YOUR CAT QUESTIONS ANSWERED |
 As a behaviour consultant and cat sitter, I have been going into cat owners’ homes for 20 years and have noticed that several basic feline welfare mistakes tend to crop up repeatedly. It is not that cat owners don’t care about their cats rather they don’t take the time to view their homes from a cat’s perspective.
Litter trays are the area where many cat owners make mistakes. Usually, this involves cleanliness. Whenever I ask a cat owner how often he or she scoops out the litter tray the answer is almost always daily. Yet, when I go into the home I find litter trays that have not been scooped for several days. Occasionally I find litter boxes that are in truly appalling conditions. Cats are extremely clean creatures. They do not like to step into dirty litter trays any more than we want to use an unflushed toilet. Indeed, some cats are so fastidious that they won’t step into anything but a freshly scooped litter tray, and some cats prefer to have one litter tray for urine and another for stool. If the litter tray is dirty the cat will likely find somewhere else in the home to eliminate. It is always best to be proactive where the litter tray is concerned. Another common mistake cat owners make with litter trays is not locating them in cat-friendly areas. Litter trays are tucked away in basements, laundry rooms, closets, and bathrooms. This isn’t necessarily bad, unless the litter tray in the basement is so out of sight that it rarely gets cleaned, or the litter tray in the laundry room is near loud appliances that may frighten a cat. No one wants a litter tray right in the middle of their living room, and it is indeed best not to locate the litter tray in highly trafficked areas, but one key factor that is high on a cat’s list while eliminating is being able to see escape routes while in the litter tray. In nature, cats are vulnerable to predators when eliminating so being able to see escape routes is a hardwired survival mechanism. Not having enough litter trays is another common mistake. The general rule of thumb is one tray per cat plus one. So, if you have one cat you should have two litter trays and those two litter trays should not be placed right next to each other or in the same general area. If you have three cats you should ideally have four litter trays, and again these should be located in different areas of the home. Another litter tray mistake I often see is litter trays that are too small for normal-sized adult cats. Cats prefer the litter tray to be 1.5 times the length of their body (from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail). Food and water issues are another area where I see repeated mistakes. Humans tend to think that cats prefer their food and water dishes next to each other because that is what we would want. Cats do not like to eat near their water source. Again, this is a hard-wired survival mechanism. Cats do not wish to foul their water source with their food or attract predators to their water. Cats prefer to separate their eating, drinking, toileting, and sleeping areas. Cats like to have clean food and water dishes. I have had clients tell me I don’t have to bother cleaning the food dish after each meal. No one wants to eat from a dirty dish. Cats possess 200 million scent receptors compared to humans’ meagre 5 million. Foul odours in the food dish can even cause some cats to become anorexic and this can lead to serious medical problems. Dry food left out at all times. Dry food is not species-appropriate food for cats. It is too low in protein, too high in carbs and far too low in moisture. Dry food left out all day will go stale and in humid climates can become rancid. If you must feed your cat dry food feed small amounts (as a treat) and make the cat ‘hunt’ for the food by using a treat ball or food puzzle. This is a far more natural way for a cat to eat dry food. In nature, cats will eat multiple small meals each day AFTER having spent energy hunting that meal down. Many cats lack daily interactive play. Cats need to stalk, pounce, run and leap and cat owners can provide for these needs by playing with their cats with interactive ‘wand’ type toys daily. Several scheduled 10-15-minute play sessions will make a world of difference in the mental and physical well-being of your cat. I see many behaviour problems that are solved in part by implementing routine play sessions. Play alleviates stress and anxiety and helps build confidence. Interactive play is therapy for cats! Lack of vertical space. Just as cats need to play they also need to jump and climb. Cats can jump 5 times their height. Getting up high helps cats feel safer and more in control of their environment. Adding vertical space in the form of cat trees and climbing shelves adds valuable territory for your cat and can help alleviate tensions in multi-cat households. Lack of veterinary care. All cats should be examined by a veterinarian (but not necessarily vaccinated) once a year. Even if your cat seems perfectly healthy an annual trip to the vet is important. Cats are masters at hiding illness and can hide serious illnesses and disease processes until it is too late to affect treatment. As cats age they should be examined more frequently so that problems can be picked up and treated before they reach crisis point. There are many reasons why caring cat owners don’t take their cats in for annual exams the most common being that it is such an unpleasant experience for both cat and owner and causes much stress. Most larger cities and towns have veterinarians who provide house calls.
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 Of all its senses, a cat's strongest is its hearing. They hear about four times as well as a human. Cats possess extraordinary hearing, detecting sounds at frequencies up to 60,000 vibrations per second, while humans can only hear up to 20,000. They also have a superior sense of smell — cats have an astounding 200 million odor sensors, compared to our measly 5 million.
Purring actually improves bone density and promotes healing within a cat. The purring frequency — 26 Hertz — apparently aids in tissue regeneration and can help stimulate the repair of weak and brittle bones. Cats are better at problem-solving than dogs. And they have a better capacity for visual learning than dogs as well. Cats have a distinct pattern their nose, like a human fingerprint. Cats have a third eyelid called a haw. It’s generally only visible when they’re unwell. Cats can drink seawater. Unlike humans, cats have kidneys that can filter out salt and use the water content to hydrate their bodies. Cats can’t see directly below their noses . That’s why they miss food that’s right in front of them. By neutering a cat, you add about two to three years to its life. Cats may have evolved their “tone of voice” to communicate with humans. Cats' natural vocal range would be inaudible to humans, but they communicate feelings such as affection, hunger, and fear within the range of human hearing. Some researchers believe that this is learned behaviour to help cats to relate to humans. In fact, cats can make over 100 vocal sounds.Dogs can only make 10. If you're a cat owner you're apparently 40 percent less likely to have a heart attack. A ten-year study from the University of Minnesota Stroke Center found that people who owned cats were also 30 percent less likely to have strokes. The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, employs 70 stray cats that are tasked with controlling the mice population and preventing them from chewing on the artwork. House cats share 95.6% of their genetic makeup with tigers and they share many behaviours with their jungle ancestors such as scent marking, stalking prey, and pouncing. A housecat can run to the speed of about 30 mph over short distances. This means that a cat can outrun superstar runner Usain Bolt in a 200-meter dash! Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, absolutely loved cats and would play with them for hours. He owned several cats during this time in the White House. Unlike humans and many other animals, cats do not have taste buds that can detect sweet flavours. This is thought to be because their diet, which is high in protein, does not require them to have a sweet tooth. Cats cool themselves by panting and sweating through their paw pads. Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they require a diet of primarily meat to meet their nutritional needs. Kittens are born toothless, and their first set of teeth break through the gums at around 3 weeks. By the time they’re around 4 to 6 weeks, they’ll already have most of their 26 deciduous teeth. Like humans, kittens lose their baby teeth to make way for adult teeth. By 6–7 months, their 30 adult teeth will come in to replace the baby teeth. Cats have nearly twice the amount of neurons in their cerebral cortex as dogs.  Having evolved as a desert species cats don't have a strong thirst drive. In nature they get most but not all of their water requirements from the prey they consume. I have even had cat sitting clients who believe that their cat does not need water because they never see them drink!
But cats, like all living things, do need water and there are even times when cat owners may need to encourage their cats to drink more fluids. Examples of this include but are not limited to:
TYPE OF WATER BOWL Choose a bowl from which your cat will want to drink from.
NUMBER OF WATER BOWLS Have several water bowls so that your cat does not need to go far to find one.
LOCATION OF WATER BOWLS Choose a good location for your water bowls.
KEEP THE BOWLS CLEAN Be sure to wash your cat's water bowls every day and refill with fresh water. Use a tiny amount of dish liquid and a scrubbling pad to clean the water bowl and throughly rinse before refilling, DIFFERENT TYPES OF WATER Consider experimenting with different types of water – see if your cat has a preference. Many cats do not like heavily fluorinated water. Try:
OTHER LIQUIDS TO TRY
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AuthorElizabeth Llewellyn lives in South Burlington, Vermont with her three cats. She has owned a cat sitting service since 2002 and has worked professionally with cats in a variety of settings including, veterinary, boarding and breeding catteries, and rescue organizations. Elizabeth is a qualified feline welfare and behaviour specialist. Archives
May 2025
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