Did you know

What are feral cats and where do they come from?

Feral cats are the offspring of regular, domestic, unneutered cats that have been allowed to run free or are abandoned. These cats learn to live by their wits and they continue to breed. The mother cats teach their kittens to fear humans so that they can survive. Those kittens and their offspring are “feral” – “a domestic cat that has never known human touch.”

Where do these cats live?

Some feral cats can be taught that humans are “not bad” and learn to live with us – or be socialized. Others cannot. The cats that can’t, or won’t, adapt to living with humans, live in colonies with other feral cats. They are everywhere: under rocks, on beaches, parks, alleys, fields and abandoned buildings. Cast off and unwanted, they band together for support and warmth. Cat-mothers teach their kittens to be wary of humans and to defend themselves.

How many cats?

Cats can get pregnant as early as FOUR-FIVE months! Having 2 or 3 litters each year with an average of 4 kittens per litter…well, you can to the math!

7 out of 10 cats who enter animal control pounds & shelters are killed. That number rises to almost 100% for feral cats. Some shelters are making positive changes, but most shelters still kill the majority of cats who enter their facilities. SAFER is a NO-kill shelter. But it takes money, and we are run solely by donations. Please help us by donating, volunteering, adopting. The cats, and we, thank you for saving their lives.

Punishment

Punishing a cat will only make it mistrust you. It will still do the thing you don't want it to do, it will just happen when you are not around. Beter to praise, praise, praise a cat when it is doing something right and "Redirect him to do the right thing" when he is doing something wrong.

Why Do Cats Like Eating Plants and Flowers?

4 Likely Reasons

1. It’s in Their Nature. Did you know that in the wild, cats will eat grass and other plants? Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they need to eat meat for survival and to fulfill their specific nutritional requirements. In fact, cats can’t digest plant material well at all, yet they can still be seen munching on grass and other plants. So, it’s not so strange for your housecat to be drawn to a bouquet in bloom! It’s worth mentioning that some flowers can be highly toxic, even fatal, to cats.

2. The Taste & Texture: Many flowers are soft and delicate, which is possibly why they make great snacks for cats. If you’re growing catnip in your home, it should be obvious why your cat keeps smelling and eating it. Catnip contains nepetalactone, an aromatic oil that cats find absolutely fascinating! But you don’t want to let your kitty snack on flowers too often. Eating non-toxic ones occasionally is perfectly fine, but you should always consult a vet if you’re worried that they might be eating too many.

3. Stress Relief: If your cat loves to nibble on the petals of houseplants every so often, it could be because they’re stressed or anxious. (This behavior might be more obvious in indoor cats.) If it keeps happening, you may want to take your kitty to the vet for a checkup, as there could be something else going on that needs to be addressed.

4. To Get Sick: Cats are thought to eat grass to make themselves sick since they will occasionally vomit after plant eating. However, this theory has not been proven, and cats that eat grass do not often show signs of being ill beforehand. If you think that this could be the case with your kitty, though, take them to the vet as soon as possible. It’s better to catch any potential health problems early and get the proper treatment. It’s also better than watching your favorite flowers get eaten!

Tips to Keep Your Kitty from Eating Flowers

• Put the flowers in an inaccessible spot, like on top of a bookshelf or counter.

• Use bitter sprays or citrus peels (do not use essential oils) to deter cats.

• Create cat-friendly alternatives, like growing wheat grass or catnip.

• Buy realistic-looking fake flowers and display those instead.

A Cat's Tongue

Cats can spend up to half of their waking hours grooming themselves. Cats' tongues are covered in small, backward-facing barbs known as papillae which collect dirt and loose hair during grooming. These barbs do not allow cats to "spit out" foreign objects, causing them to ingest whatever they lick. If it is something linear (like string, thread, ribbons, rubber bands, etc.), it can become caught in the intestines. Once there, the movement of the intestines creates a sawing-type motion which can cause the item to cut through the intestinal wall and spill the contents into your cat's insides. This can be lethal if not surgically corrected in time. PLEASE do not leave these types of items or pins/needles, plastic bags, bones, etc. where your cat can get them. Safety first; happiness furever!

Sleep

Kittens need extra sleep because they rely on a

growth hormone released

only during sleep.

(Hmmm...perhaps this is a life-long hormone.)

The Cat's Meow

There are about 100 different cat noises, which our feline friends mix and match to talk to us. You’ve probably noticed that cats spend a lot of time and energy communicating with other cats in their lives, but that very little of that communication is in the form of cats meowing. If they talked as much as they gestured (case in point: when cats rub against you), the odds are good that you’d wish they’d just shut up. Of course, because most humans aren’t nearly as good at observing body language and understanding cat communication like subtle cat ear movements and cat tail twitches, they often “use their words” to help us understand these cat noises. A cats’ vocabulary is just as rich and subtle as cat body language (including the ways cat express affection), but here are some cat noises and what they mean.

1. Meowing - Kittens are born unable to hear and see, they meow to alert their mother that they need attention. Adult cats rarely meow at each other, but they may meow at us for the same reasons, to get attention.
2. Cat Purr when they’re content, but they also purr to comfort themselves when they’re sick or injured. The auditory frequency of the purr, around 25 cycles per second, is thought to have healing properties, and it almost certainly acts as an internal massage.
3. Trilling - a noise somewhere between a meow and purr, as a friendly greeting.
4. Cat Growling is among the cat noises that give off a warning. Cats growl at one another to say, “Back off before I have to use my claws rather than my voice!”
5. Cat Chattering - If your cat sits in the window staring at squirrels outside, ears erect and eyes focused, but he can’t get outside to chase them, he may make a cat chattering or cat chirping noise. These cat noises communicate either excitement or frustration.
6. Cat Hissing - your cat is angry or scared. The hiss is the next stage of warning after the growl.
7. Cat Yowling - Female cats in heat make this desperate cry, hoping to attract tomcats to ease their pangs of kitten-making desire. And cat screaming, a variant of cat yowling, is the final warning sound before a serious cat fight begins.
For more read: Cat noises, what they mean

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