How to Adopt a Cat

When you and your family reach that decision of adopting a pet and adding to your family it can be a wonderful experience. Making sure that every thing is in order before adopting will help to make this a great experience. When you do adopt take the whole family with you so that everyone can share this experience.
One of the first things you need to ask yourself is can we afford a Cat? There is just not food involved the cat needs to have regular checkups and vaccinations. What if your cat becomes really sick? Can you afford the $1,000 plus that it might take to save the life of your cat. This could include surgery, hospitalization, and any medicines needed. Your cat will also need a litter box with cat litter every month, and safe cat toys.
Vaccinations are very important they can prevent any unwanted diseases, viruses, conditions, and infections. If your cat is happy and healthy you will be happy too. If your cat does end up becoming ill it is always a wise idea to have money saved away in case of emergency. But what happens if your cat becomes sick twice in a row, or maybe another one of your Pets become ill? Pet Insurance is something to look into. There are many different plan options available to choose from. If you do not want Pet Insurance there is something called Care Credit which is basically a credit card for all of your Veterinarian needs.

To find out more about healthy cats including symptoms, tips, and resources visit Cat Health Guide.

I am a Stay at Home Mom, earning a living by working from home. I have been documenting my progress of how much I have made through various web-sites, and you can view it here.
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Understanding Your Cat - Cat Body Language

We like to think of our cats as our fur-children, even though they really can't speak to us. Or can they? Cats may not be able to talk to us but they can communicate through body language. Did you know that if your cat wags her tail it's not a sign of happiness - she's actually annoyed? Here's a few more body language clues to help us discover what our cats are really trying to tell us...
Calm & Content:
Cats who are in a calm and happy state of mind hold their ears alert and pricked. Their tails are still, held either straight up, or relaxed. If your cat is really relaxed, she'll gaze at you with half-lidded eyes. If she flutters her eyes at you, it means she trusts you and feels safe. Another way to tell if your cat is happy is if she kneads her paws.
If your cat lies down on her side or back and exposes her belly, she's letting you know that she's happy, and wouldn't mind if you came over to give her some love. Often this means she's inviting you to rub her tummy. But be careful - not all cats like belly rubs. The ones that don't will soon let you know by grabbing your hands and giving a quick bite.
Pleased to See You:
When your cat is happy to see you, she'll greet you with her tail held straight up. She'll rub her face against you, using the scent glands in her forehead, chin and whiskers to 'mark you' as part of her territory. She might also purr, but surprisingly, purring isn't always a sign that your cat is content.
Why do cats purr, anyway?
Kittens are able to purr by the time they're two days old. It's their way of communicating with their moms. As cats grow older, they continue to purr to indicate happiness. But did you know that cats also purr when they're sick or anxious? Some animal experts believe it's a form of self-soothing, like when a person hums to stave off nerves. Cats also purr to show submission to another cat, or to indicate friendliness.
Hunting, Curious & Playful:
When your cat's in stalking or hunting mode, she'll drop her body low to the ground. She'll keep her tail down, while the tip twitches. Just before she's about to pounce, she might wag her butt.
If your cat is mildly curious about something, she'll hold her tail at half mast and slowly switch it from side to side. An upright tail curved to one side or held in a 'question mark' means your kitty's excited, and might be ready to play.
Wants Something:
You'll know when your cat wants something from you - whether it's food, affection or clean litter - when she leans into your legs with her whole body. Some cats will even do a little hop as they rub your legs. This is kitty language for, "Hey, you up there! We need something down here!"
Annoyed:
It's easy to tell when a cat starts to get annoyed. When your cat's fed up or had enough petting, she'll flick the end of her tail back and forth. When she's really annoyed, she'll lash her tail back and forth. If she thumps her tail, watch out! She's really upset. Growling and swiping at you with her paws also are a result of extreme kitty annoyance.
Fear & Aggression:
When your cat is afraid, she tries to make herself look smaller. She tucks her tail close to her body and hunkers down into a ball before backing away. She'll lay her ears back sideways and her pupils will be dilated.
If she's afraid but on the defensive, she'll bare her teeth and expose her paws as she confronts the threat in a sideways stance.
Aggressive cats look like "Halloween cats." They try to look as scary and intimidating as possible by arching their backs and puffing up the fur along their hackles and tails. This is known as piloerection. Your cat will also pull her whiskers back, with her paw raised and ready to swat, while her tensely-curved-tail will lash from side to side.
Hissing is an obvious sign of a fearful or aggressive cat. If she's ready to bite, she'll show her teeth, and give low warning growls.
Although these behaviors should generally help you decipher what your cat is thinking, every cat is an individual with their own personal nuances and body language. Taking the time to figure out what your cat is really trying to say will deepen your bond with one another.

K.L. Bonfiglio is a freelance writer and owner of CuteCatGifts.com, a website dedicated to connecting cat lovers with cute cat gifts Looking for more information about cats? Visit our blog, which features informative cat articles, product spotlights, cat videos, funny cat photos and more.
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Cat History and Cat Classification of Domestic Cats

Scientists classify living organisms into different kingdoms, family, and orders to study more about them. Although, most people do not get into such details, but certain individuals who love cats, will definitely want to know the scientific classification of cats.
However, before that here is little history about classifications. In nineteenth century, there was this huge craze to classify the organisms scientifically. During that era, researchers identified numerous species and subspecies. They named the organisms by their own name or by the name of traveler, who bought them from different regions. Accordingly, cats were no exception and researchers classified them too.
Below is a detailed description of the scientific classification of the cats. To start with, the domestic cat in the household is commonly referred as Felis Catus.
How Researchers Classified Cats:
Life science expert Carouse Linnaes gave the name Felis Catus to the domestic cat in the year 1758. The domestic cats are in fact distant relatives of the wild cats. Therefore, domestic cats are the subspecies of feral cats. Thus, according to the guidelines of the ICZN (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature), wild cats are referred as F silvestris and F silvestris catus for the domestic species.
Cats are mammals and represent the vertebrate groups. Furthermore, since cats are meat eaters they are placed under carnivores order. The easy and scientific tabulation of the cat classification is as follows:
Common name: cat, feline, kitty cat, domestic cat, and pussycat

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora

Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae

Subfamily: Felinate/Pantherinae
Species: Felis catus
Cats such as domestic cats, Pumas, cheetahs, lynx, ocelot, and others come into Subfamily Felinae whereas large cats such as leopards, jaguars, lions, and tigers come in subfamily Pantherinae.
Long before the scientists assigned scientific classification for cats, ancient travelers and cat lovers had already classified them into subspecies. It usually depended on the notion that the particular cat type was representative of the main phenotype of cat in the area.
This method was same as that of Victorian love of gathering and classifying the organisms and then claiming them in certain order. For instance, the present day Felis Catus anura is referred as the Manx, catus Siamensis as Siamese, F catus cartusenesis as the Chartreux, and F catus angorensis as Turkish Angora.
About Species:
Species are nothing but taxonomic assembling of animals, which are similar but are readily distinguishable from one another. Although, they appear similar they never crossbreed naturally.
For instance, tigers and cats are of same species but they are very different in terms of behavior as well as in type, so there is a need to classify them more into subspecies or races. Mammals of a particular subspecies vary morphologically from distinctive mammals.
The domestic cat is actually the offspring of the original African Wildcat. The subspecies of an African wildcat is F s lybica. The domestic cats take the place below F s lybica and become felis catus. All breeds of felis catus interbreed naturally.

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