European Shorthairs were bred in Scandinavia from short-haired farm cats without the influence of the Persian longhair. European Shorthairs look a lot like the ordinary domestic cat we see every day in Europe and North America. The coat of this feline lies flat and doesn't stand out at all. Colors of their fur coat are black, red, blue and cream that may be with or without tabby or white markings and all white. The color of the eyes correspond to the coat color and may be yellow, green or orange. All white cats may have blue or odd color eyes. Nya is not a European Shorthair because her fur does not lie flat even though she is very soft and silky. Information was taken from Encyclopaedia of Cats by Esther J. J.  Verhoef-Verhallen, 1998.

 1st of May and spring is here. We're getting out in the backyard more which means less time for writing. I thought that I would talk about the Shorthair breed of cat. The British Shorthair started in Great Britain around the end of the 1800's as a breed that was developed from breeds that came from many oriental countries and the middle east. Ordinary domestic shorthairs from Britain were crossed with Persians to get the British Shorthair. The British shorthairs' coats come in a great many colors, patterns and markings. Parti-colors are colored cats with white areas on the coat. I think Nya is very close to being a Blue and White Bi-color British Shorthair according to the picture of one I've seen. There are other colors in this breed: Black and White Bi-Color; Black Tortie and White Tri-color; Blue Tortie; Tabbies; the Silver; the Cameo; and the Chinchilla. The Silver, the Cameo and the Chinchilla colors all depend on the amount of pigment in their hair since part of their hairs have no pigment. The information of the British shorthair breed was taken from Encyclopaedia of Cats by Esther J.J. Verhoef-Verhallen 1998.

 Like most cats, our Nya is a loner. Mostly, cats are only friendly with other cats that they live with if they are neutered and spayed. There is a neighbor's cat that comes around from another street that they let roam. Aside from that, it is well looked after. It comes to our yard very often to hunt birds and check us out. One night at two in the morning Nya started caterwauling. Raury, that neighbor's tom cat was at the patio door. We soon got Nya away from the door and to our bed. We talked to that person about their cat roaming and she said that she was told to let the out, "It was the best thing for it." Any cat that we ever had, and all told we had almost twenty of them over the years, were kept inside at night, were always home when we went out, and we never let them wander far. Just entice them with food they like and in they come. Cats like to feel safe, and they know home is the safest place, if you love them. I read online that you can keep cats away from your property by putting down lemon and/or orange peels. Felines don't like citrus fruits and neither do rats or mice as I've also read online. Bird feeders attract all three. The bird feeders have come down for the spring and summer so I'm hoping the rat takes a hike.

 Nya has improved substantially. After 10 days of antibiotics, I got a urine sample by cleaning out her litter box and washing it. The vets gave me a sampling kit including a little bit of non-absorbent litter, a syringe, some instructions, and a collection bottle. So, I put the non-absorbent litter in the litter box and Nya peed in it eventually. I sucked up the urine and put it in the collection bottle, put a label on it (my idea), and put it in the fridge until I can take it to the vets. I'll soon find out the results of the urinalysis, but I trust that it will be normal because Nya seems normal. She finished her run of antibiotics today. Pushing a pill down her throat everyday was a two person job. My wife holding her, while I opened her mouth and pushed the pill to back of her throat. I timed the urine sample with the arrival of the new bag of pretty litter, so once I cleaned up the litter box after the urine sample, Nya got a fresh refill. I'm so glad she is all better. It's so nice to have a happy cat.

 What a time over the last couple of days: up all night at the emergency veterinarian and all day at the vets. Nya was going back and forth to her litter box every five minutes to pee and only doing a dribble each time. We noticed this at bed time. We figured she needed immediate attention so after a phone call, it was off to the emergency clinic for animals. They tried unsuccessfully to get a urine sample. Her bladder was empty. So, they told us to call the vets when they open. We were able to get an appointment at lunch time, so between appointments I had a fitful sleep. The veterinarian at the vets was able to get a urine sample and confirm that Nya had a bladder infection. She was prescribed some antibiotics and a pain killer. Nya doesn't like the cat carrier. The only time she meows is in the cat carrier. She is the quietest cat in the world. The doctor said that Nya was a good girl. She said some cats want to take her arm off. Nya was very gentle the whole time and sought comfort from us while we played the waiting game. So, after two days, Nya is feeling better. When she finishes her prescriptions I have to collect a urine sample and take it in. We were given a kit for this procedure; real easy to do. I'll let you know how that went next post.

 Cats that are strangers to each other are rarely friendly unless the female is ready to mate. If the cats are neutered then mating is out of the question. When one cat meats another strange cat a fight could break out after some caterwauling that will quickly get you off your sofa or wake you in the middle of the night. We do our best to keep an eye on our timid feline when we let her out for a short time. She doesn't appreciate an orange tom coming around. She has no use for him since she's fixed. She stays in close proximity to her home in contrast to the tom cat who wanders all over our neighborhood. My wife has spoken to the owners of the orange nemesis but they are determined to let their cat roam all day and night. One night he was at our back door in a cold windy rain storm. Our cat's caterwauling woke us up. There was nothing that we could do to help the poor thing because if we let him in, our own cat would be upset and we would not get any sleep. The only thing I hope is that the Orange Guy would have taken refuge under our shed. Therefore, the moral of the story: keep your feline friends close.

Kittens are blind at birth, but the touch receptors in their noses are already developed. Rubbing noses with their mother may help them feel secure. My cat likes to touch its nose to my finger when I stretch my hand towards her. I wonder what she's saying.

There are more than 20 muscles in each ear to help cats rotate their ears in many directions enabling them to easily find the source of a sound. A cat may be ignoring you, but their ears give them away. Feline hearing is five times greater than us humans.

The gene that results in the orange, tortoise-shell coat pattern of a calico cat is linked to the cat's gender, which is usually female, but occasionally it will be a male. My mother-in-law had a male calico. She named it Tootsie after the movie.

Cats step with both left legs then both right legs when they walk or run, and they always walk on their toes making them quiet hunters.

Never give chocolate, anything with onions in it like gravy, anything with garlic in it like hamburger to your cat. These things are poisonous to them.

What you can do is give them lots of love and feed them a healthy diet. Talk to your local veterinarian about what's best to feed your cat. Different cats may have different needs based on age or health problems, etc. Most of all enjoy your cat.