Purrfection

When I was younger the trait I love most about cats is when they purr. It makes me so sleepy and warm when my cats come to lay by me and purr. I know that my cats do it because they are happy or they are sleepy. But how do they do it? What makes them purr besides being satisfied? When I try to purr back to them I run out of breath. How do they accomplish purring without running out of breath? What else causes them to purr besides being happy? The purring that makes me melt inside and want to squeeze them to death for being so cute.  ( not literally squeezing to death... ha ha..)
" This morning I woke up to Hunter purring in my lap. I love it when he does that, because it's like he is telling me he loves me. And he is thanking me for all the food I've given him. He's so adorable! :)" Field notes 10/7/2014.

Picture of Hunter Sleeping from 10/26/2014

Picture of Douglas purring and rolling around from 10/26/2014

While reading this article I found some interesting information on purring. Purring can cause vibrations at a rate of twenty-five to one hundred and fifty vibrations per sec. ( whoa that's cool! ) Relatives of cats can also purr. For example a Civet, a small nocturnal creature found in Africa and southeast Asia. A Genet, a cat like mammal with short legs, spotted fur, is found in Africa, southwestern Europe, and Arabia. ( I've never heard of either of these cats until reading this article. Guess the cat family is bigger than I thought.) The Mongoose, Hyena ( Isn't the hyena also related to the dog family?), Guinea pig, Raccoon, Mt. Lion, and Bobcat can purr as well. However these small cats are unable to roar, because they do not fight for territory. In the article these smaller cats are referred to as "loners."( Not true they have us! ha ha ). Other big cats such as lions and tigers are unable to purr due to fighting prey in the wild, and fighting over territory. Instead these large cats are capable of roaring to help them in the wild. Cats also purr when in pain, in labor, ill, or injured. Experts theorize that purring is built in physical therapy for cats. What I like most about the article is that purring is referred to as calm and peaceful. Which is why cats do a better job at lowering blood pressure, giving relaxation, and giving positive reinforcement.

Wow! I didn't know cats purr when they are in pain or when they are in labor. I guess it is a way of taking pain medication without actually taking them. Which I feel is safer than taking medication anyways. Their body's being able to heal its self is awesome. Gosh how wonderful it would be if we could too. Maybe that's why they purr for us because they can sense our pain the same way dogs can. How great is that, your cat can help you get better without you even knowing it.( So maybe cats aren't as bad as some may think.)  ;)

                                                                 Work Citted

Annie, Stuart. "Why cats Purr". WebMD.  Reviewed by, Audrey Cook, BV&M. Reviewed on April 21, 2012. @ 2009 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved. Web.< http://pets.webmd.com/cats/features/why-cats-purr>

Flat Face Syndrome

When my cat Douglas eats/drinks , I wonder if he gets the same feeling I do when I get my face shoved into a cake. ( Sounds silly doesn't it? Wondering how a cat feels when eating or drinking water. ) The feeling of whip-cream going up my nose. The smell of sugar and butter. Shaking my head because I accidently tried to breath through my nose. My mouth full of the soft bread and sugery/buttery taste. ( mmmm.... cake sounds good! )

 I think this is how my cat feels when he drinks water. Lol. But he's not actually in water.

Unfortunatly because my wondering question is how does my cat Doug feel when he eats/drinks? I'm unable to research this. Although it would be interesting if my cat Douglas was able to tell me. Well either way its entertaing to watch him try his hardest to reach the food on the outer parts of the bowl or drink water without letting his face sink in. He's definetly a cutie when he does this. :)

Living a healthy life

I've been very worried about my cats lately, which is kinda silly, but not really. Since my cat Hunter was about nine months old, his nipples have shown and he has had a little pouch of fat ( I think it is either fat or just flabby skin.). At first it was just because he was growing and was a little chubby. But now his pouch has gotten bigger, and I'm afraid that I've been over feeding him. I don't want him to be so over weight that he gets diabetes or develops heart problems. My younger cat Douglas is also starting to get big too, not as much. Except I've done research on his species ( Himalayan Persian ) and it says that its easy for them to get over weight.

"My cat is getting fat. :( Hunter is not super overweight ,but hes fat enough to the point where I can see his nipples. When I pet him ,he has this flab of fat. Ha-ha. Hes my little fatty. :)" field-notes 10/8

http://fixit-foundation.org/articles/cat-obesity-and-exercise/?gclid=COP-0IX0qMECFVBffgodyCoAQA

So since I want my cats to stay healthy ,I have done some research. This article talks a lot about how cats are like humans when it comes to obesity. That they can get diabetes! Also, in some rare cases cats can develop a fatty liver. Which really doesn't sound good. The article also talks about how dry cat food is actually not healthy for cats. Dry cat food contains lots of carbohydrates which is not in a cats diet. Its hard for cats to process them since it is not naturally part of their diet. What is recommended instead of dry cat food is canned food. The wetness of the food helps hydrate the cat better, and helps send signals to the brain to stop eating when they are full. The last part of the article talks about getting your cat some exercise by using cat toys or other things that you have in the house.

Okay, so after reading this article I now know how to keep my cats healthy. Although neither one of my cats is over weight I want to make sure that they both live a healthy life. However, now I've ran into another problem ,wet cat food causes my cats poop to be runny. ( eewww!!!! ) If you have ever changed cat litter before, then you know that dealing with solid poop and the smell is bad enough. Dealing with runny poop is like a baby having diarrhea for the first time. It smells ten times worse, and looks like something you would find in your worst nightmares. So feeding my cats wet food is not going to work.
But maybe creating a playtime schedule for them will. A couple days a week I could spend extra time with them; playing with string or giving them catnip ( gotta go easy on the catnip though they got addicted and it made them really hyper). Or I can play Hunters favorite game with him, fetch. With Douglas I can get him to somehow use his scratcher more often. Its important that I get Doug to exercise because his species is known to have a sedentary life style. Hunter is active on his own, but maybe doing this will get him extra exercise. Making more time to play with my cats could also make them happier because I'm giving them attention and love. :) <3 ( Its actually proven that playing with your cats more often makes them happy and more active, I'm not just saying that. )

" I love it when I see my cat happy, his whiskers sticking out more than usual. It makes me smile. :) Then he rubs his face on my hand and meows/purs." field-notes 9/23
Well I will create a schedule to help get my cats extra playtime. ( time for a season of biggest loser!! ha-ha )

                                                            Picture of Douglas from 8/12

                                                              Picture of Hunter from 8/5