Cats Just Wanna Have Fun

Loaded with funny pictures, videos and stories of cats doing nutty things as well as valuable information on caring for your cat, including: how to deal with cat box odors, getting your cat ready for a vet visit, dealing with cat allergies, grooming, and more.

House cats, felines or domestic cats, wherever you choose to call them, have 3 things on their minds: eating, sleeping and playing. Not necessarily in that order. But fun is a major part of their waking day. They'll play with anything, your toes, paper bags, paper wads, foil balls, feathers, lights. Heck, they'll even chase their tails if they don't have anything else to do.

Come back often because I'll be adding more information, pictures & videos, cartoons, jokes, important links, and facts covering the whole spectrum of cat ownership and ways to keep your cat healthy, happy and purring for a long, long time.

***My Computer was hacked so many photos aren't showing up. Have to find them again and put them on this new computer. Thanks in advance for your patience.***

Funny Cat photo of the week

One of the Things a Cat Lover is Called

You are an Ailurophile if you love cats. Ailurophile is a Greek word: ailouros means "cat", philos "lover of."

Different Sounds For Different Cats

The House Cat

There are many funny cat books with great stories and pictures. Here are a few choice ones.

2 Simple Things You Can Do At Home

About 20 years ago, my allergist told me that 90% of pet owners are allergic to their pets to some degree. She explained that the body builds up a type of immunity from exposure and that people who had pets as children don't have nearly as many problems as adults who did not get exposed to animals as they were growing up.

Well, I'm allergic to cats and dogs (among lots of other thing) and since I love both, I was not going to live without them in my life, so I take Claritin once a day. That's it. I have 16 in-door cats and I never have allergic reactions to them. Plus Kira, my alpha cat, sleeps on my pillow. I also do not have attacks from most other animals either. Since 2000, I have fostered bottle feeders, litters who have lost their mom and moms and their kittens -- the largest litter was a mom with 9 kittens -- without a single allergic reaction.

I just began walking dogs and socializing cats on Sundays at the Mendocino County Animal Care & Control Shelter. It's great fun and the cats and dogs love the much needed attention. However, I found that by the end of the 1st hour, my face itches and my eyes are beet red and they itch so much that I can't stop rubbing them. I'm sure it's the overwhelm of so many dogs and cats in the shelter which causes the problem for me.

Here's what I found works for me:

(1) Wash face and hands with a mild soap and warm water, rinsing well. (Pat the skin, don't rub.)

(2) Take Top Care Cold Relief (or another brand of effervescent reliever) as directed.

(3) Place 1 or 2 drops of Visine:A in each eye. It has an antihistamine & redness reliever.

I get relief within 10 minutes and the symptoms are totally gone in 30 minutes. Try it. I hope it works as well for you.

Hopping Isn't Just For Rabbits

The Hip Hop Cat OR Puff Kitty

Helping Your Cat With Hairballs

Most of the hair swallowed by your cat will be processed through their digestive system and find its way out in their stools. However, from time to time too much hair will accumulate in the stomach and instead of being eliminated through their stools, a cat will vomit the hairball.

If a cat cannot get rid of these hair-balls he could suffer from a blockage in the intestine or stomach. If left untreated for too long, it can become life-threatening and without surgery, the blockage might even be deadly.

There are several things you can do to stop the build up of hair-balls in your cat's body.

1. Brush his fur regularly.

A regular brushing will get remove much of the loose hair thus keeping it from being swallowed.

2. Improve your cat's diet.

You can mix about 1 teaspoon of mineral oil with his soft or hard food daily for about a week. Then add it every 3 or 4 days. This will coat his tummy and digestive system for easier passage through the body.

3. Give him petroleum jelly.

You can give him 1/2 teaspoon of petroleum jelly every day until the symptoms disappear, then once a week.

4. Give him a petroleum-based remedy (treat).

Petromalt is a hairball remedy, however, several of my cats consider it a treat. It comes in a tube. You give it to your cat in 1/2 to 1 inch ribbons depending on the age of your cat daily until symptoms disappear, then once a week.

How To Get Your Cats To Take It

Some cats will not eat any of these of their own accord, so try: (1) Scraping it behind their top teeth. (2) Applying it on their paws or snout and they will lick it off. I prefer #1 because several times I've had the stuff flung across the room when the cat shakes his paw vigorously.

Signs Of Hair-Ball Distress

Symptoms of a hair-ball blockage will consist of the following: coughing and hacking for more than a day, lack of appetite and lack of body eliminations. If any of these occur, take your cat to the vet right away.

An Incredible Friendship

Get Him Ready Slowly

We used to have a major problem whenever one of our cats had to go to the Vet. We'd get a cat crate out and all of the cats would run and hide.

We have found a method that seems to work most of the time -- I can't promise it'll work on your cat, but it's worth a try.

Keep Crate Out

We keep one of the larger crates out -- all of the time. We put a nice soft towel in it. and every once in a while, we toss in a favorite toy and/or sprinkle a little catnip on the towel.

We find that most of the cats take turns going in and staying in the crate -- usually sleeping, sometimes playing with a toy. We've even had 2 cats sleep in at the same time.

Every once in a while, we'll add food to the crate when we don't have to go to the vet's office. Since the cats don't have to go to the vet's but about once a year each, they get used to the crate as a piece of furniture.

Vet Day

When we do have to take one to the vet, we attract the cat we want to the area of the crate and put some food in it. Then we wait. Sometimes we are rewarded and sometimes not.

If it does not work, my husband grabs the cat in the "momma cat" hold (pinching the skin behind the neck). I turn the crate with the door facing up while resting on the floor. He lowers the cat, feet first. When the cat is in, I quickly shut the door.

Like I said, it doesn't work all of the time, but it has made them less afraid of the crate so they are not quite as vocal on the car trip to the vet.

Isn't She Lovely?

The Stevie Wonder Cat

Get your Pet Meds Here - Cheaper & Faster

A Book To Help Calm Kitty

The Book Solutions To Cat Behavior will tell you exactly how to solve your litter box, house-soiling, and feline aggression problems.

With the insights found in this manual you will be able to stop your cat from using your house as a toilet, turn your aggressive tiger into a pussy cat and many more techniques to make it more enjoyable for both you and your cat. You'll be purring after putting these solutions in place.

Cat Training: Rewards and Reprimands

Training your cat should start when she is a kitten. Praising and reprimanding play a big role in educating her. Praise can be expressed with loving words, a tender pat, a hug, or sometimes even with treats.

Many say that in contrast to dogs, cats can't be motivated with treats to do tricks or fetch things on request. However my husband trained Nikita to catch a ball and roll over. Her reward? A pat and sometimes a treat. Actually, maybe, Nikita was training my husband. LOL

Reprimands -- Tips

If you need to reprimand your cat for annoying or problematic behavior (such as scratching furniture or walking on the dinner table), you'll have to think like a cat to get results. Keep the following in mind:

1. Do it immediately -- not minutes or hours later. Otherwise, they won't know why they are being reprimanded.

2. Offer a gruff NO or hiss, and try to demonstrate the correct behavior.

3. Remove him from the location of the bad act. With problem scratching, move him to his scratching post and praise him indulgently when he uses the post instead of the sofa. This associates positive reinforcement with positive behavior.

4. Briefly isolating your cat from the rest of the household will get better results than yelling. You may also want to place her in a safe, closed room or her cat carrier for 5-10 minutes, away from toys and family members, to get your point across.

5. A spray bottle of water works for my cats. Say NO and spray at the same time. They get the message.

6. Never reprimand with swatting or hitting. Not only will your cat not understand this type of reprimand, it can quickly break the bond of trust and lead to even more problem behaviors.

Certain types of persistent bad behavior can also be signs of health problems. For instance, urinating away from the litter box may be an indication of a urinary tract infection. If you're not sure whether his behavior is just a bad habit that needs correcting, or something more serious, contact your vet immediately.

Things You Should Look For And Change

If your cat is aggressive, here are some things to consider when trying to locate the triggers to her aggression.

If your cat is normally calm and suddenly becomes aggressive:

1. Look at any changes to her environment: Did you make any changes, such as adding a new cat to your family? Have you had to leave her alone for longer periods of time? Is she now exposed to dogs or kids?

2. Food aggression. Food aggression can happen in cats just as it does in dogs. If this appears to be the problem, feed him in another room from the other cats.

3. Consult a doctor: If you can't spot any changes in her environment that may have caused the change, you should take her for a complete check up. Aggressive can be a symptom of a health problem. Cats do not like to show weakness (i.e. illness) so they either hide or show more aggression as a defense.

If there doesn't seem to be an environmental problem that you can change or a health problem, consult an animal behaviorist for insight into your cat's problem.

Some changes that can reduce aggressive behavior include:

1. Regular exercise. Play with your cat a couple of times a day -- if they chase lights, there are light toys you can purchase. Or, do they like chasing string? Another easy fix. How about boxes or paper bags?

2. Distraction: Like with kids, you can distract your cat when she is aggressive by pulling out the light or string toy.

3. Feed your pet a balanced, high quality diet with plenty of raw and unprocessed food (preferably organic).

The last thing I'll mention is to spay or neuter your cat if they aren't already. An unaltered male cat is more aggressive and so is a female cat. The male is more territorial and will become quite aggressive around a female in heat. And, as for a female cat, there's not only the physical irritations, there's the male cats fighting over her. Both are stressful.

How To Get Rid Of The Urine Smells Once And For All

I don't know about you but over the years, I've spent hundreds of dollars trying to get rid of the urine smells in my home and garage. Well I finally found the solutions to my problems in the book 18 Ways to Stop Cat Urine Odor Problems.

Rock My World

The Stoner Cat

Below are a few articles being developed. Come back soon for the full unveiling.

Find the best and cheapest pet care products here...

EntirelyPets has the best prices on cat care products I've even seen. I buy from them regularly. To check them out, simply click on the banner ad below...

Geeks Love Music Too!

The Techno Cat

Here are my favorite Cat books, other than just picture books or cartoon books in my library. I highly recommend them all.

Find The Perfect Cat Tree

All cats need a cat tree and a cat bed. You'll find a wide variety of cat trees, condos, beds, perches, and other pet furniture on at Cat Trees: The Ultimate Cat Furniture For The Pampered Cat

Why Won't You Listen?

This poor cat was mistaken for a poodle and got the perfunctory doo.

I told them, I'm NOT a Poodle!

But would they listen? Noooo!

All About Saving Cats

Please check out my lens on how to save feral cats with TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return). The lens provides the pros and cons of TNR, great resource links and information, and photos. Also, you can read about Tara, the little cat pictured here. She was a feral and became an indoor cat. Stop the killing of feral cats using the humane method of TNR. Click here to get there Save Feral Cats. Thank you! Frankie

Your Cats Will Be Healthier And Happier

Having your cat spayed or neutered will stop the overpopulation and the killing of cats. Millions of cats are killed at shelters each year due to overpopulation. Keep in mind, if your cat has 4 kittens, even if you get homes for those kittens, 4 others are killed because they could not get homes.

This wonderful animation was created by David Booth of Cabin Fever Art. Check out his site to see all his wonderful cartoons and other goodies. He also provides the weekly cartoon for Are You Polar Bear Aware?

Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Programs

She's Just A Water Baby

And The Beat Goes On

The MAC Cat

Cats Can Be A Child's Best Friend

Cats and children go well together. Putting children in charge of a cat's care can give children a sense of responsibility and comfort, and are a healthy supplement to a child's wellbeing.

Growing up with cats your child learns respect for pets and the importance of affection. And, they should learn that pets are a lifelong commitment. There are several things you should do:

1) Show to your child the proper way of handling and caring for their cat. You are teaching him concern for animals but also instilling life skills.

2) Be a guide between cats and children. If it is your child's first time to experience with a pet, teach your child why a new pet may act so aloof, so that he will understand.

3) Tell your child some facts about cats. Better yet, go online with them to learn about cats, see pictures and videos. This site would be good for them along with these others:

Selecting Cats which features how to select a cat as well as how to take care of them.

Funny Cat videos is a place to see cats on video. Some are funny but some are also educational.

Sphynx Cats is about the hairless Sphynx cat and their traits and care.

Cat trees & beds tells why cats scratch, how to train them and has pictures and other information on cat trees, beds and scratching posts.

4) Teach your child not to play rough with cats. Cats may find playing rough to be hostile; the cat may use its claws or other parts of the body that can hurt your child.

5) Demonstrate the use of cat toys. They are better way to play with your animal.

6) Tell your child the importance of why cats sleep and how she could help in letting them sleep.

7) Remind your child the importance of keeping his cat indoors to avoid potential dangers outside. If you decide to have an indoor-outdoor cat, make sure you child understands how to mitigate some of the dangers outdoors.

If you missed The Metal Cats, search further down the page and come back and vote!

It Feels So Good When I Stop!

The Metal Cats

Polar Bears Are Just Big Cats (well, maybe not, but they're cute too!)

Cibachrome print of a polar bear embryo by award winning international photographers, Daniel & Geo Fuchs. To see it and more of their fabulous work, click The Bulger Gallery.

By the way, how many embryos do you count?

Check out my new Calvin and Hobbes site. To go there right now, click Funniest Calvin-and-Hobbes

WANT TO LINK TO THIS PAGE?

Here's the HTML code to copy and paste:
Cats Just Wanna Have Fun

This work is covered by copyright and can not be reprinted

in any matter (physical or digital) without prior written consent.

Copyright 2008-2013 Frankie Kangas All rights reserved.

Please use this guest book to share your thoughts about cats and/or this lens. Thank you.