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Pet Your Cat - It's Good For Your Heart

We all need to take care of our hearts with regular exercise, a healthy diet and reduced stress levels. A great way to reduce those stress levels is to spend time with your four-legged BFF. A study by the University of Minnesota Stroke Institute noted a 30% reduction in risk for fatal heart attacks amongst cat owners. The lead researcher, Dr. Adnan Qureshi, theorized that the reduction in stress helped cat owners to have happier, healthier lives.  So give kitty lots of loving pets - it's good for you as well as them!

Weekend = Kitten Video!

Well, this is the cutest thing we've seen today. Oh kittens. 

Enjoy your (hopefully beautiful) weekend!

 

Ask Lyle - A Cat's Sixth Sense

Ask Lyle is our weekly cat-to-cat advice column from Modern Cat (and ridiculously outspoken gentleman), Lyle. Submit your questions to asklyle@moderndogmagazine.com, and he will be happy to answer them. Don't forget to include a photo of the questioning cat so that we can post it with the advice!

You can also follow Lyle's adventures on Twitter and Instagram, @lylestagram. 

Dear Lyle,
 
You know that cats are really smart, of course, and we can sometimes sense when another animal has a health problem. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that we can sense health problems in our human companions, too. Do you have any guesses as to why this is? 
 
I go to a pet store during the day (with my family), and I have seen all sorts of animals who come in with their humans. If an animal is sick, I can usually tell and it scares me. The other week I might have attacked a deaf dog because of this fear. Is there anything I can do to adjust to this?
 
-Uneasy Elroy 
 
Dear Fearful Elroy,
 
Thanks for this question! I am in total agreement with you about our general intelligence. I am always tricking my mom by climbing up on shelves and knocking stuff over (she pretends she is mad, but I know she thinks I am adorable). I actually think the reason we love humans so much (and they love us right back) is because of our ability to intuit with them.  Our ability to sense health problems is no different. As gifted hunters, we are always keenly aware of what is happening in our environment (the things moms and dads don't notice continually astound me). 
 
As to being afraid of other cats and animals with illnesses, it is ok to be wary of things we don't understand, but it is a good idea to just give the animal a bit of extra space and patience. They are going through a tough time and if we are lucky enough to have our health, we shouldn't rub it in. Did you know that our purring has healing powers? We should try to share our love and help heal our friends so that the world continues to appreciate that we are awesome. 
 
Thanks for writing in, Elroy! I am so jealous that you get to meet so many fun new friends every day!
 
- Lyle
 
 

Check out Lyle's previous columns!

 

Fun Fish For Cats To Play With

These brightly coloured cat toys are made with that common kitty treat in mind - fish! Stuffed with premium catnip and securely stitched in wool felt, your cat can bat these little bundles of joy for hours.

The Cat Did It

This is a story that brings a smile to our animal-loving (and kitten-adoring) hearts.

Koko is one smart gorilla who was taught sign language by Dr. Penny Patterson out of The Gorilla Foundation. She is world-reknown for her ability to communicate through sign language with a vocabulary of over 1000 words. Once Koko learned to communicate, she asked her trainers for a kitten as a present. Clearly Koko is awesome. 

Apparently, one day, when no humans were present, someone ripped a sink out of the wall of Koko's habitat, and when the humans returned, Koko explained what happened by signing the phrase "cat did it" and pointing at her tiny kitten. We've all been there, Koko. 

The kitten who took the fall for that mess is no longer with Koko, but she has since made new kitten friends. Check out this adorable video of Koko getting a new kitten. 

 

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