When Irving Townsend was questioned about his adopting another cat, his response was “Another cat? Perhaps. For love there is also a season; its seeds must be re-sown. But a family cat is not replaceable like a worn-out coat or a set of tires. Each new kitten becomes its own cat, and none is repeated. I am four cats old, measuring out my life in friends that have succeeded but not replaced one another.”

Then, according to Cleveland Amory, “cats have enormous patience with the limitations of the human mind. They realize...that we have an infuriating inability to understand, let alone follow, even the simplest and most explicit of directions.” I can identify with that.

It is a matter to gain the affection of a cat. He is a philosophical animal, tenacious of his own habits, fond of order and neatness, and disinclined to extravagant sentiment. He will be your friend, if he finds you worthy of friendship, but not your slave. -- Theophile Gautier

The really great thing about cats is their endless variety. One can pick a cat to fit almost any kind of decor, color scheme, income, personality, mood. But under the fur; whatever color it may be, there still lies, essentially unchanged, one of the world's free souls. --Eric Gurney

We were recently notified by The International Cat Association (TICA) that our Tailwinds Jack Frost of Bagheera is the 3rd best International and Regional Seal Lynx Point Spotted Bengal. He is a wonderful fellow that loves attention. Thanks to my friend, Ginny Huckabee, for sharing him with me.

He did get quite a reputation of liking the judges, even "marking" one at the Dayton, OH show. :-)

Should I spank my cat when it misbehaves?

Though this may sound obvious to all who read it, cat abuse remains one of the major causes of feline behavioral problems today. Smacking or kicking a cat in an effort to get him to stop some undesirable behavior will result not only in a permanent breakdown of the cat/owner relationship, but cause serious or fatal injury to the pet as well, whose small body cannot possibly hold up to being struck by a human being ten times his size.

Cats react poorly to physical or verbal abuse. Yelling and screaming doesn’t work well on cats, who will become extremely stressed, and in all likelihood exhibit additional behavior problems as a result.

Why abuse such a small creature? Use your mind and your heart, instead of your foot.

A simple, but effective, technique to express your displeasure at a kittens behavior is to place fifteen pennies in an aluminum can and tape up the top. Kittens (and cats) hate the sound made by shaking this can. And, since you do not use your voice, it is not associated with the negativity. Another valuable disciplinary tool is a child's simple water gun or an indoor flower watering can (the kind that squirts). You can let a cat know what behavior is undesirable from across the room. Keep the squirt gun ready but be careful not to spray the eyes.