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What is toxoplasmosis?
A single-celled parasite called Toxoplasma gondii causes a disease known as toxoplasmosis. While the parasite is found throughout the world, more than 60 million people in the United States may be infected with the Toxoplasma parasite. Of those who are infected, very few have symptoms because a healthy person’s immune system usually keeps the parasite from causing illness. However, pregnant women and individuals who have compromised immune systems should be cautious; for them, a Toxoplasma infection could cause serious health problems.

How do people get toxoplasmosis?
A) Toxoplasma infection occurs by:
1. Accidentally swallowing cat feces from a Toxoplasma-infected cat that is shedding the organism in its feces. This might happen if you were to accidentally touch your hands to your mouth after gardening, cleaning a cat’s litter box, or touching anything that has come into contact with cat feces.

2.Eating contaminated raw or partly cooked meat, especially pork, lamb, or venison; by touching your hands to your mouth after handling undercooked meat.

3. Contaminating food with knives, utensils, cutting boards and other foods that have had contact with raw meat.

4. Drinking water contaminated with Toxoplasma.

5. Receiving an infected organ transplant or blood transfusion, though this is rare.

What are the symptoms of toxoplasmosis?
Symptoms of the infection vary.
1. Most people who become infected with Toxoplasma are not aware of it.
Some people who have toxoplasmosis may feel as if they have the “flu” with swollen lymph glands or muscle aches and pains that last for a month or more.

2. Severe toxoplasmosis, causing damage to the brain, eyes, or other organs, can develop from an acute Toxoplasma infection or one that had occurred earlier in life and is now reactivated. Severe cases are more likely in individuals who have weak immune systems, though occasionally, even persons with healthy immune systems may experience eye damage from toxoplasmosis.

3. Most infants who are infected while still in the womb have no symptoms at birth, but they may develop symptoms later in life. A small percentage of infected newborns have serious eye or brain damage at birth.

Who is at risk for developing severe toxoplasmosis?
People who are most likely to develop severe toxoplasmosis include:

1. Infants born to mothers who became infected with Toxoplasma for the first time during or just before pregnancy.

2. Persons with severely weakened immune systems, such as individuals with HIV/AIDS, those taking certain types of chemotherapy, and those who have recently received an organ transplant.

What should I do if I think I am at risk for severe toxoplasmosis?
If you are planning to become pregnant, your health care provider may test you for Toxoplasma. If the test is positive it means you have already been infected sometime in your life. There usually is little need to worry about passing the infection to your baby. If the test is negative, take necessary precautions to avoid infection (See below).

If you are already pregnant, you and your health care provider should discuss your risk for toxoplasmosis. Your health care provider may order a blood sample for testing.

If you have a weakened immune system, ask your doctor about having your blood tested for Toxoplasma. If your test is positive, your doctor can tell you if and when you need to take medicine to prevent the infection from reactivating. If your test is negative, it means you have never been infected and you need to take precautions to avoid infection. (See below).

What should I do if I think I may have toxoplasmosis?
If you suspect that you may have toxoplasmosis, talk to your health care provider. Your provider may order one or more varieties of blood tests specific for toxoplasmosis. The results from the different tests can help your provider determine if you have a Toxoplasma infection and whether it is a recent (acute) infection.

What is the treatment for toxoplasmosis?
Once a diagnosis of toxoplasmosis is confirmed, you and your health care provider can discuss whether treatment is necessary. In an otherwise healthy person who is not pregnant, treatment usually is not needed. If symptoms occur, they typically go away within a few weeks to months. For pregnant women or persons who have weakened immune systems, medications are available to treat toxoplasmosis.

How can I prevent toxoplasmosis?
There are several general sanitation and food safety steps you can take to reduce your chances of becoming infected with Toxoplasma.

1. Wear gloves when you garden or do anything outdoors that involves handling soil. Cats, which may pass the parasite in their feces, often use gardens and sandboxes as litter boxes. Wash your hands well with soap and water after outdoor activities, especially before you eat or prepare any food.
When preparing raw meat, wash any cutting boards, sinks, knives, and other utensils that might have touched the raw meat thoroughly with soap and hot water to avoid cross-contaminating other foods. Wash your hands well with soap and water after handling raw meat.

2. Cook all meat thoroughly; that is, to an internal temperature of 160° F and until it is no longer pink in the center or until the juices become colorless. Do not taste meat before it is fully cooked.

3. For further information on safe food handling to help reduce food borne illness visit the Fight BAC! ® Web site at http://www.fightbac.org/main.cfm.

If I am at risk, would I be able to keep my cat?
Yes, you may keep your cat if you are a person at risk for a severe infection (e.g., you have a weakened immune system or are pregnant); however, there are several safety precautions to avoid being exposed to Toxoplasma:

1. Keep your cat healthy and help prevent it from becoming infected with Toxoplasma. Keep your cat indoors and feed it dry or canned cat food rather than allowing it to have access to wild birds and rodents or to food scraps. A cat can become infected by eating infected prey or by eating raw or undercooked meat infected with the parasite. Do not bring a new cat into your house that might have spent time out of doors or might have been fed raw meat. Avoid stray cats and kittens and the area they have adopted as their “home.” Your veterinarian can answer any other questions you may have regarding your cat and risk for toxoplasmosis.

2. Have someone who is healthy and not pregnant change your cat’s litter box daily. If this is not possible, wear gloves and clean the litter box every day, because the parasite found in cat feces needs one or more days after being passed to become infectious. Wash your hands well with soap and water afterwards.

Once infected with Toxoplasma is my cat always able to spread the infection to me?
No, cats only spread Toxoplasma in their feces for a few weeks following infection with the parasite. Like humans, cats rarely have symptoms when first infected, so most people do not know if their cat has been infected. The infection will go away on its own; therefore it does not help to have your cat or your cat’s feces tested for Toxoplasma.

This fact sheet is for information only and is not meant to be used for self-diagnosis or as a substitute for consultation with a health care provider. If you have any questions about the disease described above or think that you may have a parasitic infection, consult a health care provider.

I got this article in the ClubPets magazine and thought of sharing with u guys.

Like us our pets also behave differently when they feel under the weather and behaviour changes are often amongst the earliest signs that all is not well. Observing your cat’s behaviour can help you detect health problems and catch the early stages of a disease, for more effective teatment.

Lethargy or excessive sleepiness
This common sign of sickness is sometimes difficult for owners to recognize, as healthy adult cats may sleep 16 - 18 hours a day. However, if you notice a substantial decrease in your cat’s enthusiasm for play or general activity, then medical problems cannot be ruled out, as pain from orthopaedic problems as well as infectious and metabolic diseases may be to blame. Only a trip to the vet will rule these out.

Change in appetite
Keep track of how much your cat normally eats and drinks so that any variation can be detected easily and early. A decrease in appetite is perhaps the most noticeable change, especially when you find food left in the bowl at the end of the day. If this continues for more than 24 hours, you should be concerned. Several medical conditions ranging from simple gastrointestinal infection to more complex organic disease of the liver or kidneys could be responsible for appetite suppression and a visit to the vet is needed to tell the difference between these.

Increases in appetite are more difficult to recognize and in older cats, conditions such as hyperthyroidism are commonly associated with an increase in food consumption. It is common for the cat to become very vocal in his demands for food. Other endocrine disorders and metabolic diseases can also be responsible for a ravenous appetite and once again, a vet needs to examine a cat to identify the cause.

Change in groomingCats are famous for the pride they take in their appearance and the amount of time they spend grooming themselves. Lack of interest in coat care is often a sign of physical disease, and infectious conditions and associated high temperatures are often the main factors. Conversely, cats that groom too often may have an itchy skin condition. The most obvious cause is external parasites, such as fleas, and when cats are licking frantically at their coat in short frequent episodes it is sensible to review the treatment you use for flea control.

However, why cats groom themselves excessivley is not limited to just dermatological problems. If the main targeted area is the belly and inner hindlegs, it is worth considering urinary tract disease as a cause, since pain from the bladder disease can result in cats licking extensively at this region.

In addition to medical causes, behavioural factors may be involved. Cats groom to relieve stress and in situations where causes of stress are ongoing and unavoidable, cats may groom to the point of hair loss and even skin damage. In homes with multiple cats, inter-cat tension may be the cause. If this is indeed the case, a complete veterinary examination will help you to rule out any physical health problems.

Weight loss
This sign often goes unnoticed, especially in long-haired cat. Owners who regularly groom their cats may noticed the ribs and backbone becoming more prominent. Those who regularly weigh their cats are sure to see a change. A sudden loss of 1/2kg in a cat that normally weigh 5kg is cause for concern and a veterinary examination is in order.

Change in litter box habits
Cats that start visiting the litter box more frequently or that repeatedly urinated or defecate outside the box may be suffering from a disease of the lower urinary tract or large intestine. Cats that strain to urinate may have a urethral obstruction, such cats are in grave danger and need immediate veterinary attention. Do not waste any time and bring your cat to the vet as soon as you can.

Stay observant
When we lived with cats, we become very accustomed to their bahaviour patterns and it is often changes in these that alert us to some underlying medical problem. Besides observing your pet closely on a daily basis, get in the habit of giving your cat a weekly mini-physical to detect the early developing signs of ill health. You could save yourself from hefty vet bills and a lot of heartache later.

Your veterinarian has prescribed pills for your cat and it’s your job to see that your cat takes them. What now? Here’s how to get the job done without turning your cat into a hissing, spitting pill-hating nightmare:

- First, trying hiding the pill in food such as tuna, peanut butter or cream cheese – provided that your veterinarian has said that the medication can be given with food. But watch to be sure that your cat actually takes the pill. Some cats will eat the food and spit out the medicine.

- If hiding the pill in food doesn’t work, you are going to have to administer it physically. Unless you have a wonderfully accommodating cat, start by having a friend hold your cat’s front legs and chest to keep her still. You can also try wrapping her snugly in a blanket or towel.

- Firmly grasp your cat’s head. If you are right-handed use your left hand; if you are a lefty, use your right hand. Put your thumb on one side of your cat’s face and your fingers on the other. Avoid holding the lower jaw and make sure you don’t squeeze the throat. Otherwise, you’ll choke the cat.

- Once your cat’s head is held in place, raise her nose to point toward the ceiling. Her mouth should start to open.

- Place the pill between the thumb and forefingers of your other hand. Use your little finger, ring finger or middle finger to open your cat’s mouth further by applying pressure on her lower front teeth.

- After the mouth is fully open, place the pill as far back in the mouth as possible. Avoid placing your hand too far into your cat’s mouth or she might gag. If this happens she may spit the pill back out.

- Close your cat’s mouth and hold it closed. Gently and briefly rub your cat’s nose, or blow on it. This should stimulate her to lick her nose, causing her to swallow. You can also try to stimulate swallowing by rubbing your cat’s throat. If none of that works, tilt your cat’s head back a little and try again.

- Always remember to praise your cat and maybe give her a treat. This will make future medicine times less traumatic.

Final tip, if your vet approves, it may be a good idea to try this process after your cat has eaten. She may well be calmer and more receptive then.

If you’re taking home a new kitten who has captured your heart, you will certainly need one important accessory — a litter box. Hmmm, the mysterious litter box — knowing which one to get and what to do with it does not come naturally to the average pet owner. Here’s what you need to know.

How many?
You should always have one more litter box than you have cats. That is, one cat gets two litter boxes. Two cats get three. If you have a two-story home keep one litter box on each floor.

How big?
The litter box should be roomy enough for your cat to turn around in it. Forget about trying to get a small litter box to minimize the unsightliness. You have a cat. Your friends will have to understand. If the box is too small, your cat simply won’t use it and will eliminate elsewhere. But if the litter box is too big, you may also have a problem, especially if you have a very small kitten. Don’t buy a huge box and expect your kitten to scale it every time she has to “go to the bathroom.” Buy a smallish litter box for your kitten and invest in a larger one as she grows.

To cover or not to cover
That is the question. There are covered litter boxes as well as open ones. If you use a covered box, make sure your cat can get in and out easily. The best types of covered box also have overlapping seams so that sprayed urine will not leak out. Remember, though, that many cats hate being enclosed when they are at their most vulnerable. They often like to see who’s coming and going, in case they need to beat a hasty retreat. And cats really don’t like surprises so if their boxes are covered they may not use them.

Location, location, location
A cardinal rule of cat ownership is to never put your cat’s litter box next to her food bowl or bed. Cats do not like to eliminate where they eat or have their nest. If you place a litter box too close to a cat’s nest, she may well pick a more comfortable spot, such as behind the couch, far away from her resting and dining area. Put the litter box in a quiet low-traffic area, such as in a spare bathroom. A corner location is better than out in the open because a cat needs to feel secure. If your cat has only got two directions to watch instead of four – and feels she has an escape route – she’ll be more relaxed. Additionally, some cats are nervous and don’t like things too close to them. Even a hanging plant that blows in the breeze or casts shadows can prompt your cat to search for a different location. If you have more than one cat, remember that cats are territorial and hierarchical. So, put their boxes far enough apart to be sure that territorial issues don’t come into play if one invades the other’s space.

What kind of litter?
Cats, by nature, dig and scratch in soft soil out of doors, often burying their waste. The litter you provide substitutes for the dirt outside. The big question is: What is the best material to use? There are a number of litter materials to choose from, including clay-type litters and those made from plant materials. Some cats will refuse to eliminate on certain substrates while others prefer different materials for urination and defecation. It’s all a matter of taste — both yours and your cats. Does your cat prefer fine sand or chunky pellets? Do you prefer clumping or non-clumping litter? Do you prefer a litter that’s ecologically friendly? Is tracking or odor control your most important concern? Either way, there’s probably a litter to suit.

Clay is a good absorbent of moisture and odor and a reasonable substitute for fresh soil from the yard. Large granular clay, though economical and absorbent, is often dusty and tracks about the house. Small granular “clumping” litters (also made of clay) have become popular recently due to their excellent absorbency, clumping properties - which lead to the formation of firm balls when moistened - and their ease of disposal. These litters also make litter boxes easier to keep clean. Environmentally friendly litters are often made of recycled waste products, such as newspaper. They can also be made of biodegradable material, including wheat, corn and wood chips that break down easily in landfills. Some of these litters have the consistency of fine sand while others come in pelleted form.

But how do you choose? You may not like the dust of fine litter and your cat may not like the extra work of covering stool with, what amounts to, small rocks. Some choices can be tough. Silica gel litters have become increasingly popular. These clear plastic beads are neat to look at and absorb odor well. When your cat urinates in the box adorned with these litters you can actually hear a snap, crackle and pop as the beads soak up the liquid. This litter is good for extended periods, about 3 to 4 weeks in most instances. But remember, the litter can only hold so much moisture and must be changed eventually. Also, the beads have a tendency to bounce around the room once they are knocked out of the box. Once you find a litter your cat likes, stick with it. Don’t buy whatever is on sale this week. Cats are very particular and litter changes can lead to unwelcome modifications in bathroom habits.

How often should I change litter?
Try to remove feces and moistened litter daily. Regular scooping will keep the box from becoming an odor source for your home and maintain it as an attractive place for your cat. Depending on the buildup of soiled litter and odors, completely clean out the box and replenish it with fresh litter every so often. When changing the litter, you should wash the box with warm, soapy water, but remember to rinse it thoroughly before refilling it with litter. And never, clean the box with harsh chemicals, as doing so will likely cause your cat to turn his nose up what will be perceived as an olfactorily repugnant offering.

When you bring home a new kitten, remember that his life so far has been spent with his mother and littermates. Adjusting to a new house – new smells, new people and, possibly, new siblings in the form of other pets – is going to take some doing.

On the other hand, if you bring home an adult, the suitcase he brings along with him may include emotional baggage – fear, nervousness – from an earlier relationship. In either case, your assignment will be the same: to nurture your new pet with a low-key comfort zone. Whatever you do, don’t overwhelm him with a welcoming party of noise and visitors.

Plan on spending the entire first day at home with your pet, acquainting him with his new digs. Make sure he knows where the litter box is located, and that he can get in and out of it. The litter box should not be placed in high-trafficked or noisy areas – otherwise your kitten may decide to do his business in a more “private” location.

Child’s Play
If you have children, the ground rules for bringing a new pet home should already have been established. Youngsters must be instructed beforehand not to approach the animal while running or screaming. Instead, let the kitten take the initiative: Allow the kitten to go to your children on his own terms, once he has begun to settle in and get comfortable. This can take anywhere from 10 minutes to a few hours. Don’t force other household pets on the newcomer, either. Allow them to gradually introduce themselves to one another through a safely blockaded or gated doorway. Each should be under the firm control of a family member on each side. Dogs should be leashed.

After a few minutes of introductions, allow your pet to explore his new surroundings. If he’s an indoor/outdoor cat, orient him to the door that will lead him to the yard where he can do his business. Then take him outside and see if he will relieve himself.

On Guard
Throughout the day, watch your new pet carefully. But, no matter how vigilant you are, remember that accidents are to be expected: Excitement, a new environment and newfound friends can prove stressful for your cat in his first few days, so be prepared with paper towels, old bathroom towels and newspapers. Your kitten will quickly learn to do his business in the litter box, but it is up to you to keep the litter fresh. Scoop the litter box once a day, and change the litter once a week.

Sleep Tight
As the first day fades to night, you may discover that your kitten has a love for the hunt, which may include your legs. Kittens can be wild, but they often settle down. You have a decision to make, however. If you let your kitten sleep with you, expect a visitor every night. If you prefer to sleep alone, prepare a comfortable bed for your new companion and shut the bedroom door.

To the cat lover there may be no such thing as too many cats, but to some cats the old adage “the more the merrier” just doesn’t ring true. Compatibility depends on the cats themselves and on the particular situation. Some cats are most happy as “only cats” while others enjoy feline company, provided that introductions are well managed and there are sufficient resources to go around. Why the difference? As you might guess, both nature and nurture factor into the equation.

Natural Factors
Rudyard Kipling immortalized the stereotype of the cat who walks by himself – and for good reason. Except at certain times of their lives, like mating, mothering, and as kittens, cats seem to be pretty self-sufficient, and in nature spend many hours on their own. The natural state of a cat is solitary and social interactions must be carefully engineered. One reason for your cat’s natural solitude is that they are lone hunters, not pack hunters like dogs. Their natural prey comes in individual meal-sized packages like a mouse, and a pack of cats hunting a mouse wouldn’t get much of a meal at the end of the chase. So cats just go it alone relying on stealth and pouncing skills rather than sheer weight of numbers. But studies have shown that when resources are plentiful, for example, at docksides or on farms, cats do manage to dwell happily together in a true society and cooperate with each other to raise their young.

Nurturing factors
Like the young of other species, kittens can be persuaded that almost any creature can be their friend if they are benignly exposed to them during the sensitive period of their development between 2 and 7 weeks. During this period kittens can learn that mice or doves should not be regarded as prey items. Natural fears also can be eased in a most impressive way. In order for this to happen, however, the mother cat must have the same attitude because kittens learn by observation – including what to be concerned about. Secondly, the creature, whether it is a bird, mouse, or unfamiliar cat, should behave calmly so as not to raise fur or cause any harm. Raised among many friendly cats, your cat will become fully at ease in the company of other cats and will turn out to be a social success – a good mixer. However, a cat that is raised by a skittish mom, or who doesn’t meet many other cats during the first 7 weeks of his life, will always be suspicious, reclusive, even hostile around cats later in life. Also, one really catastrophic encounter with a hostile cat will affect an otherwise friendly cat’s perception of other cats, or at least cats that are similar to the offender.

How Many Then?
- The solo cat.
A cat may dislike other cats with such intensity that he is only happy as an only cat, probably because of insecurity and fear. While a desensitization program can have some impact on social phobia, what has been learned – mistrust – will never be unlearned. For such a cat, the answer to the question, “how many is too many” may be two.

- Two or more cats.
While it is quite possible to have two or three or more cats coexisting peaceably under one roof, it has been said that if greater than a dozen cats live in the same house, the incidence of problems related to inappropriate urination is close to 100 percent. In other words, as the number of cats in the household increases, the incidence of behavior problems rises. By this token, “how many is too many” depends on the personalities of the individual cats. Adding cats to a large but stable hierarchy is like adding cards to the top of a teetering card house. Sometimes you’re lucky; sometimes you’re not. With luck, the magic number may be around 10.

The Ideal Situation
The ideal situation would be a large group of cats coexisting peacefully as a one big happy family. It can happen but you have to know what you’re doing. First of all you start with a stable group of friendly cats.

- Provide ad lib dry food in bowls and sufficient wet food served up twice daily.

- Make sure each cat has a home with which he is familiar and to which he can retreat.

- Make their facilities large and cat-oriented. These should include climbing frames, window boxes, comfortable perches and toys.

- When adding a new cat, keep him separated from the other cats in a large crate until he is comfortable with them and they are comfortable with him.

- When mutual body language tells you that the time is right, allow supervised excursions of the newcomer among the rest. Peace should reign.

Using this technique, it is possible, for those so inclined and with time on their hands to do the cats justice, to amass some 6 or 8 cats within the area of a large house. But beware, such a family will cost a fortune in cat food and cat litter, your vet bills will be exorbitant, and it will take about an hour a day to scoop the boxes and interact with each cat. Although you might think that neutering of males would be an essential requirement for the peaceful coexistence of such a large number of cats, actually it isn’t. However, neutering is a must to prevent the huge number of kittens that would otherwise result.

Conclusion
So, how many cats are too many? That depends. It depends on genetics, on socialization and on facilities and protocol. For most people, two to three cats are enough. For others 5 to 10 might be manageable. For the occasional feline aficionado with time, the patience of a saint, and money to burn, even larger numbers of cats can be successfully managed. But don’t fall into the collector trap. These individuals collect great numbers of cats thinking that they are doing the right thing. This isn’t always true, and they are blind to the squalor and suffering they propagate. Collectors may have a form of obsessive-compulsive behavior, but whatever the situation it is important for them to realize their limitations and their predicament. For them the magic number should be zero.

A cat is a cat is a cat,” wrote E.E. Cummings. And history would seem to agree with this distinguished poet. According to earliest records, the first sign of domestication of the cat dates back 8,000 years ago when bones of cats, mice, and humans were found buried together on the island of Cyprus. Apparently our early relatives brought both the cats and the mice to Cyprus with them: the cats on purpose, the mice perhaps as stowaways.

The cat family can trace their genealogy back to ancient Cyprus and Egypt. Unlike the domestication of the dog, pack animals with a built-in cooperative instinct, the full domestication of the cat (about 4,000 years ago) was not so easily achieved. Nomads of the upper Sudan area of Egypt established their agrarian communities in the rich soil of the Nile Valley.

Cultivating crops became a way of life for Egyptians, as it did for the tribes of Africa and primitives of southwestern Asia, where cats later appeared. Since crops could only be harvested once or twice a year, the question was how to store the life-giving grain without losing it to rats, mice and other vermin. Before long people noticed that the local cat population ate the rats that ate the grain, which was a very good thing indeed.

Wanting to rid the area of rodents, people welcomed cats into their communities with open arms. The perfect supply side economics involved the farmers who wanted their grain intact, rodents who wanted the grain, and cats who wanted the rodents. The farmers encouraged cats to stay around the house and farm by leaving milk-soaked bread, fish-heads and other scraps of food to attract cats. Cats discovered an ecological niche for themselves, a steady source of food, and affection from their human company.

The relationship between Egyptians and cats was unique. During that period of time, Egyptians owned all kinds of animals including cattle, sheep, fowl, pigs, and monkeys. Cats freely roamed the land and came and went at will. Cats were held in such high regard that laws were created to protect them. Due to the cat’s exalted status, a religious order of cat worship developed that lasted for more than 2,000 years. The cat goddess Bastet became one of the most revered figures of worship. Bastet had the body of a woman and the head of a cat. Associated with fertility, motherhood, grace, and beauty, Bastet’s largest temple was in the city of Bubastis. The word for cat in ancient Egypt was “mau,” similar to our “meow,” a universal cat word.

Inscription on the royal tombs in Thebes read:

Thou art the Great Cat, the avenger of the gods, and the judge of words, and the president of the sovereign chiefs and the governor of the holy Circle; thou art indeed…the Great Cat

During the reign of the Pharaohs, it was considered a capital crime to kill or injure a cat, even if the cat died through an unfortunate accident. If a house caught fire, the rule went like this — cats first, humans second. If a cat should die of natural causes the entire household went into elaborate mourning with chanting and pounding of chests as an outward sign of grief. The body of the cat had to be wrapped in linen and delivered to the priest who inspected the cat’s body to be certain he had died a natural death.

After death the body was embalmed, wrapped again in linen, decorated and either buried in special cemeteries or entombed in temples. Thousands of cat mummies were preserved in a huge temple at Bubastis. Mouse mummies were also found in the tombs, to assure that the cat had food for the journey into the afterlife. In fact, the Egyptians so loved their cats that cat mummies outnumbered human mummies by far. Over 300,000 cat mummies were found in one excavation alone at Beni-Hassan in the 1800s.Because the Egyptians so prized their feline companions, there was a strict enforcement of the law against exporting cats. However, cats were so good at catching rodents they soon found their way aboard barges on the Nile River as mouse catchers and companions to captains and sailors.

Cats soon sailed aboard ships to countries bordering the Mediterranean including Greece and Italy. Overland caravans lengthened the cat’s popularity to the north and east. Slowly cats migrated to India, China, and Japan, where they were highly prized as pets and impressive rodent killers. Once royalty in Egypt, cats today have not forgotten their heritage. Lucky for us, the cat is here to stay.

Although cats have a reputation for being solitary animals, they have developed an elaborate system for communicating with each other. Scent, body language, touch, and sound help one cat learn about another. Your cat will use the same tools to communicate with you.

Following Their Noses
Odors are one of the most important ways your cat learns about his environment and other cats that live in it. If your cat lived outside, he would use urine to scent-mark his territory, backing up to an object, squirting urine on it, and leaving a pungent odor for any feline passers-by to smell. While not having the effect of keeping other cats away, urine marks alert other cats to the presence of the marking cat. If you’ve had your cat neutered before he began spraying, he should not urine mark inside your home, but he may use his sense of smell in other ways to identify his space. Depositing facial pheromones by rubbing his cheeks on objects increases your cat’s comfort level and helps him navigate around his environment. If you have more than one cat, you will notice them butting heads and rubbing their cheeks on the other. Only cats comfortable with each other will engage in this mutual rubbing. Once they have determined that it is safe, cats will approach each other and raise their tails, each allowing the other cat to sniff their rear end – a sign of mutual acceptance.

Body Language
About 70 percent of human communication is nonverbal, resulting from changes we detect in the way a person sits, walks, or changes expression. Your cat also uses body movements and facial expressions to let you and other cats know what’s on his mind. To determine what your cat is thinking, observe his body language as a whole rather than simply one aspect of it.

For example, if your cat’s pupils are dilated, it may mean that your cat is becoming aggressive and wants to fight, it may mean he’s fearful, or it may mean his eyes are accommodating to low light. A relaxed, contented cat points his ears forward, half closes his eyes, and purrs. When he becomes more alert, his eyes open widely and his whiskers stand straight out. If your cat is afraid, he draws his ears back and begins to fold them flat on his head. His pupils dilate. An agitated and aggressive cat has completely dilated pupils, flattened ears, taut facial muscles, forward sweeping whiskers, and may open his mouth to bare his teeth. He is ready to either scare off an intruder or to fight with one.

To a cat, staring is intimidating behavior, and your cat will stare at another cat he wishes to challenge or threaten. To prevent your cat from feeling menaced when you gaze at him, slowly blink your eyes to indicate that the look is benign rather than belligerent. A defensive cat will be poised for action. He may arch his back and puff up his hair to appear larger. If your cat feels totally relaxed with another cat or with you, he will roll over and bare his belly – a sign of total submission. Be careful, though. Just because he shows you his belly doesn’t mean he wants it rubbed. Some cats enjoy belly rubs while others don’t and forcing the issue may make your cat aggressive. He may claw your hands.

Moving his tail is another way your cat sends non-verbal signals. A tail held high above a cat’s back is a sign of dignity and self-respect. A cat holding his tail in a lowered state says that he is relaxed and content. A rapidly flicking tail indicates annoyance and ambiguity.

Cat Talk
Your cat will tell you what he needs through vocalization as well as body language. In the wild, cats have two sets of language – one to communicate between mother and offspring and another to communicate with other adults within their territory. The pitch, intensity, frequency, rapidity, and volume of the meowing reflect your cat’s different emotional states and physical needs. The more rapid, intense, and loud are the vocalizations, the more panicked, scared, and anxious your cat may feel. Conversely, the slower and less intense the vocalizations are, the more confident or potentially assertive your cat is being.Your cat’s vocal patterns will fall into three categories. The first is murmur patterns, including purring, that indicates a calm, friendly state. Vowel patterns indicate a need for food or other needs and desires. Loud, strained, intense sounds, including hissing, growling, and screaming, are associated with mating or aggression toward a human or other animal.

As a cat finds his way around his environment, the concept of extrasensory perception takes on a whole new meaning. Almost all of a cat’s five senses have a heightened sensitivity when compared to those of humans.

Smell
Your cat’s sense of smell is superior to your own and one of the most important ways in which he receives feedback about his environment. Sense of smell helps him communicate with others of his own kind and assess the potential risks and pleasures associated with every waking moment. Cats have 200 million odor-sensitive cells in their noses compared to about 5 million for humans. Because of astonishing olfactory acuity, your cat can detect the presence of other cats even outside the home and can identify any strange animals you’ve contacted simply by smelling your clothing. Your cat will deposit its own odor by urine marking and deposition of skin secretions to mark its territory and important objects in its environments. He will also use his olfactory ability to smell, as opposed to taste his food to determine whether the food you’ve offered him is appealing.

Sight
Your cat can see in only one-fifth of the light intensity that you need to make things out at night, but even cats cannot see in total darkness. That eerie glow you see when your cat’s eyes reflect light is due to a layer of cells, called the tapetum lucidum, that lies beneath the visually sensitive layer (retina) at the back of his eyes. These light-reflecting cells enable a cat to see form and movement in very low light intensity, at illumination levels that would leave humans – well, blind. For example, it has been calculated that a night that appears black as pitch to us may seem, to a cat, like a bright, moon-lit night. This particular feline aptitude is of biological importance because it helps cats (and, more relevantly, helped cat ancestors) to hunt for prey at night. Although your cat’s ability to distinguish separate objects (visual acuity) is only one-tenth that of yours, he can discern movement at a much faster rate than you can. This ability to see movement, even where there is very little, is what attracts cats to television screens. On TV, even slow-moving images appear jumpy to a cat because of the way signal is displayed.

Hearing
Your cat’s ears function like mini-satellite dishes, rotating to pick up sounds and funneling them to the brain. Observe your cat listening to a conversation in your home or some commotion outside. His ears move back and forth as he listens and his ability to pinpoint the source of the sound is exceptional.If you’ve ever wondered how your cat could find a mouse in your house, sound may be part of the explanation. The upper range of hearing in cats is about 60 to 65 kilohertz (kilocycles per second), which enables cats to hear their kittens’ ultrasonic vocalizations and the ultrasonic calls of small rodents. Humans hear about 8.5 octaves whereas a cat hears about 10, which is why some high-pitched noises, such as certain types of music, may agitate your cat.What appears as two separate sounds to you may seem like one sound to a cat. In spite of your cat’s ability to hear a broader range of sounds than you, his hearing ability has some limitations. For example, he requires about five degrees of separation to distinguish between two different tones whereas you can differentiate sounds merely 0.5 degrees apart.

Touch
Your cat’s sense of touch encompasses his entire body, just as yours does. One of the most important components of your cat’s touch-sensing apparatus is his fine collection of special whiskers. These whiskers appear on his cheeks, lips, and above his eyebrows. Special sensory whiskers (vibrissae) act as fine-sensing, object detection devices, and they contribute to your cat’s ability to navigate and hunt in low light. A cat with no whiskers is like a blind man without his cane.Your cat will benefit from being touched. Stroking or petting your cat evokes certain physical and emotional responses. His heart rate will slow and his body will relax as he starts to purr like an engine and slowly slides into euphoric, tactilely-induced oblivion. When your cat rubs against your leg, he is depositing scents and marking you as part of his domain – the feline way of saying, “You’re mine.” When you’re petting him the reverse is probably true.

Taste
In spite of their reputation for being finicky eaters, cats have less ability to differentiate between various tastes than humans do. While you have about 9,000 taste buds on your tongue, your cat has a mere 473. Your cat’s taste buds are found in the form of mushroom-shaped papillae at the tip and sides of his tongue, and in cup-shaped papillae at the back of his tongue. Your cat’s appreciation of food is more closely related to his ability to smell rather than to his sense of taste. Your cat’s taste will respond to flavor and to food’s texture and temperature. Food that is below room temperature is a turnoff to most cats. This particular fastidiousness seems genetically programmed and may have provided some survival benefit for cats’ ancient ancestors. Perhaps eating recently killed prey was more healthful than eating it when it was stone cold. That would make good biological sense.