Fun Cat Facts
Love and kindness

• Cats blink to say I love you (it shows their kind “surrender” to you).
• As you pet them, cats may turn their rear toward your stretch to show you their tummy—this means they trust you.

Think outside the box

• Cats are sensitive to scents, so it is best to use mild or unscented cleansers and all-natural litter.
• Peeing outside the box isn’t meant to be nasty, it is usually a sign of discomfort with the surroundings (look at health issues first, then box issues: placement, covered lids, litter scent).
• Poor behavior can be trained: give praise, or yummy treats, or loads of petting for good things like scratching a post instead of furniture and the behavior will change over time.

Food for thought

• Cats are “obligate carnivores” which means they have not adapted to eat anything but meat, unlike so many other mammals. Meat is a biological necessity for cats.
• Cats are predators and they need to replicate this activity to expend energy for their well-being. Playing with cats (having them chase toys and string) is essential for their health and happiness.
• If your cat catches a critter and brings it to you, it’s a gift. Try to give praise, not scolding. Keeping indoors is the only certain way to prevent this gift-giving.

Good fences make great neighbors

• Cats do not scale any height that they can’t “pre-negotiate” their next steps from. Seeing a tall fence with a lip that protrudes 8″ or more may be visually all that it takes to make them uncertain and not climb the fence.
• At the end of that fence lip (like a “roof”) adding a rolling dowel can make jumping up an unpleasant experience that they won’t want to do again.
• To help keep your cat within your own (fully fenced) yard, make sure that no tree limbs reach the fence tops, which is an open walkway to the next yard.
• “Catios” (fenced-in outdoor areas) with space to run, climb, hide and bask in the sun are incredibly great solutions to giving your cat the safe outdoor experience they crave.
• Indoor cats need the simulation of outdoor life: fresh air from windows, plants and places to hide and, of course, providing hunt-like playtime can keep cats extremely satisfied.

Let’s address some sad cat facts, too:

• Many animals flown in airplane cargo are killed, injured or lost on commercial flights each year. Excessive temperatures, poor ventilation and rough handling are often to blame.
• Outdoor cats live shorter lives due to predators, injuries, parasites and the dangers of cars. If you have outdoor cats, a controlled environment is best (see fence and catio ideas above).
• People give up on lost cats much more quickly than lost dogs. Persistence, posters, visiting neighbors and microchipping your cat can all help bring a lost cat home.

Fun Sloth Facts
Bodies like cartoon animals!

• All sloths have three toes on lower limbs. Choloepus have two toes on their upper limbs, Bradypus (like Burrball!) have three toes on their upper limbs.
• Three-toed sloths can turn their head ¾ of a full circle!
• Three-toed sloths have a tiny tail but two-toed ones do not.

What do you do all day if you’re a sloth?

• Sloths spend most of their time hanging in trees and eat only leaves, shoots, buds and blossoms.
• Sloths don’t need to “use a toilet” more than about once a week! They descend from trees to do their business on the ground.
• Sloths don’t sleep too much more than humans: really only about 10 hours a day!

Who crosses a river faster: you or a sloth?

• Sloths are quite good swimmers and can move three times as fast in water than by land. They can even hold their breath nearly 40 minutes under water by slowing down their heart rate.

Let’s address some sad sloth facts, too:

• Crossing roads is a major danger to sloths as they move so much slower than vehicles.
• Power lines and deforestation also present great danger to sloths.