My Types of Cats

This is one surprising question, mainly due to the myth that the primary food for cats is milk. But that’s just what it is, a myth.

Although most cats like milk and will undoubtedly drink it when given, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for them.

Can cats drink almond milk and normal milk?

Well, milk is a tricky food because it has several exceptions, sometimes cats have to have it and at other times they cannot.

Mandatory food!
Young kittens must drink milk in order to develop and survive.

Let me reiterate that cats, just like any other mammal, require a mother’s milk to develop and survive.

Now, cow’s milk isn’t a good substitution at a young age. If the kitten is left without a mother for one reason or the other, a specific type of milk can be bought for kittens, usually from a vet or a pet store.

Cow’s milk is good for baby cows but not for cats because they have different nutritional requirements.

Milk is most important at a young age for cats. If your cat is receiving a decent amount of quality food, milk isn’t really necessary.

Although rich in its ingredients, those ingredients can be found in most other foods. Many cat users have the issue of obese cats because they offer them too much food.

Although milk alone isn’t responsible for this problem, water should be enough if you want to offer the cat a drink.

So are cats lactose intolerant?
Milk isn’t lethal nor dangerous for older cats so you should test to see if your cat is lactose intolerant or not.

Give it a small amount of milk and observe the behavior. The main side effect is diarrhea so that should be an indicator as to whether or not your cat could have milk.

Cats that are lactose intolerant react much like humans who can’t tolerate milk products. It is said that most cats are lactose intolerant but there are many cats in the world and each is unique.

If your cat can’t have any you can still give it a special brand of milk for cats usually available in supermarkets. Or if you simply want to offer your cat something to drink, fresh water will do the trick.

Although most people would debate the question of milk with cats and claim they should never ever have it, in my experience it doesn’t hurt to try, unless your cat is ill or in a weakened state.

Milk is packed with nutrients and is very healthy even though it can be difficult on cat’s stomachs. When I had an ill cat the vet didn’t recommend milk but instead offered an interesting substitute to help the cat’s body.

You basically take some rice and boil it, then when it’s cooled off, take some of the water from it and give it to the cat. It’s a basic form of food and will help the body both with its texture and structure.

Cats love milk; nobody can deny that so they’ll drink it without a doubt, much like they’ll eat food until they physically can’t eat it anymore.

They don’t know limits so you can be certain your cat will become fat if given too much frequently. Kittens will drink milk from their mother even after they no longer need it. It’s not only because of milk but it’s more of an instinct.

I’ve noticed that some of the kittens will even try to ‘drink milk’ from friendly male cats frequently because they feel comfortable. The male cats didn’t complain of course because they appeared to confuse it as cuddling.

Almost every cat acts as if it doesn’t have any feelings. Okay who am I kidding, every cat does this, at least most of the time.

We pet them and feed them and love them but even though they show signs of appreciation, they always behave as if they don’t care. But is this really true? Do cats have feelings?

Dogs have masters, cats have staff
This is of course an exaggerated phrase but cats really do behave this way. A dog will show you instant love in most cases upon being fed or taken care of; meanwhile a cat will probably just leave the house and mind its own business until it becomes hungry again.

Do cats have feelings? In essence all creatures, including cats, which is a shock to many, have an entire rainbow of emotions.

Some cats show more emotion while others show less. I’ve seen cats who’d mostly display growling when you try to pet them, and also cats who you can pet 24/7 and with them ever getting upset.

But in the end they would show a certain emotion, be it anger or happiness. The most commonly noted emotions, just like in humans, are the negative ones.

It’s very common for cats to display jealousy or frustration. A growl is far more memorable than an occasional cuddle, which makes people think cats are always cold blooded and upset.

Biological proof
In a nutshell, the part of the human brain that regulates emotions and emotional reactions is called an amygdala.

The fact that cats possess an amygdala in their biology proves that on a biological basis they are able to feel emotions.

With certain stimulation of this part of the brain, certain emotions can be provoked.

There’s been many cases where a cat would display grief upon the death of an offspring, a parent, or a mate. Also certain feel-good hormones have been noticed to be released in their brains upon playing or doing something enjoyable.

As mentioned before, some cats don’t display emotions and don’t like being petted, however others love it. Recently the cat generations that have passed through my home have become cuddlier and cuddlier.

Another interesting fact I noticed is the strange behavior during pregnancy. Sometimes I noticed my cats remain the same but on some cats I’ve noticed they become much friendlier. I noticed because it was quite a shock to have one of my slightly cold-blooded cats start to cuddle against my face when I picked it up. She was ill and also we noticed her belly growing.

Do cats hold grudges?
A visit to the vet can be extremely painful and even force the cat to bite the owner instinctively. People usually think that cats won’t understand that the pain they’re experiencing is going to make them feel better, however once the cat becomes healthy it will hardly hold a grudge, especially if the owner is caring. Grudges and fear in my experience occur if the owner displays hostility on a regular basis.

Darwin vs Ignorance
Charles Darwin has come to the conclusion that cats indeed have emotions. Upon further exploration of feline behavior he concluded that they’re not so different from humans when it comes to emotions.

They simply display different degrees of emotion, which vary in strength when compared to human emotions.

Suffice to say, the gap between feline emotions and what we call human emotions is not that wide.

Opposite to the humorous statement mentioned before, there are religions that strictly view humans as superior to primitive animals, including cats, and also believe that only humans have emotions, as they’re the higher form of life.

For example the Chinese term for animal roughly translates to “moving thing” and many markets around the world look at animals as food, and think they serve no other purpose.

There has been a serious debate about animal rights because many people believe animals should have no rights as they’re inferior and have no way of understanding them.

It doesn’t matter what people believe in because it doesn’t change the fact that all animals do have a certain level of emotion, whether they show it or not.

Cats are independent and usually show no emotion. When you pet them, they might enjoy it but they’ll frequently be seen sitting on their own, and won’t respond to calls.

Because of this behavior, most people think that it’s okay to leave a cat alone for a longer period of time.

Just because they don’t appear lonely and don’t shout it out at you, doesn’t mean they aren’t.

Cats have their own concept of time, and although they spend most of it sleeping or not paying attention to you, they usually prefer the presence of their owner.

I can’t tell you how many times my cats have followed me when I left the room. Even after I’ve clearly entered the bathroom, they just climb on the tub and sit there.

It can be quite enigmatic, and owners usually think that cats just do this because they want something but the key to understanding cat behavior is lots and lots of observing.

It never occurs to us that cats just like to chill out with us sometimes. They’re not mechanical! They do things randomly just like we do.

Lonesome but lonely
Cats are globally portrayed as lonesome animals. They’re humorously viewed to have humans as their slaves, but as they say ‘it’s lonely at the top’. do cats get lonely

They don’t usually display emotion and are detached. Most cats in the wild are accustomed to being alone so if a cat is left alone it will survive.

A good example is when they’re in heat, they can go away from home for a few days, and upon arriving they continue with their regular activities.

I’ve personally assumed countless times that a cat was lost but after a week or two, there it was, right at the doorstep, wanting to be let in.

It would just eat, sleep and ignore me as usual.

They do form bonds with their owners but they don’t let these bonds control their lives as it seems. Dogs usually react extremely differently upon seeing an owner after a long time; meanwhile a cat will probably meow and cuddle a bit.

It’ll indisputably be happy but it will be more humble about it. To me personally, it seems as if they view companionship as something comfortable and luxurious and generally something that makes life more pleasant, but not something that is the sole purpose of living.

A missing companion
Loneliness can be a lot more powerful when a companion is missing. At one point we had two cats that had grown accustomed to playing with each other every day.

One of the two had gone missing and we were really worried, meanwhile his brother went around every corner of the house and meowed. This process repeated for a few days. He would eat and behave normally but you could see that he was constantly looking around, as if waiting for his brother to jump out from the corner and begin playing. Eventually he adapted to it and continued behaving regularly.

Cats love attention!
Don’t leave cats alone.

People sometimes hire sitters to come and spend time with their pet, provide them food and water when there’s nobody around and if they don’t have another feline companion with them.

Cats can just like the presence of others without necessarily wanting to play. Sometimes they just want to sleep on your lap instead of next to you.

We’ve all experienced cats sleeping with us on the bed. A slightly frustrating issue I have is waking up with a cat sleeping around my legs.

The real challenge though is when an alarm is ringing far away from the bed and there’s a cat sleeping on your back.

The kind of cat cafe Japan has is truly one of a kind. Well, 39 of a kind actually as Tokyo is home to 39 cat cafes, each of them being a place you can visit for a cup of coffee, some Wi-Fi… and a cat!

Japan adores cats! cat cafe

Japan is famous for its love for cats, just look at Hello Kitty! But aside from that, like any other major city, many of its citizens love pets. Sadly they cannot have them because they work the entire day and the pet would be left alone with nothing to do, and also because many are not allowed to keep pets in their apartment.

Ironically, there’s a decent amount of stray cats present around the city. To solve these problems Norimasa Hanada had opened up the very first “Cat’s Store” (猫の店 Neko no ise) in 2005, which has now become very successful and has transformed into many cat cafes around the country.

Serious cat care
There are various kinds of cat cafes, with some featuring black cats, others fat cats, rare breeds and some are even solving the issue of stray cats by focusing mostly on ex-stray cats.

Japanese cat cafes are extremely careful when it comes to cleanliness and animal welfare. Many of them are primarily trying to attract attention to the issue of stray cats and cat welfare.

Although they’re the main subjects of this business, cats are shown excessive care and usually come first. Customers are not allowed to disturb the cats when they’re resting, upset them or give them excessive attention that might prove to be frustrating to them.

Customers are also not allowed to take pictures with flashes as they might disturb the cats. It can be somewhat extreme but it just proves that cats are taken care of.

Some Cat Cafes around the globe don’t demand much for a visit, however one of the Tokyo’s most popular Cat Cafes for example charges around nine dollars (900 yen) for one hour of cat time, plus a drink.

It might be expensive but keep in mind it’s a completely different way of life and values. Expensive or not, people look at it as a great place to relax and forget about work for a short while.

An interesting bond
A very attractive feature about the Japanese cat cafe is that it doesn’t mean you just get any cat, but instead some people have favorite cats and some cats prefer certain people, which is pretty interesting.

Basically, you can have the convenience of having a pet without the issue of leaving it at home alone, you do however have to pay for a daily visit.

One cafe Japan has in Tokyo added goats to display a unique element. Cats are still one of the best choices though as they’re easily accustomed to staying inside as oppose to dogs for example who usually demand more outdoor activity.

Cat cafes around the globe
Cat cafes have proven to be a very good idea, and a big hit as they’ve quickly spread outside of Japan’s boarders. Germany, France, Hungary, Canada and many other countries have already had Cat Cafes open.

Two Cafes are scheduled to open in United States, California in 2014. If you’re interested look up specific locations and upcoming opening dates and give them a visit!

Most of these cat cafes focus on bringing in abandoned cats and strays. They usually require some attention and they’d be just as perfect as any other cat.

The issue of stray cats would solve itself if people weren’t so judgmental and didn’t jump to conclusions. Many demand certain breeds of cats and specifically demand new cats to be brought into the world when there are enough beautiful cats standing outside their house.

With many strays around the world, the only thing dividing them from a comfortable home is a layer of