Category: Cat Knowledge

Contributed to Town Cats by Erin McCluskey Your cat’s personality traits may be tied to their genes: According to a 2021 research paper published in the scientific journal Animals, one study found genetic variations in cats who were ranked by their owners as higher in “roughness” out of four personality categories: Openness, Friendliness, Roughness and Neuroticism.   If you’re having a bad day, your cat is a good shoulder to cry on: Devoted dog lovers may tell you that cats aren’t capable of the same love and affection as their canine counterparts, but we say otherwise. Research has demonstrated that cats increase meowing and leg rubbing behavior when in close proximity to owners experiencing negative emotions. • Your cat may interact with you for longer if you let them initiate…

Have you noticed more and more kittens lately? At Town Cats, we have too, and while you might think they are abandoned or in need, they are not always; read below for some quick tips to identify how you can help all the new kittens we are seeing this spring. For more information on how you can help, visit: https://www.towncats.org/stray-cats/ Step #1 Visual Cues: First, you need to wait and watch. While doing so, try to read the visible cues that reveal the health of the kitten(s). Look for signs to indicate that they may have been without care for a significant amount of time: crying or squalling due to lack of nutrition, fur that is matted or dirty, severely underweight, or significant lethargy. Where did you find them? Are they…

Written by Tori Castro Meet Tori and Bean! Bean, formerly known as Tommy Jones, was adopted from Town Cats in 2019. Like many adopters, Tori walked into Town Cats, planning to meet her FUREVER friend. She was not disappointed when she met Bean, a 3-year-old husky tabby boy who was gentle, sweet, and is FIV positive. The Town Cats employee informed her that cats diagnosed with FIV receive this through bites from other cats, but it's not transmissible to humans or other animals. She also went on to explain that Bean would be unlikely to transmit it to another cat since he is friendly and he would likely live a healthy life. Tori had never owned a cat with a condition like this before, but she felt encouraged that Bean…

By: Nicole McCray Declawing is the surgical removal of an animal’s claws. Most cat owners consider getting their cats declawed to avoid scratching and reduce furniture damage when the cat is playing. However, they fail to consider the lasting damage that declawing has to the health and well-being of their cats. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) discourages surgical declawing and encourages other non-surgical alternatives. Below, we’ll look at the lasting damages of declawing your cat and explore alternatives that will help you avoid causing more complications.  Damages of Declawing Declawing features the use of a scalpel or guillotine clipper to amputate your cat. Laser surgery is also another option that may be preferred for declawing. After the procedures, your cat is closed up with stitches and feet bandaged.  These…

This kitten season, we had a massive amount of kittens and mothers come through our shelter. We have found homes for over 200 of those kittens, and many of their mothers have also found forever homes. There have been Mama Soup and her kittens, The Bobs Burger Crew, Stranger Things Babies, and Sweet Pea with her veggie kittens, just to name a few. One thing all these cats have in common is that the mothers (quite obviously) were not spayed and ended up with a litter of kittens. An unhealthy pattern is forming, and that pattern is that every year, kitten season gets more hectic, increasing the number of cats and kittens coming through our doors. This is why at Town Cats we make sure that all of our cats…