The Cat Blog on TheCatSite.com

Feral cats have always been near and dear to my heart. Those often misunderstood felines share the exact same genetic makeup as our precious pet cats. They are not wild animals. I have always felt that we, as human beings, share a collective responsibility towards their fate. Feral cats are domesticated animals which due to irresponsible cat owners in the past have lost the much needed protection and compassion of human care givers. It is up to us, as cat lovers, to take notice of them, and take action too. You can read more of my thoughts about ferals, what they are and how you can help them in an article published long ago on our site -

Feral Cats – The Invisible Felines

If feral cats are dear to your heart too, I’m sure you’ll find this blog not only fascinating but perhaps even useful. It definitely should be in the bookmarks of anyone involved in feral cat management and care -

Feral Cats in the News

Barb from Oregon, who runs this blog, has been providing a wealth of information about feral cats in her various related blogs (you can find links to them all in her profile). This specific blog, Feral Cats in the News, is a continuously growing archive on the topic. If this topic is close to your heart, be prepared to spend a few hours browsing this blog (with its archives going back to 2003!), reading all about the latest news about TNR, feral cat management, related legal issues, cat advocacy and more.

If you need help regarding feral cats or if you are involved in feral cat care and want to share your expereinces with like-minded people, please do visit our Caring for Strays and Ferals forum on the TCS community of cat lovers. If you’re not a member yet, join us here.

This week is the national pet week in the US, dedicated to promoting pet health care and responsible pet ownership. There’s actually a website dedicated to national pet week which you can visit here -

http://www.petweek.org/

And education on cat health care is very much needed these days. I was very concerned reading a press release by the American Veterinary Medical Association recently -

Canine companions have a paw up on our feline friends when it comes to visits to the veterinarian, leaving cats shortchanged and in need of some tender loving care.

According to a Special Report appearing in the Feb. 15, 2008, edition of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, cats don’t get the same affection – or medical attention – from their owners as dogs do.

Pet owners, the study found, generally have stronger bonds with their dogs than their cats, are likely to be more attached to dogs and thus more attentive to their needs. That’s bad news for cats.

Study results show that pet owners took their dogs to the veterinarian for vaccinations, regular physical exams and preventive dental care more often than they took their cats.

…

The strength of the owner-pet bond relates in part to the amount of time a pet spends with its owners. While dogs spent about 45 hours a week with their owners, cats only spent about 32 hours a week.

Dogs, the study says, are also seen as more affectionate than cats, and they are considered more fun to be around. Many owners thought their dogs were in need of more routine examinations because they are outside more often than cats. Cat owners were also under the misconception that cats “do not get sick and … can take care of themselves.”

Overall, the message is clear – and equally worrisome.

Cats are substantially underserved medically, which presents problems not only in terms of their health, but in terms of public health.

Worrisome indeed. I do believe that had they sampled the membership on our cat forums, they would have gotten slightly different results. Just a quick read through the board, or just browsing through the cat pages section and it’s easy to see that our cats are cherished, very much considered part of the family, not to say our babies, and most receive the very best when it comes to health care. Unfortunately, statistics show that for the general population of cat owners, things are different.

Which brings me back to the National Pet Week website. Designed to help teach the younger generation about responsible pet ownership, this site is a treasure cove of educational material. Browse the site, check out the suggested lessons, activities and brochures, and help spread the word. If you are an educator, teacher or parent, perhaps you can try and get your school involved. Or maybe print out selected brochures and share them at your place of work?

This week provides us with the perfect opportunity to try and spread the word to more cat owners about responsible cat care, so let’s do it! Oh, and don’t forget to add the web address of our website – www.TheCatSite.com – and encourage them to visit and learn more about cat care!