International Cat Day 2019 - August 8

12:29 PM - 0 Comments

International Cat Day a purr-fect day to celebrate four-legged fur-babies

With millions of Aussie households owning a pet, it’s no wonder pets are becoming more humanised and entrenched as ‘part of the family’.

According to the latest report by Animal Medicines Australia [1], more than 62% of Australian households own a pet. Of these, 29% are cat owners.

To help cat lovers across the country celebrate feline friendships on International Cat Day (8 August 2019), PETstock VET Dr Emily Chan has compiled a list of care tips to keep kittens and cats happy and healthy.

#1. Fun training for your cat

Cats are intelligent animals and can be easily trained in a similar way to a dog to learn new tricks such as sit, shake paws and more. 

There are many benefits to training your cat: you are providing them with positive mental stimulation, improving your relationship with them, encouraging positive behaviours, such as coming to you when you call them, and discouraging negative behaviours, such as jumping up on tabletops.

#2. Playtime

Indoor cats need a lot of environmental enrichment. Cats love chasing toys however owners need to be careful of toys that are attached to string or toys that are small enough to swallow, as they can get obstructions from chewing and eating them.

Cats love to sit up high so they can overlook their ‘kingdom’. A large multi-level scratch post, especially located with a window view, is a great way to keep your cat happy and to give them a nice spot to snooze during the day. An automated laser pointer for your curious cat will provide lots of fun.

#3. Fresh water

Cats love running water– a pet-friendly water fountain is a great way to encourage cats to drink more water, as well as multiple water stations around the house.

#4. Grooming

Cats need regular brushing and grooming to prevent hairballs as well as matting to the fur. Long hair cats need daily brushing.

#5. Wellbeing

Stress and anxiety can affect your cat in similar ways that it can affect humans. It is important to ensure you give your buddy time to adapt to changes and keep an eye out for any behaviour that may be telling you that your fur-baby is suffering from anxiety. If in doubt visit your local vet.

[1] Animal Medicines Australia: Pet Ownership in Australia in 2016 

9 Feline Fun Facts

• Cats conserve energy by sleeping for an average of 13 – 14 hours a day, which equates to about 70% of their lives sleeping.
• Cats have powerful night vision, allowing them to see at light levels six times lower than what a human needs in order to see. Cats also have excellent hearing and a powerful sense of smell. 
• Cats spend a large amount of time licking their coats to keep them clean. 
• The richest cat in the world according to Guinness World Records is Blackie. When his millionaire owner passed away, he refused to recognise his family in his will and instead gave his 7-million-pound fortune to Blackie. 
• An orange tabby cat called Stubbs was the Mayor of an Alaskan town for 20 years. 



On 18 October 1963, Felicette was launched atop a Veronique AG1 rocket and 
flew nearly 157 kilometres above the Earth

•  You’ve heard of monkeys and dogs in space, but in 1963 a cat known as ‘Astrocat’ was the first and only cat to go to space. 

• House cats share 95.6% of their genetic makeup with tigers. 
• A cat can hit speeds of around 30mph which is so fast that they could beat Olympian Usain Bolt in a 200-metre dash! 
• The most tricks performed by a cat in one minute is 24! Didga completed a series of tricks from rolling over, to even jumping a bar whilst on a skateboard! You can watch the video HERE

Source 

MEDIA RELEASE, 17th July 2019

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