My Two Cats

Anything and everything cats.

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Purrminator and Jerry: Best Friends Forever

My pick for Cat of the Week is an adorable bonded pair, Purrmintaor and Jerry.  Like his name implies, Purrminator is a purring machine.  You simply have to walk into the room and he starts up his little purring motor.  Jerry is a laid back adult male but more importantly, is Purrminator’s best friend / soul mate.  When Jerry was brought to the shelter he was surrendered with one of his littermates, Tom.  Tom and Jerry were housed together but the staff at TAS soon found that Purrminator kept sneaking into the brothers’ room to hang out with them every chance he got.  Not wanting to get in the way of a budding bromance, they moved Purrminator in with Tom and Jerry and the rest, as they say, is history.  Tom was adopted and soon after Jerry and Purrminator thought they were headed to their forever home by some kind adopters who wanted to keep the two best buds together.  Unfortunately Purrminator and Jerry were in for a period of bad luck – their adopters faced an unexpected international move and they were brought back to the shelter.  Worse still, Jerry caught a upper respiratory tract virus and had to be quarantined.  Purrminator worried alone in his room while staff and volunteers tried to cheer him up with pets, toys, and treats, but were mostly unsuccessful.  After a difficult battle Jerry managed to fight the virus off and could be returned to Purrminator.  The two are so happy to be reunited that you rarely catch one even a few feet from the other.  If you come by the shelter you’re likely to see the two of them curled up together, with Purrminator giving Jerry a hug.

Adopting a bonded pair is a rewarding experience.  You get the opportunity to give two cats a forever home and in return you get two loving cats and as many pictures of cats hugging as you can take (your Facebook friends will love it)!  If you have room in your home for this adorable pair visit them at Toronto Animal Services South location.  They are open daily from 10:30 to 6:30.

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Cat of the Week - Jasper

This week I've chosen the adorable and super sweet cat Jasper as my pick for Cat of the Week.  Jasper is a black and white domestic short hair with unique markings, particularly on is cute face.

Jasper is just over 2 years old and he is a special needs cat because he has been diagnosed with Legg-Perthes.  Legg-Perthes affects the hip joint; cell death around the head of the femur leads to deformity of the joint which can cause pain and mobility issues.  Right now Jasper hasn't been slowed down at all by this diagnosis!  He loves to run, chase toys, and investigate kittens in the room next to his.

Check out a video of Jasper playing with a mouse toy here!

In the future Jasper will likely require some extra veterinary care to keep him happy and pain free.  If you have a little extra love and time to give, Jasper would make a great addition to your home.  His gentle temperament and love of hugs and snuggling will repay any extra costs associated with his ongoing care.

Jasper (and many others) are available for adoption at Toronto Animal Services South location.  They are open daily from 10:30 to 6:30.

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TAS Adoptable Cat of the Week

Every week I volunteer at Toronto Animal Services as a cat cuddler.  I have the opportunity to interact with many cats that are all waiting for their forever homes.  I thought I'd share my pick for "cat of the week" - a cat that I feel may be overlooked by potential adopters because of their age, a health concern or behaviour, etc...  This week my pick is Chloe.

Chloe is a beautiful long-haired gray and white lady.  She is an adult, at 6, and is healthy and well-adjusted to home life.  She would prefer to be an only cat - she likes to have all the attention to herself!  When I first met Chloe I didn't know her name and I started calling her Peppercorn (Pepper for short).  She seems to like both names equally :)

When I've hung out with Chloe she enjoys being brushed, which is great because her lovely fur will need some light regular maintenance to keep her mat free.  She also loves to play with dangly toys and strings.  If you need a sweet, low-maintenance companion Chloe is the cat for you!

Honorable mention goes to Owl.  Owl is a sweet but very shy gray and white girl.  She is incredibly soft and likes to have her head and chin stroked.  Over the past couple of weeks she has made some progress in becoming more trusting.  When I first met Owl she curled herself into a tiny ball at the back of her cage and watched everyone cautiously with her large bright eyes.  She accepted pets and purred (and even drooled a little!) but was reluctant to even stand up.  The noise and busyness of TAS is a bit overwhelming for Owl, but even so, she has made some impressive strides over these last couple of weeks.  Yesterday she welcomed my pets and let me softly brush her all over.  She was enjoying it so much she started rolling over and allowing me to give her belly gentle pets.  She seemed to be getting a bit playful so I started dangling some toys and strings for her and she became more animated, batting and catching the toys.  If you have a quiet and predictable home and a little bit of patience I believe Owl is a lap cat in the making!  I'd be happy to give any potential adopters some tips for encouraging Owl to trust and become comfortable in her new home as quickly as possible.

These two cats (and many more) are available for adoption at Toronto Animal Services South location.  They are open daily from 10:30 to 6:30.

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Tips for Particularly Chewy Cats

In case you missed it be sure to check out my post on Modern Cat magazine on dealing with cats that chew too much!

http://moderncat.com/blogs/cat-psychologist/tips-particularly-chewy-cats

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Happy Holidays from My Two Cats

It's no secret that cats love the holidays - trees to explore, cookies to steal, ornaments to bat around - and my two cats, Andes and Bolivar, are no exception.  Happy holidays from my cat family to yours.

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My Top 5 Gifts for Cat Lovers

With the holidays fast approaching here are my top five gift ideas for the cat lover in your life.

1.

Cat Jewelry

There are lots of options for cute cat jewelry out there but one of my favorites is this adorable kitten pinky ring from Cat Bird.  The Cat Bird store is located in NYC but they ship internationally!

2.

Paw Dot Keds

No longer available from Keds.com, if you can find a pair of these paw dot Keds from the Taylor Swift collection you will be a hero to your cat lover.  The paw print design is understated, but adds a little cat fun to any casual outfit.

3.

Subscription to Modern Cat Magazine

By far my favorite cat magazine (I may be biased as a freelance columnist for them), but anyone with a cat affinity will enjoy biannual issues for two years!  Subscriptions are on sale today (Cyber Monday) for $8 – the year’s best deal.

4.

Because Cats iPhone Case

Is your cat lover pondering the deep philosophical questions of life? This Because Cats iPhone case sold by Society 6 answers them all.

5.

Still not sure what to give? Consider a donation to a local shelter or rescue organization. Most organizations will have a list of needs or simply send money and allow the organization to pick out what they need most.

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Cool Treats for Summer Days

As we enter summer and the heat starts to increase don't forgot to pay attention to the effects of heat on your cats.  One way to help your cats cool down is to offer them a cold treat.  I found an easy recipe for DIY cat treats at Modern Cat magazine.  I made an ice cube tray of these and my cats go crazy for them.  They store in the freezer so you can make a bunch at once and keep the rest for later.  Don't accidentally put one in your lemonade.

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Three Tips for Active Cats

I am a strong supporter of fitness and health in myself and by extension in my cats.  All cats need exercise, but particularly our indoor friends.  While remaining indoors is ideal for cats due to the much lower risk of early death, disease, and injury, on the negative side indoor cats do not typically have as active lives as their outdoor counterparts.  Some indoor cats (my Andes, for instance) have adapted so well to this sedentary lifestyle that they are happy to laze away the days snuggling on our laps and sleeping in the comfy crooks and crannies that our homes provide.  As a result some cats are overweight or obese; a situation that can cause serious health problems for your cat along the road.

Here are some tips to keep your cat active and healthy.

1. Use natural opportunities to engage your cat in physical activity.

Cats are naturally curious.  If your cat comes up to investigate the load of groceries you just brought in instead of brushing them aside out of the way allow them to poke their head into each of the bags and smell the new array of things you brought into the house.  Perhaps give them something from the bags to play with for a little while (something as simple as a fresh green bean out of your dinner groceries can provide a fun diversion as your cat bats at, chews, and examines this new item).

2. Hide some cat toys and bring them out as a surprise on a more infrequent schedule.

Cats get bored with the same old toys every day.  While I always leave some toys out for my cats to play with, I also keep a few in random drawers and shelves around my apartment.  Every couple of days I will grab one of these "special" toys and bring it out for a play session.  The novelty of the toy will be extra engaging to your cat.

3. Schedule a cat "playtime" every day.  Twice a day if possible.

We're all extremely busy which is why it's important to schedule in play time with your cats.  If it's scheduled in it's less likely that it will fall to the bottom of a to-do list and eventually get dropped because you ran out of time.  I like to encourage my cats to be active before I go to bed by tossing toys around the bed for them.  This serves the double purpose of getting them active and also tiring them out a bit when I don't want to be disturbed.

While it is a cat owner's responsibility to maintain their cat's health, consider it an opportunity.  My cats make me smile every day - isn't it the least we can do to keep our pets happy and healthy?

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Cat Icons and a Little Psychology

I created my cat icon because clearly, it just made sense to have two cats on there.  What I noticed later was that I had created not only a cute look for my blog, but also inadvertently a reversible figure!  As a psychologist this connection between my two loves was an unexpected and exciting twist.

So what is a reversible figure?  Take a look at the two cats at the top of this page.  Now bring your attention to the white space in between the two cats.  Did you notice a shift?  Many people will see the figure transform from cats to a vase-like shape.  This phenomenon, which has been extensively studied in visual perception, highlights one of the ways in which our visual system interprets visual scenes, by separating them into figure and ground (or background).  Reversible figures appear to "flip" between the two alternatives.  Some basic guidelines are used by the visual system when making decisions about perceptual ambiguities, and together they are referred to as the Gestalt grouping rules.  These rules usually allow us to quickly identify visual scenes and interpret them, but sometimes these rules "trick" our visual system.  These mistakes highlight how the visual system interprets (or misinterprets) information and gives us clues to the workings of the entire system.

Here are a couple of my favorite illusions:

The Necker Cube, a classic illusion.  Does the cube look like it's jutting out down to the left or up to the right?

Are A and B different shades or the same?  It's hard to believe, but they are actually the same shade of gray.  Here is proof and here is an explanation of the effect.

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Introducing My Two Cats!

If you've found your way to this blog you're probably a fan of cats already and I don't need to spend time extolling the virtues of cats and cat ownership.  Instead, I'll introduce you to my two best cat friends, Andes and Bolivar.

Andes Sweet Pea is a white short hair cat with calico markings on her face, tail, and a few spots in between.  She was born March 1st, 2007 in the safety of Abbeycats foster program.  She had 7 litter mates and she was smallest, but now she's put on some lady weight.

Bolivar Reginald is a white medium hair cat with gray tabby markings on his face and his extremely fluffy tail.  He and Andes are litter mates and although I got them together so they could be best friends, they've each decided they would rather be friends with their humans rather than each other.

If I haven't lost you yet with my reminiscing of the early days of my cats, I hope you'll come back for future posts about advice on cat behaviour, cute cat video clips and pictures, and great cat-related products I find.