of human name bestowed upon our feline friends, from Britney, or Posh and Becks, to the most un-cat-like Dave - the persian. I quite liked that actually. Beyonce would only suit a certain 'look' of cat as a name, something like a Diva feline, a bombay or a Havana, no moggies (sorry moggies - you know I adore you) otherwise we'll end up with cat chavs. Now, who is gonna be the first to call their cat Lady GaGa?