Ingrid King's Blog: The Conscious Cat, page 461

Pet Sounds Winner

Congratulations, Cynthia Southern! You’re the winner of an autographed copy of Quinn Cummings’ Pet Sounds: New and Improved Stories from the QC Report.

Look for an e-mail from Ingrid*.

*Winners were selected by random drawing. Winners need to provide a physical address to which the prize will be mailed within 72 hours of receipt of notification e-mail. If this information is not received, an alternate winner will be chosen.

The post Pet Sounds Winner appeared first on The Conscious Cat.

Mews and Nips: Cat Domestication Traced to Chinese Farmers 5,300 Years Ago

In a fascinating discovery, archaeologists have unearthed the first clear evidence of cats living among humans as semi-domesticated mousers about 5,300 years ago in China. The LA Times reports that this discovery fills in an enormous gap in experts’ understanding of cat domestication, but it has also surprised them: an ancient Chinese village was the last place they expected to find this kind of evidence. “This was a very unexpected find,” said study coauthor Fiona Marshall, a zooarchaeologis...

Honeycat Cosmetics Kitty Carrier Gift Set Winner

Congratulations, Leslie Anderson! You’re the winner of a Kitty Carrier Gift Set from Honeycat Cosmetics!

Look for an e-mail from Ingrid*.

*Winners were selected by random drawing. Winners need to provide a physical address to which the prize will be mailed within 72 hours of receipt of notification e-mail. If this information is not received, an alternate winner will be chosen.

The post Honeycat Cosmetics Kitty Carrier Gift Set Winner appeared first on The Conscious Cat.

My 10 Favorite Cat Books of 2013

I don’t keep track of the number of books I read each year, but my best guess is somewhere between 150 and 200, and at least half of them have something to do with cats. I reviewed more than 30 books here on The Conscious Cat this year.

I made a commitment to myself long ago that I would never post a bad book review. I feel that every author pours his or her heart and soul into a book, and just because I don’t like a book doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not a good book. As a result, if you see a...

Top 5 Cartoon Cats

Before cats took over the internet, there were cartoons. From Felix the Cat, who was created in the silent film era in the 1920′s, to Simon’s Cat, the white British feline cartoon character who has taken the internet by storm over the last few years, cartoon cats have delighted and entertained cat lovers for decades.

I recently wrote an article featuring five of the top cartoon cats for Answers.com, click here to read the article.

As I was doing my research for the article, I was trying to deci...

Euthanasia: To Be With Your Cat, or Not?

Making a decision about whether or when the time is right for euthanasia is one of the hardest things cat guardians will ever go through. I’ve previously written about what can help a cat guardian make this difficult decision. But once you have made the decision, there are still more things to consider.

One is location. I am a firm advocate of in home euthanasia. I’m always surprised when I hear from my readers that, until they read Buckley’s Story, they had no idea that having a pet euthanize...

Why Do Cats Like Catnip?

Catnip is a member of the mint family. Scientists are not sure how or why catnip affects cats the way it does, but they have identified the part of the plant that causes the euphoric reaction. The substance is a non-poisonous chemical called nepetalactone, an aromatic oil found in the stem and leaves of the plant. It is believed that it is the smell of the leaves rather than the taste that causes cats to react.

Reactions from cats will vary based on the strength and quality of the product, and...

Bladder Stones in Cats

Bladder stones, also known as urinary stones, are collections of minerals that form in the urinary tract. They can be microscopically small or increase in size to several millimeters diameter. Larger stones can cause irritation, inflammation, and even obstruction in the urinary tract.

I had first hand experience of bladder stones with my first cat, Feebee, who developed struvite stones shortly after my marriage of thirteen years ended. Studies have shown that there is a direct connection betwe...

Conscious Cat Sunday: Making Holiday Memories

For many of us, the magic of the holiday season comes from memories we have of childhood Christmases, and we often hang on to traditions in an effort to recreate those special moments from our past. Setting aside time for family, friends, and of course, our cats, during this busy season helps us add to the reservoir of meaningful holiday memories.

Psychological research seems to suggest that cherished memories from the past promote mental health and well-being. It appears that the more nostalg...

Mews and Nips: Prudence the Cat Delivers Advice for Cat Lovers

There aren’t many writers who can write well in a cat’s voice, and among those few, Gwen Cooper excels at it in her novel Love Saves the Day. The book is written from three points of view, but the primary narrator isPrudence, a brown tabby rescued from a deserted construction site on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Prudence is a keen observer of humans and knowsthem better than they know themselves at times.

I was delighted to see that Prudence now has her own advice column in The Huffington Post...