Now that our wildlife pond in the back garden is established, it is truly a joy to see so many different birds, animals and insects using the pond daily – and living in it! Happy that our pond was safe for our cats (see out article ‘Are ponds safe for cats?’), we were now faced with the opposite dilemma – would the new pond inhabitants and daily pond visitors be safe from our cats? Hunting is a natural instinct in all cats. Before cats were domesticated about 10,000 years ago, hunting was a means of survival. Being carnivores, hunting meat for food was critical to their existence. To the domesticated…

 Can a cat and tortoise live together? The short answer is, yes, cats and tortoises can live together. However, it is highly recommended that care and precautions are taken to ensure safety for both species. Cats and tortoises are not natural enemies, but neither are they naturally friends. There is likely to be an element of curiosity, wariness and they may simply just not know what to make of each other. Kittens are known to be very agile and playful and will investigate anything and everything that twitches or moves. Seeing a tortoise peeking its head from its shell will be an invite for an inquisitive kitten. A kitten could…

What is a Tomcat? A tomcat is a domesticated male cat. Specifically, they are sexually active adult male cats that have not been neutered. Because of this, they will roam in search of a female cat in heat. They will not hesitate to encroach on another male’s territory to seek a female to mate with. They will also not hesitate to fight if needed, to win the attention of a female. The name ‘Tom’ is believed to have been associated with young male kittens as far back as the 1300’s. But the term ‘Tomcat’ became widely used and recognised from 1760 onwards. It stems from a cat character in a…

It’s every indoor cat owner’s worst nightmare! A window accidentally left open or a mischievous cat sneaking up behind you as you open the door – and in a second your precious indoor cat is outside! Despite all the best intentions and safety measures, indoor cats can sometimes escape. If you are present the moment that your cat escapes, then hopefully it will be a quick and easy task of picking them up and bringing them back indoors. But what if your cat will not let you catch them, or even worse, you have no idea where they have gone. Here are some tips to getting your indoor cat back…

The sheer joy and excitement we felt the other evening as we saw a hedgehog sniffing around our front door was fabulous. Our cat had left a couple of uneaten crunchy cat treats on the doorstep and it seemed Mr or Mrs hedgehog had sniffed out these tasty delights. As hedgehogs are nocturnal it is not common to see these fascinating creatures roaming around. But it did spark our curiosity about cats and hedgehogs? Our cats are indoors overnight but many cats are actively hunting outside from dusk onward. What would they make of these prickly mammals? Hopefully this article will answer many cat and hedgehog related questions that cat…

Included in our little pet family are three sheep, two cats and two fish and everyone lives alongside each other in harmony. Therefore, introducing a new addition to the pet family is not a decision to be taken lightly. With a cute little bunny rabbit as a contender to join our expanding brood our main concern was the relationship between the cats and the rabbit. Would the cats and rabbit get along? Was there a possibility that the cats would attack or even kill or eat the rabbit? This article explores the potential relationship between a domestic cat and a pet rabbit. Do cats eat rabbits? Being that cats are…

With National hug your cat day on the 4th June, it can be the perfect excuse to give our feline friends some extra hugs and cuddles. Whilst one of our cats, Boo, seems very receptive to this idea, our other cat, Misty, is simply not interested. Do cats therefore like to be hugged and cuddled? Is Misty just being aloof and wanting time on her own? Does Boo simply tolerate hugs or does she genuinely enjoy them? Let’s delve into the world of cats and hugs! Do cats like to be hugged? Just like humans, there will be some cats that love to be hugged and cuddled while others will…

We have one indoor cat and one outdoor cat. Our indoor cat has supervised outdoor times but our eldest cat, Misty, goes outside every day for her routine stroll. Most of the time, this is all ok. She does not wander far and is lucky enough to have a very large garden with many nooks and crannies for exploring. However, there are a few cats in the neighborhood – some domestic and a few feral cats. There has been a couple of instances when one of these neighboring or feral cats have come into our garden and been quite aggressive towards our Misty. Thankfully, she has always come back home…