Noel, the Christmas cat, is a mess. She seems to always have mudge in her eyes and food all over her face and never is able to get clean. I just love this silly girl.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤ 
Tag Archives: Cat People
Caturday: Mini & Mr. Rabbit
Mini Cooper is anything but quiet. So catching her in this moment, while contemplating her next great troublemaking endeavor, was a gift. She is the sweetest girl. She thinks she is a dog and just wants to be in the center of everything. Diluted Tortes are a special bunch.
I cannot imagine a life without cats!
Just another CATDogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Caturday: Nine’s Nose – What Cats Smell?
It amazes me that the cats like to sit in the middle of all the dog toys, and then, one of them goes into the toy basket and finds a tiny catnip toy all the way on the bottom of the basket and brings it out to play with. How does Nine do that?
Did you know that cats might have better smell ability than dogs? There are 3 different scent receptor proteins in mammal noses. One of them is called V1R. This is believed to control a mammal’s ability to separate one scent from another. Dogs have 9 variants of V1R protein. Humans have 2. Cats have 30. These shows that scent probably plays a much more important role in a cat’s everyday life than we realize.
Clearly, the way to get a cat to do something you want would be by enticing them with highly scented food, like tuna. The trouble with cats is unlike dogs, they don’t give a darn about pleasing you, so training them, regardless of this revelation that they can smell really well, may be hard to leverage. Can you see Search & Rescue using Scent Cats instead of Dogs? I think it is a great idea.
I cannot imagine a life without cats!
Just another CATDogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Caturday: How Far Do Cats See?
The best seat in our house, if you are a cat, is the herb window in the kitchen. You are up in the trees so you get to watch the birds and the squirrels, as well as activity on the street. But do they really see all this stuff?
Cats see about 5X less accurately than humans, so what does Noel really see outside? That means that Noel’s ability to see things in the distance is much shorter than we humans. In exchange, she gets night vision superpowers. Cats see 1/6th of the light that we do.
“The back of a cat’s eye is lined with a reflective layer which helps bounce the incoming light back to photosensitive cells, stimulating them more than once. Thus they get more from the same amount of light. Unfortunately, this overstimulation also blurs the image: think of it as printing a page on the same piece of paper over and over again.” (How far can your cat see?)
This gives them greater night vision to hunt, but poor distance and day vision. Don’t worry though, Noel knows where I am at all times, but maybe that is because I smell like food.
I cannot imagine a life without cats!
Just another CATDogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Caturday: Happy Catmas Review
Noel, the Christmas cat, is deep into the presents under the tree.
Nine is debating whether to attack her or get one of the stockings.
Petmas, or Catmas, or Dogmas, whatever you want to call it, the animals at DogDaz Zoo are covered when Santapaws comes down the chimney. Mom hangs the pet stockings over the stairwell and out of paws way so that they do not get eaten or destroyed.
Mini Cooper wants to ride the Polar Express or knock it over, I am not sure which.
A fine holiday was had by all pets at the Zoo.
We hope your Catmas was purrfect too!
Happy 2019 !
I cannot imagine a life without cats!
Just another CATDogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Caturday: The View From My Lap
I cannot imagine a life without cats!
Just another CATDogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Caturday: DogDaz’ Holiday Safety List
The cats are always amazed by the lights of the Christmas tree (which you can see reflected in the window behind Noel and Stella in this picture from 2013). K8 caught them watching the twinkling from a safe distance. Nine, of course, was climbing the tree, doing his best to undo all the wonderful decorations that everyone was putting up.
Don’t forget to celebrate the shortest day and longest night of the year (Winter Solstice) next Friday in the Northern Hemisphere. We will start to gain a bit more daylight every day from the Winter Solstice until the Spring Solstice in June.
I can not imagine a life without cats. Happy Caturday.
DOGDAZ HOLIDAY LIST TO KEEP THEM SAFE
Here is a list of what to be careful of this holiday season for your cats and dogs and rabbits and guinea pigs and potbellies and ferrets, and…..
Bones – Small turkey and ham bones can lodge in the throat, stomach and digestive tract requiring surgery to remove. Also, the fats and gravies that you may add to your pets’ food can cause diarrhea and vomiting (and ultimately pancreatitis (Yuk!)).
Christmas Trees – These create a whole realm of dangers for your pet. Poorly secured trees can fall on rambunctious pets as the runaround or try to climb them. Pine needles can cause GI irritation and perforation. Sharp or breakable ornaments should be kept well out-of-the-way of curious mouths and paws. Christmas trees may contain additives and preservatives, which leach into the water and can be toxic if ingested. Tinsel, yarn, and ribbon can cause linear foreign bodies (get wrapped up throughout the intestinal tract) and create a blockage and/or possible perforations.
Electrical Cords – These are always a hazard to curious kittens and puppies but the extra lights and decorations this time of year is even more tempting. Make sure that all electrical cords are in good condition and out of reach.
Holiday Plants – Many plants can be poisonous to your pet. The holidays add a few more to that list and include mistletoe, poinsettia, lilies, and holly (the berries are especially toxic).
Lost Pets – The holidays make it easier for pets to sneak their way out of the house with the extra guests and visiting friends going in and out. Be sure to keep identification on your pets and keep them contained in a bedroom or behind a gate if you are expecting a lot of foot traffic through your front door.
Sweets– Holiday candy can cause GI problems and become toxic once ingested. Chocolate is one of the most common causes of toxic reaction in pets. The darker the chocolate the worse it is. Do not place wrapped boxes of chocolate under the tree – dogs can sniff them out. Also be sure to keep the candy dishes covered so playful paws aren’t tempted to fish them out.
Noel, The Christmas Cat
2009
Have a safe and healthy holiday!!
Just another CATDogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
