Training Tips

The First Ever At-Home Cat Genetics Test

Cat lovers rejoice. DNA testing is now available for cats, and it’s pretty pawsome! While canine DNA tests have been around since 2007, feline science, widely understudied and underfunded, has been lagging behind. Thanks to Basepaws, we’re now able to reveal the secrets hidden within feline DNA and get to know our cats on a whole new level. Basepaws Cat DNA test is a novel approach to cat DNA testing which reveals your cat’s background, origins and ultimately health predispositions. The … Read more

The Top Tips For Training Your Cat

Cats have a bad reputation for being untrainable. The fact of the matter is that cats can be trained, but they have different motivations than dogs. While dogs might respond positively to a reward of their favorite ball, a scratch behind the ears, or a verbal “good boy,” most cats are best motivated by food. The good news is that positive reinforcement can help train your cat to do many positive behaviors from using the litter box or scratching post … Read more

6 Steps To Taming A Semi-Feral Cat

Animal rescue experts typically classify stray cats into three categories: socialized, semi-feral, and feral. Socialized cats are fully domesticated and comfortable around humans, while feral cats have had little to no human contact and are basically wild animals. Semi-feral cats fall somewhere in between. They tend to avoid being touched, but may vocalize when around humans or even make eye contact. Although it is a slow, difficult process, taming a semi-feral cat is possible. These 6 steps will help you … Read more

5 Ways To Convince An Aloof Cat To Like You

Cats have a bad reputation for being the aloof ones of the pet world. They’re not as obviously exuberant as dogs and tend to appreciate personal space. It’s hard to tell what a cat’s thinking behind that apathetic gaze and standoffish behavior. If you have a cat that’s particularly indifferent toward your existence, you’ve probably wondered about why they don’t like you. Cats are complicated, but with the right insight, it’s possible to break through their detached demeanor and build … Read more

6 Life Skills Kittens Learn By Playing With Each Other

There’s probably nothing cuter than watching kittens play with each other. What you may not know is that kitten play is more than just fun and games. When kittens play with their litter mates or other kittens, they’re learning valuable skills that’ll help them grow into happier and healthier cats. Here are 6 important life skills kittens learn as they run and tumble with their friends. #1 – How to hunt Kitten play is full of stalking, chasing, and tackling … Read more

10 Simple Ways To Raise A Confident Cat

Cats are territorial creatures of habit. They crave dependability, familiarity, and knowing that the boundaries to their homes are safe and secure. A cat who isn’t confident may be withdrawn, aggressive, or display other behavioral problems like inappropriate scratching or spraying. Here are 11 simple ways to provide the tools your furry friend needs to be a confident and secure cat.   #1 – Address behavior issues consistently In order to feel confident in her environment and in her relationship with you, … Read more

5 Ways You’re Accidentally Enabling Your Cat’s Bad Behavior

Cats usually only do things that are in their own best interest. While this self-serving attitude often earns them a reputation for being “untrainable”, understanding how cats work is exactly how you’ll train them. For instance, if you want your cat to stop scratching the side of the couch, you’ll need to provide an alternative that’ll be irresistible to your cat. She’ll stop scratching the couch as long as her need to scratch is met with a better option, like … Read more

7 Tips For Raising A Well-Adjusted Kitten

As someone who has raised many kittens (mostly through fostering, but also one of my own), I can say with certainty that it’s not easy. Kittens are adorable, yes, but they’re also impossibly energetic and rambunctious, dangerously curious, and they can be rather destructive if you’re not paying attention. It’s in a kitten’s nature to explore their new world through stalking, pouncing, and gnawing. Left to their own devices, a kitten would grow up to be wild, unruly– feral by … Read more

6 Reasons To Never Punish Your Cat

It can be incredibly frustrating when a cat starts exhibiting a bad behavior– especially one that is messy, stinky, destructive, or violent. While it may feel instinctual in a time of frustration to punish your cat for her bad behavior, it’s not how cats learn best, and it may actually create more problems. Here are 6 reasons to encourage your cat towards good behaviors rather than punish her for bad ones. See links throughout and below this article for tips … Read more

Is Your Cat Most Active At Night? Here’s Why

As much as we love our cats, their nighttime antics can be downright maddening. Perhaps you’re familiar with sleep deprivation caused by a cat that runs around your home at top speed, knocks things over, pounces at your feet, or yowls at 2am. Will you ever sleep again? Yes, you will… but you may need to put some work into altering your cat’s internal clock. Why is your cat so active at night? Your domestic cat’s wildcat ancestors were nocturnal … Read more