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How to Play With Your Cat
by Gary Loewenthal

Maximize your bond while improving his health and well-being

You enjoy playing with your cat, or you wouldn't be reading this article. Interactive playing with cats is not only fun, but it provides valuable exercise for cats of all ages; just as important, it strengthens the feline-human bond, which is all-important to genuine cat lovers.

Kittens

Kittens will play with anything. Just keep dangerous items like string, plastic bags, small ingestibles, and just about everything else away from the insatiable Mr. Kitten if you're not supervising him. Many kitten owners will tell you that the only thing known to mankind that can keep up with a kitten is…another kitten. You'll enjoy playing with him with interactive toys, but be aware that he should learn early-on that your hands are not toys. Ignore this advice, and you may learn to regret it when he grows up and develops full-sized teeth and claws.(Buy a Kitten Mitten Cat Toy and play without scratched hands.)

The Cat's Meow is becoming 2 sites!

Several weeks ago, our helpful friends at Bright Byte notified us that we'd outgrown our website. So, in order to serve you better, we decided to create 2 websites. Here's what you'll find in our new plan of organization:

www.the-cats-meow.com

www.online-thecatsmeow.com

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Five Great Things You Can Do for Your Cat
by Marcella Durand for The Daily Cat

Buy a new litter box. You scrub it, you bleach it, you let it dry in the sun, but it still looks a little worn around the edges and probably smells too. Time for a new one! But before you run out and buy the newest, fanciest model, think about whether any of your cat's habits have changed. Since she's getting older and creakier, she may have started having trouble climbing in and out of the box. Solution: a box with lower sides. Or has she gained a little weight, making it harder for her to turn around in the box? A roomier box would sure make life more comfortable for her. Just remember, with litter boxes, your cat's preferences should always come first.

Improve your cat's diet. Because cats are what's known as obligate carnivores (meaning their system is entirely geared to digest meat and they cannot survive on a vegetarian diet), the higher their diet is in protein, the better (think Atkins for cats). Look at the list of ingredients for cat foods to see if high-quality protein sources, such as chicken, lamb, or beef, are included in the first four ingredients. Once you find the right diet, you'll be impressed by the change in your cat's fur as it becomes softer and shinier. As long as you're at it, try putting an extra water bowl in a convenient location in the house -- it'll help keep your cat hydrated.

Take your cat for a checkup. We know she hates going to the veterinarian. But it's for her own good. Get her teeth checked for potentially painful dental conditions and have the veterinarian examine any little funny bumps or swellings that may have cropped up on her body. Get blood tests for diabetes and kidney problems. And remember, your cat can't explain her symptoms, so it's up to you to know her well enough to describe anything unusual to the veterinarian. Afterward, you can both treat yourselves with a well -- earned interactive game. (Save money on your visit with veterinary care insurance.)

How Claus Made the First Toy

Claus threw a log on the fire, which burned up brightly. Beside the hearth sat Blinkie, a big cat give him by Peter the Knook. Her fur was soft and glossy, and she purred never-ending songs of contentment.

"I shall not see the children again soon," said Claus to the cat, who kindly paused in her song to listen. "The winter is upon us, the snow will be deep for many days, and I shall be unable to play with my little friends."

The cat raised a paw and stroked her nose thoughtfully, but made no reply. So long as the fire burned and Claus sat in his easy chair by the hearth she did not mind the weather.

So passed many days and many long evenings. The cupboard was always full, but Claus became weary with having nothing to do more than to feed the fire from the big wood-pile the Knooks had brought him.

One evening he picked up a stick of wood and began to cut it with his sharp knife. He had no thought, at first, except to occupy his time, and he whistled and sang to the cat as he carved away portions of the stick. Puss sat up on her haunches and watched him, listening at the same time to her master's merry whistle, which she loved to hear even more than her own purring songs.

Claus glanced at puss and then at the stick he was whittling, until presently the wood began to have a shape, and the shape was like the head of a cat, with two ears sticking upward.

Claus stopped whistling to laugh, and then both he and the cat looked at the wooden image in some surprise. Then he carved out the eyes and the nose, and rounded the lower part of the head so that it rested upon a neck.

Puss hardly knew what to make of it now, and sat up stiffly, as if watching with some suspicion what would come next.

Claus knew. The head gave him an idea. He plied his knife carefully and with skill, forming slowly the body of the cat, which he made to sit upon its haunches as the real cat did, with her tail wound around her two front legs.

The work cost him much time, but the evening was long and he had nothing better to do. Finally he gave a loud and delighted laugh at the result of his labors and placed the wooden cat, now completed, upon the hearth opposite the real one.

Puss thereupon glared at her image, raised her hair in anger, and uttered a defiant mew. The wooden cat paid no attention, and Claus, much amused, laughed again.

Then Blinkie advanced toward the wooden image to eye it closely and smell of it intelligently: Eyes and nose told her the creature was wood, in spite of its natural appearance; so puss resumed her seat and her purring, but as she neatly washed her face with her padded paw she cast more than one admiring glance at her clever master. Perhaps she felt the same satisfaction we feel when we look upon good photographs of ourselves.

The cat's master was himself pleased with his handiwork, without knowing exactly why. Indeed, he had great cause to congratulate himself that night, and all the children throughout the world should have joined him rejoicing. For Claus had made his first toy.

Reprinted from The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum

                

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