Your Cat February 2023

The story of how Catford, the district in south east London, got its name has been lost to legend. The ‘cat’ part of it though has long been embraced with its most famous landmark being this giant cat statue! The fibreglass feline has been clambering the sign of the Catford Shopping Centre since 1974. It was built at a time when there were plans to turn Catford into a shopping and cultural destination, and although these ambitious plans failed, the cat statue has become popular. When authorities planned to remove the landmark, there was a successful petition to fight for the feline to stay and it still looms above shoppers today. The inset picture here is testament to how well received the cat statue is with this witty bit of…

As you can probably imagine, I read a lot of stuff about cats. From being a writer for the magazine to having been editor for over three years, I’ve learned so much about our feline companions and benefitted from the expert wisdom of our team. However, cats never fail to amaze me. That’s never been more true than in this month’s lead feature ’10 amazing things you never knew about cats.’ I learned so much about our feline friends! When I asked one of our brilliant writers, Karen Bush, to write the feature, I thought there might be quite a lot in there I already knew — how wrong I was! I found it incredibly insightful and a great education in how feline bodies are so well trained for their…

RESCUE Two cats set to become Mayhew’s longest residents Mayhew animal welfare charity in Kensal Green is appealing for loving owners for two black and white cats who are set to become their longest staying feline residents unless they are found forever homes. Jessie, aged four years and seven months, and Sunny, aged two-and-a-half, were taken into care at the Mayhew on 10 January and 21 January 2022 and unless forever homes are found for both in the next month, the combined time for both to have remained homeless will reach over two years. JESSIE — THE CAT WITH BAGS OF PERSONALITY Mayhew was notified about Jessie by a concerned resident who spotted him sitting on their garden fence for a number of days without moving, looking lost and confused.…

GET IN TOUCH: While we don’t have our Cat Chat pages, we are still sharing your stories in our news pages! Blanket donations We’ve had more generous knitted blanket donations from Your Cat Members Valerie Wood and Teresa Lloyd for our Good Causes Blanket Appeal. Thank you so much! These have been sent out to an independent cat rescue in need to help keep kitties warm during the wintery weather. MORE INFO: Share a cute photo of your kitten for a chance to win a Kittyrama Collar! Kitten of the month Willow, sent in by Natasha Bourne. For the lions in training! Kittyrama kitten collars are purrfect for curious kittens! Breakaway, soft, comfy, and hypoallergenic. Find out more at www.kittyrama.co.uk (UK only. Colours may vary.)…

No matter how long you’ve been a cat person, there’s always something new to discover! Modern technology has helped to reveal some of the mysteries that have puzzled owners for years, and there’s no doubt that our feline companions are amazing creatures. “Our feline companions are amazing” 1 The cat’s whiskers The phrase‘the cat’s whiskers’ really couldn’t be more appropriate because those long hairs on your cat’s face are quite brilliant. On average, cats have around 24 whiskers, 12 on each side of the face, in four horizontal rows. There are also usually three over each eye, a few shorter ones on their chins, plus sensory whiskers on the back of the front legs, called carpal vibrissae. Each extra thick long hair is embedded three times more deeply into the…

“Wildcats are on the brink of extinction…” Wildcats are clinging on by a claw and Scotland is their last refuge from extinction in Britain. Thankfully, over 30 zoos, wildlife parks, and private collections have come together as members of a breeding programme to help ensure their survival. Your Cat Good Causes has become the sole sponsor of Embo, one of the male Scottish wildcats currently in the successful Saving Wildcats European partnership project, headed by The Royal Zoological Society for Scotland (RZSS). The RZSS, the wildlife conservation charity and lead partner for the Saving Wildcats project, has been managing the UK captive population since 2015 to make sure those wildcats can support the restoration of the species in Britain. Saving Wildcats (#SWAforLife) is a European partnership project dedicated to Scottish…