The Cat Blog on TheCatSite.com

Introducing a beautiful princess today, and despite her name she is not green. Please give a warm welcome to her Royal Highness Princess Fiona Apple:

Fiona is a gorgeous petite diluted calico Persian. According to her owner, Nancy, “she is the apple of our hearts and home she has brought such love, laughter, personality n no hold barred attitude with her tree brothers Grady, Oliver, n nemo.”

Thank you Nancy, for sharing her picture with us! We hope to see you posting on our forums with more pictures of Fiona and her brothers!

This month’s issue of Kitty Bytes has something extra. Other than new about the latest articles and hot forum threads, we have a special offer for KB readers inside, so check it out here:

Kitty Bytes for May 2000

I still remember how just a decade or so ago, the general recommendation for cat owners was to feed mainly dry food. It was believed that the dry kibble was necessary for keeping those feline fangs and molars healthy.

Well, things sure have changed. Not only do we now know that a diet based on nothing by dry cat food can be harmful, it’s been shown that there are no dental benefits to the dry kibble either. But it’s not just canned cat food that has become popular again.

What seemed to be nothing more than a fad, is now fast becoming a solid trend. More and more owners put the time, money and energy required for producing a balanced healthy diet for their felines, based on raw, uncooked, meat.

In fact, it’s the topic of our latest update on TCS, so you can read more on this topic here:

Raw Feeding for Cats

Too often I come across people who mistake feral cats for wild undomesticated animals. This misconception leads them to question efforts to help feral cats. Some people go as far advocating non-humane solutions to what they see as a pest problem.

Actually, feral cats are identical to our cherished pet cats. They are the same domesticated species of animal, genetically identical in every way. Deprived of human care as kittens, they shy away from any contact with people as adults, and can get aggressive when approached directly. All the same, it is our moral responsibility to care for these domesticated animals.

Recent efforts to save the lives of feral cats in southern California have  demonstrated the good will of caring  humans towards feral cats. Moreover, they have also shown how feral cats can be tamed and re-homed, returning to their domesticated roots with relative ease. It’s amazing to see how cats that have gone feral generations ago will adjust back to being in contact with caring humans.

I urge you to read more about this fascinating project taking place in the San Nicolas Island here. Seven of these feral felines have been rescued, but dozens more still need to be saved from being killed by local authorities.

It was a long one too! We’ve been away from home for an entire month and I am back to the TCS blog too

Being away from the cats was not easy for me, but I knew that they were in safe hands. We had a house-sitter taking care of them, as well as my in-laws who live next door to us checking in on them.

Still, the re-union was certainly moving, with the cats constantly meowing, not shy about showing their excitement. My eldest furbaby, Mishmish, a semi-feral torbie, went into our suitcases as soon as they were opened and wouldn’t come out. I managed to get my hand scratched even, as I had to move the little rascal out of there!

Things are more relaxed today, but it would still take me a while to get back into things. I have emails and private messages to cover, and lots of work to do on TheCatSite.com – not to mention thousands of posts and threads to catch up on on our cat forums!

I decided to take a look at the latest shopping for cats trends. My favorite testing ground for this kind of market research has always been Amazon.com. It simply is a huge online shop, a trusted brand and I believe, has enough clientele to provide statistically significant information.

Judging the results from Amazon takes some preparation work. The “bestsellers” lists often include products which are essentially for dogs, as well as items such as product refills, which I prefer to filter out. So, after wading through the list, I finally have it down for you:

Top Seven Cat Products for Spring 2009