Time to leave the nest!

Would cats choose to keep their offspring with them, or does independence = the boot?
This question would plague many a cat owner if they had to truly think about it. We often have to sell or give kittens away. And this should bring this question to mind. Our initial instinct, as human beings is to deny the possibility that animals need to keep their children close, like us, so we believe that like a wild animal, they will kick the kids from the nest. Is this just a comfortable belief though? There have been many cases of cats that get to keep their kittens and the mother and child is just as close as any other human relationship you can think of, to the point that they still sleep together after 12 years. Now, with cases such as that, we have to reconsider the emotional trauma we inflict on our pets when we forcibly remove their babies.

Personality…clashes

Have you ever noticed how you make up stories around your pets behaviour? A friend told us recently how she would sit and watch her animals interact only to notice that she explains their behaviour to whomever she is around. It is quite typical to note animal behavioural patterns and then to try and decode these actions and reactions into little neat boxes that for us, forms part of the characteristics of our pets. When we see two cats playing in the garden with a bug, and chasing it around, we immediately note that one is more successful and always in the lead while the other tries to get a hold of the prey, and as such we connotate personality to our furry friends, for then we can relate which means we can love.

Mommy, Where do dogs come from?

Dogs orıgıns, like every other living (and non-living) species on earth, is a mystery, philosophically speaking that is. But we do know how our pets came into being though. The dog is a subspecies of the gray wolf, and as such retains many characteristics that this ice age species displayed. They are primarily pack animals who travel and coexist in group habitats. The wolves’ body language and primary needs have not altered that much from its ancestors.

The domestication of this animal took place roughly around 15 000 years ago. And as such has become an integral part of human development and life since then. The taming o this species has resulted in an animal that has a keenly developed intelligence and sensitivity to its human counterparts. These social skills have helped them perform many important roles in human history, ranging from hunting to protection and assistance.

Thus, next time you find yourself looking into your companians eyes imagine those of the wild and fierce wolf staring back at you.

We Are All Related

Throughout history, animals have and always will play a major part in how we interperate and understand our world and ourselves. It is easy to see how we, as sensitive beings find parallels between our behavior and animals, and as such we have created myths and legends so as to both exaggerate and understand the actions of our ancestors and the actions we exhibit as a modern society. A few examples of this incursion of animals into mythology and life is; Romulus and Remus, the brothers raised by a wolf who founded Rome; Asena, a Turkish legend of the product of a blue maned she-wolf and a injured boy who becomes the leader and founder of the Ashına clan; Mowgli, a young boy raised by wolves who becomes the leader of the jungle and finally Tarzan, a hero raised by apes.

It is only natural to assume that this tradition will continue to be a large factor in human history as we will always relate with them, for are we not all animals?

How Did Superman Sleep?

Dog senses are highly developed compared to us humans. We do not look and experience the world as they do and we should be grateful for that little fact. Can you imagine being able to hear noises that span such a range that we would be able to detect the slightest scratch of a mouse at the far side of the house? A dog can hear sounds at four times the distance compared to our limited perception. If that were the case it is fairly conclusive that rest would be a long forgotten memory. It would be even more disturbing if our sense of smell was as sensitive to that of our furry companians we would definitely not be able to cope with the amount of information that is present in our smelly everyday life. Dogs can discriminate smells nearly 100 million times more than humans can!

Getting to know your pet

Chances are that as a pet owner you think of your pet as much more than just an animal and you know that the bond between the two of you is mutual and extensive! But have ever wondered about your pet’s range of emotions? Have you ever asked yourself whether or not your pet really has emotions? Or even more inquiringly – does an animal have emotions? As a pet owner myself my first response is yes of course they have emotions! I can notice mood changes and I swear I even notice changes in my cat’s facial expressions! And purring is not for nothing! They may be completely dependant on us but I don’t think that we should underestimate the capacity and emotional capabilities of our animals!

‘Emotion’ is a big word to understand, it is something we all know we have and that we all experience in great variety everyday – even towards our animals, but it is hard to fully explain what ‘emotion’ truly means and proving that emotion exists is even harder! But considering the loyalty we feel and considering the strength of the bonds that we share with our animals I think it is pretty safe to say that what we share with our pets is a mutually emotional bond.