Poggies help for Moggies. Cat behaviour advice and cat sitting by Leanne

04/10/2025

Following on from my post yesterday, here is a collection of😸 videos where welfare is not compromised.
The cats are treated with respect, played with appropriately and offered a lot of enrichment in their environment.

03/10/2025

Pet videos are popular on social media, but are they in fact harmful? 😿
A recent study by Kühnöhl A, Herbrandt S, Betting L, et al. J App Anim Wel Sci 2025, 1–20. DOI: 10.1080/10888705.2025.2546394 looked at videos from social media platforms.
They analysed the content for poor animal welfare concerns in 162 videos intended to be funny.
An article in Feline focus summarised the findings
“The videos were analysed regarding risk of injury for the animals, suspected pain, agony breeding characteristics and animal behaviour indicating stress. Stress reactions of the animals were observed in 82% of all videos, while risks of injury were found in 52% of the videos. Pain was assumed in 30% of cases, and 32% of the videos showed pets displaying agony breeding characteristics, such as brachycephaly.” (Collins, 2025)
Collins. S (2025) ‘Popular but harmful – how funny pet videos on social media conceal animal suffering’, Feline Focus, 11 (10), pp 22. Available at:
https://forum.icatcare.org/communities/community-home/librarydocuments (Accessed: 03 October 2025).

17/09/2025

🐱 Cats are masters at hiding pain, but you can learn how to keep feline friends feeling their best. 👇

🔍 Spot the signs - Slower movement, hesitation to jump, avoiding stairs, changes in play or grooming, missing the litter tray, odd sleeping spots.

🤳 Record your cats jumping on and off surfaces, climbing stairs, and walking on flat ground to capture valuable movement footage to share with your vet.

💊 Pain relief such as NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and other drugs can help manage chronic pain, but always use under veterinary supervision. Learn more 👉https://icatcare.org/resources/cat-carer-guide-treating-pain-with-nsaids.pdf

🏡 Try some home comfort hacks like low-entry cosy beds, ramps to favourite spots, raised bowls to reduce strain. Find more tips 👉https://icatcare.org/resources/cat-caregiver-guide-home-modifications.pdf

25/08/2025

🐱 As part of a PhD project in Veterinary Science, researchers would like to understand more about feline chronic kidney disease (CKD) from the owner’s perspective. If you are over 18 years old and caring for a cat with the condition, you are invited to complete the questionnaire and share your views. 📝

The survey is available in four languages:

🇬🇧 British caregivers 👉 https://forms.office.com/r/JFUMCZBxUs

🇳🇱 Dutch caregivers 👉 https://forms.office.com/r/pehmUXYSeG

🇫🇷 French caregivers 👉 https://forms.office.com/r/P5CfJXjnwK

🇧🇷 Brazilian caregivers 👉 https://forms.office.com/r/477aka6Vjy

Thank you!

19/08/2025

Does your cat jump out and pounce on you? Bite and scratch you?
There can be many reasons for these behaviours:
🐈‍⬛Fear/anxiety
🐈‍⬛Frustration
🐈‍⬛Boredom
🐈‍⬛Misdirected predatory behaviour (play)
to name a few.
The behaviour can happen as a result of how people played with them as kittens. We've all seen those cute kitten videos where we tickle and encourage play with our hands. The problem is it's not so cute as the kitten grows and the nails and teeth become bigger. They don't understand this though and just remember the positive interaction they had.

In order to effectively tackle these behaviours we need to get to the bottom of what motivates them. Why is it happening? A good behaviour consultation and history taking is important here. This is something that your cat savvy vet, vet nurse or veterinary behaviourist can help with.

I am trained and have a lot of experience with this type of behaviour, so if you feel you could do with some help in this area then get in touch. I can give you more information on what to expect from a consultation.

Tips:
💡Avoid encouraging play with your hands feet
💡Don't play with small toys in your hand, instead make use of wand toys, ending games on a treat
💡Commit to at least 5 minutes a day to play with your cat. (you could do this whilst making yourself a cup of tea)
💡Using puzzle feeders can provide mental stimulation, and along with play, mimic that hunting style

17/08/2025

Today is
A day for celebrating these beautiful little panthers and tuxedo kitties.
Often looked over for adoption due to superstitions such as they are bad luck 🤷‍♀️
So let's all share photos and stories of these wonderful creatures to show what people are missing out on.

08/08/2025

08/08/2025

08/08/2025

Happy

08/08/2025

Happy 😻
The theme this year from this wonderful cat welfare charity is about being cat friendly every day. They will be sharing tips throughout the day.

International cat day has been going since 2002. This will be the first year for me without a cat of my own 🥲, it also falls on my birthday 🎂 so as a gift if you would like to share any cat friendly photos or tips please feel free in the comments section

Coming soon! 😻 is on Friday 8 August and we will be exploring what it means to be ‘cat friendly every day’ – respecting each cat’s unique nature and meeting their environmental and social needs, whether at home, on the street, in a homing centre or in the veterinary clinic.

🐾 Follow our social media pages on the day to see our cat friendly tips and share with us all the ways you have a made a positive change to be more cat friendly every day! Tag us in your posts and use

As a cat welfare charity, we are proud to be the custodians of International Cat Day. ❤️ If you would like to help support us in our global cat friendly mission, consider fundraising or donating to celebrate International Cat Day 👉 https://icatcare.org/support-us

04/08/2025

How Do Cats See the World? ️🐱 Not Quite in Full Colour!

Ever wondered what the world looks like through your cat’s eyes? 👁 While we humans enjoy a full rainbow of colours thanks to our trichromatic vision (red, blue, yellow), cats have dichromatic vision — meaning they see only two primary colours: blue and yellow. Red just doesn’t register.

Their eyes are built more for night-hunting than colour appreciation. With fewer colour-detecting cone cells and 16x fewer colour-comparing nerves than us primates, cats see a muted, greenish-blue world.

Fun fact: researchers have found it’s very hard to train cats using colour alone, they respond better to patterns, brightness, and movement - the stuff that matters when you’re a purrfect pouncer.🐾

🐈 So, while your feline friend may not admire your bright red couch, they're a pro at spotting that bug crawling across the wall! 🕷️

Learn more about cats on our website 👉 https://icatcare.org/

14/07/2025

I provide remote feline behaviour advice, aiming to improve the life of cats and their owners.