Does your cat pay attention to your feelings?

One thing you always hear is that a dog will mimic your behavior when you're feeling down. Well, what about cats? There's been a huge amount of research on the canine side of this but not nearly as much on the feline side. Then, I found this article. It's a bit of a read, but quite informative.

I can only speak from my own experience, but my cats definitely exhibit this behavior. But, as the article points out, it's specific to familiar faces (particularly their owners). Reminds me of this video about Crows (also a supremely interesting watch).

Additionally, did you know that the sounds your cat makes toward you are specific to you? They aren't relevant to other cats (even other cats in your household) and someone just meeting your cat won't know a 'give me food' sound from a 'pet me' sound. Very intriguing stuff.

~Jason

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CPR for Cats

Hi All! Happy St Patrick's Day!

I thought since I just got certified in CPR and AED usage yesterday, I'd share an article on how to perform CPR on your feline friend, should she ever need it.

Signs to watch out for in your cat

• Breathing trouble
• Weakness or lethargy
• Unconsciousness
• Sudden onset of illness

To determine if CPR is necessary:

• Is the cat breathing? Watch for chest movement or fell it with your hand. Just as with a human, you can put your ear to their nose and look for chest movement.
• Check the color of the gums. Blue/gray is a sign of lack of oxygen; white is poor blood circulation
• Check for a pulse. Inside of the thigh, where the leg meets body.
• Listen for a heartbeat (left side of chest near the elbow)

If you do need to end up giving CPR (and let's hope you never have to):

• Check for breathing
• If not breathing, open mouth and remove any obstructions
• Pull the tongue to the front of the mouth then close the mouth and hold shut (gently)
• With the neck straight, breathe short puffs of air into the nose (1 breath every 4-5 seconds). If you've trained in CPR for infants, use a similar strength of breath.
• You should see a visible movement of the chest with these breaths
• If the heart is stopped, use both Artificial Respiration and CPR (the next few bullets)
• Check for heartbeat/pulse. If none, lay the cat on it's right side on a hard, flat surface.
• Place your thumb and fingers from one hand on either side of the chest behind the elbows and give a quick squeeze to compress the chest to about 1/2 of its normal thickness.
• Compress the chest about 15 times every 10 seconds; stopping to give a breath after every 10 compressions.

Again, hopefully you'll never need to do this, but it's always good to know!

~Jason

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Why Chocolate Bunnies and Peeps® Make Better Easter Gifts

The Old Town Crier has been a long-time supporter of King Street Cats and we're happy to share their (pet-related) articles on our Blog. Their current issue has an article with the above title that we would like to share with you.


I've never quite understood why people thought the gifting of pets was a good idea, especially ones that you wouldn't normally think of as domestic house pets. Apparently it's still a common thing. I also had no idea that bunnies are the third most popular (mammalian) pet in the US.

I can relate to the bunny issue, though. Two times in my life (one rather recently, the other not so much) have I known a bunny that has been given up. Way back when I lived in NY, I had a school friend who had a bunny. (And yes, I prefer to say bunny over rabbit; it's more fun.) I remember we had gone out to play basketball after school one day and when he got home he called my house in a panic because his mother had put it outside while we were out. I don't recall if he knew why she did it or if he ever found it again.

More recently, about a year and a half ago, one was found in the trash room of my condo building. Some neighbors took it in and kept it for about a year (and yes, it did really use the litter box, much to the chagrin of their (King Street) cat), but after repeated incidents of it chewing wires and molding (which I didn't know was a sign of a teenage bunny), they gave it up to the local shelter (after I repeatedly tried to get them to give it to a local elementary school where it could have had a better chance of having a life IMO).

Regardless, stick to chocolate candy. And always check out the Washington Post's Peep Diorama Contest!

~Jason

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