I’ve found living with my cat Ninja that every cat needs their own “place”, a place of their own they know they can go to and just have their own space away from everyone and everything else.

In my old RV which was a Road Runner, Ninja had the bunk beds in the back of it all to herself. In our new one, called the Edge, she really lost that. It was hard for a matter of weeks with her feeling like she had no where to go, and when cleaning time came, like she was in the way and eventually it made her mad to get kicked out of every place she found.

My husband and I quickly realized the differences between the RV’s and began looking for a place for Ninja to have all to herself. Aside from the bed, which she’s welcome always to lay on unless it’s being used for something or made, we found a small space where we keep our bath towels. It’s above the fridge and she can only get up and down to it when the bathroom door is out of the way.

It’s quite the leap, as you can see below…

She loves her new spot, and it really helped in her attitude and overall mood to have a place all to herself. In most homes we probably barely notice our cats have their own spots, but when we do from being in a smaller space, we learn how essential it really is.

My cat, Chaz (RIP), used to love to wrap himself around my head when we would go to bed for the night. It seemed that my ear was always pressed against his upper chest and I would routinely fall asleep to the sound of his loud purr. So comforting was that sound to me that for weeks after his death I had trouble falling asleep. When my cat was happy, so was I.

The sound of purring has always been associated with a very content cat. And, of course, a content cat will purr. However, cats are also known to purr during times of discontent, fear, when in extreme pain or dying. Because of the broad diversity of conditions under which a cat may purr, it can’t be considered simply a vocalization indicating a mood or a level of comfort.

It has been theorized that when a cat purrs under stressful circumstances it may be issuing a social statement that it wishes not to be considered a threat and treated accordingly. More confusing is the purring of a direly injured cat. Since it is necessary to expend energy to produce a purr, it doesn’t make sense that a cat would waste that valuable resource on something that doesn’t increase the liklihood of survival.  Therefore, it has been considered that there must be a benefit or advantage to the purr, perhaps medical, though it is impossible to say what it is.

There are still questions about the mechanism that allows a cat to purr. There is no one specific part in a cat’s anatomy that is responsible for the purr, but it is thought to be related to a separation in the vocal cords and the use of the larynx muscles. A true purr, and the thing that differentiates it from the trilling of contentment heard in other animals, is that it is one continuous sound driven by respiratory inhalations and exhalations. It reverberates continuously without the need to pause to draw a breath.

So what exactly is the purpose of the purr?  The bottom line is that we really don’t have any definitive understanding, beyond realizing that it is much more than an indicator of a happy cat.

Too funny not to share.

This is a must see.

Photo provided by Tara McGugin

My cat’s first experience with a toddler was very negative for her so when my friends came to visit with their son, Xander, I didn’t even think about my cat’s stress level going through the roof. Xander is the sweetest toddler you’ll ever meet and super well behaved. He has a small dog as a pet, a cockatoo parrot and a cat of his own. His parents showed him how he was supposed to treat animals and he is a very affectionate boy.

When he saw Ninja, he was dying to love on her (and I mean really love on her and not hurt her like some kids might accidentally do) but Ninja was very untrusting and hissed, growled, and swatted at poor Xander. It took me a little while to realize she assumed EVERY toddler was going to be mean to her after the first one.

I had to seriously stand back and look at the situation and just how much it had affected her. I don’t think I realized to what level until now.

Animals hold those “first impressions” against you, and whether a toddler hits and kicks your cat or a man with a baseball cap does the same thing, the cat will remember it and anyone resembling that first mean person is going to get a rude disliking from the cat.

But there’s good news too, as you can work through it and make it better which is good for everyone including your cat. I don’t want Ninja getting to a stressing point every time she sees a 16 month old.

Tips for emotionally conditioning your cat to like things it had a bad past experience with:

• Every time Ninja sees a toddler, I cue a different behavior from her and give her a treat. This will teach her with repetition that when a toddler comes around, she will more often than not get a treat and in tune, will result in happy feelings.
• When a toddler comes to visit, I let them (if they’re willing) put out her food and give her treats. This associates the kid with good things.
• I also try to keep her around as many well behaved toddlers as I can that are use to having pets they could hurt if they tried but know the boundaries of not to. This helps Ninja realize not all kids are bad, nor are they all going to hurt her.

I had to share this video, it’s pretty funny. A great reason to teach your cat to “speak” on cue!