Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2023 i Your Cat

The story of how Catford, the district in south east London, got its name has been lost to legend. The ‘cat’ part of it though has long been embraced with its most famous landmark being this giant cat statue! The fibreglass feline has been clambering the sign of the Catford Shopping Centre since 1974. It was built at a time when there were plans to turn Catford into a shopping and cultural destination, and although these ambitious plans failed, the cat statue has become popular. When authorities planned to remove the landmark, there was a successful petition to fight for the feline to stay and it still looms above shoppers today. The inset picture here is testament to how well received the cat statue is with this witty bit of…

Chris Pascoe is a cat-sitter and author. He has written five books, including ‘A cat called Birmingham’ and ‘You can take the cat out of Slough’, which are available to buy from Amazon. Cat-sitting visits at this time of year can sometimes be a little bit ‘creepy.’ The reason for this creepiness is the necessity to visit empty old houses (well, empty but for the odd cat and an incompetent cat sitter), often on dark, dismal days. I’ve crept around these places, trying hard not to jump at every creak or bump from empty rooms above me, and attempting to blot out the wind howling mournfully down ancient chimneys and through old unlit fireplaces. Happily, everything that’s ever shaken me up through the years has been down to my own overactive…

Peter Neville has spent over 30 years as a professional pet behaviourist, writer, and educator. In 1993, he co-founded COAPE International (coape.org), now a leading online provider of education courses in pet behaviour. Peter is the author of 16 books, including the international best-seller, ‘Do Cats Need Shrinks?’ He now lives in Helsinki, Finland, with his partner Stella, and two cats, Asla and Trista. Dogs have been deliberately bred over centuries to perform jobs for us and so there are many behavioural types and enormous variations in temperament, character, and personality (as well as size, shape, colour, and hair type) within modern breeds and in the millions of crossbreeds and mongrels as a result. Cats, however, have not been deliberately selected for any particular behavioural traits and so their enormous individual…

Got a question? The Your Cat experts are here to help with all your feline dilemmas! Send your question to our experts by email (catcare@yourcat.co.uk). DISABLED CATS Adopting a disabled cat Q I would like to offer a home to a special needs cat. I was thinking of a deaf cat or perhaps a blind cat. What might it involve? A It’s worth thinking this through quite carefully before you start searching for one. Many disabled cats, like blind or deaf cats, will need to be indoor only cats, as they may not be able to cope with outside dangers. They also may not be able to cope with very busy households. Three-legged cats will need strict weight control. Cats with cerebellar hypoplasia, sometimes called ‘wobbly kittens,’ may need ramps…

Rosemary Fisher entered the cat fancy in 1974 when she purchased her first pedigree cat — a Chinchilla called Brylou Moonstone. She breeds Persians and Exotics, and judges in several sections. She is currently a GCCF Board member and also serves on the genetics committee. The GCCF, like a lot of other organisations, especially charities, couldn’t exist unless it was well supported by a large band of volunteers, willing to give up their time and expertise to ensure the numerous functions of their hobby happen. These volunteers include club committees, show managers, and the many people who turn up to help with the administration of the event on show day; table workers, runners who distribute rosettes and prize cards, duty vets, judges, and stewards. A lot of planning and burning…

“Isn’t he lovely?” Emily bent down to stroke the black and white cat which had wandered into the second-hand book shop. Her boss Adam waved his hands at the cat. “It can’t come in here. I’m allergic to them. Shoo.” Giving Adam an imperious stare, the cat slowly strolled out, settled on the wall outside and licked his paw. Emily began sorting out the new book donations into categories. The cat had been a welcome diversion for Emily. Although she loved books, this wasn’t her ideal job. She wished for the hundredth time she’d got better grades so she could have gone to college and become an award-winning journalist. That had been her dream. Instead, at 21 years old, she was working here until she figured out what to do…

As you can probably imagine, I read a lot of stuff about cats. From being a writer for the magazine to having been editor for over three years, I’ve learned so much about our feline companions and benefitted from the expert wisdom of our team. However, cats never fail to amaze me. That’s never been more true than in this month’s lead feature ’10 amazing things you never knew about cats.’ I learned so much about our feline friends! When I asked one of our brilliant writers, Karen Bush, to write the feature, I thought there might be quite a lot in there I already knew — how wrong I was! I found it incredibly insightful and a great education in how feline bodies are so well trained for their…

I t’s common knowledge that any cat in rescue with a disability may take longer to rehome than those without. But after caring for a deaf cat for many years, taking on a cat with special needs was nothing new to Nadia Davies, from Solihull. A cat lover since childhood, Nadia set up the More Purrs blog to offer advice and inspire cat owners to create the home environment their cat would choose for themselves, which encourages their natural feline behaviour and provides a dependable place of comfort, love, and safety. She said: “I’ve always been a cat person. For as long as I can remember, we’ve had cats and this led me to start volunteering at a cat charity in 2017.” “THIS CAT NEEDS A HOME” During her time…

“Wildcats are on the brink of extinction…” Wildcats are clinging on by a claw and Scotland is their last refuge from extinction in Britain. Thankfully, over 30 zoos, wildlife parks, and private collections have come together as members of a breeding programme to help ensure their survival. Your Cat Good Causes has become the sole sponsor of Embo, one of the male Scottish wildcats currently in the successful Saving Wildcats European partnership project, headed by The Royal Zoological Society for Scotland (RZSS). The RZSS, the wildlife conservation charity and lead partner for the Saving Wildcats project, has been managing the UK captive population since 2015 to make sure those wildcats can support the restoration of the species in Britain. Saving Wildcats (#SWAforLife) is a European partnership project dedicated to Scottish…

Jill Eckersley is a freelance journalist based in London, with a passion for cats, especially her Mayhew rescue, Mo. “It’s hard to describe how we felt when she won” Well, of course, all cats are winners! Aren’t they? Show me a cat owner who doesn’t believe, deep down, that their own feline pal isn’t the best in the world — I know I do! This month, we have been chatting to some owners who actually have proof, in the shape of certificates and titles won at cat shows, including the top show, the Supreme, that their cats are really something special… It was a childhood dream for Gwen Phillips of Haltwhistle, Northumbria, to breed a champion cat, but Gwen and her husband Paul could hardly believe it when it actually happened!…

The competitions are now all magazine only, so we need to explain this clearly in this issue: EXCLUSIVE PRIZES We want to reward your loyalty to us, therefore ALL of the competitions you see across these Giveaways pages are now entirely exclusive to you, our Your Cat members. To be able to enter these giveaways online, simply visit our website www.yourcat.co.uk/competitions, log into your account, and answer the simple question. All of these competitions will now also remain open for the whole month online (as well as via the printed form), giving you plenty of time to make your entries! Please note, if you have purchased this copy of Your Cat Magazine from a retail store, you will need to enter the giveaways via the printed form. Or you can…

Peter Neville has spent over 30 years as a professional pet behaviourist, writer, and educator. In 1993, he co-founded COAPE International (coape.org), now a leading online provider of education courses in pet behaviour. Peter is the author of 16 books, including the international best-seller, ‘Do Cats Need Shrinks?’ He now lives in Helsinki, Finland, with his partner Stella, and two cats, Asla and Trista. Aggression is often a dirty word; a sign of unwanted, perhaps out-of-proportion, threatening or attacking behaviour aimed at some hapless victim who ends up frightened and injured when he or she really doesn’t deserve to be. But the truth is that aggression is what helps to make animals successful, socially, territorially, and reproductively. Many pet cats are notoriously antisocial with their own kind as a legacy…

Sonja K Steiner wrote for Cat World magazine for over eight years. She’s worked in veterinary practice and previously volunteered at her local rescue. Her cats Willow and Fifi are the Brand Ambassadors for Natures Menu and Natures Variety cat food. Celia Dakin set up Harrogate Cat Rescue, a not-for-profit rescue, on 20 April 2020. She worked throughout Covid, adhering to DEFRA guidelines, to help as many cats as possible. Despite being based in North Yorkshire, Celia takes in cats from West Yorkshire and beyond, and the small rescues in the area all support each other during what has been incredibly challenging times. Running a rescue is rewarding and stressful but Celia said: “I couldn’t do what I do without my dedicated team of experienced foster carers.” Many cats who come…

✭✭STAR PIC✭✭ Hera wins an Ancol Premo XL Activity Centre, while the others receive an assortment of cat toys, including a Jittery Mouse, courtesy of Ancol Pet Products. For more information, call 01922 402428. (UK only) SEE YOUR CAT HERE! Email a clear (non-blurry) image of usable size (around 300dpi and 1MB) to pawtraits@yourcat.co.uk Please include your full name, address, and phone number, as well as your cat’s name. www.facebook.com/yourcatmagazine @yourcatmagazine pawtraits@yourcat.co.uk…

Lucy Briggs is a registered veterinary nurse (RVN) at Belvoir Vets in Grantham, Lincolnshire, a gold standard cat-friendly clinic. “We decided to keep the little kitten!” One day in August, a little nine-week-old kitten was brought in by her owners suffering from chronic diarrhoea and faecal incontinence. Unfortunately, the owners could not continue to care for her so they signed her over to Lincoln Cat Care. I offered to foster this little one but before taking her home, we tested her blood to ensure she did not have feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) or feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). These diseases could potentially be transmitted to our own cats. Luckily, she was negative for both so we took her home. This little kitten had the biggest personality and was not afraid of…

Museums are special places. They are places that preserve history and capture the essence of human existence through the lens of whatever area they specialise in. But even in the context of how important museums are, Bethlem Museum of the Mind is an incredible place. It records the lives and experience, and celebrates the achievements of, people with mental health problems. Situated in the grounds of Bethlem Royal Hospital, which was the first institution in the UK to specialise in the care of the mentally ill and continues to provide in-patient care today, the museum features renowned collections which promote support to mental healthcare and treatment. The building is a stunning Art Deco building and opened as the Museum of the Mind in March 2015. It was opened by artist…