RARE PHOTOS: 2 - The Real Truth

Cat hiding in cupboards and under beds? Here's what it actually means

A cat that vanishes behind the washing machine or wedges itself into the back of a wardrobe is not being dramatic. Hiding is a deeply wired behaviour, and understanding why a particular cat is doing it on a particular day is one of the more useful things an owner can…

Times Pets · Nov 8

Why does your adult cat suckle on blankets? The behaviour explained

A cat that suckles on a fleece throw or a wool sweater is doing something that began before it could see properly. The behaviour is rooted in early kittenhood, but the reasons it persists into adulthood are more varied than most owners expect, and most of them are not a…

Times Pets · Nov 8

Cat scratching everything? 7 steps to teach it to accept nail trims

A cat that fights nail trims is not being difficult. It has learned, usually through a few rushed early experiences, that the clipper means restraint and an odd pressure on its paws. That association is what you are changing, not the cat's personality, and not its tolerance for being handled…

Times Pets · Nov 8

Why white cats with blue eyes are often deaf: the biology explained

A white cat with blue eyes is striking enough that people have built myths around it for centuries. The deafness that often comes with that combination is not a myth, it is one of the better-documented genetic links in feline biology, and understanding it changes how you read your cat's…

Times Pets · Nov 8

Why indoor cats gain weight so easily, and how to help yours

A cat that spends its whole life inside a two-bedroom flat is safe, warm, and almost certainly eating more than it burns. Weight gain in indoor cats is not a mystery of metabolism. It is a straightforward arithmetic problem made easier by every comfort a flat provides. What flat life…

Times Pets · Nov 8

Why starving a cat into eating new food can be dangerous

Most cat owners have tried it at least once: the old food runs out, or the vet recommends something new, and the cat simply refuses to eat it. The natural instinct is to hold firm, surely hunger will win eventually. In dogs, it usually does. In cats, this logic can…

Times Pets · Nov 8

Cat vomiting after meals? Eating too fast is usually why

Most cat owners have seen it: the bowl empties in under a minute, and then the food comes back up, barely digested, in a neat tubular pile. It is alarming the first time. By the fifth time, it is just Tuesday. Understanding why it happens makes the fix obvious. What…

Times Pets · Nov 8

Cat brings you a toy and meows? Here's what it actually means

A cat arriving at your feet with a toy mouse clamped in her mouth, meowing loudly, is not performing for your amusement. She is doing something her nervous system is built for, and the meowing is the part that makes it a communication, not just a delivery. The hunting sequence…

Times Pets · Nov 7

Why does your cat sit at the window for hours? 6 things it's watching for

A cat at the window is not doing nothing. The stillness is deceptive, behind it is a nervous system running at full capacity, processing movement, sound, scent, and light in ways that explain why the same animal that ignores an expensive toy will spend three hours tracking a crow on…

Times Pets · Nov 7

Why does your cat trill and chirp at you? What the sounds actually mean

Cats are famously selective about sound. A feral cat almost never meows at another cat, that particular sound evolved largely as a way to communicate with humans. But trills and chirps follow a different logic entirely. They belong to a smaller, warmer register that cats use with the animals and…

Times Pets · Nov 7