Hit movie Gone Girl has marquee names: director David Fincher, actor Ben Affleck and a music score by Trent Reznor. But the breakout star is a mellow ginger (whose name is actually Boris) appears in almost every scene, acting as a foil to the crazy main characters.

Boris may be a big deal now, but he’s really just riding an orange wave, if you will, of popularity. Gingers have appeared in a string of major Hollywood features in the past few years, including Inside Llewyn Davis, the Harry Potter movies, and the 2011 live action comedy The Smurfs, based on the cartoon. Apparently gingers are cool now, which suggests that cats in movies are somehow subject to the whims of fashion. If you look back on movie cats from the past 60 years, you’ll notice different breeds had their heyday, just like styles of sunglasses or facial hair.


Source: Why 2014 Is the Year of The Ginger Cat | Fast Company | business + innovation

---

Rights to all content (text, images, videos etc.) with post source. If you think these are wrongly attributed email us

Read more »

As the great poet T.S. Eliot once said:

The naming of cats is a difficult matter.
It isn't just one of your holiday games.

There's the common house cat, the scrappy alley cat, the quasi-domesticated barn cat. Less famous, but equally distinguished on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, is the distillery cat.

Scotland may be the best place to investigate this member of the feline tribe. With more than 100 whisky distilleries crammed into an area about the size of Kansas, the only question is where to start.

Source: Behind Every Good Whisky Is A Trusty Distillery Cat : Parallels : NPR

---

Rights to all content (text, images, videos etc.) with post source. If you think these are wrongly attributed email us

Read more »

Cat owners may claim that their beloved pets love ice cream and doughnuts, but it’s the fat that cats enjoy. Felines’ taste receptors can’t detect sugar. Humans, like most other mammals, have five different receptors—salty, bitter, sour, umami (savory), and sweet. The taste receptor for sweet is encoded in two genes that code for two proteins, both of which are involved in our ability to enjoy sugary treats. In cats, a chance mutation appears to have broken one of these genes, and this broken version persisted. That’s why tigers, lions, and your kitty will never have a sweet tooth.

Source: Why Your Cat Doesn’t Have a Sweet Tooth - Issue 16: Nothingness - Nautilus

---

Rights to all content (text, images, videos etc.) with post source.If you think these are wrongly attributed email us

Read more »

This adorable tiny kitty with a big heart is set to become the world's smallest cat.

Standing at 5 inches tall, Pixel the munchkin cat has been put forward to be measured by the Guinness Book of Records.

Her mother Fizz Girl holds the previous world record at six inches that she set in 2012 - if it is verified, then Pixel will be the shortest cat to have ever lived.

Source: World's 'smallest ever cat' at just 5 inches tall is melting hearts across the globe - Mirror Online

---

Rights to all content (text, images, videos etc.) with post source. If you think these are wrongly attributed email us

Read more »

It is mystifying that so many people seem to understand the importance of spaying to prevent unwanted kittens, but they don’t seem to grasp the idea that neutering is just as important. It's a matter of health on top of population control. Here’s why you should get your male cat his “big boy surgery” as soon as your vet recommends it.

Source: 6 Reasons to Have Your Male Cat Neutered | Catster

---

Rights to all content (text, images, videos etc.) with post source. If you think these are wrongly attributed email us

Read more »

They say fact is stranger than fiction. Well, when it comes to cats, that's often true. Below are ten facts about cats you might not believe, but they are true!

Source: 10 Weird But True Facts About Cats - Hartford Cats | Examiner.com

---

Rights to all content (text, images, videos etc.) with post source. If you think these are wrongly attributed email us

Read more »

There are many beliefs, half-truths and misconceptions that are taken for granted as facts. When we were children we might have heard them, shared by parents and friends, or maybe we read them on the web. Some may have their roots many generations ago. The Internet and other media sources overflow with what seems like sage advice. Popular culture shapes views and creates truths. Because it is easy for anyone to write a blog and post it, more myths and bad information are published as truths and become infused in our culture.

Cats are not exempt. People have believed myths and misconceptions about them ever since they started sharing their world with cats.

Source: Ask a Behaviorist: 3 Common Myths About Cats | Catster

---

Rights to all content (text, images, videos etc.) with post source. If you think these are wrongly attributed email us

Read more »

According to experts, ancient Egyptians may have domesticated the first cats as early as 4,000 years ago when plentiful rodent populations drew wild cats into human settlements.

Today, more than 74 million domestic cats live in U.S. homes.

But despite our familiarity with the domestic cat, there are still more than a few curious behaviors the average pet owner may not understand.

Source: Seven things you probably didn't know about cats; Auburn veterinarian explains feline behavior | AL.com

Read more »

Cats get a bad rep in Hollywood these days. They usually have the choice between being an accessory to the eccentric antagonist or being the eccentric antagonist themselves.

Thanks, though, to trending internet stories of one cat that climbs boulders with its owner and another that aggressively defends against attacking dogs, people have started to reverse their opinions and accept cats for being more than furry little assholes.

If those real life cats weren’t enough to change your mind and make you want to adopt a cuddly feline of your own, here are some fictional ones that would significantly improve any pet owner’s quality of life…

Source: Six Fictional Cats You’d Actually Want to Own |

Read more »

We are living in a golden age of canine cognition. Nearly a dozen laboratories around the world study the dog mind, and in the past decade scientists have published hundreds of articles on the topic. Researchers have shown that Fido can learn hundreds of words, may be capable of abstract thought, and possesses a rudimentary ability to intuit what others are thinking, a so-called theory of mind once thought to be uniquely human.

---

Learn more: Citizen Canine: Our Evolving Relationship with Cats and Dogs

Read more »

From Hello Kitty to the ubiquitous cat cafes, it’s no secret to our readers that Japan loves cats. Despite their tendency to view us humans as their own personal servants, we can’t seem to get enough of their fluffy cuteness and sometimes ridiculous antics. Whenever you need to smile, a silly cat video will usually do the trick.

So why not repay your cat by ensuring its healthy lifestyle? For starters, you can reevaluate your cat’s diet by checking out this list we’ve compiled of five at-a-glance foods that you should never feed to your pet. Maybe your kitty will thank you for your concern with even more purring and nuzzles (and no dead mice!).

Source: Five foods you should never feed to your cat | RocketNews24

Read more »

Some people-food really is great for pets. Blueberries, for instance, are excellent for dogs. Cats can get benefit from small amounts of certain people-foods, too: a little tuna fish, for instance.
But your pet’s digestive system isn’t identical to your own, and there can be problems with giving your pets certain foods and drinks that are perfectly safe with human consumption.


Source: 8 Things Your Pet Should Never Drink | The Daily Meal

---

Rights to all content (text, images, videos etc.) with post source. If you think these are wrongly attributed email us

Read more »

Cats have unique behavioral, anatomical, and nutritional characteristics that demonstrate their carnivorous nature. Although cats are able to digest some plant products, their physiology is best supported by the nutrients found in animal tissue.

A small cat's behavior in the wild is quite unique from other well-known mammals. For instance, dogs and large cats hunt and consume large prey every few days. In contrast, domestic cats are more like their close relatives, the African wild cats, in that they hunt and eat small prey frequently throughout the day.

Source: What Makes Cats Carnivores? - PawNation

---

Rights to all content (text, images, videos etc.) with post source. If you think these are wrongly attributed email us

Read more »

Cats aren't exactly open books. In fact, they're downright mysterious. Here are a few facts about the elusive housecat that even ailurophiles (cat lovers) might find surprising.

Source: 20 Fun Facts About Our Mysterious Feline Friends | Mental Floss

---

Rights to all content (text, images, videos etc.) with post source. If you think these are wrongly attributed email us

Read more »

The Cat Fancier's Association has released its list of most popular cat breeds for the previous year. Persian cats are back in the top spot, a position the breed has held for more than 30 years. Keep reading to see what other felines are favored in households around the world.

Source: Most Popular Cat Breeds - PawNation

---

Rights to all content (text, images, videos etc.) with post source. If you think these are wrongly attributed email us

Read more »

Even the most experienced cat caretakers can find themselves charged up on adrenalin when having to face a cat in the midst of a fit of aggression. But encountering a hissing, growling, screaming, and possibly even scratching and biting cat can strike terror into the hearts of people who don’t know how to handle a feline freakout.

Source: 7 Reasons Why Cats Become Aggressive | Catster

---

Rights to all content (text, images, videos etc.) with post source. If you think attribution is in error email us

Read more »

Most people think that this is still an open question, but these indisputable scientific facts clearly show that cats have the edge.

1. Cats are better athletes.
Here is a standard picture of a dog attempting to catch an easy goal in ultimate frisbee.

Via: builder.cheezburger.com

... and here is a picture taken right after a cat has executed an impressive reverse steal by employing the wedge defense.

Read more »

Cat owners see it as a sign of hunger and affection — their pet miaowing and rubbing against their ankles as dinner time approaches.

But according to a group of vets, it is a sign of a creature whose obsession with food has driven it to the edge of insanity.

Read more »

Perhaps you're a cat lover. Perhaps you abhor the lazy critters. Either way, when you see a cat lounging on an armchair, napping all day but for the occasional stretch or window gaze, "useless" is by no means the last word that comes to mind. Cats, beloved or otherwise, don't radiate the message that they're indispensable, hard-working members of the household, or the world.

But, in fact, they're just playing it cool (as usual). Experts say that if all the world's cats suddenly died, things would quickly go to hell in a handbasket.

Read more »

Dogs bury bones, cats bury poop. Hiding waste is a natural feline instinct , but it's not just because cats are obsessed with cleanliness.

The act of meticulously burying their waste stems from cats' long history of using urine and feces to mark their territory. Cat poop may all smell the same to us, but cats can tell their waste apart from another's thanks to unique chemical scent markers called pheromones, which are present in their urine and feces.

Read more »