adopting a grown cat

Adopting a grown cat. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind when adopting your new pet, from our experience at samoa gems cats and kittens.

One myth must be pointed out and that is - A grown cat is more difficult to rehome than a grown dog. A dog lives in a pack where the other members are his life, a cat lives in a home (the cats territory) and accepts you as part of his family. For the dog you are number one, for the cat you are a close second. It is much more traumatic to a dog to adjust to a new pack if he was happy in the old one. The cat will be nervous not to intrude on the territory, but as soon as the cat feels sure that he is welcome in the new home he will relax.

Cat or dog would adjust quicker if the new home is better than the previous one.

A grown cat will live a long life with you. The record age for a cat is more than 32 years

The adjustment is from your side, not from the cat. As we pride ourselves with being more intelligent than the cat, that should be easy enough to let the cat show the way






















First get the cat to like you and give yourself time to know the cat's preferences.

Bad habits can be sorted out later. Any cat loves a nice warm lap and being stroked. If family members are willing to help that is so much better.

Luxury will be appreciated, but not always prefered.



















One deffinite advantage of a grown cat is that he can be left alone when you are out working. The cat will enjoy to sleep. Some cats are real loners, while others would want some company.

















Get some back ground if possible. If the cat is a rescue cat then you can opt for leaving him alone, or if it was obvious that the cat had a friend in the rescue center, take that cat as well. Double the joy.

Cats can be friends with any other pet and that includes humans. There is no need to keep two cats if it is not practical, but if you do not have the time to spend playing with your cat then it is kinder to get him a friend, any friend.

Remeber if the cat likes the new home, he will welcome you to stay there too

The real facts on the sixth+ senses of cats of which not all are known, are just as remarkable as the folklore and legends told about cats.
















The Egyptian word for cat is Mau. The Feline goddess Bastet had a body of a woman and the head of a cat. Even today, in some Asiatic sanctuaries, divine powers are attributed to the cat and it is believed that in the hereafter the soul of a cat speaks to Buddha in favor of its owner that still lives on earth. In Buddhist temples across Asia, cats are kept as mousers.














Among the most charming of Japanese cats is Maneki-Neko, a small cat believed to ensure happiness and good luck. Japanese Buddhists venerate cats after their death. The temple of Go-To-Ku-Ji in Tokyo is dedicated to cats. Vested priests serve the temple and intone chants for feline souls. Crowded into the temple are sculptures paintings and relief carvings of cats. In each of these, the cat has a paw raised as if in greeting, the classical pose of the cat Maneki - Neko. Cats continue to be worshiped as deities in countries such as Thailand and China.













The power of cats to see in the dark was also considered useful to hold evil spirits at way. Since it was usually thought that eyes of cat were more active at night, the walls of many Asiatic houses were adorned with images of cats.










Today, people in many societies believe that cats bring good fortune. In England, a black cat sitting in a house on a wedding day is thought to bring good luck. In Thailand, a green eyed cat is believed to be a symbol of good luck. Some people believe that a black cat crossing the path of a person means bad luck. In the UK and Scotland, a black cat crossing the path of a person means good luck .White cats are thought to bring good luck in the USA. The Russian Blue breed of cats is considered lucky in Russia.















Many legends, folklore, myths and superstitions are associated with cats. Many people find cats mysterious because they move swiftly and silently and because their eyes seem to glow in the dark. Some people think that cats have the ability to predict future. All cats are believed to have nine lives. Black cats in particular have long been regarded as having occult powers and as being the familiars of witches.
















Facts
There is a popular notion that states when a cat licks its paw or puts it in its ear, it is a sign of rain or a change in atmosphere, but the cat does not give such open signals, that is only part of the legends going around. In the realistic world it has been proven that cats have the ability or sixth sense, to predict earthquakes. Cats have barometric sensitivity, they can feel the tremors before the onset of the earthquake. Using this sense they feel a drop in atmospheric pressure, thus cats can forewarn us of a storm, coming rainfall and change in atmosphere. One more sense that cats and an assortment of other animals have is that they can detect the onset of an epileptic attack in a human and can be trained to warn the person involved. There is no doubt that the sixth+ senses of cats can be used in a variety of circumstances but the most important use for the cat is as a loving companion in a hectic world.

cats can read

The secret is out, cats can read.

I wrote the blog last Friday 13 October. Today 20 October I caught the cat sitting next to this vase exactly like I wanted him to sit next to the proteas. He must have read the blog!
I tried to take a photo of my cat next to a vase with proteas in my aloe blog ( on Aloe haemanthifolia high in the mountain with the lovely proteas). It was so frustrating to get the cat to sit next to the vase. Eventualy the photo below was the best I could do after I gave up getting the cat next to the vase and took the vase to floor next to the cat - which cat would have expected otherwise?


















and here is the pose I so desperately wanted for the aloe & protea blog last week.






















That is obviously not a flower in the vase but the empty seedpods of the lily, Boophane disticha. The lily grows an inflorescens with a ball of flowers on the end which falls off when the seeds are ripe. click for a photo of the lily (unfortunately not in bloom, but it is a lovely plant ). This is a very efficient way to distribute the seeds as the seeds fall out when the feather light ball tumbles along. As can be seen on the photo below, the ball is loose on the stalk which I put in the vase. It balanced perfectly, even turning when a gust of wind caught it. - until the cat sat next to it and bumped it off. No harm done, it is no problem to put it back on the stalk and I did want a photo !
Next time I get protea flowers I will put them in the vase on the fridge in the kitchen, maybe the cat will treat me by posing again.

you have to go WOWWW

Kambi is a young Kudu doe at home on the Elisenheim guest farm outside Windhoek, Namibia. It is very interesting to visit the web site for more information and to see the farm.

As you can see on these happy photos all the animals are in top
condition. Loved and cared for by people who have warm hearts for animals and people.

Cats form a bond with horses which is a win situation all round when the cats keep vermin away while they get an easy meal catching the rats and mice that come to feed with the horses. However it seems that the cats formed an even stronger bond with the Kudu doe. Kambi is much more exciting than the horses, it could be because she shares the cats' interests in watching the human beings.

With a "good morning" from Kambi and her cat friends every day is a good day.
What a lovely scene to start the day with.

Photo above: Kudu doe Kambi with her cat friend Mummel

Photo below: Kambi with cat friend Peet

Kambi must have extra charm as she is so popular with cats and dogs that she does not have a moment, day or night, where she is alone - that is not even including her human friends

Kambi the Kudu doe never sleeps alone.

ancient cat service

The ancient cat in the service of man. Cats served us well by removing rats, mice and other vermin for thousands of years. Who knows where we would have been without them. For example, the plague in Europe came after cats were killed because people labeled them companions of witches. In modern times cats still look after our well being by their affection and calming us down in these hectic times, let us look after them too.













Who can be tense when a cat purrs? As for relaxing, the cat is tops in that too - photo below Michele with one of her Siamese kittens. Look at that tummy, that is one happy kitten.









The Cat lived in the company of humans possibly six to seven thousand years ago according to bones of cats, mice and humans that were found buried together on the ancient island of Cyprus.
In India cats were mentioned in Sanskrit writings around 100 B.C.. The Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, of about 500 B.C., both contain stories about cats. The Indians at the time of Ramayana and Mahabharata worshipped a feline goddess of maternity called Sasti and for decades Hindus were obliged to take responsibility for feeding at least one cat. In India cats often played an important part in religious or occult ceremonies.
By the 5th century B.C., images of cats appeared on Greek coins, and they were depicted in Roman mosaics and paintings and on earthenware and shields. According to Roman Mythology, Diana the roman goddess of hunting angered the giants by taking a cat form. Many legends, folklore, myths and superstitions are associated with cats appear in the mythology of ancient Greece and Rome.
In South America, the Incas revered sacred cats, representations of which can be seen in pre-Colombian Peruvian artifacts.
Much appreciated by the Buddhists was the capacity of cats for meditation which they sensed in cats. Cats are held sacred in Buddhism, so much that they were venerated as gods in the Buddhist temples. In Buddhism, it is believed that on the death of a person who had reached the highest level of spirituality the soul entered the body of a cat. It remained there until the cat died, when the soul entered paradise.
A lot is known about the cat in ancient Egypt.
The Egyptian word for cat is Mau. The earliest representations of domestic cat were Egyptian tomb paintings and sculpture. The cat was considered to be a sacred animal in ancient Egypt, and was a pet at least five thousand years ago.
Cats were worshipped as a feline goddess named Bast, Bastet or Pasht, in ancient Egypt for more than two thousand years. The Feline goddess Bastet had the body of a woman and head of a cat. The goddess Bastet was associated with fertility, motherhood, grace and beauty. It was believed that the goddess Bastet controlled the fertility of man and beast, cured illness and watched over the souls of the dead. Aelurus, an Egyptian cat god, represented the moon. The Egyptian Sun god Ra was believed to assume the form of a tomcat each night for his battle with the serpent of darkness. The Egyptians believed that their gods took on the appearance of cats in order to pass down orders and omens.
In ancient Egypt, if a house caught fire, the rule was to save cats first and humans second. A person killing a cat was punishable by death. If a pet cat in ancient Egypt died, then all the family members used to shave their eyebrows as a sign of sorrow and the entire family went into elaborate mourning with chanting and pounding of chests as an outward sign of grief. After the death of cats they were mummified. The dead bodies of cats were then wrapped in rich bandages of various colours and decorated.The faces of the cats were covered by masks on which the nose, eyes, ears and whiskers were evident. The mummified cats were placed in boxes made of wood or bronze and these boxes were then placed in cat tombs or pyramids. Mummified rats and saucers of milk were kept near the cat mummies. In ancient Egypt, the cat mummies outnumbered human mummies. In the ancient capital city of Egypt, more than 300000 cat mummies were found in 1890.
The Egyptians believed that divinities assumed the semblance of a cat, and so the high priests decreed divine orders and omens of the future according to its behavior. The Egyptians considered that the cat's unblinking gaze gave it powers to seek out truth and to see into the afterlife. However the cats were not only sacred with a lazy life, they were used not only as hunters of mice but also as catchers of fish for their owners.

the thought counts

It is easy to congratulate somebody on a special day via e-mail or e-cards on internet sites. Even if the reminder is automatic, it is still the thought that counts. Buying a card and sending it via snail-mail needs more effort and are usually more appreciated. Then there are the self-made cards! Now that I do appreciate over 100% especially if it is from a grandchild.

Else (in her early teens) made some free cat graphics for anybody who wants to make some hand made cards or decorate a website or blog. The cat graphics are fast loading and will not slow down the website. For hand-made cards she suggested that the pics could be printed out, add some glitter, ribbons or beads to make a card or use it to decorate the room. See my silkworm blog for more ways to decorate hand made cards.

Feel free to use the images. It would be nice to let Else know you enjoyed it.
Please send me a short note and I will forward it to her. My contact is
euricat at gmail.com replace the "at" with the "at"
@ sign. I do hope that no robot can read that. Why are there spammers?
- because people buy from them. If I may ask, open a new window and type in the name of the product instead of buying directly through the spammer. Ideal would be not to buy any product which permit spammers - but that is asking too much or not ??

Back to our graphics. There are some more on my website.

Enjoy!!

may your friendship be like cat and dog

Cats and dogs can become the best of friends. Their friendship is without strings attached - they are absolutely devoted to each other.

How would you like to have a friend who watch your back and are there for you twenty-four/ seven !? A friend who love and adore you without ever doubting your intentions.

Keeping pets are as popular as always. In this world of concrete and machinery, we do need the warmth and contact of our pets.

There is a small problem in modern times as the pet would have to be alone while the owners or owner is working. The best solution is to get two pets. I suggest a dog and a cat as pets, and not two dogs or two cats. For the reasons that the dog does not feel the need to fight for attention and the top-dog position against another dog (he knows where he stands with the cat). And on the other hand unlike two cats together, the dog will not follow the cat up your curtains, so the cat will not bother to run alone, that will save wear and tear on the furniture. The pets will be perfectly happy and so will you.

do not worry mom, he just had a little oopsy on my foot, nothing serious.

This is true. Momcat is cleaning the foot of the dog after baby.....

Just thinking :- What about a parrot ... maybe not. That bird can kill the cat.

By the way, these two were great friends, but they do not sleep together and have that real close friendship that the pets above enjoy... and the parrot had this ambition to close the cage door on the cat.

Understand your feline friends by learning the body lanuage of cats.

It might be best to start at the tail. That is the part of the body that the cat seems to used most in body language.

A broad sweep of the tail symbolize annoyance or impatience. A rapid sweeping of the tail back and forth suggests an extreme agitation in your cat. Extending it's bristled tail upwards with a curved back signals a conflick with another cat or animal. Body held low, ears to the back and tail extended indicates attack. Lowering it's tail between the legs shows obedience and submission. A tail raised straight upright with the tip slightly relaxed indicates that your cat is in a friendly mood and wants to play. A slight twitching of the tail while your cat is lying down near you shows that the cat wants to be with you.

Kneading with both paws on a person or soft surface is a sign of contentment, affection or both.

It is a mystery why a cat would run away from a cat loving guest and choose to sit on the lap of the one person who does not like cats. Showing off ? Teasing ? Trying to win the person over?

So maybe we humans need 9 lives to puzzle that one out.

Meet the cats

You do not expect me to actually lift that tail do you ?

cat and dog chat

This photo above was sent around on the www. I do not think that cat happened to be passing by, he probably was part of the drill.
Even so - What is the cat saying with his body ? The cat's body is keeping a low to the ground profile. The tail is not in attack mode. That cat knows exactly the distance it needs to outrun the dogs and in this case kitty knows that the dogs are too close for comfort. He wants the dogs to know that he is not challenging them.
A cat is an expert in judging the distance to keep. Some years ago our Alsatian did not want the kitten on the front stoop. He had no problems with cats, so it was not personal. He decided that was his sacred territory. After all, the kitten had the whole house.
Whenever the kitten strolled past the stoop Mr. Dog would lie down and try to paw the small kitten ( about 3 months old) through the grid, but Kitty pretended not to notice and kept on walking in the garden just outside the iron grid, a hair's width out of the reach of the dogs paw. The dog was so afraid the kitten will walk through the grid onto his stoop, that he could not step over the 40 cm high grid and chase the kitten away. The kitten might run over his stoop.
In all fairness that dog was not stupid, he accepted the garden as our territory and he respected the fact that he will be breaking the rules chasing the cat in our garden. He never chased the cats on certain areas, and he never came into the house which he accepted belongs to the cats.
The real insult was when the kitten rolled up on the spot next to the stoop and sleep, but the dog was too nervous to sleep, he must guard his stoop. Eventually the dog just gave up one day and ignored the kitten, which was a terrible blow to kitty's ego. It took kitty days to accept the fact that the game was over.

Cats Biting. - Not play biting, where kittens did not learn how to bite softly, or the kitten learned that it pays to bite just that little harder than he should to get what he wants.
Cats biting like in attacking
Cats do not like to defend or attack with their teeth. Those thin canine teeth are worth a lot in catching pray for food. Life depends on it. The cat does not want to break a tooth.
Cats fight mainly by a cick and ripping with the hind claws.
Now as to domesticated cats, they have learned complicated ways to talk with their not so intelligent human companions. If you want to be treated well by your cat then you must remember the cat will restrain itself from biting, but there is a line that you should not cross.


... let me point it out to you. Do not cross this line.